We hope you will enjoy this encore performance of "Planet 8 Goes Ape!" from August 22, 2019. Your Planet 8 crew is currently on hiatus. Unfortunately our dear Commander Larry and his family were victims of a house fire, and while everyone is alive, the damages to the house were severe. Larry and family are focusing on recovering from the fire and getting their lives back in order. Once he feels he has the space to record again, we'll put together a brand new episode. Right now, the podcast is not the top priority. Please keep him in your thoughts. If you are so inclined, you can donate to help Larry and his family recover here: https://gofund.me/e6bcc768

Welcome to a special episode here on Planet 8! This is one we've been wanting to do for a long time, and with the help of our special guest, the incomparable Lord Blood-Rah, we finally explore the 1968 classic, Planet of the Apes.

This is is one of our all-time favorite genre films. Planet of the Apes, or POTA as we like to refer to it, was a milestone in cinematic history. A serious, allegorical science fiction film that was only made possible through John Chambers' ground-breaking make-up techniques, POTA blew audiences away, especially with its shocking twist ending.

We focus on the first film only (we plan to devote later episodes to the sequels), discussing  every aspect - the amazing make-up, including the early make-up tests; the script and the many changes it went through in the hands of Rod Serling, Michael Wilson, and others; the brilliant Jerry Goldsmith score; and the memorable scenes and dialog.

The crew plus Lord Blood-Rah also take a look at each of the main characters and their complexities. Taylor, Zira, Cornelius, and of course, Dr. Zaius, all have their own agendas and the actors who portrayed them -Charlton Heston, Kim Hunter, Roddy McDowall, and Maurice Evans -did an incredible job.

We might also dip into some other areas of POTA, like the TV show or the cartoon, the comics and novels, but just briefly. And we have questions! Like - who made the scarecrows in the Forbidden Zone? What happened to the Moon? What did Zaius know, and when did he know it? We're getting deep into apedom here people! Even so, POTA seems like an inexhaustible subject, and we'll be back at it soon with another episode.

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