Futurama

[on:]

 

Guess we start at the begining again.

So... Who likes Futurama?

[Reply #1 on:]

Uh, I guess I do.

I just wanna know why this happened, especially now I've returned.

[Reply #2 on:]

Anybody see that new movie? 

[Reply #3 on:]

Yeah, it's in the mail from Amazon!

I thought it was a pretty good movie, i enjoyed the first one better though. I'm hoping number 3 is better than both...

[Reply #4 on:]

It's a cycle.

[Reply #5 on:]

Still waiting for my Amazon copy to arrive...

[Reply #6 on:]

Wait, BwaBB is worse than BBS?

Ugh. We, my friends, are boned.

[Reply #7 on:]

No, it's personal opinion as to whether or not BwaBB is worse than BBS. It's not a fact.

I liked BBS a little more, but BwaBB is by no means bad.

[Reply #8 on:]

Everyone I've talked to (one guy) agrees that BwaBB is app. 174% better than BBS. Better timing, overall better jokes, no Leelu, more Zapp. There's nothing in BwaBB that I think is worse than BBS, except for the giant talking ant, which was waayy too Seth McFarlane for my liking.

[Reply #9 on:]

Does Futurama still have that robot? I think his name is Fri.

ALso, I've heard this direct to DVD movie came out...

[Reply #10 on:]

The new one was better than the first one, insofar as it actually made me laugh in a few bits. Neither of them deserve to be allowed in the same room as the original series though.

I kinda think they're taking themselves too seriously this time around. Either that, or they've hired a bunch of writers from The Simpsons.

Look at us, talking about Futurama.

[Reply #11 on:]

Yeah, universe-sized tentacle sex monsters going on a date with our universe is a bit too serious for my tastes. I'd prefer a plot about a pet that dies from loneliness.

[Reply #12 on:]

sarcasm noted. Snappy response not found...

[Reply #13 on:]

I'm going to have to watch it again, my first viewing was on my laptop, and admittedly, i was rather distracted.

When i get the DVD i'll watch it on my proper TV and hopefully be in the right mood and then i'll give another review.

EDIT: Jesus, i must be tired... "Write" mood?

[Reply #14 on:]

 

Originally posted by trickster381:
sarcasm noted. Snappy response not found...

All sports canceled.

[Reply #15 on:]

I can't wait for my DVD to appear, having new Futurama to watch is really exciting!
I will be reserving final judgment until the entire movie is complete (all 4 parts). It seems unfair to draw any sort of conclusion until then.

[Reply #16 on:]

I'll possibly get the DVD next week. Argh, the wait, the wait! And, time seems to pass sooooooo slow....

[Reply #17 on:]

Chay,how exactly did you watch the movie with out the DVD?

[Reply #18 on:]

 

Originally posted by trickster381:
Chay,how exactly did you watch the movie with out the DVD?

Sarcasm noted.

[Reply #19 on:]

I didn't, I just guessed as to what the story was and then imagined it really well. I've discussed it with people who have seen the actually movie, and I was spot on.

Also, it was leaked about 2 weeks ago...

[Reply #20 on:]

I liked it better than BBS. Funnier, more Zapp, no time travel made it easier to follow.

[Reply #21 on:]

 

Originally posted by Pikka Bird:
Everyone I've talked to (one guy) agrees that BwaBB is app. 174% better than BBS. Better timing, overall better jokes, no Leelu, more Zapp. There's nothing in BwaBB that I think is worse than BBS, except for the giant talking ant, which was waayy too Seth McFarlane for my liking.

The Leelu angle in the first movie wasn't that bad.  The talking ant was a throw-away gag... Futurama can't have throw-away gags?  Meet my friend Joe Camel.

The time travel element in BBS was great... almost everything else was the problem.  The characters were off-tune... The relationships built in the show were thrown out the window... and the total disregard for canon, especially when it had an emotional impact... that remix song being used wayyy too much... 

I also personally didn't like Hermes head being in a jar, although he did act in character throughout the movie... and I didn't like the Nudar aliens that much, too overused plot point.  The nibblonians wouldn't have been beaten with chairs in their battleships (I know it was a joke, I don't care)... and Earth's response to the alien Nudists.... you'd think they'd be scammed on a regular basis if it was that easy.  It did make for a nice lead-in to the second movie, however.

