Thoughts on 6ACV22 - Fry Am the Egg Man - SPOILERS!

[Reply #80 on:]

Look at my post; there is an apostrophe in it.

[Reply #81 on:]

I did a straight shot of Baileys once, and it tasted so unbelievably disgusting. That swill's not good enough for my boobs.

Also - if Leela and Fry have reverted back to "just friends" status, we really should have been given an organic reason for it. Leela is supposed to be in a relationship with Fry and when she only acknowledges it when it's convenient for her, it makes her look like a total bitch - which we know she isn't. In the earlier episodes she had some justification for brushing off Fry - now that she is in an established relationship with him, it just won't fly for her to pretend she and Fry are just friends just so she can flirt with somebody else.  It makes her an unlikable character. They call them throwaway lines for a reason - because they're rubbish and don't have any contextual basis for being said. It's these little things that annoy me the most!

Though I agree with your point generally, I don't think Fry and Leela have ever actually acknowledged the status or existence of their romantic relationship. They go on dates, yes (in "The Late Philip J. Fry" and "The Prisoner of Benda"); they make kissy-face ("Rebirth," "In-a-Gadda-Da-Leela," "The Mutants Are Revolting"); they don't want to see the other person get hurt ("Lrrreconcilable Ndndifferences," this very episode).

But (and this is a big, italicized "but")...Fry and Leela have also made a number of references to being just friends ("Attack of the Killer App," this episode), actively pursuing another relationship ("That Darn Katz!"), and having sex with other people ("In-A-Gadda-Da-Leela," "Ghosts in the Machine").

Their relationship at this point is so muddled and ambiguous sloppily-written, that I don't think I can say with any certainty that they ever were dating. I guess Fry telling Leela he could wait a little longer for her at the end of "Rebirth"  meant that, well, he could wait until the end of the season so that the writers wouldn't have to put the extra effort into considering how a romantic, committed relationship would change their dynamic as characters and the dynamic of the show overall.

[Reply #82 on:]

I can't believe people are giving this episode bad reviews because of the shippiness. They're animated characters... Even if they get together or stay apart, nothing will ever be really going on.

Okay, I'll admit, I have no problem with shippers, it's cute, but rating episodes cause of shippiness? Just no.

[Reply #83 on:]

Look at my post; there is an apostrophe in it.

Yes, but there is none in Baileys!

[Reply #84 on:]

Even in shippy episodes like TLPJF, Fry was pretty keen to start fertilizing the ladies of the year Fifty Million.  (By the way, two of them looked like the descendants of Cookie Kwan and Bernice Hibbert from the Simpsons, but I'm chalking that up to character style similarities.)

Danny, its not because of shippiness (WHY ISN'T THE SHOW LIKE MY FANFICTION GOD DAMMIT?) its because of sloppy writing and inconsistency.  Saying "I love you" to eachother and finally kissing in one episode?  Then having them screwing other people the next?  Sloppy. 

[Reply #85 on:]

Danny, it's a bit dismissive of you to just call shippers "cute," but I will say that I'm a shipper, yet I rated this episode very highly and had no problem with where it left Fry and Leela's relationship. But I think you're wrong that rating an episode based on shippiness is somehow frivolous or incorrect; most ratings are based on a person's enjoyment of an episode, and if some fans can't enjoy something that so damages an aspect of the show (the ship) in which they're highly invested, then I don't see a problem with giving the episode a lower rating because of this. This rating stuff is all subjective, and there's no "right" way to go about it.

[Reply #86 on:]

I enjoy explosions and stuff in Futurama, but I don't rate an ep off of that.

[Reply #87 on:]

Me, I'm not even a shipper.  Or if I am, I prefer Amy and Fry together a lot more, even though that pairing got its ass Lusitania'd years ago.

