Thoughts on 6ACV12 - The Mutants Are Revolting - SPOILERS

[Reply #40 on:]

Your findings are mad, and you should feel mad!

Seriously though, that's a great connection.

[Reply #41 on:]

Party Hard!

[Reply #42 on:]

Gave it a 7. Thought the 100th AND season finale would be a lil better. Felt rushed. Good. Not great.

[Reply #43 on:]

Wow, I was pleasantly surprised. While having high hopes, this still seemed better than I hoped for, and it's now in the season top three alongside The Late Philip and Prisoner - on first view.

Highlights:
- THE 100TH EPISODE! It was really noticable that they tried to highlight it with a special story and all.
- Bender - throughout the episode he was hilarious, and I loved him being all emotional noticing the photo of him and the crew. Inside him there really is the heart of a human.
- The first act - awesome, hilarious, wonderful.
- Callbacks - this episode more or less featured all characters at some point. Wow.

[Reply #44 on:]

Not the best of the season, but it's definitely up there. I agree with Svip that the character designs were a wee bit off (not so much the animation itself; Bender trying to balance the souffle was awesome stuff), but that's something that's been bothering me for much of the season. Not a big deal, but it's definitely noticeable.

Anyway: I liked this story, the epic scope of it. Surprising that the mutants were actually granted their rights (I'm sure that will be forgotten or in some way explained away in the future, if only to maintain the status quo), and I thought they wrote themselves out of mutating Fry pretty well (The Astors were such funny characters, stereotypes and all). The Fry/Leela stuff worked well here (a bit melodramatic, what with Fry just taking the plunge into the lake, but Leela's reaction ("Sorry, I tried to scream, but I barfed" and "I'll text you") was priceless); it was cute (Fry proclaiming his crush on Leela was great) and interesting to see their relationship get some play. The writers have done a good job overall, incorporating the Fry/Leela romance into the series without explicitly stating that they're together. Their commitment is made clear by a general change in attitude towards one another (being worried about a mutual attraction in "The Prisoner of Benda", Fry wanting to become a mutant specifically to empathize with Leela), which works a lot more effectively than long, drawn-out scenes showing them, you know, frolicking through a field or something cutesy like that.

But I digress. I loved Devo's appearance ("I'm 40% potato"). The Land Titanic stuff was a bit tired (especially because they've already done parodies of the Titanic), but I actually thought making one of Leela's ancestors a vital part of the story worked well and didn't seem too contrived. And I loved the screen time given to Morris and Munda; we really don't see enough of them, but they're such great characters, and their dynamic with Leela is fun to watch.

Bender's party wasn't exactly necessary (maybe they could have devoted more time to the mutant uprising instead), but seeing him mope around, missing his co-workers was pretty sweet. In fact, I enjoyed the way the PE crew was used in this episode. I mean, it's undeniably a story that focuses on Leela and Fry, but unlike points in this season where the rest of the crew seemed superfluous, here they fit in quite nicely.

So, yeah. An above-average episode, and an excellent way to end this part of the season.

8/10

[Reply #45 on:]

i was very satisfied with this episode.

first off, i was impressed that futurama was able to squeeze everything they did into a 1/2 hr format. although it would have been better if it was an hour, it was nonetheless well done.

secondly, i like the repercussions this episode will make in future episodes/seasons(hopefully!). from leela's grandmother, to mutants serving as background characters in nny, i look forward to it.

also, did my eyes decive me, or did i see a can of 'angry norwegian anchovies' outside of the land titanic?

[Reply #46 on:]

Wow, the 100th episode was special, wasn't it? It had some really funny moments in there, and it was a great finale! I also like how Mutants can live above ground now, so maybe now, the show will be even more interesting.
9/10

[Reply #47 on:]

Plus Fry was inside a mutant so thus wasn't a mutant, which leads me to think this theory, Fry is immune to mutation for it's very possible trace amounts or lots of that water hint his body/DNA, maybe because he is a mutant or something like being his own grandfather?

I think you're over-thinking it. He didn't mutate because he landed in the mutant's mouth and that kept him out of the water well enough. I don't think there's any grand scheme of things being worked into it. It was just cartoon-writing.

