We Gotta Get Out Of This Place

Original airdate: March 2, 1996
Written By Peter David and Bill Mumy
Directed By John Bell
 

 

Plot:
The Starcademy's five worst underachievers,  Harlan Band of Earth, Catalina of Saturn, Bova of Uranus, Rosie Ianni of Mercury and Radu of Andromeda, have just learned their field tests have been canceled, leaving them to brood in the nearly deserted starcademy while their fellow cadets test their mettle in space. An alien spacecraft approached unnoticed - except for the five underachievers. With visions of "first contact glory," they board the vessel only to find it deserted except for an non-functional android.

Their teacher and an assistant principal rush aboard to retrieve the misfits, just as the ship's sublight drive mysteriously engages itself. The hyperdrive is accidentally triggered and the makeshift crew find themselves hurtling through space faster than light. The ship passes through a  mysterious spatial rift known as a white circle. Suddenly the accidental crew and the android find themselves over 7 light years from home.

Inside Jokes:
When the crew finds themselves on the other side of the galaxy, Principal Davenport cries, "We're lost in space!"

Notes:
The episode title is the name of a song by The Animals