Return to the Planet of the Apes "Terror on Ice Mountain" #1.12 (1975) (TV)

A lot of fuss over a book, 8 April 2008

The problem with the episode numbering gets a bit ridiculous with "Terror on Ice Mountain". IMDb lists it as Episode 12 when, in fact, it should be Episode 6.

Anyway, in this episode, Cornelius has found 2,000 year-old book written by humans about a trip to the zoo where apes are kept in cages. Fearing what would happen if Urko were to get wind of this discovery, Cornelius decides the best thing to do is hide the book. He goes to Jeff and Bill for help in building a hot air balloon to take the book to a mountain top hiding place. In route, Cornelius and Bill are blown off course and crash in the mountains. They are rescued by the wise mountain apes. Unfortunately, one of Urko's ski patrols has also spotted Cornelius and Bill and try to capture them. The mountain apes summon their god, a giant ape named Kygoor, to help Cornelius and Bill escape.

The plot description may sound interesting, but "Terror on Ice Mountain" isn't nearly as good as it should have been. The problem – padding. I would guess that half of the episode consists of poorly drawn scenes of a balloon flying, Cornelius and Bill walking through the snow, or gorillas skiing. The actual action (and I hesitate to use the word "action" when describing anything in Return to the Planet of the Apes) is limited to just a few minutes. The mountain apes are an interesting touch. Similar to Tibetan monks, they offer a new twist to the whole Planet of the Apes mythos. However, I'm not sure how Kygoor is supposed to fit into things. Ape history, as presented by Dr. Zaius, doesn't have room for a giant, primitive ape-god like Kygoor.

6/10