Battle of the Planets (1978–1980)
8/10
When will the full series be released on DVD?
16 December 2005
Warning: Spoilers
This has to be one of the best series ever released in North America! I used to love watching this series when I was in about Grade 3. It came out right on the heels of the original 'Star Wars' which I was addicted to, and this one hooked me.

The 5 G-Force members are supervised by Intergalactic Federation Security Chief Anderson, and directed by 7-Zark-7, a robot who inhabits an underwater defense center appropriately called 'Center Neptune'. Their ship, the Phoenix, is based here. They routinely find themselves up against invading forces from an alien world called Spectra, which wants to enslave Earth & other Federation planets. Spectra is ruled by a dark figure named Zoltar and his boss, the Great Spirit. These two are somewhat similar to the central villains in the first Star Wars trilogy - Darth Vader and Emperor Palpatine, although it is doubtful that either of these legendary movie villains would have tolerated the many failures that Zoltar endured. The Spectran leadership is constantly attacking various Earth resources that they plan to steal, as well as to force Earth into submission. This is usually done in the form of huge death machines in the shape of animals or birds ('Panic of the Peacock', 'Beast with a Sweet Tooth', 'Attack of the Alien Wasp'), but sometimes G-Force found themselves up against pirates ('Ace from Outer Space') or mercenaries ('A Swarm of Robot Ants') though Spectra was usually involved in some way.

The only annoying thing I can honestly say about the series was that G-Force constantly emerged victorious. Although on several occasions their ship was damaged ('Raid on Riga', 'Giant from Planet Zyr'), or in one case, completely destroyed ('Raid of the Space Octopus'), they consistently sent the Spectrans back in defeat. A little variety might have made the series more interesting though it's easy to understand why the writers made it this way. It was, after all, intended for the younger set.

This entire series needs to be released on DVD. It can't come soon enough!
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