One thing that is still bothering me after reading the comments is the mailbox saying Turanga. I was going to accept Turanga being the family name, but then i remembered in one episode (can't remember which one) Fry is surprised when someone mentions leela as "turanga leela", amy replies saying "that's her name, phillip"

Well it shouldn't bother you because it's been explained. Why else would Leela's parents be called Turanga Munda and Turanga Morris? They just all so happen to have the same first name but different last names?
I don't see what your problem with Amy's comment is. Turanga IS Leela's name. It's not like Amy said "That's her first name, Philip".

Oh... and gryo-Bender was excellent, holding the souffle upright. But I couldn't help to wonder what the point of that is in space when there is no 'up' and 'down'.

It wasn't about keeping it upright, just keeping it from being shaken side-to-side. They had to keep it as still and 'calm' as possible and Bender's gyroscopic legs were able to counteract any violent movements the ship made.

I may be the only one, but animation seemed very sloppy in the first few scenes.  Some really bad drawings.  It got better later on and such, no doubt.  Maybe I am just oversensitive.

Yeah the first few scenes had some horribly off-model drawings. Big heads.

[Reply #48 on:]

I was really shocked when Bender was affected by the photo banner. Jon and I both thought he was going to make a sad face and then tear the banner down XD

[Reply #49 on:]

I immediately got the reference to the Moloch scene from Metropolis.

I'm glad I'm not the only one. Cause I was gonna go crazy if nobody else did (which is why I signed up to post).

But I'd like to take that one step further if I may...

Not only do I think that the sewage machine was a reference to Metropolis, but...the whole episode's basic plot is also from Metropolis as well.

To those who have not seen the movie (watch it if you haven't!), Metropolis is a famous, landmark German science fiction film made in the late 20s. And the basic plot of the whole movie is a clash between two classes; the "thinkers", who plan out and manage parts of the city and live above ground,...and the "workers", who live underground and work the machines that keep the massive city functioning (see some similarities already?). In the film, Freder, the son of the city's founder, heads into the factories and witnesses the terrible life of the workers as well as a horrifying accident when the M-Machine (the one similar to Futurama's sewage machine in this episode) explodes. Disgusted by all of this, Freder disguises himself as a worker (aka Fry becomes a mutant) in order to learn the workers' anguish. Eventually, a robot (transformed to look like the peaceful leader of the workers) is sent to cause mayhem by convincing the workers to revolt, stop working, and destroy the machines (again, similar?).

And the movie continues on from there, but that's where the similarities pretty much end.

Any thoughts? Did I miss anything? Or am I completely mad?

I can't believe I missed the Metropolis reference! Given that I have seen the movie and thought it was way better than the anime remake (which was horrible by comparison). Maybe if they had the mutant children almost drowning while their parents were at work I would have got it. (If this episode was an hour long they may have had time for it.)

For some reason I was thinking about this episode being an allusion to the civil rights movement of the 50's and 60's. The mutant collage was definitely a reference to the negro collages especially since it was named Brown University.

[Reply #50 on:]

I thought the Brown thing was in reference to the color of poo... since you know... its sewer college...

I loved Fry becoming the Mutant Moses...

[Reply #51 on:]

I thought the Brown thing was in reference to the color of poo... since you know... its sewer college...

I think it's both; I just didn't want to mention the obvious.

[Reply #52 on:]

Brown references:

[AABF03]    Otto almost got tenure at Brown university.
[AABF03]    Lisa expresses disgust about her application being passed to Brown university.

http://www.snpp.com/guides/ivy.html

[Reply #53 on:]

Oh... and gryo-Bender was excellent, holding the souffle upright. But I couldn't help to wonder what the point of that is in space when there is no 'up' and 'down'.

It wasn't about keeping it upright, just keeping it from being shaken side-to-side. They had to keep it as still and 'calm' as possible and Bender's gyroscopic legs were able to counteract any violent movements the ship made.

That, and there's only no up or down if there's no gravity and I think that, by now, it's been pretty well established that the Planet Express Ship has artificial gravity.

[Reply #54 on:]

I was really shocked when Bender was affected by the photo banner. Jon and I both thought he was going to make a sad face and then tear the banner down XD

The way Zoidberg was off in the background by himself was one of the funniest things in the episode for me.

