Falling back on an easy topic, but it so happens that I
just finished watching (the final) Season 8 of this show.
Beginning. This
started in 1999. It so happened that in
October 1999, I started dating my ex-GF, Leila, right as the show was gathering
steam. Leila has two eyes and
non-purple hair, but her own Brazilian charms.
Anyhow, Fox kept it until 2003.
In 2007 they released 4 direct to DVD films. Seasons six, seven and eight were picked up
and broadcast by Comedy Central. I’d say
throughout the entire series a remarkably high standard of quality was
maintained.
It centers on Fry, an underachieving delivery guy from
2000 who is accidentally frozen for 1000 years and wakes up in 3000 – and picks
up where he left off, working at a planetary delivery company, Planet Express,
in New New York. Since everyone he knew from 2000 is dead, he has to bond with his co-workers, eventually developing an unlikely
romance with Leela.
Fry (Billy West). The main character, shares most animated main male (?!?) characters’ idiocy (Homer Simpson, Peter Griffin, etc.) without being
endearing. I never liked him that much. However, I do love the “Fry [not sure if…]”
and “SHUT UP AND TAKE MY MONEY!” memes he inspired, and which I may well have
posted in various ways on Facebook in the past.
Turanga Leela
(Katey Sagal). Purple haired, one-eyed
mutant with an impressive figure, voiced by Peg Bundy herself with just as much sass and arrogance as you might expect. Don’t
mess with her. After believing herself
an orphan, she finally discovered her parents, who live in the sewer (!). Early
on there was an episode featuring Ed O’Neill, best known as Al Bundy on
“Married With Children”, as an alien with whom Leela hooks up.
Bender Rodriguez (Jon
DiMaggio). The cynical, alcoholic robot. Count on Bender to act in bad faith and
epitomize any and all vices you can possibly imagine - including prostitution
with robo-hookers. Robots have an
amusing and prominent role in the series, especially Calculon, the star of “All My Circuits”
(Calculon: “I’ve been processing this for some time…”). Or those “incompetent robot elders”….
Professor Farnsworth
(Billy West). Fry’s descendant –
probably from his older brother. The
professor is predictably absent-minded.
Typically he can be counted on to invent whatever implausible but plot-required
technology they need to get the episode going.
Amy Wong (Lauren Tom). The team’s other female, with an alluringly flat tummy and exposed belly button. She doesn’t do much more
than be cute, though. Her parents fit
the stereotype of Asian parents – they run a casino on the Moon.
Hermes (Phil Lamarr, who I recall as the overstimulated UPS driver on "MadTV"). The team’s Jamaican
accountant/bureaucrat. His job seems to
be to veto things which either cost too much or violate regulations, as
prevalent in the 3000’s as they are now.
Dr. Zoidberg (Billy West). Actually somewhat of a lobster. I’m sensing a heavy dose of Yiddishness
injected into him, particularly his accent.
It’s like they wanted a Jewish character but didn’t want to actually
make the character Jewish.
Most of the adventures involve foreign planets or alien
invasions. Years ago, after digesting
all 70+ episodes of “Star Trek: The Original Series” (ST/OS) I then watched all
of the animated series shows from the early or mid-‘70s. Of course, due to budget constraints all of
live action Star Trek alien races - even on more recent series such as "Next Generation", "Deep Space Nine", "Voyager", etc. - have to be humanoid: basically like humans with different hair or
skin, but two arms, two legs, one head, etc.
With animation you’re freed from that constraint and can make any sort
of alien you can imagine. And the
Futurama writers are certainly imaginative.
Of course they’ve got a fair
amount of tributes and “in jokes”, the most recent I caught being the “Two Lane
Blacktop” tribute episode and Bender’s encounter with Finn & Jake of
Adventure Time, both from the final season which is obviously freshest in my mind.
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