Taylor's crew
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JamesA-1102 — 9 years ago(December 11, 2016 10:42 AM)
There were four astronauts total on the spaceship - tree men and one woman. Was the point of the mission to colonize another planet? Because if it was, someone didn't plan it very well.
True. It is never stated that the mission was to colonize another planet. It is inferred from a remark Taylor made later in the film. However, that could only be his personal opinion.
Come to think of it, what was the point of the mission? To send four people out into space, and maybe find a habitable planet? Then what? Apparently there was no plan to return to Earth, or communicate with Earth.
Not necessarily. When the ship is sinking Taylor tells Landon to signal earth. After the ship sinks Taylor says "OK We're here to stay", implying that if the ship hadn't sunk they would have had the option to leave and return to earth. -
JamesA-1102 — 9 years ago(January 08, 2017 06:26 AM)
Wouldn't the ship just stayed grounded than.
Why would the ship stay grounded?
Also if they came to colonize it they may call earth too send scientists and the military to conquer it.
Again, it is never directly stated in the film that their mission was colonization. -
roland-rockerfella — 9 years ago(January 16, 2017 01:06 PM)
The exact point of the mission was never truly discovered. You are correct that it certainly seems a half assed way to colonise another world with only 4 people and virtually no supplies. However keep in mind that their ship was sinking and they only had time to grab their emergency gear.
Taylor later implies that it was their job to colonise another world but early on the three explorers don't even know what world they are on or even what star system they have ended up in. A great movie. One of the best but the story does lack more than a few details regarding why they were there in the first place. -
Fletcherj119 — 9 years ago(January 17, 2017 12:35 AM)
I always thought at least one goal for the journey was to test Hasslein's time dilation theories. The crew consisted of volunteers, facing the possibility of never returning to Earth. If all else failed, they were to colonize a habitable world. That's my take anyway.
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JamesA-1102 — 9 years ago(January 17, 2017 03:52 AM)
Perhaps, one thing that can be inferred from the dialogue is that Hasslein's theory was disputed. Landon refuses to accept it even after Taylor tells him that he read the clocks. As he says, "If we can't get back, it's still just a theory".
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Fletcherj119 — 9 years ago(January 17, 2017 06:33 PM)
I always thought it was. Then Brent followed the same course and experienced it also.
One of my biggest complaints has always been that the original movie was never novelized. It might've cleared up a lot of questions. -
creatorof2002 — 9 years ago(February 10, 2017 12:20 AM)
That anyone would be crazy enough to VOLUNTEER for a mission like that where they would never see the Earth again seemed far fetched. In the remake with Mark Wahlberg in 2001 the plot device artists writing the script had what happened to the main human character be a freak accident against his will and unplanned. That is what should have happened here, some freak cosmic accident happening to astronauts.
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jpowell180 — 6 years ago(August 18, 2019 08:26 PM)
One other thing, though, is that had the ship not splashed (and had the crew not been captured), they could have made their way back to their own time - not sure of the details, but IIRC, the return course was pre-programmed into the ship's computers.
At the beginning of Escape from the Planet of the Apes, right before Cornelius, Zera, and the other Ape remove their helmets, the military personnel are fully expecting to see Taylor and the gang (well, minus one).
Given that the ship itself was salvageable, it's kind of sad that Taylor chose instead to go explore the Forbidden Zone - I mean, how difficult could it have been to repair if Cornelius, Zera, and that other ape were able to repair it, given that they live in a world with basically a 19th-century tech level?
Taylor could have gone home, and warned mankind, and gotten some fresh cigars.