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I just finished reviewing the final season of Seinfeld and it’s a little depressing that now I am finishing off the TV series of Futurama. Luckily, they have one DVD-movie out already with three more on the way so there’s a bit of a reprieve there. But still, this is the final volume of Futurama network episodes. Again, if you notice some of the episodes are out of date, that is because Fox didn’t air them in order.
The Main Characters
Futurama has 7 main characters, broken up into 4 main characters, and three other minor main characters. The whole series is based on Fry, the slacker Gen X-er from 1999 who wakes up a millennium later and doesn’t know what to do in the new world. He ends up working with a strange bunch of ‘toons. There’s Professor Farnsworth, the crazed, senile scientist and also Fry’s great, great great (great……………) nephew. Leela, a one eyed-purple haired woman/alien with an attitude, joins them. Also there is Bender, a foul-mouthed, beer-swigging robot. To round out the strange cast of misfits is Zoidberg, an octopus like alien who is a physician, Hermes Conrad a Rastafarian man who works as a bureaucrat, and Amy Wong, Farnsworth’s intern who is also from a very rich family.
The Setting
New York City in the year 3000.
The Plots
---Disc One---
1) Kif Gets Knocked Up A Notch (22:33)
Originally Aired: 01/12/03
Kif can’t deal with his long-distance relationship with Amy. So the gang goes on a job that flies near Kif’s ship, so when everyone hibernates, Amy (who stowed away) takes control of the ship and visits Kif. Kif doesn’t want Amy to leave. They have a funny scene in the holoshed where it goes awry and the characters try to kill them. So Zapp shoots at them, putting a hole in the ship and they almost get sucked out. Kif is pulled from his glove and holds onto Amy’s hand. He couldn’t hold on and trys to grab Leela and others on the way out. The threat is ended and everyone is fine, except that Kif is pregnant! It seems that touch when in true love causes them to become pregnant. Since Kif touched a bunch of people, they have to take a paternity test. It turns out that Leela is the actual mother! But Amy is the person who caused the feeling of love and Kif is excited, though Amy doesn’t know if she’s ready yet. During the baby shower she runs off but eventually comes back as Kif returns to his homeworld to spawn. This was a fun, sweet, episode.
2) Leela’s Homeworld (22:33)
Originally Aired: 02/17/02
Leela has been named orphan of the year at her orphanage! Also, Farnsworth creates a machine that makes glow in the dark noses but it creates a huge amount of toxic waste. He pays Bender to dispose of it, and he does, right into the sewers and into the home of the mutants. So Leela goes to accept the award and gives a nice speech. She returns home and starts feeling emotional about never knowing her parents. Fry tries to console her (which is very funny) and the two go walking. We then see two one-eyed people looking up from the sewer’s at Leela! Eventually the mutants get fed up with Bender and they kidnap Bender, Leela and Fry. They are about to be submerged into the toxic waste when two strangers save them! They even knew Leela’s real name! The trio escape and find a whole bunch of Leela’s pictures and memories. They get recaptured but the same hooded people negotiate their release. They can never return to the sewers again. Leela doesn’t go, she wants to know more about those two people. She dives into the water, but doesn’t mutate? But only mutants don’t mutate in the lake? Leela finds the two people and it turns out that they are her parents! She was born to two mutants and since she didn’t resemble a mutant, the put her in an orphanage so she can live as a normal human, or alien. It actually has a very sweet ending. The laughs came in the beginning, the story came at the end and it worked out well.
3) Love and Rocket (22:33)
Originally Aired: 02/10/02
In time for Valentine’s Day, the gang gets new costumes in order to impress their new client, Romanticorp, based in the most romantic city on Earth, Milwaukee. So they get the contract and a new personality for the ship is installed. It becomes a female ship and Bender starts fooling around with the ship! The ship (voiced by Sigourney Weaver) and Bender start a relationship but it goes awry when Bender breaks up with her, while they are in a fight with the aliens of Omicron Persei 8. The ship starts flying into a black hole and it goes crazy. Fry also goes through a bunch of candy hearts to find the perfect words to express his feelings for Leela. Fry sacrifices himself so Leela can have oxygen and Leela appreciates him for that. This was a very good episode and the folks writing this were starting to bang out some incredible story ideas.
