I am the greetest! Now I am leaving Earth forever, for no raisin!

September 12, 2004 6:26 PM

The 25 Best Futurama Moments Ever! Truly the greatest animated show till date. [via 0xDECAFBAD]
posted by riffola (55 comments total)

Heh. I just finished downloa...

I mean. I can't wait to see these in syndication. Or something.

Oh, and Sweet Zombie Jesus!
posted by bitpart at 6:29 PM on September 12, 2004

No way Futurama is the best animated show ever.
posted by VanRoosta at 6:32 PM on September 12, 2004

Good thing they explained all the jokes!
posted by jon_kill at 6:35 PM on September 12, 2004

It's been said a million times by nerds sweatier than I, but Futurama's cancellation is just one of the many reasons I'd like to punch Rupert Murdoch in the neck. Thank god it's so easy to download purchase the DVDs, though.

My favorite:

Kif: Sir, remember your course correction?

Zapp: No.

Kif: Well it's proving somewhat more suicidal than we'd initially hoped.

Zapp: Kif old friend I don't know which disgusts me more. Your cowardice or your stupidity. We'll simply set a new course for that empty region over there. Near that black-ish hole-ish thing.

Does anyone know which writers in particular migrated from the Simpsons to Futurama and were able to make it so much funnier? I'd be interested to know who in particular, other than Groening, is responsible for influencing its writing. I know Bill Odenkirk has a big hand in it. Is he related to Bob?
posted by dhoyt at 6:38 PM on September 12, 2004

My favorite? From the "underwater" episode. Zoidberg moves into a shell (Look at me! I'm Zoidberg! HOMEOWNER!) .

Said (underwater, remember) home burns down, prompting Hermes to exclaim, "That raises too many questions!" Bender then bends down and picks something up ... saying "There's where I left my cigar!"

Prompting Hermes to exclaim, "That just raises FURTHER questions!"

Well, that's whatever you were talking about for you.
posted by WolfDaddy at 6:41 PM on September 12, 2004

Season for season, there's no way Futurama beats the Simpsons. While the latter has been in a holding pattern for the last few years, it's still quite funny, and was funny in a truly revolutionary way in seasons 2-5. Futurama was OK, but never got to such levels. Sorry.
posted by soyjoy at 6:42 PM on September 12, 2004

Hey! Where's this moment from the "Leela Kills Fry" episode:

"You could really use a shower."
"You too."
posted by brownpau at 6:44 PM on September 12, 2004

And one of my favorite lines:

"Technically it's in New Jersey."
posted by brownpau at 6:45 PM on September 12, 2004

VanRoosta: You can't just make a blanket statement like that without having something to back it up. I'd say the case for Futurama is pretty strong. Well animated, compelling characters and stories. It also had excellent writing with plenty of good overt jokes and the requisite easter eggs for the internet nerds. It seems to be a good candidate. Sure there are series I personally like alot, both old (Batman: The Animated Series) and new (The Venture Brothers) But there isn't any series that has delivered consistent quality, episode after episode, for the entire run of the series like Futurama. So VanRoosta, I say to you: What animated series is better than Futurama in terms of writing, animation and overall consistency?

Oh and my favorite line (the one I call out when I watch the time travel episode of any other TV show):

Fry: "Well, I did do the nasty in the past-y."
posted by BartFargo at 7:18 PM on September 12, 2004

Truly the greatest animated show till date.

Excuse me....
posted by jonmc at 7:20 PM on September 12, 2004

Screw those sad moments near the end. That's B.S. The Lucy Liu episode and the Fry's a Robot episode both didn't make it, and they're my favorites. "Please ingest sandwiches from my compartment."

I say to you: What animated series is better than Futurama in terms of writing, animation and overall consistency?

Futurama was a great show, and sure it wins out in the animation and consistency departments. But as for writing, it never was and never would have been even close to approaching the Zen majesty of Space Ghost, Coast to Coast.
posted by Laugh_track at 7:29 PM on September 12, 2004

I'd agree that Futurama is the best ever. The Simpsons would have won if it had gone off the air six or seven years ago, but the drop in quality since then takes it out of the running.

My own favorite line: When Zapp is kicked out of d.o.o.p., he leads Fry and Bender in a mutiny to depose Leela as captain of the Planet Express ship. Bender throws Leela into the ship's brig and as she sits there, furious, he says, "Someday we'll look back at this and laugh . . . HAHAHAHAHAHA!"
posted by Zonker at 7:32 PM on September 12, 2004

family guy, the simpsons, and futurama were all great shows and im glad we all have unique opinions about all three. go white sox!
posted by Satapher at 7:32 PM on September 12, 2004

Zapp: "Killbots? A trifle. It was simply a matter of outsmarting them."
Fry: "Wow, I never would've thought of that."
Zapp: "You see, killbots have a preset kill limit. Knowing their weakness, I sent wave after wave of my own men at them until they reached their limit and shut down."
posted by Hildago at 7:36 PM on September 12, 2004

Leela: You know, Zap, once I thought you were a big pompous buffoon, and then I realized that inside you were just a pitiful child, but now I realize that outside that child is a big pompous buffoon.

