Battle of the Planets Volume One - The Memorable TV DVD Review

17 episodes on 3 discs of the late 1970's scifi anime classic; The G-Force team (Princess, Tiny, Keyop, Mark and Jason as well as their computerised boss 7-Zark-7) patrol the galaxies preventing an alien take over of Earth.

SO IS IT ANY GOOD?

Another of those shows that anyone of a certain age (early thirty somethings basically) is going to go "Oh wow, gotta have it".

Actually a Japanese series called Science Ninja Team Gatchaman the US producers decided to make the show a little more kid friendly taking out much of the violence, simplifying the story and adding the voice of Casey Kasem to the cast.

Each episode saw the team doing battle against the evil Zoltar ruler of the dying planet Spectra. Leader of the G-Force team was Mark (voiced by the legendary Casey Kasem) who had a sixth sense about Spectra but the team were pretty much just that - a team. It's definitely a nostalgia fest but one that is also guaranteed to hook a whole new generation of younger viewers (my nine year old nephew loved it).

ANY SPECIAL FEATURES?

Packed full of extras this 3 disc set from Madman features commentaries by the original cast, an interview with Casey Kasem as well as a bio for him, Character profiles, vehicles and weapons profiles, art galleries, vintage promos, alternative full length episodes and a chance to compare an episode of the original with its US counterpart.