4) Less Than Hero (22:33)
Originally Aired: 03/02/03
Leela calls home and asks if her parents are ready to come to the surface world. Before they show up, Leela, Fry and Bender put together something from kea but Leela and Fry are sore. Zoidberg puts some miracle on them and they devleop super powers! They have superstrength, superspeed and may be invulnerable. They start a superhero group (called the New Justice Team where Fry is Captain Yesterday, Bender is Super King and Leela is Clobberella) and they have a fun little music video. So the gang has to stop a criminal at a museum trying to steal a prized diamond at the same time at the same time that Leela’s parents arrive. She tells them why she didn’t see them and reveals her identity. Of course, Leela’s father squeels and everyone finds out their true identities. So Leela’s parents are kidnapped and they need to steal the gem to save them. They do that, their powers run out, and they get their parents back. It was weird that they end the show as villains and never get redeemed but oh well.
5) A Taste of Freedom (22:33)
Originally Aired: 12/22/02
It is Freedom Day, which means you are free to do whatever you want to do. Zoidberg starts telling a story about how there is no freedom on his world. They celebrate and Zoidberg eats the flag. Of course, America now persecutes him and put him on trial and he is sentenced to death! Zoid has been hiding out in the embassy and when Zapp and his men try to get Zoidberg, the embasy declared war on the US! Zoidberg and his people actually win and they enslave the US. Zoidberg soon realizes how much he likes the US and helps the US figth back, becoming a hero. You don’t get too many Zoidberg centered episodes but when you do, they are very good.
---Disc Two---
6) Bender Should Not Be Allowed on TV (22:34)
Originally Aired: 08/03/03
This is actually the second to last episode aired of Futurama. Hubert, clone of Farnsworth, is saddened he doesn’t have a birthday. Hubert and Dwight hold a joint birthday party but no one arrives. The guys watch All My Circuits and unfortunately the big surprise is blown when the actor malfunctions. They hold an open casting call for all children and Bender wants to audition. Bender gets the part and hilarity really ensues, as Bender goes against what he was written for and it actually works! Bender becomes a star but is a very negative influence on all children and people in general and a Bender protest group forms (by Farnsworth and Hermes). It gets to a point where Dwight and Hubert steal from Bender and that is when Bender decides he must be taken off television. The first act was hysterical and it kept track for the show. Listen to the hip song at the end of the show, too.
7) Jurassic Bark (22:33)
Originally Aired: 11/17/02
Fry learns that his old pizzaria has been unearthed and he goes down there, even seeing his old dog! So Fry tries to take his dog but fails. He starts a protest to get it back and its full of old 90’s references. Fry eventually gets the dog and he’s so happy he can clone it! He will have his best friend back (to the actual sorrow of Bender). We see the dog back in 1999 trying to lead his family to Fry’s whereabouts. Seymour finds him but his parents just come and take the dog away. Bender is completely jealous and right when the dog was about to be cloned, so Bender throws him into the lava. Bender realizes how much Seymour meant to Fry so he dives into the lava to find him. This was actually a pretty sad story, with a lonely Seymour looking for his best friend, and Fry being gone to the future. Fry eventually decides not to revive the dog since the dog lived 12 years after Fry left, but Fry doesn’t know that Seymour spent 12 years waiting for Fry. Like I said, really touching.
8) Crimes of the Hot (22:34)
Originally Aired: 11/10/02
It’s really hot in New New York. To help ease everyone, Farnsworth shows a video called Global Warming. To combat Global Warming, a huge block of ice is dropped into the ocean. So the Planet Express crew goes to Haley’s Comet to mine for ice. Unfortunately, there is no more ice left. So there is a meeting of scientists (which Farnsworth) attends as Al Gore implores the scientists to rid the problem once and for all. It seems Farnsworth is the cause of the gas that is causing the heat to stay and cause the warming. It seems the robots that Farnsworth built did not emit clean gas 75 years ago and since all robots stem from this design, the robots must be destroyed! Nixon gathers all the robots together to destroy them and even Bender goes. So Farnsworth has the idea for all robots to vent their exhaust to move the Earth a little farther from the sun. The plan works and Earth is saved! Though I am sure the implications of moving Earth’s orbit is massive. For instance, the Earth is one week longer and that week is robot party week! Good episode, one which was used as the fifth season premiere.