Zapp Brannigan: And which one rocked your world?

So, so good.
posted by dhoyt at 7:43 PM on September 12, 2004

Farnsworth: "This is a chance for Fry to test out my experimental anti-pressure pill."
Fry: "I can't swallow that!"
Farnsworth: "Well then, good news! It's a suppository."
posted by clevershark at 7:53 PM on September 12, 2004

Fry: "This is nothing. Back in high school I used to drink a hundred cans of cola a week. Right up until my third heart attack."
posted by keswick at 7:57 PM on September 12, 2004

Oh come on. What about the scene at the end of "Three Hundred Big Boys" (in which Fry decides to spend his $300 tax refund buying 100 cups of coffee) after he consumes his 100th cup of coffee? I expected just about anything except what happened, and it was perfect.

I would have put the story arc stuff at #1 myself, as it's a rare science fiction show that is actually rigorous enough to pull something like that off, and I never would have expected Futurama to be able to do it. When I saw "The Why of Fry" my jaw dropped; it was like they'd managed to pull off Babylon 5 episodes "Babylon Squared" and "War Without End" in a freakin' cartoon. It was so, so ambitious and unexpected.

I guess it's obvious that I like being surprises. Futurama gave me some great ones.

Snif. I miss that show. I swore I'd never buy a TV series on DVD, since I was not a sucker, but Futurama changed that.
posted by kindall at 8:09 PM on September 12, 2004

Zoidberg: "I've had it with this game! I'm going for a scuttle!"
posted by milovoo at 8:11 PM on September 12, 2004

Fry: Now he's trapped in a book I wrote. A crummy world of plot holes and spelling errors.
posted by clevershark at 8:14 PM on September 12, 2004

Anyone else watching "the Venture Bros" yet?

That's my favorite new one, but maybe that's just from the fact that I used to watch Johnny Quest, and always thought it was a bit odd somehow, thus VB cracks me up.
posted by milovoo at 8:14 PM on September 12, 2004

"Thank the Zombie Jesus!" delivered by Farnsworth and many of the lines from Amazon Women In The Mood i.e. Zap: "A little harder. Ooof! Too hard!"

It's unfortunate not to have new episodes, but having bought the DVD's I get to enjoy my favorites over and over again.
posted by sillygit at 8:18 PM on September 12, 2004

"Welcome to romantic Milwaukee, birthplace of beer goggles"
posted by clevershark at 8:19 PM on September 12, 2004

I'm kind of glad the dog episode came number 1 - I don't think I've ever seen such a sad, depressing, hopeless but beautifully constructed end to a cartoon show.
posted by Jimbob at 8:22 PM on September 12, 2004

(FWIW, in terms of sheer jokes-per-minute ratio & originality & fuckedupedness, Aqua Teen Hunger Force has to be my favorite animated series of all of them...)
posted by dhoyt at 8:24 PM on September 12, 2004

jonmc - Yes.

Best Family Guy line: "Just don't forget our deal, Lois. I sit through this and later tonight I get anal. You hear me? No matter how neat I want the house you have to clean it."
posted by Civil_Disobedient at 8:30 PM on September 12, 2004

Fry: It's like sex, except I'm having it.
posted by Succa at 8:50 PM on September 12, 2004

Though the Beck quote about "Devils haircut" was funny, I think this was a better example of guest poking fun at themselves, curtosey of the Beastie Boys:

Fry: Back in 1999, I had all five of your albums.
AdRock: That was 1000 years ago! Now we got seven.

I say to you: What animated series is better than Futurama in terms of writing, animation and overall consistency?

Evangelion, though the animation could be a little still at times, design wise though it's the tops... and Last Exile is probably the highest quality (movie level) animated tv show... but as far as American animation goes Futurama is the tops in terms of quality.
posted by bobo123 at 8:59 PM on September 12, 2004

"Jurassic Bark" and "Luck of the Fryish" may well very be the single finest things I've ever seen on TV. Both of them get me every single time. So sad, so beautiful, so human.
posted by kjh at 9:14 PM on September 12, 2004

I know Bill Odenkirk has a big hand in it. Is he related to Bob?

Yes, he's his brother, according to the commentary track on "The Why of Fry." (Bob does the voice for the mayor's aide on that episode.)

Philip Mirksy, of "Worst of the Web" fame, was a writer on the show for a while too.
posted by kindall at 10:56 PM on September 12, 2004

No "death by snoo-snoo"?