One thing that sets Futurama apart from most other shows of its type is that it has character development, and its solid storyline arcs.  However the Fry and Leela arc just gets put through a mangle all the time, since no matter what happens, whether its Fry putting on an opera just for her, or saving her life on Valentine's day, or finding out that he and Leela are happily married in another universe, the reset button always seems to be hit by the next episode.  Yet the Beta Couple, Kif and Amy have their relationship treated with consistency, and it can be argued that originally, Amy's sluttiness was a much bigger part of her personality/humor then Fry's hopeless pining after Leela, but she's settled down with Kif, and it hasn't really made her less funny/interesting.

So what gives?  I just want the writers to figure out what the hell they are doing.  I used to actually want Fry and Leela to get together, but the writers keep zigzagging over the matter where its stopped becoming an interesting arc, and just a confusing, irritating mess.  I don't even care that much when people I know in real life hook up and break up, I just like some consistancy in storytelling. 

[Reply #88 on:]

I swear Billy West said in an interview that the Fry/Leela relationship will be resolved once and for all in Overclockwise.

[Reply #89 on:]

Depends, because did he say that before Futurama got renewed?  Because whenever they are writing what they assume is "Da Final Final Final Episode And This Time We Mean It" they always have Fry and Leela on the verge of getting together, but whenever the series gets renewed, they always hit the reset button. Devil's Hands are Idle Playthings had an extremely hopeful ending for them, but by BBM, Leela is still treating Fry like he doesn't exist (even the ending reveal doesn't seem to have done much for the relationship) Wild Green Yonder ended with the breakthrough of Leela kissing Fry and saying "I Love You" to him, but then the relationship got shoved into limbo.

[Reply #90 on:]

I enjoy explosions and stuff in Futurama, but I don't rate an ep off of that.

But don't you rate an episode based on your overall enjoyment of it? And wouldn't a lot of explosions enhance that enjoyment? I agree that it's a little silly to disregard an episode's good points (great jokes, an interesting story, and nice character interactions) simply because you're annoyed with Fry and Leela's relationship, but it's not the dumbest reason I can think of. The characters are what make Futurama so unique--not the sci fi stories (a lot of which are lovingly derivative), or the beautiful animation, or even the clever gags--and if you're annoyed with the actions of one or two of the characters in a certain episode, I can see how that might affect your enjoyment of it. I'm not saying you're right or wrong in how you rate an episode, or that shippers are right or wrong--I'm just saying that it's kind of pointless to criticize another person's method of criticism. Again: subjective.

[Reply #91 on:]

8/10

I didn't think I was going to enjoy this episode, but I did! I liked the call backs to some of the characters in The Farmer's Market and the Free Range Zucchini (which looked too cute to eat). I can't be bothered remebering things in detail so I'll just make a list later.


Random Notes:
Since when did the crew have a uniform?
For some reason it was nice to see the crew in their pajamas
Did anyone notice the picture of the Popplers on the menu?
Leela kills puppies?

[Reply #92 on:]

I agree, I loved the Amazonian cameo (though at first I thought they were wringing out a giant sponge.  I only realized that she was actually wringing out a TREE TRUNK like it was a sponge. "You're the kind of sap I like" Very scarousing.)   I think the Amazonians were an example of a cameo done well. 

[Reply #93 on:]

Since when did the crew have a uniform?

Aren't those uniforms the new ones they got from Awesome Express in "The Route of All Evil"? It made no sense for them to be wearing those uniforms, unless the writers were worried that we wouldn't be able to tell that they were making a delivery (and would instead think that, I don't know, the episode was starting in media res and they were being chased by bloodthirsty springing things for some story-relevant reason?). At any rate, I liked the callback even if it seemed totally random.

[Reply #94 on:]

Despite my annoyance with the inconsistent way the writers have been treating Leela and Fry's relationship, particularly in this episode, I still gave it quite a good rating. It was a decent episode.

But (and this is a big, italicized "but")...Fry and Leela have also made a number of references to being just friends ("Attack of the Killer App," this episode), actively pursuing another relationship ("That Darn Katz!"), and having sex with other people ("In-A-Gadda-Da-Leela," "Ghosts in the Machine").

