"Futurama" is no stranger to out-there stories, but sometimes, even this show needs an excuse to break the rules. That's where the anthology episodes come in: installments featuring three seven-or-so-minute-long themed segments where the status quo of the show doesn't apply.
"Futurama" inherited this formula from co-creator Matt Groening's previous series, "The Simpsons." However, "The Simpsons" developed a consistent formula for its anthology episodes: "Treehouse of Horror," where the Simpsons family (and friends) are put through parodies of horror/sci-fi stories (from "The Twilight Zone" to "Death Note"). "Treehouse of Horror" has been an annual "Simpsons" tradition since season 2, but the series isn't constrained by this. A handful of "Simpsons" episodes are anthologies of a different flavor (see "Simpsons Bible Stories" in season 10 or "Tales from the Public Domain" in season 13).
"Futurama," though? The sci-fi show doesn't have an equivalent tradition, perhaps as part of the show's efforts to not compete with "The Simpsons.
"Futurama" inherited this formula from co-creator Matt Groening's previous series, "The Simpsons." However, "The Simpsons" developed a consistent formula for its anthology episodes: "Treehouse of Horror," where the Simpsons family (and friends) are put through parodies of horror/sci-fi stories (from "The Twilight Zone" to "Death Note"). "Treehouse of Horror" has been an annual "Simpsons" tradition since season 2, but the series isn't constrained by this. A handful of "Simpsons" episodes are anthologies of a different flavor (see "Simpsons Bible Stories" in season 10 or "Tales from the Public Domain" in season 13).
"Futurama," though? The sci-fi show doesn't have an equivalent tradition, perhaps as part of the show's efforts to not compete with "The Simpsons.
- 4/28/2024
- by Devin Meenan
- Slash Film
With all the versatility of myriads of shows popping up in the media literally every day, the nostalgia for good old days (and their series) is still the undoubted winner — and fans have proved yet once again.
Around a week ago, a heated discussion was provoked by one user’s simple question about everyone’s most rewatchable show — and, judging by the amounts of mentions, two particular TV series reigned over the community.
The first choice made by most of the fans was an animated sci-fi sitcom Futurama, the first season of which got its release back in 1999. The plot follows sluggish pizza-deliverer Fry who, after being accidentally frozen, wakes up a thousand years later, in 2999 — and then he still gets to work at a delivery company, but alongside extraterrestrial mutants.
Despite being more than 25 years old, Futurama is far from being forgotten at this point — the 12-season-long show still...
Around a week ago, a heated discussion was provoked by one user’s simple question about everyone’s most rewatchable show — and, judging by the amounts of mentions, two particular TV series reigned over the community.
The first choice made by most of the fans was an animated sci-fi sitcom Futurama, the first season of which got its release back in 1999. The plot follows sluggish pizza-deliverer Fry who, after being accidentally frozen, wakes up a thousand years later, in 2999 — and then he still gets to work at a delivery company, but alongside extraterrestrial mutants.
Despite being more than 25 years old, Futurama is far from being forgotten at this point — the 12-season-long show still...
- 4/27/2024
- by benjamin-patel@startefacts.com (Benjamin Patel)
- STartefacts.com
Cartoons can be pretty weird, and the Cartoon Network series "Adventure Time" is definitely one of the weirder ones. It follows a human boy named Finn (Jeremy Shada) and his best friend, a dog with silly putty-like characteristics named Jake (John Dimaggio). Created by Pendleton Ward, the series takes place in the post-apocalyptic, magical land of Ooo, full of princesses and monsters and all kinds of wild adventures for Finn and Jake to get up to. It ran for 10 seasons on Cartoon Network before getting spin-offs, won multiple Emmys, and had a huge cultural impact that even served as the "structural godfather" for Donald Glover's surreal FX series "Atlanta."
Back when the series was still in its infancy, however, one of its most important contributors didn't understand "Adventure Time" at all. In an oral history of the series for the LA Times, Dimaggio revealed that he struggled to fully wrap...
Back when the series was still in its infancy, however, one of its most important contributors didn't understand "Adventure Time" at all. In an oral history of the series for the LA Times, Dimaggio revealed that he struggled to fully wrap...
- 4/27/2024
- by Danielle Ryan
- Slash Film
So Help Me Todd’s cancellation news has the whole fan community raging over the unfair decision, but this time things may have gone a bit further than usual.
Apparently, over the course of its relatively short run of two seasons, the show conquered so many hearts and to such an extent that fans weren't enough with just calling CBS out on the social media.
All the fuss around the media actually makes a lot of sense. So Help Me Todd initially follows quite an original and compelling plot that revolves around goofy Todd who isn’t able to keep his life together when it starts falling apart after Todd is deprived of his investigative license.
Luckily, he’s immediately picked up by his own mother, portrayed by Oscar-winning Marcia Gay Harden, who finds him a place in her law firm. Todd’s mother has high hopes that he will...
Apparently, over the course of its relatively short run of two seasons, the show conquered so many hearts and to such an extent that fans weren't enough with just calling CBS out on the social media.
All the fuss around the media actually makes a lot of sense. So Help Me Todd initially follows quite an original and compelling plot that revolves around goofy Todd who isn’t able to keep his life together when it starts falling apart after Todd is deprived of his investigative license.
Luckily, he’s immediately picked up by his own mother, portrayed by Oscar-winning Marcia Gay Harden, who finds him a place in her law firm. Todd’s mother has high hopes that he will...
- 4/26/2024
- by benjamin-patel@startefacts.com (Benjamin Patel)
- STartefacts.com
The newest ‘Law & Order’ spin-off has seen consistently better ratings on Peacock than on linear NBC to this point.
Eliot Stabler is coming back for at least one more ride. The popular character portrayed for 25 years by actor Christopher Meloni is the star of “Law & Order: Organized Crime,” the latest member of the franchise originated by Dick Wolf. “Organized Crime” was stuck in limbo while waiting to find out if it would be renewed for a fifth season or not, but it appears that NBCUniversal has finally made a decision. A new report from Deadline indicates that “Law & Order: Organized Crime” will move to Peacock for an abbreviated Season 5, and if it’s successful, could return for more episodes.
Key Facts: Season 5 of “Law & Order: Organized Crime” will consist of 10 episodes. The show has consistently performed better on Peacock than it has on linear NBC. Peacock...
Eliot Stabler is coming back for at least one more ride. The popular character portrayed for 25 years by actor Christopher Meloni is the star of “Law & Order: Organized Crime,” the latest member of the franchise originated by Dick Wolf. “Organized Crime” was stuck in limbo while waiting to find out if it would be renewed for a fifth season or not, but it appears that NBCUniversal has finally made a decision. A new report from Deadline indicates that “Law & Order: Organized Crime” will move to Peacock for an abbreviated Season 5, and if it’s successful, could return for more episodes.
Key Facts: Season 5 of “Law & Order: Organized Crime” will consist of 10 episodes. The show has consistently performed better on Peacock than it has on linear NBC. Peacock...
- 4/25/2024
- by David Satin
- The Streamable
If you purchase an independently reviewed product or service through a link on our website, Variety may receive an affiliate commission.
If there’s one perk to being a student, it’s the many student deals you can take advantage of by signing up with your student email address — think cheaper commuter passes, movie tickets, museum passes, Amazon Prime and perhaps best of all, streaming services.
Case in point: Hulu has rolled out an epic deal for all U.S college students, that brings down its monthly subscription cost by 75%. Through the deal, students can get Hulu’s ad-supported plan for only $1.99/month instead of $7.99/month.
