New Futurama speculations (Spoilers ahoy)

[Reply #640 on:]

Oh, I figured he would return too, just like I'm sure the other characters will be fine too. I mean, I did feel a moment of shock the first time I saw that part of BWAAB, but I fairly quickly assumed that somehow things would be set right, since they usually are. It's just that for the new season, the stakes are noticeably higher since that opening is indeed pretty shocking.

[Reply #641 on:]

How do you feel about the style of the new episodes? Cohen said there will be more everyday life in the future, more about the characters... to me that sounds really promising. I have never liked the bigger, zanier adventures, even though they are good too - once in a while.

[Reply #642 on:]

That does sound promising, especially if there end up being deeper character-focused episodes that make the show more emotional, touching, or identifiable overall in addition to the other stories. I do like the more adventurous and epic episodes too, but some domestic ones would be a nice change of pace (maybe having more of an "I, Roomate" sort of feel).

[Reply #643 on:]

That does sound promising, especially if there end up being deeper character-focused episodes that make the show more emotional, touching, or identifiable overall in addition to the other stories. I do like the more adventurous and epic episodes too, but some domestic ones would be a nice change of pace (maybe having more of an "I, Roomate" sort of feel).

Yes. I love episodes like The Why of Fry, The Day the Earth Stood Stupid and Bender's Big Score, but they shouldn't come to often; maybe once every seventh episode or along those lines... I fully agree with you, I really like the pace of episodes like I, Roomate or Mars University.

[Reply #644 on:]

Agreed, those were well paced.

[Reply #645 on:]

You guys are all forgetting something, It's Futurama! They can do whatever they want and make it work! Everyone was freaking out like this when BBS first came out. It's a little different then what we're used to, but it's still the same old Futurama. I'm sure the Professor will clone them all back right away and everything will be fine. I don't think it's a complete reset. The writers are just doing this crash and rebirth thing so they can get out of explaining how they all aren't fugitives anymore.
And another thing:
They never specify how much Fry "forgot" which means he just doesn't know how they got back to earth, right? I'm sure he remembers the events of ITWGY etc. And they made a point of having the professor tell Fry "While you were kissing Leela" which means that Fry now knows that Leela did kiss him and must love him etc. I'm sure Leela will remember that she loves Fry. Have faith my fellow nerds!
I trust David X Cohen too much, he wont ruin it, I promise!!!!!

6-10-10 Heaven awaits!

[Reply #646 on:]

I like the idea of the episodes being more character-focused. I sometimes thought that in the old series the farcical aspects at times overwhelmed the characters - which was a shame, because they're such great characters. That occasionally made the show very frustrating to me. Maybe there's a chance that the new Futurama will not only be as good as the old Futurama, but better!

Can't wait can't wait can't wait....

[Reply #647 on:]

My ideal episode, really, is something like "Insane in the Mainframe": it has a zany premise that still somehow manages to maintain a sense of realism, and a story that is character-based yet packed with fantastic jokes. The epic stories are enjoyable, of course, but I think that the futuristic backdrop of the show merely adds to its brilliance--the characters are ultimately what keeps me hooked.

And on a totally random note: I just realized that the new season is set to premiere the night before my high school graduation. I'd probably have a dorky freak-out if it was premiering a day later, because I'd much rather be sitting in front of the TV watching a sci-fi cartoon than, y'know, standing next to my peers celebrating 12 years of long, hard work.

[Reply #648 on:]

My ideal episode, really, is something like "Insane in the Mainframe": it has a zany premise that still somehow manages to maintain a sense of realism, and a story that is character-based yet packed with fantastic jokes. The epic stories are enjoyable, of course, but I think that the futuristic backdrop of the show merely adds to its brilliance--the characters are ultimately what keeps me hooked.

And on a totally random note: I just realized that the new season is set to premiere the night before my high school graduation. I'd probably have a dorky freak-out if it was premiering a day later, because I'd much rather be sitting in front of the TV watching a sci-fi cartoon than, y'know, standing next to my peers celebrating 12 years of long, hard work.

Only to go into debt via college loans and then enter the job market. Welcome to the wooorrrld of tomorrowww!!!!

