Good News, Everybody!
June 9, 2009 7:07 PM   Subscribe

 
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posted by kuujjuarapik at 7:09 PM on June 9, 2009


I've seen this thing already. The whole thing is a simulation about what would have happened if Matt Groening had actually made the finglonger. I'm so sick of these reruns.
posted by allen.spaulding at 7:10 PM on June 9, 2009 [6 favorites]


(that was for some of my spare time)
posted by kuujjuarapik at 7:10 PM on June 9, 2009


Geez, I don't know how to feel about this. On one hand, I really enjoyed the original four "seasons," but on the other the four direct-to-DVD features were all pretty underwhelming, and I feel like they've taken most if not all of the major storylines as far as they needed to be taken.
posted by The Card Cheat at 7:10 PM on June 9, 2009 [1 favorite]


[obligatory Al Gore Futurama quote]
posted by jeffkramer at 7:11 PM on June 9, 2009


Let it die FFS.
posted by fire&wings at 7:12 PM on June 9, 2009 [1 favorite]


he other the four direct-to-DVD features were all pretty underwhelming

Have you seen Season 4 of Family Guy? I'm hoping the movies are like that- not great, but getting the crew back into the swing of things so that future material is better.
posted by Pope Guilty at 7:13 PM on June 9, 2009


As long as they take the show in a new direction, this is great news. If it's more of the same, meh.
posted by saturnine at 7:20 PM on June 9, 2009


*fist pump*
posted by painquale at 7:21 PM on June 9, 2009


Good news, everyone!
posted by Slarty Bartfast at 7:23 PM on June 9, 2009 [22 favorites]


Would comedy central make any additional money at all if I decide to up my cable subscription? I don't currently get CC, but this would potentially tip in into the "worthwhile" category.
posted by pkingdesign at 7:26 PM on June 9, 2009




Finally, further Futurama.
posted by hellphish at 7:35 PM on June 9, 2009


As long as they take the show in a new direction, this is great news. If it's more of the same, meh.

This HAS to mean that the series would be improved if Cousin Oliver were adopted, and then they all went to live in LA?
posted by hippybear at 7:35 PM on June 9, 2009 [1 favorite]


We'll all be heads in jars before this is all over.
posted by Balisong at 7:37 PM on June 9, 2009


SWEET ZOMBIE JESUS!

(that's some good news. In fact, I was going to post this earlier, just to make that comment. Then I decided against it. I'm bizarrely stingy with posts these days for a guy who decided to share the 30 Unicorn tattoos with everybody.)
posted by Navelgazer at 7:49 PM on June 9, 2009 [1 favorite]


I too was not blown away by the DVD releases, but every problem I saw was a result of drawing everything out to hit movie length running time. Back in the normal half hour format I think we can look forward to good things.
posted by furiousxgeorge at 8:08 PM on June 9, 2009 [10 favorites]


I want to watch the new episodes, but it's on the same time as Everyone Loves Hynotoad.

It's. Real. Must. Watch. TV.
posted by Ghidorah at 8:13 PM on June 9, 2009 [1 favorite]


Awesome! Thanks for the info.
posted by lazaruslong at 8:19 PM on June 9, 2009


Sweet gorilla of Manilla!
posted by sephira at 8:19 PM on June 9, 2009


Just let a friend know about this who previously drew for The Simpsons, and that the studio in question is likely to be hiring shortly. Something tells me that she's going back down to L.A.laland soon.

I should've insisted on 20% off the top, I think...!
posted by markkraft at 8:24 PM on June 9, 2009


although it may be mostly played out,
it'll still be better than the vast majority of current TV offerings

so hurrah?

P.S. windmills do not work that way
posted by sloe at 8:25 PM on June 9, 2009 [3 favorites]


Why is it that my former employers never call me up five years after letting me go and offer me some more money?!? Huh!? Huh?! How come!!!?!
posted by popechunk at 8:35 PM on June 9, 2009 [2 favorites]


At first I was like, "Yay!"

And then I was like, "Aw."