BWaBB was better in almost every way to its predecessor.  However, it seemed like it had less joke time than the first one.  One 22 minute episode of Futurama, packed full of jokes, like one every 30 seconds.... and then freeze frame jokes and etc. in the background all the time.  The storyline was well worth it though....  I thought it would have been better if the League of Robots was made up of newer characters who really were a secret League of Robots... but that worked alright... ummm... might have been better if Kif's species didn't turn into bugs... I don't feel like we really met his parents, but they got to add a new element and a couple of jokes.

Other stuff maybe?

[Reply #22 on:]

Another reason BWABB is better than BBS is that it doesn't seem to be as forced. Maybe it's just a personal issue, but I feel BBS's Futurama-style rapid-fire humour was better suited for the regular 25-minute episodes, and as a movie began to get old over time. However, BWABB flowed perfectly, like an actual feature-length episode, despite the fact it was four times longer. I was surprised when it ended, the time passed so quickly.

[Reply #23 on:]

I liked BBS but I kinda gradully got disappointed as i continued watching it till the 30th time. It ruined Jurassic Bark to me.
I've seen BWABB about 25 times in one week (Yes, I did download, but I will buy the DVD) and it is tops with me!

[Reply #24 on:]

i have heard that season 5 of futurama (or season 6 for those who count the unaired eppisodes as a seperate season) is going to be the movies split up into eppisodes... is this true

[Reply #25 on:]

 

Originally posted by vandante:
i have heard that season 5 of futurama (or season 6 for those who count the unaired eppisodes as a seperate season) is going to be the movies split up into eppisodes... is this true

Thats old news, man. But yes it is

[Reply #26 on:]

 

Originally posted by dr.bender nye:
I liked BBS but I kinda gradully got disappointed as i continued watching it till the 30th time. It ruined Jurassic Bark to me.

To me.  That's the largest problem with BBS.  It throws all canon out the window.  It ruins the emotional appeal of a lot of earlier episodes.... with nothing to gain.

[Reply #27 on:]

I have only one thing to say:

THE ORCHESTRA IS BACK!

[Reply #28 on:]

See, I am very greatful that Futurama is making a comeback, but I have been disappointed with the movies so far.  In my opinion, they haven't been horrible, but they haven't been great.

BBS felt like it was drawn out way too long, and I felt like I got bored halfway thru it, which made me sad, since I was watching new Futurama.

Then, I hoped that BWABB was going to be better, and it was, but not by much.  Maybe I am just expecting too much or something and I don't really know how to pin-point what I don't like about it.  The story, I thought, was good, it just seemed a little off to me. 

THEN, I watched the trailer for  "Bender's Game" and I don't think that looks good at all.  GOD I hope I am wrong about that. 

I really would have rather of had a whole new season then 4 or 5 movies.  But, that is just my opinion...

[Reply #29 on:]

I preferred BBS to BWaBB. Had a bit more of an emotional story I could get in to. Still, its futurama, and thats one thing to be grateful for.

[Reply #30 on:]

To weigh in to this (having yet to see BWABB), I have been trying to temper my expectations of the movies for a few reasons:
1:Thus far my only experience with the show and its narrative style has been in 22-minute(?) slices. My expectations (and attention span) have adjusted accordingly, and now anything different feels a bit strange.
2: I am going to be more forgiving because I have been waiting too long for this show to return, in any form.

Also, so nobody liked the way Seymour's backstory was resolved? I'll admit it was a bit tenuous but I liked the "aha!" moment the first time I saw BBS. Maybe I am alone here?
 
*edit* Date     Time     Location     Event Details
June 23, 2008    11:14:00 AM    FOREST PARK IL    Shipment has left seller facility and is in transit
June 24, 2008    09:50:00 PM    FOREST PARK IL    Arrival Scan
June 26, 2008    10:18:00 AM    MILWAUKEE WI    Delivered[/u]<<<Wooo!  can see it tonight!

[Reply #31 on:]

 

Originally posted by Calvyn79:
I really would have rather of had a whole new season then 4 or 5 movies.  But, that is just my opinion...

I said the same thing a few years back.  Part of the problem may be the fact that these are direct to video type deals.  I don't like that method since it's usually used by production companies to milk a franchise while putting in as little effort as possible.

Futurama also worked well in a television series medium to me.  It's a big transition from one to the other... one I don't necessarily think should be taken most times.  This is all a good thing though... assuming the movies do well (by all means they seem to be), we'll probably get another production season.  All that said however.... I think the core 4 seasons will probably be the best we'll ever had.... they already told the stories that needed to be told.

As far as the Seymour thing goes... I think the original story worked best... it was sad yes, but that was the point.  BBS tore that apart, killing that episode and Luck of the Fryish....