I just noticed that Fatbot and an Amazonian seem to be getting quite close at the party Bender throws. It's nice that they're maintaining the robosexual aspect of his personality now.

[Reply #55 on:]

secondly, i like the repercussions this episode will make in future episodes/seasons(hopefully!). from leela's grandmother, to mutants serving as background characters in nny, i look forward to it.

I'm surprised more people aren't commenting on this.  The thing that struck me most about this episode was that they were deliberately shaking up the status quo, moreso than any episode I can recall besides the first 4 of season one and the dark matter debacle in Bender's Game

[Reply #56 on:]

i'm looking forward to seeing them around too. I wanna see how they will affect the show, but we won't know for months.

[Reply #57 on:]

Plus Fry was inside a mutant so thus wasn't a mutant, which leads me to think this theory, Fry is immune to mutation for it's very possible trace amounts or lots of that water hint his body/DNA, maybe because he is a mutant or something like being his own grandfather?

I think you're over-thinking it. He didn't mutate because he landed in the mutant's mouth and that kept him out of the water well enough. I don't think there's any grand scheme of things being worked into it. It was just cartoon-writing.

I have to disagree, we see him diving into the lake and a lot of bubbles come back out before Leela can reach the mutant who he had fallen into the mouth of. Therefore if he were to have the opportunity to mutate he should have done so. He's already fallen in the lake at least once before without being mutated (in I second that emotion), or at least that's the sound effect we were left with at the end when they cut him down from the trap that just happened to be swinging near the lake. If they had intended him to mutate it should have occurred then as well. I know he originally fell into the sewage by the inlet pipe, but surface sewage is not directly mutagenic, only that which flows through Sewer Town is.

[Reply #58 on:]

I think it's a 50/50 chance that Fry's preexisting genetic fucked-up-ness is what prevented him from being mutated; it's also possible that, like cyber_turnip said, it was just the writers writing themselves out of a corner.

As for this shake-up with the mutants: I very well may be wrong, but I think they'll find a way to write off that ending and return things to the way they were. It doesn't particularly matter to me, story-wise, since the only mutants I particularly want to see as semi-regulars are Morris and Munda, and they can be worked into the series whether they live on the surface or not. It'll be interesting to see what the writers do with the mutants next season, if anything.

[Reply #59 on:]

Why does everyone seem to want a ret-con on the mutant revolt? I like it, keep it as canon. What's wrong with the mutants being at the surface from now on? Is everyone mutantist?

[Reply #60 on:]

Hi people! 1st post here. I have been reading about your posts regarding the new season of futurama for the pass few weeks, and i decided ya guys are a community i want to be part of. :-)

I shall be brief. Really love this entire season in general. Just finished The Mutants are Revolting. Favorite part should be gyro-Bender portion.

This is a bit off topic, but I also loved how the direction that Leela and Fry are heading. I am a dude, but i dare say, seeing how much self-sacrificial Fry is towards Leela almost always set my mind into a delirious dilemma: No normal modern guys would do so much to protect/please a lady.

He placed his life on the line for Leela so many times, even physically died for her (as Lars. After all, he is Fry). The new season saw him blocking a laser shot from Lrrr. Most of us saw the teleportal ray coming, or that Fry's not suppose to die, but imho, Fry doesn't know. He just want to protect her. In this episode, he took a dive into the mutating waters, fully knowing that he is suppose to become a mutant, no turning back. (thanks to the writers otherwise) Its so impossibly unbelievable, but i desperately want to think that this kinda love exist. So sad and touching.

I have a question which kinda prompted me to post here. It states that this is the last episode at the half way point of this season, but i thought its suppose to be 13, not 12? Any of ya kind dudes/gals can enlighten me on this?

Other then that, cheers to everyone! Its rare for me to find futurama viewers (not to mention lovers) amongst my real-life friends. Converted a couple, but its more awesome to be able to read and discuss with other, dare i say 'fanatics'? :-) , about this cartoon comedy that i love so, so, so... very much.

Later peeps. ;-)

[Reply #61 on:]

there's a special holiday themed episode that's supposed to air November 21st, then the 13 of the other half of the season will air sometime next year. i think that holiday episode is considered to be in this half of the episodes.

