Planet of the Apes (1968)

Maybe space travel isn’t such a swell idea. Sure, Earth has its shortcomings, but most of them pale in comparison to a man’s life on the Planet of the Apes (1968). A crew of astronauts sets their craft down on a distant orb in a faraway galaxy. The terrain appears to be not unlike Southern California’s foothill scrub. But who are these hairy, big black fellows roaming about dressed like bikers? By God, the apes have taken over and are the superior species to humans. What we of the third planet are accustomed to thinking of as Homo sapiens wallow in grunting ignorance and are used by the hairy higher orders for purposes of fun and research. Suddenly going back home to snarled freeways and idiotic network TV looks like a desirable prospect. Except that the transporter is crashed, and home might not be so far off after all.