[Reply #32 on:]

The way I see the time travel events of BBS, is that the events we had seen in Jurassic Bark and Luck of the Fryish happened both as they did in THOSE episodes and happened as affected by the events of BBS in two separate universes. So, depending on which you prefer, you have the universe of your choice.
Jurassic Bark still chokes me up post-BBS, so to me no harm done.

[Reply #33 on:]

I have to agree that the Bender's Game preview smacks too much of Family Guy - I only mean in the sense that I seems to be based a lot on parody situations.

But I'm sure the writers will make it good. In fact it might be chance for them to say "Hey Seth, THIS is how you do it!"

[Reply #34 on:]

Hee.  I remember being shouted down because I called BBS the turd it was.  The occasional person who didn't tout it as the Second Coming of Our Lord got shouted down also.  I stood on the mountain, with the light of truth shining and telling the masses:  The new DVD is crap!

Now there are others coming forth and saying:  "It killed the emotional impact of almost every great episode, and for no reason!"

I almost felt like Groening and company were giving the fans "The Finger"  The Fans, the one who have watched every DVD at least 50 times and allowed Groening to make an obscene amount of money in royalties deserved better than that crapfest.  At least some of even the most ardent fans are saying the same thing I said last November.

Beast is much better and it's relgious theme is making this Christian-turned-Agnostic laugh his ass off.  Yivo-land is equated to Heaven, all the way to ascending towards the sky to the "Promised Land".  And Yivo is a very touchy lover, casting everybody out of "The Promised Land" because his feelings were hurt, almost like a certain God who hid behind a rock and shouted "A HA!  Caught you!  Get the Hell out of Eden!" when Adam and Eve took a bite of the fruit from the "Tree Of Knowledge".  At least this time it was a guy who pissed The Great Provider of Love off instead of a woman, so at least women don't get blamed for the "Original Sin".

This DVD won't be for everybody, relgious themes and all.  I loved seeing Zapp again, along with pussified Kif (who finally showed a little emotion and backbone at the end).  Zapp showed yet another sleazy side of himself; capitalizing on Amy's grief to score with her.

As for Colleen and her 5 boyfriends, I once dated a chick like that, except she forgot to tell all the other boyfriends about each other.  The last I heard of her. she was suffering from AIDS.  I can't say I feel any emotion other than disgust for her.  Thankfully I avoid being diseased by her and her less-than-Christian ways (and yes, she went to church every Sunday morning.)

Fry - for fucks's sake, get over your co-dependant pathos!  Leela's not going to make you happy.  Your slut-girlfriend Colleen isn't going to make you a man!  Get over being some passive jerk one step below Kif on the "Backbone-meter".

Leela, once again, shows that she's borderline psychocotic.  She doesn't miss a chance to get her "digs" in on Fry, trying to hurt him just for the sake of it.  She loves her misery and loneliness beyond a point of mental illness.  What's next, Groening?  Is Leela going to wrap herself in explosives and blow up Planet Express for the last episode's ending?

But for the sake of ending this on a positive note, I loved Farnsworth, Wernstrom, Zapp and Amy's funeral dress.  Yi, yi, yi!  I hope all the women come to my funeral dresed like that!  It may make me the second person in the world's history to come back from the dead!

I give it a good 4 out of 5 stars.

[Reply #35 on:]

 

Originally posted by Sil:
I have only one thing to say:

THE ORCHESTRA IS BACK!

Source citation, please?

I'd love to believe this. Music in the movies really suffered without the orchestra. Most pieces seemed as if they were just pulled out of a folder of general Futurama transition music and edited for time.

[Reply #36 on:]

In BWBB (my review to come) I LOVED the fireside chats with the League of Robots. The story of dumping the dead human at the docks was hilarious! I'd transcribe it if I could...

I was happy to see my avatar image as a member of the League.   

[Reply #37 on:]

I noticed a couple of the longer transition scenes had some nice orchestral flare to them, but I can't guarantee it wasn't synthesized.

BWBB:  I laughed a lot.  I laughed hysterically on several occasions.  The plot was odd and sometimes awkward, but not to the point of frustration.  And yes, some jokes fell flat in a Family Guy WTF kind of way, but there were so many good moments that the bad taste of an iffy one never really set in.

I have no major complaints, and am fine with character driven stuff taking a back seat after the first movie was basically carried by it. Most importantly, I was entertained throughout.

