The concept was simple. Bring together the best elements of the Apes films -- adventure, humor and thought-provoking dialogue, all built around a Through the Looking Glass reflection of contemporary society -- condense them into a weekly TV series, and it should be a hit.

Well, it didn't quite turn out that way. At least not at the time.

The characters were eminently likeable. Here we have astronauts Virdon and Burke, who are thrown 1100 years forward in time to 3085 A.D. to find evolved apes have become the dominant species and humans their apathetic slaves. Their plight turns the head of a promising young chimpanzee named Galen, who adopts the heretical idea that maybe humans aren't a lower species and can co-exist with apes as equals. As the three struggle to survive life on the run, a bond of friendship grows between them like an intricate tapestry woven right before our eyes, a multi-threaded miracle born of compassion, respect, and the desire to replace fear with understanding....

Okay, I'll stop effusing.

The whole point of the series, besides spoon-feeding its audience a morality lesson of the week, was to milk 'Ape-mania' for all it was worth. It rode in the wake of the fifth and final installment of films, “Battle for the Planet of the Apes”, which had been released a year before, in 1973, to less than exuberant acclaim, and unfortunately it managed to fall down in many of the same places. The main problem was that, like “Battle”, the series didn't add much of significance to the story already told. In fact, it tangled itself up with some confusing, if subtle, new twists. (See Continuity and the Ape Timeline.)

At its heart, of course, the idea of illuminating another time period in the Apes saga was brilliant. In 3085, humans can still speak and reason. Two stranded astronauts and an ape sympathiser who are at large and seen to be acting in fellowship can't go unnoticed. Their message of hope might easily be what the disaffected have been waiting for, just as those in power fear. It could lead to organized resistance. It might even change the apocalyptic face of the future.

These were the tantalizing signals the series gave us, anyway. But alas, it all too quickly became mired in predictability through an utter lack of background plot development. Watch the episodes out of order and you'll see what I mean: apart from the pilot, “Escape from Tomorrow”, nothing critical is advanced from one episode to the next. True, Prefect Barlow becomes something of a reluctant ally in “The Gladiators” and is later called on by the fugitives in “The Horse Race”. But overall the events in each stand on their own. Even the flight disk, symbolic of Virdon and Burke's world and acknowledged to be their only hope of getting home, is forgotten; last seen in “The Gladiators” (#1.2), no mention is made of it thereafter. Even when the opportunity presents itself three episodes later in “The Legacy”, all Zaius and Urko find when they turn Virdon's pockets out is a photo of his family.

Perhaps this untidiness can be attributed to screenwriting approaches in the sci-fi genre of that era, when, more often than not, recurring characters took part in 'the adventure of the week' with very little backward reference to previous episodes. They simply appeared and behaved as they were supposed to, but in an entirely new set of circumstances.

And so it came down to the same old question: ‘What difficult situation do the fugitives have to extricate themselves from this week?’

Let's see. Burke is captured twice by Ape authorities (“The Interrogation”, “The Trap”). Virdon is captured once (“The Legacy”) and shot once (“The Surgeon”). Both men are found out once while imprisoned (“The Gladiators”). Galen is captured once along with Burke (“The Tyrant”), injures his leg (“The Good Seeds”) and is stung by a scorpion (“The Horse Race”). Naturally all of this bad luck demands either a rescue or a remedy. Then there are harmful influences to deal with and strangers to save (“The Tyrant”, “Tomorrow's Tide”, “The Gladiators”, “Up Above the World So High”, “The Liberator” – the last never aired in the US; see Trivia). And while only Galen gets to fall in love – well, almost (“Up Above the World So High”) – each has their turn at being the object of some unwitting female's affection, requiring a noble disentanglement or a quiet exit (“The Cure”, “The Deception”, “The Good Seeds”).

Now don't get me wrong. The writing for the most part was good, the regular cast (below) was beyond reproach, the guest appearances included both established and up and coming names, the set designs, costumes, makeup -- all there. But it could have been so much more. Even as a child I saw the potential and began writing stories of my own.

Where the series did succeed was in wrapping my young mind around such complex issues as oppression and bigotry, the definition of humanity, and the future of mankind. And it did this because I cared so very much about the friendship between Virdon, Burke and Galen. Their banter was delightfully telling, and often amusing. Their loyalty to each other was the cement that held the show together. Sadly, however, that wasn't enough to give the series the mass appeal it needed to draw its desired audience (adults) away from 'Chico and the Man' and 'Sanford and Son'.

The pilot aired in the U.S. on Friday, September 13, 1974. Thirteen episodes later the sponsors withdrew, and the 'Planet of the Apes' TV series was cancelled.

The Fugitives

Roddy McDowall as "Galen"

Galen - The son of a prominent Central City councilmember and well-educated by ape standards, Galen is curious to a fault and seems to have friends and relatives just about everywhere. Despite the moral conflict his search for the truth causes him he accepts his outlaw status, and lends his flair for play-acting to the trio's flight from justice. He looks up to Virdon as an authority figure while sharing a more brotherly relationship with Burke. Galen was once engaged to be married.

James Naughton as "Burke"

Peter Burke - Major in the Air Force and ANSA astronaut, the second of a three-man crew to survive the crash-landing in earth's future. Burke is cynical of his and Virdon's chances of ever getting back to their own time and, having no family there, is less motivated to expend energy towards that goal, preferring the 'When in Rome' attitude. He's tight-lipped about his youth, admitting only that he's from Jersey City. Burke's wisecracks and rash temper can rub apes the wrong way, including Galen.

The Powers That Be

Councillor Zaius - Presiding over the High Council, his powers extend throughout the known provinces. Zaius is a crafty politician who insists on strict adherence to the letter of the law – his law. He knows the truth about mankind's past superiority and is convinced Virdon and Burke represent an infection that will topple ape society, but his desire to study them before they're killed puts him at odds with Urko. Not to be confused with Dr. Zaius from the Apes films, who lived some 870 years later and was played by a different actor – Maurice Evans.

Mark Lenard as "Urko"

General Urko - Supreme Commander of the military and one tough customer, though for a gorilla he can be surprisingly reasonable at times. Still, if Zaius is the brains behind ape government, Urko is the brawn. He thinks learning about the astronauts is a waste of time and takes an even dimmer view of Galen for being a traitor to his own kind. In spite of Zaius's wishes, Urko is hell-bent on capturing and executing the three on the spot. In "The Trap" it's learned Urko has a wife, Elta.