Thoughts on 6ACV21 - Yo Leela Leela - SPOILERS!

[Reply #80 on:]

Wow, just looked at the CGEOF Ratings for the episode, and I take back my opinion that A Leela of Her Own is the most underrated episode, THIS is hands down the most underrated episode in the series. I mean, it doesn't deserve anything high, but a low 70 seems about right. I'm glad the ratings here are a bit more deserving. Oh well, at least I can laugh at some of the 1 point reviews.

[Reply #81 on:]

I liked this episode but I saw it coming.  I knew before the reveal that Leela was stealing the idea from an actual planet.  She kept saying her "secret spot" it was obvious.  I wish they made it seem that she was hard at work coming up with the episode instead of her saying she was at her secret spot writing.  Though this episode has promise.  The songs were cheesy, but that was the point.  Interesting end where the orphans have a new daddy.  I wonder if that will be from now on or will we see the same orphans back with Mr. Vogel.

[Reply #82 on:]

I noticed the Extreme Toddler Wrestling narrator (most definately John DiMaggio...) says 'Glaz-gow' when you say it 'Glaz-go'. Silly Americans.

D/T to the death of Randy Savage, I guess that's why the intro the ETW was changed from:

"From Atlanta, Georgia, we present the Macho Man Randy Savage Extreme Toddler Wrestling."

I promise I saw a preview that reference macho Man and NOT Rowdy Roddy Piper.

OOOHHH YEAAAHHH!  DIG IT!

[Reply #83 on:]

I actually loved Leela singing to the orphans.  Its nice to show off Katey Sagel's considerable vocal talent,  and I thought it was a genuinely charming moment, probably my favorite moment.

I think what they were trying to do with the ending, is a kind of subversion/parody of typical sitcom endings: the character gets karmic justice for their bad behavior, and everything goes back to normal.  Here the character's bad behavior actually caused a lot of good (I guess) in that the weirdo aliens are getting better quality of life, the orphans are probably going to be better off since they can now earn money to buy food/warm clothing/their organs back, and Leela wants to get well... her just desserts.   Its an interesting idea poorly executed, and has been done before (at the end of a 300 Big Boys, when Bender gets beaten at the last minute for the cigar heist.  It worked better because it was a minor plot point and not the entire episode.)

The thing that bothered me most was how Sally's confidence in herself was built up, and then squashed abruptly, and then never restored.   An interesting b plot could have been Sally continuing to build her own ideas despite her heroine turning out to be a fraud.  I think also think an interesting plot arc could be Leela developing a friendship with the orphan whose also bullied and ostracized the way she was.   Sally's a character with a lot of potential.

I liked the first half a lot, and things like the award for most outstanding sext at the teen choice awards was hilarious, as was the reveal.  But I think this could have been a better episode (since Leela being both a smug bigshot and a fraud felt WAY out of character for her.  Sure she has moments of weakness and signs she's not so above it all, but I would have liked to have seen more done with gentle, idealistic Leela who just wants to write stories for the orphans.  It could have been an interesting storyline to have Leela grow disillusioned with her cute heartfelt story being turned into a bland, commercialist cash cow.)

I think I enjoyed this episode a lot more then others, because I babysit a lot, and have a lot of young kids in my family, so it was nice to see the banal, patronizing and idiotic children's shows I often have to watch with the kids being torn a new one.

[Reply #84 on:]

Geez, hearing some of you guys, you'd think that this was some of the worst tv ever produced.  Granted, Futurama has done better, but isn't some of this negativity a little much?  It's like some of us fans take this show so seriously that we've become unable to just sit down and enjoy it. 

What was so bad about this episode?  People seem to not like the pop culture references.  Well, no one seemed to complain when the Amazonians mentioned a subscription to 'Cosmo' in AWITM, or when countless celebrities including Lucy Liu, Beck, the Beastie Boys, Leonardo Dicapprio (whose name I can't spell) and countless others were referenced or made an appearance.  So, they referenced Lady Gaga.  Maybe her head in a jar continued her singing career into the 31st century and that's how Fry knows about her.  The pop culture references are here to stay.  Futurama is a cartoon satire.  That's what it has always been.  Lampooning celebrities is part of the deal.