9) Teenage Mutant Leela’s Hurdles (22:34)
Originally Aired: 03/30/03
A gargoyle flies away from Farnsworth and Farnsworth tries to find him by flying the Planet Express, quite badly and slowly. He even has his highbeams on and burns down a signpost, and Deep Space Nine. Farnsworth and his old age causes the gang to get Farnsworth euthanized future version, called youth-enasia. The entire gang eventually gets exposed to a chemical that deages them. Farnsworth is 53 and the rest of them are in their teens! While Farnsworth tries to work on a cure, Leela goes home to experience the true teenage experience, even dating a teenage Fry. Amy has a terribly teenage experience, becoming slightly chubby. Farnsworth tries to cure it but makes it worse. They all get younger, and are getting younger by the minute. It’s a good thing that Leela didn’t partake and she ends up babysitting them while Farnsworth tries to find another cure. They fly to the fountain of aging and it seems that Zoidberg is dead! Luckily it was only his brother. They head to the fountain, though Leela still doesn’t want to, but when Professor and everyone else falls deep into the pool and near death, she jumps in to save them and ages back to her normal age, giving up her childhood with her parents. Everyone is saved, except Farnsworth. He curses Zoidberg with his last breath but his gargoyle (remember him) saves him! Another well-written episode.
10) The Why of Fry (22:33)
Originally Aired: 04/06/03
Fry is depressed when it seems that he isn’t needed. They go on a mission without him and get medals, Leela is dating another man, and he is down in the dumps. He eventually gets taken to Nibbler’s homeworld. Only he can save the universe. It seems the Brain aliens are attacking again and only Fry is immune to them because of a genetic abnormality caused by him being his own grandfather. The aliens want to get all the information in the universe and once they have it, they will destroy the universe. Fry’s job is to infiltrate their base and destroy it. Fry is about to destroy it when the brains show him footage from the time he was frozen, and Nibbler’s appearance there! It was referenced in Jurassic Bark. The bomb explodes and they are in an alternate universe. They tell Fry there is a way to return. Leela is out with her friend, the mayor’s aide, and they have the whole ice rink to themselves. Leela sees the orphans there but the aide won’t let them skate! Look’s like that relationship is over. So Fry goes back in time, meets with Nibbler, talks about Leela being the only thing he likes in the future. Nibbler says he will help, they go home, and Nibbler blanks his memory. Nibbler does help Fry with Leela and they smooch at the end. You know what, this was just fantastically written.
---Disc Three---
11) Where No Fan Has Gone Before (22:36)
Originally Aired: 04/21/02
Fry and the gang are at a rental place when Fry utters the forbidden words, “Star Trek.” They show a Church of Trek in the 23rd century. Once the religion got out of control, the church goers were killed and the videos shot to Omega 6. So the Planet Express crew goes there with Leonard Nimoy and they find all their friends with their bodies. This leads to an energy being on the planet who is an obsessed Trekkie. The gang discover this Trekkie is an unbelievable pain in the rear end and have to escape. They get court-martialed for going to the forbidden planet as they try to leave and eventually has to defeat this creature. This episode was really just a real big Star Trek love fest and I think it missed some of the witty writing and script of previous episodes.
12) The Sting (22:33)
Originally Aired: 06/01/03
The crew has to get honey from a bee planet that killed the last crew. They show up and see the old Planet Express ship. They finally get to the secret hideout and find a baby queen. Bender manages to insult the Queen and they have to escape. Leela does take a baby queen bee and while on the ship Fry sacrifices himself to save Leela, getting impaled by the stinger and dying. Leela takes the death especially hard, seemingly going crazy. She keeps seeing Fry and she hates that Fry wants her to wake up. It turns out that Leela was dreaming the whole time and finally wakes up. She was in a coma for two weeks (Fry was fine, Leela got all the poison) and Fry never left her side. She wakes up and gives Fry a hug. See, now this is some damn fine storytelling, much better than the episode before.
13) Bend Her (22:33)
Originally Aired: 07/20/03
Hermes competes at a limbo competition at the 3004 Olympics. Bender competes in the Olympics as well, this time impersonating a woman to win medals. When it comes time to test, Bender has his male oil replaced with female oil and Bender starts acting like a woman! It gets even weirder when Bender starts going out with Calculon and even accepts his hand in marriage! The marriage is a sham and eventually Bender has to act out an elaborate scheme to stop the marriage. It is as over the top as a soap opera and Bender turns back into a dude by the end of the episode. What a weird episode.
14) Obsoletely Fabulous (22:33)
Originally Aired: 07/27/03
This aired 4 years before I got married.So Bender and gang are at a Robot convention where a new improved model of robot is unveiled. Farnsworth buys one and Bender gets jealous of this new updated model, so much so that he leaves. He ends up on a desert isle where there are other outdated robots. Bender becomes a tree robot and they wage war on technology. Bender eventually wages war on Robot 1X and he fires from a catapult a huge rock which hits the ship, causing fuel to leak and the fire from the candles causes a flame to surround his friends. Bender, made of wood, cannot save his friends so he asks the new robot to help. Eventually Bender gets the upgrade and learns everything was a dream and he ponders if everything is just the product of someone’s imagination.
