Return to the Planet of the Apes "Trail to the Unknown" #1.7 (1975) (TV)

A new friend, 18 June 2008

In "Trail to the Unknown", it's finally time for Bill, Jeff, and Judy to move the humanoids to a more secure location. First by raft and then across the burning desert, the plan is to get as far away from Urko as possible. But along the way, our heroes run into an unexpected surprise - they meet another astronaut named Brent. With Brent's help, they manage to get the humanoids to safety and defeat Urko's latest attack.

While "Trail to the Unknown" has some nice moments, overall it's too inconsistent to rate much higher than a 6/10. Brent's introduction is the highlight. My reaction was similar in astonishment to that of Jeff and Bill. Another astronaut! - How cool is that? But the rest of the episode is pretty much by the numbers. Urko's attack feels uninspired and is there just to kill some time. It's not the full scale invasion he's been promising. The attack is probably there because the writers didn't know what else to do. Still, I'm looking forward to the rest of Return to the Planet of the Apes.

6/10