Some of us didn't like the story, either.  I thought the twist that the characters were real was classic Futurama.  Granted the talking cupcake alien was a bit hard to accept, but were the others any more weird than any of the other aliens that the crew has come across?   Nor was Leela out of character.  Ok, so the fame went to her head.  She realized her mistake and tried to fix it.  That seemed like standard Leela to me.  She even kissed Fry on the forehead at the award ceremony, so the tattered remnant of the shipper in me was happy. 

We even got a couple of songs out of this ep, and I thought Katey Segal did an amazing job singing the first one in multiple voices while introducing each character.  Really, I'm not seeing any reason to rate this episode below average.  It's not the Sting or The Late Philip J Fry, but it's by no means bad.  I'd put it up there with The Birdbot of Icecatraz or The Deep South as 'decent' 

I'd bet if any of those average episodes (lets say The Deep South) from the original run had aired yesterday, and Yo Leela Leela had been part of the original run, we'd all consider Yo Leela Leela to be fine, and we'd be ranting and raving about how awful the Deep South was.

I agree with this completely. Really well-said.

Also: This episode wasn't what Futurama typically does, but who the hell cares? I wouldn't consider "That's Lobstertainment!" to be all that Futurama-y (as tnuk said of this episode, TL! would have also worked just as well as a story on the Simpsons)--same for "Bender Should Not Be Allowed on TV" or "A Leela of Her Own" or "300 Big Boys." Just because an episode doesn't take advantage of the futuristic time period in which the show is set, that doesn't mean it is somehow inferior or unworthy. If the writing is absolutely terrible (and I don't think that was the case here) then, yes, dump on the episode all you want. But I think there was a lot of worth in this one--a lot of really funny  moments and a great use of Leela and her history with the Orphanarium--and that makes it perfectly, pleasantly average.

A lot of Futurama episodes are average, and you'd have a hard time convincing me otherwise. There is nothing inherently wrong with being average, and what makes Futurama in general so amazing is that, when an episode is great, it's really great. It's downright brilliant. But excellent writing aside, the characters are also unique and interesting, and they're what keep me coming back to the show. So that's why I appreciated this episode: Leela was used well here; the writers genuinely tried to develop her inner conflict over wanting to be a good role model but still being incapable of maintaining that standard, and I give them kudos for that. It was interesting to watch.

That said, this wasn't the best episode of the season by any means. I think that the writers probably had some trouble keeping up the quality because they've never produced a 26-episode season before, and YLL was one of the last episodes, production-wise. From what we've read in interviews, the writers seem to be really fond of "Overclockwise" and "Reincarnation," and I can't really blame them for presumably putting more effort into those episodes than they might have put into this one. Sometimes you have to let a so-so idea that is executed in a so-so manner pass through. You're completely aware of what you're doing, but time constraints and a million other practical issues prevent you from producing an episode that meets your usual standard.

You can't tell me that the writers are incapable of recognizing when an episode is phenomenal and when it's just okay; I don't think anyone on the staff would confuse "The Late Philip J. Fry" for the Holiday Spectacular, in terms of stellar execution. I can't fault the writers for occasionally producing something that's sub-par: good authors sometimes write bad books, great bands sometimes record lousy albums, and talented producers sometimes produce pedestrian episodes of TV shows. People need to stop holding every episode to such an impossible standard, or just stop watching the show. If you're not getting any enjoyment from the new episodes, and are only sticking around out of some morbid curiosity to see if things can get any worse, than just give it up already.

Not to say that any of the people complaining about this episode have this morbid curiosity, just that no one's forcing you to watch the new episodes. You're welcome to complain, and I do like me a reasoned debate (I think everyone in this thread is doing a nice job defending their position, even if I don't necessarily agree with it), but if it's becoming such a drag just sitting down for a half-hour every Thursday night to watch the new episodes, then stop doing it. Life's too short to subject yourself to crap.

[Reply #85 on:]

True.  I wonder if people would rip a Flight to Remember if it was written this season, for being a pop culture rip off?

