the beast with a billion backs ~RATED~

[Reply #40 on:]

yes, exactly what Frisco said!  And I think we do ourselves a disservice as fans by complaining so much about the movies.  We waited for years for a glimpse of new Futurama.  Lets not screw ourselves now that we've finally got some by convincing F*x that we all hate what they're doing, or they'll kill the series agsin.  In my book, some Futurama is better than none, even if the new episodes can't compete with the ones we've come to place on an altar.

[Reply #41 on:]

Well, okay--it's true some of us judge the movies too harshly because of our affinity for the show.  But I think some of what we're seeing in these movies is reminiscent of season 4 of the series, when there were just a lot of small, really weird, non-sequitor kind of moments that didn't make sense and (to me at least) weren't very funny. 

For instance, I'm thinking of the moment (the episode is escaping me just now) when the the professor goes into a ten-second flying hands "woo-woo" thing that ends with him saying "safe."  Some people, I'm sure, laughed out loud at that.  I just thought it was strange and stupid and pointless.  The people who feel like me are probably the ones having more of a problem with these movies.  Like season four, there's a bunch of stuff that's just suddenly there, very odd, and not very well connected to anything else.

I could forgive it in Bender's Big Score because everything ultimately came together in a very interesting way--though it was hard for me to appreciate it until I saw it the second time.  The problem with Beast with a Billion Backs isn't just that it's one sudden and ridiculous plot line after another, it's that none of it really comes together in any kind of cohesive way. 

And am I the only one who's incredibly disappointed to discover that nothing more interesting than a big ugly tentacle alien was waiting behind that big rip in the universe?  After all the very interesting space-time stuff in Bender's Big Score, with the time code coming from the God-like device in Godfellas...  In concept, at least, it was classic Futurama--in the mode of episodes like Roswell that Ends Well and The Why of Fry.  I could only assume it was a set-up for something meaningful and interesting, which are two words that have always been as important to this show as funny.  I find it distressing that after so much effort was made to set this movie up, nothing occurred of any consequence whatsoever.

Which is almost beside the point.  The main problem with Billion Backs is that the central plot line is ridiculous and emotionally uninteresting.  Adding a myriad of disconnected subplots didn't help anything.  It was funnier than the first one, and the jokes were in more of the traditional, snappy Futurama style--but as far as concept and quality of story telling go, it stunk.

And I still love this series, and I will buy the next two DVDs no matter what.

[Reply #42 on:]

 

The main problem with Billion Backs is that the central plot line is ridiculous and emotionally uninteresting.  Adding a myriad of disconnected subplots didn't help anything.  It was funnier than the first one, and the jokes were in more of the traditional, snappy Futurama style--but as far as concept and quality of story telling go, it stunk.

That summation describes my feelings about it just about perfectly. Very well put.

[Reply #43 on:]

 

Originally posted by duff77:
The main problem with Billion Backs is that the central plot line is ridiculous and emotionally uninteresting.  Adding a myriad of disconnected subplots didn't help anything.  It was funnier than the first one, and the jokes were in more of the traditional, snappy Futurama style--but as far as concept and quality of story telling go, it stunk.

"Bender's Big Score" wasn't really as emotional that it is made out to be. Sure, there's emotion, but to my perspective, the emotion presented in the film isn't really something to be emotional about. "Bender's Big Score" was made out to be the extraordinaire(sp?) return to the series. When we left off, Fry and Leela seemed to be closer than friends. All of a sudden, "Bender's Big Score" comes back claiming that two years have passed and there is absolutely no acknowledgement to their relationship prior to the cancellation. No where in the first part (in the entire movie for the most part) did Fry show any hint that he truly possessed some deep feelings for Leela. All he did was go on about "I've loved Leela since the day I've came to the future." when usually he doesn't go on about that for so long. When Lars came into the picture, Leela didn't really seem like she was that in love with him. There was that scene in the museum, but it was only emotional in the sense that Lars was once the desperate Fry. There was one line I was extremely irritated by as a shipper, and that line was when Lars just stopped the Xmas tree bomb from exploding and Leela just bursts out and says "Oh Lars! This makes me love you even more!". Leela wasn't Leela in her personality. We've seen her in love, and she doesn't act so bland and robotic quite like that. The entire Leelu the narwhal plot was only important to Lars, and it was a storyline that they could've done without. And I've stated this before, at the end when Fry has his "epiphany" on Leela and Lars, he really shouldn't learn anything new on relationships when finding out that Lars was his time paradox-duplicate.

