Battle of the Planets

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Battle of the Planets
Format	Adventure, Science Fiction
Created by	Sandy Frank Entertainment
Directed by	Sandy Frank
Starring	Casey Kasem Keye Luke Alan Young Janet Waldo Alan Dinehart Ronnie Schell
Composer(s)	Hoyt Curtin
Country of origin	United States
No. of episodes	85
Production
Executive producer(s)	Jameson Brewer Sandy Frank
Running time	30 minutes
Broadcast
Original channel	first-run syndication
Original run	September 1, 1978 – August 1, 1985

Battle of the Planets (1978) is the American dub of the 1972 television anime known as Kagaku ninja tai Gatchaman. Of the 105 original Gatchaman episodes, 85 were used in the Battle of the Planets adaptation, produced by Sandy Frank Entertainment. The adaptation is generally faithful to the plot and character development of the original Gatchaman series, but significant additions and reductions were made in order to increase appeal to the North American juvenile television market of the late 1970s.^[1]

A CGI film based on the franchise, Science Ninja Team Gatchaman, is slated for a 2010 release.

As of February 2007, Sandy Frank's 30-year license to Battle of the Planets is expired. It is not clear how this will affect the future of the series.

Contents 1 Summary 2 Subsequent versions 3 Key changes in the adaptation 4 Production staff 4.1 Voice cast 5 Episodes list 6 Comic books 7 Characters 7.1 Other character variations across different versions 7.2 Other notable changes 8 In popular culture 9 References 10 Further reading 11 External links

[edit] Summary

Battle of the Planets casts five young people as G-Force, consisting of Mark, Jason, Princess, Keyop, and Tiny. The question has been raised whether or not the characters were cyborgs due to their super-human agility and demonstrations of power such as the whirlwind pyramid. G-Force protects Earth from planet Spectra and other attacks from 'beyond space'. Their main ship is the Phoenix, which can deploy four smaller vehicles, each operated by one team member. A regularly featured plot device was the transformation of the Phoenix into a flaming bird-shaped craft able to handle virtually any exceptional situation by functioning as something like a giant blowtorch (called the "Fiery Phoenix"). The Phoenix’s primary weapon was a large supply of rockets. It also occasionally flaunted a powerful solar-powered energy blaster, although the team had the misfortune of choosing very cloudy days to use it.

[edit] Subsequent versions

In 1986, Gatchaman was re-worked in the US as G-Force: Guardians of Space by Turner, with a good deal of the original content that had been edited out of Battle of the Planets put back in to the show. It followed the plot of the original Gatchaman much more faithfully than Battle of the Planets because of this. However, the lack of Hoyt Curtin's original score and inferior voice acting prevented this series from attaining the high praise given to Battle of the Planets.^{[citation needed]}

Two soundtrack albums and several DVDs have also been released.

The two Japanese follow-up series (Gatchaman II and Gatchaman F) were combined into 65 episodes and released as the Saban-produced show Eagle Riders. All 65 episodes aired in Australia, but in the United States only 13 episodes were aired.

[edit] Key changes in the adaptation

The Battle of the Planets adaptation differs significantly from Gatchaman. The difference is due to heavy editing made to make the show appealing to the audience in the United States by removing controversial elements (i.e. graphic violence, profanity and transgenderism) while adding elements reminiscent of the feature film Star Wars, which was popular at the time. While the original Gatchaman was earthbound, dark-toned, and environmentally themed, the adaptation morphed it into a kid-friendly outer space show with robot characters, although some environmental themes were kept, and this is also why the other planets to which G-Force traveled on missions looked very much like Earth. Setting, violence, objectionable language, and (most) character fatalities were altered or eliminated by cutting scenes, dubbing, and explanatory voiceovers (for instance, claiming that "the city has been evacuated" before a battle scene that would show the incidental destruction of buildings and houses, as well as explaining away the destruction of the Earth armies and air forces as being "robot" tanks and fighter planes). ^[2][3][4]

One of the most notable changes in the BotP adaptation involves the character Keyop (Jinpei in Gatchaman), who picked up a bizarre verbal tic of stuttering, chirping, and burbling every time he starts to speak. There was a longstanding fan rumor that this was done because the original character spoke using profanity, and that Keyop's excess mouth motion would cover up deleting the words. This was not true, as demonstrated by the existence of an unedited Gatchaman version published by ADV Films, in which Keyop rarely if ever uses profanity. The in-story explanation for Keyop's unique manner of speech is that he is an artificial life form with a speech impediment due to slightly defective genetic engineering.^[5]

The main villain, known as Zoltar in BotP, had an unusual background due to the hermaphroditic nature of the original Berg Katse character. In an episode where Katse's female half was featured (BotP title: "The Galaxy Girls"), "she" was introduced as a separate character, Zoltar's sister, for BotP. (A hint of "her" actual nature was retained in the name "she" used when masquerading as a human, "Mala Latroz"—"Latroz" is an anagram of "Zoltar.")^[5]