I think the problem is Gorky, the Lady Gaga line just felt pretty forced in.  I like the pop culture references, when they are worked in with more subtlety, or are adapted into the 31st century.  Titanic?  It's a luxury starliner.  Global warming?  Its caused by robot flatulence.  Homosexuality?  Its okay to be gay, organic lifeforms and robots are the new taboo.  
So just work the pop culture things in.  Lady Gaga?  Have her be some cyborg dictator (like the Onion turned her into a Gotham city supervillain.)  The Kardashians?  Have them be a virulent race of space cockroaches.

I'm just giving examples.  The pop culture drops from Fry just feel klunky.  I agree people are overreacting, but they feel out of place, and are going to have the show feel dated when no one knows who the hell Lady Gaga or the Kardashians are anymore.  

Though I agree with you.  It's Futurama, not Jersey Shore!  Calm down people, not every Futurama episode was fantastic, and an average Futurama episode will probably be the best thing you watch on tv this week.

[Reply #86 on:]

What I want to know is where did the sci-fi original ideas go?

In season 1 we had the threat of garbage coming back to kill us, we had alien civilisations and bizarre customs, we had humanity enjoying and mass-consuming the "tastefully" marketed spoor of a gigantic worm. We had robot hell, we had space liners disappearing into wormholes, we had heroic captains sending wave after wave of men to their deaths.

Are you freaking kidding me?

Sci-fi original ideas such as the parody of Armageddon, the parody of Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory and the practically shot-for-shot-parody of Titanic? Seriously? Come on!

Benderama is a wonderful example of a recent episode full of fairly original sci-fi. It's not like every single episode of Futurama used to feature this sort of thing, it was only some of them and the show still has that going for it.

I agree that the show's become more hit and miss, but I'd rather have some episodes that I adore and some that I hate than nothing but episodes that I just like. That's why I still consider what we've seen of season 6 to be better than 1 and 2.



Anyway...

I liked the episode. It's one of the weaker episodes, but I thought it was a HUGE step up from The Silence of the Clamps.
It was funny. In fact, it got some of the biggest belly laughs Futurama has ever given me in act 1. I thought the subversion of the sitcom moral learning worked at the end. I liked that it broke Fry's rule of TV (which is something Futurama has never shyed away from and everyone seemed to like it in the past when it saw stuff like progressing Fry and Leela's relationship or letting the mutants live on the surface).

It was nothing more than a filler episode, but as far as filler episodes go, I found it to be completely acceptable. Good fun, not boring, nothing particularly cringey, lots of great gags. It felt like an average episode from the classic run to me, which means it was excellent TV.

[Reply #87 on:]

Well said Turnipdude.   I really don't get why people are acting like this episode was so awful.  From the way people are acting, you'd think the episode consisted of nothing but Susan Boil blinking and occasionally talking to herself.

I think Leela's song to the orphans was adorable, and was easily one of the most heartwarming moments we have seen this season.  I think its a sign that Futurama still has its heart, and can make Leela singing to some orphans about sentinent cupcakes and ladybugs seem charming, not cloying.

http://www.avclub.com/articles/yo-leela-leela,59187/  I think this is a pretty good review.  I think more could have been done with the Humplings.  I mean how long do things that adorable last in the crapsack universe that Futurama exists in?  They'll probably be harvesting Princess Num Num's organs for rich bankers, deep frying Feffernoose as a delicious snack, or using Lady Buggles to test cosmetics.   I think they could have done more with them (that maybe they are not as adorable as they seem, and live in extreme denial of anything unpleasant in a sort of lotus eater paradise, and ruthlessly exterminate anything that they deem unwholesome.  I think that would be a good parody of the sugary utopias most childrens shows exist in.  I mean they are already in denial of naughty words and seem to be homophobic.)

Also.  Now, before we go, let's do everything we just did, two more times"  Dead on. 

[Reply #88 on:]

On first viewing, this is my least favorite of the new run.  The previews of the new children's tv shows were funny, but not much else is sticking with me.  For a bit I was scared they might go with a story about how hard it is to come up scripts for a weekly show.  It might have been better if they did.  I'm going to rewatch it, but I'm giving it a 3/10 for now.

[Reply #89 on:]

From the way people are acting, you'd think the episode consisted of nothing but Susan Boil blinking and occasionally talking to herself.