[Reply #649 on:]

You guys are all forgetting something, It's Futurama! They can do whatever they want and make it work! Everyone was freaking out like this when BBS first came out. It's a little different then what we're used to, but it's still the same old Futurama. I'm sure the Professor will clone them all back right away and everything will be fine. I don't think it's a complete reset. The writers are just doing this crash and rebirth thing so they can get out of explaining how they all aren't fugitives anymore.
And another thing:
They never specify how much Fry "forgot" which means he just doesn't know how they got back to earth, right? I'm sure he remembers the events of ITWGY etc. And they made a point of having the professor tell Fry "While you were kissing Leela" which means that Fry now knows that Leela did kiss him and must love him etc. I'm sure Leela will remember that she loves Fry. Have faith my fellow nerds!
I trust David X Cohen too much, he wont ruin it, I promise!!!!!

6-10-10 Heaven awaits!

Not to put too much on this, but BBS is disappointing, BWABB is almost mostly crap, and BG seriously drops in quality once they actually hit the fantasy land. They (the writers) can't make anything work. Those movies prove it.

Again, not to get too much into this, but cloning (at least immediate cloning) is lazy. There are many other ways they could have gotten over the fugitive thing without killing our beloved crew. Since they are dead, their death better damn well have meant something! You don't kill great characters as a quick solution to what is overall a small problem (seriously, Nixon wouldn't pardon them?)! Their rebirth has to have a purpose to avoid disrespecting the characters (and the fans intellect and attachment).

This is the second time us fans have brought back the series. The writers better not mess it up again!

That said, I have faith that the episode will be great. The first few minutes have some good jokes, they've made a point of mentioning F/L's kiss (as you've pointed out), and Fry's scream suggest that the writers do in fact know this is a big deal and that they handled the story and characters (and fans) with the respect they deserve. Hopefully this doesn't come back to bite my ass come June 10th.

[Reply #650 on:]

Again, not to get too much into this, but cloning (at least immediate cloning) is lazy. There are many other ways they could have gotten over the fugitive thing without killing our beloved crew. Since they are dead, their death better damn well have meant something! You don't kill great characters as a quick solution to what is overall a small problem (seriously, Nixon wouldn't pardon them?)! Their rebirth has to have a purpose to avoid disrespecting the characters (and the fans intellect and attachment).

In the new footage, Fry asks the Professor if the crew is dead, and Farnsworth replies, "no, much worse than that."

It looks more to me like the Professor is going to try to regrow their bodies and attach them to their heads, which survived thanks to those bubble-shield things.  So the characters aren't any more dead than Hermes was when he was decapitated in BBS. 

[Reply #651 on:]

In fact right after the intro plays they'll probably start talking,
Or just bender at least because last time I checked he didn't have a human skeleton.

[Reply #652 on:]

In the new footage, Fry asks the Professor if the crew is dead, and Farnsworth replies, "no, much worse than that."

It looks more to me like the Professor is going to try to regrow their bodies and attach them to their heads, which survived thanks to those bubble-shield things.  So the characters aren't any more dead than Hermes was when he was decapitated in BBS.  

Yeah, I thought that too, but then why didn't he put their heads in jars? Unless you mean the Professor has some way of having their bodies regenerate like Wolverine.

Plus, it's been several days, and Hermes mentioned that his head was dying in BBS, so I'd assume a head can't survive more than a few hours (at least without rotting) if not preserved in a jar.

Extra Plus: I'd assume the Professors line is something of a joke in itself.

Now With Even More +: The episode is called Rebirth. A title like that suggests it's going to be pretty important. I don't think such a quick solution would be appropriate. I'm really asking for this to matter. I wouldn't even mind if they were dead as long as their resurrection meant something. I want them to milk this for all it's worth. Let them make this return be truly affecting. Not many shows get to come back twice. I want them to make this one count (and hopefully they won't have to do this ("this" being a big return episode) again).

[Reply #653 on:]

I'm with you, FoA: there can't be a quick fix for this whole heads-without-bodies dilemma. However, I'm not sure that Fry and Farnsworth alone can sustain an episode for almost 22 minutes (assuming it takes a while for everything to be sorted out, and for the crew to actually be reborn...whatever that means), especially because this is the premiere episode. It may be big conceptually, but if 75% of the PE crew is as good as dead for most of it, I'm not sure the episode will be living up to its full potential. Preferably, I'd like for all the loose-ends from ItWGY to be tied up in the premiere, and that will be mighty difficult, it seems, if the episode is reduced to a two-man operation.

