"Space Pilot 3000" is the first episode of Futurama, the first of the first production season and the first of the first broadcast season. It aired on 28 March, 1999, on Fox. It guest-stars Leonard Nimoy and Dick Clark as themselves in jars. Philip J. Fry, a New York pizza delivery boy, winds up in a cryogenics lab and wakes up a thousand years later, where he meets a cyclops named Leela and a robot named Bender, who all apply for a job at Professor Hubert J. Farnsworth's Planet Express.

The Story

Fry being frozen

Act I: "Here's to another lousy millennium."

Pizza delivery boy Philip J. Fry hates his life; he has to deliver a pizza without pay, his girlfriend dumps him and begins dating a new man, and someone steals his bike, and it all happens on New Year's Eve of 2000. The pizza goes to someone named "I. C. Wiener" in a cryogenics lab, where Fry soon realises that it was a prank call. He sits down and drinks one of the beers, toasting to "another lousy millennium." The bell tolls midnight and he unenthusiastically blows a noise maker when it knocks back in his face, causing him to fall backwards into a cryogenics tube. The tube sets itself for a thousand years and Fry is frozen. As he lies in wait for the next thousand years, the city of New York changes—it is destroyed by a group of mysterious spaceships. It is rebuilt into primitive Medieval-era castles, only to be destroyed again by more ships. By the time Fry awakens, he sees that New York has become an extremely futuristic metropolis and immediately deduces that he is in the future. He realizes that he will never see his friends, family and girlfriend again...and he couldn't be any happier. The Opening Sequence rolls.

Act II: "Have a nice future!"

Fry is greeted by two workers at the lab—one of them gives an extremely melodramatic greeting ("Welcome to the world of tomorrow!"). He is escorted to the Fate Assignment Officer's Office where he meets Leela, a beautiful woman with a huge eye in the center of her face, who explains that it is 31 December, 2999.

A DNA scan reveals that he has only one living relative in this time period: his many times great nephew Professor Hubert J. Farnsworth. Fry begins looking forward to his life in the future until Leela assigns him a permanent career as a delivery boy. Fry refuses to be a delivery boy again, but Leela says that everyone—even herself—has to do a job whether they like it or not, coining the phrase, "You gotta do what you gotta do." She tries to implant a career chip that will label Fry a delivery boy forever, but Fry runs away. Leela ends up falling into one of the cryogenic tubes during the ensuing chase, which sets itself for 1000 years much like Fry's tube. Fry prepares to leave her frozen there but, out of the goodness of his heart, decides to reset the tube to defrost her in 5 minutes. Then he leaves the lab.

After witnessing the wonders of the city and how it has changed, he decides to call his descendant Farnsworth. He gets in line for what he thinks is a phone booth and meets a robot named Bender waiting in line. It turns out the phone booth is actually a Suicide Booth, and that Bender is eagerly awaiting his death. As they go in, the suicide booth asks for "quick and painless" or "slow and horrible". Fry asks to place a collect call, but the suicide booths takes it as "slow and horrible". Luckily, they both manage to avoid death by backing away from the weapons.

Having failed at suicide again, Bender invites Fry to get drunk with him at a bar. Fry finds out that Bender wants to kill himself because of his programming as a girder-bender for Suicide Booths. Fry convinces Bender to abandon his plans at suicide and the two become friends when Leela finds them.

Act III: "Welcome to the head museum."

Fry and Bender duck into the Head Museum to hide and are greeted by Leonard Nimoy's head. Leela, along with two police officers Smitty and URL, finds the group in the museum, where Fry accidentally bumps into the shelves, knocking Richard Nixon's head down and provoking him to attack. Smitty and URL begin to use excessive force on Fry, but Leela tries to convince them to stop. After the officers insult her appearance (she actually took offense to a statement about her nose instead of her eye), and Leela knocks them out, prompting Fry and Bender to run for it. Leela demands to know why the officers would beat Fry like that—they explain that it's their job, saying "[they] gotta do what [they] gotta do."

