Planet Express Ship
Encyclopedia
The Planet Express Ship is a fictional spaceship in the animated series Futurama
, which bears the official designation "U.S.S. Planet Express Ship." The ship was designed and built by Professor Hubert Farnsworth
and is the sole delivery ship of Planet Express, a delivery service owned by the Professor. The ship is typically treated as an inanimate object, though Bender refers to the ship's autopilot
as "him" (and laments being defeated in a martini
-drinking contest by same) in "How Hermes Requisitioned His Groove Back
". The later episode "Love and Rocket
" shows the ship to have an artificial intelligence
, voiced originally by Maurice LaMarche
and then (after installation of "new improved ship's personality software" including "adjustable voice") by special guest Sigourney Weaver
.
consulted with Syd Mead
("visual futurist" for Blade Runner
) when working on the designs, but like many of Groening's other characters, the ship maintains its pronounced overbite and is easily identifiable as an element of a Matt Groening comic.
in what executive producer David X. Cohen
described as "a pretty abstract role." During the episode the Planet Express Ship and Bender begin dating. This situation presented many challenges for the production staff, particularly a difficulty in portraying emotions between the two beings because they were so different in size. Even with this concern, Cohen jokes that Weaver's performance as a spaceship was "moving." Much of the episode, including the ship's eventual desire to kill the crew, is a spoof of 2001: A Space Odyssey with the Planet Express Ship taking on the role of HAL 9000
.
, the sheer distance between objects in space makes human-level depth perception of limited use. Fry and Bender serve as crewmembers. Fry's official position is delivery boy, and he also operates the ship's laser
cannon in combat. Bender was originally the ship's cook, despite the lethality of his dishes, and is occasionally seen performing various odd jobs.
Hermes and Amy can both fly the ship, though they do not usually accompany the crew on missions. Although Fry flies the ship with no problems (albeit wildly) in "The Cryonic Woman
" episode, he later flies it with some difficulty in "Amazon Women in the Mood
" and "Birdbot of Ice-Catraz" (where Bender demonstrates his own questionable piloting skills while under the effects of a sobriety binge); by the time of "Time Keeps On Slippin'
", Fry can (once again) fly the ship with a reasonable degree of skill. In the second episode "The Series Has Landed," Amy Wong flies the ship without problem.
Dr Zoidberg serves as the ship's doctor and, on occasion, the ship steward. He occasionally joins the crew on missions but not on a regular basis. Professor Farnsworth
flies the ship in the episode "Teenage Mutant Leela's Hurdles
" and Into the Wild Green Yonder.
In "Teenage Mutant Leela's Hurdles," Farnsworth flies the ship to find his lost pet gargoyle, Pazuzu. However, in stereotypical senior citizen style, he flies the ship at only 35 MPH, blocks lanes in space traffic, and turns the ship's high beams on, destroying a navigation sign and Deep Space Nine
.
, after the speed of light was increased to allow faster travel. The ship can actually travel at 97% of the new light speed. Its speed also makes it an efficient courier, a round trip to the edge of the universe and many other activities were accomplished during a "morning off" in "I Dated a Robot
". In "The Series Has Landed," a journey from Earth to the moon takes under two seconds.
In addition to its speed, the Planet Express Ship is very durable. In the episode "The Deep South
," the ship is dragged underwater and survives being subjected to hundreds of atmospheres of water pressure, despite being rated for "between zero and one" atmosphere
, according to the professor. Additionally, the ship has survived numerous crashes that ostensibly would have destroyed similar aircraft, but the ship usually sustains only quickly-repaired dents. It is unclear whether all vehicles in Futurama have this durability or if it is a special property of that particular ship.
It also uses a Dark Matter Engine, which, instead of moving the ship, just "moves the universe around the ship." Certain episodes indicate that the ship has an automobile-style manual transmission
.
The current ship is not the first Planet Express Ship, as at least one was lost with its crew on a mission to collect space honey. The current ship is first seen in "Space Pilot 3000
," where the current crew signs on. It is unknown if the ship was previously crewed but it is implied that the professor's previous crew died with the loss of the previous ship in the space bee hive and no intervening members are ever mentioned. Other versions of the ship include a miniature one used to travel inside of Fry's body to counter an infection
of worms.