That said, I have faith that the writers will keep things interesting. The tying-up-of-loose-ends, however...well, I'm not so sure. Guess we'll have to wait and see.

[Reply #654 on:]

The episode is called Rebirth. A title like that suggests it's going to be pretty important. I don't think such a quick solution would be appropriate. I'm really asking for this to matter. I wouldn't even mind if they were dead as long as their resurrection meant something. I want them to milk this for all it's worth. Let them make this return be truly affecting. Not many shows get to come back twice. I want them to make this one count (and hopefully they won't have to do this ("this" being a big return episode) again).

I agree with you as well. Since we've already been through the head-in-jar scenario with Hermes in BBS, it would be incredibly cheap for the crew to start talking and interacting and such right off the bat (and I mean cheap both in terms of story novelty and the seemingly genuine dramatic tone of the end of the opening footage). Yes, there probably could be some jokes and clever exchanges that could occur with the bodiless, possibly memory-less crew, but it seems like that should only happen after Fry and the Professor make some sort of progress at restoring them (however that may happen). From the bit of footage, their heads do look dead or at least unconscious, and it would be too silly of a joke to have them “wake up” right afterwards. I agree that this rather disturbing premise should have some significance to the show as a whole since there could have been a number of other ways to bring the crew back to Earth and to some semblance of normalcy. We’ve expressed that we want bigger and better things for Futurama, that the show should continue building upon its events and characters and embrace the greatest potential of its both comedic and dramatic or emotional elements. Hopefully this seemingly bold story choice will mean something.

I'm with you, FoA: there can't be a quick fix for this whole heads-without-bodies dilemma. However, I'm not sure that Fry and Farnsworth alone can sustain an episode for almost 22 minutes (assuming it takes a while for everything to be sorted out, and for the crew to actually be reborn...whatever that means), especially because this is the premiere episode. It may be big conceptually, but if 75% of the PE crew is as good as dead for most of it, I'm not sure the episode will be living up to its full potential. Preferably, I'd like for all the loose-ends from ItWGY to be tied up in the premiere, and that will be mighty difficult, it seems, if the episode is reduced to a two-man operation.

That said, I have faith that the writers will keep things interesting. The tying-up-of-loose-ends, however...well, I'm not so sure. Guess we'll have to wait and see.

I do find it a bit hard to believe that the episode would really only focus on Fry and the Professor without the rest of the crew available to talk to (because yes, episodes can focus on a particular character but there’s still a lot going on in subplots, the background, and in the target character’s interactions with the other characters). There could easily be secondary characters involved, perhaps even to clarify what everyone else did after the end of ITWGY, but to have only Fry and the Professor in the main story is a bit odd. This would seemingly support the idea I mentioned above that the crew would regain awareness and speech at some point earlier on, if not (as I sincerely hope not) immediately because they aren’t actually dead or whatever the case may be. Still, the concept of having an episode that really only contains Fry and the Professor (and maybe Bender, as he has been established as not too difficult to put back together) is kind of neat and a bold idea. If that is indeed the case, and if it is handled well, it could be a sign that the writers really are trying new things with the show and are in fact going to give greater attention to the characters themselves.

Actually, another thought occurs...

Show spoiler

We’ve been told that the second episode concerns Zapp and Leela on an Eden-like planet, right? Gorky, you said that it seemed significant to the Fry-Leela ‘ship that this is the second episode…what if it’s also significant to the beginning of the season itself? Since Zapp and Leela presumably will just have been “reborn” in the first episode, whatever that means, it might be as if they were just recently “created,” just as the Adam and Eve that they are apparently going to be references to in this second episode…

[Reply #655 on:]

Now With Even More +: The episode is called Rebirth. A title like that suggests it's going to be pretty important. I don't think such a quick solution would be appropriate. I'm really asking for this to matter. I wouldn't even mind if they were dead as long as their resurrection meant something. I want them to milk this for all it's worth. Let them make this return be truly affecting. Not many shows get to come back twice. I want them to make this one count (and hopefully they won't have to do this ("this" being a big return episode) again).

I don't mean to be yanking your chain, but are you absolutely sure that it is called Rebirth or do you just remember Cohen's talk about its tentatively name?

I am not shredding doubts on your claims, I'd just like to know, because I have a wiki to keep updated.  And especially now, given all the information leaking.