[Reply #62 on:]

I don't think the mutants knocking around will change anything particularly. They'll just appear in crowd scenes from now on and get the odd line that would have just gone to a normal man in the street type character. I wouldn't be surprised if they carry on living below the surface because that's where they have houses and a lot of them appear to have jobs keeping the sewers in order.

The only real difference I can see is that Leela's parents will probably come to Leela rather than her coming to them a lot more. Or they might go to restaurants or whatever.


One thing that's bugging me with this episode is that in I Second an Emotion, the mutants are meant to be a myth. Something people have seen but isn't widely accepted as fact. The crew basically make a discovery by finding them.
But in this episode, the mutants not only all have jobs and so forth, but it's established that they were a part of society well before the events of I Second that Emotion. Things like the mutant-day-pass in Less than Zero didn't bother me because I just presumed the mutants became common knowledge after the Professor reported them or something.

[Reply #63 on:]

@ vonboy: Neat! Thanks. ^^

[Reply #64 on:]

@ vonboy: Neat! Thanks. ^^

edited: Sorry for the double post. It wasn't on purpose. Seems that i can't delete my own post. Can the moderator delete this? Thanks.

[Reply #65 on:]

all in all it was a good episode, though adding a couple more scenes wouldn't have been a bad thing (45 minutes perhaps?).  anyway the best so far this season was TPoB , but The Mutants are Revolting is up there somewhere.  also the part where Leela kisses Fry and he manages to get out of the mouth of the mutated rich guy was cute.

[Reply #66 on:]

I thought the Brown thing was in reference to the color of poo... since you know... its sewer college...

I think it's both; I just didn't want to mention the obvious.

Ratraccoon, you're wrong, I'm afraid.  FemJesse has it partially correct, I'm sure.  However Nixorbo is technically correct which is the best kind of correct.  To further 'splain the reference, see http://ezinearticles.com/?Brown-University-Ranking-(Consistently-Worst-in-Ivy-Leagues)&id=3667100  Brown U. gets similar treatment in Family Guy. 

As far as this episode goes, I liked it fairly well.  I'm probably overly influenced by the shippy ending.  It was kind of like a reverse on Sleeping Beauty in that her kiss frees him from some form of entrapment.  True, it did drop another big continuity bomb on the series with the mutant past history, but hey, if it didn't I don't think I would have recognized it as a genuine episode of Futurama.

[Reply #67 on:]

I liked this one rather a lot.  Gave it a 9.  The Moses reference and Brown University both got out loud laughs from me.  

Show spoiler

And even though it's a Grade A groaner, I laughed at "I See BM".

[Reply #68 on:]

One thing that's bugging me with this episode is that in I Second an Emotion, the mutants are meant to be a myth. Something people have seen but isn't widely accepted as fact. The crew basically make a discovery by finding them.
But in this episode, the mutants not only all have jobs and so forth, but it's established that they were a part of society well before the events of I Second that Emotion. Things like the mutant-day-pass in Less than Zero didn't bother me because I just presumed the mutants became common knowledge after the Professor reported them or something.

maybe the city was trying to cover it up? mutants weren't said to be on the land titanic in that propaganda video, and fry said "it turns out there were mutants on that ship" when he showed aster the passenger manifest. maybe the government tried to cover up the mutants after the titanic, but then put them to work so they would stop getting the idea of rights and rebelling? (aster said that's what brown university was for)

any of that make any sense?

[Reply #69 on:]

Not great, but very cute. As seems to be the case a lot this season, way too much story was cramed into the 21 minutes - but it was quite funny. I do love Mrs. Astor and the lack of first names, and the exploding dalmatians was great.

[Reply #70 on:]

I don't think the mutants knocking around will change anything particularly. They'll just appear in crowd scenes from now on and get the odd line that would have just gone to a normal man in the street type character. I wouldn't be surprised if they carry on living below the surface because that's where they have houses and a lot of them appear to have jobs keeping the sewers in order.

The only real difference I can see is that Leela's parents will probably come to Leela rather than her coming to them a lot more. Or they might go to restaurants or whatever.


One thing that's bugging me with this episode is that in I Second an Emotion, the mutants are meant to be a myth. Something people have seen but isn't widely accepted as fact. The crew basically make a discovery by finding them.
But in this episode, the mutants not only all have jobs and so forth, but it's established that they were a part of society well before the events of I Second that Emotion. Things like the mutant-day-pass in Less than Zero didn't bother me because I just presumed the mutants became common knowledge after the Professor reported them or something.

