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Power Records Podcast #05: Planet of the Apes!

The Power Records Podcast, Part of the Fire and Water Podcast NetworkThe fifth episode of THE POWER RECORDS PODCAST is now available! Just in time for the release of Dawn of the Planet of the Apes comes this double-sized episode! Host Rob Kelly is joined first by Two True Freaks co-founder (and all-around Apes fan) Scott Gardner for Power Records’ adaptation of “Planet of the Apes” and “Beneath The Planet of Apes”, then regular co-host Chris Franklin joins Rob for a look at “Escape From Planet of the Apes” and “Battle for the Planet of Apes.” This episode of THE POWER RECORDS PODCAST will make you Go Ape!

Find the fifth episode of THE POWER RECORDS PODCAST on iTunes. Each episode is released as part of THE FIRE AND WATER PODCAST feed. While you’re on iTunes, please drop us a review. Alternatively, you may download the podcast by right-clicking here, choosing “Save Target/Link As”, and selecting a location on your computer to save the file (63 MB).

Planet of the Apes Power Record

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5 Comments

  1. Downloading now, cannot wait to listen. The Power Records shows are always fun, but this one seems like it will be extra special, what with it essentially being a crossover of thew Fire & Water Podcast and Two True Freaks!

    Hopefully, this being such a crossover, the two sides will initially fight one another before deciding to team up.

  2. Rob always seems to come alive on these special episodes with guest hosts. I don’t know if it’s because of the content he’s discussing or the company with which he’s discussing it, but there is a vitality and joy in Rob’s voice that’s typically lacking in the regular episodes.

    I’ve never been much of a Planet of the Apes fan. I’ve seen the original movie and the awful Tim Burton version but none of the classic sequels or “Rise”. I did, however, read the first couple issues published by Boom! and liked them a lot. It’s no hyperbole to say this Power Records Podcast has given me a greater exposure to this franchise than any other media so far. The shows themselves are terrific fun. I like these more than the superhero shows covered in episodes #2-4, but not as much as the Man-Thing and Horror episode you started with last Halloween.

    Thanks for posting pages and scans to the Tumblr. That Romita picture of the assembled Power Records characters is incredible!

  3. Frank says:

    Given that both you guys are older than me, I was surprised to learn that ya’ll were comparatively late adopters. I became a fan thanks to UHF Apes marathons in the early ’80s, with occasional late night airings of the TV shows as repurposed movies on the local ABC affiliate. I never saw the cartoons, but I did have a leaky bean bag doll I got at a yard sale that appears to have been Dr. Zaius (based on Google image search.)

    Hated the POTA adaptation. The voice acting on Taylor is terrible, and specific actors are so associated for me with the voices of the apes that I can accept no substitutes. Kids may have loved the apes, but even as a kid, the tone was so important to my personal enjoyment that I think I’d have found this thin adaptation distasteful even then. Today, well aware of the lost mature themes and social commentary, I feel a low simmering anger while listening.

    I had a much easier time with Beneath, partly because I’ve always held the film in mild contempt. Its stupid, schlocky, simpleton retracing of POTA with added comic-booky elements made it ideal for adaptation. I’d much rather spend twenty minutes on a Power Record than suffer the entire film. Also, the lack of Taylor is a plus here. I much prefer Brent as voiced by Carson Kasem, younger brother of Casey and the Frank Stallone/Don Swayze/Joey Travolta of the family. Per the cover, some say the world will end in fire, some ice, some by an incense burner full of lethal strength patchouli.

    Chris… rectify.