Fry and Bender lock themselves in the hall of criminals from Leela. Fry notices that there is a barred window and that Bender can bend the bars so they can escape, but Bender is unable to comply, saying he is only programmed to bend for construction. Walking across the room, he walks into an exposed wire, hitting it with his antenna and electrocuting him. This causes him to break free from his dependency on his programming, and Bender manages to bend the bars apart, reaching the epiphany of bending whatever, whenever, and whoever he pleases. They go deep underground to the ruins of Old New York, where Fry realizes that he has lost everything he left behind in the past. Leela once again catches up with them, but Fry decides to give in to his fate as a delivery boy. But instead of implanting the career chip, Leela sympathizes his loneliness, saying that her parents abandoned her as a baby, thus giving her an unclear perspective of her heritage. She removes her own chip, thus quitting her job, and thanks Fry for helping her realize the nonsensicality of the quote "You gotta do what you gotta do," much like he did for Bender.

Act IV: "We have you partially surrounded!"

Since all three have quit their jobs, Fry, Bender, and Leela realize that they are now fugitives of the law, so they hide at Planet Express where Fry's nephew Professor Farnsworth lives. After confirming his connection to Fry for himself, the Professor shows them his intergalactic spaceship. The building is then (partially) surrounded by the police, so they use the ship to escape. While they take off, the police open fire—but the bell tolls the year 3000, and the ship cannot be seen through the fireworks. Fry, Bender and Leela begin to ponder their lives as they are now unemployed until the Professor decides to hire them for an interplanetary delivery service he founded to fund his work. He even kept the career chips of his old crew as they had apparently been devoured by a Space Wasp (in actuality they had been stung to death by Space Bees). Fry is assigned to be a delivery boy...and he couldn't be happier.

Production

The Time Machine.[1] The time lapse effect while Fry is frozen was inspired by

The script for "Space Pilot 3000" went through several major changes during the writing sessions, and combined they had up to two hours worth of material.[2]

From early on, it was important to establish the new major change in Fry's life, that he had come to the future, before the opening sequence of the show.[3] But Fry's way to the Applied Cryogenics' tube and afterwards to Planet Express changed a lot during the script.[2]

In an early script, Fry was supposedly a watchman at Applied Cryogenics, and wasn't a delivery boy at all,[4] something which obviously became a major plot device in the final episode. After coming out of the tube, an early script had him being sold for organs to the professor at an auction,[5] or one where he was forced immediately to Ellis Island and the Statue of Liberty caught him.[6]

In the original airing, the man entering the tube system said "JFK, Jr. Airport",[7][8] but the line was dubbed over as "Radio City Mutant Hall" after John F. Kennedy, Jr.'s death in July of 1999, and since his death was in a plane crash and the line was about an airport, they felt it was too close to keep,[8] All subsequent airings since then have been replaced with "Radio City Mutant Hall".[8] However, on airings in the UK on channel Sky1, the man says "JFK, Jr. Airport", not "Radio City Mutant Hall".

The pilot episode was also used to establish the first alien language, by introducing a sign saying "Drink Slurm" in plain English, and one where "Drink" was written using AL1 glyphs.[9] Unfortunately, for the show's makers, fans had broken the entire language a few hours after its first airing, and also cracked the "Venusians go home" line later in the episode.[10] This led them to create the second alien language, which would first appear in much later episodes, which were intended to be a lot harder than AL1.[11] But even that was cracked, but only after a few months.[11]

When establishing a pilot episode, the writers decided to put in little secrets around the episode, that they would be able to pay off later.[3] Though, while they on the commentary say "secret" a lot, only Nibbler's shadow has been a thing they have paid off from the pilot episode, and it may be possible to question whether there actually was more.

The probulator scene was also supposed to be much longer,[7] with certain flashbacks to Fry's past being shown to the viewer before progressing into the story, but this was too long as was scrapped in the final version,[13] but several of these flashback stories of Fry's past later turned into a story arc.

Animation wise, the pilot episode was also hard, as the show required more 3D than the producers, writers and animators had been used to, particularly from The Simpsons. The opening sequence alone was directed by Mike Smith,[14] and there was original fear about the opening sequence being too fast compared to the other opening sequences of the day.[15] The theme music, as well as the rest of the music on Futurama was done by Christopher Tyng.[16]

Leela's nose had apparently become a heated argument between the animators and Matt Groening,[17] he wanted her nose to be of a larger than usual size for cartoon heroines, but the animators tried to draw it smaller because they felt it looked hideous.[17]