Their relationship at this point is so muddled and ambiguous sloppily-written, that I don't think I can say with any certainty that they ever were dating. I guess Fry telling Leela he could wait a little longer for her at the end of "Rebirth"  meant that, well, he could wait until the end of the season so that the writers wouldn't have to put the extra effort into considering how a romantic, committed relationship would change their dynamic as characters and the dynamic of the show overall.

If the writers are deliberately holding back on Leela and Fry's relationship to recapture the same dynamic they held in the original run, then I think they are being moronic. They got it right in "The Late Phillip J Fry" and "The Prisoner of Benda." where Leela and Fry were portrayed as being actively engaged in a romantic relationship, yet still at odds over certain issues. I think that's a good way to portray the relationship, but it only seems to be present in episodes that incorporate the relationship into the plot. I don't want every episode to acknowledge their relationship - then the show just regresses into a soap opera, but it's kind of a slap in the face to see Fry and Leela acting the way they do, when we've all been led to believe they're actively dating. We need some clarification - even if it means they must break up for a time. I'm open to anything, so long as it feels like a natural development.

This leads me to think, with the way things are going this season, that perhaps the writers are deliberately destabilizing the Leela/Fry relationship to lead into Overclockwise -

Show spoiler

which we already know involves Fry and Leela separating at one stage.

"Whoa! I definitely wanna hear about that. But, first, I need your help. The Professor and Cubert are in trouble and Leela left me. I'm in misery!"

If so, then all these throwaway lines might actually make sense if we get a bit of context thrown in to back them up.

I swear Billy West said in an interview that the Fry/Leela relationship will be resolved once and for all in Overclockwise.

It's all very confusing, and I don't think that there is a lot of consistency from the writers on it, but hopefully what you say is true and things will be a lot clearer for them in the seventh season.

Anyway, I think I'm getting carried away with all this... I'll stop for now.  

[Reply #95 on:]

Also, Fry was in his underwear was a nice piece of fanservice for everyone whose not into Amy/Leela. 

[Reply #96 on:]

Not as good as last week's but still pretty good.  I liked the 'local group' farmer's market.  Perfect example of a joke that the writer's threw in despite knowing that 99% of the audience wouldn't get it.  

I don't really care that "the Simpsons already did it".  I mean, the Simpsons has already done everything.  All that matters is that Futurama hasn't already done it.  

I did wonder about the uniforms, though.  Weren't those the uniforms they had when they were working as paperboys for Awesome Express?  If they were going to wear uniforms, they should have been wearing the ones that Farnsworth bought them in Love and Rocket.

[Reply #97 on:]

I consider the fact that Leela is no longer into Fry to be the result of Comedy Central airing these episodes IN THE WRONG ORDER.

[Reply #98 on:]

But the only episode left that's airing out of sequence is "The Tip of the Zoidberg," and I really doubt that episode is going to deal with Fry and Leela's relationship at all. None of the other episodes in season 6B so far have really addressed their relationship, either. I'm thinking that "Cold Warriors" might have shippy elements, which would then make for a smooth transition both from this episode (where their relationship is ambiguous) and into "Overclockwise."

"All the President's Heads" falls between Egg Man and "Cold Warriors" production-wise, but no matter.

[Reply #99 on:]

I consider the fact that Leela is no longer into Fry to be the result of Comedy Central airing these episodes IN THE WRONG ORDER.

But that's not everything. FOX played the original run out of order as well. The order of production may not necessarily mean the order that it was *meant* to be. But what do I know?

[Reply #100 on:]

Aren't those uniforms the new ones they got from Awesome Express in "The Route of All Evil"?

True, but maybe not. I would've expected the AE uniforms to be red and not as dorky, since Cubert and Dwight were the owners.

[Reply #101 on:]

They look pretty similar to me (and, yes, dorky).