$1.99/Month $7.99/Month 75% off Get: Hulu Student Discount
The deal is available to any U.S college students who are 18 years or older and have a university email account they can use to create an account. Through Hulu’s ad-supported plan, they’ll get unlimited...
If there’s one perk to being a student, it’s the many student deals you can take advantage of by signing up with your student email address — think cheaper commuter passes, movie tickets, museum passes, Amazon Prime and perhaps best of all, streaming services.
Case in point: Hulu has rolled out an epic deal for all U.S college students, that brings down its monthly subscription cost by 75%. Through the deal, students can get Hulu’s ad-supported plan for only $1.99/month instead of $7.99/month.
$1.99/Month $7.99/Month 75% off Get: Hulu Student Discount
The deal is available to any U.S college students who are 18 years or older and have a university email account they can use to create an account. Through Hulu’s ad-supported plan, they’ll get unlimited...
- 4/24/2024
- by Anna Tingley
- Variety Film + TV
In the "Futurama" episode "Amazon Women in the Mood", the blustering misogynist Zapp Brannigan (Billy West) takes control of a space-bound restaurant and pilots it through dangerous areas of space, merely because it's more adventurous that way. Naturally, the restaurant is damaged during its voyage and crash lands on a distant, uncharted planet with the Planet Express crew. They discover on the uncharted planet a race of nine-foot-tall Amazon women clad in animal skin bikinis and carrying clubs. The Amazonians rarely see men on their planet and are not exactly sure what men are supposed to be good for.
This premise, of course, is cribbed from any number of pornographic male fantasies stretching back at least to the publication of H. Rider Haggard's "She" in 1886. There is a streak of colonialist fiction that dramatized faraway places (that is: far away from Western Europe) as Edenic locales where women wear...
This premise, of course, is cribbed from any number of pornographic male fantasies stretching back at least to the publication of H. Rider Haggard's "She" in 1886. There is a streak of colonialist fiction that dramatized faraway places (that is: far away from Western Europe) as Edenic locales where women wear...
- 4/21/2024
- by Witney Seibold
- Slash Film
Exclusive: Adult animation is among the best performing genres on Hulu with shows like Family Guy and Bob’s Burgers, and the streamer has been looking to expand its original offerings with series like Solar Opposites and the Futurama revival.
There is a new hopeful in the field, Journey to the Center of the Internet. Hulu has given a presentation order to the adult animated comedy, from creators and writers Jon Eidson and Nick Smith and 20th Television Animation.
Developed by Eidson, Smith, and Jordan Dunn, Journey to the Center of the Internet is about two brothers with the ability to warp inside the internet, where the magnificent hellscape of cyberspace has come to life.
Eidson and Smith executive produce with Zack Waxenberg and Michael Rotenberg of 3Arts. Sunn co-executive produces.
As members of the Los Angeles comedy troupe Extremely Decent, Eidson and Smith years ago developed a comedy with animated...
There is a new hopeful in the field, Journey to the Center of the Internet. Hulu has given a presentation order to the adult animated comedy, from creators and writers Jon Eidson and Nick Smith and 20th Television Animation.
Developed by Eidson, Smith, and Jordan Dunn, Journey to the Center of the Internet is about two brothers with the ability to warp inside the internet, where the magnificent hellscape of cyberspace has come to life.
Eidson and Smith executive produce with Zack Waxenberg and Michael Rotenberg of 3Arts. Sunn co-executive produces.
As members of the Los Angeles comedy troupe Extremely Decent, Eidson and Smith years ago developed a comedy with animated...
- 4/19/2024
- by Nellie Andreeva
- Deadline Film + TV
In the "Futurama" episode "The Problem with Popplers", the Planet Express crew lands on a distant, uncharted planet hoping to find a fast food joint; the ship had run out of supplies and Bender (John Dimaggio) was only able to make a meal with baking soda and capers. They land on a Class-m planet which, as Leela (Katey Sagal) explains, should at least provide roddenberry bushes. What they find instead are craters stuffed with brown, crunchy, edible meat nuggets ... that are utterly delicious. Snarfing ensues.
No one has set foot on this planet before so the Planet Express crew packs up the morsels and takes them back to Earth to sell on street corners. It's not long before they attract the attention of fast food proprietor Fishy Joe (Maurice Lamarche), and turn the nuggets — nicknamed Popplers — into a global phenomenon.
Naturally, there is something unusual about the Popplers. While Leela eats,...
No one has set foot on this planet before so the Planet Express crew packs up the morsels and takes them back to Earth to sell on street corners. It's not long before they attract the attention of fast food proprietor Fishy Joe (Maurice Lamarche), and turn the nuggets — nicknamed Popplers — into a global phenomenon.
Naturally, there is something unusual about the Popplers. While Leela eats,...
- 4/12/2024
- by Witney Seibold
- Slash Film
Succession’s J. Smith-Cameron is bringing her immense talent to the West Coast.
The actress will recur in Season 3 of the Las Vegas-set comedy Hacks, Variety reports. We don’t yet know who she’s playing, but we’re already perched for her first appearance in the series.
More from TVLineBold & Beautiful Reveals That the 'Late' Sheila Carter Is Alive and KickingTWD: Dead City Casts Sons of Anarchy's Kim Coates in Pivotal Season 2 RoleTVLine Items: Futurama Return Date, First Look at Minnie Driver's Queen Elizabeth and More
Smith-Cameron joins a handful of other big names slated to guest-star in the upcoming season,...
The actress will recur in Season 3 of the Las Vegas-set comedy Hacks, Variety reports. We don’t yet know who she’s playing, but we’re already perched for her first appearance in the series.
More from TVLineBold & Beautiful Reveals That the 'Late' Sheila Carter Is Alive and KickingTWD: Dead City Casts Sons of Anarchy's Kim Coates in Pivotal Season 2 RoleTVLine Items: Futurama Return Date, First Look at Minnie Driver's Queen Elizabeth and More
Smith-Cameron joins a handful of other big names slated to guest-star in the upcoming season,...
- 4/5/2024
- by Keisha Hatchett
- TVLine.com
Hulu is gearing up for summer with new seasons coming to the streaming service. Viewers will see the returns of series like Marvel's Hit-Monkey (season two), Futurama (season 12), Only Murders in the Building (season four), and Solar Opposites (season five). A premiere date for Only Murders in the Building will be announced later, but specific launch dates for the other three have been announced.
Read More…...
Read More…...
- 4/5/2024
- by TVSeriesFinale.com
- TVSeriesFinale.com
Whether you’re a fan of Caitlin Clark, or rooting for Paige Bueckers, Friday’s NCAA Women’s Final Four matchup between Iowa and UConn is set to be a fiery competition. But what if you’re a cord-cutter? Need not worry! Here’s everything you need to know for how to watch the Iowa vs. UConn Final Four game without cable.
How to Watch Iowa vs. UConn Online
The Iowa vs. UConn game is scheduled to start at 9:30 pm Et and will be televised on ESPN. The earlier matchup at 7 pm Et between Nc State and South Carolina...
How to Watch Iowa vs. UConn Online
The Iowa vs. UConn game is scheduled to start at 9:30 pm Et and will be televised on ESPN. The earlier matchup at 7 pm Et between Nc State and South Carolina...
- 4/5/2024
- by Claire Franken
- TVLine.com
Good news, everyone: The Futurama gang will be back on the delivery route this summer.
The 10-episode Season 12 will arrive Monday, July 29 on Hulu; new episodes stream weekly. This comes after the animated comedy was renewed for Seasons 13 and 14 back in November.
