The second half of the seventh season of Futurama premiered with two episodes in a back-to-back one hour special, starting with ‘2-D Blacktop’. Although not the strongest episode to start the second half of the season with, it was good enough to remind me why I like the show.
After the Planet Express ship crashes one too many times, Leela decides they should get rid of it. Professor Farnsworth leaves and repairs the ship from parts he finds in a junkyard. As a result of his new faster ‘wheels’, the Professor inadvertently falls in with a street racer crew who are especially impressed by the “dimensional drift” of the ship.
Meanwhile Planet Express get a new, safe, slow ship. Although happy at first, Leela quickly becomes bored of the new ship as it does everything for them. While out driving it one day she runs into the Professor and challenges him to a race on the “Mobius Strip”. During the race, their two ships collide and the Professor, Leela, Fry and Bender end up in a two-dimensional world. It doesn’t take long before the four offend the inhabitants of this two-dimensional land and they must find their way home before they come to any harm.
Although story-wise this has been one of the weaker episodes of the season, the animation in this episode was quite impressive (Futurama seems to love trying out new styles and technologies). This was most notable as they transitioned from two to three dimensions. However, I think one of the biggest let-downs of this episode were the four members of the Professor’s street “crew” as the characters fell flat as two-dimensional stereotypes (and I don’t think such irony was intended). Overall I found the episode mildly enjoyable, even though it wasn’t up to the show’s usual standard.
Review by Heather Bale.
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