Is Futurama your favorite show?

[on:]

Just wondering, how many of us consider Futurama to be our #1 show? I bet there are some who come on here who don't consider if their favorite show, but like it well enough to be posting in a Futurama forum. Maybe?

[Reply #1 on:]

For awhile my "fav" was a tie between a few cartoons; Futurama, South Park and The Simpsons. Then Season 4 came along and ever since then it's been Futurama at #1 and everything else far behind.

[Reply #2 on:]

South Park was since 2006, and I always liked Doctor Who, but then I discovered how epic Futurama truly was in late 2008.

[Reply #3 on:]

Futurama was my favourite show after I'd seen only the first 3 eps, and it's stayed that way ever since. LOST came close, but nothing has overtaken Futurama to me...

[Reply #4 on:]

Futurama's the only thing I watch.
-solemn nod-

[Reply #5 on:]

Futurama is my 3rd favourite show behind Doctor Who and Scrubs

[Reply #6 on:]

Can we have an option for "Used to be, but not anymore, but I still like it"?

[Reply #7 on:]

Can we have an option for "Used to be, but not anymore, but I still like it"?

TRAITOR.

[Reply #8 on:]

* Xanfor laughs maniacally, runs off with PEEL's loot, jumps on top of a pony, rides into a TARDIS and disappears.

[Reply #9 on:]

Hold on Danny, maybe he doesn't have that view himself but is just making sure that option's available for others who do...though his escape from the thread just now didn't help...

[Reply #10 on:]

The Simpsons was my favourite show until I got hold of season 3 of Futurama and it's been Futurama ever since.

[Reply #11 on:]

Futurama since I first saw it. No competitors.

[Reply #12 on:]

It used to be, before it jumpey el sharko

[Reply #13 on:]

before it jumpey el sharko

When was this...?

[Reply #14 on:]

I believe it was called Rebirth.

[Reply #15 on:]

You're all just living in the past. Ironic.

[Reply #16 on:]

Don't you think?

Also, it's impossible to be living in the past.  The tense is all wrong.

[Reply #17 on:]

before it jumpey el sharko

When was this...?

I believe it was called Rebirth.

I know you're joking... but this irritated me somewhat.

Definitions seem to be fluid in the minds of many PEELers. For many things. So I'm going to lay this out. Hopefully once and for all.

The moment when a show jumps the shark is the moment at which a show changes direction in a significant way. Sometimes by having a moment they'll never be able to live up to again, sometimes simply by starting a new story arc.

Jumping The Shark is the moment when an established show changes in a significant manner in an attempt to stay fresh. Ironically, that moment makes the viewers realize that the show has finally run out of ideas. It has reached its peak, it will never be the same again, and from now on it's all downhill.

This definition applied to Futurama would make the Jump-the-shark moment either the opening scene of Bender's Big Score, or the closing scene of Into The Wild Green Yonder, depending on how close you feel BBS, BWABB and BG were to the spirit of the original run of episodes.

Personally, I wouldn't say that the show has been ruined forever, as we have had moments of greatness following the movies. Considering what they had to accomplish with it, Rebirth was done rather well and can't really be seen as as much of a departure from form as the two episodes which followed it.

I'd say that if you're going to pick a moment that really jumped the shark for Futurama, it wouldn't be defined as a point when the actual direction and handling of the show changes as much as a pinnacle that it'll never live up to again (namely, TLPJF). This was the original definition of jumping the shark. A moment so awesome, that nothing you ever do will match it. It comes from The Fonz literally jumping over a shark tank.

Interestingly, you may note that Futurama is defended in the "ruined forever" TvTropes page, and not even mentioned on "jumping the shark". Make of that what you will, but I'm taking it as a positive indicator. Futurama may have leapt a couple of dogfish with the fifth season and the beginning of season 6, but it's not actually jumped any sharks just yet.

I really wish that people would stop throwing terms around that they clearly do not fully understand.

Then again, I don't think they've jumped the shark at all.

[Reply #18 on:]

I know you're joking... but this irritated me somewhat.

I think this is the first thing we both agree on.

[Reply #19 on:]

I was joking, and I totally agree with you.  The part of Season 6 I've seen so far (part-A!) isn't great in my opinion but it's not horseshit either.  There are a lot of good jokes, and a couple episodes I really really like enough to put in my top 10, maybe even 5th or so.  I do think Matt Groening or DXC or whoever made a bad call by ok'ing Craptacular, (which makes me wonder if they see and what they think about all of us calling it Craptacular) and IAGDL is unbearable to me and I'll probably never watch it again.  That being said, Futurama is my favorite show of all time, with Cheers, Scrubs, and Newsradio ranking very highly as well.

[Reply #20 on:]

Can we have an option for "Used to be, but not anymore, but I still like it"?

I gave my vote to "I like it, but it's not my favourite". Two or three shows have moved into and dropped out of that slot over the last few years. Currently I rank Breaking Bad , the ever-awesome Doctor Who and Game of Thrones above it. Mainly due to some complete turkeys in 6A and 6B.

I think that if the proposed Dark Tower TV series ever gets underway, that'll likely be my second favourite show ever.

The one in the top spot for me at the moment is Firefly. Yes, I know it's finished, but I don't see it being displaced anytime soon. It's mainly thanks to one episode: Shindig. Space cowboys having a swordfight over a prostitute has never been brought to the screen so well. 

