Gorillas skiing.

That’s what is the most memorable about the cartoon series. Gorillas skiing.

Now, the original Planet of the Apes was a literate movie that looked at our society through the eyes of a fictional ape civilization. Penned in large part by Rod Serling, it remains one of the greatest science fiction films ever made.

The cartoon series, however, was a cheap imitation.

Sure, it was better than some of the usual Saturday morning fare offered by the networks. It was fairly well written, many of the scripts were by Larry Spiegel. There was even an interesting twist in that the ape planet used jeeps, planes, and high powered rifles.

But Return to the Planet of the Apes was just missing something. Maybe it was that the movies were soooooo cool that a cartoon just couldn’t do it justice. Let’s face it, the best thing about the Planet of the Apes is that the make-up was simply awesome. Watching the characters barely move their lips just doesn’t cut it. The animation was stiff and unconvincing.

The series also crossed over the line of disbelief. We can buy into the fact that there’s an ape planet, but seeing people attacked by a giant snake or spider was more than we were willing to believe. Watching gorillas on skis was another ridiculous convention. Gorillas don’t ski. Yes, they can rule their own planet and create their own civilization, but they can’t ski. Skiing gorillas is just plain stupid.

The original movie turned into a series of five films. While production values waned towards the end, there was a level of quality assurance that followed the films. The live action television show had good production values as well as the solid performance of veteran Roddy McDowall. But, sad to say, the series ran its course. It was sort of like watching the diving horse at Atlantic City. It was cool for years, then it simply became a stupid attraction that everyone was bored with. The animated series was the last hooray for the damn dirty apes.

And so, we were left to watch badly animated gorillas skiing.

With the opening of the new film, hopefully we can finally erase those images.

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