To compensate for the other differences, an R2-D2-like robot named 7-Zark-7 performed explanatory voiceovers and light comic relief, which not only padded the time lost from editing but also filled in the gaps in the storyline. Notionally, 7-Zark-7 ran the undersea monitoring station Center Neptune, from where he received information regarding incoming threats to Earth and relayed that information to G-Force. Zark and other added characters, such as 1-Rover-1, Zark's robotic dog (who could hover from one side of the control room to the other by spinning his tail like a propeller, Muttley-style) and Susan (the early-warning computer whose sultry feminine voice often sent Zark into paroxysms) added to the cartoon's youth appeal. Some additional footage was also animated showing G-Force members (using their Gatchaman model sheets) interacting with Zark, helping his addition blend more smoothly into the existing Gatchaman footage (although there is a clear difference in quality between the "Zark" and the "Gatchaman" animation).^[6]

At the time, Battle of the Planets was a favorite with children; the series is generally recalled with fondness by those now-adult viewers. However, some fans of the original Gatchaman contend that, due to all the changes made, the resulting Battle of the Planets is and should be considered as a wholly different show. It should be noted that, in spite of the alterations, the plot and character development of the adaptation generally follows that of the original to a higher degree than it is usually given credit for.

[edit] Production staff

Owned and distributed by: Sandy Frank Entertainment (1978-2007, license expired)

Produced by: Sandy Frank Film Syndication, Gallerie International Films, Ltd.

Executive Producers: Jameson Brewer, Sandy Frank

Associate Producer: Warner E. Leighton

Producer-Directors: David E. Hanson, Alan Dinehart

Writers: Jameson Brewer, Peter B. Germano, William Bloom, Jack Paritz, Harry Winkler, Helen Sosin, Muriel Germano, Richard Shaw, Kevin Coates, Howard Post, Sid Morse

Supervising Film Editor: Franklin Cofod

Assistant Editor: Pam Bentkowski

Voice Director: Alan Dinehart

Assistant Voice Director: Alan Dinehart, Jr.

Creative Consultant: David Levy

Standards and Practices: Winifred Treimer

Program Consultants: Leonard Reeg, George Serban, M.D.

Production Executives: Irving Klein, Tom Swafford

Production Assistant: Bob Robinson

Production Manager: Emil Carle

Animation Supervisor: Harold Johns

Design Consultant: Alex Toth

Music Composers: Hoyt S. Curtin, Dennis Dreith, Richard Greene

Music Supervisors: Paul DeKorte, Igo Kantor

ADR Recording: TV-R Hollywood

Camera: Take One

Ink and Paint: C&D Productions Hollywood

Titles: Thomas Wogatzke

[edit] Voice cast

Mark: Casey Kasem

Jason: Unknown ("Attack Of The Space Terrapin"), Ronnie Schell (all other episodes)

Princess/Susan/Mala: Janet Waldo

Keyop/7-Zark-7: Alan Young

Tiny: Ronnie Schell ("Attack Of The Space Terrapin"), Alan Dinehart (all other episodes)

Chief Anderson/President Kane: Alan Dinehart

Zoltar/The Great Spirit/Colonel Cronus: Keye Luke

Announcer: William Woodson

Misc.: Alan Oppenheimer, David Joliffe, Wendy Young, Takayo Fischer

[edit] Episodes list

Battle of the Planets episodes are listed below in their intended viewing order. Since most BotP animation came from Gatchaman, the numbers in parentheses to the right are the comparable episode numbers. However, there are at least five known viewing orders for the adaptation, one being the original "Gatchaman" viewing order, with another as a "suggested" viewing order for the dub [2]

Episodes vary in similarity between the two shows; G-Force: Guardians of Space was a more faithful English translation, and ADV's DVD releases have the most accurate English of all.

[edit] Comic books

This section requires expansion.

Battle of the Planets was also released in comic book form, originally by Gold Key Comics, but later revamped by Top Cow Productions. Among the Top Cow comic books was Battle of the Planets: Princess, written by David Wohl with art by Wilson Tortosa, released in 2002.^[7]. A Battle of the Planets comic strip ran in TV Comic, a British comic book specializing in comic strips based on popular television programs. The TV Comic issues which feature the Battle of the Planets strip run from #1530 (17 April 1981) to #1671 (30 December 1983).

