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David T. Cole

By David T. Cole
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PurpleTentacle
PurpleTentacle

All the show name parodies, for those who are interested:

festivus
festivus

How are we supposed to pick a favorite??? Shatner's Creek Better Call Cthulhu Fargo But In Space

SmithW6079
SmithW6079

Which is why they should just create a new series, instead of reviving "Futurama." Fry and Leela have had two perfect endings -- the episode where he gets the Robot Devil's hands that ends with her wa

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SmithW6079

SmithW6079

On 2/10/2022 at 10:02 AM, festivus said:

I just learned about this. I'm really so excited since Futurama is my favorite animated show. But, I thought the ending was so perfect. Don't fuck it up, guys. 

 

On 2/10/2022 at 8:44 PM, Spartan Girl said:

Fry and Leela better still be married.

And it’s not going to work if they can’t get DiMaggio back as Bender.

Which is why they should just create a new series, instead of reviving "Futurama." Fry and Leela have had two perfect endings -- the episode where he gets the Robot Devil's hands that ends with her watching Fry create an image of them kissing when he plays the holophone (I believe I've read that that was intended to be a series finale if need be), and the one where they spend a lifetime together when time freezes, and agree to go through it all again when the Professor figures out how to restart time. Maybe that's the reboot -- they start the series over from the beginning with new adventures.

To be honest, I kind of got tired of Bender. That's the trouble with break-out characters like him. The writers start writing almost exclusively for them to the exclusion of the other characters.

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MagnusHex

MagnusHex

On 3/2/2022 at 7:55 AM, Spartan Girl said:

im back baby GIF

lol Just watched this episode just now for the first time ("Kif Gets Knocked Up a Notch"). Bender had a few great lines here, especially "Hey, what is this ugly thing? A frog? A toad? Yo mama?" I know it's a dumb yo mama joke, but it just cracked me up because of how stupid and juvenile it was.

This episode, unfortunately, wasn't the most brilliant Futurama episode. I do like Amy and Kif a lot, and I don't mind cheesy happy endings in this show because it's essentially a show with lots of heart, but it's just not anything special, which is a shame because it's the season 4 opener (followed up by supposedly a more interesting episode, Leela's Homeworld). AV Club notes that Amy's development was cut short because she's not forced to make a choice of commitment by the end of the episode, therefore not growing as a character and she became more of a plot-point.

And that's a shame, because I felt like Amy wasn't really developed all that much throughout the first three seasons beyond just being a clumsy Asian girl. And like I said, I like Amy, a lot. She's like the nicest character in the show, so I would love to see her own proper arc or solo episode in the future that really flesh out her character more.

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MagnusHex

MagnusHex

Season 4, Episode 3: Love and Rocket

And now we have the birth of the greatest forum weapon on this show:

Starring Sigourney Weaver 9000 doing a wonderful job to make this otherwise average episode better than it is. AV Club notes the dated nature of the premise (female AI goes psychotic after jerkass boyfriend dumps her), but the AI doesn't technically have a gender, and I didn't even notice the sexist undertone until I read the premise out loud, not to mention that this is a dark comedy starring Bender (who's only less evil than Rick Sanchez because he lacks his superior intelligence), so it's a minor gripe at best. I do agree though that it is kinda a cheap shot and a dated sitcom premise that this episode failed to subvert or do anything meaningful with it.

But Fry's B-plot is definitely the stronger plot here, especially with how things ended the last time Fry tried sending a message of love (Time Keeps on Slippin'). The only minor flaw is that this could've been a great episode to balance out the utterly depressing nature of that episode ending from season 3, but it only results in Leela giving kinda a shrug at Fry's effort. It's also kinda funny how Fry has the appropriate "You leave me breathless" message right after he gave his oxygen reserve to Leela, almost like he found that candy heart earlier and was waiting for the right opportunity to use it. In fact, this message was actually better executed than his previous one that he created using that arrangement of stars (it's just a straightforward "I Love You, Leela" confession without poetics), so Fry definitely did a better job of tying his confession to his actions this episode.

Also, the Lovey Bears scene just kills me. It's the kind of dark humor we watch this show for, but man, why do they have to make those bears so cute? The way they move and sound, not to mention how small and cuddly they are... ugh. Of course, all the planets being destroyed in the end didn't bother as much 'coz it's off-screen. Irony!

