Fun:Futurama
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In 2003, the [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oEiJ3QA4kKs brainless drones at Fox] cancelled the series after only four seasons, complaining about poor ratings (in reality, Mr. [[Rupert Murdoch|News of the World's]] kiddies were playing around with the timeslots, making it difficult to see any of the new episodes anyway). Reruns were played on Adult Swim while the show's online fanbase continued to spike, and in 2006, [[Comedy Central]] announced the production of [[wp:Futurama (season 5)|four straight-to-DVD films]]. | In 2003, the [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oEiJ3QA4kKs brainless drones at Fox] cancelled the series after only four seasons, complaining about poor ratings (in reality, Mr. [[Rupert Murdoch|News of the World's]] kiddies were playing around with the timeslots, making it difficult to see any of the new episodes anyway). Reruns were played on Adult Swim while the show's online fanbase continued to spike, and in 2006, [[Comedy Central]] announced the production of [[wp:Futurama (season 5)|four straight-to-DVD films]]. | ||
| − | By June 2010, Futurama was beginning its 6th season and second official run | + | By June 2010, Futurama was beginning its 6th season and second official run on the new network. Critics were mixed to generally positive, praising specific episodes while comparing others to the quality of Season 1.<ref>When you have writers that haven't written 30-minute episodes for over six years, what do you expect?</ref> |
It has since been renewed for a 7th season, airing in 2012-2013. Sweet three-toed sloth of ice planet Hoth! | It has since been renewed for a 7th season, airing in 2012-2013. Sweet three-toed sloth of ice planet Hoth! | ||
Revision as of 06:27, 14 January 2012
Futurama is an animated comedy sitcom created by Matt Groening (the mastermind behind The Simpsons) and writer David X. Cohen, following the life of Phillip J. Fry, the employee of a planetary pizza delivery company who is accidentally frozen on New Year's Eve in 1999. He wakes up 1000 years into the future, shocked to see a retro-futuristic New New York, and finds a job at Planet Express, an interplanetary delivery company (just without the pizza).
Groening has said that the 31st century setting has given him "a lot of leeway" on the show's creative process. And as such, Futurama has set the Guinness World Record for "Current Most Critically Acclaimed Animated Series."[1]
Now please watch the following video:
Contents |
The Planet Express crew
- Fry - The main protagonist. Portrayed as a lazy, stupid, yet lovable "everyman," his relationship with Leela is one of the primary story arcs in the series. He is the great (x30) uncle of Professor Farnsworth, and can do the Hustle
- Turanga Leela - The one-eyed, bold, stubborn space pilot that everyone (yes, everyone) who has ever watched the show has wanted to have sex with.
- Bender Bending Rodríguez - Bite my shiny metal ass!
- Professor Hubert J. Farnsworth - Good news, everyone! I don't want to live on this planet anymore.
- Dr. John A. Zoidberg - Need we say more?
- Hermes Conrad - The token Jamaican guy, his character is a mockery of crappy bureaucracy
- Amy Wong - Planet Express' resident intern and archetypal "dumb blonde";[2] hails from Mars and is Kif Kroker's wife/fonfon ru/whatever.
- Scruffy - The janitor, who only pops into episodes occasionally and is seen reading endless amounts of pr0n in his spare time. Has once been intimate with a wash bucket.
- Lord Nibbler - Leela's cute, cat-like pet, later revealed to be a high-ranking member of the Nibblonians, a hyper-intelligent ancient species which witnessed the Big Bang and has since sought to protect the universe from harm. Poops dark matter.
- Cubert Farnsworth - The Professor's pompous and annoying cloned son, he often points out logical fallicies made by the rest of the crew.
Other notable characters
- Zapp Brannigan - The hilariously Shatner-esque, chauvinistic and incompetent 25-Star General of the Democratic Order of Planets, Brannigan continues to try and seduce Leela to no avail.
- Kif - Zapp's second in command. He may have the worst job on primetime television.
- Mom - CEO of the dreaded MomCorp, a multi-billion dollar industrial complex (with almost-monopoly status) that competes with Planet Express on package delivery. Reminiscent to the Iron Bitch, but without a British accent.