That didn't even strike me until you mentioned it - I have to rewatch I Second That Emotion. vonboy may be right though, the city tries covering it. It is known among the elders but they don't talk of it because it's a little dirty and taboo, and the government doesn't want to face it, and citizens simply enjoy oblivion.

[Reply #71 on:]

For some reason I was thinking about this episode being an allusion to the civil rights movement of the 50's and 60's. The mutant collage was definitely a reference to the negro collages especially since it had the word brown in it (can't remember the exact name).

I'm pretty sure they didn't intend this; it was most likely all the Harvard University graduates on the writing staff taking a shot at Brown.

[Reply #72 on:]

Long time viewer/reader; first time poster. (finally got around to doing it I guess)

I enjoyed the blend of this episode between the F/L shippy stuff and the rest of the story.  Yes, I am a shipper, but for too long it seems an episode was either just about their relationship or had a story line in which F/L did not seem to even know they cared about one another.  Very good mix here.

Also major plus to have a "celebrity" in the episode, but not have the entire episode focus on them and therefore, drag the entire episode down as some other shows do.

I am a harsh grader (someone who actually believes a 7 is a good score).  I would have given this episode a 9 or even 10 if it was not for the Land Titanic story line.  [SPOLIER!!] What I mean is that mutants have been vile to everyone for as long as anyone can remember.  This old lady "hates" the mutants for most of the episode.  Then, when she learns what happened on the ship, she suddenly wants equality for all of them?  Just like that?  And EVERYONE agrees with her?  Seemed kinda cheesy for me and I saw it coming from a mile away.  (sorry, I do not know how to get the censored spoiler covering)

But still, I liked how Fry was "changed" back to human form.  It was unexpected.  I honestly thought the prof was going to have to do some experiment on him or something of that nature (though I did know Fry would get back to human form somehow by the end of the ep).

Some people say the episode felt rushed.  While I see your point and do felt they could have used more time to play everything out, I still liked it.  This show does the "rushed" aspect best and when it is "rushed", you can supply non-stop laughs and such where as if you play it all out, there might be some "boring" parts where nothing important is going on.  (However, I would have spent more time on people deciding on whether the mutants should have equal rights...refer to "The Problem with Popplers" episode...that would have gotten rid of the "cheesy" feeling)

Grading: Even with the cheesy part, I really liked the overall flow and blend of the episode in order to give it an 8/10.

[Reply #73 on:]

One thing that's bugging me with this episode is that in I Second an Emotion, the mutants are meant to be a myth. Something people have seen but isn't widely accepted as fact. The crew basically make a discovery by finding them.
But in this episode, the mutants not only all have jobs and so forth, but it's established that they were a part of society well before the events of I Second that Emotion. Things like the mutant-day-pass in Less than Zero didn't bother me because I just presumed the mutants became common knowledge after the Professor reported them or something.

maybe the city was trying to cover it up? mutants weren't said to be on the land titanic in that propaganda video, and fry said "it turns out there were mutants on that ship" when he showed aster the passenger manifest. maybe the government tried to cover up the mutants after the titanic, but then put them to work so they would stop getting the idea of rights and rebelling? (aster said that's what brown university was for)

any of that make any sense?

That's good enough for me.
That's some grade-A writers'-asses-covering. You'll go far here!

What I mean is that mutants have been vile to everyone for as long as anyone can remember.  This old lady "hates" the mutants for most of the episode.  Then, when she learns what happened on the ship, she suddenly wants equality for all of them?  Just like that?  And EVERYONE agrees with her?  Seemed kinda cheesy for me and I saw it coming from a mile away.  (sorry, I do not know how to get the censored spoiler covering)

Whilst I sort of agree with you, I didn't mind her changing her mind seeing as she just seemed to go with what her husband wanted. And Mayor Poopenmeyer just seemed to be going with whatever she told him to do throughout, so I didn't mind him legalising it either.

To be honest, I didn't have a problem with any of it. I just have a problem because I don't think we'll see any mutant-prejudice in the future. Although I may be wrong. They could probably get an episode out of the mutants being discriminated against now they're on the surface.