... Because really, at this point in time, no matter how much I enjoyed Futurama, it's just beating a dead horse.
posted by Malice at 8:44 PM on June 9, 2009


I don't know about this. I haven't seen the last two movies, though I did like the first two. I enjoyed the original four seasons and I think the space opera finale episode was a great way to end it. I don't know, I would cross my fingers that this will still be good, but I am already in my pajamas...
posted by Shesthefastest at 8:47 PM on June 9, 2009


Sweet Resurrection of the Russian Federation!

I'm happy about this, because unlike most people, I actually enjoyed the four Futurama movies, and I think that a series would, if anything, give the show a chance to go back to telling stories like it did back in the good old days.

I'm also happy about this because it'll be good to see a Matt Groening created animated show back on the air that dosen't suck. Yeah, that's right, I'm looking at you, post-season-10 The Simpsons.
posted by Effigy2000 at 8:52 PM on June 9, 2009 [2 favorites]


Rad. Maybe these will actually be funny, unlike the (mostly disappointing) DVD releases.
posted by Afroblanco at 9:14 PM on June 9, 2009


Fuck yes.

I think you mean snoo-snoo yes.
posted by brain_drain at 9:43 PM on June 9, 2009 [2 favorites]


Two words: Ken Keeler.
posted by LobsterMitten at 10:12 PM on June 9, 2009


"Good news, everyone!"

I always thought it was "good news, Everybody!" like in the title. Does he say both or have I been misremembering all this time?
posted by Mitheral at 10:17 PM on June 9, 2009


I quite like the last season, where it seemed they really developed characters, and, unlike the simpsons, created lasting changes in the ways characters felt towards each other. I always thought that they managed to make Fry's continuing attempts to woo Leela rather poignant, a word I don't usually equate with Fox, American cartoons, or, well, Groening. The last episode (the Devil's Hands), and the 300 Big Ones Episode both, for me, managed to transcend just being a show that I liked to something approaching art. Granted, they managed to get away with a lot of it, I think, because they were being cancelled.

The ongoing jabs at Fox throughout the final season were a nice touch, I thought.
posted by Ghidorah at 10:37 PM on June 9, 2009 [1 favorite]


Please have another episode where someone gets hit on the head and there are vignettes of crazy things happening.
posted by GuyZero at 10:51 PM on June 9, 2009


unlike most people, I actually enjoyed the four Futurama movies

I liked 'em all. The D&D one suffered a bit from being stretched out, but was still around the average series episode. The last one suffered a bit too much fanservice, but likewise still clocked in around the average. At this point I love the characters so much that they could make videos of them sitting around looking bored and I'd eat it right up, which is sad.

I look forward to the first episode of the new season in which gur perj bs Cynarg Rkcerff Fuvc fhqqrayl irref njnl sebz gur jbezubyr gurl jrer urnqvat vagb nf Yrryn unf n ohefg bs Frafvoyrarff. Be, gurl tb guebhtu naq pbzr bhg gur bgure raq bs gur jbezubyr va Cynarg Rkcerff, gb gurve fhecevfr. Be, gurl tb guebhtu naq pbzr bhg va gung pbjobl havirefr gurl fnj ng gur raq bs gur havirefr, naq gur frnfba cynlf bhg jvgu rirelbar jrnevat pbjobl ungf.
posted by ROU_Xenophobe at 11:39 PM on June 9, 2009


Yes!

Time to go dig out my Futurama DVD box sets.
posted by threetoed at 11:41 PM on June 9, 2009


Any show that involves a time traveller sleeping with his own grandmother, thereby becoming his own grandfather is ok by me.
posted by blue_beetle at 11:50 PM on June 9, 2009


"Any show that involves a time traveller sleeping with his own grandmother, thereby becoming his own grandfather is ok by me."
posted by blue_beetle at 5:50 PM on June 10

Then you must love Star Trek: Deep Space Nine!*

* And really, what thinking person doesn't?
posted by Effigy2000 at 12:19 AM on June 10, 2009 [1 favorite]


Any show that involves a time traveller sleeping with his own grandmother, thereby becoming his own grandfather is ok by me.