---Disc Four---
15) The Farnsworth Parabox (22:34)
Originally Aired: 06/08/03
Fry tries to ask Leela out but she rejects him due to her sweaty bootrash while Farnsworth almost kills himself with a new device. So he makes the crew deposit it into the sun. Leela guards the box and occupies Fry and Bender with a fake box. She’s done guarding it for the night and then she looks into the box, finds a deep hole and slips in. She finds herself in a parallel universe (with a dark-haired Fry, a gold Bender, and a red-haired Leela). The two versions end up meeting with each other in their parallel universes. In the alternate universe, Fry and Leela are married! The Zoidbergs steal the box since they are failures and the Universe they are in faces apparent demise. The Zoidbergs knock over a bunch of universe boxes and they go through many different universes. This was a very fun episode.
16) Three Hundred Big Boys (22:34)
Originally Aired: 06/15/03
Zapp takes over a spider-world and with the silk surplus they have plundered, Nixon head gives everyone $300. Everyone blows their money, including Fry, who wants to buy 100 cups of coffee. Each person gets crazy things (Amy gets a talking tattoo, Farnsworth buys stem cells to make himself younger, Leela goes to swim with a whale that has swallowed Kip’s present to Amy, and Zoidberg tries to live life like a rich man). So this ends with a party with the surplus silk, Bender’s stolen cigar lights it on fire, and after Fry has his 100th cup of coffee, he moves with such speed that he saves everyone! Roseanne Barr actually guest stars in this episode. It was okay, though I kept waiting for the big laugh out loud moment that I didn’t get.
17) Spanish Fry (22:34)
Originally Aired: 07/13/03
This features a very different opening as done by John DiMaggio and Billy West. The gang goes out camping and Fry is obsessed with finding Bigfoot. When Bender wants to get in a tent he lures Fry out and Fry goes looking for Bigfoot. He eventually is kidnapped by aliens! Fry returns to camp and his nose is gone! It turns out that aliens are abducting them since they are a hot commodity on other planets. Fry and the gang investigate where the nose has gone and they find out that Lur from Omicron Persei 8 has bought it! They get the nose back but Bender reveals that the real “human horn” is in the trousers and Fry gets captured! To save his lower horn they try to get the alien’s romance back but that fails and Fry tries to run away. He is actually saved by Bigfoot who makes Lur realize he shouldn’t mutilate Fry.
18) The Devil’s Hands are Idle Playthings (22:34)
Originally Aired: 08/10/03
This is the last episode. It’s kind of a bummer when you reach the end of a series like this that you’ve watched for a long time now while reviewing. The episodes always start with a little blurb on the beginning. They are usually somewhat humurous but this was was little depressing, “See You On Some Other Channel.” Bender walks in on Fry playing the holophone, an instrument he played that made Leela like him. Unfortunately, Fry’s hands can’t keep up with the music in his mind. So Fry and Bender visit the Robot Devil and Fry signs a deal with the devil to get robot hands, and it turns out that the Devil’s hands are the ones he takes! The devil wants them back but Fry won’t budge, especially after his success and getting Leela to like him. The Devil goes about trying to get his hands back, makes a deal with Bender to get a new nose which makes Leela deaf, so she makes a deal with the devil to get ears to listen to Fry’s opera. The devil ends up with Leela’s left hand. Of course, the Devil confronts Fry during the second half of the opera and the thing plays out where the Devil takes Leela’s hands in marriage unless Fry surrenders his hands. Fry surrenders his hands to save Leela. Fry can’t play anymore but all is not lost, Leela has fallen for Fry. Damn, that was one good last episode. It was bittersweet and definitely open-ended, but it was a fitting way to go out.
Volume 4 Review
Volume 4 may be my most favorite of Futurama. The episodes are out of order thanks to Fox’ airing of them and really, it was Fox’ mishandling of the show that doomed Futurama. This season showed just how well-written and developed this show was. It was funny, but it told more of a story than many other sitcoms. There were actual plots, actual characterization, and these cartoon characters actually grew. The center of the show ws Leela and Fry and their relationship which made for some great episodes. This is probably one of the best written animated shows in history. At the core of the series was a group of outsiders (Fry as the out of time lovable loser, Leela the mutant, Zoidberg, Farnsworth, etc) and how they came together to really rely on each other and survive together. This volume really embodies how the writers and producers deftly combined comedy, satire, political statements and a moving story into one finely animated series that left the air far too soon. Episode for episode this is the best that the show has to offer.
