Donovan Maddox was an ANSA astronaut more familiarly known by the colloquialism, "Skipper". He was in Beneath the Planet of the Apes, the first sequel and the second movie in the Planet of the Apes Series.
Maddox commanded a rescue ship which was sent to find astronauts Taylor, Dodge, Landon and Stewart, who had gone missing. Colonel Maddox was accompanied on this mission by John Brent. Maddox and Brent's spaceship passed through a "Hasslein Curve", sending them into the future. The ship made a crash-landing, badly injuring and blinding Maddox in the process. Brent helped Maddox out of the ship and reported the current year to him. Maddox was horrified to hear that they had travelled two-thousand years forward in time to the year 3955 A.D. He spoke of his wife and two daughters being long since dead. Maddox himself died shortly afterwards and was buried by Brent. Maddox was mentioned later in the film when Brent found himself in front of Albina and the other inquisitors in the Forbidden Zone, where Brent says the only ones who came were himself and his commander, who is now dead.
Notes
- Maddox's name is not mentioned in Beneath the Planet of the Apes or its comic adaptations or its novelization. As such it has been the subject of much speculation over the years. A close examination of a promotional shot seems to reveal the letters 'addox' on his uniform.[2]
- A 2007 fan-produced reproduction of the Presidential Commission's Briefing Dossier gave Skipper the name 'Captain Andrew Maddox' (Mission Commander).[3]
- The 'ANSA Public Service Announcement' bonus feature from the Blu-Ray Planet of the Apes Box-Set (released November 2008) included this biography: "Two first alternates round out the crew [of Colonel Taylor's mission] - ... Brent, 34, and Colonel Skipper Donovan, 38." However, a timeline included in the same Box-Set gave his name as the more familiar 'Maddox'.
- The 2011 novel Conspiracy of the Planet of the Apes said that Maddox had been a brash young pilot during the Korean War, where he served with the more mature Colonel Taylor and General Lazenbe. By the time of his final space mission, he was married to Cheryl and had two daughters.
Trivia
- The name 'Maddox' in fact appears in an early script treatment for the original movie. Charles Eastman was asked to revise Rod Serling's screenplay. Instead, he completely re-wrote his own screenplay but only completed the opening scenes before he was replaced. In Eastman's script, the central character (the 'Taylor' character) was called 'Command 60 Maddox' - "Our hero has a slightly military, over-conscientious, too business-like air" - and is in control of a large crew. It's unknown if this has any connection with the flight suit seen in 'Beneath the Planet of the Apes'.[4]
Appearances
- Beneath the Planet of the Apes
- Beneath the Planet of the Apes (comic)
- Beneath the Planet of the Apes (Novelization) (novel)
- Beneath the Planet of the Apes (Power Records) (Power Records)
- Planet of the Apes Magazine: Beneath the Planet of the Apes
- Adventures on the Planet of the Apes: Beneath the Planet of the Apes
- Conspiracy of the Planet of the Apes
External Links
References