    Escape was my favorite Ape movie as a kid, precisely because it was so accessible and whimsical in the first half of the movie. You got to spend a lot more time with the warm parental apes Zira and Cornelius, instead of cruel, tormented Taylor. Even as the worm began to turn, the look of the film was TV safe, until the final moments when you realize this game was being played for keeps. I was shocked and enthralled by the tonal shifts, which helps explain my tolerance for genre elasticity in pursuit of a more unique vision in other weird franchises. As screwy in the head as I am, I’m grateful to have had the opportunity to see rough “G” movies like this instead of the gooey soft pablum they force feed kids today. The Apes movies helped teach me to question authority and recognize the impulse toward subjugation and destruction in my fellow man. Kung Fu Panda teaches… tolerance… of enthusiastic buffoons… in case they prove critically useful at some point… I guess? As for the adaptation, it was about as good as one could expect in boiling down a flick into one comic. I liked the voices better here than the rest so far.

    I don’t think I’ve ever seen Battle from beginning to end. I always found it too boring to hold my attention. To be in perfect disagreement with Chris, this story never goes anywhere and has nothing interesting to say. As with Beneath, since I don’t care much about the movie, it made for an agreeable Power Record.

    The art was consistently okay, if uninspired and very of its time. I don’t see the Alfredo Alcala at all, and it would have to be seriously phoned-in for Ernie Chan. Nestor Redondo seems most likely, or maybe anonymous studio hands in the Philippines.

    I liked Rise well enough, but if the Tim Burton movie had anything over it, that would be the ape suits. I can’t invest emotionally in realistic CGI simians in the same way as human actors in suits. Excepting in the case of the Tim Burton movie, of course. Give me all the CGI apes over that.

    I’m inordinately, probably inappropriately fond of Howard the Duck. I recognize this admission casts suspicion over any other opinion expressed here.

    When the Power Records Podcast references “dropping” to mean “being released to the public,” I now recognize that nobody with any street credibility must say “dropped” anymore.

    Look, no offense, but you can just pitch this podcast into the garbage if it gets between me and Rob finding the Dr. Strange audio show. Do put everything in your life on hold until you can make that happen. I will congratulate your successful accomplishment, give a nod to your sacrifices, and then nitpick that too.

  4. Kyle Benning says:

    This was awesome! Finally got around to listening to this episode! Stupid new work firewall and the business of life have made me severely fall behind on my podcast listening! Happy to say that this episode was well worth the wait! Nice to have Scott on the show, I love all of his Two True Freaks podcasts (which I am also unfortunately very behind in listening to).

    That first adventure, man that is weird that they leave so many key parts out, including that epic line, “get your hands off me you damn dirty ape!” I mean that is the essential line of the entire franchise! Still a great adventure. Man I wish I had this one!

    “You know, back home the problem with most woman is they talk too much!” Hahahaha wow!!! I can’t believe they kept that line in there!

    “It’s a bad pun, but he’s gone bananas!” Jeesh it’s been a while since I’ve seen this one, forgot how dark that ending was. Why did they chose to adapt these for kids again?

    I agree with your reasoning on why they skipped Conquest, I guess they determined that was a step too far?

    Holy crap, a Flash Gordon movie adaption would have been so awesome!!! Oh man! I want that thing!

    These comic adaptions sound so awesome, man I got to try to track these down! Definitely a very abriged way to tell these stories. It’s been a while since I’ve seen some of these movies, but just from listening to the record alone, it seems like they would definitely fail to get the entire tale across. I’m sure the comic adds a lot more, but it still seems like they’re missing some of the keys. Another great episode of Power Records! I love these episodes, I hope that they get to be more frequent! I can’t wait for the next one!

    @Frank, Howard the Duck had some redeeming moments, the movie was pretty true to Howard himself, but it was everything else around Howard that was terrible. Yikes. Still an entertaining watch, I put it up there with the Dolph Lundgren Punisher movie and Dolph Lundgren Masters of the Universe movie for train wreck yet entertaining movies. Still fun and enjoying to watch, even if they’re all in all pretty bad.

  5. Kyle Benning says:

    PS BAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA Great credit scene from the Simpsons!!! I died laughing at that!

    Speaking of the Simpsons, did anyone else here pick up the Duff Man #1 special that came out a few months back? Holy crap that thing was hilarious. Seriously the funniest superhero comic parody I think I’ve ever read.

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