MovieChat Forums > Escape from the Planet of the Apes (1971) Discussion > I figured it out....I know how the apes ...

I figured it out....I know how the apes got the ship ready for flight

posted 9 years ago by perfut11275
20 replies | jump to latest

It's so simple. Time passed and Taylor was captured and healed. This took many weeks or months. During this time, I figure there must have been a dry spell in the Forbidden Zone. The lake dried up and revealed Taylor's ship which only landed in water. It was not destroyed and it did not crash. Dr. Milo must have made an expedition out there and reclaimed this oddity from the dry lake bed. He then began to study it and clean it of any unwanted dirt, water, and contaminants, but not informing anyone of his find for fear of being labeled a heretic since he knew this was something beyond what was known about in ape society and history. So he kept quiet and began to study it in some way. As he did this, he must have heard of the human running around Ape City and talking. He then investigated further about what was going on and heard about everything that Taylor had conveyed to Zira and Cornelius since he was the inquisitive type with a scientific mind. He deduced that the thing he had found was Taylor's space ship and made it his mission to understand it and how to operate it. Taylor gets sentenced in court and his escape is arranged. All the while Dr. Milo works on the restoration of the ship which was built to withstand the rigors of space and could easily withstand some water. Dr. Zaius and his henchmen have their confrontation with Taylor, Zira, and Cornelius in the Forbidden Zone and then Taylor rides off at the conclusion of that situation. Dr. Zaius and crew return from the Forbidden Zone and then Dr. Milo secretly informs Zira and Cornelius of his find and they decide to launch this ship as soon as possible. A week or so goes by as everyone prepares for the upcoming test launch. Brent arrives, but his ship is damaged beyond repair. Dr. Milo, Zira, and Cornelius plan and get ready for their test launch. As luck would have it, they launch and the Earth explodes, which hurls them back in time to 1973.

[–] Fletcherj119 9 years ago

Interesting concept of the lake drying up.

[–] JamesA1102 9 years ago

Great theory that doesn't revise what is presented in any of the films. Just one little quibble. If Milo informed C&Z before Brent arrived, don't you think they would have mentioned it to him?

[–] Fletcherj119 9 years ago

I think they would've been more concerned with getting Brent and Nova the hell out of there. If they'd brought up the spaceship, that would've extended their stay. If Taylor had returned, they probably would've brought him to the ship.
Another angle could be that Cornelius and Zira weren't told about the ship until after the army had departed, then the pair immediately departed for Dead Lake.

[–] JamesA1102 9 years ago

Another angle could be that Cornelius and Zira weren't told about the ship until after the army had departed, then the pair immediately departed for Dead Lake.

That makes much more sense.

[–] 9 years ago

[deleted]

[–] JoeKarlosi 9 years ago

Very interesting theory, except I think it contradicts one detail that was established in ESCAPE. Namely, that it was not a "test launch"... it was a specific attempt to flee the planet "when war became inevitable" (to quote Cornelius). It wasn't as if they had just attempted a test launch and the Earth just happened to explode (if I got you right); they set out specifically to escape from a potentially apocalyptic situation, which was the intent of the launch.

[–] Fletcherj119 9 years ago

Actually, the chimps were oblivious to what was occurring in the Forbidden Zone; they weren't aware of anything apocalyptic, just that they didn't know how the the war would last, or how it would end. They didn't even know who the enemies were. They launched the ship without knowing where they would end up; maybe they were hoping they'd arrive on an idyllic and peaceful area of Earth.

[–] wears-alan 9 years ago

An interesting theory that the OP stole from a fan generated story.

It wasnt me, it was the other three. Hang them!

[–] Fletcherj119 9 years ago

Never read the story, but it must be interesting.

[–] JamesA1102 9 years ago

An interesting theory that the OP stole from a fan generated story.

I wouldn't say stole. But it is not original. Similar theories have been floating around for years.

[–] wears-alan 9 years ago

Plagiarized then.

It wasnt me, it was the other three. Hang them!

[–] JamesA1102 9 years ago

LOL!

[–] tjlamb0518 9 years ago

I still say that any ship that was capable of faster than light travel, suspended animation and automated astro navigation had to have had a pretty sophisticated self repair system. Once you took it out of the water, it's quite possible the ship did most of the repairing itself.

[–] Fletcherj119 9 years ago

Some have suggested that the ship they travelled in was the EEV contained within the actual ship (since it appeared smaller) and didn't need much repair work.

[–] roland-rockerfella 7 years ago

I find it very hard to swallow that apes that didn't even understand the concept of flight and rode about on horses could suddenly be repairing, flying and navigating starship withing a few months. How did they even get it powered up without electricity?, how did they fuel it without any kind of rocket fuel technology? how did they learn the massive amount of information and skill required to pilot and navigate a starship in just a few months. the list goes an and non. Its simply not possible i'm sorry.

[–] JamesA-1102 7 years ago

How did they even get it powered up without electricity?,

The ship most likely had it's own internal power systems.

how did they fuel it without any kind of rocket fuel technology?

The ship probably had it's own fuel reserves. When the ship sank Taylor commented "We're here to stay" implying that if it hadn't sunk they would have had the option to relaunch the ship and return to earth.

how did they learn the massive amount of information and skill required to pilot and navigate a starship in just a few months. the list goes an and non.

At the start of Planet Taylor notes that the computers were running the ship. All Dr. Milo would have needed to do is find the ship's flight manual and follow the instructions to press athe right buttons to reactivate the systems and let the computers do most of the work.

[–] millsey72 (9547) 3 years ago

Yea this was all pretty much in a deleted scene at the very beginning of the film. For time constraints, it didn't make the final cut. Except the lake didn't dry out. Dr Milo, who learned to swim at a young age, put on a speedo, and found the ship. There was already a yacht in the lake and he used it to tow the ship from the bottom of the lake. He repaired the ship because he was a genius. He took the fuel from the yacht and refined it to rocket fuel to use in the ship. I wish a version with this extended sequence can be released in the future

[–] [deleted] 2 years ago

a speedo?

[–] Galactus03 (4289) 2 years ago

This is coming from Millsey. Take it with a grain of salt...

[–] [deleted] 2 years ago

😊😊