To keep it short, the only emotion you really got out of the film was from Lars because he was once the desperate Fry. During my first viewings of the film, I was actually crying not because Fry has a chance with Leela now (which I still don't really see how they tried to get that message across in this movie), but I was much more upset that they'd kill off Fry canonically. Fry is a lovable character at heart, yet I just thought it was plain cruel to kill of any form of him.

As far as storyline goes for "Bender's Big Score", it wasn't as epic as it could've been. Just to recap my thoughts in previous threads, "Bender's Big Score" was only as big as Earth, as only the Earthlings were effected by the scammers. For a Futurama movie, that's still pretty small. "The Beast with a Billion Backs" was a multi-universal plot, as it affected two universes. Now that was a plot worth an entire movie. Also, since "Bender's Big Score" used time travel heavily in the plotline, you'd expect something bigger beyond just a time paradox-duplicate and a rip to another universe.

Onto subplots of the two movies- "Bender's Big Score" was crowded with too many subplots. In fact, I can't recognize the main stream plotline probably because it wasn't big enough. "The Beast with a Billion Backs" had a definite main plotline that was created by some large subplots merging together in the second part. Yes, the League of Robots was silly, unecessary and all, but it wasn't as bad as not being able to pinpoint the major plot in any of "Bender's Big Score"'s sub-plots.

Uggh... my thoughts may be a bit unorganized...

 

Originally posted by duff77:
And I still love this series, and I will buy the next two DVDs no matter what.

I think that goes for all fans. Just because the first two movies were sour, doesn't mean that there's no chance for the other two. Besides, how else is the show going to get renewed beyond the movies?

[Reply #44 on:]

 

Originally posted by duff77:
 But I think some of what we're seeing in these movies is reminiscent of season 4 of the series, when there were just a lot of small, really weird, non-sequitor kind of moments that didn't make sense and (to me at least) weren't very funny.

I think that is a great point, although I am of the camp that generally finds them humorous; I thought of the phenomenon as  the writers reaching a certain comfort level with the characters. I agree that the movies did not execute those sorts of jokes nearly as well as the series. For example, I didn't buy Bender's amped-up persona in BWABB nearly as much as I had in such episodes as "Pharaoh" (that "awkward meter" joke at the Rubok annoyed the hell out of me).

 

Originally posted by Frida Waterfall:
..when Lars just stopped the Xmas tree bomb from exploding and Leela just bursts out and says "Oh Lars! This makes me love you even more!".Leela wasn't Leela in her personality. We've seen her in love, and she doesn't act so bland and robotic quite like that.

I thought the reason was to serve the larger joke; it happens right after a song where the entire crew is lamenting how awful their lives are, and also Lars proposing. That sort of joke is pretty common, it seems the writers love to use it ("Think things are the worst now? Well, how about this!" ). I laughed even as I felt terrible for Fry. As a side thought- we saw a different side of Leela in BBS, one that I prefer to shippily believe was truly in love. She is the other, after all 
 

Originally posted by Frida Waterfall:
The entire Leelu the narwhal plot was only important to Lars, and it was a storyline that they could've done without.

The Leelu plot may have been a bit long-winded but it gave me a considerable amount of information about the main character. I enjoyed seeing Fry mature, and it made the Fry-to-Lars personality transition more plausible.
 

Originally posted by Frida Waterfall:
...at the end when Fry has his "epiphany" on Leela and Lars, he really shouldn't learn anything new on relationships when finding out that Lars was his time paradox-duplicate.

I agree. Fry learned a lot about himself with that epiphany and thus takes another step toward becoming Leela's ideal man (maybe I should put this in the Ship thread  )
 

Originally posted by duff77:
The main problem with Billion Backs [...]

Pretty much. It was more entertainment and less depth than BBS.

[Reply #45 on:]

Simply put, they're both good but in two different ways.

One thing I don't get is that alot of people seem to not like the Bender sub-plot in BWABB. I thought it was great and a good foil for the rather bizzare main plot.