Reception

"Space Pilot 3000" aired on 28 March, 1999, 20:30 between The Simpsons and The X-Files. In a review by Patric Lee for Science Fiction Weekly, who had only seen the first episode at the time of publication, described Futurama as a clever upstart, but did not feel it was as funny as its predecessor, though, it was certainly worthy of further viewings.[18] Rob Owen for Pittsburgh Post-Gazette noted that the episode contained a similar skewed humor as The Simpsons, but felt it was not as funny and smart, however he attributed these issues to the fact that the pilot episode served for a lot of character introduction, and he felt that the show was "off to a good start".[19]

Andrew Billen of New Statesman considered the first episode unoriginal, but praised its humorous background jokes such as during the sequence when Fry is frozen, but also criticised its use of in-jokes, such as Matt Groening's head at the Head Museum. He remained somewhat enthusiastic about the show.[20] Joyce Millman from Salon Entertainment, on the other hand, praised the pilot's perception of American culture and the show's premise.[21]

Despite airing between The Simpsons and X-Files it was Fox's most viewed show that evening, and gained exceptional high numbers according to Nielsen Ratings with 11.2/17 in homes.[22] And was in fact the most viewed pilot episode on Fox when it aired.[23]

This episode was named #17 on IGN's list of top 25 Futurama episodes.

Additional Info

Trivia

Allusions

Click here to see cultural mentions made in this episode.

AKBAR sign.

Continuity

Goofs

David Duchovny is seen in the Head Museum, but Calculon claims to be him in "The Honking". Calculon may be lying or exaggerating somehow, being the dramatic robot he is. Or perhaps an acting unit named after Duchovny could have been built.

At the Cryogenic facility, right where Fry shouts "Pizza delivery for..." the desk is positioned almost parallel to the window, but when Fry sits down at the desk, it's positioned perpendicular to the window.

In the 2999 countdown, Bender pulls the arms off the chair he was sitting on. A moment later, an armchair is missing.

Leela wasn't wearing a ring prior to the hand-holding scene with Fry.

After Bender gives Leela her ring back she puts it on, but then a second later it's gone.

They misspelled "Barbara" Streisand. It's actually Barbra.

When Leela calls for backup, her wristlojackimator is on the wrong wrist.

Bender breaks two bars from the window when they are trapped in the cellar. In the next shot, he holds the bars, but they have re-appeared back in the window.

The crowds in Paris at the New Year's countdowns for New Years' 2000 and 3000 are identical.

It's dark outside in New York at midnight when Fry is frozen, but a long shot of the planet actually shows the eastern half of the United States as being in sunlight.

Fry wasn't frozen for exactly 1000 years, as he was frozen at 00:00:07, January 1st, 2000 but was un-frozen the December 31, 2999. This may be explained by the leap days/seconds/weeks/years. (See more here.)

When Fry and Bender are at the bar, the barman hands Bender a bottle of liquor. He takes a big swig of it, but the level in the bottle remains the same. However, the beer may have completed a loop in a suitable manner to be effected by inertia so as to remain in the can, save for a small dribble.

Also while at the bar, Bender claims to not need alcohol. This is contradicted by several later episodes where bending units are said to require alcohol to function. Bender is shown in "Hell is Other Robots" to have switched to all natural mineral oil in order to kick the alcohol habit and join the church. Thus it seems he does not need alcohol just something liquid to power his circuits. In those other instances since alcohol is readily available that may be why it is the first option suggested

The year 2000 or 3000 are not the start of the new century or millennium contrary to what "Space Pilot 3000" says. In the Gregorian Calendar, this distinction falls to the year 2001/3001, because the first century began with year AD 1 (there was no year zero), and the thousand years spanned to years 1-1001. Though, it is only Fry that specifically mentions it is a new millennium, which was commonly accepted among people that 1999/2000 was a change to a new millennium. One can suggest that the first millennium only contained 999 years and be done with it.

When Fry is queuing for the booth, he opens the piece of paper, showing the picture and writing. Just before he steps in to the booth, it changes color and goes blank, then in the next shot it's back as before.

The career chip storyline is almost wholly abandoned after this episode. After being introduced here, it is contradicted several times throughout the series through job changes, incompetence, examples of a free market economy and references to the Earthican dream. Supposedly, you are required to work the job you have the chip for and the assignment is permanent. It reappears in "The Cryonic Woman" and Into the Wild Green Yonder .