[Reply #21 on:]

Futurama has been my favorite show for 6 years now. It will always have a place in my heart. <3

[Reply #22 on:]

Futurama changed how I live. It gave me an identity, thanks to there being a show with such an initial cult following that PEEL was born. I see my past in two areas: pre-Futurama and post-Futurama.

[Reply #23 on:]

Now you've included the "used to be" option, I want to change my vote. Curse you, vile and fickle wench!

[Reply #24 on:]

I will change the option to allow voters to change their vote. Happy?

[Reply #25 on:]

Hm. No. I'm not happy. I want something to complain about, dammit!

Yes, I'm happy.

[Reply #26 on:]

You could complain that you can't see the result before you vote!

[Reply #27 on:]

As far as current/recent weekly shows go with casts of characters...I'd say it is. Followed (somewhat) closely by It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia, and then down just a ways by a few others (South Park, The Office, Flight of the Conchords, maybe 30 Rock depending on how I end up liking later seasons...).

That said, I think The Daily Show and The Colbert Report are probably the very best American shows currently and of the last decade or so. Those would be my VERY favorite shows.

But, they operate in a somewhat different space than sitcoms (like Futurama), dramas, etc do, at least to me.

[Reply #28 on:]

Jumping the shark isn't known as the moment that Happy Days 'peaked' due to being awesome.

It's known as the moment that the show got ridiculous to the point that they'd obviously run out of ideas.

I'm a fan of the phrase "nuking the fridge" which has pretty much the same definition.

[Reply #29 on:]

indeed, but tnuk likes to think his opinion = truth

[Reply #30 on:]

I voted "used to be" because it once was my favorite show but the past few months viewing of the 9 seasons of The Simpsons (and some of those specials like Behind The Laughter) plus my adoration for the NBC Sitcom "Community" has made me have to interchange the favorite spot between Futurama and those two shows. All have the proper mix of humor, heart, and winking that makes for a great show for me (never been much for dramas).

[Reply #31 on:]

Jumping the shark isn't known as the moment that Happy Days 'peaked' due to being awesome.

It's known as the moment that the show got ridiculous to the point that they'd obviously run out of ideas.

Since I've never actually seen an episode of Happy Days, and my only source for the origin and meaning of the phrase up to now was TvTropes, I'm willing to believe you. I always thought that the shark jumping was supposed to have been the awesomest thing that The Fonz had done, and that it was fan reaction to the episodes following it that was negative.

Of course, bearing what you've just said in mind and re-reading through the TvTropes article gives it a somewhat different slant.

Not that it changes anything I said above, except for the comment about the original meaning of the phrase. My apologies for the error, and my thanks for the correction.

[Reply #32 on:]

Futurama FTW!
*Bender is great, also* 

[Reply #33 on:]

Futurama FTW!
*Bender is great, also* 

I am so confused by you.

Anyways, I don't think we've jumped the shark yet. Not even sort of. Cold Warriors was gold.

[Reply #34 on:]

Futurama is my favorite show (though I'm quite fond of a select few others, like The Simpsons and Scrubs), but I'm sure that's as much a result of the show's objective quality as it is my involvement with PEEL. If not for PEEL, after all, I wouldn't be analyzing this show and its characters and its storylines nearly as often or as extensively, and I definitely wouldn't appreciate it as much or be forced to think about it on any deeper (and, to me, more fulfilling) level.

Futurama is my favorite show precisely because it inspires such dorky, circuitous, maddening thought--which certainly helps me stave off boredom. Also, the old episodes in particular are so familiar and well-worn to me that watching them when I'm bummed out has a therapeutic effect. It's a security blanket of sorts. Mock me for feeling this way at your leisure.

[Reply #35 on:]

I've had a variety of "favorite" shows over the years, including Family Guy, It's Always Sunny, Scrubs and The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, but in the end, Futurama trumps them all.

Also, the old episodes in particular are so familiar and well-worn to me that watching them when I'm bummed out has a therapeutic effect. It's a security blanket of sorts. Mock me for feeling this way at your leisure.[/small]

This is exactly why Futurama is my favorite show, except I'd go even further. The old shows have so much nostalgic value to me that I'll often think of a particular scene or episode when I'm feeling down, and it'll bring a smile to my face due to a combination of fond memories and loving the scene. Sometimes I'll just burst into laughter reminiscing over a particular scene. I feel like the combination of nostalgia and great episodes makes Futurama my "happy place" (or security blanket, in Gorky terms).

[Reply #36 on:]

The old shows have so much nostalgic value to me that I'll often think of a particular scene or episode when I'm feeling down, and it'll bring a smile to my face due to a combination of fond memories and loving the scene. Sometimes I'll just burst into laughter reminiscing over a particular scene. I feel like the combination of nostalgia and great episodes makes Futurama my "happy place"

I actually do this, too. There are certain episodes (most notably "The Sting") that I can more or less replay in their entirety in my head--and, though I don't often go that far, I do think about certain scenes or bits of dialogue quite frequently. And they make me smile.

[Reply #37 on:]

It is up there, but I don't know if it is number 1. It is my favorite cartoon JUST ahead of Venture Bros.

[Reply #38 on:]

Futurama used to be my favorite future Futurama, but future Simpsons Futurama is my favorite future

So to answer the question, yes it is my favorite show

[Reply #39 on:]

I honestly saw very little of the original run, but after 2007, they started showing more of it on Channel Ten down here in Australia, and after a few episodes, I was hooked on it.  I now have Seasons 1-4 and all four of the movies on DVD, and am patiently waiting for the sixth season to be released in Australia on Blu-ray...