"Oh great, a history lesson from Mr. I'm-My-Own-Grandfather!"
posted by Pope Guilty at 12:48 AM on June 10, 2009 [1 favorite]


Praise Atheismo!
posted by slimepuppy at 1:30 AM on June 10, 2009 [1 favorite]


What is it about Futurama that makes me feel as though I should be watching it from bootlegged DVD-Rs on my buddy's computer in a spare but crowded dorm room with chips on my chest and my two-day-old sweatshirt folded up under my head since he only has one pillow?
posted by koeselitz at 2:10 AM on June 10, 2009 [1 favorite]


It's basically a show by nerds that has reasonable mainstream appeal but powerful nerd appeal.

Fun fact that I learned from watching the Simpsons commentaries: On the commentary for "Bart the Daredevil", Matt Groening remarks that the animation on the bits with Lance Murdock jumping the pool of water full of lions and sharks and electric eels and whatnot are very well animated, and that this is likely because it's something the animators would've really enjoyed drawing. Part of the idea for Futurama, then, was coming up with something that the animators would want to draw.
posted by Pope Guilty at 2:22 AM on June 10, 2009 [1 favorite]


This is a beige alert!
posted by patricio at 2:27 AM on June 10, 2009 [1 favorite]


I'll chalk this in the 'Win!' column. Mostly because I quote Morbo embarrassingly often, and I need some new material.

Morbo: Morbo will now announce tonight's candidates: puny human number one, puny human number two, and Morbo's good friend Richard Nixon.
Nixon: Hello, Morbo. How's the family?
Morbo: Belligerent and numerous.
posted by pseudonymph at 3:30 AM on June 10, 2009 [1 favorite]


Part of the idea for Futurama, then, was coming up with something that the animators would want to draw.

So does that mean that in future episodes we can expect to see Leela on a hoverboard shooting a ray gun at a swarm of pursuing flying squid that keeps on ripping off articles of clothing?
posted by dunkadunc at 3:45 AM on June 10, 2009


Have you seen Season 4 of Family Guy? I'm hoping the movies are like that- not great, but getting the crew back into the swing of things so that future material is better.

Me too. It wasn't that I thought the four movies spoiled the original series -- after all, it's still there -- but they seemed to me to miss the point completely. And they weren't even remotely funny; they felt like first drafts, like they just recorded the first script read-through and animated it.

Here's hoping that being restricted to 20-odd minutes to get their stories out will force them to cut out the crap, polish what remains, and re-learn their comic timing.
posted by ArmyOfKittens at 3:56 AM on June 10, 2009


Morbo: Belligerent and numerous.

Nixon's pro-war and pro-family!
posted by Pope Guilty at 4:11 AM on June 10, 2009 [2 favorites]


I always thought it was "good news, Everybody!"

YouTube disagrees.
posted by kittyprecious at 5:14 AM on June 10, 2009


I think they should use the new episodes as a chance to make something that will make me cry even harder than Jurassic Bark.

Connie Francis - I Will Wait For You

*sniffle*

Sidestory: When I was a sad, sad little college student and my then-girlfriend cheated on me, and we broke up, I sent her a CD-R with nothing but this song over, and over, and over again. Creeeeeeeepy!
posted by SpiffyRob at 5:15 AM on June 10, 2009


Beck: See, Bender, you have you write about what you feel. Like, when I wrote Devil's Haircut, I was feeling... wait... What is that song about?
posted by shakespeherian at 5:28 AM on June 10, 2009


Looking forward to it. Those who aren't can just not watch.
posted by juiceCake at 5:38 AM on June 10, 2009


I always thought it was "good news, Everybody!" like in the title. Does he say both or have I been misremembering all this time?