The ship's windshield has no center divider, and is thus cyclopean. It has tripodal landing gear
, the front one doubling as a stair, and the two rear ones notable for large traction pads, in the style of Leela's boots. The hull
is roughly teardrop-shaped with three fins
at the rear. A laser cannon turret is situated on the top side. Torpedo tubes are located to either side of the forward landing gear. The tubes also house the "primary lasers." The cargo bay has a bomb bay-style loading door on the bottom of the ship. Cargo
too large for the cargo bay is either tethered to the top of the hull, or towed. The dark matter engines are at the rear on a gymbal, and steering is achieved through directional thrust. Supposedly the engines achieve 200% fuel efficiency
by moving the entire universe around the ship, rather than moving the ship itself, a parody/homage to the "warp drive" technology of Star Trek
. The ship is painted a light-green color, specified as "Electric Mucus" in Bender's Game (the previous ship was dark gray, as seen trapped in a space bee hive in "The Sting
") and has the Planet Express logo painted on the main fin.
The series's writers acknowledge in the Season 1 DVD commentary that the interior design of the Planet Express Ship is not really consistent from episode to episode. They cited a fansite they once found which was devoted to trying to develop a definitive schematic of the ship's interior, an attempt which ended in frustration. While certain rooms such as the cargo bay remain more or less the same, corridors shift position and the location of rooms relative to each other is never truly consistent. However, in the commentary the writers point out that most obviously, the design of the "bridge" of the ship drastically shifts between episodes.
The ship is occasionally modified to fit the purposes of the plot. In all cases the ship is returned to normal before the next episode.
Futurama
Futurama is an American animated science fiction sitcom created by Matt Groening and developed by Groening and David X. Cohen for the Fox Broadcasting Company. The series follows the adventures of a late 20th-century New York City pizza delivery boy, Philip J...
, which bears the official designation "U.S.S. Planet Express Ship." The ship was designed and built by Professor Hubert Farnsworth
Professor Hubert Farnsworth
Professor Hubert J. Farnsworth, or simply The Professor, is a fictional character in the American animated television series Futurama. He is voiced by Billy West using a combination of impressions of Burgess Meredith and Frank Morgan. Farnsworth is the proprietor of the Planet Express delivery...
and is the sole delivery ship of Planet Express, a delivery service owned by the Professor. The ship is typically treated as an inanimate object, though Bender refers to the ship's autopilot
Autopilot
An autopilot is a mechanical, electrical, or hydraulic system used to guide a vehicle without assistance from a human being. An autopilot can refer specifically to aircraft, self-steering gear for boats, or auto guidance of space craft and missiles...
as "him" (and laments being defeated in a martini
Martini (cocktail)
The martini is a cocktail made with gin and vermouth, and garnished with an olive or a lemon twist. Over the years, the martini has become one of the best-known mixed alcoholic beverages. H. L. Mencken called the martini "the only American invention as perfect as the sonnet" and E. B...
-drinking contest by same) in "How Hermes Requisitioned His Groove Back
How Hermes Requisitioned His Groove Back
"How Hermes Requisitioned His Groove Back" is episode eleven in season two of Futurama. It originally aired in North America on April 2, 2000...
". The later episode "Love and Rocket
Love and Rocket
"Love and Rocket" is the third episode of Futuramas fourth season. It first aired on February 10, 2002.- Plot :A few days before Valentine's Day, the Planet Express crew heads off to the most romantic city on Earth, Milwaukee, to land a delivery contract from Romanticorp, makers of all things...
" shows the ship to have an artificial intelligence
Artificial intelligence
Artificial intelligence is the intelligence of machines and the branch of computer science that aims to create it. AI textbooks define the field as "the study and design of intelligent agents" where an intelligent agent is a system that perceives its environment and takes actions that maximize its...