Not a bad episode, but could've been better. 7/10

Spartan Girl

Spartan Girl

(edited)
On 3/20/2022 at 4:35 AM, MagnusHex said:

But Fry's B-plot is definitely the stronger plot here, especially with how things ended the last time Fry tried sending a message of love (Time Keeps on Slippin'). The only minor flaw is that this could've been a great episode to balance out the utterly depressing nature of that episode ending from season 3, but it only results in Leela giving kinda a shrug at Fry's effort. It's also kinda funny how Fry has the appropriate "You leave me breathless" message right after he gave his oxygen reserve to Leela, almost like he found that candy heart earlier and was waiting for the right opportunity to use it. In fact, this message was actually better executed than his previous one that he created using that arrangement of stars (it's just a straightforward "I Love You, Leela" confession without poetics), so Fry definitely did a better job of tying his confession to his actions this episode.

 

Yup, I felt like that was one of the better parts about that episode too. But I think Leela was more touched by Fry’s willingness to sacrifice himself for her than the actual words. That moment and “The Sting” went a long way into Leela re-examining her feelings for Fry. Also the later episode where they meet their alternate universe selves and Leela sees how happy the other Fry and Leela were together.

Edited by Spartan Girl
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MagnusHex

MagnusHex

(edited)

Just watched Jurassic Bark. Sigh.

This was pretty much Futurama's most iconic episode, so much so that I've long heard of it even before I started watching the show, so I already knew something bad's coming. And then, when Seymour is mentioned, when I thought about Fry being frozen and forced to leave his dog behind... I pretty much figured out where this was going, especially when I've learned of the fact that dogs never abandon their owners. They will literally stay in a single spot, never moving till their owner comes back.

On an unrelated note, if you will bear with me for a second, I first learned of that fact from the anime, Gintama. Much like the ending to Jurassic Bark, the scene from the anime also hit me like a wall of bricks, causing me to uncontrollably sob like a baby (till the twist ending anyway). For those interested in crying to another sad dog story (then laugh your ass out, or maybe just get the shit scared out of you), here's that clip:

Anyway, once Fry made the mature decision at the end by

Spoiler

not forcing Seymour to come back, it's pretty obvious to me that I should start crying. It's not hard to see what's coming. It's almost manipulative. But as the AV Club says, it's manipulative in a good way. I kept wanting the episode to end right as Fry smashed the cloning machine, but the episode just kept going... and then the song started playing... and my eyes got real dusty.

Here's that song from the episode by the way, in case you feel like getting your heart ripped out:

Best episode ever... at least till it's retconned in Bender's Big Score.

Sigh.

Edited by MagnusHex
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Spartan Girl

Spartan Girl

2 hours ago, Vermicious Knid said:

I was so frustrated by one of the movies, where Leela is dating Lars who is actually Fry, and keeps talking about how much better Lars is. It's the same guy! I personally don't think having them together would have negatively impacted the show.

Well, they had to drag it out. But I loved how the Comedy Central seasons actually had Fry and Leela be a couple, and it didn’t manage to fall victim to the Moonlighting Effect.

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MagnusHex

MagnusHex

(edited)

S4E11: Where No Fan Has Gone Before

Such a fun episode even though I've never seen any Trek series (except the 2009 remake). I knew Wrath of Khan was an amazing sequel with an unforgettable quote, but that's it. Still, this episode feels overdue since I always felt a Trekkie vibe from Futurama (Fry is literally a Trekkie), so it seems only appropriate that they finally did a crossover episode of sorts.

We also finally got to hear The Ancient Battle/2nd Kroykah (AKA the Star Trek fight theme which I first heard of from Jim Carrey in The Cable Guy) done in the best possible way: a full-blown fight on a sandy planet resembling one of many TOS's generic sandy desert planets! I had so much laughter from Carrey doing that theme in Cable Guy that I just couldn't help but get giddy and amused whenever this score came up. So much fun. The moment I saw Leela and Shatner did their fighting pose towards each other, my first thought was, "Woo, they're gonna do the theme!"

I also like all the little self-depreciating jabs this episode did towards fandom and our endless obsession, but man, Melllvar's fan-made script sucked. I could've come up with a better script - and I'm not even a Trekkie! lol

Overall, a really fun episode only somewhat saddened by the deaths of both DeForest Kelley and Leonard Nimoy. The end credits imitating a typical TOS title sequence was brilliant too.

8/10

Edited by MagnusHex
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MagnusHex

MagnusHex

S4E12: The Sting

In which

Spoiler

FRY F-ING DIED.

