The Series Has Landed

"The Series Has Landed" (alternatively titled "Episode Two: The Series Has Landed") is the second episode of production Season 1 and the second broadcast episode of Futurama. It originally aired in North America on April 4, 1999.

Opening Sequence[]

Futurama logo with subtitle, Alienese and (often), cartoon.

Plot[]

Professor Farnsworth introduces Fry, Leela, and Bender to the rest of the Planet Express Crew: Hermes Conrad, a Jamaican bureaucrat; Amy Wong, the Chinese Mars University intern whose super-rich parents own half of Mars, and Dr. Zoidberg, the staff doctor who knows nothing about human biology.

Afterwards, Fry, Leela, and Bender go on their first delivery (with Leela reluctantly allowing Amy to tag along with them) to the Moon, traveling to which is nothing special by the year 3000. To Fry, however, this is a dream come true for him. They quickly arrive on the moon and Fry discovers that a Disneyland-esque amusement park named Luna Park has been built there. The delivery is a crate full of stuffed toys for an arcade game and once that is delivered, Leela allows Fry, Bender, and Amy to explore the park.

Fry soon gets bored of the park, wanting to explore "the real Moon" and find the Apollo 11 landing site, which has been lost for many years. Despite Leela's protests, he hijacks a lunar rover and the two go on a joyride across the moon's surface, but their oxygen soon runs low and they have to stop at a hydroponic farm to get some more. The Farmer agrees to let them have some, but only if they do some chores for him.

Meanwhile, Amy discovers the keys to the ship have fallen into the crate and are now inside the claw game with the stuffed toys. She tries to get them back before Leela finds out, but she is not very good with the claw and keeps dropping the keys, much to her frustration. Bender tries putting his arm through the prize slot to grab the keys, but gets caught by the Moon Patrol and is ejected from the park.

While Fry and Leela are doing chores, Bender arrives at the farm and tries to seduce the farmer's robot daughters: Lulubelle 7, Daisy-Mae 128K and the Crushinator. The angry farmer and his robot daughters chase after the three, but they are able to escape when the Crushinator refuses to jump over a lunar trench, having fallen in love with Bender.

Fry and Leela, now with more oxygen, manage to find the Eagle lunar lander and take shelter inside, where Leela tells Fry off for getting them into this situation all because he wanted to see "the real Moon". Fry apologizes and reveals that going to the moon has been a dream of his ever since he was a kid. Leela looks at Fry and sees the Earthrise reflection in his visor, realizing what Fry means, and forgives him. Next thing they know, they see Bender running away from the farmer, who is attempting to mow him down with a giant combine harvester for falling for the Crushinator. Luckily for the crew, Amy, after much practice at the claw game, picks up the lander and Bender with a magnet attached to the Planet Express ship and they all fly back to Earth.

Alienese[]

• At 8:34 on the sign at Luna Park - "Tasty human burgers".
• See Opening Sequence for Alienese shown in all episodes.

Ongoing Themes[]

In this episode, Bender reveals his lifelong dream of being a folk singer, a theme that is revisited in future episodes, especially "Bendin' in the Wind" in Season 3, and "Forty Percent Leadbelly" in Season 7.

Fry & Leela[]

• Leela takes pity on Fry, and gives the crew permission to spend some time at Luna Park.
• When Fry sighs in disappointment at Luna Park's phoniness, Leela is the only one who cares enough to ask him why. She even takes pity on him, agreeing to take him on the lunar rover ride.
• When Fry takes the rover out for a joyride, Leela makes it plain that she thinks he's acting like a jerk.
• When Fry and Leela are sinking in the quicksand, Fry attempts to abandon Leela and save himself. When this fails, he proceeds to beg her for help, which, to her credit, Leela does. Fry then attempts to abandon Leela and save himself for a second time, failing yet again.
• Later on, when Fry and Leela are running out of oxygen, Fry, in a vaguely noble gesture, encourages Leela to abandon him.
• To Fry's credit, he apologizes to Leela for risking both their lives.
• Leela would, apparently, be unwilling to spend a week with Fry.
• Leela's attitude softens when she hears the poetic way in which Fry thought of the moon in the 20th century.
• Looking at the moon in the Earthlight and seeing its beauty for the first time, Fry and Leela share a meaningful look.