More from TVLineMarch Madness 2024: How to Watch Iowa vs. UConn in the Women's Final FourTVLine Items: The Circle's A.I. Catfish, Love on the Spectrum Renewed and MoreTVLine Items: Suits Rewatch Podcast, Tic Tac Dough Reboot and More
The upcoming installment finds the occasionally heroic crew embarking on “mind-bending adventures involving birthday party games to the death,...
The 10-episode Season 12 will arrive Monday, July 29 on Hulu; new episodes stream weekly. This comes after the animated comedy was renewed for Seasons 13 and 14 back in November.
More from TVLineMarch Madness 2024: How to Watch Iowa vs. UConn in the Women's Final FourTVLine Items: The Circle's A.I. Catfish, Love on the Spectrum Renewed and MoreTVLine Items: Suits Rewatch Podcast, Tic Tac Dough Reboot and More
The upcoming installment finds the occasionally heroic crew embarking on “mind-bending adventures involving birthday party games to the death,...
- 4/4/2024
- by Keisha Hatchett
- TVLine.com
The “Among Us” animated series is rounding out its voice cast.
Variety has learned that Patton Oswalt, Debra Wilson, Phil Lamarr, and Wayne Knight have all been cast in the series, which is currently in the works at CBS Studios. No network or streaming service is currently attached.
Character descriptions can be found below.
The four will star alongside previously announced cast members Dan Stevens, Liv Hewson, Kimiko Glenn, Randall Park, Yvette Nicole Brown, Elijah Wood, and Ashley Johnson.
Oswalt currently appears in the Apple TV+ series “Manhunt” and the film “Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire.” He is known for his stand up comedy career, winning the Emmy Award in 2016 for his special “Patton Oswalt: Talking for Clapping.” As an actor, he is known for his roles in films like the animated hit “Ratatouille” and for the CBS sitcom “King of Queens.”
He is repped by UTA, Independent Artists Media, and Jackoway Austen Tyerman.
Variety has learned that Patton Oswalt, Debra Wilson, Phil Lamarr, and Wayne Knight have all been cast in the series, which is currently in the works at CBS Studios. No network or streaming service is currently attached.
Character descriptions can be found below.
The four will star alongside previously announced cast members Dan Stevens, Liv Hewson, Kimiko Glenn, Randall Park, Yvette Nicole Brown, Elijah Wood, and Ashley Johnson.
Oswalt currently appears in the Apple TV+ series “Manhunt” and the film “Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire.” He is known for his stand up comedy career, winning the Emmy Award in 2016 for his special “Patton Oswalt: Talking for Clapping.” As an actor, he is known for his roles in films like the animated hit “Ratatouille” and for the CBS sitcom “King of Queens.”
He is repped by UTA, Independent Artists Media, and Jackoway Austen Tyerman.
- 4/4/2024
- by Joe Otterson
- Variety Film + TV
Warning: This post contains mentions of sexual assault.
As the golden era of "The Simpsons" started to die down in the late '90s, a bunch of other adult animated sitcoms rose to prominence, all vying for the cultural power Matt Groening's series once had. From "Futurama" to "King of the Hill" to "South Park," there was no shortage of shows that put their own spin on "The Simpsons" formula, and many of them are still going strong even today. But whereas the "South Park" writers stayed pretty respectful towards "The Simpsons," acknowledging explicitly in their 2006 "Cartoon Wars" special that the older show is far classier and more prestigious than their own, the writers of another prominent raunchy cartoon aimed for far more of a rivalry.
"Family Guy," with its familiar premise of an oafish father trying and failing to do right by his long-suffering wife and his three children,...
As the golden era of "The Simpsons" started to die down in the late '90s, a bunch of other adult animated sitcoms rose to prominence, all vying for the cultural power Matt Groening's series once had. From "Futurama" to "King of the Hill" to "South Park," there was no shortage of shows that put their own spin on "The Simpsons" formula, and many of them are still going strong even today. But whereas the "South Park" writers stayed pretty respectful towards "The Simpsons," acknowledging explicitly in their 2006 "Cartoon Wars" special that the older show is far classier and more prestigious than their own, the writers of another prominent raunchy cartoon aimed for far more of a rivalry.
"Family Guy," with its familiar premise of an oafish father trying and failing to do right by his long-suffering wife and his three children,...
- 4/3/2024
- by Michael Boyle
- Slash Film
One thing that quickly became clear in the early "Futurama" episodes is that not every member of the Planet Express crew has the same importance. The show largely revolves around the big three of Fry, Leela, and Bender, with Professor Farnsworth right behind them. In a separate tier are Amy, Hermes, and Zoidberg, who are usually present in any given example but only rarely get their time in the spotlight. Amy didn't really lead the A-plot of an episode until season 7's "That Darn Katz," for instance, although the early seasons' "Put Your Head On My Shoulders" and "Amazon Women in the Mood" also give her some interesting material to work with. Zoidberg also rarely gets to be the main character, although he can take solace in how he still gets way more focus than poor Scruffy.
Hermes, meanwhile, is a character usually stuck hanging around in the episode's B-plot.
Hermes, meanwhile, is a character usually stuck hanging around in the episode's B-plot.
- 3/31/2024
- by Michael Boyle
- Slash Film
The costs to stream live TV continue to climb upward year after year. The biggest culprit is the soaring costs for sports rights. But one live TV streaming service sidesteps sports to offer the best bargain: Philo.
Philo offers 18 of the top 35 cable channels. It’s the cheapest way to watch A&e, AMC, BET, Comedy Central, Discovery, Food Network, Hallmark Channel, HGTV, History, Investigation Discovery, Lifetime, MTV, Nickelodeon, Paramount Network, TLC, Travel Channel, VH1, and We tv. There are more than 70 channels available.
The service comes with a free DVR to record all your favorite shows.
Philo works on Amazon Fire TV, Apple TV, Google Chromecast, Roku, Android TV, iPhone/iPad, Android Phone/Tablet, Mac, Windows, Samsung Smart TV, Sony Smart TV, and Vizio Smart TV.
You can start watching today with a 7-day Free trial.
7-Day Free Trial $25+ / month philo.com Who Should Try Philo?
With that free trial,...
Philo offers 18 of the top 35 cable channels. It’s the cheapest way to watch A&e, AMC, BET, Comedy Central, Discovery, Food Network, Hallmark Channel, HGTV, History, Investigation Discovery, Lifetime, MTV, Nickelodeon, Paramount Network, TLC, Travel Channel, VH1, and We tv. There are more than 70 channels available.
The service comes with a free DVR to record all your favorite shows.
Philo works on Amazon Fire TV, Apple TV, Google Chromecast, Roku, Android TV, iPhone/iPad, Android Phone/Tablet, Mac, Windows, Samsung Smart TV, Sony Smart TV, and Vizio Smart TV.
You can start watching today with a 7-day Free trial.
7-Day Free Trial $25+ / month philo.com Who Should Try Philo?
With that free trial,...
- 3/29/2024
- by Ben Bowman
- The Streamable
When Futurama premiered on Fox in March 1999, it did so almost a decade after Matt Groening had broken open the gates of modern mainstream TV animation with The Simpsons. The intervening 10 years had seen more mature animated fare on the small screen, from the edgy Ren and Stimpy to the cult favorite The Critic. Though The Critic was created by two longtime Simpsons writers (and led to a moderately controversial crossover between the two), Futurama marked Groening’s first new series since The Simpsons.