Or did he? lol

Not gonna lie though, when it happened before the ad break, it caught me off guard and got me wondering how they were gonna revive him. We all know by now that he's gonna come back for three more seasons, but it's the "how" that makes this episode so engaging. There's also the fact that Fry literally saved Leela's life and this was probably the most heroic thing he ever did.

But man, that ending. Man tears, man. Man tears. I really love Fry's reaction towards coma Leela at the end. Even though he needs a shower, you could see how much Leela appreciates him staying by her side in that brief moment after she woke up. The thing that really sells Futurama for me is its tendency to go for the feels than for a good laugh. I really enjoy the goofiness too, but it's these sappy and moving moments that really made this show solid for me.

In spite of what the true nature of the episode turned out to be, this was probably the furthest Fry and Leela's relationship has ever developed at this point of the series. I know how much the show likes its status quo sometimes, but this feels like one of those moments Leela would remember... at least I would hope so. lol

Also, another thing I love about this series pops up: CALLBACK. I know the original envelope in Space Pilot 3000 was labeled "Contents of Space Wasp's Stomach", but as someone on Reddit said, "Wasps, bees; Farnsworth couldn't be bothered to tell the difference." The fourth season seems to be all about resolving plot threads big and trivial, from Leela's parents to the true nature of Fry's cryogenesis, and now we see the old Planet Express crew that was mentioned in the pilot!

Of course, this was due to Futurama being cancelled on Fox back in 2003, so it makes sense Groening was trying to wrap everything up as the series finale (supposedly) approached. This was probably inevitable from the start due to Fox executives being salty that they didn't get Simpsons IN SPACE!, so I can't be too hard on Comedy Central even if (supposedly) the series isn't nearly as pristine as its Fox era.

But as I near the end to the Fox era seasons, I have to say that this was easily the most satisfying Futurama season so far, and probably my favorite too, mostly because of all the plot-threads being tied up, but also because there have been so many fun (WNFHGB), tragic (SEYMOURRR), and just genuinely creative moments in the season (particularly this episode's use of visuals in the animation medium). The best stories have a solid conclusion, so I can't wait to see how Groening wrap up the Fox era with this fourth season!

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Vermicious Knid

Vermicious Knid

Episode titles have been released:

  • "The Impossible Stream,"
  • "Rage Against The Vaccine,"
  • "Zapp Gets Cancelled,"
  • "The Prince And The Product,"
  • "Related To Items You've Viewed,"
  • "Children Of A Lesser Bog,"
  • "How The West Was 1010001,"
  • "I Know What You Did Last Xmas,"
  • "Parasites Regained,"
  • "All The Way Down."
Quote

The references to vaccines and being 'cancelled' seem like direct indicators that the series will tackle some timely commentary, while the reference to "Parasites Regained" seems to hint that Fry's parasite storyline in season 2, episode 3, "Parasites Lost," will make a comeback. The episode title "Children Of A Lesser Bog" even teases the potential return of Kif and Amy's babies.

I refuse to get Hulu so I will have to hope my library system acquires the DVDs once the season has aired.

MagnusHex

MagnusHex

Bender's Big Score

Oh boy.

I really wanted to like this one, but it ended up feeling more frustrating than enjoyable. Fry's passive-aggressive jealousy of Leela finding happiness elsewhere is so played out it might as well have been a Friends episode featuring Ross and Rachel. If I want repetitive storylines played for cheap gags, I would watch an episode from The Simpsons post-season 10. And LaBarbara being a walking plot-device meant to infuriate Hermes again with her "affair" with Barbados (born out of her shallow perception that Hermes is worthless without a body) just wasn't really that funny for me either. At least Leela had a good reason to dump Fry's ass for "Lars": Lars actually seemed more competent and charismatic as a person.

But Lars being Fry from another timeline (DUN DUN DUN) was a nice touch though because it reminds us of a time when Fry wasn't a slightly more intelligent version of Jerkass Homer. I remember Fry was merely a lazy slacker for a while before becoming a full-blown moron. I can't remember the specific point throughout the first four seasons when Fry's intelligence dropped, but it was nice to see a version of Fry being his original "everyday man/slacker" status once again. Now if only writers could revert Homer's intelligence (or the lack thereof)...

While Fry and Leela had a sweet moment at the end of this film, do we really need another "The Devil’s Hands are Idle Playthings" rehashed? Fry and Leela already shared a moment in that would-be finale, so to mine that relationship conflict again only to have a similar "Aw, Fry's not a total idiot loser" moment feels insincere.

