AG Monday

This week: "Beneath the Planet of the Apes"

Planet Of The Apes was a classic. Beneath The Planet Of The Apes was supposed to be the sequel to end all ape sequels, just as World War I was supposed to be the war to end all wars. How did both of those efforts work out?

Beneath The Planet Of The Apes carried the deep distrust of human nature into another film. But now, with another astronaut (who looked a lot like the first astronaut), a first act that looked a lot like the first film, and then, it added psionic mutants and a sacred doomsday weapon. Were they enough to make a good sequel?

Return to Ape City! Voyages into the Forbidden Zone! An underground city that was once above ground! Near-identical men with beards fight to the death! Giant gorilla headpieces! The final confrontation between Taylor and Dr. Zaius! It’s all here.

Ancient Geeks is a podcast about two geeks of a certain age re-visiting their youth. We were there when things like science fiction, fantasy, Tolkien, Star Trek, Star Wars, D&D, Marvel and DC comics, Doctor Who, and many, many other threads of modern geek culture were still on the fringes of popular culture. We were geeks before it was chic!

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© 2026 Tom Grant and Steven Taylor

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Steven L. Taylor
About Steven L. Taylor
Steven L. Taylor is a Professor Emeritus of Political Science and former College of Arts and Sciences Dean. His main areas of expertise include parties, elections, and the institutional design of democracies. His most recent book is the co-authored A Different Democracy: American Government in a 31-Country Perspective. He earned his Ph.D. from the University of Texas and his BA from the University of California, Irvine. He has been blogging since 2003 (originally at the now defunct Poliblog). Follow Steven on Twitter and/or BlueSky.

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