[Reply #46 on:]

I finally got around to buying the DVD today, I think this was some of the best futurama yet myself. I don't really get people when they complain about the storyline being ridiculous, nothing in Futurama has ever made sense and I found this plot to be much better than BBS, giant tentacle monsters from another universe seem much more plausible to me that anything involving time travel.
Though on the subject of things that make no sense why does Kif's father have a left testicle? What use would a species that reproduces asexually have with testicles.

[Reply #47 on:]

Maybe they reproduce differently in their swarm stage.

[Reply #48 on:]

There's no need for it to make sense.  It's in the script because it's funnier to say "you just crushed my left testicle" than saying something like "you just crushed my toe".

[Reply #49 on:]

Kif's species doesn't reproduce asexually.

edit: That is, I don't recall ever seeing that concept suggested. It could be one of their many unknown alien abilities, of course.

[Reply #50 on:]

In this case, we should probably be asking what need his species has for gender, rather than a gender's private parts.

[Reply #51 on:]

Um... To reproduce?

When has it been suggested that they don't need gender?

[Reply #52 on:]

It's not so much that, it's the fact that they reproduce without having sex, and that either gender can get pregnant. That would sort of make it seem as though it isn't necessary.

[Reply #53 on:]

 

Originally posted by Anarchy_Balsac:
It's not so much that, it's the fact that they reproduce without having sex, and that either gender can get pregnant. That would sort of make it seem as though it isn't necessary.

Testicles are always necessary!
Maybe they just aren't used for reproduction in Kif's species...

[Reply #54 on:]

Well, here goes my two cents worth.  I waited until I'd watched it a few times and let it digest for a while. I have disagree that it doesn't address the ship factor.  The movie starts with a direct reference and an undercurrent of Leela's jealousy is palpable through the entire film.  I think that part of a lot of the problems that people are having with these 4 episode movies is the level of compromise that has to be met in order to make them into four equal parts.  I must digress at this point so please bear with me.  We arre trying to judge the movies as though they were intended to be stand alone films with completed plot lines and stories.  I may be wrong, but, I believe that we are seeing a season of episodes in four installments not a Futurama movie with 3 sequels.  if this is the case we should see some of the unended and altered story lines start to coalesce into some order in the next film and find most of them wrapped up by the time we get to the end of The Wild Green Yonder.
I liked it.  Sometimes it's like the Robot Devil says "You can't just have your characters announce how they feel" We assume that the producers know that most have formed a fair understanding of the characters.  Why should we assume then that they are behaving in a way that would contradict that understanding?  Time will ultimately tell if the producers were milking a cash cow or trying to make the fans happy.  I lean towards not giving up until the bitter end. 
On the whole testicle subject I'd have to go with both the much funnier than you just squashed my little toe and that a gonad of some sort is needed despite even asexual reproduction.  As far as the aspect of Kifs' species sexuality maybe they just do it for fun.
Another aside is that I don't understand why the women of Futurama are vigorously endowed with secondary sexual charateristics while the men are repeatedly shown to be lacking them.  I mean Leela, Amy, et. al. are shown to be very womanly with visible secondary sex cues while we have seen Fry, Zapp, Kiff, Hermes, and even Barbados Slim in their underpants and all lack the telltales of male gender.

[Reply #55 on:]

 

Originally posted by bobbot:
 I think that part of a lot of the problems that people are having with these 4 episode movies is the level of compromise that has to be met in order to make them into four equal parts.  I must digress at this point so please bear with me.  We arre trying to judge the movies as though they were intended to be stand alone films with completed plot lines and stories.

I keep hearing that a lot, but I just don't see it. That's not really my problem with the movies. 22 minutes, 90 minutes or 300 minutes, they could have been great no matter what length if they simply were anything like the show's episodes. Often when I first used to watch the eps, I would find myself wishing that they would go on a lot longer; develop the storyline more. Just a very few random examples of ones that could've gone a lot more into depth or been lengthier would be Farnsworth Parabox, IITM, TDTESS, PYHOMS, obviously Devil's Hands, etc. The problems or grievances I had with the movies was simply that they weren't funny enough, they didn't really make me "feel" anything for the most part, and the writers were far too transparently trying to cater to - well, I've never been exactly sure to who really, since I just honestly don't see how anyone who was a serious fan of the series could actually think that these two films have been anywhere close.
Maybe I'm just too critical, but that's been pretty much how I've felt the whole time.

