The BEST episodes written by Larry Spiegel
#1 - Escape from Ape City
Return to the Planet of the Apes - Season 1 - Episode 2
After nearly dying in an attack on the humanoid's caves by General Urko's gorilla army, Jeff is able to hide with Nova and escape capture. Bill is caught and herded into cages with the other captured humans for transport to Ape City. Realizing that Bill can speak, one of the humans motions for him to keep silent as Urko's Jeep comes to a halt near the cages. Bill's shock gives way to terror as he hears Urko comment to his aides that the group of humans will be used for the army's war games. Back in the city, Dr. Zaius promises Cornelius and Zira that they will be allowed to select six specimens for their study from the group of humans Urko is bringing back from the hunt, despite the general's protesting. Outside, the army returns to the cheers of all of Ape City. Meanwhile, Jeff persuades Nova to show him where Bill was taken. After seeing the catch of humans, Zira and Cornelius make their choice of specimens for laboratory study. Bill, whom Zira dubs "Blue Eyes", is among the humans selected. He overhears Zaius tell Urko that if ever humans obtain the power of speech, they must die as a race, so he remains silent for the time being. Zaius plans to send some of the humans to pet stores, some will become laborers, others will go to zoos. Urko, feeling that all humans are worthless, protests and reminds Zaius that someday, when the gorillas are in charge, things will be very different. At the lab, Bill scores highly on all tests much to Zira's delight. Zaius is skeptical, so Zira gives Bill a simple puzzle to assemble. Disturbed, Zaius leaves for a meeting with the Council. Knowing the secret of the planet's evolution, he fears the intelligence Blue Eyes is showing. Bill, growing impatient with keeping silent, verbally explodes in protest after Cornelius suggests doing a probe of Bill's brain to learn more about him. Zira and Cornelius are shocked. While Bill tries to explain who he is and where he came from, one of Urko's gorilla soldiers listens at the door. He q
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#2 - Tunnel of Fear
Return to the Planet of the Apes - Season 1 - Episode 4
Bill and Jeff know that the humanoids must be moved to a safer place for protection from Urko and his army. Their one hope is to ask Zira and Cornelius for help in finding a more secure location for themselves and the humans. They secretly hitch a ride into the city on an ape farmer's truck. Meanwhile, Urko reviews his plans for a blistering attack on the humans and orders his aides to search for Blue Eyes. In six days, they will strike. The general hopes to calm Zaius' anger over losing Blue Eyes by capturing all the humans. As night falls, the two men sneak into the city and cross the river in an abandoned boat. A gorilla patrol boat almost spots them, but they are able to reach the shore unseen. While soldiers sweep the area in search of them, the men proceed down a drain pipe into the heart of the city. Barely escaping a giant spider, they emerge from the pipe close to the lab. Inside, Zira is worried that Zaius suspects them of aiding Bill and the humans, but Cornelius argues that Zaius has no proof of their actions. Suddenly, Bill and Jeff come through the window. Bill thanks them for helping him escape earlier and asks Cornelius to help them find a safer place for the humans. Cornelius feels it is disloyal to his country to help, but after Bill points out that humans are no different than any other endangered species, Cornelius suggests a valley which lies to the south of his latest digging site. He has never seen it, but knows of its existence from an old map in the Simian National Library. He promises to make a copy of the map and take them to the general area. Suddenly, a knock is heard on the door. As the men hide, Dr. Zaius comes into the room. He asks Cornelius for a detailed report on Blue Eyes' behavior which may help in locating him and the humans. When Zaius leaves, Cornelius reluctantly agrees to proceed with their plans. The men spend the night in the lab. The next day, the group travels to one of Cornelius' digging sites ninety miles from the
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#3 - Trail to the Unknown
Return to the Planet of the Apes - Season 1 - Episode 9
Bill, Jeff and Judy begin building rafts to help the human tribe reach New Valley on the river and escape Urko's patrols. In Ape City, Dr. Zaius visits Cornelius and Zira in their lab to thank them for stealing Urko's plane. By doing so, he feels that they have saved simian society from Urko's dictatorship. They again assure him that they had nothing to do with the stolen plane, but Zaius insists that their secret is safe with him. He leaves them with the news that Urko has been given permission to attack the human caves to find Blue Eyes. Finally, the rafts are finished and Bill and the others begin the long journey towards New Valley, following the map given to them by Cornelius. The trip takes them through thick jungle growth and swarms of bats. Some of the humans get sick and want to turn back, but Bill decides that they have no choice but to press on. By nightfall, the jungle has given way to a desolate, desert area. Meanwhile, Urko is still enraged over the theft of his plane and orders it found. Since the plane was a military secret, he suspects someone on the inside to be responsible. Urko offers a reward for the thieves' capture and orders the attack on the humans to begin at dawn. Following their map, Bill, Jeff and Judy lead the humans from the rafts across the desert. Despite the terrible heat and wind, they press on. When the army arrives at the river, Urko realizes that the chopped trees mean the humans escaped by raft. Furious that his men are not prepared for water travel, Urko returns to the city for the Council's approval for a water maneuver. The next day, Bill and the others come upon an incredible sight: the wreck of a futuristic United States spaceship! A stranger appears and introduces himself as Ron Brent. He tells them that he has been marooned here since Nova was a little girl. He left Earth on August 6, 2109 from a launch pad in the Mojave Desert. Cape Kennedy had been turned into a museum sixty years before he was born. After crashi