8/10   

[Reply #38 on:]

 

Originally posted by Ralph Snart:
Fry - for fucks's sake, get over your co-dependant pathos!  [...]  Get over being some passive jerk one step below Kif on the "Backbone-meter".

Leela, once again, shows that she's borderline psychocotic.  [...]  Is Leela going to wrap herself in explosives and blow up Planet Express for the last episode's ending?

This.  This times infinity.  Philip, snap the fuck out of it: I'm starting to believe you actually have some deep running psychotic disorder.  And Leela... for some reason I found her treatment of Fry more acceptable in this movie, but I think it had less to do with me agreeing with it and more to do with me coming to terms the fact that, yes, she will treat him like this.  I've pretty much abandoned the F/L ship at this point.  And never mind Leela's completely unexpected and practically unexplained change of heart towards Yivo. I ask not for the first time: where the hell did that come from?

So, yeah, like I said before the forums died a temporary death I wrote a ranty critique about the movie at TFM.  Because I'm still trying to sort out my feelings over the movie I don't want to simply repost it here, but to summarize: I thought the movie was much funnier, the characterization marginally better (save for Fry and Leela), and the story felt stronger... right up until the last half hour.  I couldn't get over the idea that Yivo raped an entire universe's population and they just sat back and accepted it, and then turned around and dated/joined him.  I thought it was too creepy, and I fell out of sync with the movie at that point and just couldn't get back into it after that, even when I rewatched the film (with commentary, which was awesome as usual). Even David Cross, who I thought did a nice job with the voice acting, and the religious "insight" I'd been curious about, couldn't save the story for me.     

If I ignore that, though, I honestly thought this was the better movie in terms of (joke) writing and structure.  It didn't feel nearly as cluttered or as disjointed as BBS, and it was funnier.  The ending was abrupt and felt anti-climatic (and I don't even mean the lack of a cliff-hanger; why end an epic sci-fi film with a pink heart wipe?), but that didn't bother me too much. 

I usually hate Bender-centric plots (especially the Calculon ones), but this one worked really well for me.  I thought Bender had the best jokes throughout the movie (his deal with the Robot Devil had me howling; one of my favorite scenes from the entire series, hands-down), and he was appropriately arrogant and attention-seeking without being (overly) annoying.

There were some other little things that I loved (Deathball, the appearance of the Pocket Pals) and smaller things that I didn't like (some technical issues, like how Kif could breath and talk in space and the inaccurate scale of various space shots, that were pointed out to me by someone else and now I'll never be able to ignore them    ), but to be honest, I'm not sure I can watch this movie again any time soon.

ETA: Was anyone else disappointed by the lack of Nibblonians?  I was waiting for Nibbler to come back and explain why he felt it was so pertinent for him to abandon the universe (without his precious Mighty One at that), or at least explain where he went....

[Reply #39 on:]

 

Originally posted by Ralph Snart:

And Yivo is a very touchy lover, casting everybody out of "The Promised Land" because his feelings were hurt, almost like a certain God who hid behind a rock and shouted "A HA! Caught you! Get the Hell out of Eden!" when Adam and Eve took a bite of the fruit from the "Tree Of Knowledge". At least this time it was a guy who pissed The Great Provider of Love off instead of a woman, so at least women don't get blamed for the "Original Sin".

Why would women as a whole be blamed for the actions of one woman? Why would men as a whole be blamed for the actions of one man? Does the gender of the offender even have relevance? Sexist!

Anyway, Fry was in essence cheating on Yivo, and Yivo broke up with the universe accordingly. It actually puts a lot into perspective. Shklee only asked for one thing out of the relationship, and the other party was unable to provide it. No, the other party promised they would, but then broke that promise. It make a good deal of sense out of a lot of things.

 

Fry - for fucks's sake, get over your co-dependant pathos! Leela's not going to make you happy. Your slut-girlfriend Colleen isn't going to make you a man! Get over being some passive jerk one step below Kif on the "Backbone-meter".

I liked his comeback to Leela at the very end, though. You could practically hear the subtext, "Right, that's why I gave up on her. Next!"

 

What's next, Groening? Is Leela going to wrap herself in explosives and blow up Planet Express for the last episode's ending?

Of course. On the pretext of saving Fry from himself.

 

But for the sake of ending this on a positive note, I loved Farnsworth, Wernstrom, Zapp and Amy's funeral dress.

Yes, Wernstrom and Farnsworth working together was golden. It was like... The Doctor and Davros working together. Which I would also like to see.

On a semi-related note, Leela has a brilliant funeral hat.