, voiced originally by Maurice LaMarche
Maurice LaMarche
Maurice LaMarche is an Emmy Award winning Canadian-American voice actor and former stand up comedian. He is best known for his voicework in Futurama as Kif Kroker, as Egon Spengler in The Real Ghostbusters, Verminous Skumm and Duke Nukem in Captain Planet and the Planeteers, Big Bob Pataki in Hey...
and then (after installation of "new improved ship's personality software" including "adjustable voice") by special guest Sigourney Weaver
Sigourney Weaver
Sigourney Weaver is an American actress. She is best known for her critically acclaimed role of Ellen Ripley in the four Alien films: Alien, Aliens, Alien 3 and Alien Resurrection, for which she has received worldwide recognition .Other notable roles include Dana...
.
Production
The Planet Express Ship is usually rendered in highly stylized 3D along with many of Futurama's other special effects. This was done to give the ship a "convincing dimensionality" as it moves through space. Futurama's creator Matt GroeningMatt Groening
Matthew Abram "Matt" Groening is an American cartoonist, screenwriter, and producer. He is the creator of the comic strip Life in Hell as well as two successful television series, The Simpsons and Futurama....
consulted with Syd Mead
Syd Mead
Sydney Jay Mead, commonly Syd Mead, is a "visual futurist" and concept artist. He is best known for his designs for science-fiction films such as Blade Runner, Aliens and Tron...
("visual futurist" for Blade Runner
Blade Runner
Blade Runner is a 1982 American science fiction film directed by Ridley Scott and starring Harrison Ford, Rutger Hauer, and Sean Young. The screenplay, written by Hampton Fancher and David Peoples, is loosely based on the novel Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? by Philip K...
) when working on the designs, but like many of Groening's other characters, the ship maintains its pronounced overbite and is easily identifiable as an element of a Matt Groening comic.
Personality
In the episode "Love and Rocket" the Planet Express Ship is equipped with a personality unit which allows it to speak and interact with the crew. The ship is voiced by Sigourney WeaverSigourney Weaver
Sigourney Weaver is an American actress. She is best known for her critically acclaimed role of Ellen Ripley in the four Alien films: Alien, Aliens, Alien 3 and Alien Resurrection, for which she has received worldwide recognition .Other notable roles include Dana...
in what executive producer David X. Cohen
David X. Cohen
David Samuel Cohen , primarily known as David X. Cohen, is an American television writer. He has written for The Simpsons and he is the head writer and executive producer of Futurama.-Early life:...
described as "a pretty abstract role." During the episode the Planet Express Ship and Bender begin dating. This situation presented many challenges for the production staff, particularly a difficulty in portraying emotions between the two beings because they were so different in size. Even with this concern, Cohen jokes that Weaver's performance as a spaceship was "moving." Much of the episode, including the ship's eventual desire to kill the crew, is a spoof of 2001: A Space Odyssey with the Planet Express Ship taking on the role of HAL 9000
HAL 9000
HAL 9000 is the antagonist in Arthur C. Clarke's science fiction Space Odyssey saga. HAL is an artificial intelligence that interacts with the astronaut crew of the Discovery One spacecraft, usually represented as a red television-camera eye found throughout the ship...
.
Crew
Leela is the captain and pilot of the ship. Although Leela has only one eye, and therefore no depth perceptionDepth perception
Depth perception is the visual ability to perceive the world in three dimensions and the distance of an object. Depth sensation is the ability to move accurately, or to respond consistently, based on the distances of objects in an environment....
, the sheer distance between objects in space makes human-level depth perception of limited use. Fry and Bender serve as crewmembers. Fry's official position is delivery boy, and he also operates the ship's laser
Laser
A laser is a device that emits light through a process of optical amplification based on the stimulated emission of photons. The term "laser" originated as an acronym for Light Amplification by Stimulated Emission of Radiation...
cannon in combat. Bender was originally the ship's cook, despite the lethality of his dishes, and is occasionally seen performing various odd jobs.
Hermes and Amy can both fly the ship, though they do not usually accompany the crew on missions. Although Fry flies the ship with no problems (albeit wildly) in "The Cryonic Woman
The Cryonic Woman
"The Cryonic Woman" is the nineteenth and final episode of production season two of Futurama. It originally aired in North America on December 3, 2000, as the third episode of the third broadcast season with a plot incorporating a cryonics theme...
