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Is Battle of the Planets coming back?

Battle of the Planets (1978–2003) — action · adventure · science-fiction on BBC One

The answer: Concluded September 23, 2003.
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Battle of the Planets poster
Genre
Action · Adventure · Science-Fiction
Network / streamer
BBC One
Premiered
September 18, 1978
Ended
September 23, 2003
Runtime
~30 min per episode
TVMaze rating
5.2 / 10
1season
85episodes
5.2/ 10

About Battle of the Planets

Battle of the Planets is an American adaptation of the Japanese anime series Science Ninja Team Gatchaman. 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 cast five young people as G-Force, consisting of Mark, Jason, Princess, Keyop, and Tiny. G-Force protects Earth from planet Spectra and other attacks from beyond space. The most prominent field commander of the Spectra forces was a villainous, masked individual known as Zoltar. Zoltar would receive his orders directly from a being he would refer to as "Luminous One". The Luminous One would appear as a ghost-like, disembodied, floating head. Who, or what this being actually was, is never explained in any detail throughout the series.

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. 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 "galacti-cycle", a futuristic motor cycle the Princess rode, was stored within the left wing capsule 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. 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. The fifth crew member, Tiny, was assigned to pilot the Phoenix rather than one of the detachable craft.

A 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. The Phoenix's primary weapon was a supply of rockets called "TBX missiles" in the series. 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 G-Force team themselves would use a combination of martial arts skill, ninja-like weapons, and their "cerebonic" powers to dispatch hordes of enemy soldiers and overcome other obstacles. Their bird-like costumes include wing-like capes that could fan out and function nearly identically to parachutes and/or wing suits, enabling the G-Force members to drift or glide down to safety from heights which would otherwise prove fatal.

The G-Force members stay in contact through a wrist-band communicator device which also serves as a way for them to change instantly into their G-Force uniforms or back into their civilian clothes. Other weapons seen displayed by various team members include: Mark's sonic boomerang, a bird-shaped boomerang with razor sharp wings; Jason's and Tiny's multi-purpose gadget guns, which can be outfitted with grappling hook and line, drill bits, etc.; and Keyop's and Princess's yo-yo bombs, which could be used as bolas, darts, and explosive devices. Other weapons include feathers with a sharpened steel quill that could be used as deadly throwing darts, and mini-grenades shaped like ball bearings with spike studs.

