3. BATTLE OF THE PLANETS (1978-1985)

OK, I realize that Battle Of The Planets is a dubbed and edited version of the original Japanese cartoon Kagaku Ninja Tai Gatchaman (Science Ninja Team Gatchaman) but that doesn’t mean the American series was any less awesome. Sure the R2-D2 style robot 7-Zark-7 was annoying and mainly used to cover up gaps left in editing for the American version but so what? These episodes are way closer in plot and character than most purists give them credit for and it was also one of the smartest shows on TV.

Battle Of The Planets was one of the first shows to really explore group dynamics and create separate personalities for the characters. Cartoons, even group themed cartoons, were usually one note before Battle Of The Planets. Usually the group always got along or their differences were minimal and things were kept light and airy.

Not so with Battle Of The Planets, in fact the vast differences between team leaders Mark and Jason were fraught with as much peril and tension as any live action drama. You also had the story of Princess and where she fit in being the only girl on the team, which brought feminism into cartoons before it was cool to. Keyop had to face his feelings of being smaller and maybe less of a threat than his team members as well as his interesting vocal tick. Only Tiny served mainly as comic relief but after all that drama you needed it.

There was also a truly evil Villain in Zoltar. Though the idea of Zoltar being both man and woman was edited out in the American version he/she was definitely an evil presence. So many bad guys at that point had been more slapstick or inept. You never felt the true weight of what a villain was trying to do but Zoltar changed a lot of that. Smartly written, well-animated and consistently exciting Battle Of The Planets raised the bar for what was possible in the world of cartoons.