Battle of the Planets was the first English-language adaptation of Science Ninja Team Gatchaman, and debuted on TV on September 1, 1978. It is a loose adaptation of the source material, edited to better appeal to the sci-fi trend of the late 1970s (in the wake of Star Wars), as well as remove content deemed to be inappropriate for younger viewers.
This version was produced by Sandy Frank Entertainment, known for their dubs of Japanese kaiju films as well as producing “Name That Tune”.
Battle of the Planets cast five young people as G-Force, consisting of Mark, Jason, Princess, Keyop, and Tiny. G-Force protects Earth from the planet Spectra and other attacks from beyond space. The most prominent field commander of the Spectra forces was a villainous, masked individual known as Zoltar. Zoltar would receive his orders directly from a being he would refer to as the “Luminous One”. The Luminous One would appear as a ghost-like, disembodied, floating head. Who, or what this being actually was, is never explained in any detail throughout the series.
The main ship of the G-Force team was called the Phoenix, which could carry, transport and deploy four smaller vehicles, each operated by one team member. The four vehicles included a futuristic race car with various hidden weapons driven by Jason; this vehicle was concealed within the Phoenix’s nosecone. The “galacti-cycle”, a futuristic motor cycle Princess rode, was stored within the left wing capsule of the Phoenix. Keyop’s “Space Bubble”, an all-terrain, tank-like vehicle capable of VTOL as well as being a submersible craft, was held in the right storage capsule of the Phoenix. And lastly, a futuristic jet fighter Mark pilots was stored in the top rear section of the Phoenix command island structure, and which used its tail fin to make up the center tail fin of the Phoenix. The fifth crew member, Tiny, was assigned to pilot the Phoenix rather than one of the detachable craft.
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 a sort of giant, super blowtorch called the Fiery Phoenix. The Phoenix’s primary weapon was a supply of rockets called “TBX missiles” in the series. It also occasionally flaunted a powerful solar-powered energy blaster, although the team had the misfortune of choosing very cloudy days to use it.
The G-Force team themselves would use a combination of martial arts skill, ninja-like weapons, and their “cerebonic” powers to dispatch hordes of enemy soldiers and overcome other obstacles. Their bird-like costumes include wing-like capes that could fan out and function nearly identically to parachutes and/or wing suits, enabling the G-Force members to drift or glide down to safety from heights which would otherwise prove fatal.
Sandy Frank first acquired the Gatchaman license in 1977, and their license gave them international rights to the original series for thirty years, with various foreign-language dubs of their version airing in various countries. Upon the expiration of the license in early 2007, “Battle of the Planets” and “G-Force: Guardians of Space” (the second English adaptation of Gatchaman) reverted back to Tatsunoko Productions. As of 2014, Sentai Filmworks now holds the rights to “Battle of the Planets” along with its license of the Gatchaman series.
Genre: Action Adventure Comedy
Original release: 7 February 1990
Theme music composer: Christopher Stone
Country of origin: United States, Japan
No. of seasons: 1
No. of episodes: 8
Running time: 30 minutes
Production company: Gallerie Int.
Tatsunoko Production
Distributor: Sandy Frank.
Original run: September 12, 1978.
End: September 12, 1980
EPISODIC TITLES USA/JAPAN
"Attack of the Space Terrapin" ,
"Gatchaman Versus Turtle King"
"Siege of the Squids" ,
"Little Gatchamans"
"Decoys of Doom" ,
"The Snow Demon King, Blizzarder"
"Mad New Ruler of Spectra" ,
"Who is Leader X?"
"Peril of the Preying Mantis" ,
"Jumbo Shakora, the Ocean Devil King"
"Giant from Planet Zyr" ,
"Hell's Mecha-Buttha"
"The Thing with , Eyes" ,
"The Fearsome Jellyfish Lens"
"Fastest Gun in the Galaxy" ,
"The Evil White Sea"
"Panic of the Peacock" ,
"Come Back! Boomerang"
"Raid of the Space Octopus ,
"Mortal Blow! Gatchaman Fire"
"The Space Rock Concert ,
"Murder Music"
"Mammoth Shark Menace" ,
"The Daring Mini-Submarine"
"The Fiery Lava Giant" ,
"The Magma Giant, Emperor of Hell"
"Race Against Disaster" ,
"Galactor's Witch Racer"
"A Whale Joins G-Force" ,
"Revenge! The Whale Operation"
"Rescue of the Astronauts" ,
"The Monstrous Aircraft Carrier Appears"
"Big Robot Gold Grab" ,
"The Great Mini-Robot Operation"
"The Musical Mummy" ,
"The Neon Giant that Smiles in the Dark"
"Attack of the Alien Wasp" ,
"The Phantom Red Impulse"
"The Space Safari" ,
"Pursue Katse!"
"Raid on a Nearby Planet" ,
"The Camera Iron Beast, Shutterkiller"
"The Ghostly Grasshopper" ,
"Kamisoral, the Guillotine Iron Beast"
"Space Rocket Escort" ,
"The Mysterious Red Impulse"
"Museum of Mystery" ,
"Secret of the Birdstyles"
"Silent City" ,
"The Particle Iron Beast Micro-Saturn"
"Microfilm Mystery" ,
"The Indestructible Machine Mechanika"
"Mission to Inner Space" ,
"A Deadly Ring of Fire!"
