Futurama re-watch

[dead-ced-dead]

I've been re-watching Futurama and it holds up really well (I'm on season 2). There are some, "That's gay" casual homophobia gags that were sort of ubiquitous in the late 90s/early 2000s which haven't aged well, but overall it's still very funny. Fry seems like the successor to Dave Lister.

[amateur]

I remember those early series being pretty excellent - 1-4 - and lost interest when it retconned itself up its own arse.

[Claude the Racecar Driving Rockstar Super Sleuth]

Good god. It's a full decade since the show was revived on telly!

I never finished watching those newer series. There were some good episodes - particularly The Late Philip J. Fry, which we recently watched - but I remember it tailing off pretty sharply. I'm not sure if it's odd, or oddly appropriate that probably the show's most famous line ("Shut up and take my money!") is from one of its crummier episodes.

[Pink Gregory]

Watched 1-8 recently; I think I can hold a candle for maybe 15 of the new episodes.

[JamesTC]

The last run of episodes in the revival really picks up. Nothing to the heights of The Late Phillip J Fry but just a really strong run of 5 or 6 episodes and a good finale.

[Pink Gregory]

Attack of the Killer App *is* pretty awful.  Completely on-the-nose and trying to be topical with that dreadful 'Susan Boil' business.

But then people seem to hate that one with Zapp Brannigan and Leela with the garden-of-eden thing, while I remember it fondly.

[crankshaft]

The first four seasons of Futurama are wonderful. The movies are pretty poor. There are highlights in the revival seasons, and the final episode is a gem, but it's often a bit of a slog, and I've never been minded to rewatch any of them. I'm glad it didn't do a Simpsons and drone on endlessly into unfunny irrelevance.

[frajer]

There are highlights in the revival seasons, and the final episode is a gem, but it's often a bit of a slog, and I've never been minded to rewatch any of them. I'm glad it didn't do a Simpsons and drone on endlessly into unfunny irrelevance.

Yeah considering it wound up having an erratic run of varying quality, I thought the finale really stuck the landing. Really nice wrap-up that focuses on being a good and funny episode with some thematic resolution, rather than trying to tie everything up in a neat bow.

The sort of finale that makes you think "well if it can still be this good, I wish they'd made more" but as you say it's good they didn't. Always leave 'em wanting more.

[dead-ced-dead]

I never saw any of the seasons post season 5. Is it worth it?

[JamesTC]

I never saw any of the seasons post season 5. Is it worth it?

The worst episodes are post Season 5. But also some real classics.

You could follow along with the fan site which has user rating for each episode and just skip the episodes with a rating lower than something like 70% to weed out the real stinkers.

[GoblinAhFuckScary]

I think that I absolutely loved it years ago, and think it's a total bore when I go back to it. Distinctly remember it feeling it had a real early simpsons heart in it, but tbh it feels more middling mediocre 'passable' quality season 12ish simpsons to me.

And don't get me started on the 'trannies just dress up as women to beat them at sports' glinner shit episode.

[The Mollusk]

I never saw any of the seasons post season 5. Is it worth it?

The worst episodes are post Season 5. But also some real classics.

I wonder what Menu has to say about this?!

[dissolute ocelot]

I think the first season was great just because it introduced so many characters and themes, so on re-watching there's a warm glow (stuff like the introduction of Nixon at the start of season 2 comes into this category too), and it's generally quite warm-hearted. Then the fourth series was really brilliant because there was some wonderfully clever storytelling and real heart that was complemented by great jokes (Bender becoming a god, Fry getting the devil's hands, Jurassic Bark, the tax rebate, the parallel universe, etc - a lot of brilliant episodes). Then they cancelled it at its highpoint.

At its best the show managed to combine very clever science fiction with a certain warm emotion, some great jokes, and non-annoying references to the 20th and 21st centuries. There was always some questionable stuff - the show had the stereotypical geek's fear and hatred of women and their irrational ways. The comeback was certainly ropier: some good moments, but it tended to play up the faults more heavily with the Bender is drunk and other stereotypes. A few great episodes: as mentioned, The Late Philip J. Fry (where Farnsworth invents a time machine that only works forwards) is as good as any classic, but the vast majority were as mediocre as late Simpsons. (I'm actually struggling to think of any other real classics post series 5, but I've not seen them all.)

[crankshaft]

I wonder what Menu has to say about this?!

Please don't summon them.

[crankshaft]

I think that I absolutely loved it years ago, and think it's a total bore when I go back to it. Distinctly remember it feeling it had a real early simpsons heart in it, but tbh it feels more middling mediocre 'passable' quality season 12ish simpsons to me.

And don't get me started on the 'trannies just dress up as women to beat them at sports' glinner shit episode.

In that episode, he does undergo a sex change, not just put on a dress. It reads poorly now but (whisper it) that whole episode really makes me laugh. Full disclosure: trans rights are human rights, fuck Glinner etc.

[GoblinAhFuckScary]

In that episode, he does undergo a sex change, not just put on a dress. It reads poorly now but (whisper it) that whole episode really makes me laugh. Full disclosure: trans rights are human rights, fuck Glinner etc.

