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Gould is at a loss to explain why the franchise so resonated with him growing up.
It was my baseball, he says.
The series is a labor of love; Gould wouldnt exactly call it a cottage industry.
This show makes the opposite of profit, he says, but I love doing it.
You were four years old when the originalPlanet of the Apeswas released.
They were so taken by that, and so we did.
In 1973, my parents took me to seeBattle for the Planet of the Apes.
In the fall, the original aired on CBS.
That set me off on the road.
What was your reaction to the original?
When youre a kid, the last movie you saw is the greatest movie youve ever seen.
I remember thinking,Oh yeah, okay, that makes sense.
I was already prepped for downbeat 70s cinema.
What was it about this franchise that so resonated with you?I cant explain it.
Im the runt of the litter.
All my brothers are giants; I was the scrawny little kid readingFamous Monsters of Filmlandmagazine.
Im sure a therapist would say I related to Charlton Heston railing against this upside-down civilization.
I wrote them because I wanted to wear the makeup.
We got canceled before we could do it.
The musical idea ended up atThe Simpsonsbefore I got there.
They did a fantastic job.
I told him, I wrote that sketch 20 years ago.
He asked me to do that at SF Sketchfest.
I said no, but then I realized I am close friends with a lot of makeup artists.
Greg Nicotero, an executive producer ofThe Walking Dead, is one of my best friends.
He said, Sure, well do it.
I rented a Mark Twain outfit, and the rest is history.
That had to be thrilling after the hours getting made up.It was totally worth it.
It was the kind of thing that was so weird, obscure, specific, and stupid.
I loveSCTV, I love Pee-wee Herman.
I love comedy where smart people are being stupid, intentionally.
I said 100 percent.
I showed it to John Landis, and he said, More specific.
I loved that, and thats where the character came from.
What has been your favorite Zaius moment?I did aLegacy PanelforPlanet of the Apes 50th anniversary.
The audience didnt know I would be there.
It could have gone south in such a huge way.
I didnt want them to think I was making fun of the artists on the panel.
I said [as Zaius], Matt, do you have an Android or iPhone?
He said he had an iPhone.
I said, So, you could have called me, you just didnt.
He looked at me and went, Who are you?
It was a light-bulb moment.
The two things we had going for is parody law, and were not making money.
They only get annoyed if you start to make money.
The first guest we did it with wasJanet Varney.
So we went against the grain, and the show changed on a dime.
Its such a sour time, so what I like from a writers perspective.
Can you tease anything for thenew season?Each episode is between 10 to 15 minutes long.
Theyll drop once a week.