" episode, he later flies it with some difficulty in "Amazon Women in the Mood
Amazon Women in the Mood
"Amazon Women in the Mood" is the first episode in season three of Futurama. It originally aired in North America on February 4, 2001.-Plot:...
" and "Birdbot of Ice-Catraz" (where Bender demonstrates his own questionable piloting skills while under the effects of a sobriety binge); by the time of "Time Keeps On Slippin'
Time Keeps on Slippin'
"Time Keeps On Slippin" is the 14th episode in season 3 of Futurama. It originally aired May 6, 2001. The title is from a lyric in Fly Like an Eagle by Steve Miller Band which was featured in the basketball film Space Jam...
", Fry can (once again) fly the ship with a reasonable degree of skill. In the second episode "The Series Has Landed," Amy Wong flies the ship without problem.
Dr Zoidberg serves as the ship's doctor and, on occasion, the ship steward. He occasionally joins the crew on missions but not on a regular basis. Professor Farnsworth
Hubert J. Farnsworth
Professor Hubert J. Farnsworth, or simply The Professor, is a fictional character in the American animated television series Futurama. He is voiced by Billy West using a combination of impressions of Burgess Meredith and Frank Morgan. Farnsworth is the proprietor of the Planet Express delivery...
flies the ship in the episode "Teenage Mutant Leela's Hurdles
Teenage Mutant Leela's Hurdles
"Teenage Mutant Leela's Hurdles" is the ninth episode of the fourth production season of Futurama. It first aired on March 30, 2003 as the seventh episode of the fifth broadcast season. The episode was directed by Bret Haaland and written by Jeff Westbrook.-Plot:Professor Farnsworth is chasing...
" and Into the Wild Green Yonder.
Futurama: Into the Wild Green Yonder
Futurama: Into the Wild Green Yonder is the last of a series of four straight-to-DVD Futurama movies. The movie was written by Ken Keeler, based on a story by Keeler and David X. Cohen, and directed by Peter Avanzino. Guest stars include Phil Hendrie, Penn Jillette , Snoop Dogg and Seth...
In "Teenage Mutant Leela's Hurdles," Farnsworth flies the ship to find his lost pet gargoyle, Pazuzu. However, in stereotypical senior citizen style, he flies the ship at only 35 MPH, blocks lanes in space traffic, and turns the ship's high beams on, destroying a navigation sign and Deep Space Nine
Deep Space Nine (space station)
Deep Space Nine is a fictitious space station, and is the eponymous primary setting of the science fiction television series Star Trek: Deep Space Nine. It serves as a base for the exploration of the Gamma Quadrant via the Bajoran wormhole, and is a hub of trade and travel for the sector's denizens...
.
Ship Features
As the Professor prefers to send the crew on dangerous missions in favor of higher profit margins, the ship is well armed and quite fast. The ship is capable of travel faster than the current speed of lightSpeed of light
The speed of light in vacuum, usually denoted by c, is a physical constant important in many areas of physics. Its value is 299,792,458 metres per second, a figure that is exact since the length of the metre is defined from this constant and the international standard for time...
, after the speed of light was increased to allow faster travel. The ship can actually travel at 97% of the new light speed. Its speed also makes it an efficient courier, a round trip to the edge of the universe and many other activities were accomplished during a "morning off" in "I Dated a Robot
I Dated a Robot
"I Dated a Robot" is the fifteenth episode in season three of Futurama. It originally aired on May 13, 2001.-Plot:After the crew sees an episode of The Scary Door, Fry decides to do all the things he always wanted to do and the Planet Express crew obliges...
". In "The Series Has Landed," a journey from Earth to the moon takes under two seconds.
In addition to its speed, the Planet Express Ship is very durable. In the episode "The Deep South
The Deep South (Futurama)
"The Deep South" is episode 12 in season 2 of Futurama. It originally aired in North America on April 16, 2000.-Plot:A bureaucratic mix-up results in Hermes receiving a "mandatory fishing license" instead of a pet license for Nibbler. The crew takes the Planet Express Ship to the center of the...