Good News Everyone
posted by juiceCake at 5:40 AM on June 10, 2009 [1 favorite]


Fox can Kiss my shiny metal ass for canceling futurama in the first place.
posted by Mastercheddaar at 6:05 AM on June 10, 2009


Aww, dammit. Can someone with the power to do so change the title?
posted by Pope Guilty at 6:17 AM on June 10, 2009


So, serious question: Is the Space Pope Guilty reptilian?
posted by shakespeherian at 6:29 AM on June 10, 2009


Does a Niblonian shit dark matter?
posted by Pope Guilty at 6:36 AM on June 10, 2009


NOW I WILL LEAVE FOR NO RAISIN
posted by shakespeherian at 6:43 AM on June 10, 2009 [1 favorite]


Strictly speaking, jung gurl fuvg qbrfa'g unir gur cebcregvrf bs pynffvp qnex znggre nal zber. So, no, from a certain point of view.
posted by ROU_Xenophobe at 6:54 AM on June 10, 2009


Sweet, sweet candy. Bam.
posted by Fleebnork at 7:07 AM on June 10, 2009


I've always been divided on Futurama. It rarely lived up to it's own premise (promise?). Way too much Wacky-Mobster-Planet-Of-The-Week. Way too much padding and lazy future-satire and overuse of the heads in a jar.


However! When the show was rocking, it was rocking hard. The 9 or 10 good episodes are really fucking good episodes. The show really hummed when they did more world-building stuff, expanding on concepts they previously established rather than making up all new wacky stuff every episode. The Fry-Lela relationship was handed with a lot more skill then I was expecting.. and I can't hate anything that gave the world,

Fry: But won't that change history?
Professor Farnsworth: Ohh, a lesson in not changing history from Mr. "I'm My Own Grandfather"! Let's just steal the damn dish and get out of here! Screw history!

posted by The Whelk at 7:08 AM on June 10, 2009


I dont understand the complaints about the movies. To be fair, for all of Futurama's greatness, there's more than a few lousy episodes. I say this as a fan who just started watching the episodes again after a multi-year hiatus. I think people are comparing the movies to some idealized Futurama episodes in their heads or at least comparing them to the best 10 or 12 episodes. The movies really are a step up from the series on average.
posted by damn dirty ape at 7:09 AM on June 10, 2009


I owe Pope Guilty a brain slug.
posted by The Whelk at 7:13 AM on June 10, 2009


Damn Dirty Ape: The DVD releases seemed really padded, more like sketches for episodes dragged out to 90 minutes. I'm in the minority that liked Bender's Game however, so YMMV.
posted by The Whelk at 7:14 AM on June 10, 2009


I'll admit it. I teared up a tiny bit during the end of Jurassic Bark as well.

Shut up.
posted by utsutsu at 7:31 AM on June 10, 2009


I also really enjoyed the world-building stuff, such as the identity of Leela's parents (who actually appear briefly in the background during a much earlier episode, so it would appear that the makers of the show weren't entirely making it all up as they went along).
posted by shakespeherian at 8:01 AM on June 10, 2009


It's like sex, but I'm having it!
posted by mrzarquon at 8:18 AM on June 10, 2009


To be fair, for all of Futurama's greatness, there's more than a few lousy episodes.

There's only one really lousy episode, and it's the one where they go to the Ancient-Egypt-lookin' planet and Fry drinks the emperor and Bender becomes a pharaoh and for fuck's sake, what a mess.

Secretly, though, I'm curious which ones disappointed other people.
posted by kittyprecious at 9:21 AM on June 10, 2009 [1 favorite]


I'll admit it. I teared up a tiny bit during the end of Jurassic Bark as well.

I've actually avoided watching that episode in reruns sometimes just because it breaks my heart every time.

I was very meh on the movies until I watched them a second time, and actually liked them a lot more--as damn dirty ape mentioned, they fare well in side-by-side comparison to most of the series run.
posted by LooseFilter at 9:22 AM on June 10, 2009 [1 favorite]


Secretly, though, I'm curious which ones disappointed other people.

How Hermes Requisitioned His Groove Back is for me disgustingly bad and stupid and unfunny.
posted by LooseFilter at 9:23 AM on June 10, 2009


There's only one really lousy episode, and it's the one where they go to the Ancient-Egypt-lookin' planet and Fry drinks the emperor and Bender becomes a pharaoh and for fuck's sake, what a mess.