[Reply #656 on:]

Now With Even More +: The episode is called Rebirth. A title like that suggests it's going to be pretty important. I don't think such a quick solution would be appropriate. I'm really asking for this to matter. I wouldn't even mind if they were dead as long as their resurrection meant something. I want them to milk this for all it's worth. Let them make this return be truly affecting. Not many shows get to come back twice. I want them to make this one count (and hopefully they won't have to do this ("this" being a big return episode) again).

I don't mean to be yanking your chain, but are you absolutely sure that it is called Rebirth or do you just remember Cohen's talk about its tentatively name?

I am not shredding doubts on your claims, I'd just like to know, because I have a wiki to keep updated.  And especially now, given all the information leaking.

As far as I'm aware, Cohen has only said that its tentatively titled Rebirth....but he may have said something at his Q&A on Saturday

[Reply #657 on:]

My guess on the Rebirth plot:

Fry and the Professor bring back the crew at the end, unfortunately Fry doesn't remember kissing Leela. But when Leela comes back she reveals that she dove on top of Fry, saving him from becoming a skeleton, and remembers everything. She saved him, he saved her and she remembers loving him. Happy ending.

[Reply #658 on:]

As far as I'm aware, Cohen has only said that its tentatively titled Rebirth....but he may have said something at his Q&A on Saturday

I often check out the U.S. Copyright Catalogue to see if a title of a coming episode have been registered (all previous episodes and films are in that catalogue), to determine whether or not that is the episode's title.

Unfortunately, no Futurama related have been added since 2008.  So I guess it is too early to say.

[Reply #659 on:]

As far as I'm aware, Cohen has only said that its tentatively titled Rebirth....but he may have said something at his Q&A on Saturday

I often check out the U.S. Copyright Catalogue to see if a title of a coming episode have been registered (all previous episodes and films are in that catalogue), to determine whether or not that is the episode's title.
Unfortunately, no Futurama related have been added since 2008.  So I guess it is too early to say.

Yeah we probably won't find anything else out about the new season for awhile...especially since we've been told a lot so far

[Reply #660 on:]

Unfortunately I agree... I don't think we'll get any more information until spring...

[Reply #661 on:]

@Tedward: Man, I don't know why I continue posting on this forum. Your posts say everything I want to say, but better constructed and more intelligently. Bravo sir!

Also, your spoiler idea for the second episode is too good. Now I'm going to be disappointed if that doesn't happen.

@Svip: Yeah, I just assumed the leaked name is true. I kinda thought it would be interesting for it to be titled Rebirth, since every other episode title is a pun, so I thought this would be a way for the writers to make sure the episode really stands out.

[Reply #662 on:]

@Tedward: Man, I don't know why I continue posting on this forum. Your posts say everything I want to say, but better constructed and more intelligently. Bravo sir!

Also, your spoiler idea for the second episode is too good. Now I'm going to be disappointed if that doesn't happen.

Aww, thanks Fistful. 

[Reply #663 on:]

Okay, I agree that cloning them really quickly might be a little too much. But it seems like they will all be alive again by the end of the episode. However, I don't think it will be just Fry and the professor, through the whole thing, that wouldn't work. The other characters will probably get plenty of air time, since it is the season premiere. I think it might be more of a comedy episode than a drama. Although I tend to enjoy the dramtic stuff and Fry+Leela shipping much more!

[Reply #664 on:]

Okay, I agree that cloning them really quickly might be a little too much. But it seems like they will all be alive again by the end of the episode. However, I don't think it will be just Fry and the professor, through the whole thing, that wouldn't work. The other characters will probably get plenty of air time, since it is the season premiere. I think it might be more of a comedy episode than a drama. Although I tend to enjoy the dramtic stuff and Fry+Leela shipping much more!

If they do this right, it could actually be a semi-epic forty-minute season premiere about the resurrection of the crew... I think it will all be twentytwo-minute shows, but still. Wouldn't it be cool?

[Reply #665 on:]

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[Reply #666 on:]

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I showed it to a friend of mine in school today. He almost started screaming right in front of everybody. Now that's humor for ya.

(666th entry on this thread - Satan, we salute thee! ...or something)

[Reply #667 on:]

Okay, I agree that cloning them really quickly might be a little too much. But it seems like they will all be alive again by the end of the episode. However, I don't think it will be just Fry and the professor, through the whole thing, that wouldn't work. The other characters will probably get plenty of air time, since it is the season premiere. I think it might be more of a comedy episode than a drama. Although I tend to enjoy the dramtic stuff and Fry+Leela shipping much more!
 

