Five extraordinary orphans called G-Force fly their spacejet Phoenix to protect humanity from threats across the universe. Zoltar from the planet Spectra is the main evil villain. They are guided by robot 7-Zark-7 who flies around by flapping its cape in the underwater Center Neptune. There is also the robot dog 1-Rover-1 with a propeller tail and computer voice Susan. The five kids are Mark (Casey Kasem), Jason, Princess, Keyop, and Tiny. Mark flies a plane into the tail of Phoenix. Jason has a race car. Princess rides a motorcycle. Tiny has an all-terrain vehicle. Keyop stutters gibberish.This was adapted from the Japanese cartoon Gatchaman. There are so many bits that I remember from my childhood although most of it is in the introduction. The stories are a jumble of wild monster of the week. Most of them are long forgotten but there are some very memorable ones. I also remember the ping pong game which they often reuse. 7-Zark-7 and 1-Rover-1 are fun robots for little kids but those scenes are disconnected from the rest of the show. So much of these are great childhood memories and problematic adult watch. The episodes are disjointed and simplistic. One begins to understand how the show was cobbled together from the Japanese anime and robot additions. The memories are terribly sweet and the reality of watching this show as an adult is a recognition of interesting monster ideas.

I love "Battle of the Planets" (Also known as "G-Force) It was one of the coolest cartoons ever made, and it was way ahead of its time, which despite being made in the seventies, predates the aesthetic and themes from many action and superhero cartoons from the eighties and nineties.This show also had a cool cast of heroes and villains, which were also very cool and interesting, and made this series to work so well.I consider "Battle of the Planets" to be one of the most underrated animations from the seventies, totally deserving the title of cult classic despite all the "dated" elements that this series could have, at least from a modern perspective. Personally, I still like it a lot, and I consider "Battle of the Planets" to be a part of my childhood, like the original Transformers cartoon, Robotech and Saint Seiya.

i just read one users comments on the battle of the planets set and felt it was necessary to put up a differing opinion. the botp (gatchaman) series was wonderful. if you watch the original Japanese version and not the dumbed down americanized mess. all the dvds come with the original episodes hidden in the bonus materials section. please watch those (with sub titles of course) and if you ever hear casey kasem, you're watching the wrong ones. the originals are the way the series was meant to be viewed. action, blood, swearing, not sanitized for a younger viewing audience. do yourself a favour, buy or rent these, watch the right ones, and you will be pleased.

Battle of the Planets surely is the best cartoon series ever made. With it's hauntingly brilliant theme tune, terrific animation and superb story lines, this cartoon had it all. Originally taken from a 70's Japanese cartoon called Gatchaman, Battle of the Planets ran for an incredible 85 episodes. Who remembers these immortal words "Battle of the Planets, G-Force, 5 incredible young people with superpowers. And watching over them from Center Neptune, 7-Zark-7. Watching, warning against surprise attacks by alien galaxies from beyond space. G-Force, fearless young orphans, protecting Earth's entire galaxy, always by acting as one. Dedicated, inseparable, Invincible!" Great stuff. UK Sky Digital viewers check out the Bravo channel for regular repeats of this great show.