Yes, the quality of the series presented a lot to live up to, but they could have done far, far better.

[Reply #56 on:]

 

Originally posted by bobbot:
I think that part of a lot of the problems that people are having with these 4 episode movies is the level of compromise that has to be met in order to make them into four equal parts...We are trying to judge the movies as though they were intended to be stand alone films with completed plot lines and stories...I believe that we are seeing a season of episodes in four installments not a Futurama movie with 3 sequels.  if this is the case we should see some of the unended and altered story lines start to coalesce into some order in the next film and find most of them wrapped up by the time we get to the end of The Wild Green Yonder.

I originally wanted to approach the movies as one big story with convergence at the finish, but have since been dissuaded from that line of thinking after reading this DXC interview.
See the third question/answer 

@km
Let us not forget, for these movies they are churning out material at a rate of 1 ep/2 weeks, in addition to a 60%-70% new writing staff so I am not surprised that the quality is less. It makes me sad.

[Reply #57 on:]

In the next question the answer directly refers to explaining to the fans what is happening in the Futurama universe.  I believe that this is the fine line mentioned by Mr. Cohen that must be walked to make the films work on both an individual and episodic basis.  If I had never seen Futurama and decided to rent BWaBB I would be able to understand what was going on without having seen the series or BBS.  To those of us who have been there from the beginning we will see the questions we have addressed to a certain degree anyway.  Thus sayeth DXC.
 "I am Jorel master of scheduling"

[Reply #58 on:]

Indeed. I fully expect to learn more about the characters as well as certain plot points from the series in the next two movies. I simply realized that the movies themselves aren't really related, as I thought they would be when I first heard about them; naturally the main characters will now have those experiences to reference, but from what I understand there will not be any serious continuity between the movies.

[Reply #59 on:]

Agreed. The reset button is annoying but I think without it, Futurama would die. Continuity and consistency could kill the characters that everyone loved in the first place.

It really bugged me at the first viewing of BWaBB, but now I see that it helps it progress as a film. Can you imagine the dialogue they'd need to go through if they'd tried to make a proper "sequel" to BBS?

Finally, I must say I am curious as to why many people think that the movies are so much more inferior to the series. I think they've done everything right, and cant see why they are so much worse (although I agree that the series is better overall).

[Reply #60 on:]

I think people have just built the original episodes up in their minds to the level of perfection. Against that backdrop everything looks like crap. Same thing happened with Star Wars, Indiana Jones and pretty much everything else that's been reborn like that.

[Reply #61 on:]

Well, we all know the term "fan" is just short for a synonym for zealot 
Having watched and re-watched the episodes for the last decade a sort of brainwashing occurs; anything new cannot possibly live up to what has already been burned into most people's minds.
A little context is all I need to get around the differences, and I enjoy the movies more every time I watch them, but they are not as well done as the original. Good, but not the best.

[Reply #62 on:]

Okay, BwaBB's plot is not as great as that of BBS (which isn't all that perfect, either), but it's still fun to watch. It has a number of great scenes (Deathball, Bender's firstbon son    , etc.), amazing animation...and it doesn't mess with the continuity as BBS did.

[Reply #63 on:]

 

Originally posted by Xanfor:
I feel the exact opposite. That is, BBS sucked and BWABB was golden.

I'm in total agreement there. Thanks, Xanfor. You made it much harder for me to say anything that's not already been said, but at the same time enabled me to be lazy, and just quote you.

[Reply #64 on:]

BwaBB I think was better because it held a lot more elements of a classic futurama episode than BBS. It didnt have a totally dramatic ending which was good, it closed "normally" as far as futurama goes, and im so happy they didnt put as many corny jokes in it, unlike BBS. Also there was no annoying songs. Also I liked the ending, it was cute   

Bianca's Rating: 9/10 - Not to intense, but not boring, a content piece of work that leaves me satisfied and happy (and not on edge lol)   

[Reply #65 on:]

I thought this was a good movie it wasn't as funny as benders big score but it had it's moments. I would rate it a 8/10

[Reply #66 on:]

I thought it was a bit better than BBS, even though I'm normally into the Fry/Leela shipper stuff it wasn't as well done as it usually is.
I'd give BBS a 7 and BWABB a 8.5

[Reply #67 on:]

Okay, this film was 20 kinds of complicated.