I think that episode would be ridiculous enough to cross into "so bad it's the most hilarious thing I've ever seen" territory.

[Reply #90 on:]

From the way people are acting, you'd think the episode consisted of nothing but Susan Boil blinking and occasionally talking to herself.

I think that episode would be ridiculous enough to cross into "so bad it's the most hilarious thing I've ever seen" territory.

ALL GLORY TO THE SUSAN BOIL

[Reply #91 on:]

Has anyone noticed that after 10 years, the orphans haven't aged at all? 

[Reply #92 on:]

Why would they when nobody else on the show has?

[Reply #93 on:]

I liked the title caption.  That's about it.

I am not going to lie. It was bad. But this season has been pretty good, which is an encouraging thought. Every show has its bad episodes after all.

I knew that this would be the stinker of the season. Anybody could have seen that from a mile away - I just don't know why this terrible episode idea wasn't shot down before it entered production. Popular Slut Club? Extreme toddler wrestling? I get that they were meant to be horrible ideas for television shows, but they were just bad. I'm just going to block my ears, shout "lalalalalalala" and pretend this one didn't exist.

Is it ridiculous to write off the whole show after a bad episode? Definitely. Futurama will always be brilliant. Is it overreacting when I say that I hate this episode? No it isn't. The show deserves to be torn to pieces when it delivers a horrible episode just as much as it deserves to be praised when it delivers a fantastic one.

[Reply #94 on:]

Why would they when nobody else on the show has?

Actually all of the main cast age chronologically (Fry is now 36, Amy is 30, Leela is 35, and they started out being 25, 19 and 24).   But they dont age physically or mentally which makes me wonder why they even bother (aren't Hermes and Lebarbera freaked out that their son has remained 10 for 10 years?).  The only real sign that they have gotten older is that Amy has become old enough to have spent 12 years as an intern and ready to become a doctor.

Another thing I liked about this episode is because *gasp* it focused on a character that wasn't Bender.  I love Bender, but since the first move, (and this half of the season especially) it's begun to feel like "The Bender Show" at times.   

[Reply #95 on:]

Have they ever stated that Fry is now 36 and whatnot in the show?

That recent interview David X. Cohen gave regarding the sliding timeline seemed to disagree with the idea.

[Reply #96 on:]

I don't mind that the characters never seem to age, I think it's better that way anyway. It seems believable that in the future, people stay younger for longer due to advanced technology (the professor is about 80 years older than he looks and acts).

As for the children never aging... perhaps the parents/caretakers are cruel and slip them growth stunting drugs?

I'm willing to suspend disbelief, so long as they never do what the Simpsons did in "That 90s Show" and alter the central continuity of the show in a completely unbelievable and nonsensical way.

[Reply #97 on:]

I agree that the show's become more hit and miss, but I'd rather have some episodes that I adore and some that I hate than nothing but episodes that I just like. That's why I still consider what we've seen of season 6 to be better than 1 and 2.

Exactly. It was worth it to bring the show back for "The Late Philip J. Fry" alone, that episode was so brilliant. The last thing I'd want is for Futurama to become an average animated series, where every episode is competent but not spectacular, amusing but not hysterical. It's worth sitting through a sub-par episode like, say, "Proposition Infinity," and a few average episodes like "A Clockwork Origin," just to get to something as amazing as "The Prisoner of Benda." It was like that in the original run ("That's Lobstertainment!" and "Crimes of the Hot" are worth sitting through to get to "The Sting"), and that's fine. Though I would love it if every episode of Futurama could be unbelievably good, I recognize that this is nearly impossible; I'm willing to settle for a show that occasionally strikes out, but always brings its A-game to the stories that deserve it, to the premises that are truly special and unique.

Have they ever stated that Fry is now 36 and whatnot in the show?

I don't think so. DXC made it sound like, even if we know Fry should realistically be approaching 30 by now, there's no need for the show to address this. It would be jarring, and change the dynamic of the show too drastically.

[Reply #98 on:]

Well that's what we are told outside of the show, but I find the concept too strange and canon scrambling to take seriously.   I always thought of Fry being between the ages of nineteen and twenty three, for example.   There is no way I can think of him as someone who is almost forty, physically or mentally.   Its a concept that has even less sticking power then the career chips idea (which almost never comes up.)

