"Futurama" Space Pilot 3000 (1999)

Directors:

Rich Moore
Gregg Vanzo

Writers:

Matt Groening (creator)
Matt Groening (developer) ...

TV Series:

"Futurama" (1999)

Original Air Date:

28 March 1999 (Season 1, Episode 1)

Genre:

Animation | Comedy | Drama | Sci-Fi

Plot:

On New Year's Eve 1999, Pizza Delivery boy Philip J. Fry accidentally falls into a cryogenic chamber and is frozen for 1,000 years...

Plot Keywords:

Pizza Delivery | New Year's Eve | Cryogenics | Man From The Past | Nixon

Cast

Billy West	...	Philip J. Fry / Prof. Hubert J. Farnsworth / Smitty / President Richard Nixon's Head / Ipgee / Man with Newspaper / Additional Voices (voice)
Katey Sagal	...	Turanga Leela (voice)
John Di Maggio	...	Bender / URL / Mr. Panucci / Bike Thief / Additional Voices (voice) (as John DiMaggio)
Dick Clark	...	Himself (voice)
Leonard Nimoy	...	Himself (voice)
Tress MacNeille	...	Suicide Booth / Additional Voices (voice)
David Herman	...	Terry / Lou / Tube User / Additional Voices (voice) (as Dave Herman)
Kath Soucie	...	Michelle / Boy / Head Museum Feeder / Additional Voices (voice)

Runtime:

Argentina:30 min

Certification:

Argentina:Atp

Trivia:

Fry walks up to a tube that transports people. The person in front of him says, "Radio City Mutant Hall," and zips up in the tube. When the show first aired the person said, "JFK Jr. Airport," but it was changed after John Kennedy Jr. (a.k.a. JFK Jr.)'s death.

Goofs:

Continuity: Since New New York was built on top of Old New York, the building the cryogenic lab was in should have been underground as well.

Quotes:

[first lines]
Fry: [offscreen] Space. It seems to go on and on forever. But then you get to the end and a gorilla starts throwing barrels at you.

Movie Connections:

Featured in Futurama: Bender's Big Score (2007) (V)

It's hard to believe this was the pilot.

Yes, this is the one that kick-started the Futurama franchise. Looking back, now the show is halfway through it's fifth season, it is amazing how well it has aged. The characters are on-model, the voice acting is nearly spot on (the Professor's would later change) and most of all, the trademark Groening animation style and spoof-heavy humour are all in check.

Pilot episodes lay out the premise that forms the backbone of the show. Sometimes they suffer from a weak plot, trying too hard to throw the main characters together without giving you a feel for the world the show is set in. In "Space Pilot 3000" quite the opposite is true; great writing helps things flow naturally, setting up character quirks and catchphrases that become staple running gags of later episodes. In fact, Bender's first line is now his oft-used insult.

This outing is several notches above standard pilot fare, and stacks up to any other 'classic' episode of Futurama thus far. For those thinking about delving into the franchise, this tells you all you need to know. Great work!