"In the countless billions of galaxies in the universe lies a medium-sized star, and one of its satellites, a green and insignificant planet, is now dead."
... Paul Dehn (Beneath the Planet of the Apes)
I located and absorbed BrokenSea Audio Productions' Beneath the Planet of the Apes adaptation (see earlier, October post on the troupe's Planet of the Apes 1968 adaptation, as featured on YouTube's Retro Audio Theatre Channel). Alas, the final episode is absent, along with the above proclamation! (Some say the finale was available on The Sonic Society site, but if so, it doesn't live there anymore. God damn it all to hell!)
Nevertheless, the bulk of the saga can be enjoyed, and despite the missing part, it's still worth the indulgence. As with BrokenSea's Planet of the Apes, the standing, eleven episodes of Beneath the Planet of the Apes (holding an approximate, four-hour runtime) was (like the first adventure) penned by Michael Avallone and produced by Bill Hollweg (around 2009) and is based on Paul (Goldfinger) Dehn and Mort Abraham's original, film treatment. This audio version fills in the blaring gaps of the second chapter, in particular Cornelius and Zira's heresy trial, which many fans have pondered over for decades.
As with the initial stretch, Battle for the Planet of the Apes' Lawgiver inserts parable wraparounds, and there are also segments where Milo tinkers with the Icarus (the Liberty 1), matched by behind-the-scenes exchanges on the Forbidden Zone's human mutants and an Escape from the Planet of the Apes mini-chapter with Armando and young Milo/Caesar. As a further bonus, listeners are granted extra time with Taylor and Nova (far more than the movie would allow), even though the brunt of the sequel still falls on Brent. (Throughout the these proceedings, Leonard Rosenman's soundtrack is highlighted, buffered by Jerry Goldsmith's cues, along with a smidgeon of his Patton score, plus Lalo Schifrin's television theme.)
Though I was left in the dark regarding the cast for the Planet of the Apes dramatization, Beneath the Planet of the Apes does attribute actors to the characters, including producer Hollweg as Taylor; Colin Snow and Pete Lutz as Brent; Gwendolyn Jenson-Woodward as Brent's computer; Natasha Lathrop and Lyn Cullen as Zira; Gareth Preston as Dr. Zaius and Armando; Gary Cobbum as Dr. Otto Hasslein (via flashback and confronted by W. Ralph Walters as General George S. Patton); Paul Mannering and Lothar Tuppan as General Ursus; Jack Ward as Milo and Mutant Mendez (Keeper of the Alpha-Omega Bomb)l Shannon Hilche as Mutant Albinial Glen S. Scheetz as Lucius; and Mark Kalita as Cornelius, Milo, Milo/Caesar and the Lawgiver. All do an exceptional job, with most giving their special takes on the characters, though it's worth noting that Kalita impersonates Roddy McDowall to the tee (though I suppose some would say the same of David Watson, who replaced McDowall for the second feature.)
Both audio presentations are honorable homages that Apes fans should celebrate. Alas, in addition to BrokenSea having an evident, tough time getting the final, Beneath the Planet of the Apes episode completed and shared, the company never got to tackle the other sequels. This is a shame, since I can only imagine the greatness that would've been achieved if Escape/Conquest/Battle had been served the same meticulous care.
Nevertheless, what does exist of the company's work is more than worth the pursuit.
Beneath the Planet of the Apes resides at
https://brokensea.com/bpota/page/2/
... and Planet of the Apes at
and
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DIBsd32Virc
Listen, learn and above all, Go Ape!
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