Agreed Gorky,  but we're forgetting a dud episode of Futurama is almost always going to be better then 99percent of everything else.   I may dislike Parasites Lost or Mars University or Attack of the Killer App, but I'll still watch them over anything else.

[Reply #99 on:]

I think part of the problem is that there was a four-year span where no new episodes were being produced. Had Futurama lasted only eight seasons or so, running continuously from 1999 to 2007 (and, consequently, 2999 to 3007), Fry and Leela would only be in their early thirties. Aging the characters on a time line that spanned less than a decade would not have been a big deal. But, since we're already in 3011 in the series, and it's only the sixth season, I can see the writers' dilemma. You don't want to see a nearly-forty year old Fry and Leela having wacky adventures in space, let alone having Dwight and Cubert and the orphans age into awkward teenagers (and, eventually, twenty-somethings).

Of course, the characters clearly age in "The Late Philip J. Fry," and Lars ages in "Bender's Big Score," which only confuses things. I think the writers are smart for not mentioning the characters' ages, if only because that would open up so many opportunities to contradict what has already been established about the time line and such.

[Reply #100 on:]

Speaking of shit: I still don't think this episode is a piece of one.

I agree. My only complains are:
-Some of the scenes dragged on. (Leela singing, the filming of the show, etc.)
-The ending came out of nowhere. It should of had at least one more scene.
I'd give it a 7/10. Second-weakest this half of the season (after Neutopia).

[Reply #101 on:]

I could see the reviews being pretty split on this one. Personally I enjoyed it.

I'd like to point out that Extreme Toddler Wrestling pretty much already exists in Thailand...

It was a different story that nailed how children's cartoons are, particularly Yo Gabba Gabba. I think there was a missed Tom Kenny voice op in not having him do something with Spongebob Squarebolts. Or was that supposed to be a joke in itself? Maybe there's some legality there but it would have been a nice touch. Didn't think the Lady Gaga joke was bad either, it worked. Enjoyed seeing Leela's "motherly" side. 7/10

That is exactly what I said!

I might have to watch this one again. It was nice to see Leela at the center of the episode and even Bender's part seemed really lackluster, I mean a lot of ideas are brought up -the blackmailing, Leela's arrogance, Sally kind of- to a really abrupt ending. I like the commentary on TV shows here but I think they could have done something better with it ala When Aliens Attack. And if I totally predicted the reveal that all those creatures were real then the writers are doing a bad job.

[Reply #102 on:]

I don't know why people are debating the pop-culture references, or the scifi-ness; these are not what made this episode the worst episode ever.

The ratio of children's songs to dialogue was ridiculous. This is the only episode I found really hard to watch. I liked the idea that the characters were based on real aliens, that was a clever twist. BUT, that story turn lasted 3 seconds, only to be thrown back into terrible, terrible dialogue and music.

Leela was beyond annoying "please punish me!" was barely funny or believable to begin with, but why did she care so much? It just got ludicrous when she kept getting her panties in a knot over something nobody cared about! Her dialogue on this subject sounded like it was written by someone the age of this episodes target audience. The ending with "WE LOVE LEELA" was quite possibly the weirdest and stupidest thing I've ever seen on Futurama.

This episode makes The Honking look like a masterpiece. I can't even think of a Simpsons episode worse than this one. YLL wasn't a parody of children's shows, it was a children's show. I had a friend watch the episode with me who only watches Futurama when I talk her into it, HOW EMBARRASSING! I learnt my lesson, I now know to screen episodes before I tell people it is my favourite show.

Eric Horsted should be ashamed for writing this. I hope he prepares a written apology to Futurama fans to read out during the commentary. In fact, DX Cohen should do the same. It is beyond belief that anyone in their offices thought this episode was a good idea.

[Reply #103 on:]

I don't know why people are debating the pop-culture references, or the scifi-ness; these are not what made this episode the worst episode ever.

The ratio of children's songs to dialogue was ridiculous. This is the only episode I found really hard to watch. I liked the idea that the characters were based on real aliens, that was a clever twist. BUT, that story turn lasted 3 seconds, only to be thrown back into terrible, terrible dialogue and music.

