The ApeCast

For some reason, 2001's Planet of the Apes inspired three separate printed adaptations—a novelization, a junior novelization, and a comic—and Jack and Geoff are here to cover 'em all! Will characters like Attar and Daena become fleshed-out characters within these adaptations? Will Thade and Limbo be the same species? Is there a soul inside Leo Davidson? Listen on, Ape Faithful!

Reunited in the ApeCast studios for the first time in a long time, Jack and Geoff finally tackle the sixth Apes movie—Tim Burton's 2001 POTA! Returning guest Sean Davis joins the two for a spirited discussion about the delightfully snarly Thade, the mostly-great production design and makeup work, the mostly-bad everything else, and the protagonistic void that is Leo Davidson. Is there a soul in th...

In a special bonus Ape-ril throwdown, Jack and Geoff are joined by Erin Clarke, Sam Stovold and new guest Lauren Petronaci for a discussion of the long-awaited Godzilla vs. Kong! In this Titan-sized episode, the five break down exactly what this final (?) Monsterverse entry gets right, luxuriate in the sheer spectacle of the titular bouts, and even find time for fast food talk! In this matchup, wh...

In this final episode before Tim Burton's Planet of the Apes, Jack & Geoff take a look at two fun-sized lesser-known comics from Dark Horse's early-00s Apes run: a short tale featured in Dark Horse Extra, and the Toys "R" Us Collector's comic! These stories—featuring Attar and Thade respectively—may not be substantial (or even essential), but there is fun to be had within their slim page counts. A...

Inching ever-closer to the Burton POTA remake, Jack and Geoff take a gander at Resistance, the second and final prequel novel—for the younger reader—written by John Whitman. With the plague behind them, Sarai and her daughter Danae find themselves enslaved and forced to build a grand new temple of Semos, under the villainous thumb of Colonel Thade and his cadre of murderous apes! Will Ari be able...

  With the Quick books behind them, Jack and Geoff move a few thousand years into Ashlar's future and encounter...Force! In this—the first of two short novels targeted towards the younger Apes fan—teen versions of beloved characters Ari and Attar find themselves contending with a mysterious plague and even more mysterious humans. Will Ari survive her Goosebumps-style encounter with ape mummies? Wi...

Jack and Geoff are joined again by Sam Stovold for a look at William T. Quick's second Tim Burton POTA prequel novel Colony! As gengineered super-chimp Semos sends his sons Thados and Zaius into unexplored territory, our human hosts marvel once again at Quick's delightful prose, elegant thematic tie-ins to the Apes franchise as a whole, the resonant characterization of Thados, and dinos riding din...

And now...the Burtonverse, as Jack and Geoff begin their exploration of the various books and comics tying into Tim Burton's 2001 POTA! First up: William T. Quick's 2002 novel The Fall, which details the fates of the movie's non-Wahlbergian spacefaring humans and their gengineered ape companions. Sam Stovold is along for the ride, and while the humans, apes and Brax may fall, our hosts' estimation...

The final four Power Records vinyl tales are in Jack and Geoff's sights, and once again guest Derek Buckley is along to share his thoughts and reminiscences! Although lacking comic book accompaniment, these stories do feature all-new adventures from everyone's favorite TV trinity of Pete, Alan and Galen (aka PAG). And they run the gamut of what POTA is all about: self-destructive zealotry from bot...

Jack and Geoff are joined by Derek Buckley for a look at the Power Records comic/vinyl versions of the original Apes' movies! These kid-friendly adaptations excise and/or reimagine a lot of the classic Apes moments we know and love, but possess a charm all their own. Also, the three discuss distinctive mutants, blue space booze's entry into the Star Wars universe, ragamuffins, and get into a littl...

For this year's bonus Chimpsmas Ape-isode, Jack and Geoff welcome back Erin Clarke, Sam Stovold and Kevin Young for a discussion of the little-remembered 1998 direct-to-VHS animated musical The Mighty Kong! Is this a forgotten gem in the King Kong oeuvre, or a bafflingly soulless, perfunctory attempt to re-frame the classic Kong narrative for the youth of the 90's? Either way, it makes for a festi...

It's a return to the POTA, as Jack and Geoff discuss Making Apes: The Artists Who Changed Film. This feel-good 2019 documentary explores the production of the original Apes movie, and the makeup artists whose seminal work still reverberates throughout the industry to this day. In their spirited discussion, the two also ponder Apes makeup that might have been, a certain Canadian Caper, the potentia...

