7.1/10355 votes#1 - Escape from Tomorrow
Season 1 Episode 1 - Aired 9/13/1974
Astronauts Alan Virdon and Peter Burke crash land on a strange planet. After being rescued by a friendly human, Virdon and Burke discover this planet is ruled by intelligent apes. To their horror, they discover that they are back on Earth in the year 3085.
Director: Don Weis
Writer: Art Wallace
7.0/10303 votes#2 - The Gladiators
Season 1 Episode 2 - Aired 9/20/1974
Burke, Virdon and Galen come across two humans fighting and get involved, but lose the magnetic disc. To recover it, they must approach the nearby village, where the ape prefect pits humans in a series of gladiatorial games.
Director: N/A
Writer: Art Wallace
7.5/10299 votes#3 - The Trap
Season 1 Episode 3 - Aired 9/27/1974
In a ruined city, Burke and Urko are trapped underground and must reluctantly work together to escape, while Alan and Galen must deal with Urko's gorilla patrol in the streets above.
Director: N/A
Writer: Edward J. Lakso
7.3/10269 votes#4 - The Good Seeds
Season 1 Episode 4 - Aired 10/4/1974
Burke and Virdon have to seek the help of a gorilla farmer and his family when Galen falls sick.
Director: Don Weis
Writer: N/A
7.0/10267 votes#5 - The Legacy
Season 1 Episode 5 - Aired 10/11/1974
Burke and Virdon are helped by a young woman and a young boy while searching for an underground computer in a ruined city, but their plans go awry when Alan is captured and Urko uses the boy to get information from the astronaut.
Director: Bernard McEveety
Writer: Robert Hamner
6.6/10250 votes#6 - Tomorrow's Tide
Season 1 Episode 6 - Aired 10/18/1974
An ape who runs a fishing business plans to use Virdon and Burke as slaves after he captures them.
Director: N/A
Writer: N/A
7.0/10245 votes#7 - The Surgeon
Season 1 Episode 7 - Aired 10/25/1974
Galen must use all his charm to try and persuade his ex-girlfriend, a female ape surgeon named Kira, to operate on Virdon using a forbidden human anatomy book, after the astronaut is shot.
Director: N/A
Writer: N/A
7.0/10248 votes#8 - The Deception
Season 1 Episode 8 - Aired 11/1/1974
When the guys try to track down the apes who are framing humans for crimes in a small community, Fauna, a blind female ape, falls in love with Burke while believing him to be a chimpanzee.
Director: N/A
Writer: Anthony Lawrence
6.9/10241 votes#9 - The Horse Race
Season 1 Episode 9 - Aired 11/8/1974
Virdon decides to take part in a dangerous horse race even though he runs the risk of being captured by Urko.
Director: Jack Starrett
Writer: Booker Bradshaw
7.0/10235 votes#10 - The Interrogation
Season 1 Episode 10 - Aired 11/15/1974
Burke undergoes a horrific interrogation after being captured whilst Virdon and Galen mount a rescue attempt.
Director: Alf Kjellin
Writer: N/A
6.9/10235 votes#11 - The Tyrant
Season 1 Episode 11 - Aired 11/22/1974
Aboro, a despot, is making community life a misery; Burke, Virdon, and Galen decide to rob him of his powers.
Director: Ralph Senensky
Writer: N/A
7.0/10232 votes#12 - The Cure
Season 1 Episode 12 - Aired 11/29/1974
Thanks to their advanced medical knowledge, Burke and Virdon are able to help a village struck with malaria, but risk discovery.
Director: Bernard McEveety
Writer: Edward J. Lakso
7.0/10234 votes#13 - The Liberator
Season 1 Episode 13 - Aired 12/6/1974
Burke and Virdon are captured by a bunch of humans determined to hand them over to the Apes.
Director: N/A
Writer: N/A
7.1/10237 votes#14 - Up Above the World So High
Season 1 Episode 14 - Aired 12/20/1974
Burke and Virdon join forces with Leuric, a human attempting to fly by building himself a hang glider.
Director: John Meredyth Lucas
Writer: Shimon Wincelberg
The Best Episodes of Planet of the Apes Season 1
Every episode of Planet of the Apes Season 1 ranked from best to worst. Discover the Best Episodes of Planet of the Apes Season 1!
Two astronauts and a sympathetic chimp friend are fugitives in a future Earth dominated by a civilization of humanoid apes.
Based on the 1968 Planet...
Genres:Sci-Fi & FantasyAction & AdventureDrama
Network:CBS
Season 1 Ratings Summary
"Escape from Tomorrow" is the best rated episode of "Planet of the Apes" season 1. It scored 7.1/10 based on 355 votes. Directed by Don Weis and written by Art Wallace, it aired on 9/13/1974. This episode is rated 0.1 points higher than the second-best, "The Gladiators".