If they do this right, it could actually be a semi-epic forty-minute season premiere about the resurrection of the crew... I think it will all be twentytwo-minute shows, but still. Wouldn't it be cool?

Perhaps a two-parter?

[Reply #668 on:]

Okay, I agree that cloning them really quickly might be a little too much. But it seems like they will all be alive again by the end of the episode. However, I don't think it will be just Fry and the professor, through the whole thing, that wouldn't work. The other characters will probably get plenty of air time, since it is the season premiere. I think it might be more of a comedy episode than a drama. Although I tend to enjoy the dramtic stuff and Fry+Leela shipping much more!
 

If they do this right, it could actually be a semi-epic forty-minute season premiere about the resurrection of the crew... I think it will all be twentytwo-minute shows, but still. Wouldn't it be cool?

Perhaps a two-parter?

Futurama shouldn't do two-parters.  This is one position I share with Matt Groening.  Make each episode an episode.  The films were films, and thus an exception, but in general, Futurama should avoid any form of "to be continued" kind of stuff.

There are rare exceptions for this rule.  When it can be done as good as "Who Shut Mr Burns?", it might be worth it.  But not otherwise.

And a season première, especially, should not be a two-parter.  Don't waste too much time on premièring the show.

[Reply #669 on:]

I agree with you, Svip: what is so amazing about the original run is that the writers could cram these very epic stories ("The Sting", "The Why of Fry") into a 22-minute, self-contained episode. It's an impressive feat, and one which highlights the sort of show Futurama is: an episodic sci-fi cartoon with several overarching plot points (Fry's lack of the delta brainwave, Leela looking for her parents pre-"Leela's Homeworld", the Nibblonian/Brainspawn conflict). I'm all for internal logic and a sense of continuity, but I agree that this isn't a serialized show whose episodes need to be viewed in their precise order to maintain the audience's understanding of what, exactly, is going on.

[Reply #670 on:]

Okay, I agree that cloning them really quickly might be a little too much. But it seems like they will all be alive again by the end of the episode. However, I don't think it will be just Fry and the professor, through the whole thing, that wouldn't work. The other characters will probably get plenty of air time, since it is the season premiere. I think it might be more of a comedy episode than a drama. Although I tend to enjoy the dramtic stuff and Fry+Leela shipping much more!

Oh, I know that it would be strange (albeit still possibly intriguing) for the episode to only have Fry and the Professor for most of it, and I'm sure that everyone will be back by the end of the episode. It's just that there needs to be a good reason for the crew to need to be "reborn." This could definitely be a very funny episode (and really, all of the episodes are funny at least at some point), but as I said before I hope that the crew regaining consciousness or whatever it may be is the result of something Fry and the Professor do and really have to work towards, rather than something like Hermes so easily surviving his decapitation in BBS. To have everyone wake up and start interacting so soon would be kind of…for lack of a better word, lame. I’m sure the writers can come up with something that makes things all right by the end of the episode but that still takes some doing and has some significance to the series (like FistfulOAwesome said earlier, the death of a character, or whatever condition this is, is too important to just be remedied and forgotten).

I agree with you, Svip: what is so amazing about the original run is that the writers could cram these very epic stories ("The Sting", "The Why of Fry") into a 22-minute, self-contained episode. It's an impressive feat, and one which highlights the sort of show Futurama is: an episodic sci-fi cartoon with several overarching plot points (Fry's lack of the delta brainwave, Leela looking for her parents pre-"Leela's Homeworld", the Nibblonian/Brainspawn conflict). I'm all for internal logic and a sense of continuity, but I agree that this isn't a serialized show whose episodes need to be viewed in their precise order to maintain the audience's understanding of what, exactly, is going on.

And I agree as well. Having a massive episode-by-episode story would be far too tedious for something like Futurama and would limit the re-watch value of the episodes. However, I just love that the show was able to have those few arcs and would welcome more of them. They would consist of smaller things within a few episodes, maybe affecting that episode’s plot and maybe not, but eventually coming to the forefront for one episode but being able to still stand alone as an episode in itself (like “The Why of Fry,” which built upon several previous episodes, all of which contained their own story, but cleverly were connected here and easily summed up with a few lines of dialogue. It helps to have seen these episodes, but this episode is still enjoyable by itself).

