what should Futurama spoof next?

Futurama's never really tackled Star Wars. That seems ripe for parody.

There have been some old BSG references, but the uber-seriousness of new BSG is also a fertile ground for parody.

How about anime, anything spoofable there? (Not familiar with it myself.)

 

The Near-Death Star and the Infosphere don't count?

Anyway, what I like about Futurama is that it's more about creating its own comical view of the future, albeit informed heavily by pulp sci-fi of decades past, than it is about merely making fun of other people's visions of the future. Its parodies are generally more about taking present-day cultural phenomena and filtering them through a sci-fi perspective (e.g. "A Flight to Remember," "Mars University," or "Raging Bender"). Aside from the brilliance that was "Where No Fan Has Gone Before," I think it would be a mistake for Futurama to go out of its way to do a spoof of some specific existing genre series. It's better at being itself.

 

I was thinking something more developed, on the lines of "Where No Fan Has Gone Before." There are a few things that lend themselves to that treatment, and Star Wars is one of them.

 

I'd prefer for "Where No Fan..." to remain a unique entity. Trying to go back to that well would just be derivative -- and doing it with Star Wars would be doubly derivative, because Family Guy already did that.

Although I certainly wouldn't be averse to a guest appearance by Mark Hamill, say.

 

Family Guy seems to have done so much with Star Wars already (and is looking to do more, IIRC). I agree with Christopher that seeing Futurama parody other shows isn't where my primary interest in the series lies. Where No Fan Has Gone Before gets a pass because (a) it is very, very funny and (b) the series' wide use of sound effects from classic Trek is only one of the ways it is highly informed by that work. Star Wars, Battlestar Galactica, or any other show just wouldn't fit.

 

Plus, WNFHGB has most of the original cast in it.

I'm a little tired of Star Wars parodies. Making fun of Star Wars is way, way, overdone. It's been tackled at every angle. Let's leave it alone for a while.

 

What about that episode (I don't remember the title) where Fry hit the pinata with a lightsaber while wearing an X-wing flight suit. That counts doesn't it?

 

I think they do best spoofing small things. Next should be You Tube or iPhones. Maybe a running gag of how the government forces everyone to get some Bluetooth device and it doesn't work right.

 

Lightsabres have received a number of treatments in Futurama. The pilot showed us that the 30th century cops use 'lightsticks', which are nightsticks activated like lightsabers (but solid). In another episode, in a parody of the training scene of the Falcon from Episode IV, Bender uses a lightsabre version of a potato peeler while training to be a cook.

Fictitously yours, Trent Roman

 

I agree that the full-blown spoof ala Where No Fan Has Gone Before and Family Guy's Blue Harvest aren't really the way to go with Futurama. Though it'd be nice to see maybe a few more Doctor Who references in the show - wibbly-wobbly-timey-wimey stuff aside.

 

Have they tried spoofing Lost in Space? I can't remember.

 

They've made reference to Beneath the Planet of the Apes. Surely they've referenced Lost in Space by now?

 

Part of the joke being that although they're energy weapons, they function exactly like their physical equivalent, serving purely as blunt instruments.

In the headquarters of the League of Robots in The Beast With a Billion Backs, there are paintings of Robby the Robot and the Lost in Space Robot on the walls, though you have to watch carefully and/or freeze-frame to see them.

 

I agree with others that making a full blown Star Wars parody is only a bad thing. I far prefer small references here and there.

Futurama's next movie takes on Dungeons & Dragons.

 

If Futurama does eventually get renewed as a series I wouldn't mind them doing the occasional full episode parody like the Star Trek episode, after all it's just one episode.

I'm not sure about this upcoming Dungeons and Dragons movie. I played D&D in High School, but I just don't know how well a full parody movie will work.

Heck even if it gets horrible reviews I'll be buying it hoping that it sells well enough to get the series renewed.

 

^^I'm not convinced the whole movie is a D&D parody. After all, the trailer does include clips of an extended demolition derby sequence. The virtual D&D stuff may take up only a couple of the four episode-length segments of the movie.

 

it looks to me like the derby will be like the deathball part of billion backs

 

I think that's one of my favorite things about "Futurama" is the sheer density of the thing - there are dialogue jokes, physical gags, mathematical gags, and then there are jokes strewn about the landscape that are utterly hilarious, but rarely ever seen. It's a show that really does benefit from being picked apart and scrutinized.

 

They already did a D and D spoof...

 

Itself.