[Reply #74 on:]

There is a counter clue to the mutant myth.  In "I, Roommate", Bender mentions the mutants as if it is common knowledge.  "A little fire will show them who's boss!"  I always assumed that "I Second That Emotion" was the episode where the whole thing was a bit off, mainly just to set up the plot for that episode.

[Reply #75 on:]

But Bender may have just been joking (that is, he had heard the myth and was playfully referencing it). And of course, the fire turned out to not show 'em who's boss at all.

[Reply #76 on:]

Ratraccoon, you're wrong, I'm afraid.  FemJesse has it partially correct, I'm sure.  However Nixorbo is technically correct which is the best kind of correct.  To further 'splain the reference, see http://ezinearticles.com/?Brown-University-Ranking-(Consistently-Worst-in-Ivy-Leagues)&id=3667100  Brown U. gets similar treatment in Family Guy.

I'm pretty sure they didn't intend this; it was most likely all the Harvard University graduates on the writing staff taking a shot at Brown.

Am I the only one who has heard of the Brown vs. Board of Education case who hasn't heard of the real life Brown University here? I wasn't talking about skin or poop color. Are you guys even from this country given that you have apparently only heard of this collage from watching the Simpsons and Family Guy? Because that is one of the most important supreme court cases in U.S. history which ironically allowed blacks to attend any school they wanted. So what I thought was a double joke is actually a triple joke.

[Reply #77 on:]

Seems like a bit of a stretch, but I wouldn't put it past them to do a double/triple joke.

After all, there was the double joke of the "Now, Dowager" magazine, which was both a parody of the New Yorker and its iconic first-issue cover, and a pun on the title of the 1942 film "Now, Voyager."

[Reply #78 on:]

Am I the only one who has heard of the Brown vs. Board of Education case who hasn't heard of the real life Brown University here? I wasn't talking about skin or poop color. Are you guys even from this country given that you have apparently only heard of this collage from watching the Simpsons and Family Guy? Because that is one of the most important supreme court cases in U.S. history which ironically allowed blacks to attend any school they wanted. So what I thought was a double joke is actually a triple joke.

Um, what?

1.  Most people have heard of both Brown University and Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka.

2.  Just because someone mentions that The Simpsons has made fun of Brown University in the past doesn't mean that that's the only reason he or she recognizes it.

3.  Just because someone didn't think that "Brown University" was named after the plaintiff in the Supreme Court case doesn't mean that he or she has never heard of the case.

4.  Although I can't say for sure, I really think that if the writers had thought that naming a mutant sewage-treatment vocational school "Brown University" would be perceived as a reference to either the Supreme Court case or a skin tone, they would have scrapped the name immediately.

5.  Lambasting other people for allegedly being ignorant while misspelling "college" is pretty rich.

[Reply #79 on:]

I'm not sure how I feel about this episode at this point...it seemed a bit weird to me (as did some, but not all, of these new episodes). I agree that it felt rushed in the third act, and while I also agree that Futurama has done well with episodes so full of material they have no choice but to be fast-paced ("The Prisoner of Benda," for example, perhaps could have used some more time for some of its character plots, but overall the pacing, quick as it may have been, felt even and only made the episode more fun for having so much to keep up with plot- and joke-wise), it did seem that too much happened in the third act...or maybe the issue is that the events that did happen would have been acceptable by themselves but altogether it all seemed too farfetched.

I also thought that the cuts back to Bender were off somehow; they were amusing, yes, and I liked that Bender did care, but I guess I'm missing the point of why Bender wasn't just with the crew for their whole sewer experience to begin with. It's not like he got in a huge fight with them about whether or not to help Leela and felt guilty later...had he even known where they were?

This episode also reminded me of “Proposition Infinity” in that there was a campaign led by familiar characters to gain some sort of equal rights, there was a twist about the opposition being (or being related to) one of the discriminated ones, and then that was enough to immediately convince everyone to accept the group’s demands and have social change (which may or may not be referenced again later).

But really it was a nice episode to end the season with (and to be number 100), and whether or not I can embrace it and some of its previous new season companions as beloved episodes, I am glad to have seen it and to have been as entertained as I was.