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In this week’s episode of Futurama we meet the long-awaited girlfriend of Doctor Zoidberg, and watch as Bender pursues his new life-long dream of becoming the world’s greatest tap-dancer. There are laughs and ‘heart-breaking’ moments galore in the roller-coaster of emotion that is ‘Stench and Stenchibility’.
After Zoidberg’s video-girlfriend of four years finally meets him, she dumps him on the spot because of his overwhelming stench. Broken-hearted, Zoidberg tries to return the flowers he purchased for her to the florist, and this is where he meets Marianne (voiced by special guest star, Emilia Clarke). Marianne and Zoidberg are immediately attracted to one another, but Zoidberg does not understand why she likes him when most people run away from him and his smell. Marianne reveals she was born without a sense of smell (a florist without a sense of smell? Oh, the irony!), and Zoidberg feels sorry for her, but is secretly glad she is not repulsed by him like so many others. The Professor tells Zoidberg that there is a cure for Marianne’s condition in the form of a nose transplant. Zoidberg is torn: on the one claw, he knows Marianne would love to be able to smell the flowers that she sells, and just wants for her to be happy, but on the other, he knows that if she is able to smell him, she will no longer want to be with him. What should Zoidberg do? What will Zoidberg do?
Meanwhile, Bender is invited to participate in a tap-dancing contest, and will go to any lengths to secure his victory. The competition seems in the bag, until he meets Tonya, an adorable little girl with the mind of a monster. Will Tonya become Bender’s arch-nemesis or partner in crime? And who will win the tap-dancing competition?!
This episode was great, because, well, who doesn't love Zoidberg? It was nice to see poor, smelly, unlucky in love Zoidberg, finally get his chance at happiness. Other highlights from this episode were the return of more familiar faces (Randy, crazy Robert, and the breathy-voiced scientist/doctor - it seems they are trying to include all of the old characters in some way this season!), and the pure evilness of Bender (just when you think he’s as bad as can be, he does something worse). Only one episode to go now, and I can’t wait!
Review by Heather Bale.
This week’s Futurama episode, ‘Murder on the Planet Express’, is like a golden age crime story crossed with a classic horror story. Those familiar with either genre will laugh as they recognise the tropes of each, and those that are just fans of the show will laugh at the regular sci-fi gags and character quirks littered throughout the episode.
Fed up that the crew of Planet Express do not trust one another, the Professor sends them on a “corporate team-building retreat” in space with the trust guru, Dan McMasters. In order to show them the importance of trust, McMasters picks up a hitch-hiker. Of course this hitch-hiker is someone not to be trusted, as he turns into an alien, eats McMasters, and shuts off all the ships power. The Planet Express crew starts doing exactly what the Professor wanted: they are trusting one another in order work together to try and defeat the alien. That is until they find out the creature is a shape-shifter. So, now the Planet Express crew are trapped on a ship with a murderous shape-shifting creature that is going to pick them off one by one, and they do not know who it could be at any given time. Who can they trust? Who can’t they trust? And will trusting one another actually solve anything?
My favourite thing about this episode is that it undermines the message of the importance of trust right at the end of the episode, which is so Futurama. They don’t care about sending a positive message, they’re not a kids show, they just want to make an amusing episode of an animated sitcom, which they did so well this week. I would definitely rate this as one of the better episodes of the season, and am cautiously optimistic about the quality of the next two episodes.
Review by Heather Bale.
The other week I was concerned that Futurama had lost it's touch, but this week's episode blew that concern right out of the water. 'Game of Tones' was equal parts amusing and touching, and reminded me of not only how great the show once was, but how great it still can be. Futurama still has so much potential, so many more stories to tell... It just made this episode all the sadder when you realise how close the show is to ending.
A mysterious spaceship has been blasting a loud melody through space, threatening to destroy planet earth. No one has heard this tone before, except for Fry. The Professor uses a dream machine to enable Fry to relive the day he first heard that melody (December 31st, 1999 - the day Fry got frozen) in the hopes they will be able to find out what it is and stop it. Fry is annoyed that he has to relive a part of his old life, since he hated so many aspects of it, but then he starts seeing old friends, family, and Seymour... Perhaps Fry has just been telling himself all this time that he hated his old life so that he wouldn't miss it as much? With the world about to end, and Fry refusing to leave his dream family, can anything be done to save planet earth?
There were so many things about this episode I loved - the witty one-liners ("Back in my day, sound didn't travel through space"), seeing more old characters (especially 'noticeably F-A-T'), the visual gags (the eiffel tower scene), the parodies (shazzam), the inventions (thought spikes) - but the thing I loved the most was just how touching the episode was as a whole (that end scene... *sniff*). This has always been one of Futurama's great strengths, its ability to seamlessly weave comedy and sadness together to make you appreciate and empathise with the characters. There are only three episodes to go until Futurama is over, and boy am I hoping FOX picks the show up again...
Review by Heather Bale.
This week's episode of Futurama, 'Leela and the Genestalk', while not amazing, was certainly better than the last couple of episodes we have seen. More familiar faces return, Fry is his usual silly self, and we get to see the Planet Express crew line-dancing.