DVD Features
A) Extras
---Disc One---
1) International Clips (1:27)
You get a scene from Love and Rockets in four different languages. You can hear it in either English, German, Portuguese or Spanish. It’s amusing to listen to once. I watched it once and just went through the three foreign languages.
2) Kif Gets Knocked Up A Notch Storyboards
These are the storyboards for the episode. I much prefer if it was a self-scroll as it can be a bit tiresome hitting next all the time.
3) Deleted Scenes
---A) Kif Gets Knocked Up A Notch (3:08)
Fry and Bender play binary hangman, Bender erases 300 messages from his answering machine. Farnsworth talks about the aliens they are delivering the medicine too, and Leela explains why Bender has to hibernate as well. Kif wants to know if Zapp will do anything about the approaching ship. There is a deleted scene of Zapp asking Veins (the doctor) if he will get with Leela. Amy calls Leela an older sister. Kif wonders why Amy left, Kif says salmon stole the idea of giving birth at the place where they do. The midwife mistakes Zapp for the pregnant person. A lot of deleted scenes, but my favorite was the binary hangman.
---B) Leela’s Homeworld (1:10)
Zoidberg wonders what to wear to Leela’s award show. The first mutation they show is a rat becoming a peacock. The backup rat is much uglier. The head of the orphanage spills dirt on some of the children.
---C) Love and Rocket (0:14)
This is just a stupid scene of Bender making a joke about going out with other robots. It was nothing much.
---D) Less Than Hero (0:21)
This is a conversation with Leela’s father and other mutants before he tells them Leela’s secret identity. There’s nothing going on here.
---E) A Taste of Freedom (0:46)
In the naked pool, Farnsworth puts on a Beatles wig. Zoidberg ate his tie while in prison. Nothing much.
4) Audio Commentaries
---A) Kif Gets Knocked Up A Notch
Matt Groening, David X. Cohen, Bill Odenkirk, Wes Archer, Billy West and Maurice LaMarche recorded the commentary for this episode. David introduces us to season four. Odenkirk wrote it, Archer directed it and you know everyone else. They joke about the people on post production spending hours to comb through Casper footage to find someone fly out of their pants. Billy actually does the Zoidberg crying voice on the commentary. They talk extensively about the third act being really cut down, including going on a quest before Kif gave birth. They mention the lack of Fry in this episode, too. David talks about passing the buck a bit but not having Kif and Amy raise any kids.
---B) Leela’s Homeworld
Matt Groening, David X. Cohen, Rich Moore, Kristen Gore, Swinton O. Scott III, and Billy West recorded the commentary for this episode. This is the first episode that Kristen wrote. Kristen is actually the daughter of Al Gore, former vice president of the United States. He was a fan of the show before Kristen was on it and appeared on the show with little convincing. This was an interesting commentary.
---C) Love and Rocket
Matt Groening, David X. Cohen, Rich Moore, Dan Vebber, Brian Sheesley, Billy West and Maurice LaMarche recorded the commentary for this episode. Matt talks about the bear gag and it being disturbing. Since Sigourney was in the episode they talk about Alien a bit, too.
---D) Less Than Hero
Matt Groening, David X. Cohen, Rich Moore, Ron Weiner, Susie Dietter, Billy West and Maurice LaMarche recorded the commentary for this episode. This was Susan’s last episode as a director. It was revealed this was written in London. David Cohen reveals some plot holes (Fry can’t fly but jumps out the window anyway). They say the Leela superhero logo looks like a Communist sickle.
---E) A Taste of Freedom
Matt Groening, David X. Cohen, Eric Horsted, Rich Moore, James Purdum, Billy West and John DiMaggio recorded the commentary for this episode. David mentions that the episode has not aired as of the commentary being recorded. This was boring, as they watched more than they talked.
---Disc Two---
1) Deleted Scenes
---A) Crimes of the Hot (0:21)
Fry explains why he is wearing hot clothes. It seems he put his clothes and his hat in the freezer to keep cool.
---B) Teenage Mutant Leela’s Hurdles (0:47)
Farnsworth makes a scene, because he’s old. Hermes leaves, making fun of Farnsworth and his son in the process. The final scene are the parameters of the race (where they go).
