Battle of the Planets is about a team of 5 teenagers with technologically enhanced powers who fight against the evil forces of Galactor. As well as the fun high tech vehicles and weapons, there is a dramatic tension between the characters as Mark and Jason vy for leadership of the group. Battle of the Planets was a staple of after-school TV for kids in the late 70's/early 80's. This famous sci-fi action series is actually a substantially rewritten version of the Japanese series Kagakuninjatai Gatchaman.
Battle of the Planets is significantly different from the original Gatchaman series. The robot 7-Zark-7 who monitors the G-Force team and narrates the episodes did not appear in the original Gatchaman! In Battle of the Planets the dialogue often mentions aliens and other planets whereas in Gatchaman all the action took place on Earth. Perhaps most surprisingly, the distinct voice and speech manner of Keeyop was invented for Battle of the Planets; he speaks normally in the other versions of the show.
The Battle of the Planets DVD's now available in North America are feature-filled. Each disc contains both the Battle of the Planets and Gatchaman versions of each episode. The Gatchaman version has English subtitles. So not only do you get the nostalgia of watching Battle of the Planets (with Casey Kasem as the voice of Mark!), but you can also view the original Japanese episodes. Each disc also features the "G-Force" version of one episode. "G-Force" is an edited version of Gatchaman that was dubbed into English, Spanish and Portugese in 1986.
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DVD - Battle of the Planets (TV 1978)
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| Character Name Concordance | ||
| Gatchaman | Battle of the Planets | G-Force |
| Ken | Mark | Ace |
| Joe | Jason | Dirk |
| Jun | Princess | Agatha |
| Junpei | Keeyop | Peewee |
| Ryu | Tiny | Woody |