Leela comes down with a condition called "squidification", which means she will soon turn into a giant squid as a result of her mutant DNA. There is a medical procedure which can be used to delay Leela's squidification, but it is very expensive. The Planet Express crew wants to help, and the Professor lets Fry sell "Old Bessie" (the Planet Express Ship). Fry sells the ship for giant "magic" beans. Leela, realising she now has no hope of returning to normal, decides to live in the sewers with her parents and the rest of the mutants. Just as she is about to descend into the sewers, she notices a giant beanstalk and decides to climb it. On top of a cloud, Leela finds Mom and her "floating genetic engineering facility". Mom decides to imprison Leela and use her DNA in some experiments. Fry and Bender realise that Leela has gone missing, and make it their mission to save her. But even if they are able to save Leela from Mom, can she be rescued from her squidification?
Overall, I enjoyed this episode. It was nice to see Mom and her three sons up to no good again, and the fairy tale references were worth a smile or two. Though it may not have been the best episode of this season, this week's episode was still better than the last few we have seen, so hopefully this means Futurama is on the improve as the series draws to a close.
Review by Heather Bale.
This week’s episode of Futurama, ‘Assie Come Home’, was... okay. It had an easy to follow plot, plenty of familiar faces, and the perfect smattering of jokes and popular culture references to keep me satisfied, but it just wasn’t brilliant. Perhaps my expectations have been too high for this final season, or perhaps this is just why Futurama is ending...
While making a delivery to the criminal planet, Bender gets “bot-jacked”. That is, all of Bender’s parts are stolen except for his eyes and teeth. Fry and Leela offer to help Bender track down the rest of his body. As Bender reassembles himself we revisit some of the more memorable characters of Futurama, and learn why they have purchased the various parts of Bender (which gives us a reminder of how great the show can be).
Of course, as the title of the episode suggests, there is just one part Bender cannot seem to find: his “shiny metal ass”. After going to great lengths to retrieve it, it seems there may be a greater purpose for Bender’s ass, but can Bender part with his favourite piece of anatomy?
This episode had it’s ups and downs (much like the season as a whole), but overall it was one of the weaker episodes this season. As the final season of Futurama draws to a close, I am left to wonder whether I should be raising my expectations or lowering them?
Review by Heather Bale.
This week's episode of Futurama, 'Calculon 2.0', sees the return of a few familiar (robot) faces.
It has been a year since Calculon (the robot actor) killed himself in order to make a death scene more believable and secure his place as the greatest actor of all time, and Fry and Bender are missing his presence on their favourite television show 'All My Circuits'. Fry wishes they could bring him back, which the Professor says they can. One grave-robbing and pagan ritual later, Calculon is back and just as much of an over-actor as ever.
Calculon tries to get his old job back, but predictably the network executives won't hear of it. He then tries to re-launch his career by starring in a one-man play, but that receives negative reviews. Finally realising that he may never be a successful actor again, Calculon decides to quit, and gives a moving speech about his life. Leela says that being humble makes Calculon a good actor, and convinces him to disguise himself and audition for the role of Calculon on 'All My Circuits'. He is hired, gives a moving speech, impresses everyone, and reveals himself as Calculon... Only to then be killed by a falling set. What? They bought Calculon back only to kill him again? Futurama can do touching, but this certainly was not it ('Jurassic Bark' anyone?). Perhaps if they had another storyline going they could've cut some excess Calculon plot to make the audience actually feel sorry for him, rather than having the whole episode focus on Calculon going from arrogant to humble like a yo-yo. It was kind of endearing at first, then it just became annoying.
Despite the uninteresting plot, it was nice to see the return of the Robot Devil (voiced by the talented Dan Castellaneta), even if he only appeared briefly. Also, the 2001: A Space Odyssey references and Professor's idea of the "science" needed to bring Calculon back are certainly worthy of a few laughs.
While this episode is by no means the best of the series, there were just enough jokes and familiar characters to keep me watching. Here's hoping there are more 'Saturday Morning Fun Pit' episodes and fewer 'Calculon 2.0' episodes as the series winds to a close.
Review by Heather Bale.
After the somewhat disappointing ‘2-D Blacktop’, the second episode in the one-hour premiere of Futurama, ‘Fry and Leela’s Big Fling’, reminded me of the many reasons I love this show. The story, the characters, the witty-one liners, they’re all back and true to form!
Fry and Leela try to spend a romantic evening together, but are constantly interrupted by their co-workers. Due to “targeted advertising” they get the idea to go on a holiday to a deserted island so that they can finally be alone.
Since Fry and Leela have taken a week off work for their romantic getaway, Amy and Zoidberg are asked to fill in for them. They go with Bender to “Simian 7” ("The Planet of the Apes... and other monkeys") where they run into an old acquaintance, Guenter, the Professor’s genetically engineered monkey. Guenter volunteers to show them around his new home-planet. While at the zoo, he explains that their zoo’s differ from the ones on Earth since the animals do not know they are captives, they’re given the illusion they are roaming around free in the wild.
This is where this episode gets really interesting: the zoo on Simian 7 has a human exhibit, and Fry and Leela are the humans! Turns out that the ‘deserted island’ they signed up to go to is actually the human exhibit where hundreds of humans have holidayed together before, unaware that their exploits are being watched by the residents of Simian 7. Amy, Bender and Zoidberg decide they must get Fry and Leela out before they make fools of themselves... that is until Fry and Leela start talking about them behind their backs...
The storyline of this episode was great, and what’s more, the episode was sprinkled with the witty one-liners Futurama has become known for. This episode has me keen for more episodes, though this is somewhat tainted by the knowledge these could be the last ever episodes of the show. If that is to be the case, hopefully there will be more Fry and Leela heavy episodes before things end... or the show gets renewed (again)!
Review by Heather Bale.
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.