[Reply #671 on:]

Damn it, Tedward! I was just about to respond to all those things, but you had to wreck it by saying everything I would have, but with better writing. Are you trying to make me look bad !? Anyway, I'm onboard with you.

Guys, an episode having dramatic weight doesn't mean it won't be funny. Luck of the Fryrish, Jurassic Bark, and The Sting were deep in heart-pulling, but they are also very funny. There's nothing to worry about. We can have our drama and laugh too (we always have). We have time for the "wacky" episodes later. Let's support the writers making the most of a premier while we still have one.

As for the self-contained nature of the series, yeah, it's there. But it would also be nice to have the episodes flow a little better than they did previously. Nobody wants the show to turn into some Lost or Battlestar Galactica type thing, where you have to watch every episode to get what's going on. But neither should we want for an episode in S6 to be interchangeable to an episode in S3. Progression and serialism aren't the same thing.

By all means should the show be newcomer friendly, but there's no way talented writers/storytellers like the Futurama crew should sacrifice progression to do so. Eventually those newcomers will be fans, and they should get the same good feeling of attachment to the show/characters that we feel (and want to continue to feel).

Oh, and Svip, screw the vastly overrated Who Shot Mr. Burns. This episode (and the two-parter it could be (I really love Tedward's idea)) is definitely one that I can see as special and worthwhile.

[Reply #672 on:]

Damn it, Tedward! I was just about to respond to all those things, but you had to wreck it by saying everything I would have, but with better writing. Are you trying to make me look bad !? Anyway, I'm onboard with you.

I'm so sorry...but thanks again for the compliments. I agree with all of what you just said as well about the progression vs. serialism and such. By the way, I wasn't meaning that my idea demanded a two-parter, but it would be a noticeable progression (kind of like the first four or so episodes of the show were, with Fry getting settled into his new life and having all the main characters introduced; those first few episodes were self-contained stories but definitely had an episode-to-episode progression that understandably went away once Fry got settled in, as such a direct progression was no longer necessary). I'm glad you like it, though!

[Reply #673 on:]

Oh, man, I knew I forgot something! I was going to mention the first few episodes of the show as progressive, especially Space Pilot 3000 and The Series Has Landed, which I see as a nice example of what I want of the first two episodes of S6.

Beat me again, eh? I don't mind.

[Reply #674 on:]

Well, how about that! Our almost simultaneous and similar thoughts on the subject continue...

Bender: "Neat!" [takes picture]

[Reply #675 on:]

Oh, man, I knew I forgot something! I was going to mention the first few episodes of the show as progressive, especially Space Pilot 3000 and The Series Has Landed, which I see as a nice example of what I want of the first two episodes of S6.

I wouldn't be opposed to this. I don't want y'all to get the impression that I don't appreciate the episodes having a certain flow, or progress being made in terms of character- and plot-development. Subtle references to past episodes--like, say, the mention of the events of "Roswell that Ends Well" in "The Why of Fry"--is a must; there has to be a a sense of time passing (and there has been; the show began in the year 3000, and is now firmly planted in, I believe, 3009?), of things changing.

That said, I still don't think two-parters--really, "to be continued"-type stories--are necessary.

[Reply #676 on:]

Er, that was weird.
Also, I'm surprised at Fry saying penises, the old Futurama wouldn't have done that.

[Reply #677 on:]

I wonder if they will say fu(k and sh!t now?

[Reply #678 on:]

It saddens me to see Futurama doing crude jokes, the movies did that. It's more like Family Guy. Preferably, I'd like to see Futurama rated G so the writers are forced to think of more creative jokes and things :/

[Reply #679 on:]

Er, that was weird.
Also, I'm surprised at Fry saying penises, the old Futurama wouldn't have done that.

I thought it was weird when that alien on the nudist planet in BBS said "penis"; that line of Fry's, though, was kind of funny in its matter-of-fact delivery. That said, I think you're right--I don't recall one instance of that particular(ly inoffensive) word in the original series.

And I don't think the use of more, er, adult language is cause for "Oh noes, the show's turning into Family Guy"-type alarm, but I understand what you mean, Books. Crude humor works in certain episodes ("Spanish Fry" comes to mind); the writers need to pick their moments, I guess.