- 3/28/2024
- by Josh Spiegel
- Primetimer
Helldivers 2 keeps things going with new content every day. The community of the title is very active, always trying to improve how it spreads democracy across the galaxy. Arrowhead Game Studios constantly introduces new menacing enemies, requiring the Helldivers 2 players to prepare for each one.
But the game is always looking for new ways to make reference for the players; there is even a planet called Omicron, like in Matt Groening’s animated series, Futurama. In the TV show, this planet has some terrible aliens that just hate monuments.
A Futurama Reference in Helldivers 2 Lrrr, ruler of the planet Omicron Persei 8. This Futurama reference is on a similar-named planet from Helldivers 2.
The team behind Helldivers 2 has its own way of paying homage to different pop culture things. The game has a ton of similar things, like the movie Starship Troopers, and it also has some armor that looks like Battlestar Galactica.
But the game is always looking for new ways to make reference for the players; there is even a planet called Omicron, like in Matt Groening’s animated series, Futurama. In the TV show, this planet has some terrible aliens that just hate monuments.
A Futurama Reference in Helldivers 2 Lrrr, ruler of the planet Omicron Persei 8. This Futurama reference is on a similar-named planet from Helldivers 2.
The team behind Helldivers 2 has its own way of paying homage to different pop culture things. The game has a ton of similar things, like the movie Starship Troopers, and it also has some armor that looks like Battlestar Galactica.
- 3/24/2024
- by Lucas Lapetina
- FandomWire
"Futurama" is, at least on one level, a workplace show. The main characters all met because they are co-workers at Planet Express, an interplanetary delivery company. Planet Express, however, is more of a background setting and an excuse to have the characters organically occupy the same space. "Futurama" stories either tend to reach deep into weird sci-fi or involve the characters' personal lives. Plots rarely surround the business and its inner workings.
The biggest reminder that "Futurama" does indeed take place in an office is the presence of Hermes Conrad (Phil Lamarr), the company bureaucrat. Hermes takes care of all the paperwork and accounting and does so with gusto. He's a freewheeling limbo champion who is also weirdly fastidious and obsessed with red tape and organization. In the episode "How Hermes Requisitioned His Groove Back", Hermes sings an upbeat calypso number about how great it is to be a bureaucrat.
The biggest reminder that "Futurama" does indeed take place in an office is the presence of Hermes Conrad (Phil Lamarr), the company bureaucrat. Hermes takes care of all the paperwork and accounting and does so with gusto. He's a freewheeling limbo champion who is also weirdly fastidious and obsessed with red tape and organization. In the episode "How Hermes Requisitioned His Groove Back", Hermes sings an upbeat calypso number about how great it is to be a bureaucrat.
- 3/24/2024
- by Witney Seibold
- Slash Film
In the third episode of "Futurama," called "I, Roommate," Fry (Billy West) is still sleeping at Planet Express, not yet having found a place to live. Fry is a slob, however, and his filthy detritus and unsanitary lifestyle become a nuisance for his coworkers. "Someone's been leaving food around," Hermes (Phil Lamarr) says at a company meeting, "and it's attracting owls. And I, for one, am tired of cleaning those owl traps."
Owls? Yes, it seems that by the year 3000, owls will have replaced rats as New York City's most prolific species of warm-blooded vermin. The owls are rarely addressed directly on "Futurama," but filthy alleyways and garbage-strewn streets are always lousy with owls. From the looks of the animation, they are northern saw-whet owls, although their precise species has never been clarified. Weirdly, the owls are a joke unto themselves, and no one ever makes puns or gags at their expense.
Owls? Yes, it seems that by the year 3000, owls will have replaced rats as New York City's most prolific species of warm-blooded vermin. The owls are rarely addressed directly on "Futurama," but filthy alleyways and garbage-strewn streets are always lousy with owls. From the looks of the animation, they are northern saw-whet owls, although their precise species has never been clarified. Weirdly, the owls are a joke unto themselves, and no one ever makes puns or gags at their expense.
- 3/23/2024
- by Witney Seibold
- Slash Film
Season 1 of "The Simpsons" is a whole different beast. You've got brown Mr. Smithers, character designs out of a Dr. Seuss book, and Homer inexplicably sounding like Walter Matthau. It's a charming affair, but it also hasn't yet turned into "The Simpsons" we've come to know and love.
What complicates the first season even more is the way that Fox aired certain episodes out of order. This was famously a much bigger problem with the classic era of "Futurama," but it also led to some inconsistencies in early "Simpsons." While the animation, character designs, and voices were all slowly evolving in the right direction throughout the first three seasons, the out-of-order episodes meant the show would sometimes take a seemingly random, large step back in animation quality. A case in point was the season 1 finale, "Some Enchanted Evening," which inexplicably looked closer to the old bumpers on "The Tracey Ullman Show...
What complicates the first season even more is the way that Fox aired certain episodes out of order. This was famously a much bigger problem with the classic era of "Futurama," but it also led to some inconsistencies in early "Simpsons." While the animation, character designs, and voices were all slowly evolving in the right direction throughout the first three seasons, the out-of-order episodes meant the show would sometimes take a seemingly random, large step back in animation quality. A case in point was the season 1 finale, "Some Enchanted Evening," which inexplicably looked closer to the old bumpers on "The Tracey Ullman Show...
- 3/23/2024
- by Michael Boyle
- Slash Film
Seven times in its history, "Futurama" has presented anthology episodes that exist outside of the show's normal continuity. Sometimes these episodes will be bookended with recognizable in-continuity material that binds the disparate anthology segments together, but just as often they are offered without context. In "Anthology of Interest II", the Professor (Billy West) reveals that he has repaired his What-If Machine, a prognosticating TV screen that displays short films as answers to what-if questions. The What-if Machine was also responsible for the segments seen in "Anthology of Interest I."
The alcoholic robot Bender (John Dimaggio) steps forward and reveals that he has always wondered what it would be like to be a human. The Professor puts that question to the What-If Machine, and out pops the hypothetical short "I, Meatbag." Within "I, Meatbag," the Professor uses a scientific process he calls reverse-fossilization to instantly turn Bender into a flesh-and-blood person.
The alcoholic robot Bender (John Dimaggio) steps forward and reveals that he has always wondered what it would be like to be a human. The Professor puts that question to the What-If Machine, and out pops the hypothetical short "I, Meatbag." Within "I, Meatbag," the Professor uses a scientific process he calls reverse-fossilization to instantly turn Bender into a flesh-and-blood person.
- 3/18/2024
- by Witney Seibold
- Slash Film
In the "The Simpsons" episode "Future-Drama", Bart (Nancy Cartwright) and Lisa (Yeardley Smith) visit the mad scientist Professor Frink (Hank Azaria) to get a glimpse into their future. Frink has invented a future-predicting computer, and the Simpson children ask to see what they might look like as teenagers. In the year 2013, Bart is dating a cool skateboarder named Jenda (Amy Poehler) and Lisa, on her way to medical school, has had an on-again-off-again relationship with Milhouse (Pamela Hayden). Marge has been dating Krusty the Clown (Dan Castellaneta) after leaving Homer for committing a flagrant financial crime.
To ensure the episode is sufficiently surreal, there is a scene wherein the teenage Bart and the older Homer (Castellaneta) pass through a quantum tunnel and emerge on the other side with a robot they mysteriously accumulated. The robot is Bender (John Dimaggio), the drunken droid from Matt Groening's "Futurama," a series that,...
To ensure the episode is sufficiently surreal, there is a scene wherein the teenage Bart and the older Homer (Castellaneta) pass through a quantum tunnel and emerge on the other side with a robot they mysteriously accumulated. The robot is Bender (John Dimaggio), the drunken droid from Matt Groening's "Futurama," a series that,...