Leela was beyond annoying "please punish me!" was barely funny or believable to begin with, but why did she care so much? It just got ludicrous when she kept getting her panties in a knot over something nobody cared about! Her dialogue on this subject sounded like it was written by someone the age of this episodes target audience. The ending with "WE LOVE LEELA" was quite possibly the weirdest and stupidest thing I've ever seen on Futurama.

This episode makes The Honking look like a masterpiece. I can't even think of a Simpsons episode worse than this one. YLL wasn't a parody of children's shows, it was a children's show. I had a friend watch the episode with me who only watches Futurama when I talk her into it, HOW EMBARRASSING! I learnt my lesson, I now know to screen episodes before I tell people it is my favourite show.

Eric Horsted should be ashamed for writing this. I hope he prepares a written apology to Futurama fans to read out during the commentary. In fact, DX Cohen should do the same. It is beyond belief that anyone in their offices thought this episode was a good idea.

how about the alien planet. dare we even discuss that? it seems that everyone that praises this episode seems to forget about that.

leela finds are random strange world that has 'cute' aliens of different species that all co-operate together, and speak the same language. it is the most ridiculous sci-fi idea i've ever heard. i was embarrassed for myself while watching it. i even told everyone at work(they know me as a futurama nerd) how bad it was, and how i was ashamed of it.

[Reply #104 on:]

Ok here is my review having not read the comments in this thread yet:

I was worried about this episode from the start because of the concerns you all had prior to its airing. It started out o..kay...just eh...as soon as she started singing it went from eh to meh. The focus group with the kids and the Popular Slut Club was the best part of the episode.

I thought maybe since it was revealed Leela was just a ripoff artist, the third act would be better. No...not a chance. It was just as unentertaining as the first two acts. The ending was just...awful. How was that an ending? Her whining, "Noooo!!!!" is pretty much how I felt during the entire episode. Just...fail.

I disliked Neutopia greatly for its cliche and disappointment for a new season (well, continuation of the 26 episode run) and subsequently gave it 1/10. I would redo that now to a 3 or 4 given subsequent viewing s on it, but it still wasn't that great. This episode however...was just terrible for me. It didn't get a 1 because they brought back Doubledeal. Therefore my rating of the episode is...

2/10

[Reply #105 on:]

As I stated originally, the reasons why I consider this episode to be so AWFUL are that it was a banal premise ("Leela writes a kids story and TV show for the orphans" ), which was uncreatively written, and made into a miserably boring episode, which didn't feel like an episode of Futurama at all. This episode utterly failed to parody kids TV shows properly because it merely emulated how exploitatively pandering they are to children; there were very few cutting jokes or clever insights into those shows, which was terribly disappointing for a supposed episode of Futurama. This episode was age in-appropriate for the Futurama audience, and was just lazy, boring, and unfunny.

[Reply #106 on:]

See, I can understand writers taking criticism on board from their peers, their employers, and from people that they have professional and/or personal relarionships with, but from the fans? I don't know.

I can understand the show's producers keeping an eye on the response of the fans (etc.) and perhaps modifying their instructions to their writers accordingly, but I struggle to see how the fan's input (directly) to the writers is a workable, or even desirable, thing.

Back on topic…

I enjoyed this one. I thought it was good but not great. (I was probably helped by the fact that I didn't see the reveal coming.) I give it 8 out of 10.

[Reply #107 on:]

There's a difference between criticising an episode that you don't like and actually shouting personal insults at people for liking an episode that you don't like.

There's also a difference between criticising an episode that you don't like and saying things like "Futurama's jumped the shark" in response to one episode you didn't like.

Although I think this whole discussion is more suited to the "everything is worse now" thread rather than this thread as I seem to recall Marc telling us several times to "keep the review threads clean".

[Reply #108 on:]

I can understand writers taking criticism on board from their peers, their employers, and from people that they have professional and/or personal relarionships with, but from the fans? I don't know.

The parody of focus groups shown in this very episode, as well as previously on The Simpsons, shows that they DO take the fans opinions into account. I mean, if you make money selling coffee and everyone thinks it tastes awful, your business will fail. If the fans hate an episode, the producers take notice.