[Reply #102 on:]

No, I knew they were the same ones, it's just I doubted they were the AE uniforms. Maybe they got out the PE uniforms that nobody wears and just didn't get chance to re-design them?

[Reply #103 on:]

Ah. That's a possibility. After all, I don't know why Dwight and Cubert wold go to such lengths to make the ship look awesome (adding flame decals to it and such), but leave the crew with pretty rinky dink uniforms.

So I guess I should have phrased my initial points as "the same uniforms we saw in 'The Route of All Evil.'" Which the Infosphere now confirms...but only because I edited that part of the "Fry Am the Egg Man" page. I hope Svip is proud.

[Reply #104 on:]

But EVERYTHING has already been done in The Simpsons. And to be honest, I imagine that the plot in Bart the Mother had been done elsewhere before The Simpsons got to it.

I don't really care that "the Simpsons already did it".  I mean, the Simpsons has already done everything.  All that matters is that Futurama hasn't already done it.

There's a difference between just touching on a topic or having the same general plot from a Simpsons episode than what's going on with this episode. The former happens all the time in all manner of movies and television shows, and nobody cares, because as you both say, Simpsons have done everything. That's why in my post I made the "SIMPSONS DID IT" South Park reference.

But this is different. In this episode it's not just the plot that's the same, it's the majority of the story turns, and it's more than just similar.

And you know what, I still didn't really care much, I was just making note of it and pointing it out to others, since it was similar enough that I was reminded of the Simpsons episode most of the way through the episode.

But i_c_weiner bringing up the fact that David X. Cohen actually WROTE that Simpsons episode (and it was the last Simpsons episode he ever wrote as well)...now it's no longer a coincidence. David X. Cohen as producer of Futurama is involved in the joke-writing and production of every episode. Since he wrote that Simpsons episode, there's no way he didn't know it was almost the exact same story. He knowingly allowed his story to be ripped off almost plot turn for plot turn.

I think that's worth noting, whether you think it's a bad thing or not.

[Reply #105 on:]

I think that's worth noting, whether you think it's a bad thing or not.

It's clever cause we can't really get pissed about it, I guess.

[Reply #106 on:]

At any rate, I'm sure DXC will make a note of it in the commentary for this episode. I didn't instantly make the "Bart the Mother" connection (then again, anything past season eight of the Simpsons I'm kind of fuzzy on), but knowing that the stories are similar doesn't really bother me, either. I guess I'd have to rewatch "Bart the Mother" and "Fry Am the Egg Man" with the specific intention of spotting similarities before passing judgment on DXC or whatever--but, again, I enjoyed this episode and felt that it had enough of a Futurama feel to it to not be bothered by a less-than-original story.

[Reply #107 on:]

Agreed.  Now that is mentioned, I can see all the similarities to Bart the Mother, but it still felt like a good Futurama story.  It also highlights Fry's childlike kindness and naivite.  I could rant at the writer for being lazy, but I enjoyed the episode enough to feel generous.   Mr Peppy being a horrible monster doesn't really count as a plot twist, as we all knew that would be the episode's premise, whilst it genuinely was one in Bart the Mother (I mean who the hell saw that coming?)
Boobees, nenes and titpeckers oh my!

[Reply #108 on:]

I just really wish they'd commit one way or the other to having Fry & Leela in a relationship or not. Don't really mind which way, just make up your fucking minds already. I mean seriously, wouldn't it normally be quite important for a show to be clear on whether or not the two main characters are together?

The ending of Wild Green Yonder seems like it should be concrete evidence enough. I mean Devil's hands is kind of ambiguous so it's fine to go back on it from that, but it's  just got ridiculous now.

I thought there would actually be a lot of potential in the idea of having Fry & Leela together, having episodes about them working through relationship problems. Or maybe Bender could feel neglected now that Fry & Leela are spending more time together and not inviting him. That seems to me like exactly the sort of story they'd do.

I just don't understand why they're afraid of making a decision one way or the other, seems like it would make their jobs a lot easier rather than having to write everything in this ambiguous way.