," the ship is dragged underwater and survives being subjected to hundreds of atmospheres of water pressure, despite being rated for "between zero and one" atmosphere
Atmosphere (unit)
The standard atmosphere is an international reference pressure defined as 101325 Pa and formerly used as unit of pressure. For practical purposes it has been replaced by the bar which is 105 Pa...
, according to the professor. Additionally, the ship has survived numerous crashes that ostensibly would have destroyed similar aircraft, but the ship usually sustains only quickly-repaired dents. It is unclear whether all vehicles in Futurama have this durability or if it is a special property of that particular ship.
It also uses a Dark Matter Engine, which, instead of moving the ship, just "moves the universe around the ship." Certain episodes indicate that the ship has an automobile-style manual transmission
Manual transmission
A manual transmission, also known as a manual gearbox or standard transmission is a type of transmission used in motor vehicle applications...
.
The current ship is not the first Planet Express Ship, as at least one was lost with its crew on a mission to collect space honey. The current ship is first seen in "Space Pilot 3000
Space Pilot 3000
"Space Pilot 3000" is the pilot episode of Futurama, which originally aired in North America on March 28, 1999 on Fox. The episode focuses on the cryogenic freezing of the series protagonist, Philip J. Fry, and the events when he awakens 1,000 years in the future...
," where the current crew signs on. It is unknown if the ship was previously crewed but it is implied that the professor's previous crew died with the loss of the previous ship in the space bee hive and no intervening members are ever mentioned. Other versions of the ship include a miniature one used to travel inside of Fry's body to counter an infection
Infection
An infection is the colonization of a host organism by parasite species. Infecting parasites seek to use the host's resources to reproduce, often resulting in disease...
of worms.
Design
Landing Gear
Landing Gear is Devin the Dude's fifth studio album. It was released on October 7, 2008. It was his first studio album since signing with the label Razor & Tie. It features a high-profile guest appearance from Snoop Dogg. As of October 30, 2008, the album has sold 18,906 copies.-Track...
, the front one doubling as a stair, and the two rear ones notable for large traction pads, in the style of Leela's boots. The hull
Hull (watercraft)
A hull is the watertight body of a ship or boat. Above the hull is the superstructure and/or deckhouse, where present. The line where the hull meets the water surface is called the waterline.The structure of the hull varies depending on the vessel type...
is roughly teardrop-shaped with three fins
FINS
FINS is a network protocol used by Omron PLCs, over different physical networks like Ethernet, Controller Link, DeviceNet and RS-232C....
at the rear. A laser cannon turret is situated on the top side. Torpedo tubes are located to either side of the forward landing gear. The tubes also house the "primary lasers." The cargo bay has a bomb bay-style loading door on the bottom of the ship. Cargo
Cargo
Cargo is goods or produce transported, generally for commercial gain, by ship, aircraft, train, van or truck. In modern times, containers are used in most intermodal long-haul cargo transport.-Marine:...
too large for the cargo bay is either tethered to the top of the hull, or towed. The dark matter engines are at the rear on a gymbal, and steering is achieved through directional thrust. Supposedly the engines achieve 200% fuel efficiency
Fuel efficiency
Fuel efficiency is a form of thermal efficiency, meaning the efficiency of a process that converts chemical potential energy contained in a carrier fuel into kinetic energy or work. Overall fuel efficiency may vary per device, which in turn may vary per application, and this spectrum of variance is...
by moving the entire universe around the ship, rather than moving the ship itself, a parody/homage to the "warp drive" technology of Star Trek
Star Trek
Star Trek is an American science fiction entertainment franchise created by Gene Roddenberry. The core of Star Trek is its six television series: The Original Series, The Animated Series, The Next Generation, Deep Space Nine, Voyager, and Enterprise...
. The ship is painted a light-green color, specified as "Electric Mucus" in Bender's Game (the previous ship was dark gray, as seen trapped in a space bee hive in "The Sting
The Sting (Futurama)
"The Sting" is episode twelve in season four of Futurama. It originally aired in North America on June 1, 2003. It is arguably one of the most popular episodes of the series.-Plot:...
") and has the Planet Express logo painted on the main fin.