---C) The Why of Fry (0:26)
Fry offers other suggestions to Bender on what to do, and Bender just leaves.
2) Audio Commentaries
---A) Bender Should Not Be Allowed on TV
Matt Groening, David X. Cohen, Rich Moore, Lewis Morton, Brian Sheeshley, Billy West, John DiMaggio and Maurice LaMarche recorded the commentary for this episode. Lewis said he had left the show but came back to write this episode. They talk about knowing they weren’t coming back and spending all of Fox’ money on actual songs. Matt complains that Fox couldn’t support the show. They talk about how everyone one working on the show is smart.
---B) Jurassic Bark
Matt Groening, David X. Cohen, Rich Moore, Eric Kaplan, Swinton O. Scott III, and Billy West recorded the commentary for this episode. Billy does a Casey Kasem voice which is funny. The original idea was that Fry saw his petrified mother at the museum but decided against it. This was a decent commentary, even though I didn’t write much about it.
---C) Jurassic Bark
You may be wondering why this is listed again. Well, there’s a reason. There is a bonus writers commentary with Matt Groening, David X. Cohen, Eric Kaplan, Ken Keeler, Bill Odenkirk, Patric M. Verrone, Ron Weiner and Jeff Westbrook all pitching in. All the guys on the commentary has either a PHD or an MA, which is really incredible. They are a smart bunch and they talk about the writing process in this commentary. They kept it a lot of fun.
---D) Crimes of the Hot
Matt Groening, David X. Cohen, Rich Moore, Ron Weiner, Ken Keeler, David Goodman, Peter Avanzino, Billy West and Maurice LaMarche recorded the commentary for this episode. One of the commentators mention that the sunbeam looked like the Human Torch. They talk about male nudity (always a hot topic on the show). They talk about why they picked the Galapagos islands. They talk about the effects of moving the Earth from the sun but sadly the commentary is cut off.
---E) Teenage Mutant Leela’s Hurdles
Matt Groening, David X. Cohen, Rich Moore, Jeff Westbrook, Bret Haaland, John DiMaggio and Maurice LaMarche recorded the commentary for this episode. They have a lot of fun with the commentary, and all the timelines going on with the characters.
---F) The Why of Fry
Matt Groening, David X. Cohen, Wes Archer, Billy West and Maurice LaMarche recorded the commentary for this episode. David talks about wanting to hold off on this episode but seeing as Season Four was going to be the last, they wanted to show the reveals of Fry and Nibbler and all. They say they could’ve gone farther. David mentions that this episode (and the next one) are the only two episodes without Farnsworth. They ask Maurice to do the voice of Brain, and he does the Brain from Pinky and the Brain! The Nibbler conspiracy was in the from the get-go. Maurice talks about the voices he does, and the everyman being the hardest.
---Disc Three---
1) Deleted Scenes
---A) Where No Fan Has Gone Before (0:09)
Zap tells Leela that the situation calls for testosterone.
---B) The Sting (1:39)
Fry talks about having a bad experience with an ant farm. Leela works on the ship before Bender tees off on the virtual game. Leela wakes up crying that she had another dream. Leela imagines Fry as a honey person and offers to get a rag. Fry wonders if he fell asleep at a movie theater again. Leela goes crazy and wants to get Fry’s body to put under her bed as she flies by planets that look like the heads of her coworkers.
---C) Bend Her (0:52)
Bender tries another way to enter into the Olympics. Bender tries to get out of the marriage with Calculon but can’t. Bender tells his friends about the words of love from Calculon.
---D) Obsoletely Fabulous (1:06)
The gang goes by a robotic band where the drummer chokes on his own vomit. There is a message from Mom before the combatibility test. Bender walks out and unveils his new body, and makes an Amish joke. Bender and the gang surface and Bender says it is time to rage against the machines.
2) Audio Commentaries
---A) Where No Fan Has Gone Before
Matt Groening, David X. Cohen, David Goodman, Pat Shinagawa, Billy West and Maurice LaMarche recorded the commentary for this episode. David says this led to a job on Star Trek Enterprise and he jokes that it will be another show he runs into the ground, which actually happened. I wasn’t too thrilled with this commentary, but it may have something to do with doing schoolwork at the time.
---B) The Sting
Matt Groening, David X. Cohen, Rich Moore, Patric M. Verrone, Brian Sheesley, John DiMaggio, Billy West and Maurice LaMarche recorded the commentary for this episode. Billy makes bee sounds the whole time which is kind of scary. Not too much to this commentary.