Also:



Ring a bell?

Beksinski. Google the dude.

[Reply #68 on:]

I thought it reminded me of something. Good spotting, Zeej.

[Reply #69 on:]

 

Originally posted by Tammie88:

I thought it was a bit better than BBS, even though I'm normally into the Fry/Leela shipper stuff it wasn't as well done as it usually is.
I'd give BBS a 7 and BWABB a 8.5

Wow, a post from a person who has been a member since 2003 and has only 18 posts to her account.

BWABB's must be really special to deserve a post.

[Reply #70 on:]

It's sad that I haven't found time to watch it with the commentary until tonight. It's been out for almost a month already.

[Reply #71 on:]

I agree with Frisco17 completely. Some are better, some are worse. Just like anything else you could sit here and pull them all apart piece by piece, but given the fact its a science fiction cartoon most things seem to be pretty coherent. To say that you regret buying the movies is blasphemous! Only in the Futurama world could they do the things they do.  Maybe on Bender's ship at the end of BWABB he has the professors shrink ray from "Parasites Lost - 3ACV02" to help make all the people fit? Instead of criticizing, why not use your imagination (like the writers do) and make something up. It would be great if they could make the movies long enough to explain everything in the Futurama universe, but time is the problem. Something has to be cut at some stage. (Although there are still another two movies to go!) Going from writing 20 minute episodes to doing feature length epic's they have all taken a big step, and I think it has paid off. All in all I'm glad that Futurama is back (Baby!)

[Reply #72 on:]

overall i think "Beast" was funnier than the first movie but i liked the story alot better in "score". when i first watched it i was dissapointed with the second movie mostly because the fouth part of the movie really weirded me out wich isn't a first for futurama but this topped the list of weird episodes. however, after seeing it a second time i was able to apreciete the haliraous first three parts of the movie and ignore the rest.

As far as some people's problems with continuity between the two movies.  i just look at it as another episode in the series. they are not one continous story.

[Reply #73 on:]

I thought it was okay. I liked BBS a little bit better..but I did think the animation and sound was better in BWABB.
I still like the original episodes of Futurama the best. But I'm glad to see new Futurama. I cannot wait for the 4th movie, Into the Wild Green Yonder. =D

[Reply #74 on:]

Overall it was good, I would have liked to see more side-plots and such...I thought the tentacle was a little over-rated. They should have integrated more characters from the first four seasons. Two down...two to go...Are they airing the chopped-up version of Bender's Big Score yet? 

[Reply #75 on:]

I just watched the beast with a billion backs, and I have to say... I am seriously disappointed.


If You Do Not Want To Know What Happens,


Then  Read  NO  FURTHER!!!


I felt the film was rushed, and lacked substance to the storyline. No where near as good as Bender's Big Score. The plot was utterly ridiculous. I have been a Futurama Fan since day 1. I know Futurama inside and out, and I really feel like they spent no time on this witht the plot. I mean sure, it was going to be hard to top the last film, but damn, this just plain SUCKED!

O.k., It had a few decent moments and I have only watched it once. Maybe it will grow on me while await the next film. I doubt it though. It pretty much stunk!

Just my opinion...

Great summary of the film, I tottaly agree

[Reply #76 on:]

However as I watch the film more and more it has grown on me, though I certainly hope that the new films are back to the standard of the films get back to the same standard as the originals, and Bender's Game looks good

[Reply #77 on:]

I must also add that I was quite disappointed by the second movie. The first movie was decent, but not great. The second was just lame.

[Reply #78 on:]

I agree. I thought the Bender's Big Score was much more of a story than The Beast with a billion backs.

[Reply #79 on:]

Show spoiler

BBS was much better than TBWTBB. The idea of Yivo as a massive planet sized eyeball and that heaven was on his back was a rubbish idea. Decent parts were when brannigan fired the uni to uni missle and Kif got splattered was comedy GOLD!

Show spoiler