There is a bad framing error when Bender was carrying Farnsworth onto the ship.

During the Countdown at '9' when they showed Egypt, the people didn't seem to resemble Egyptians. After 1000 years, the people who live there might have changed.

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. Actually, no—the lab was on the 64th floor of the building, which is much farther up than the ceiling of Old New York suggests. The lab might be part of the city that survives at the same ground level to some degree. Another possible explanation is that the lab was simply rebuilt in New New York, and the cryogenics tubes were then moved to the second building.

Prof. Farnsworth's slippers change color and shape from one scene to the next.

The last set of buildings built before Fry wakes up look different than it does when Fry wakes up and looks out the window. It could be that those buildings were constructed shortly after the rise of New New York, and since then had been knocked down to create new buildings/public transport systems (you know, just like in real life).

Fry mentions Star Trek without getting arrested. However, when the door hits him, it cuts him off before he finishes the words.

without getting arrested. Because the world has different time zones, the whole world would not be counting down at the same time. The fact that the countdowns are shown at the same time does not necessarily mean that they are happening at the same time.

The results of the probulator claim that Fry has got one living relative, his nephew, the Professor, but in Bender's Game , Igner is the Professor's son, so Fry and Igner are relatives as well. Although no one seemed to know that and Mom wanted that fact to be kept secret, so it's likely Mom had erased that from the files well before Fry entered the year 2999.

, Igner is the Professor's son, so Fry and Igner are relatives as well. When Fry falls into the cryo-tube, multiple mistakes can be found. His whistle drops right next to the chair, but, when the scene cuts, it is gone. He quickly hits the ground, flips upside down, and finally stops once he hits the inside of the tube. If that had really happened, the beer in the can he's holding would have spilled all over him. Since time is moving quickly, the space ships destroying New York would be moving much faster.

On December 31, 2999 New York will have a Waxing Crescent Moon. At the end of the show there was a Full Moon with "3000" to celebrate the New Year. (However, when Fry gets frozen on December 31, 1999 there is a Waning Moon outside the window, which is the correct moon phase for what New York had on that date.)

During the countdown scene at the end of the episode (in the year 2999), France is shown, yet the inhabitants there use the English language instead of French. It is assumed that French in the future is a dead language; this idea is supported in a later episode where Professor Farnsworth invents a universal translator that can only translate into "an incomprehensible dead language". A dead language can mean a language that no longer changes, such as Latin.

In the intro, the Statue of Liberty holds a gun in her torch hand, but during the episode, she is holding part of the Tube Transport System.

Quotes

Fry: Space. It seems to go on forever. But then you get to the end and the gorilla starts throwin' barrels at you. Fry: Wait, is that blimp accurate?

Leela: Yep, it's December 31st, 2999.

Fry: My God, a million years! Leela: I'm sure this must be very upsetting for you.

Fry: Y'know, I guess it should be but, actually, I'm glad. I had nothing to live for in my old life. I was broke, I had a humiliating job and I was beginning to suspect my girlfriend might be cheating on me.

Leela: Well, at least here you'll be treated with dignity. Now strip naked and get on the probulator. Bender: Bite my shiny metal ass.

Fry: It doesn't look so shiny to me.

Bender: Shinier than yours, meatbag. [Fry has just been unfrozen.]

Fry: My God! It's the future. My parents, my co-workers, my girlfriend; I'll never see any of them again. Yahoo! Fry: What if I don't want to be a delivery boy?

Leela: Then you'll be fired...

Fry: Fine.

Leela: ... out of a cannon into the sun. Leonard Nimoy's head: Welcome to the Head Museum. I am Leonard Nimoy.

Fry: Spock? Hey, do the thing! [Fry does the thing.]

Leonard Nimoy's head: I don't do that anymore.

Alien Language Sightings

Time: 10:27

Location: Slurm advertisement in O'Zorgnax's Pub

Language: AL1

Translation: DRINK Time: 15:26

Location: Graffiti in alleyway

Language: AL1

Translation: VENUSIANS GO HOME (Image) Time: 19:11

Location: Aliens counting down to 3000

Language: ?

Translation: "6" and "7"

Appearances

As this is the first episode, every appearance is a debut appearance. (In alphabetic order)

Characters

Places

Episode Credits

See Also