- 3/17/2024
- by Witney Seibold
- Slash Film
In the very first "Futurama" episode, "Space Pilot 3000" (which is full of hidden clues), the dim-witted Fry (Billy West) awakens in the year 2999 after being cryogenically frozen for a millennium. Fry immediately encounters a bizarre future world he doesn't understand. He is informed that, in the 30th century, human beings are implanted with career chips that will determine their professional fate for the rest of their lives. Fry is told that he has been selected by the computer to be a delivery boy -- the same profession he held back in 1999. Fry, terrified by the prospect, flees into the streets of New New York, the city built on the ruins of Old New York.
Fry is disoriented by what he sees. Aliens and robots stroll the sidewalks, and spacecraft whiz past overhead. He spots a few suicide booths on street corners. Most impressively, he sees a vast, tall network of...
Fry is disoriented by what he sees. Aliens and robots stroll the sidewalks, and spacecraft whiz past overhead. He spots a few suicide booths on street corners. Most impressively, he sees a vast, tall network of...
- 3/17/2024
- by Witney Seibold
- Slash Film
Much has been made of the 1989 pilot for "The Simpsons," which told the bittersweet story of how the dog Santa's Little Helper joined the family, but it's clear that "Futurama" delivered an even stronger first impression ten years later. "Space Pilot 3000," which begins with pizza delivery guy Fry falling into a cryogenic chamber and waking up a thousand years later, introduces us to a new futuristic world that has a lot of cool technology, sure, but is definitely not a utopia. There are suicide booths on every corner, angry drunken talking robots, and no shortage of delivery jobs that still don't pay as much as they should. Fry still finds a better life in the fourth millennium, but it's a major adjustment.
In one of the early drafts for the pilot, Fry's adjustment to this new world (and this new cast of characters) was made even harder, because the circumstances...
In one of the early drafts for the pilot, Fry's adjustment to this new world (and this new cast of characters) was made even harder, because the circumstances...
- 3/11/2024
- by Michael Boyle
- Slash Film
In this brave new world of "Star Wars" fandom, it's almost unfathomable that there exist elements within the various films, novels, comics, and TV shows that don't have some sort of backstory or origin point. While obviously this stems from the huge fanbase for "Star Wars" loving the fictional universe so much that they wish to study and know absolutely everything that's in it, this trend also originated out of an inherent idea popularized by creator George Lucas with the very first movie in the franchise back in 1977 -- the implication that we're seeing a small part of a larger world, and every planet, ship, and creature we see (whether in the foreground or background) has its own history and story.
It's a powerful implication, and one that's essential to constructing a wholly fictional universe. Yet, of course, it's mostly hogwash -- or at least it used to be. While...
It's a powerful implication, and one that's essential to constructing a wholly fictional universe. Yet, of course, it's mostly hogwash -- or at least it used to be. While...
- 3/9/2024
- by Bill Bria
- Slash Film
Nibbler the Nibblonian first appeared on "Futurama" in the episode "Love's Labours Lost in Space", wherein Leela (Katey Sagal) assumed he was a poor, lost animal that merely needed a home. She put an adorable red cape on him and outfitted him with a diaper. Nibbler had a voracious appetite and could consume many, many, many times his own body weight in pork products in a single day. Nibbler would then poop out perfectly round spheres of solidified dark matter that, quite conveniently, could serve as starship fuel.
It was later revealed that Nibbler was, in fact, Lord Nibbler, an impossibly ancient being -- born around 274 Bce -- who could speak in a clear, deep voice. He belonged to a species that possessed fleets of tiny, adorable warships and who were occasionally kidnapped and farmed for their fuel-pooping abilities. For years, whenever someone saw Nibbler speak, he could activate his...
It was later revealed that Nibbler was, in fact, Lord Nibbler, an impossibly ancient being -- born around 274 Bce -- who could speak in a clear, deep voice. He belonged to a species that possessed fleets of tiny, adorable warships and who were occasionally kidnapped and farmed for their fuel-pooping abilities. For years, whenever someone saw Nibbler speak, he could activate his...
- 3/7/2024
- by Witney Seibold
- Slash Film
Although it may not be actively sold in the markets today, Sony’s PlayStation 2 still holds its dominance as the best-selling video game console of all time, selling over 155 million units in its 13-year life cycle.
In spite of being discontinued back in 2013, PlayStation 2 popularity continues, thanks to its impressive library of titles. Needless to say, these titles have become extremely rare to find now.
Sony PlayStation 2
Among the several other rare titles from the PlayStation 2 library is a horror hit that no horror game genre fan can afford to miss.
Kuon: A Japanese horror treat
Kuon is a Japanese horror game developed by the famous game studio FromSoftware. The studio is well-known for its fan-favorite and challenging games. Kuon was released in 2004 and is set during the Heian period of Japan, which lasted from 794 to 1185.
The game features several characters and narratives of Japanese folklore. Players get to explore...
In spite of being discontinued back in 2013, PlayStation 2 popularity continues, thanks to its impressive library of titles. Needless to say, these titles have become extremely rare to find now.
Sony PlayStation 2
Among the several other rare titles from the PlayStation 2 library is a horror hit that no horror game genre fan can afford to miss.
Kuon: A Japanese horror treat
Kuon is a Japanese horror game developed by the famous game studio FromSoftware. The studio is well-known for its fan-favorite and challenging games. Kuon was released in 2004 and is set during the Heian period of Japan, which lasted from 794 to 1185.
The game features several characters and narratives of Japanese folklore. Players get to explore...
- 3/6/2024
- by Amarylisa Gonsalves
- FandomWire
"Futurama" is set a thousand years from our present. The show begins in the year 2999, as the world of tomorrow celebrates a happy New Year, and has since moved forward to correspond to the year the episode was aired — the latest, semi-satisfying season 11, reviewed by /Film here, was set in 3023.
This means that the show is set in New New York City (in the state of New New York). In "Space Pilot 3000," while our everyman hero Philip J. Fry slumbers in cryogenic suspension for a millennium, the metropolis outside is destroyed twice by alien invaders. Late in the pilot, Fry, Bender, and Leela find themselves underground in the ruins of old New York City; the place Fry once called home is the foundation upon which his new one rests.
Despite the thousand years of destruction and rebuilding, New New York still has a Statue of Liberty (though who knows if...
This means that the show is set in New New York City (in the state of New New York). In "Space Pilot 3000," while our everyman hero Philip J. Fry slumbers in cryogenic suspension for a millennium, the metropolis outside is destroyed twice by alien invaders. Late in the pilot, Fry, Bender, and Leela find themselves underground in the ruins of old New York City; the place Fry once called home is the foundation upon which his new one rests.
Despite the thousand years of destruction and rebuilding, New New York still has a Statue of Liberty (though who knows if...
- 3/3/2024
- by Devin Meenan
- Slash Film
The alcoholic robot Bender (John Dimaggio) drinks a lot. And he doesn't seem to have much of a preference when it comes to his alcohol consumption. He will happily down classy cocktails, girly drinks like Fuzzy Navels, cheapo beers, or jugs of XXX rotgut moonshine. The alcohol gets him drunk but also keeps his fuel cells charged. Bender, as his name implies, is always a little tipsy. He only becomes erratic when he becomes sober. Although when drunk (i.e. in a normal state), Bender is hardly a model of poise; he's a kleptomaniac who has taken hostages on live TV more than once, all while waving around guns, smoking cigars, and encouraging viewers to beat their children.