Bah.
posted by padraigin at 11:04 PM on September 12, 2004

Zoidberg, slapping his mouth-parts onto the professor's fish-pheromone-covered head: "I'm so into you..."

Kills me.
posted by nicwolff at 11:16 PM on September 12, 2004

Leela: You know, Zapp, someone out to teach you a lesson.
Zapp Brannigan: If it's a lesson in love, watch out; I suffer from a very sexy learning disability. And what do I call it, Kif?
Kif: Ugh, 'sexlexia.'

also: the "all the money in the world and plans for a bad-ass gravity pump" gag
posted by nautone at 11:20 PM on September 12, 2004

I am not a big fan of Futurama (watched the first couple of seasons, then off and on), but I particularly enjoyed this exchange when Fry was rooming with Bender (in I, Roommate):

Bender: (sleep-talking) Kill all humans...kill all humans...must kill humans.
Fry: Bender, wake up!
[He wakes up and yawns.]
Bender: I was having the most wonderful dream. I think you were in it.
[later]...
Bender: (sleep-talking) Hey sexy mama...wanna kill all the humans?
posted by filmgoerjuan at 11:22 PM on September 12, 2004

happy
posted by jmccorm at 11:27 PM on September 12, 2004

Sorry Family Guy fans, your show is funny and I enjoy it as much as anyone, but... the show is all over the place. The episodes just read as a series of setups for nonsensical jokes. The stories have no emotional resonance. And the animation while crisp and smooth, never delivered anything amazing in terms of shot composition or color palette.

As for Space Ghost: Agreed, as far as writing is concerned, that show is still light years ahead of anything that's out there today. The only thing that even approaches it is the conceptual successor to Space Ghost: Aqua Teen Hunger Force.
posted by BartFargo at 12:05 AM on September 13, 2004

I watched a little Futurama, when I could catch it. I thought it was OK. Then we got a Tivo, and started snagging it off of CN, and seeing it everyday was a revelation.

The same thing happened with King of the Hill. Zoidberg and Dale Gribble are truly soulmates.

And, for jonmc, my wife couldn't stand Family Guy, and found Stewie particularly creepy, and 3 weeks later is telling me "Oh, I still hate this show, but I love Stewie".

And, of course, I always read jonmc's posts as being done in the voice of Coach McGuirk.
posted by dglynn at 12:05 AM on September 13, 2004

I don't ever want to see the dog episode. Damn, that's depressing.
posted by mr.marx at 1:12 AM on September 13, 2004

I don't ever want to see the dog episode. Damn, that's depressing.

No kidding. I remember being shocked by the outcome when I saw the episode on t.v. I don't think I've ever been that surprised by a sad ending to a television program. But it's part of what made Futurama so great; it was a meta-comedy in a sense, playing off the conventions of the format (well, various formats, from sci-fi to sitcom), off with self-referential comedy but also with the sort of unexpected turns exhibited in that episode. They did an amazingly good job of being poignant when they decided they wanted to be, which is saying something for a show known for being so irreverent.

Also, since that episode is, I believe, from the final season (four), I have to wonder if part of the reason for that episode wasn't a kind of catharsis for the writers when they found out the show was going to be cancelled. I'm not sure if that's the case, but I know it's not uncommon. When Joss Whedon found out Angel was being cancelled in the middle of last year, he poured all of his feelings about it into the episode where Fred dies with similarly depressing results.
posted by The God Complex at 1:26 AM on September 13, 2004

It's like there's a party in my mouth and everyone's throwing up!
posted by ZippityBuddha at 3:48 AM on September 13, 2004

Hold on Malachi!
My arms are tired from hugging God!
posted by TungstenChef at 4:21 AM on September 13, 2004

Professor: Well Leela, care to give the What-If machine a whirl?
Leela: Maybe later. I-I mean, I don't know what to ask about.
Hermes: Come on woman, just pick something!
Fry: Yeah, be more impulsive, like this.
[He picks up some breakfast cereal, pours it in his hair and then pours milk on it.]
Bender: Go man, go!
[Fry eats the cereal.]

That, and the entire segment where Bender is 500 ft tall are probably my favorite Futurama moments:

Hermes: Nothing can stop a monster that big!
Professor: Nothing except and even equally big monster. This is chance to try out my experimental enlarging ray! But we'll need a guinea pig.
[Scene: A guinea pig on a plate. Zoidberg passes the door, sniffing --]
Zoidberg: What's this? Two meals in one week?
[Zoidberg quickly gobbles up the guinea pig and a glass tube comes down, trapping him.]
Farnsworth: Gotcha!
Hermes: Oh yes!
Zoidberg: Friends! Help! A guinea pig tricked me!

Text doesn't do either of these scenes justice -- the show is just so witty, so fast, it's unbelievable.
posted by rafter at 4:48 AM on September 13, 2004

> Zoidberg and Dale Gribble are truly soulmates.