This Goblin's jealous that it took Bender like 5 minutes for a complete and total medical transition.

[sutin]

Background TV at best.

[QDRPHNC]

Even at it's peak, Futurama was never that good. It had a few really good stand-out episodes, but I think it got by on a lot of residual goodwill from the Simpsons.

Background TV at best.

Yes. True.

[Claude the Racecar Driving Rockstar Super Sleuth]

Lies! Lies and slander!

[JamesTC]

56?

[dead-ced-dead]

I think the first season was great just because it introduced so many characters and themes, so on re-watching there's a warm glow (stuff like the introduction of Nixon at the start of season 2 comes into this category too), and it's generally quite warm-hearted. Then the fourth series was really brilliant because there was some wonderfully clever storytelling and real heart that was complemented by great jokes (Bender becoming a god, Fry getting the devil's hands, Jurassic Bark, the tax rebate, the parallel universe, etc - a lot of brilliant episodes). Then they cancelled it at its highpoint.

At its best the show managed to combine very clever science fiction with a certain warm emotion, some great jokes, and non-annoying references to the 20th and 21st centuries. There was always some questionable stuff - the show had the stereotypical geek's fear and hatred of women and their irrational ways. The comeback was certainly ropier: some good moments, but it tended to play up the faults more heavily with the Bender is drunk and other stereotypes. A few great episodes: as mentioned, The Late Philip J. Fry (where Farnsworth invents a time machine that only works forwards) is as good as any classic, but the vast majority were as mediocre as late Simpsons. (I'm actually struggling to think of any other real classics post series 5, but I've not seen them all.)

I think you hit the nail on the head with it being warm hearted. You're also right that even the first five classic seasons are patchy in places and flawed, but you get a sense that the writers really like the characters and work very hard to make you like them, even when they're as obnoxious as Fry and Bender. They work hard to make you see their good qualities. The voice actors should also be praised for this, too.

It's similar to the best writing on Red Dwarf. On paper we should hate many of the characters, as we should hate Rimmer and Lister, but the writing and acting really plays up their sweet points.

[Polymorphia]

And don't get me started on the 'trannies just dress up as women to beat them at sports' glinner shit episode.

About a year ago I binged all the seasons before the movies, and the episode referred to here was a real hard watch, pretty sure Leela goes full "I don't want you a part of my sex" at the end and all (I can't watch the episode atm to check), and the episode seems to want you sympathising with her in this statement

[sutin]

Even at it's peak, Futurama was never that good. It had a few really good stand-out episodes, but I think it got by on a lot of residual goodwill from the Simpsons.

Yes. True.

I can't imagine getting invested in it. It just sort of plods along. At best it'll get a mild smile from me.

[idunnosomename]

Season 11 of the Simpsons which came out in 1999 alongside Futurama had some of the most obnoxiously shitty episodes ever. there really was a lot more writing talent on Futurama but it certainly came out well in comparison to that

It's odd how good-natured it is considering it's a very bleak future with suicide booths and how unsympathetic the characters are for the most part. Fry is a fucking idiot, Leela is a belligerent jobsworth, the professor is a inhumane psychopath, Bender is just a alcoholic selfish cunt. But it's like the reverse of late Simpsons where characters who we liked act as jerks, Futurama starts to endear us to a bunch of jerks (and there is proper character development too).

Never bothered watching past the last Fox episode. Seemed pointless to revive it and the feedback online was so bad. I think I saw a bit of the Beast with a Billion Backs somewhere once, just meh

[veletision]

Adore the first 4 seasons. Listened to the commentaries over and over.

Must get a list and go through the better of the later episodes.

[crankshaft]

Even at it's peak, Futurama was never that good. It had a few really good stand-out episodes, but I think it got by on a lot of residual goodwill from the Simpsons.

I'm not sure if that's true. For one thing, it was bounced around the schedules in the USA so much that it never picked up much beyond a hardcore audience. And don't get me started on the early morning Channel 4 slot it got here that resulted in drastically bowdlerised episodes that often didn't make sense. Plus, the tone of the show is so different from The Simpsons that you could argue that they don't have much in common beneath the surface.

[idunnosomename]

the cel-shaded CG is also flawlessly integrated with the drawn stuff and it still looks fucking fantastic

there are good visual gags with the computer animation too, the Planet Express ship is funnier for the fact it never has cartoony stretching, it looks like a sad rock of a thing a lot of the time

[crankshaft]

there are good visual gags with the computer animation too, the Planet Express ship is funnier for the fact it never has cartoony stretching, it looks like a sad rock of a thing a lot of the time

And then they give it a face. "ME WANT ENGULF BENDER!". One of the funniest sight gags in the show is the ship after Bender has dumped her, crying uncontrollably with a pile of empty ice cream tubs lying by her HAL eye.

[Claude the Racecar Driving Rockstar Super Sleuth]

It always looks weird whenever Bender is CGI though.

[idunnosomename]

yeah I think i know what you mean, but most of the time you never notice the different techniques