Recollections
varied between the actors as to which days they actually recorded.
But it was generally remembered that they recorded on both
Tuesdays and Thursdays from about ten in the morning until four
in the afternoon, with a break at noon for lunch. Scattered weekend
sessions were done if needed. Ronnie Schell had distinct memories
of some Saturday sessions which may have been done to accommodate
one or more of the actors' schedules. Most of the actors were
present together for the sessions, but they rarely recorded more
than one character at a time. It was also rare that any of the
actors would be brought into the studio without most or all of
the others being present.
Without the new and
luxurious amenities that voice dubbing actors now have, the Battle
of the Planets crew had to read their lines while being timed
with stopwatches. When it came time to get down to work, Alan
Dinehart and Jameson Brewer would sit in the control booth and
direct the sessions keeping one eye on the script and the other
on the stopwatch.
As many as three
episodes at a time were worked on in a single session and it would
usually take one to two sessions to complete the workload. The
entire process of recording all eighty-five episodes of Battle
of the Planets took approximately three and a half months. The exact
starting and ending dates of the recording sessions are unknown but they lasted from approximately mid-October through early January.
It is also unknown if the pilots were recorded in a different
location, or locations, than the regular run of the series.
The cast was pretty
small and tight with one another. To a person, the actors and
production personnel remember a fun, lively and friendly atmosphere
surrounding the sessions. Ronnie Schell was particularly fascinated
with being able to spend time with other veteran actors like Keye
Luke and Alan Dinehart.
There were few guest
stars or outsiders brought in. This was partially due to budgetary
concerns, but also because the cast members were talented enough
that they could portray a wide range of voices amongst themselves.
Alan Dinehart and Jameson Brewer chose their actors wisely and
a lot of outside help just wasn't necessary. But the few known
people who did come in to do guest shots included William Woodson
(who also provided the series' opening narration voiceover), David
Jolliffe, Alan Oppenheimer, Wendy Young (Alan Young's daughter),
Takayo Fischer and Alan Dinehart, Jr.
Alan Dinehart, Jr., the son of series Voice Director Alan Dinehart, also worked on
the production side of the show acting as the Assistant Voice
Director. Among other minor tasks, his duties were to provide scripts to the actors and
make sure all the lines were accounted for during the recording.
After all the elements
were completed, the selected takes for the actor's lines would
be assembled and matched to the animation (which had been previously
edited from the viewing and scripting stages). Once the elements
were put together, along with any new sound effects that may have been needed, then the music score was edited into the show
and
finished prints were struck and distributed.
This stage of recording
new voices was the single most time-consuming part in the translation of the series. The actors
were employed constantly during the time of its production and
each remember that they recorded Battle of the Planets
straight through, with no hiatus or break that would normally
be associated with a series.
Special thanks
to actors Casey Kasem, Janet Waldo, Ronnie Schell and Alan Young,
head writer Jameson Brewer and assistant voice director Alan Dinehart, as well as Jimmy, Eve and June Valentine for their invaluable information and assistance.
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