Battle of the Planets episode schedule

85 aired

Aired · 85

DateEp.Title
September 23, 2003 S1·E85 Conway Tape Tap
September 23, 2003 S1·E84 G-Force in the Future
September 23, 2003 S1·E83 Strike at Spectra
September 23, 2003 S1·E82 G-Force Defector
September 23, 2003 S1·E81 Rockets Out of Control
September 23, 2003 S1·E80 Vacation on Venus
September 23, 2003 S1·E79 Charioteers of Changu
September 23, 2003 S1·E78 Save the Space Colony
September 23, 2003 S1·E77 Invasion of the Space Center (2)
September 23, 2003 S1·E76 Invasion of the Space Center (1)
September 23, 2003 S1·E75 The Awesome Armadillo
September 23, 2003 S1·E74 Island of Fear
September 23, 2003 S1·E73 Tentacles from Space
September 23, 2003 S1·E72 Cupid Does It to Keyop
September 23, 2003 S1·E71 Super Space Spies
September 23, 2003 S1·E70 Spectra Space Spider
September 23, 2003 S1·E69 Mission to Inner Space
September 23, 2003 S1·E68 Panic of the Peacock
September 23, 2003 S1·E67 Defector of Spectra
September 23, 2003 S1·E66 The Duplicate King
September 23, 2003 S1·E65 The Awesome Ray Force
September 23, 2003 S1·E64 Peril of the Praying Mantis
September 23, 2003 S1·E63 Museum of Mystery
September 23, 2003 S1·E62 Space Safari
September 23, 2003 S1·E61 Invasion of the Locusts
September 23, 2003 S1·E60 The Alien Bigfoot
September 23, 2003 S1·E59 Rage of the Robotoids
September 23, 2003 S1·E58 Peril in the Pyramids
September 23, 2003 S1·E57 Silent City
September 23, 2003 S1·E56 Raid of the Space Octopus
Show 55 earlier episodes
September 23, 2003 S1·E55 The Great Brain Robbery
September 23, 2003 S1·E54 Zoltar Strikes Out
September 23, 2003 S1·E53 Decoys of Doom
September 23, 2003 S1·E52 Attack of the Alien Wasp
September 23, 2003 S1·E51 Giant Space Bat
September 23, 2003 S1·E50 Secret Island
September 23, 2003 S1·E49 Giant from Planet Zyr
September 23, 2003 S1·E48 Fastest Gun in the Galaxy
September 23, 2003 S1·E47 Mammoth Shark Menace
September 23, 2003 S1·E45 The Sky is Falling (2)
September 23, 2003 S1·E44 The Sky is Falling (1)
September 23, 2003 S1·E33 The Fierce Flowers (2)
September 23, 2003 S1·E32 The Fierce Flowers (1)
September 23, 2003 S1·E28 Curse of the Cuttlefish (2)
September 23, 2003 S1·E27 Curse of the Cuttlefish (1)
August 13, 1979 S1·E46 Raid on the Red Scorpion
July 23, 1979 S1·E43 Peaks of Planet Odin
July 16, 1979 S1·E42 Keyop Does It All
July 9, 1979 S1·E41 Raid on a Nearby Planet
July 2, 1979 S1·E40 The Capture of the Galaxy Code
June 25, 1979 S1·E39 Giant Gila Monster
June 18, 1979 S1·E38 Seals of Sytron
June 11, 1979 S1·E37 Raid on Riga
June 4, 1979 S1·E36 Victims of the Hawk
May 28, 1979 S1·E35 Prisoners in Space
May 21, 1979 S1·E34 The Space Rock Concert
April 30, 1979 S1·E31 Orion, Wonderdog of Space
April 23, 1979 S1·E30 Siege of the Squids
April 16, 1979 S1·E29 Demons of the Desert
March 26, 1979 S1·E26 The Galaxy Girls
March 19, 1979 S1·E25 The Ghostly Grasshopper
March 12, 1979 S1·E24 Race Against Disaster
March 5, 1979 S1·E23 The Bat-Ray Bombers
February 26, 1979 S1·E22 The Fiery Lava Giant
February 19, 1979 S1·E21 The Musical Mummy
February 12, 1979 S1·E20 Magnetic Attraction
February 5, 1979 S1·E19 The Sea Dragon
January 29, 1979 S1·E18 Mad New Ruler of Spectra
January 22, 1979 S1·E17 A Whale Joins G-Force
January 15, 1979 S1·E16 The Alien Beetles
January 8, 1979 S1·E15 Microfilm Mystery
December 18, 1978 S1·E14 The Thing with 1000 Eyes
December 11, 1978 S1·E13 Perilous Pleasure Cruise
December 4, 1978 S1·E12 Beast with a Sweet Tooth
November 27, 1978 S1·E11 Space Rocket Escort
November 20, 1978 S1·E10 A Swarm of Robot Ants
November 13, 1978 S1·E9 The Jupiter Moon Menace
November 6, 1978 S1·E8 Fearful Sea Anemone
October 30, 1978 S1·E7 Ace from Outer Space
October 23, 1978 S1·E6 Big Robot Gold Grab
October 16, 1978 S1·E5 Ghost Ship of Planet Mir
October 9, 1978 S1·E4 The Space Serpent
October 2, 1978 S1·E3 The Space Mummy
September 25, 1978 S1·E2 Rescue of the Astronauts
September 18, 1978 S1·E1 Attack of the Space Terrapin

Battle of the Planets cast