FUTURAMA: Rebirth

[Dac]

I've liked all the episodes (to varying degrees), but I certainly haven't "loved" them. I certainly don't remember futurama of old touching on so many contemporary issues and modern pop culture half as often as they've done in the past 6 eps. I think its fair to say that the best and most "futurama-ish" of the lot had virtually no modern refs in it, and that was In-a-gadda-da-Leela.

If they moved away from the "Susan Boil" (Ugh) Jokes, and focused instead on the characters doing what the characters do it'd go far in improving the quality of future eps.

 

[Christopher]

I kinda get the impression that we're tending to judge these new episodes in comparison to the very best of the original series, the episodes that stand out in our memories. But plenty of the original show's episodes were more average in quality, and it had some clunkers too. While nothing in the new season has reached the heights of a "Time Keeps on Slipping" or "The Why of Fry" or "Jurassic Bark," there's been nothing yet that's as lame as, say, "Bender Should Not Be Allowed on TV." Overall, I find the new episodes to be within the bell curve of the original show in terms of quality.

 

[Rowan Sjet]

For me, this season seems to be following the Star Trek film model of odd episodes = bad and even episodes = good.

 

[AdmiralGarak]

in-vader... Vader? I honestly never saw or thought of that before. I thought it was supposed to be a Dutch word or something? I can't believe I never saw that connection before!

Lucas has often said:
"Darth" = dark
"Vader" = vater, the Dutch word for father

Dark Father, which is quite an appropriate name. While in-sidious is clearly intentional, in-vader is probably just an funny coincidence. (Oh, and I call dibs on Darth Tentional.)

 

[jgdst]

I'm having mixed feelings about the new season. As mentioned up-thread, we REALLY could've done without the Susan Boyle jokes. And in general, I think any show should steer well clear of basing entire episodes around a movie parody. For a scene or two, fine, but never for a sustained half hour.

This season isn't grabbing me like previous ones, or the straight-to-DVD movies. I'm hoping it's not following in Family Guy's footsteps. Personally, I feel that show dipped with the Stewie Griffin Story, then crashed and burned when it got back to TV to the point where I don't enjoy the first three seasons anymore. I really hope Futurama doesn't go the same way.

The most disappointing thing for me so far is I haven't had a laugh out loud moment with the first 6 episodes, whereas the first two DVD movies had a fairly decent rate of gags that hit the mark.

 

[AdmiralGarak]

I certainly don't remember futurama of old touching on so many contemporary issues and modern pop culture half as often as they've done in the past 6 eps.

You've got to be kidding.

For crying out loud. They ended one season with four straight parodies of popular movies and shows. They've spoofed hundreds more popular tv shows, movies, celebrities, technologies, and trends. They do annual environmentalism episodes. They have an entire family of characters devoted to parodying controversial issues.

 

[Myasishchev]

^And they have more heads in jars than the current population of Earth.

 

[RJDiogenes]

in-vader... Vader? I honestly never saw or thought of that before. I thought it was supposed to be a Dutch word or something? I can't believe I never saw that connection before!

We noticed it right off the bat. I was calling my Brother "Darth Ept" for quite a while.

 

[AdmiralGarak]

in-vader... Vader? I honestly never saw or thought of that before. I thought it was supposed to be a Dutch word or something? I can't believe I never saw that connection before!

We noticed it right off the bat. I was calling my Brother "Darth Ept" for quite a while.

I suppose that's better than being "Darth Continence".

 

[Christopher]

Lucas has often said:
"Darth" = dark
"Vader" = vater, the Dutch word for father

Dark Father, which is quite an appropriate name. While in-sidious is clearly intentional, in-vader is probably just an funny coincidence. (Oh, and I call dibs on Darth Tentional.)

Well, yeah, but Lucas is well-known for rewriting history and claiming he's planned things all along when the record clearly shows he didn't. When he coined the name Darth Vader, I don't think he'd figured out yet that Vader was going to be Luke's father. So I think the etymology he offers is a retcon.

 

[Temis the Vorta]

in-vader... Vader? I honestly never saw or thought of that before. I thought it was supposed to be a Dutch word or something? I can't believe I never saw that connection before!

We noticed it right off the bat. I was calling my Brother "Darth Ept" for quite a while.

 

[MeanJoePhaser]

So Bender was a baby robot. And didn't remember inspector #5, despite seeing him.