Naturally, Bender is a lovable friend.
In what is likely a design flaw, all the robots in "Futurama" belch fire. When they need to expel dangerous exhaust, they simply burp it out of their mouths.
Naturally, Bender is a lovable friend.
In what is likely a design flaw, all the robots in "Futurama" belch fire. When they need to expel dangerous exhaust, they simply burp it out of their mouths.
- 3/3/2024
- by Witney Seibold
- Slash Film
"Futurama" is first and foremost a comedy, but by setting events a thousand years in the future, it invited itself to have the kind of worldbuilding you'd see in more straight-laced science fiction. The writers aren't just out to make their audience laugh, but to invest them in a futuristic world.
The "Futurama" writers are learned science-fiction nerds themselves. Series co-creator David X. Cohen has degrees in physics and computer science, while David A. Goodman, who wrote the "Futurama" episode "Where No Fan Has Gone Before," (which featured most of the original "Star Trek" cast) went on to write for "Star Trek: Enterprise." Since the writers are nerds, they know how obsessive nerds think and engage with media by overanalyzing it.
The creators of "Futurama" admit they've even relied on fans to preserve the series' continuity, checking the "Futurama" wiki rather than rewatching episodes themselves. An audio commentary track for the series premiere,...
The "Futurama" writers are learned science-fiction nerds themselves. Series co-creator David X. Cohen has degrees in physics and computer science, while David A. Goodman, who wrote the "Futurama" episode "Where No Fan Has Gone Before," (which featured most of the original "Star Trek" cast) went on to write for "Star Trek: Enterprise." Since the writers are nerds, they know how obsessive nerds think and engage with media by overanalyzing it.
The creators of "Futurama" admit they've even relied on fans to preserve the series' continuity, checking the "Futurama" wiki rather than rewatching episodes themselves. An audio commentary track for the series premiere,...
- 3/2/2024
- by Devin Meenan
- Slash Film
Bender (John Dimaggio), the drunken alcoholic robot on Matt Groening and David X. Cohen's sci-fi sitcom "Futurama" is fueled by alcohol. Indeed, if Bender doesn't have a cocktail once or twice a day, he begins to rust, his batteries begin to run down, and he behaves as if he's drunk. Of course, consuming too much booze also makes Bender behave like he's drunk, so it's a careful balance to ensure he's functional. If that seems unclear, don't worry. The characters on "Futurama" don't quite have a grasp of it either. When Bender claims to have seen a werewolf car (!), Fry (Billy West) responds by saying "You've been drinking too much, or too little. I forget how it works with you. Anyway, you haven't drunk exactly the right amount."
Early in the series, Bender had more of a "drunken" voice, with actor Dimaggio giving the character a slightly raspier effect as well as a slight,...
Early in the series, Bender had more of a "drunken" voice, with actor Dimaggio giving the character a slightly raspier effect as well as a slight,...
- 3/2/2024
- by Witney Seibold
- Slash Film
The late 1980s and early 1990s were a wild time for censorship in television, as parents' interest groups protested anything they deemed was immoral and might have a negative impact on young viewers. This was before the Parental Guidance system that we have on TV today, which was implemented as a part of the Telecommunications Act of 1996, and some folks were worried about the impact of certain kinds of television on impressionable viewers. One especially vocal critic was Terry Rakolta, a mom from Michigan, who led an anti-obscenity boycott campaign against the Fox family sitcom "Married... With Children." Rakolta was especially upset after seeing the season 3 episode "Her Cups Runneth Over," which featured shoe salesman Al Bundy (Ed O'Neill) shopping at a lingerie store for his wife, Peg ("Futurama" star Katey Sagal). Outraged that the episode showed implied nudity and had a number of raunchy jokes, she wrote to Fox and started her boycott campaign,...
- 3/2/2024
- by Danielle Ryan
- Slash Film
Welcome to our weekly rundown of the best new music — featuring big new singles, key tracks from our favorite albums, and more. This week, Cardi B returns with her first single of 2024, Miley Cyrus delivers a salve with a funky Bangerz B-side, and Charli Xcx is at the top of her game in glitzy new track. Plus, new music from Schoolboy Q, Fred Again.. , Kacey Musgraves, and more.
Cardi B, “Like What (Freestyle)” (YouTube)
Miley Cyrus feat. Pharrell, “Doctor (Work It Out)” (YouTube)
Charli Xcx, “Von Dutch” (YouTube)
Schoolboy Q,...
Cardi B, “Like What (Freestyle)” (YouTube)
Miley Cyrus feat. Pharrell, “Doctor (Work It Out)” (YouTube)
Charli Xcx, “Von Dutch” (YouTube)
Schoolboy Q,...
- 3/1/2024
- by Rolling Stone
- Rollingstone.com
The 2009 "Futurama" movie "Into the Wild Green Yonder" -- the show's fourth and final -- was, one might recall, supposed to the be definite end of the series. "Futurama" was notoriously canceled in 2004 thanks to flagging ratings, but gained new life through DVD sales. The series was initially resurrected in the form of four straight-to-video movies released in 2008 and 2009, a quartet that was intended to signal the franchise's farewell. Of course, when those four films also sold well, Comedy Central stepped in and resurrected the series for a second time. As of this writing, the show has been canceled and resurrected a third time. New episodes are currently on Hulu.
Of course, the makers of "Futurama" didn't know in 2009 that they would come back, leading them to give the finale of "Green Yonder" an appropriately epic feel. The story of "Green Yonder" deals with cosmic energies, extinction, and the mass...
Of course, the makers of "Futurama" didn't know in 2009 that they would come back, leading them to give the finale of "Green Yonder" an appropriately epic feel. The story of "Green Yonder" deals with cosmic energies, extinction, and the mass...
- 2/25/2024
- by Witney Seibold
- Slash Film
Epic Games made a revolution in gaming with Fortnite. The battle royale title went beyond just the collaboration and is forming its own universe within the actual game. Various very popular franchises have been in Fortnite, like Marvel, Star Wars, other videogame characters, and even music stars like Ariana Grande and recently Lady Gaga.
But new leaks are pointing to what will be coming next in Fortnite. It appears that a Greek-themed season is near with the popular gods of this mythology as protagonists; this could also mean a famous Homer to be in the game and not the one from the odyssey.
The Odyssey, Homer of The Simpsons, and Greek-themed Season Could be Coming to Fortnite Artwork of the next season has reportedly leaked.
Fortnite leaks are a common thing; several new seasons were completely leaking weeks before they were released. The community is used to this kind of...
But new leaks are pointing to what will be coming next in Fortnite. It appears that a Greek-themed season is near with the popular gods of this mythology as protagonists; this could also mean a famous Homer to be in the game and not the one from the odyssey.
The Odyssey, Homer of The Simpsons, and Greek-themed Season Could be Coming to Fortnite Artwork of the next season has reportedly leaked.
Fortnite leaks are a common thing; several new seasons were completely leaking weeks before they were released. The community is used to this kind of...
- 2/23/2024
- by Lucas Lapetina
- FandomWire
The fourth "Futurama" movie, "Into the Wild Green Yonder," was released on DVD on February 24, 2009, and it was intended to be the final word on the series ... again. The initial run of "Futurama" ended in 2002 after encountering poor ratings. DVD sales of the show remained robust, however, and Fox agreed to make four straight-to-video "Futurama" movies as a way of resurrecting the series for what was essentially one final season. The four movies did better than expected, and Comedy Central picked up "Futurama" for a third run, starting in 2010. "Futurama" is the brain that wouldn't die.
