 The joke working title, "How the Solar System was Won", reflected  the original idea for the film. Just as  _How the West Was Won (1962)_ (qv) was a series of short stories  spanning decades, "2001" was going to be a series of stories showing  explorations on many planets and moons. The last story would be "The  Sentinel" which showed the uncovering of the monolith on the Moon,  and the first contact with extra terrestrials.