I'm just surprised that they credited real people for this episode, instead of using Alan Smithee for every credit.

I can't get the awful taste of this episode out of my mouth, I'm literally angry with rage!

[Reply #109 on:]

i'm beginning to conclude that eric kaplan was the one that made held the series together during the movies.

[Reply #110 on:]

Ok, read everything in this thread. May have to do some editing later to keep it back ontopic so, again, let's critique the episodes not each other. No need to provoke anything or get on the defensive - everyone, for the most part, has been respectful of each other's opinions.

I had many points to say but I will have to skim again to find them all. Something I did wanna point out, I think Gorky may have mentioned it, was the development of Leela's character. I didn't feel any emotional attachment to Leela in this episode. I felt more compassion for her in I Second That Emotion. She emphasized wanting to be a positive role model, and then make right what she did, but it just...fizzled out. It seemed very half-assed. I wasn't really buying it.

Not to get offtopic, but someone else mentioned the pop culture refs now vs. then. The pop refs then, for the most part I'd say, involved celeb/historical figure refs that nerds don't particularly loathe. The only one I can think of that would be a problem would be Christina Aguilera in Bendin in the Wind, but the way Bender took a jab at her, yeah it wasn't forced. The Lady Gaga one in this ep was. At that instant, it was like one step away from becoming a Family Guy ep. And that's not good.

Leela I feel is becoming the new Zoidberg. She should not be the main character in any episode, her usual whining cannot carry an entire story. If there were more compelling B stories of Fry, Bender, or Amy, for example, I think this could have worked much better. I also found it odd that none of the orphans recognized/went up and hugged former Daddy Bender...seeing as that was a major plot point in the original run in The Cyber Hours Rules.

The only one I felt who was on his game was Doubledeal. Bender and Fry were in character as well, but there was so little of it, it couldn't fill in the gaps for the rest of the piece.

[Reply #111 on:]

I also found it odd that none of the orphans recognized/went up and hugged former Daddy Bender...seeing as that was a major plot point in the original run in The Cyber Hours Rules.

Continuity seems to only be recognised and utilized when and if the writers feel it should matter now. Originally, Futurama took continuity seriously (as did The Simpsons, once). We had things seen in one episode actually affect the next episodes where appropriate. But now, it seems that continuity is ignored or swept under the rug unless the writers want to point something out.

It's lazy, and it annoys me. There should be a massive continuity bible at the head office, and nothing should be allowed that contradicts it... not without some sort of explanation or background justification.

That's one of the things I loved about Futurama when it began. Continuity was treated as an important aspect of the show, and have I mentioned recently how much of a huge boner I have for proper continuity?

Continuity is important. Consequences and ramifications matter. That's part of what turns a simple comedy cartoon into a series with heart and soul, and Futurama seems to be forgetting this.

I are disappoint.

[Reply #112 on:]

I also found it odd that none of the orphans recognized/went up and hugged former Daddy Bender

Good call! I noticed this as Bender was standing on that orphan's head. Even a slight acknowledgement would have been nice.

[Reply #113 on:]

Leela I feel is becoming the new Zoidberg. She should not be the main character in any episode, her usual whining cannot carry an entire story.

I think Leela is capable of carrying a story that's not about her going on some kind of Moral Crusade that basically entails that she whine a lot (though I like her in "The Birdbot of Ice-Catraz" and "Into the Wild Green Yonder," which arguably fall within that category). I love her in, say, "The Day the Earth Stood Stupid" or "Less Than Hero" or "Leela's Homeworld" or "The Sting"--episodes in which she plays a key role, and alternately kicks butt or goes crazy doing it. I do think Leela is the most inconsistently-written character on the show (I mean, her self-pity in "Xmas Story" is balanced out by her terror at the notion of Fry being outside buying her a present when Santa Claus comes to town; her self-pity in "The Mutants Are Revolting" is obnoxious and not really countered by anything redeeming), and that bothers me because she also happens to be the leading lady.  

The only one I felt who was on his game was Doubledeal.