Maybe all this confusion has been caused by the assassination of Eleanor Roosevelt. Or something they did in All the Presidents Heads.

[Reply #109 on:]

Agreed.  I like Fry and Leela, but I'm not extremely fussed about them being a couple.  It's only when they refuse to make up their minds, then I start to get annoyed.   Bad, flip flopping storytelling pisses me way off more then the show being like my fanfiction.  (For the record the only shippy fanfiction I wrote was when I was sixteen.  Link and Princess Ruto belong together, FFS).

[Reply #110 on:]

Mr Peppy being a horrible monster doesn't really count as a plot twist, as we all knew that would be the episode's premise, whilst it genuinely was one in Bart the Mother (I mean who the hell saw that coming?)

You can remember whether or not the lizards were advertised as part of the premise for Bart The Mother or not before it aired? I certainly don't.

[Reply #111 on:]

Mr Peppy being a horrible monster doesn't really count as a plot twist, as we all knew that would be the episode's premise, whilst it genuinely was one in Bart the Mother (I mean who the hell saw that coming?)

You can remember whether or not the lizards were advertised as part of the premise for Bart The Mother or not before it aired? I certainly don't.

Whoops!  No I didn't explain what I meant very well.

I was saying that Mr Peppy being a dangerous predator was the premise of the episode, while those nasty lizards were actually a plot twist of their episode.  I really can't imagine why the lizards would be leaked, as it would ruin what would be a quite ingenius twist.

[Reply #112 on:]

with all of the talk every week about fry, leela, and bender not going on missions anymore, i'm surprised more people aren't talking about the opening scene this week.

if you ask me(and i'm sure you're not), that was the best opening scene is recent memory. as soon as i saw it, i knew that this wasn't going to be another 'yo leela leela'.

also, good job on the connery impression, maurice. the only male voice actor that didn't get to throw his scottish accent out there was billy, and i was waiting for it.

[Reply #113 on:]

Yeah about that delivery, they looked like Robot Pirates, were they?

[Reply #114 on:]

Yeah about that delivery, they looked like Robot Pirates, were they?

not sure, but it was certainly a callback to episode 1ACV05, and that, danny boy, made me smile.

i'd also like to mention that your avatar is the bee's knees.

[Reply #115 on:]

i'd also like to mention that your avatar is the bee's knees.

Thank you!

[Reply #116 on:]

I swear Billy West said in an interview that the Fry/Leela relationship will be resolved once and for all in Overclockwise.

Do you mean this interview?:
http://www.tv.com/story/26107.html

What’s coming up for Fry this season?

Well, they keep talking about Fry and Leela getting together in some way, but of course, that’s always the story. But it’s always interesting to see how they get together and how they undo it.

So you don’t think it could last?

I hope it does. You always have to have some carrot hanging there to keep some people wondering what the heck is going on with these two. But, I don’t know. Maybe a spin-off, who knows? Fry Loves Leela like Joannie Loves Chacchi.

Taking into account that Billy West is bascially assessing his employer's work/product (which actors usually do very favorably), then his remark sounds to me like:
"Yep...the same old plot. Get them together, undo it, and frankly...I'm about to get really fed up with this old routine".


Edith says: I found this episode's most quoted term "my strictly platonic friend" completey unacceptable. Leela said this term AFTER Fry deliberately gave up the opportunity to BEEP the amazonian. Ladies...you need to give that kind of information BEFORE an opportunity is missed....

[Reply #117 on:]

i'd also like to mention that your avatar is the bee's knees.

Thank you!

Ahem!

[Reply #118 on:]

And thanks to Bend-err! Cause without him, PEEL would be filled with shitty cropped images as avatars made from low quality screen caps!

Thanks Bend-err, I love the new avatars every week too!

[Reply #119 on:]

tis true. the avatar's are top notch. flesheatingbull, in particular, has a wicked awesome avatar.