"A Swarm of Robot Ants" ,
"The Great Underground Monster War"
"Cupid Does it to Keyop" ,
"Patogiller, the Triple Combined Iron Beast"
"Raid of the Red Scorpion" ,
"Gatchaman Burns with Rage"
"Spectra Space Spider" ,
"Smog Fiber, The Spiderweb Iron Beast!"
"Beast With a Sweet Tooth" ,
"The Gluttonous Monster Ibukron"
"Raid on Riga" ,
"Galactor's Challenge"
"Prisoners in Space" ,
"The Great Breakout Trick Operation"
"Capture of the Galaxy Code" ,
"The Devil's Airline"
"Orion, Wonder Dog of Space" ,
"Renzilla, the Electric Monster"
"Secret Island" ,
"The Secret of the Monster Mecha Factory"
"The Jupiter Moon Menace" ,
"The Devil from the Moon"
"Seals of Sytron" ,
"The Sea Lion Ninja Team in the Night Fog"
"Ghost Ship of Planet Mir" ,
"The Ghost Fleet From Hell"
"The Alien Bigfoot" ,
"The Invincible Leader X"
"Super Space Spies" ,
"Galactor's Monopoly Operation"
"Vacation on Venus" ,
"Storm Galactor's Headquarters!"
"Keyop Does it All" ,
"The Fearsome Mechadokuga"
"Demons of the Desert" ,
"Burn, Desert Fires"
"The Space Serpent" ,
"Revenge on the Iron Beast Mechadegon"
"Rockets Out of Control" ,
"Leona , the Spaceship With No Tomorrow"
"The Space Mummy" ,
"The Giant Mummy that Summons Storms"
"The Sea Dragon" ,
"The Firebird Versus The Fire-Breathing Dragon"
"Perilous Pleasure Cruise" ,
"The Fearsome Ice-Kander"
"G-Force in the Future" ,
"Gatchaman, Years Later"
"The Awesome Armadillo" ,
"Matangar, the Armored Iron Beast"
"Tentacles from Space" ,
"Iron Beast Snake "
"Ace from Outer Space" ,
"Galactor's Giant Airshow"
"Giant Space Bat" ,
"Science Ninja Team, Number G-"
"The Great Brain Robbery" ,
"Super Bem, the Synthetic Iron Beast"
"Giant Gila Monster" ,
"Gatchaman in the Valley of Death"
"The Duplicate King" ,
"The Successful Berg Katse"
"Curse of the Cuttlefish Part " ,
"The Grand Gezora Operation Part "
"Curse of the Cuttlefish Part " ,
"The Grand Gezora Operation Part "
"Peril in the Pyramids" ,
"The Cemetery in the Moonlight"
"Save the Space Colony" ,
"Counterattack! The Underground Torpedo Operation"
"Zoltar Strikes Out" ,
"Massacre of the Mecha Curve Ball"
"Magnetic Attraction",
"The Mecha Ball Runs Wild"
"Peaks of Planet Odin" ,
"Cata-Roller, the Revolving Beast"
"G-Force Defector" ,
"Grape Bomber, the Spherical Iron Beast"
"Invasion of the Locusts" ,
"Swarm! A Plague of Mini Iron Beasts"
"Victims of the Hawk" ,
"A Romance Destroyed By Evil"
"Island of Fear" ,
"Lay a Trap in the Crescent Base!"
"Strike at Spectra" ,
"The Wounded G-"
"The Galaxy Girls" ,
"The Plan to Assassinate Dr. Nambu"
"The Conway Tape Tap" ,
"The Sniper Group Heavy-Cobra"
"The Awesome Ray Force" ,
"The Bracelets Exposed"
"Fearful Sea Anemone" ,
"The Secret of the Crescent Coral Reef"
"The Alien Beetles" ,
"The Grand Insect Operation"
"Defector to Spectra" ,
"The Stolen Gatchaman Information"
"The Bat-Ray Bombers" ,
"The God Phoenix Reborn"
"Rage of the Robotoids" ,
"Death Girls Unite!"
"The Sky is Falling! Part " ,
"Red Impulse's Secret"
"The Sky is Falling! Part " ,
"Farewell Red Impulse"
"The Fierce Flowers Part " ,
"Jigokillers, the People-Eating Flowers Part "
"The Fierce Flowers Part " ,
"Jigokillers, the People-Eating Flowers Part "
"Charioteers of Changu" ,
"The Combined Ninjas, Giant Demon Man"
"Invasion of Space Center Part " ,
"Completion of the Plan to Destroy the Crescent Base"
"Invasion of Space Center Part " ,
"The End of the Crescent Base"
Ken Washio became "Mark".
Joe Asakura became "Jason".
Jun became "Princess".
Jinpei became "Keyop".
Ryu Nakanishi became
"Tiny Harper".
Dr. Kozaburo Nambu became
"Chief Anderson".
Berg Katse was renamed "Zoltar",
Red Impulse was renamed
"Colonel Cronus".
The Science Ninja Team was renamed
"G-Force"