That's actually two different episodes.
posted by shakespeherian at 9:36 AM on June 10, 2009


Also, to answer the question, the episodes I don't much care for are any of the ones where the plot is: Go to a wacky planet, get trapped there, then leave. See: The episode where Fry drinks the emperor, the episode where Bender becomes a Pharaoh, the episode where Zoidberg wants to mate, the episode where Leela thinks she's found her home planet (with that creepy pretend-to-be-a-cyclops guy), etc.
posted by shakespeherian at 9:43 AM on June 10, 2009


As much as Jurassic Bark does tug at the heart strings, the one episode that actually made me misty-eyed (and sitll does) was The Luck of the Fryrish (wiki).

“Here Lies Philip J. Fry, named for his uncle, to carry on his spirit.”

*sniff*
posted by slimepuppy at 9:57 AM on June 10, 2009 [1 favorite]


the one episode that actually made me misty-eyed (and sitll does) was The Luck of the Fryrish

Oh man, I love that episode, good call!

Go to a wacky planet, get trapped there, then leave.

...I think you just ruined a few more episodes for me....that does seem to be the writers' we're-out-of-ideas-this-week idea.
posted by LooseFilter at 10:07 AM on June 10, 2009


that does seem to be the writers' we're-out-of-ideas-this-week idea

Also see Amazon Women in the Mood. I don't think they're bad episodes, but when I'm rewatching the show, the ones I've listed are the ones I don't tend to have any desire to see again, and lo and behold they have something in common.
posted by shakespeherian at 10:14 AM on June 10, 2009


How Hermes Requisitioned His Groove Back is for me disgustingly bad and stupid and unfunny.

I'm demoting you to Grade 38 for that remark.
posted by SpiffyRob at 10:25 AM on June 10, 2009 [2 favorites]


The only exception to the "go to a wacky planet, get trapped there, then leave" sucky episode role is "Where No Fan Has Gone Before".

WELSHYYYYYYYYY!!!
posted by threetoed at 11:06 AM on June 10, 2009


That is indeed a fantastic episode. There are probably other exceptions too; it just seems that most of the time, the formula leads to some dumb situation I don't care about.
posted by shakespeherian at 11:08 AM on June 10, 2009


That's actually two different, horrible, episodes.


I actually like the Zoidberg goes to mate one because it made sense if we're having Zoidberg around as a main cast member and they developed some good ideas and gags about his crazy lobster culture (See, I like that, when the writers actually remember that Zoidberg is an alien. )

Since I have nothing better to do, quick reviews of all Futurama episodes to date.

*ahem*

1. Space Pilot 3000, I, Roomate, Love's Labours Lost In Space: I'm treating these are a single unit, they're actually some of the best episodes even if the tone is uneven (and that little bender sub-plot is so lame I don't even want to mention it, but there you go). I liked the show best when it had the feel of these episodes, the Future is Big and Crazy! Lots of things are going on and everything works differently! Fry loves the future! Misses the old future! Whee!

2- Fear Of A Bot Planet: Better than most (POTW) Planet Of The Week episodes in retrospect. Plus, jokes about Tetris.* But pretty Meh.

3-A Fishfull of Dollars: Again, lots of fun concepts introduced. Brought to you by Light speed briefs!

4- My Three Suns: zuh?

5- A Big Piece Of Garbage - It's the title and a description!

6- Hell is Other Robots: I liked that religion is concrete for robots. Plus, the song.

7- A Flight To Remember: Let's not.

8- Mars University: Nice A plot, terrible B Plot.

9- When Aliens Attack: "It took an hour to write! I thought it would take an hour to read!"

10-Fry and the Slurm Factory : I, just, no, let's move on....

11- I Second That Emotion: ...Keep moving.

12- Brannigan, Begin Again: "Tell my wife I said, hello"

13 - A Head in the Polls: The Nixon Head was just the .....lamest, laziest device ever and it kept coming up and I hate it. "I'm meeting you halfway hippies!" doesn't make up for it. I don't like Nixon jokes in the 21st or 31st century.

14 - Xmas Story: "Santa Claus is gunning you down!'

15 - Why Must I Be a Crustacean in Love?: See above. Also "Red Mammal". tee hee.