- Dr. Ogden Wernstrom - Farnsworth's nemesis in the field of science. Wernstrom!
- Lrrr - Ruler of the planet Omicron Persei 8. Has really bad cable service.[3] See also Morbo
- The Donbot and Clamps - Add 'don' and 'bot'. What do you get?
- Tricky Dick's head - Since Season 2, has been President of Earth (the Vice-President
iswas the headless body of Spiro Agnew; was just recently replaced by Tricky Dick No. 2). His first rule by decree was to attach himself onto a giant death robot and rampage across Washington D.C., destroying part of the White House in the process. Nixon's baaaaaaack. - The Hypnotoad - Wait, why the hell is this even he-ALL GLORY TO THE HYPNOTOAD
Contributions to humanity
As with most animated comedy today, Futurama parodies pop culture to supplement its main plot. However, it is especially notable for giving viewers constant nerdgasms, referencing:
- Organized religion
- His noodly appendage
- The awesomeness of evolution
- Homeopathy
- Comic-Con
- Fox News
- The Periodic Table
- The Twilight Zone
- Old Mentos experiments
- Quantum mechanics
- Correct definitions of irony
- Neutral point of view
- The excesses of the Roman Empire
- Underwater physics
- The actual benefits of coffee
- Schrödinger's cat
- Binary code
- Good old πkea
...and a lot more.
Entire episodes have been devoted to topics such as feminism ("Amazon Women in the Mood", and eco-feminism in Into the Wild Green Yonder), environmentalism ("A Big Piece of Garbage," "The Problem with Popplers," "The Birdbot of Ice-Catraz"), global warming ("Crimes of the Hot", featuring Al Gore), gay marriage ("Proposition Infinity"), the Trekkie phenomenon[4] ("Where No Fan Has Gone Before"), intelligent design ("A Clockwork Origin"), parallel universes ("The Farnsworth Parabox"), time travel and its resulting paradoxes ("The Late Philip J. Fry", "Time Keeps on Slippin'," "Roswell that Ends Well," Bender's Big Score, etc.), Möbius strips ("Möbius Dick"), brilliant philosophical analyses on God's existence ("Godfellas"), and even the creation of new mathematical theorems ("The Prisoner of Benda").
Many in Futurama's production staff actually have top-notch academic credentials (Cohen, in particular, has a BSc in physics and a MS in computer science), while intellectuals like MC Hawking make frequent guest appearances. Needless to say, you won't see a lot of conservatives watching the show.
Cancellation and renewal
In 2003, the brainless drones at Fox cancelled the series after only four seasons, complaining about poor ratings (in reality, Mr. News of the World's kiddies were playing around with the timeslots, making it difficult to see any of the new episodes anyway). Reruns were played on Adult Swim while the show's online fanbase continued to spike, and in 2006, Comedy Central announced the production of four straight-to-DVD films.
By June 2010, Futurama was beginning its 6th season and second official run on the new network. Critics were mixed to generally positive, praising specific episodes while comparing others to the quality of Season 1.[5]
It has since been renewed for a 7th season, airing in 2012-2013. Sweet three-toed sloth of ice planet Hoth!
WARNING
Futurama has been known to cause fully grown men to cry in the following episodes:
- "Jurassic Bark"
- "Luck of the Fryrish"
- "Leela's Homeworld"
- "The Devil's Hands are Idle Playthings"
- "The Sting"
- "Love and Rocket"
- "Lethal Inspection"
- "The Late Philip J. Fry"
RationalWiki suggests keeping a box of tissues nearby. We are not kidding.
External links
- Got Futurama?
- The Infosphere, everything you need to know about the series
- The amazing Billy West
- VOTE ROBOT NIXON 2012
Footnotes
- ↑ Yes, there is such a thing.
- ↑ She does have black hair, though.
- ↑ "When Aliens Attack," Season 1.
- ↑ Just something extra.
- ↑ When you have writers that haven't written 30-minute episodes for over six years, what do you expect?