Duped! That's how Jack and Geoff felt after watching Primal, the 2019 Nicolas Cage movie that does NOT—despite what the Japanese poster would have you believe—feature a rampaging gorilla. There's nary an ape in sight in this low-budget manhunt/animal panic/ocean suspense thriller, but it does have Cage (plus a familiar favorite for Lost-heads). And Erin Clarke is back for this bonus episode, to he...

TVember concludes with a look at The Apes of Wrath, the fourth episode of 2004 British cult classic Garth Marenghi's Darkplace! Barm and Sean Davis return for an in-depth exploration of this inspired homage to 80's horror/sci-fi weirdness. Come weave a dream along with us!

Jack and Geoff embark on a month-long exploration of POTA-inspired cult TV episodes as TVember begins! ApeCast theme song composer Amos Dunn is back for a look at awesomely bizarre Australian WWII 60's spy action comedy Danger 5. Nazi dinosaurs, creaming cocktail recipes, Afro-Cuban jazz-playing Apes...there's a lot to unpack here, and the three have a hell of time doing it!

Jack and Geoff embark on their final exploration of Marvel's POTA magazine with a look at one-shot story Evolution's Nightmare! In addition to this delightfully grim little send-off parable, the two discuss their favorite Marvel POTA stories and covers, Hoojibs, Japanese paper sizes, and the shittiest of all the Christmas songs!

The in-Zanity ends here, as Jack and Geoff bid farewell to time-traveler Derek Zane in Marvel's Beast on the POTA! There's also Robin Hood talk a-plenty, as the two discuss his happy-go-lucky ape incarnation, the sexy Disney fox that preceded him, and of course: Costner. They also ponder the origins of Chef Boyardee, delight in some ApeCast-level Doug Moench pun-work, and spend a surprising amount...

It had to happen eventually: Jack and Geoff take a look at Star Trek's most ape-like of aliens in their discussion of Original Series episode A Private Little War! ApeCast theme song composer Amos Dunn is along for the ride, as the three ponder the ape-tastic Mugato, classic Kirk, and Star Trek in general, while also discussing Amos' new EP Ei Sa Da! Be sure to check it out at your nearest reputab...

Jack and Geoff continue their look at the time-slipping adventures of Marvel's Derek Zane, as things take a turn for the medieval! As Zane finds himself in the court of an orangutanned King Arthur, our hosts touch upon twenty-minute sea voyages, find surprising similarities to the work of Sam Raimi, and spend more than a little time looking at maps! Don't miss the in-Zanity!

The Marvel POTA exploration continues as Jack and Geoff meet Derek Zane, the time-slipping protagonist of Kingdom on an Island of the Apes! Along the way, they discuss surprisingly perfunctory Apes setups, purple onions, and how NOT to prepare for an important meeting!

POTA author extraordinaire Andrew EC Gaska returns for a final look at Marvel's Future History Chronicles! As Alaric and co. move from sea to sky and down into cannibal corps-infested jungle, the three marvel at the endlessly fertile mind of Doug Moench, explore the comics' possible influence on the Star Wars comics to follow, and ponder whether the original Apes film maintains its impact when vie...

Jack and Geoff are joined by Kevin Young for a bonus ape-isode examination of Space Chimps! This heretofore-unknown 2008 animated "hit" has a solid voice cast and references things as diverse as 2001, Californian geography and the Macarena, but is it any good? Give a listen, chimp outside the bun and find out!

Seafaring adventure continues to abound as Jack & Geoff delve deeper into Marvel's Future History Chronicles! There's a Federation of united city-ships, the first-ever appearance of a bar in the POTA, and mutants like you've never seen! Amidst it all, our hosts also discuss Japanese donuts, appreciate cool-headed gorillas, and attempt to map the Triforces of power, courage and wisdom to classic PO...

Avast! Jack and Geoff set sail for the stranger tides of Marvel's Future History Chronicles, and discover a pirate's ransom worth of buried treasure! Among the massive roving city-ships, cutlass-wielding gorilla pirates, and orangutan-helmed bio-mechanical submarines, there is much to marvel at in this, the most bizarre and delightfully pulpy Apes adventure to be found this side of Davy Jones' loc...

For years, fans have wondered about what exactly went down in the period between Conquest of the Planet of the Apes and its Battle-ful sequel to account for the drastic changes in Apes society. But as it turns out, Marvel Comics bridged the gap back in 1976 with Quest for the POTA, and Jack & Geoff are here to explore it up! They discuss what this two-part story does and does not do to explain Bat...