But for a while, it looked like "Into the Wild Green Yonder" was going to be the last time audiences would ever see "Futurama," and the makers wanted the story to be appropriately epic. The story of "Green Yonder" involves a sudden cosmic surge of Chi, or life-giving energy, that spontaneously pulsates into the galaxy.
But for a while, it looked like "Into the Wild Green Yonder" was going to be the last time audiences would ever see "Futurama," and the makers wanted the story to be appropriately epic. The story of "Green Yonder" involves a sudden cosmic surge of Chi, or life-giving energy, that spontaneously pulsates into the galaxy.
- 2/23/2024
- by Witney Seibold
- Slash Film
Periodically throughout the animated sci-fi sitcom "Futurama," the couch potato characters will sit in front of their 31st-century TV and take in an episode of "The Scary Door." "The Scary Door" is the future's take on "The Twilight Zone," complete with a Rod Serling-like announcer (played by Maurice Lamarche) explaining the weird ironies about to be witnessed. Naturally, the twist endings in "The Scary Door" go beyond irony and dive headfirst into absurdity.
In one episode, a gambler dies and awakens in an afterlife casino. He wins once and figures it must be Heaven. He wins twice and figures that it must be Hell; what gambler wants to win every time? But then he realizes that his afterlife casino is actually on a plane ... and there's a monster on the wing of the plane. When he calls someone for help, he realizes that he is also Adolf Hitler. He...
In one episode, a gambler dies and awakens in an afterlife casino. He wins once and figures it must be Heaven. He wins twice and figures that it must be Hell; what gambler wants to win every time? But then he realizes that his afterlife casino is actually on a plane ... and there's a monster on the wing of the plane. When he calls someone for help, he realizes that he is also Adolf Hitler. He...
- 2/22/2024
- by Witney Seibold
- Slash Film
Nominees have been announced for the 76th annual Writers Guild Awards, and Star Trek: Picard squeaked in just under the wire.
The concluded Paramount+ quasi-revival saw its series finale nominated in the Episodic Drama category. Other first-time nominees include freshman shows Shrinking, The Last of Us, The Curse and The Diplomat.
More from TVLineThe Last of Us: Catherine O'Hara Confirmed for Season 2 Mystery RoleThe Diplomat Season 2: The West Wing's Allison Janney Elected Vice PresidentThe Last of Us Casts 100 Things to Do Before High School's Isabela Merced as Someone Very Important to Ellie
Of course, usual suspects like Succession,...
The concluded Paramount+ quasi-revival saw its series finale nominated in the Episodic Drama category. Other first-time nominees include freshman shows Shrinking, The Last of Us, The Curse and The Diplomat.
More from TVLineThe Last of Us: Catherine O'Hara Confirmed for Season 2 Mystery RoleThe Diplomat Season 2: The West Wing's Allison Janney Elected Vice PresidentThe Last of Us Casts 100 Things to Do Before High School's Isabela Merced as Someone Very Important to Ellie
Of course, usual suspects like Succession,...
- 2/21/2024
- by Michael Ausiello
- TVLine.com
The "Futurama" character Randy (John Dimaggio) has appeared in 17 episodes of the series to date and in three of the four movies. Randy is enthused, catty, and seen throughout the series holding down a wide variety of jobs. In one episode, he is the proprietor of a jewelry store (Dr. Zoidberg spits expensive gems at him). In another, he is seen teaching a prenatal swim class (Dr. Zoidberg froths lobster drool on him). In a third, he builds an ark to save Earth's animals during a great deluge (Dr. Zoidberg remains mercifully absent). In the latter scenario, Randy's husband points out that Randy filled the ark with same-sex couples, which he is quite proud of. "There are some parts of the Bible I like," Randy says, "and some parts I don't like."
Dimaggio has been quite outspoken on "Futurama" DVD commentaries about how much he loves Randy. Randy never emerged...
Dimaggio has been quite outspoken on "Futurama" DVD commentaries about how much he loves Randy. Randy never emerged...
- 2/18/2024
- by Witney Seibold
- Slash Film
Watch any American cartoons (and/or play some video games) made in the 2000s-2010s and you'll notice some familiar voices across the shows. One voice you're bound to hear is that of John Dimaggio.
Born and raised in New Jersey, with the accent to prove it, the 6'4 Dimaggio has a deep voice that's as imposing as his frame. Don't think that he lacks range, though. He can play lovable heroes (Jake the Dog in "Adventure Time" or Aquaman in "Batman: The Brave and the Bold") and tough guys who are more emotional than they let on (Marcus Fenix in "Gears of War" or the short-tempered humanoid tiger alien Rath in "Ben 10"). He's just as good at playing villains, if not more so due to his baritone. Dimaggio's bad guys range from serious bad news to incompetent comic relief (Dr. Drakken in "Kim Possible").
He's also been in most of the "Transformers" films,...
Born and raised in New Jersey, with the accent to prove it, the 6'4 Dimaggio has a deep voice that's as imposing as his frame. Don't think that he lacks range, though. He can play lovable heroes (Jake the Dog in "Adventure Time" or Aquaman in "Batman: The Brave and the Bold") and tough guys who are more emotional than they let on (Marcus Fenix in "Gears of War" or the short-tempered humanoid tiger alien Rath in "Ben 10"). He's just as good at playing villains, if not more so due to his baritone. Dimaggio's bad guys range from serious bad news to incompetent comic relief (Dr. Drakken in "Kim Possible").
He's also been in most of the "Transformers" films,...
- 2/18/2024
- by Devin Meenan
- Slash Film
One of the best (and silliest) qualities of "Futurama" is just how much the world of the future hasn't changed from the present. Yes, there are alcoholic robots and aliens all around, but the characters are always just so happening to deal with the same basic social issues of the audience's time, from global warming to corporate greed to bitcoin. History repeats itself, it seems, and according to "Futurama" it repeats itself in thousand-year cycles.
Case in point was the 2010 episode "Proposition Infinity," an episode that was clearly inspired by California's Proposition 8, in which California voters in the 2008 election voted to effectively ban gay marriage in the state. The controversial proposition is so infamous in part because of how quickly voters' views on gay marriage would change; if the proposition had been on the ballot just a year later, it's likely most Californians would've voted against it. If it had...
Case in point was the 2010 episode "Proposition Infinity," an episode that was clearly inspired by California's Proposition 8, in which California voters in the 2008 election voted to effectively ban gay marriage in the state. The controversial proposition is so infamous in part because of how quickly voters' views on gay marriage would change; if the proposition had been on the ballot just a year later, it's likely most Californians would've voted against it. If it had...
- 2/17/2024
- by Michael Boyle
- Slash Film
Voice actor Billy West plays several of the lead characters on Matt Groening and David X. Cohen's 31st-century sitcom "Futurama." His voice for Fry, he has said, is essentially how he sounded when he was in his 20s. He also voices the elderly Professor Farnsworth, the incompetent lobster Dr. Zoidberg, the blow-hard Shatnerian space captain Zapp Brannigan, and the severed head of Richard Nixon. He's also played a wide variety of store clerks, alien slugs, terrifying robots, and North Pole elves in his tenure on "Futurama." There is nothing, it seems, he can't do.
It also takes a great deal of professionalism to be so silly. Voice actors, especially prolific ones, have to recall how dozens of characters sound in a split second, able to call up whatever voices a scene needs. In West's case, he likely has to have conversations with himself, using two or more unique voices in a single scene.
