The Series Has Landed

"The Series Has Landed" or "Episode Two: The Series Has Landed" is the second episode of Futurama and of the first season. It aired 4 April, 1999 on FOX. Planet Express gets an order to ship to the moon, the new crew's first mission. This episode also serves as a presentation for the remainder of the primary characters, Dr. Zoidberg, Amy Wong and Hermes Conrad.

Act I: "Here's your package, Mr. Horrible Gelatinous Blob."
Professor Farnsworth shows the new crew his new commercial, which he's paid to have aired during the Superbowl ("Not on the same channel, of course.") The Professor then attempts to make breakfast, but is attacked by a giant bird that hatches from one of the eggs he was going to use.

Act II: "Is there a human doctor around?"
Hermes opens Planet Express for the day, and brings in a package to be delivered to Luna Park. Professor Farnsworth chooses Leela to be the new captain, and Hermes has her sign a "standard" legal release - which includes death by airlock failure, death by brain parasites, and death by sonic diarrhoea. Fry goes to Dr. Zoidberg for a physical, and Bender gets cleaned. Amy Wong is introduced as the engineering intern, and Leela asks if she's of the Mars Wongs. Leela forces her to reveal that she is a member of the sorority Kappa Kappa Wong. Fry asks to do the countdown, but is barely at nine - when Leela says that they've arrived. Fry asks for cuts in the line, but is denied.

Act III: "They landed an amusement park on the moon!"
Everyone but Fry is bored in Luna Park. But, eventually, even he becomes frustrated with the fakeness of everything - so he derails their car from the "Lunar Lander" ride, and drives out into undeveloped moon. When there is an accident, Leela and Fry end up trapped on the moon and short of oxygen. Meanwhile, back inside the park, Bender and Amy are trying to recover the keys to the ship - which Amy accidentally dropped into the crate of claw-machine prizes they were delivering. Bender is caught trying to get the keys, and they assume he's cheating and eject him from the park.

Act IV: "Don't be a-touchin' my 3 beautiful robot daughters!"
Fry and Leela take refuge in the dome of a lunar redneck farmer. They're forced to do chores in exchange for oxygen and shelter. Fry and Leela are busy milking two Buggalos, when Bender is caught sleeping with the farmer's robot daughters. Fry, Leela, and Bender drive away in the farmer's moon-buggy - and the farmer and two of his daughters chase after them in the third robot daughter, The Crushinator. They are foiled when The Crushinator refuses to jump a chasm, filled with Space Alligators, to continue the chase. Just when they think they're free, the lunar night comes. They run away from the lethal cold, and take shelter in the lunar lander from the original moon landing. They close the door before Bender can enter, and he leaves - only to make a pass at The Crushinator, whom he said needed to be romanced first. Bender is once again chased off by the lunar farmer. They are all saved by Amy, who has learned to control the winch by practising the claw-machine when she was trying to get the ship's keys.

Production
This episode deals with the introduction of the last primary characters on the show, as well as further development of the already introduced. Hermes was orginally named "Dexter" and wasn't Jamaican. Dr. Zoidberg's came from a game David X. Cohen had been developing called "Zoid". Dr. Zoidberg's inspiration came from Star Trek's doctor McCoy, who would often operate on varies non-human species, so the idea for Zoidberg was turned around, and what if a non-human doctor operated on humans.

They also tried to make the Professor's line, "[...], but I am already in my pajamas" a catchphrase of his, but this was the last episode it would appear in.

Reception
"The Series Has Landed" aired 4 April, 1999, and the last episode to air on Fox's Sunday line up, after which it was move to its Tuesday line up, where expectations were for it to loose ratings as a consequence. It gained a of 8.1/14 in homes.

Ken Keeler was nominated for an Annie Award for his "Outstanding Individual Achievement for Writing in an Animated Television Production" for this episode.

In 2006, IGN ranked it as the 19th best episode on its 25 best Futurama episode list.

Trivia

 * The 20th-century car on display at Luna Park is very similar to an AMC Pacer.
 * Originally, the person who H. G. Blob ate was to disintegrate into a skeleton, but it was deemed too gruesome, and the milder version that we now know was made.
 * The hydroponic farmer's moon car is modelled after the moon car used by the Apollo missions.
 * Inside the Lunar lander there is a plaque that says "This lander returned to this site by the historical stickler's society"
 * This is because, the writers realised that when the original Apollo crew took off, only the descent module of the lander would remain.
 * Fry almost suffocates again in Love and Rocket.
 * The games at Luna Park include:
 * Skeeball
 * Virtual Skeeball
 * Virtual Virtual Skeeball
 * Mortal Kooperation
 * Gender-neutral Pac-Person
 * Dodecapede

Continuity

 * A magnet affects Bender's inhibition unit again.
 * Bender plays folk music on a banjo.
 * The Hydroponic Farmer shows he is still mad at the crew.
 * It is revealed The Crushinator has given birth to a child.
 * The Hydroponic Farmer shows he is still mad at the crew.
 * It is revealed The Crushinator has given birth to a child.
 * It is revealed The Crushinator has given birth to a child.
 * It is revealed The Crushinator has given birth to a child.

Allusions

 * "The happiest place orbiting Earth" is a reference to Disneyland, whose slogan is "The happiest place on Earth"
 * The lunar farmer's hat, which reads "THE MOON SHALL RISE AGAIN" is a reference to similar sayings of the confederate south ("The South shall rise again").
 * Crater Face, the moon mascot, after bender sticks his beer bottle into his eye, looks like a famous scene from Melies's movie "A trip to the moon" Picture
 * The Moon Patrol is a reference to the arcade game Moon Patrol

Alien Language Sightings
Time:09:00

Location: Awning in Luna Park

Language: AL1

Translation: TASTY HUMAN BURGERS

Characters

 * Debut: Amy
 * Bender
 * Debut: Buggalo
 * Debut: Craterface
 * Debut: The Crushinator
 * Debut: Daisy Mae 128k
 * Debut: Dr. Zoidberg
 * Fry
 * Debut: Goofy Gophers
 * Debut: Hydroponic Farmer
 * Debut: H.G. Blob
 * Debut: Hermes
 * Leela
 * Debut: Lulubelle 7
 * Debut: Moon Patrol
 * Prof. Farnsworth
 * Debut: Sal
 * Debut: Whalers on The Moon

Episode Credits

 * Writer
 * Ken Keeler
 * Director
 * Peter Avanzino
 * Voices
 * Billy West
 * Katey Sagal
 * John DiMaggio
 * Tress MacNeille
 * Lauren Tom
 * Phil LaMarr
 * Maurice LaMarche
 * DVD Commentary
 * David X. Cohen
 * John DiMaggio
 * Ken Keeler
 * Matt Groening
 * Peter Avanzino
 * Rich Moore