Umm...sure. Okay. Makes as much sense as Hermes' old house being unoccupied after decades (?).

If Bender's worrried about immortality, he could have a big Egyptian momument built of himself...

It was a passable episode, nice to see Hermes used. But just kinda there.

 

[Dac]

I certainly don't remember futurama of old touching on so many contemporary issues and modern pop culture half as often as they've done in the past 6 eps.

You've got to be kidding.

For crying out loud. They ended one season with four straight parodies of popular movies and shows. They've spoofed hundreds more popular tv shows, movies, celebrities, technologies, and trends. They do annual environmentalism episodes. They have an entire family of characters devoted to parodying controversial issues.

And what seasons that? 4? So that's Roswell that Ends Well, Godfellas, Future Stock and 30% Iron Chef. All great episodes, but are they out and out parodies of contemporary pop culture to the extent of Attack of the Killer App and The Duh Vinci code? Admittedly The Duh Vinci code was really only a stab at Da Vinci Code in the first half, the second half was much better, but Attack of the Killer App was pretty much completely based on events from 2009. I mean Susan Boil - Seriously?



Don't get me wrong, I do absolutely adore much of whats happened in this series and yes, the old Futurama wasnt all wonderful eps week after week but the show was at its best when it was telling original stories, and not taking shots at fads which had already faded by the time the episode had aired.

And you Darth folks, surely you've seen this before? :P

http://gprime.net/flash.php/thesithrejects

 

[TheBrew]

Season 4 ended with The Devil's Hands Are Idle Playthings. Season 2 ended with Anthology of Interest I (I believe) if that is what he is referring to.

 

[Dac]

Ah yes, Typo. I meant 3.

 

[Myasishchev]

So Bender was a baby robot

This is, in retrospect, a little annoying. Yeah, I know it's Futurama, but it wasn't necessary to have Bender be ten inches tall on the date manufacture. The infantile accoutrements could have remained and gotten the same point across without something that (pointlessly) absurd.

 

[Christopher]

This is, in retrospect, a little annoying. Yeah, I know it's Futurama, but it wasn't necessary to have Bender be ten inches tall on the date manufacture. The infantile accoutrements could have remained and gotten the same point across without something that (pointlessly) absurd.

Absurd, yes, but the precedent was already set in "Teenage Mutant Leela's Hurdles," when Bender aged backward and shrank along with everyone else. This show has never shied away from absurdity.

 

[bigdaddy]

Bender needed to be small otherwise he wouldn't be so damn cute.

 

[Myasishchev]

This is, in retrospect, a little annoying. Yeah, I know it's Futurama, but it wasn't necessary to have Bender be ten inches tall on the date manufacture. The infantile accoutrements could have remained and gotten the same point across without something that (pointlessly) absurd.

Absurd, yes, but the precedent was already set in "Teenage Mutant Leela's Hurdles," when Bender aged backward and shrank along with everyone else. This show has never shied away from absurdity.

Sure--that's probably why it only rankles in hindsight.

 

[AdmiralGarak]

I certainly don't remember futurama of old touching on so many contemporary issues and modern pop culture half as often as they've done in the past 6 eps.

You've got to be kidding.

For crying out loud. They ended one season with four straight parodies of popular movies and shows. They've spoofed hundreds more popular tv shows, movies, celebrities, technologies, and trends. They do annual environmentalism episodes. They have an entire family of characters devoted to parodying controversial issues.

And what seasons that? 4? So that's Roswell that Ends Well, Godfellas, Future Stock and 30% Iron Chef.

Season 1 ended with parodies of Titanic (written while the movie was still in theaters), Animal House, Ally McBeal (again, still on the air when the episode was written), and Willy Wonka.

That's production season 1, mind you; I think those started season 2 for those of you who prefer to use FOX's airdate seasons.

All great episodes, but are they out and out parodies of contemporary pop culture to the extent of Attack of the Killer App and The Duh Vinci code?

Of the four episodes I meant, most certainly they are.

Admittedly The Duh Vinci code was really only a stab at Da Vinci Code in the first half, the second half was much better, but Attack of the Killer App was pretty much completely based on events from 2009. I mean Susan Boil - Seriously?

Susan Boil was one lame gag in the weakest episode of the season. There have been no other gags of that sort in the season, so why condemn the whole of the season for that one failure? Should we write-off the whole of classic Futurama for the unfunny Married With Children shtick in "A Bicyclops Built for Two"?