---C) Bend Her
Matt Groening, David X. Cohen, Rich Moore, Michael Rowe, James Purdum, John DiMaggio, Billy West and Maurice LaMarche recorded the commentary for this episode. They talk about some jokes being rewritten after September 11th, 2001 and Billy says that the terrorists won, they took humor out of the world! They make reference to the movie where a retarded kid participates in the Olympics and he jokes about suing them. This was a really fun commentary, with talks of a gay man and a ghost and it was just a hoot to listen to.
---D) Obsoletely Fabulous
Matt Groening, David X. Cohen, Rich Moore, Dan Vebber, Dwayne Carey-Hill, Billy West and Maurice LaMarche recorded the commentary for this episode. I listened to it and it wasn’t terribly informative.
3) Obsoletely Fabulous Animatic (25:35)
I really love watching these. It is the animatic version of the episode, or the rough animation draft. They have the animatics (storyboard scripts, like a comic strip basically) showing without any background effects or noise and just the basic voiceover work by the actors. I love watching these and I can’t get enough of them.
---Disc Four---
1) 3D Models from Rough Draft
All these are just 3D Models of whatever is listed, as well as some of the rough draft stuff. They are all narrated by people who drew and animated them I guess.
---A) Planet Express Hangar And Lift (0:25)
---B) Los Angeles Urban Defense Vehicle: Turnaround (0:27)
---C) The Nimbus: Artist Sketch Through Turnaround (0:22)
---D) Nixon Robot: Turnaround (0:19)
---E) Planet Express Neighborhood Backlot (0:40)
---F) Various Planet Express Ship Modifications: Turnaround (0:51)
This has all the different variations with the crew talking about which episode each variation came with.
---G) Planet Express Ship Controls Test (0:19)
---H) WWII Tank: Wire Frame to Final Color (0:20)
---I) Character Walk Test for Neighborhood Extras (0:18)
---J) WWII Army Truck: Turnaround (0:19)
---L) Angelyne’s Hover Corvette: Turnaround (0:16)
2) How to Draw Characters
Both of these are blueprint type things that you scroll through rather than someone actually showing you how to draw them.
---A) Bender
---B) The Professor
3) Character Pencil Tests
These are pencil tests. Basically they are very rough animation drawings of the characters involved. The Bender one dragged quite a bit, but thankfully the rest were shorter.
---A) Bender (2:20)
---B) Leela (0:29)
---C) Kif (0:17)
---D) Zapp (0:15)
---E) The Professor (0:12)
---F) Zoidberg (0:46)
---G) Fry (0:20)
---H) Amy (0:20)
---I) Miscellaneous (3:27)
4) Still Gallery/New Character Artwork
This is like on other ‘Rama collections where you scroll through manually different images. I am not crazy about this and I wish they had an autoscroll feature.
5) Deleted Scenes
---A) The Farnsworth Parabox (0:43)
Leela wards off her doppelgangers when she first appears. Fry sees Leela and alternate Fry kiss. Other Amy makes fun of our Amy.
---B) Three Hundred Big Boys (0:58)
Fry buys his first cup of coffee and Nixon says something different coming out. There’s a scene of people buying used animal parts with their money and Bender talks to himself before breaking into the cigar store.
---C) Spanish Fry (1:12)
Farnsworth shows different versions of Fry with different noses (including a Zoidberg nose). The trio sees an alien walking out of the sex shoppe with a nose. Lur and his wife have more issues.
---D) The Devil’s Hands Are Idle Playthings (1:25)
Bender questions when Fry’s recital is. After Fry’s recital, the old woman says Fry has stupid fingers and he can’t be taught! The Devil wants his hands back and complains that Fry’s hands keep touching him in places. Fry says he plans on asking Leela out on a real date after the opera.
6) Audio Commentaries
---A) The Farnsworth Parabox
Matt Groening, David X. Cohen, Bill Odenkirk, Ron Hughart, Billy West and Maurice LaMarche recorded the commentary for this episode. Billy starts with a funny joke about being pre-empted by an NFL DVD. Someone mentions that a toy of a Gold Bender was made and David says he didn’t remember one. I think Toyfare did one once, but I don’t know if it was before this was recorded (They taped it in Dec 2002). Billy says this reminded him of the Secret Origins DC comic books.