16 - Put Your Head on My Shoulder: Loved the Amy-Fry interaction as it makes sense they would be friends and be just awful influences on each other.

17 - The Lesser of Two Evils: There is no there here.

18 - Raging Bender: The Good: "Battle against the Human race!" "No talking during the movie!" "The Gender-Bender" The Bad: Everything else

19 20 21 22 - A Bicyclops Built for Two, How Hermes Requisitioned His Groove Back, A Clone of My Own, The Deep South: Flying pop-up ads aside, these are terrible, terrible episodes.

23 - The Problem with Popplers: Yes! back to form! "My hands are huuuuuuge. They can touch anything but themselves!"

24 - Mother's Day: I like Mom as a character but they didn't use her enough, so it's nice she got a whole whole to herself. Plus "Serve Man (Ironic)".

25 - Anthology of Interest I : The second one is better.

26 - The Honking: Goes nowhere and stays there

27 - War Is the H-Word: buh?

28 - The Cryonic Woman: I really wanted Michelle to be a recurring character. She'd be a great foil to Fry's earnest love of the Crazypants future. But instead we get stale Pauly Shore jokes. Feh.

29 - Parasites Lost: Major 3rd act problems. Meh.

30 - Amazon Women in the Mood: Girls are they this amiright? Ugh.

31 - Bendless Love: I can't even summon up a memory of this episode. So take that as you will.

32 - The Day the Earth Stood Stupid: Yes. Yes. Yes. Always love the Nibbler back-stories. "Let this corny slice of Americana be your tomb!"

33 34 35 36 - That's Lobstertainment!, The Birdbot of Ice-Catraz, The Luck of the Fryrish, The Cyber House Rules -Zuh, snuh, gah and buh, respectfully.

37 - Insane in the Mainframe: "I'm not a robot like you, I don't like having discs cramped into me... unless they're Oreos... and then only in the mouth. "

38 - Bendin' in the Wind: What, exactly, was this episode trying to do?

39 - Time Keeps on Slipping: Atomic Supermen are ..okay I guess?

40 - I Dated a Robot: The napster pun is forgiven. Why? Marylin Monrobot.

41 - Roswell That Ends Well: My favorite, easily one of the best. When you've me thinking about HGTG, then you're doing good.

42 - A Tale of Two Santas: Robo Santa is always gold.

43 - Anthology of Interest II: Better than the first one. A bit.

44 - Love and Rocket: if the Ship's computer had been a previously established character then I could see a form of this idea working ..and that's a big if.

45 - Leela's Homeworld: Kinda anti-climatic, but c'mon, it's good. And Leela's parents are great.

46 - Where the Buggalo Roam: Hey! Let's do some backstory/world-building on Amy! Yay! Oh wait, no, it's lame.

47 - A Pharaoh to Remember: uuuuuuuuuuuggggh.

48 - Godfellas: Rod Sterling's ghost is either very happy or very mad. Either way, win!

49 - Future Stock: Remember the 80s? They're back, apparently.

50 - A Leela of Her Own: You know this list is much longer than I thought it would be and having to deal with crap episodes like this isn't helping, okay?

51 - 30% Iron Chef: Also not helping!

52 - Where No Fan Has Gone Before: Glorious, unabashed dorkatude. "WELSHY!"

53 - Crimes Of The Hot: Filler. but fun. Also, Hedonism Bot regrets nothing.

54 - Jurassic Bark: I am the only person in the world who didn't like this episode.

55 - The Route of All Evil: "C'mon, we can all fight when we're drunk!"

56 57 58 59 - A Taste of Freedom, Kif Gets Knocked Up a Notch, Less Than Hero, Teenage Mutant Leela's Hurdles: Why are these episodes always, always, always on when I see Futurama coming up and I go "Hey Futurama!" and then they start and I go "Oh it's this one."?

60 - The Why of Fry: Continuity! Worldbuilding! Previous concepts explained! Whee!

61 - The Sting: Hey it's the Space Wasps from episode one! That alone would have sold me, but it's also really sweet.