He definitely got the most laughs out of me. Having Leela sign around a SuperCuts coupon (then needing his pen back), "I mean that sincerely, it's just that I'm in show business," and asking Leela if she likes drowning in caviar because that's how she's gonna die--all hilarious. I think this was probably his most substantial, and most amusing, appearance in the series ever.

It's lazy, and it annoys me. There should be a massive continuity bible at the head office, and nothing should be allowed that contradicts it... not without some sort of explanation or background justification.

The thing is, the writers have made a point in the past (in commentaries and interviews and the like) of saying that they are fully aware of the series' continuity, that they are just as nerdy and in love with the show as we are. I don't doubt that the writers are aware of their various breaches in continuity; I just assume that they either can't find a way to work such continuity nods into the episodes (which makes no sense, because there's continuity with Leela and Lrrr's relationship in "Lrreconcilable Ndndifferences," and with Doubledeal in this episode; why couldn't Albert have said "Is Daddy Bender standing on me?") or they just don't care (which is worse).

I'm actually much more annoyed when the writers follow continuity, only to muck things up. Nibbler revealing he can talk in BBS is fine, but it might have been nice for him to blank the crew's memories afterwards, so he'd still maintain his mystique and not make episodes like "The Day the Earth Stood Stupid" and "The Why of Fry" seem silly for treating his identity like some big, never-to-be-revealed secret.

[Reply #114 on:]

*tnuk's Continuity Rant*

They seem to  bring up major plot points, but smaller things (like Daddy Bender) are ignored. By major plot points, I mean the Delta Brainwave, Fry getting Frozen, Time Travel, Fry being his own Grandfather, etc.

[Reply #115 on:]

They used to take account of the little things. There were callbacks to a lot of previous episodes throughout the original run of Futurama, even stupid little details. There was a clear volume of previous work that episodes were referenced against, typing it all together. It felt like the writers had tried to make sure they didn't contradict anythign they'd said previously, and had taken account of what went on before, in order to slot episodes into a recognisable framework. The practise of picking and choosing continuity means that this is suffering. The Futuramaverse may break down completely. Random robots and aliens drifting everywhere, the laws of physics no longer applying, pop culture references that Fry should have no knowledge of leaking across time.

I don't want that. I really don't want that.

[Reply #116 on:]

Well, I thought this episode was good, but still a bottom 10 one for me. The first act was pretty good, and I loved the part where everyone was annoying Leela by making loads of noise. However, the 2nd and 3rd were mediocre and only Doubledeal was the interesting part of those acts. Seriously, that Lady Gaga reference doesn't make sense since it wasn't Fry's era and these things are really getting on my nerves. The planet having the real monsters was really predictable but I liked their designs, and I really hated Leela in this episode until the last 2 minutes, which actually redeemed her somewhat. On the more positive side of things, at least it didn't focus on Bender. Nevertheless, I'll give this one a 7/10, because I was still entertained and thought the episode had some cute memorable moments, despite the large amounts of errors in this episode.

[Reply #117 on:]

Regarding continuity, I recognize that this episode ignored the fact that "Daddy Bender" adopted the orphans in "The Cyber House Rules", but of all the things I disliked about this episode, continuity wasn't a major issue.

Yes, continuity is important -- and I wish it was taken more seriously -- but I understand that in a 21-minute animated TV show, there often isn't time to waste in acknowledging continuity, especially if it isn't relevant to the story, which it wasn't in this episode.

If certain people wish to discuss the problems with continuity, I think that it deserves a separate thread, because I don't think it's relevant to this episode.

[Reply #118 on:]

I noticed in this episode and many new episodes how there has been a major lack of a B-plot. As someone pointed out this episode was dangerously close to being a Family Guy or later season Simpsons episode, which is very bad.

[Reply #119 on:]

Someone mentioned earlier that it was like watching a kid's show for a half hour and I have to agree. We've already had another episode that involved a character getting their own show (or cameoing in one) and that was Bender Should Not be Allowed on TV, and it even involved Dwight and Cubert. At the time I was borderline thinking THAT was a bit kiddish, but this was very dumb downed for an intelligent audience. Completely forgettable and rightly so, I don't wanna remember anything from this episode.

On a sidenote, did Dwight voice one of those characters in the episode? I thought I heard him once.