| Return to the Planet of the Apes | |
| |
| Episode | Screaming Wings |
| Season | 1 |
| Production Number | DFE08 |
| Air Date | October 25, 1975 |
| Network | NBC |
| Director | Doug Wildey |
| Writer | Jack Kaplan and John Barrett |
| Continuity | Animated Series |
| Navigation | |
| Previous Episode: "River of Flames"
Next Episode: "Trail to the Unknown" | |
Synopsis[]
Larko flies an aeroplane
Bill, Jeff and Judy are heading for the human settlement across the plain between the mountain ranges when they spot what looks like humans far below. Bill calls to them, but Jeff quickly stops him - the figures are dummies. Suddenly, to their amazement, a World War II aeroplane flies toward the dummies. The pilot Larko a gorilla who drops a net on the dummies. Apparently, the army is testing the plane in preparation for war games. Bill figures that with the plane there will be no stopping Urko from capturing every human. They must try to steal it. Later at the ape plane hanger, Urko congratulates Dr. Lykos, the ape scientist who restored the flying machine, and wants the aircraft ready for an air demonstration for Dr. Zaius the following day. Zaius, fearing any technology from the past, wants Urko to destroy the plane. Zira and Cornelius receive an invitation at their lab for a demonstration of a new "secret weapon". They see a flash and realize it is Bill signaling them. They all meet in the clearing where Bill tells the apes of Urko's aircraft and their plans to steal it. Cornelius gives them directions to Urko's fortress. Reaching it, the three cause a diversion with some barrels that lets them slip past the guards and find the plane's hanger. They discover that, using the old plane as a blueprint, the apes are building an entire fleet. To make matters worse, humans are being herded as target practice for the next day's demonstration.
Back at the lab, Cornelius is concerned that Urko, with his hunger for power, might resort to using his airforce against apes to gain control of the government. Inside the hanger, Judy thinks that she could fly the plane away during the airshow as the plane might be very useful to the humans. The next day all of Ape City has turned out to see the demonstration. Jeff and Bill secretly pose as messengers bringing a good luck gift to Larko, the ape who is to fly in the airshow, and tie him up. As wagons of humans are trucked onto the field, Judy disguises herself as Larko and is escorted there as well. Larko, who has managed to free himself, tries to warn Urko by radio, but Jeff and Bill cut his radio wires. When Larko enters the field, Urko realises that someone else is flying. At that moment, Jeff and Bill send a locomotive crashing into the aircraft factory, destroying it. Dr. Lykos tells Urko that without the original plane, no further aerial research can be done.
Bill and Jeff manage to round all the humans into the truck and speed off with soldiers pursuing, while Judy drops the net meant for the humans on the apes and they crash. Zaius ends the disastrous demonstration by recommending an investigation into Urko's command abilities be conducted at once. Zaius, Zira and Cornelius later decide that 'Blue Eyes' must have been responsible for the day's events and Zaius warns them of the danger in aiding fugitives. Judy lands the plane in the desert and they wonder if it could ever help them get back home.[1]
Notes[]
- River of Flames, Screaming Wings and Trail to the Unknown were adapted as Return to the Planet of the Apes #3: Man, The Hunted Animal by 'William Arrow' (William Rostler), and published by Ballantine Books.
References[]
Video[]
| Return to the Planet of the Apes | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| "Flames of Doom" | "Escape from Ape City" | "The Unearthly Prophecy" | "Tunnel of Fear" | "Lagoon of Peril" | "Terror on Ice Mountain" | "River of Flames" |
| "Screaming Wings" | "Trail to the Unknown" | "Attack from the Clouds" | "Mission of Mercy" | "Invasion of the Underdwellers" | "Battle of the Titans" | Return to the Planet of the Apes |