[3]

[edit] Characters

The re-naming of the various characters and terms in Gatchaman OVA are highlighted as follows (in correspondence to their Gatchaman equivalents, among others):

Gatchaman	Battle of the Planets	G-Force	Eagle Riders	OVA (Dub)	Rank	Bird Uniform	Weapon	Mecha	Japanese seiyū	Voice actor (BOTP)	Voice actor (G-Force)	Voice actor (OVA Dub)	Voice actor (Eagle Riders)	Voice actor (ADV Dub)
Ken Washio	Mark	Ace Goodheart	Hunter Harris	Ken the Eagle	G1	Eagle	Razor boomerang	Airplane	Katsuji Mori	Casey Kasem	Sam Fontana	Eddie Frierson	Richard Cansino	Leraldo Anzaldua
Joe Asakura	Jason	Dirk Daring	Joe Thax	Joe the Condor	G2	Condor	Pistol	Race Car	Isao Sasaki	Ronnie Schell	Cam Clarke	Richard Cansino	Bryan Cranston	Brian Jepson
Jun	Princess	Agatha June ("Aggie")	Kelly Jennar	June the Swan	G3	Swan	Yo-yo	Motorcycle	Kazuko Sugiyama	Janet Waldo	Barbara Goodson	Lara Cody	Heidi Noelle Lenhart	Kim Prause
Jinpei	Keyop	Pee Wee	Mickey Dugan	Jimmy the Falcon	G4	Swallow	Bolo	Dune Buggy	Yoku Shioya	Alan Young	Barbara Goodson	Mona Marshall		Luci Christian
Ryu Nakanishi	Tiny Harper	Hoot Owl ("Hooty")	Ollie Keeawani	Rocky the Owl	G5	Owl	Pistol	God Phoenix	Shingo Kanemoto	Alan Dinehart	Jan Rabson/Gregg Berger	Richard Epcar	Paul Schrier	Victor Carsrud

[edit] Other character variations across different versions

Gatchaman	Battle of the Planets	G-Force	Eagle Riders	OVA (Dub)
Dr. Kozaburo Nambu	Chief Anderson	Dr. Benjamin Brighthead	Dr. Thaddeus Keane	Dr. Kozaburo Nambu
ISO Director Anderson	President Kane	Anderson/Cmdr. Todd (some episodes)	Anderson	Director Anderson
Red Impulse / Kentaro Washio	Col. Cronos	Red Impulse	Harley Harris	Red Spectre
Berg Katse	Zoltar	Galactor	Lukan	Solaris
Sosai (Leader) X	O Luminous One / The Great Spirit	Computor	Cybercom	Lord Zortek
Galactor	Planet Spectra	Planet Galactor	Vorak	Galactor
Gel Sadra (Gatchaman 2)			Mallanox

[edit] Other notable changes

Gatchaman Identity change command	Battle of the Planets Identity change command	G-Force Identity change command	Eagle Riders change command	OVA change command (English)
Bird, Go!	Transmute!	G-force Transform!	Eagle Mode, NOW!	Ken Eagle One Transform Joe Shapeshift, Condor June Swan Mode, Now Jimmy Falcon Tracker Transform

[edit] In popular culture

• The third season episode of Robot Chicken, "Squaw Bury Shortcake" has a skit where the character 'Tiny' is convinced to lose his excess weight. This results in him becoming an even more efficient member of the team, much to the chagrin of his fellow male teammates.^[8]

• The show was voted #42 on Channel 4's 100 Greatest Kids' TV shows in 2001.^[9]
• The show was voted #62 on Channel 4's 100 Greatest Cartoons in 2004.^[10]

• Battle of the Planets receives an homage from the anime-inspired Teen Titans series. In one episode, Robin dons a "flight suit" resembling the Science Ninja team's bird-like uniforms after ejecting from his R-cycle.^[11]

• In the webcomic Sluggy Freelance, the main characters, Torg and Riff, accidentally teleport to a dimension filled with anime characters filled with parodies of the main characters from "Battle of the Planets" as well as "Voltron" and other anime of the same genre.

• According to Wizard magazine, Battle of the Planets is considered one of the 100 greatest animated shows.^[12]

• The mecha parody cartoon Megas XLR features a Gatchaman-like team in one episode, "Bad Guy". They reappear in the episode "S-Force SOS", which also features villains resembling Zoltar and Spectra henchmen.

• On The Simpsons December 14, 2003 couch gags - The couch is a street bench in Japan, and everyone is a famous anime or tokusatsu character: Homer is Ultraman, Marge is Princess from Battle of the Planets, Lisa is Usagi Tsukino, the protagonist from Sailor Moon, Bart is Astro Boy and Maggie is Pikachu from Pokémon. The episode was called "'Tis the Fifteenth Season".

• In 2009, IGN ranked Botp as the 44th greatest animated show of all time in their Top 100 list...^[13]

• The Perry Bible Fellowship strip entitled Guntron Alliance Force can be considered to be a parody of Battle of the Planets.

[edit] References

The band Man or Astro-man wrote a song called "evil plans of Planet Spectra"

[edit] Further reading

• G-Force: Animated (TwoMorrows Publishing: ISBN 9781893905184)[4]

[edit] External links

• Fairlight's Gatchaman Battle of the Planets FansiteScreenshots, chararcter bios, and downloads.
• Gatchaman - Home of the White Shadow
• Gatchaman Online and Gatchaman, BotP, & G-Force
• Battle of the Planets at the Internet Movie Database
• Battle of the Planets at TV.com

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