Army of the Apes (Saru No Gundan)

In 1975 Planet of the Apes the TV series premiered on US TV and while it would not last very long, it has an army of lasting fans and it helped keep the Apes franchise fresh in people’s minds. On the other side of the Pacific, Apes Mania found a longer run in Saru No Gundan or Army of the Apes. This was a 26 Episode Japanese science fiction series based on the Planet of the Apes franchise.

The show was produced by Tsuburaya Productions and centered around a female scientist and two young children who have traveled through time. As we all know when you travel in time, there is a very good chance, as this show will demonstrate, you will arrive in a future ruled by apes. That is exactly what happens to this trio and in this crazy future, the three of them have adventures and all the while struggling to find a way to get back to the 20th century.

Now not many people in the USA would know about this show if not for television producer Sandy Frank. Frank edited together several episodes of the series into a movie called Time of the Apes. The film was then syndicated to broadcast and cable outlets and released on home video in mid-1988. After that release, the show would be featured on MST3K, not once but twice. The first time in 1989 when they were at KTMA and then later in 1991 for Season 3 on Comedy Central.

I have only had glimpses of the original series not edited by Frank and it looks interesting. As an “Apes” fan I would enjoy watching a subtitled version of it if it ever gets released here in the US. In the meantime, I will just sit back and enjoy the soothing music from the closing credits, Anywhere with Love sung by Toshiko Fujita.