Futurama/Space Pilot 3000

Space Pilot 3000
Season 1, Episode 1
Airdate	March 28, 1999
Production Number	1ACV01
Written by	Matt Groening, David X. Cohen
Directed by	Rich Moore, Gregg Vanzo
— N/A	1x02 → The Series Has Landed
Futurama — Season One

Space Pilot 3000 is the first episode of the first season of Futurama and centers on introducing us to the main cast, which consists of Philip J. Fry, Leela and Bender, and how they came to work at Planet Express. Fry is frozen on New Years Eve, 1999, and wakes up on New Years Eve, 2999, to find that the world has radically changed; everything except for his luck.

Guest Stars: Byrne Offutt (Ultility Player), Dick Clark (Himself), Leonard Nimoy (Himself)

Plot Overview

Series premiere with Philip J. Fry as a 20th-century pizza delivery boy in New York, 1999. After delivering a pizza to a prank call, he is cryogenically frozen in a capsule and is revived in the year 2999. He meets a one-eyed mutant named Leela and finds that he has a nephew named Prof. Hubert Farnsworth. After Fry refuses to be permanently assigned the career of delivery boy, he escapes and meets the bending robot Bender, a beer drinking, cigar smoking trouble maker. After Leela catches up to them in the underground city of Old New York, she decides not to plant the career chip into Fry after all, and removes her own...essentially making herself unemployed. With no where else to go, the three end up at Prof. Farnsworth's home and become the new crew for his delivery service, Planet Express.

Notes

Title Sequence Quote

• "In Color"

Trivia

The Show

• Malfunctioning technology was identified as an early theme for the show, personified in the now iconic unexpected slamming of the automatic doors.
• The career chips that played such an essential role in the premiere's plot were largely abandoned in the larger arc of Futurama.

Behind the Scenes

• The title for arcade game featured in the show's opening was debated for quite some time before Monkey Fracas Jr. was suggested by writer Ken Keeler.
• John Dimaggio originally used the voice of URL (the police robot) in his audition for Bender and the voice of Bender in his audition for the Professor.
• The Planet Express Ship, like all Groeningian characters, has a distinct overbite.
• Special Guest Voices include Leonard Nimoy and Dick Clark as themselves.
• This is the only episode for which Matt Groening receives a writing credit, and the first of only three that David X. Cohen for which receives credit.

Allusions and References

• Blinky the three eyed fish (from The Simpsons) can be seen as Fry travels throught the transport tube.
• Matt Groening's head can be seen in the Head Museum.
• Fry's outfit is based off James Dean's outfit in Rebel Without a Cause.

Alien Language Sightings

• A poster in the bar that Fry and Bender visit after meeting has a poster commanding you to 'Drink Slurm', with 'Drink' in Alien Language 1. A similar poster within the show displays the same message, only with 'Drink' in English. This is the original Rosetta Stone for a Futurama Language.
• Graffiti can be seen be on a wall as Fry and Bender enter the sewers. It reads: 'Venusians Go Home'.

Memorable Moments

• This episode features the first appearance of Richard Nixon and Leonard Nimoy (as heads), both subsequently having starring roles in later episodes (with bodies).
• Fry first meets Bender standing in line for what he thinks is a telephone booth, but is actually a Suicide Booth, which costs 25 cents. Although the people ahead of the queue go in, but never come out, Fry seems completely oblivious to this, although obviously this was not going to happen to Fry. As he tries to make a collect call, he and Bender are attacked with various knives and blades. Bender, being always cheap, thinks its a good idea to enter the booth together, "going for a two-fer", and uses a quarter tied to string so that he doesn't lose his money - despite the fact that he's attempting suicide.

Quotes

• Leela: You gotta do what you gotta do.
  
• Bender: Bite my shiny metal ass.
  
• Professor Farnsworth: Though I am already in my pajamas...