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#4 - Attack from the Clouds
Return to the Planet of the Apes - Season 1 - Episode 10
During the night, Ape City is awakened by the sounds of huge flying objects overhead. It is a flying monster, but the apes cannot see it. The Ape Police ready themselves for an attack as Urko arrives. He believes that it is his stolen plane being used in a secret plot to have him overthrown. Zaius later tells the Senate that the flying object has been scared off and that Urko has been given one last chance to find Blue Eyes. In New Valley, Bill and Judy prepare to leave and return with the aircraft. As they watch over their herd of strange animals, the flying monster swoops down and carries one of the calves away, then disappears after entering a cave. Meanwhile, Urko is readying another attack on the humanoids. His aides assure him that the plane is being searched for. During the night, Bill and Judy spot an ape patrol searching for the P-40. The next day, they reach the aircraft exactly where they left it. Judy has trouble starting the engine just as the gorillas approach but is able to lift off at the last minute. Back at the human settlement, the monster has attacked again, causing a stampede. Nova is nearly trampled. The herd is chased into a cave, safe from the monster for the moment. Jeff plans to cut an opening in the hillside so that food can be taken to the herd. Bill and Judy have to risk flying over Ape City in order to conserve fuel. Urko spots the plane and is furious, but Zaius tells Zira and Cornelius that he is glad the aircraft is out of Urko's hands. Bill and Judy reach New Valley just in time to engage the monster in an air battle. After several perilous moments, the P-40 strikes the monster with its landing gear and the beast plummets into the lake below. Bill and Judy land safely, but the monster survived the fall.
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#5 - Mission of Mercy
Return to the Planet of the Apes - Season 1 - Episode 11
Bill, Jeff and Judy begin building rafts to help the human tribe reach New Valley on the river and escape Urko's patrols. In Ape City, Dr. Zaius visits Cornelius and Zira in their lab to thank them for stealing Urko's plane. By doing so, he feels that they have saved simian society from Urko's dictatorship. They again assure him that they had nothing to do with the stolen plane, but Zaius insists that their secret is safe with him. He leaves them with the news that Urko has been given permission to attack the human caves to find Blue Eyes. Finally, the rafts are finished and Bill and the others begin the long journey towards New Valley, following the map given to them by Cornelius. The trip takes them through thick jungle growth and swarms of bats. Some of the humans get sick and want to turn back, but Bill decides that they have no choice but to press on. By nightfall, the jungle has given way to a desolate, desert area. Meanwhile, Urko is still enraged over the theft of his plane and orders it found. Since the plane was a military secret, he suspects someone on the inside to be responsible. Urko offers a reward for the thieves' capture and orders the attack on the humans to begin at dawn. Following their map, Bill, Jeff and Judy lead the humans from the rafts across the desert. Despite the terrible heat and wind, they press on. When the army arrives at the river, Urko realizes that the chopped trees mean the humans escaped by raft. Furious that his men are not prepared for water travel, Urko returns to the city for the Council's approval for a water maneuver. The next day, Bill and the others come upon an incredible sight: the wreck of a futuristic United States spaceship! A stranger appears and introduces himself as Ron Brent. He tells them that he has been marooned here since Nova was a little girl. He left Earth on August 6, 2109 from a launch pad in the Mojave Desert. Cape Kennedy had been turned into a museum sixty years before he was born. After crashi
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#6 - Flames of Doom
Return to the Planet of the Apes - Season 1 - Episode 1
Astronaut Bill Hudson transmits to Earth from the NASA spacecraft Venturer. On board are crew members Jeff Allen and Judy Franklin. The ship's date is August 6, 1976. Bill explains that they are living proof of Dr. Stanton's "time thrust" theory. Due to the advanced speed of the Venturer, their Earth clock indicates that they have traveled over a century into the future. The craft begins to reel wildly as the Earth clock starts clicking up. The crew blacks out while the ship enters a planet's atmosphere and crashes into a desolate desert region. Meanwhile, General Urko, leader of the gorilla army, is debating before the Supreme Council of Ape City. He demands permission to begin an all-out assault on the humanoids. Cornelius, an animal psychologist, pleads for the council to allow the humanoids to live as subjects of scientific research. The Council decrees that the humans should not be exterminated since they have no language, but they will continue to be hunted, enslaved, domesticated and studied. According to the Book of Simian Prophecy, however, the humanoids must be destroyed if it is ever discovered that they can speak. Bill, Jeff and Judy have escaped their disabled, sinking ship and rafted to shore. Bill's watch reveals the date still to be August 6, but in the year 3979 A.D. With no better plan, they begin trekking across the wasteland. They encounter sudden electrical storms, high-velocity winds, tremors, unexplained flames and ruins. Judy pleads with Bill and Jeff to go on without her, but they refuse. Another mysterious wall of flames consumes their survival packs. After many days, they find green, living plants; water must be nearby. Suddenly, a quake swallows Judy. Frantic, the men move to higher ground in the hopes of spotting her and find a puzzling and frightening sight: ape faces carved into the mountainside. They find a group of primitive humans. They try to speak to them, but the primitives run away. Finally, Bill and Jeff collapse from exhaus
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