62 - The Farnsworth Parabox: This is why I watch Futurama, ridiculously high concept sci-fi stuff taken to thier goofiest extremes.

63 64 65 66 67 - Three Hundred Big Boys, Spanish Fry, Bend He,r Obsoletely Fabulous, Bender Should Not Be Allowed on TV: Every time these come on I think they're some new episode I haven't seen yet but no, they're just totally forgettable.

68 - The Devil's Hands Are Idle Playthings: And it ends on a high note, with some nice genuine character moments and a bittersweet end. Oddly thoughtful for a show with kitten-eating alien newscasters.

*But here is one of my problems, robots wouldn't need an inhabitable world to colonize. It could be an airless rock. Not that I want my funny space cartoon to be a David Niven book, but a good writer would take that fact and make it part of the story and use it to make the universe richer rather than ignoring it or making a quick joke.
posted by The Whelk at 11:08 AM on June 10, 2009 [6 favorites]


the episode where Leela thinks she's found her home planet (with that creepy pretend-to-be-a-cyclops guy)

That episode is completely redeemed for me because the cyclops dude is Ed O'Neill and their relationship (as lampshaded by Leela's hair) is completely the horrible relationship Ed O'Neill and Katey Sagal's characters had on Married With Children.
posted by Pope Guilty at 11:23 AM on June 10, 2009 [2 favorites]


Three Hundred Big Boys

I see people knock this episode a lot and I'm not sure why. Fry's 100th-coffee transcendence is one of the greatest things I've ever seen.
posted by shakespeherian at 11:26 AM on June 10, 2009


I see people knock this episode a lot and I'm not sure why. Fry's 100th-coffee transcendence is one of the greatest things I've ever seen.

The episode just kinda sits there and the pacing is all off. It's a problem with a lot of the lesser episodes, the plot doesn't move at all or in weird fits and jumps.

I give you the coffee thing.
posted by The Whelk at 11:30 AM on June 10, 2009


What? A Pharaoh to Remember? That's the one with "Also, this sack of cats our culture considers holy"! And the bitter diatribe about religion! Free us from thought and responsibility!
posted by ROU_Xenophobe at 12:04 PM on June 10, 2009


Not that I want my funny space cartoon to be a David Niven book

I would kill to read some science fiction written by David Niven. If nothing else, it would be dapper.
posted by Bromius at 12:51 PM on June 10, 2009


I love how all my hard work is undone by not double checking a name at the very end of my post. Story of my life.
posted by The Whelk at 12:53 PM on June 10, 2009


If nothing else, it would be dapper.

Cocktails and Cravats in SPAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAACE!
posted by The Whelk at 12:54 PM on June 10, 2009


Sweet Guinea Pig of... well... you know.
posted by WinnipegDragon at 1:03 PM on June 10, 2009


thanks for the rundown The Whelk, although looking it over, it seems that in your opinion, the good episodes are the exception rather than the rule :/

For me, the strength of the show was the device of setting it in the future - and thereby instantly demanding a suspension of disbelief even beyond that already afforded to a cartoon. Consequently, I didn't mind "Planet of the Week" episodes at all - and I agree with the sentiment expressed by The Whelk: "This is why I watch Futurama, ridiculously high concept sci-fi stuff taken to thier goofiest extremes.". It's a cartoon... in the future... let the zany (but actually somehow grounded) concepts fly!

On the other hand, anything to do with Fry's past or Leela's story.... yikes, count me out. I understand people want a backstory to become invested in the characters, but that is not why I enjoy throwing on a futurama while I eat a bowl of cereal. I always found them out of place - striving for a blatant sentimentality that was generally absent in the other episodes - and really boring (eg, with the I.C. Wiener joke used a billion times, oooo mutants in the sewer: "if it isn't my old friend Mr. McGregg — with a leg for an arm and an arm for a leg").


also

Not that I want my funny space cartoon to be a David Niven book

David Niven as in 100 Simple Secrets Why Dogs Make Us Happy

or Larry Niven?
posted by sloe at 1:12 PM on June 10, 2009


"29 - Parasites Lost: Major 3rd act problems. Meh."