---B) Three Hundred Big Boys
Matt Groening, David X. Cohen, Rich Moore, Eric Kaplan, Swinton O. Scott III and Billy West recorded the commentary for this episode. This was recorded in January 30th, of 2003 and the episode hadn’t aire yet, and they joke about us being in the future watching it. This was based on a Bush idea to give back $300 to the entire country and it was a big news story but it was quickly forgotten after 9/11. They talk about Roseanne being nice when she recorded.
---C) Spanish Fry
Matt Groening, David X. Cohen, Rich Moore, Ron Weiner, Peter Avanzino, John DiMaggio and Maurice LaMarche recorded the commentary for this episode. The guys say this hasn’t aired yet though the writer guesses it’ll be on August 13th, which was not that far off. This is actually the last commentary they are doing. That’s kind of bittersweet. They joke about a lot of the things in the show, talk about inconsistencies, quote old PSA’s, and it was a fun commentary. You could tell they had fun with this one.
---D) The Devil’s Hands Are Idle Playthings
Matt Groening, David X. Cohen, Ken Keeler, Bret Haaland, P, Billy West Maurice LaMarche and Dan Castellaneta recorded the commentary for this episode. This was another commentary recorded (Feb 20th) before it aired. Dan played the Devil. They said that they knew it was 50/50 that the show wouldn’t be coming back and so hedged their bets with the episode. Katey got involved with her new show (8 Simple Rules) and so it took months before the last line was recorded. The commentary was pretty bittersweet, too.
B) Audio/Video
The audio is presented in Dolby Surround and works well based on what we’re given. There aren’t too many cartoons that sound this well. The video is fullscreen and works well. The colors are very vivid, there are no compression lines that some cartoons have, and the CGI looks amazing.
C) Liner Notes
The packaging on this set is awesome. There is a slipcase with Fry and Leela on the front and Bender on the back with a see-through panel on both sides. Sliding out of that (from the top this time, instead of the sides) is another case that is like the average background with a bunch of stuff going on. There are four slim DVD cases with covers that when combined make one picture. There was also a page stuck on the back with the basic info and each clear case has liner notes on the back, and episode/chapter listings on the inside case opposite the CD.
D) Easter Eggs
---Disc Three---
1) David Goodman Interview (2:59)
To access this go to “Where No Fan Has Gone Before” from the main menu. Highlight home and press right. The picture of Star Trek will change to the Planet Express ship. Press enter. This is an interview with David Goodman about this episode. John DiMaggio talks about how he got the voice of Bender and John doesn’t look like anything like I imagined.
---Disc Four---
1) Alien Code.
Highlight “The Devil’s Hands are Idle Playthings.” Hit Left then to highlight food in the fridge. Press enter to get a whole bunch of alien code. I don’t know what it means and I don’t have time to translate!
2) Unused Captions.
Go To Spanish Fry from the main menu and highlight Scene Selection. Hit right and the picture of Elzar will change to the crew. Hit enter to get a ton of captions that were never used. There are about 90 of them if I didn’t lose count.
3) Table Read (35:00)
Go to “The Devil’s Hands are Idle Playthings.” Highlight “Play Episode” and press up to highlight devil’s hands. Press enter. This was a hoot to read, as there were tons of stuff cut (including a Bohemian Rhapsody parody). Very entertaining.
Overall Review
I have loved all of the Futurama sets but this one is just leaps and bounds better than any of the other ones. The first one had some great episodes, the next two really solidified the show’s status as a witty, well-written comedy but the fourth season proves what ever Futurama fan knows, it stands up there as one of the best animated shows in history. I can’t say enough how well-written and smart a show it was. It doesn’t descend to the dirty and stupid humor that drives Family Guy and it actually shows character growth unlike the Simpsons. The characters had an ebb and a flow. This final run of episodes just solidifies that. The extras were pretty special, too. The commentaries for every episode is always appreciated, as are deleted scenes, too. They have really thrown in everything. They have some great Easter Eggs and this is the best of the bunch when it comes to the four Futurama volumes.
Overall Rating
10.0
10.0 Perfect
9.0-9.5 Near Perfect, Highly Recommended
8.0-8.5 Really good disc, Recommended
7.0-7.5 Good DVD, Mildly recommended
6.0-6.5 Above Average DVD. Mildest of mild recommendations
5.0-5.5 Decent all around disc, but catch it on TV
4.0-4.5 Great Movie but horrible DVD
3.0-3.5 Horrible movie but great DVD
2.0-2.5 There’s at least some merit to this DVD, but not much.
1.0-1.5 Horrible DVD, don’t even bother
0.0-0.5 Worst DVD ever
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