The series's writers acknowledge in the Season 1 DVD commentary that the interior design of the Planet Express Ship is not really consistent from episode to episode. They cited a fansite they once found which was devoted to trying to develop a definitive schematic of the ship's interior, an attempt which ended in frustration. While certain rooms such as the cargo bay remain more or less the same, corridors shift position and the location of rooms relative to each other is never truly consistent. However, in the commentary the writers point out that most obviously, the design of the "bridge" of the ship drastically shifts between episodes.
Modifications
- In "The Deep South," the crew had to replace the engines with a giant fish tailfin since the engines would not work underwater. Part of these repairs were made by papier mache.
- In "Where No Fan Has Gone BeforeWhere No Fan Has Gone Before"Where No Fan Has Gone Before" is the eleventh episode of the fourth season of the animated series Futurama. It originally aired in the United States on April 21, 2002...
" both the Planet Express Ship and a ship belonging to the cast of the original Star Trek seriesStar Trek: The Original SeriesStar Trek is an American science fiction television series created by Gene Roddenberry, produced by Desilu Productions . Star Trek was telecast on NBC from September 8, 1966, through June 3, 1969...
crashed on a forbidden planet. The Planet Express Ship had non-functioning engines but working life support, while the Trek cast's ship had functional engine but no life support. The Planet Express Ship was modified using the engines of the Trek cast's ship and was able to escape the planet. The latter ship's engines, bearing a visual similarity to Star Trek-style warp nacelles, gave the Planet Express Ship a rear profile similar to that of the original Starship EnterpriseStarship EnterpriseThe Enterprise or USS Enterprise is the name of several fictional starships, some of which are the focal point for various television series and films in the Star Trek franchise created by Gene Roddenberry. It is considered a name of legacy in the fleet...
, and several establishing shotEstablishing shotAn establishing shot in filmmaking and television production sets up, or establishes the context for a scene by showing the relationship between its important figures and objects...
s in this episode present the Planet Express Ship in similar fashion to stock footageStock footageStock footage, and similarly, archive footage, library pictures and file footage are film or video footage that may or may not be custom shot for use in a specific film or television program. Stock footage is of beneficial use to filmmakers as it is sometimes less expensive than shooting new...
of the Enterprise from classic Trek episodes.
- In "The Route of All Evil," Cubert FarnsworthCubert FarnsworthCubert Farnsworth is a fictional character, Professor Farnsworth's clone from the animated television series Futurama. He was created from a growth on Professor Farnsworth's back in 2989. Cubert differs from the Professor in appearance due to his nose being squashed up against the wall of his...
and Dwight Conrad have the ship repainted bright red with flame decals when they take over the Planet Express business and make it a newspaperNewspaperA newspaper is a scheduled publication containing news of current events, informative articles, diverse features and advertising. It usually is printed on relatively inexpensive, low-grade paper such as newsprint. By 2007, there were 6580 daily newspapers in the world selling 395 million copies a...
delivery service. It is also presumably renamed the "Awesome Express Ship" to reflect the company title change. We also find out that there is a net for catching giraffes, fired from one of the torpedo tubes.
- In "Time Keeps on Slippin'," the ship has a gravity pump installed, giving it the capability to move entire stars.
- After dark matter, and thus dark matter engines, are made useless at the end of the film Bender's Game, dozens of Nibblonians are harnessed to the front of the ship with a chicken dangling in front of them, and they drag the ship on the ground as a means of propulsion. During the next movie, Into the Wild Green Yonder, the ship's new fuel is revealed to be whale oilWhale oilWhale oil is the oil obtained from the blubber of various species of whales, particularly the three species of right whale and the bowhead whale prior to the modern era, as well as several other species of baleen whale...
.
- In Into the Wild Green Yonder, the ship is painted pink when it is commandeered by the eco-feminist group, the Feministas.
- When the company was going bankrupt, they turned Planet Express into an airline and modified the ship to look like an airplane in "Neutopia".
- In "Möbius Dick", the ship used solar sails after the titular space whale bit off the engine and devoured the statue (taking a part of the ship with it). Also, the original Planet Express ship is seen.