Really? I always thought the end of this one was really sweet and poignant.

And the coffee part alone of 300 big ones makes the episode awesome.
posted by flaterik at 1:14 PM on June 10, 2009


Really? I always thought the end of this one was really sweet and poignant.

I liked the idea of it, Fry's becomes smart enough to realize his new found intelligence isn't genuine and has a problem with that, but it didn't ring true. The show's clash between Zany Space Fun and Gentle Sentimentality is really jarring in Parasite Now, like they bit off way more then they could chew. They got a lot better at evening the two tones by The Devil's Hands Are Idle Playthings, but that was the last episode.
posted by The Whelk at 1:19 PM on June 10, 2009


For those who can draw out there, I heard back from my friend who worked on The Simpsons.

She says that the production of Futurama will probably return to Rough Draft Studios, located in Glendale, CA.

Better start practicing!
posted by markkraft at 1:29 PM on June 10, 2009


Wow, The Whelk, hell of a rundown, but I'd be inclined to agree... it seems an awful lot like you *don't* like the show, given the number of episodes you dislike.

In my eyes, they all have value. It's not like any of them are Flying Circus last two seasons bad or anything.
posted by SpiffyRob at 1:48 PM on June 10, 2009


I *do* like the show, I'm just really divided. The episodes I like, I *love* and the episodes I don't, I *hate* because there is so much potential there and I hate seeing potential wasted.
posted by The Whelk at 1:50 PM on June 10, 2009


There's only one really lousy episode, and it's the one where they go to the Ancient-Egypt-lookin' planet and Fry drinks the emperor and Bender becomes a pharaoh and for fuck's sake, what a mess.

As someone else pointed out, those are two different episodes, but the one where Fry drinks the emperor has the *great* sight gag where the sun goes down, and then...
posted by The Card Cheat at 1:59 PM on June 10, 2009


I see people knock this episode a lot and I'm not sure why. Fry's 100th-coffee transcendence is one of the greatest things I've ever seen.

Agreed. This is one of the best, if not the best episode of the series. Then again I love the 31st century Nixon character. Lazy? No way. The voice and the lines are just perfect.
posted by damn dirty ape at 2:12 PM on June 10, 2009


Aroo?
posted by shakespeherian at 2:49 PM on June 10, 2009


gotta agree...'300 big ones' is, for me, one of the best, funniest 1/2-hours of television of all time. (right up there with mary tyler moore and the inflatable raft on 'the dick van dyke show'). seriously, that plot is TWISTED. and the great ensemble work, and mushu and the whale biologist "you're lumpy and you smell awful", and the coffee counter 'ding', and the faucet full of sausages, and for chrissakes 'this is roseanne barr, your guide to the world of facts'...genius!

also...love love love the first of the movies (the other three were o.k)...the al gore physics joke on the bridge made me laugh so hard i retracted a testicle, and it was also nice to get some closure on 'jurassic bark' (which, yes, makes me cry every time i see it. a lot.) also, i get a special thrill out of seeing bender stealing. "scarab, forearm, bird bird bird!"

so, yes, i'm super-excited to see it come back, and wondering if they'll follow up on the last movie and go off in some completely different direction. you just gotta love a scifi cartoon series that has the balls to be sweet and sad sometimes (and really freaking smart) ...'this is no ordinary honey!'
posted by sexyrobot at 3:27 PM on June 10, 2009


As someone else pointed out, those are two different episodes...

Eek, I guess the pharaonic was was so terrible and empty it expanded in my mind to subsume anything even remotely similar.
posted by kittyprecious at 5:01 AM on June 11, 2009



"29 - Parasites Lost: Major 3rd act problems. Meh."


My all time favorite.

Everyone watching Fry's colonoscopy as Zoidberg discovers the Parasite City: "OOoo!"
Amy: "That place used to be a dump!"

Professor: "We're entering Fry's nasal cavity."
Bender: "We're at finger alert 5!"

The image of Zoidberg riding a sperm like a horse:
"Guess where I just came from!"
posted by Slarty Bartfast at 9:17 AM on June 13, 2009


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