

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 Phoenix 's primary weapon was a supply of rockets called "TBX missiles" in the series. The fifth crew member, Tiny, was assigned to pilot the Phoenix rather than one of the detachable craft.Ī 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. 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. 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. The "galacti-cycle", a futuristic motorcycle Princess rode, was stored within the left-wing capsule of the Phoenix. 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 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. Who, or what, this being actually was, is never explained in any detail throughout the series. The Luminous One would appear as a ghost-like, disembodied, floating head. Zoltar would receive his orders directly from a being he would refer to as the " Luminous One". The most prominent field commander of the Spectra forces was a villainous, masked individual known as Zoltar. G-Force protects Earth from the planet Spectra and other attacks from beyond space. Of the 105 original Gatchaman episodes, 85 were used in the Battle of the Planets adaptation produced by Sandy Frank Entertainment in 1978.īattle of the Planets cast five young people as G-Force, consisting of Mark, Jason, Princess, Keyop, and Tiny. Frank authorized new footage and hired writers to add dialogue to fit the look of the animation, without reference to original scripts.
Zgallery zcommander series#
Battle of the Planets is the title of American adaptation of this series created by Frank. after he saw the success of Star Wars in May 1977. Frank committed to release the series in the U.S. It was here Frank first encountered the Japanese animation Gatchaman from producer Tatsunoko Production run by the Yoshida brothers. In April 1977 Sandy Frank attended the MIP-TV conference in Cannes. 10.2 Character variations across different versions.10.1 Team variations in different versions.As of 2018, the series has been made available for streaming on Hidive. However, a live-action Gatchaman feature film was released in Japan in August 2013. An oft-delayed CGI film based on the franchise, Gatchaman, last slated for a 2011 release from Warner Bros., was officially canceled in June 2011.


As of June 2013, Sentai Filmworks have licensed the Gatchaman franchise. It was the most successful anime series in the United States during the 1970s, airing on 100 network affiliates during after-school hours by 1979.

The adaptation was generally faithful to the plot and character development of the original Gatchaman series, but significant additions and reductions were made in order to increase appeal to the North American television market of the late 1970s, as well as avoid controversy from parents these included the removal of elements of graphic violence and profanity. Of the 105 original Gatchaman episodes, 85 were used in the Battle of the Planets adaptation, produced by Sandy Frank Entertainment. Battle of the Planets is an American adaptation of the Japanese anime series Science Ninja Team Gatchaman (1972).