I'd say poor old Zoidberg and poor old Bill have much more in common.
posted by The Card Cheat at 6:22 AM on September 13, 2004

Watching Family Guy now, I stand by my opinion that it was the better of the three major Fox animated series. I say was because much of FG's humor does not have a long shelf life. Futurama aged much better and you don't need a degree in "Late 90sology" to get most of the jokes.

However, FG still has comic timing down to a science. My favorite example is when Peter, after finding the last golden scroll to visit his favorite brewery, runs home in a scene straight out of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. When he gets to his house, he trips and hurts his shin. What follows is a genius level of timing as Peter sits and nurses his shin ("ooohh.. shhhhh...ooohhh.. sssshhh"). He does it so long that its starts funny, gets old, then funny again, then old again, then (quoth Brian) "Hay-lare-ee-yes!" As a kicker (and most FG jokes had kickers), when Peter asks for a Chumbawumba song upon being kicked out of the brewery, he instead gets hit in the shin and starts to nurse it again. The funny of the previous scene then comes back, but knowing they can't do it twice, it's cut short.

He then goes on to discover that when drunk he's an excellent piano player and plays the theme from X-files, which links back to FG's Late 90sology problem.
posted by robocop is bleeding at 7:03 AM on September 13, 2004

I'll put Futurama in the top ten, maybe even the top five, but it's not the best animated series ever. Assuming you're sticking just to U.S.-produced cartoons and not even factoring the numerous anime candidates, the top honor goes without question to Batman: the Animated Series, followed by the old Fleischer Superman cartoons of the 1940's. Futurama is a good show, but these are art, folks.
posted by XQUZYPHYR at 8:05 AM on September 13, 2004

Zoidberg: Now open your mouth and let's have a look at that brain.
[Fry opens his mouth]
Zoidberg: No, no, not that mouth.
Fry: I only have one.
Zoidberg : Really?
Fry: Um... is there a human doctor around?
Zoidberg: Young lady, I am an expert on humans. Now pick a mouth, open it, and say "[alien language phrase]"!
[Fry clears throat and completely mangles the alien phrase]
Dr. Zoidberg: What?! My mother was a saint! Get out!
posted by teradome at 9:01 AM on September 13, 2004

"Hell hath no fury like the vast robot armies of a woman scorned."

If you're downloading Futurama instead of watching the DVDs, you're missing out on the commentary tracks, which are terrific.

Watching Family Guy now, I stand by my opinion that it was the better of the three major Fox animated series.

Which three would those be? You seem to be omitting either King of the Hill or Futurama; in either case, you would be wrong.

He does it so long that its starts funny, gets old, then funny again, then old again, then (quoth Brian) "Hay-lare-ee-yes!"

I liked this joke better when it involved stepping on rakes.
posted by jjg at 9:31 AM on September 13, 2004

(From the underwater episode):
Hermes: I miss me wife... and me oxygen!
Professor (dismissively): Yes, yes, we all miss our loved ones and gases.

(From the finale):
Robot Devil: My ridiculously circuitous plan is one-quarter complete!

I'll add my voice to those who agree that Futurama is the best ever. Although 2 Stupid Dogs is a close second, IMO.
posted by DevilsAdvocate at 10:22 AM on September 13, 2004

Fry: But I'm not a robot like you. I don't like having discs crammed into me unless they're Oreos, and then only in the mouth. Don't you understand? I'm gonna die here!
posted by thirteen at 10:56 AM on September 13, 2004

Sealab 2021
posted by euphorb at 11:17 AM on September 13, 2004

Why is everyone forgetting The Critic? I don't think it was the best animated series ever, but man, it deserves some props.

"I don't care how many stewardesses you've bagged, you're a horrible pilot!"
"Raaawk raaawk raaawk!'
posted by Hildago at 12:06 PM on September 13, 2004

KABONG!
posted by mr.marx at 3:29 PM on September 13, 2004

A little late here, but...can anyone else shed some light on this, from #3 in the article;

"...you can actually go back to the first episode and catch his alternate being’s shadow pushing him into the tube."

I went back and watched the first episode on super slo-mo last night, and I couldn't see no shadow...
posted by The Card Cheat at 5:56 AM on September 14, 2004

Professor: That shell is made out of Dolemite- the hard black mineral that doesn't break down, even when the heat is all around.
...
Bender:But I'm forty percent Dolemite! (knocks on chest twice)
posted by leapfrog at 12:58 PM on September 14, 2004

I went back and watched the first episode on super slo-mo last night, and I couldn't see no shadow...

There is definitely a shadow there, but it's not Fry's. Look at the wall behind Fry as he's tipping back in the chair.
posted by jjg at 2:00 PM on September 15, 2004