It also takes a great deal of professionalism to be so silly. Voice actors, especially prolific ones, have to recall how dozens of characters sound in a split second, able to call up whatever voices a scene needs. In West's case, he likely has to have conversations with himself, using two or more unique voices in a single scene.
- 2/15/2024
- by Witney Seibold
- Slash Film
Bill Bryson bestseller A Short History of Nearly Everything is being reimagined as an animated TV series by former The Simpsons showrunner Josh Weinstein and Paddington scribe Jason Hazeley, with Richard Ayoade narrating.
Altitude and Brouhaha Entertainment are forging the series version of a book that has sold 15 million copies worldwide and been translated into 50 languages, with a view to turning it into a long-running entertainment franchise.
Published two decades ago, the book sees celebrated writer Bryson take on popular science by tackling issues such as the size of the universe and the development of the human race, and setting them out in layman’s terms. A large part of the book is devoted to relating humorous stories about the scientists behind the research and their sometimes eccentric behaviours. Narrated by Ayoade, the animation will tell these stories spanning centuries and continents, time and space, and the abstract and the real,...
Altitude and Brouhaha Entertainment are forging the series version of a book that has sold 15 million copies worldwide and been translated into 50 languages, with a view to turning it into a long-running entertainment franchise.
Published two decades ago, the book sees celebrated writer Bryson take on popular science by tackling issues such as the size of the universe and the development of the human race, and setting them out in layman’s terms. A large part of the book is devoted to relating humorous stories about the scientists behind the research and their sometimes eccentric behaviours. Narrated by Ayoade, the animation will tell these stories spanning centuries and continents, time and space, and the abstract and the real,...
- 2/12/2024
- by Max Goldbart
- Deadline Film + TV
When you're making a show that lasts over 25 years, there will inevitably be some material from early seasons that don't age as well as expected. Comedy is the quickest to age and the quickest to age poorly, they say, so we should probably go easy on older sitcoms when they can't fully escape being products of their time. While early "Futurama" has aged better than most sitcoms from 1999 — thanks to how most of the woes it satirizes are still around today, but worse — there are plenty of moments that the creators regret. Case in point: "In-a-Gadda-Da-Leela," the 2010 episode where Leela and Zapp find themselves alone, naked, in an unknown planet.
"That one didn't age well," co-creator David X. Cohen said in a 2023 interview. "But we failed to avoid it. I would say it's a better description than that we didn't avoid it." He doesn't clarify exactly what "it" is here,...
"That one didn't age well," co-creator David X. Cohen said in a 2023 interview. "But we failed to avoid it. I would say it's a better description than that we didn't avoid it." He doesn't clarify exactly what "it" is here,...
- 2/11/2024
- by Michael Boyle
- Slash Film
On David X. Cohen and Matt Groening's 31st-century sci-fi sitcom "Futurama," the world's citizens are hooked on a high-octane ultra-soap-opera called "All My Circuits," a long-running TV series starring a cast of mostly robots. The main character in "All My Circuits" is a tall, egocentric blowhard named Calculon who is constantly discovering evil twins, engaging in robotic infidelities, and discovering multiple personalities. In a strange metanarrative twist, the Calculon on "All My Circuits" is played by a robot ... that also happens to be named Calculon, and also happens to be an egocentric blowhard.
In reality, Calculon is played by veteran voice actor Maurice Lamarche, one of the best voice actors currently working. Maurice Lamarche plays Calculon with a bloviating confidence that only seems to infect famous actors. Calculon eventually reveals that he is many hundreds of years old, and changes his identity every few decades. In previous lives, he...
In reality, Calculon is played by veteran voice actor Maurice Lamarche, one of the best voice actors currently working. Maurice Lamarche plays Calculon with a bloviating confidence that only seems to infect famous actors. Calculon eventually reveals that he is many hundreds of years old, and changes his identity every few decades. In previous lives, he...
- 2/10/2024
- by Witney Seibold
- Slash Film
In the "Futurama" episode "War is the H-Word," Fry (Billy West) and Bender (John Dimaggio) discover that they can get a 5% discount on ham-flavored chewing gum if they have a military I.D. Feeling that they would never be drafted into any kind of foolish military conflict, the two sign up for the armed services and absquatulate with their gum.
And then the war came.
Fry and Bender are immediately drafted into a bizarre battlefield excursion they're told very little about. They are trained to fire guns and be generally boorish and sexist, as their commanding officer is the irrepressible misogynist Zapp Brannigan (West). Fry's and Bender's much more capable friend Leela (Katey Sagal) joins the army in disguise (she puts on a beard) just so she can make sure the two dopes don't get blown up on day one of combat. It won't be until they are shipped to...
And then the war came.
Fry and Bender are immediately drafted into a bizarre battlefield excursion they're told very little about. They are trained to fire guns and be generally boorish and sexist, as their commanding officer is the irrepressible misogynist Zapp Brannigan (West). Fry's and Bender's much more capable friend Leela (Katey Sagal) joins the army in disguise (she puts on a beard) just so she can make sure the two dopes don't get blown up on day one of combat. It won't be until they are shipped to...
- 2/10/2024
- by Witney Seibold
- Slash Film
At the start of Matt Groening's and David X. Cohen's 31st-century sci-fi sitcom "Futurama," the alcoholic robot Bender (John Dimaggio) sounded a little bit more like a drunken vagrant. He slurred his speech more and seemed less able to concentrate. As the show progressed, Bender became more self-assured, like the guy at the bar who — after his fourth shot of Jim Beam — is 100% confident he could thrash the bouncer. Bender became egotistical in addition to being a drunken criminal. On DVD commentary tracks, the makers of "Futurama" have said that Bender, in being a robot, allowed them more explicit depictions of violence and vice; a human character cannot drink a gallon of rotgut whiskey and smoke four cigars simultaneously, but a robot can. The Fox censors are weird.
Prior to "Futurama," Dimaggio only had a few credits to his name. His first gig was playing ancillary voices in...
Prior to "Futurama," Dimaggio only had a few credits to his name. His first gig was playing ancillary voices in...
- 2/9/2024
- by Witney Seibold
- Slash Film
"If there's one thing America needs, it's more lawyers." Lionel Hutz, defense attorney
There may not be a setting more suited to English language television than the courtroom.
Applying the real world rule of law to hypothetical cases dreamed up by the writers, from the tragic to the preposterous, underlines the drama in ways unique to the courtroom genre and makes champions of those who defend the wrongly (or not so wrongly) accused.
Right or wrong, innocent or guilty, these are the law talkin' guys and gals we'd want to have on our side in a court of law.
Ben Matlock, Matlock
If you're counting down TV's best defense lawyers, this one's obligatory. Ben Matlock, portrayed by TV legend Andy Griffith, wrote the playbook on dramatic reveals and turnarounds in front of the jury.
Matlock blurred the line between detective show and courtroom procedural as he would clear his clients...
There may not be a setting more suited to English language television than the courtroom.
Applying the real world rule of law to hypothetical cases dreamed up by the writers, from the tragic to the preposterous, underlines the drama in ways unique to the courtroom genre and makes champions of those who defend the wrongly (or not so wrongly) accused.
Right or wrong, innocent or guilty, these are the law talkin' guys and gals we'd want to have on our side in a court of law.
Ben Matlock, Matlock
If you're counting down TV's best defense lawyers, this one's obligatory. Ben Matlock, portrayed by TV legend Andy Griffith, wrote the playbook on dramatic reveals and turnarounds in front of the jury.
Matlock blurred the line between detective show and courtroom procedural as he would clear his clients...
- 2/8/2024
- by Gilbert Smith
- TVfanatic
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