ESCAPE FROM THE PLANET OF THE APES -Plot Holes

Filling those plot holes:  

ESCAPE FROM THE 

PLANET OF THE APES 

A Tale of Two Space Crafts. 

Im a big fan of the original Planet of the Apes franchise, particularly part three called 'Escape from the Planet of the Apes', which is one of the best sequels. 

But the rhetoric for how Dr Milo, Zira and Cornelius escaped planet Earths destruction was always a bit fuzzy. 

We get a brief info dump explaining how their pal Dr Milo salvaged Taylors craft (The Icarus) and somehow understood its workings. 

But its still a bit of a stretch. Because up until now, all we've been told about Ape culture is that their technological culture isn't much more advanced than our 16th century Earth with a few nods to the 19th. 

Still, why  let a massive plot hole get in the way of a good franchise? 

So heres my take on all this flaff. 

I guess this is an untold tale about two space crafts, Brents and Taylors, called Liberty 2 and The Icarus. 

Plus Dr. Milo's character is based very much on Leonardo da Vinci and thus a genius.

Just like Cornelius, Milo is a researcher of Apes origins, he's hooked on the idea of an ancient race more advanced than theirs. 

Maybe he's spent years in the Forbidden Zone, studying mans ancient cities and technologies. Maybe some of this stuff still worked and he learned how to use it. Maybe he made human allies there who taught him of mans ingenuity.  

But fearing he would be accused of heresy by the apes, kept quiet about it. 

His biggest find so far however, is Brent's broken space craft, the Liberty 2, laying out in the desert but kept it under wraps in case he got 'disappeared' by Dr Zeus's goon squad. 

Brents ship Liberty 2. 

But then he hears about Cornilius and Zira's 'talking man' and reaches out to them. 

Milo admits he has found a wreck in the desert and shows them photographs. 

They tell him about Brent and Taylor and of Taylors space ship, in the dead lake, that is probably still intact.

And since all three are pursuers of the truth they organise a salvage team, with the idea of putting an end to Dr Zeus's tyranny and clearing their names once and for all.  

The salvage team might have consisted of humans Milo made allies with in the Forbidden Zone and apes of the science caste. 

The time frame for all this suggests this entire operation took place in a matter of weeks.

They raise the Icarus from the lake using inflatables and the desert heat dries it out, which meant it is essentially fully operational again.

And with his notes collected from Brent's ship (and his experiences in the Forbidden Zone), Dr Milo has a basic understanding of how to the Icarus works. 

The only remaining issue was probably the missing hatch, blown off when Taylors crew evacuated the Icarus. Either they found it at the bottom of the lake or used the one off Liberty 2.

Amid its vast array of controls, Milo discovers the "automatic return" button. He has a suspicion this button will do most of the ships thinking for him. 

All he has to do now is strap-in and press it.

Finally the ship is ready to go. All they need now is the courage to test it. 

By this point war has already broken out. All able bodied apes are required to join the troops marching into the Forbidden Zone. 

Taylors ship The Icarus 

Maybe some soldier apes discover Milos group and in the ensuing shoot out, Milo, Zira and Cornelius clamber aboard the Icarus. Dr Milo presses the 

"automatic return" button and the ship takes off into orbit. 

A few moments of brief awe behold them, as they see the Earth from space. Then horror as the planet suddenly lights up in a blaze of light and is destroyed.

Meanwhile the Icarus flight plan sends it back into the time eddies (which I guess surround the solar system in these movies) that sent Taylor and Brent's ships into the future in the first place. 

A few moments later, they see the Earth again intact, by which point the automatic guidance system lands the ship in the pacific coast 1973.  

The rest is history.   

Take it or leave it. Thats my take on how to fill a massive plot hole. 

Or just read “Conspiracy of the Planet of the Apes” by Andrew Gaska.

Which I only found out about five minutes after writing all this.