The antagonists and the main plot itself are... fine. They are passable. The plot does feel stretched out, and I was mostly bored because most of the jokes didn't land that well. Bender had a nice moment at the end when he outsmarted the scammers, which is cool because I kept wondering why his "big score" wasn't the main focus of the movie if it's titled as such.

And Seymour. Sigh. What a slap in the face. We didn't even get a nice reunion scene between Fry and him, just a "oh hey, guess you're alive now" moment. Then he's fossilized again, soon to be dead in another timeline. I read that a number of Redditors were fine with this scene because it explained away the plot hole how Seymour could be alive again with his organs intact if he died of old age waiting for Fry. So at the very least, this scene fixed a trivial plot hole that doesn't really affect the plot in any major way even if it wasn't resolved... yay? That's why I don't bother nitpicking about plot holes because the larger storytelling elements are what concern me, and this anticlimactic return for Seymour made me feel apathetic towards Jurassic Bark now. Who cares how that episode ends if it's just going to turn out this way? Way to go and ruin a perfect episode.

A lot of people ranked this as the best of the four DTV movies... yikes. Can't wait to see how much worse the rest are.

5/10

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MagnusHex

MagnusHex

(edited)

The Beast with a Billion Backs

Eh. As Zack Handlen of AV Club accurately said in his review, BwaBB has lower highs and higher lows than Bender's Big Score. The "highs" of Bender's Big Score would be Lars' plot, which became a lot more interesting than the tentacle alien in retrospect once the plot twist was revealed at the end of the film. The "lows" of BBS were far more boring and tedious than BwaBB, but only because Bender is (ironically) far more hilarious here than in his titular movie, whether it's "No crap, my grandmother was a bulldozer" or literally shitting bricks, Bender is the MVP this movie. Also, "Missile jammed. Missile jammed." "I heard you the first time, Francine!" Hehe, that was pretty clever and got a chuckle out of me. So while BwaBB also has its share of annoying filler B-plot, they were far funnier.

I have mixed feelings about Kif's relationship this film. On one hand, yay, more Amy and Kif, both of whom make a cute couple, and the alien ceremony seems to imply they were married, so good for them... except that Zapp ruined it all by inadvertently killing Kif while never getting punished for it. Yeesh. I find it annoying whenever a character does something heinous and 1) doesn't get called out on his act, and 2) doesn't get punished for it. I guess it's something I'm expected to accept and deal with when it comes to Zapp Brannigan by this point of Futurama, but I still find it annoying. On a coincidental note, I just watched "Alone Again, Natura-Diddily" just now where a similar moron jerkass got a recurring character killed... sigh, can't believe I ended up comparing Zombie Simpsons and Futurama in the same paragraph. Oh, and that moron slept with Amy, resulting in a justifiably jealous Kif when he's resurrected, so there's that. I guess I should be happy they're doing something with Amy rather than disregarding her character altogether like large portions of the Fox era. You take what you can get.

Speaking of jealous boyfriends/husbands, people have noted that the space alien in this film is a creep who's the embodiment of the "Nice Guy," how he went all militant when Fry "cheated" (and I use this word loosely) by communicating with another universe. I personally don't hold such sentiments and didn't even observe such a flaw in the alien's personality, but hey, there you go, another reason to groan at the movie.

Let's see, did I miss anything else? Oh right - Fry completely forgot about Leela because the writers thought the audience wouldn't remember the plot of the previous film. Well, have I got news for you!!! DING DING DING! Yeah, these films don't work well when watched consecutively.

6/10

Edited by MagnusHex
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MagnusHex

MagnusHex

Bender's Game

superman-joke.gif

^ How I felt for most of the jokes.

‘“It’d be cheaper to fill the tank with Nobel Prize winner’s sperm.” The Dixie Chicks. "It’s a hobo and a rabbit. But they’re making a hobbit!” All failed to get a chuckle out of me (had to Google The Dixie Chicks).

This was easily my most bored experience watching the DTV movies of Futurama. Even season 11 of The Simpsons got a few giggles out of me some episodes. That's how bad it got.

Speaking of the season full of cheap gags, Zack Handlen of AV Club said it right, "a cheap shot is a cheap shot no matter how supposedly subversive it might be." I'm starting to realize that comedies like these that rely on gag-per-minute scenes just don't really work for me (just one reason why I despise traditional American sitcoms). It's the equivalence of Patrick laughing at a flying elephant giraffe.

