Television series
Return to the Planet of the Apes
A Saturday-morning animated spin-off where three astronauts crash-land on a future Earth ruled by intelligent apes. It's colorful, pulpy sci-fi adventure with surprisingly sharp social commentary buried under the action and comedy. For anyone who loves Planet of the Apes but wants it faster, weirder, and willing to go places the films wouldn't.
Should you watch it?
Watch it if you love sci-fi that treats a familiar pulp premise as a chance to chew over power, prejudice and who gets to be the civilized one, and you don't mind a 1970s budget showing through.
Skip it if you want the film's sweep and polish; the modest sets and recycled chases can make these half-hour episodes feel stretched and stagey.
What it asks of you: Brisk and episodic, it asks for half an hour at a time and runs on talky scenes and familiar action rather than one slow-building arc.
Not sure? Find tonight's pick in a minute.
If you liked this
Planet of the Apes1968
The film that started it all—a masterpiece of sci-fi allegory with a twist ending that still lands. Charlton Heston is furious, the makeup is extraordinary, and it asks real questions about civilization and power.
But It moves methodically and the first act is slow. If you want breakneck pacing over ideas, this will test your patience.
Beneath the Planet of the Apes1970
Wilder and weirder than the first film. It goes underground, adds mutants, nuclear weapons, and gets genuinely disturbing. A sequel that swings for the fences instead of repeating itself.
But The tone is uneven and some plot threads feel half-baked. It's messier than the original and not always in a good way.
Escape from the Planet of the Apes1971
Three apes travel back to 1970s Los Angeles and the film becomes a paranoid thriller about prejudice and fear. It's tense, clever, and surprisingly moving despite the premise.
But The third film in a series; jumping in here means missing context. Also, the LA setting strips away some of the mythic scope.
Not sure tonight? Get a pick in a minute, starting from Return to the Planet of the Apes
The wildcard
Something you would not have found on your own.
Thundarr the Barbarian1980
Both are animated Saturday-morning shows about humans navigating worlds where the old order has collapsed and new powers rule. Both find adventure in displacement.
Post-apocalyptic animated adventure with the same Saturday-morning DNA but set on a destroyed Earth. It has the same colorful chaos and social-order-inverted premise, but in a completely different genre register.
But Sword-and-sorcery sci-fi is a specific flavor that not everyone craves. Some episodes are derivative.
More like this (8)
Battle for the Planet of the Apes1973
A war story that explores how revolutions harden into tyranny. Claude Akins is a terrifying human tyrant and the ape civil conflict feels genuinely consequential.
But The budget constraints show and some scenes feel stagey. It's the series winding down, which means lower energy than earlier entries.
Conquest of the Planet of the Apes1972
A prequel showing how apes rose to power through slavery and oppression. It's angry, explicitly political, and Caesar's journey from slave to revolutionary is genuinely powerful.
But Heavy-handed allegory about race and class. If you prefer subtlety, this will feel preachy.
Flash Gordon1980
Retro sci-fi adventure with the same campy energy, bright colors, and serial-adventure DNA. Sam J. Jones and Ming the Merciless, plus a soaring Queen soundtrack. Pure fun.
But It's deliberately hokey and the acting is broad. If you want grounded sci-fi, this is the opposite.
The Twilight Zone1959
Anthology series with the same DNA of sci-fi concepts meeting social commentary. Episodes like 'The Obsolete Man' and 'It's a Good Life' hit with real bite. Sixty-minute drama, not cartoon action.
But Black and white, slow-burn storytelling. It demands attention and doesn't reward skimming.
Land of the Lost1974
Live-action Saturday-morning adventure where a family falls into an alternate dimension. Dinosaurs, lizard men, and the same pulpy optimism. A genuine spiritual sibling to this show's energy.
But Very much a product of 1974. The effects are cheap and the dialogue can feel clunky now.
Space: 19991975
The moon explodes and humanity drifts through space meeting alien threats. Serious, visually striking, ambitious. Feels like the sci-fi series that wanted to be cinema.
But Uneven storytelling and some episodes misfire badly. Also, it takes itself so seriously that the failures stand out.
Fantastic Planet1973
Inverts the premise: humans as the oppressed species on an alien world. Asks similar questions about civilization and power through a radically different aesthetic.
French animated sci-fi about humans enslaved by giant blue aliens. Surreal, gorgeous, genuinely strange. A completely different approach to planet-based SF—intellectual and unsettling rather than action-packed.
But Very slow. The surrealism is opaque and some viewers find it pretentious. Not a fun adventure, more a fever dream.
Planet of the Apes2001
A radically different filmmaker and era approaching the same core premise—proving how much the execution of an idea matters more than the concept itself.
Tim Burton's remake is bizarre and visually stunning—a completely different beast from the original. It leans into the grotesque and the tragic without apology. A misfire in ambition, but never boring.
But It's malformed and the ending makes no sense. Burton's style overwhelms the story. Many fans hate it because it doesn't 'get' what the original was.