Ahahaha, I'm laughing because stuff happens (like hey, it's the Teletubbies! I remember Teletubbies!), even though the comedy doesn't build off the main plot nor the characters' quirks/personality. Never mind that it's not remotely clever; it's a dumb cartoon!

Yikes. How far Futurama has fallen.

Also really doesn't help that I'm neither a fan of Dungeons and Dragons nor Lord of the Rings. Those LotRs movies were entertaining enough (for a high-budget Hollywood blockbuster) when I watched them, but medieval fantasy is one of my least favorite genres compared to sci-fi.

And man, there were some pretty sardonic jokes here made at the characters' expense: implying Leela's a masochist with her pain collar and calling Amy a slut (their words, not mine). Phew, low-brow humor at their worst.

3/10

MagnusHex

MagnusHex

Into the Wild Green Yonder

Phew. Finally, I'm done with these films. This last one was indeed better than the previous two films, but I'd still say that in terms of consistently engaging me, Bender's Big Score kept me more engaged with Fry's adventure into the past, so in terms of ranking:

  1. Bender's Big Score
  2. Into the Wild Green Yonder
  3. Beast with a Billion Backs
  4. Bender's Game

The jokes regarding sexism in this film did not age very well in my opinion. Maybe it's just me, but I find sexist jokes uncomfortable regardless of which side of the spectrum it's directing the humor at, especially in 2022 when the "men bad" narrative becomes disingenuous and just feels like cheap easy laughs in general without substance to them. But to be fair, at least Yonder tries to paint both genders to be just as ignorant, with the feministas ineffectively making their point by 1) murdering someone, kind of, 2) be reduced to tired female valley girl stereotypes, and 3) have Leela harboring the Dark One that not only constantly bit her whenever it got the chance, but also outright murdered one of their members. Meanwhile, the men are insufferable sexist cartoons that don't match the very real behavior of sexism in our world whatsoever, so it's hard to take either seriously. I guess that's the joke, but it's not one I found myself laughing at very often, once again feeling tedium rather than humor.

Oh, and Fry loves Leela again after his breakup with Colleen or whatever. Who cares by this point if the writers can't keep their continuity straight between Leela and Fry? (meanwhile, other less significant details like the Dark One slug being the sandworm in Bender's Game are kept consistent; talk about low-hanging fruits).

The third act did feel the most enjoyable though, but only because of the grandiose sci-fi plot around the Encyclopod, a plot which feels rather undercooked. The visual sight of seeing the creature come alive again was nice and would've been a nice spectacle at the theater, but I couldn't really get myself to care that much about the fate of the giant deity batoid as it doesn't have enough of a personality for me to care, merely a concept for me to behold.

All in all, it's not completely terrible, but I had more enjoyment watching Fry's adventures during Bender's Big Score, and that's saying something since I gave that film 5/10. Yonder does have the benefit of not retroactively insulting me with a retcon though, so at least there's that.

6/10

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Vermicious Knid

Vermicious Knid

TCU has been using the Hypnotoad as an unofficial mascot. Interestingly, Disney now owns Futurama and won't give them permission to create and sell merchandise, but they don't control the term Hypnotoad itself. 

Quote

 

Regian describes TCU’s Hypnotoad as a “mastermind — a bringer of all chaos to all situations, surrounded by movie and television clips to create a hype atmosphere.”

“Once we did that, we just sort of built off those foundations, and it kept getting wackier and crazier and just more fun,” he said...

“Our marketing people have done a really cool job of creating a buzz around it. It’s something that, again, it’s funny, our players kind of believe in it, and I’m starting to become a little bit of a believer myself.”

 

MagnusHex

MagnusHex

(edited)

Futurama, 6x26: Reincarnation

I just finished season 6 of Futurama, and while most of season 6 has been between lukewarm or just inconsistently written (albeit having some nice clever jabs at trending topics at the time that I enjoyed more than most people who considered them to be easily dated), Reincarnation is easily the most enjoyable episode of the season. Being an anime fan, the Japanimation segment of the episode was naturally my favorite one, especially the calling out of the horrible dubbing in imported anime in America ("Rather than speaking Ja-[ENGLISH!] like us").

The constant bouncing of all characters in the black-and-white cartoon segment was a hilarious tribute too. It also had a lot of fun with video game logic in the 2nd segment.

This whole episode is just barrels of fun with so many in-jokes that you'd get if you remotely understand any part of geek culture.

Edited by MagnusHex
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