Thoughts on 7ACV07 - The Six Million Dollar Mon - SPOILERS!

[Reply #40 on:]

I liked how clean the dirty jokes were.

And I like your oxymoron, koldstare!  

You have to give it to them for not taking much of the liberty they could have with Comedy Central, perhaps with the exception of Neutopia, and still be very funny. Keep it classy, Futurama!

[Reply #41 on:]

I have to give this episode major points for the Paul Lynde/Uncle Arthur bit. As someone who loves Bewitched, that is a lovely nugget of nostalgic awesomeness.

Also LaBarbara is really good in this episode.

EDIT: ALSO, from what I recall in the original run, the animation of the characters never gave them eyebrows, or more specifically a line above their eyes to create expression. There's a lot of that in this episode. And it does kind of bother me since the character animation chooses not to have eyebrows (for most of the characters) and yet they suddenly need a line to express their eye features.

[Reply #42 on:]

EDIT: ALSO, from what I recall in the original run, the animation of the characters never gave them eyebrows, or more specifically a line above their eyes to create expression. There's a lot of that in this episode. And it does kind of bother me since the character animation chooses not to have eyebrows (for most of the characters) and yet they suddenly need a line to express their eye features.

Ooo, I noticed that on Amy in particular and I thought it looked rather wonky. Glad I wasn't the only one to catch that. I think it was used sparingly on occasion throughout the series but never so much at once that you'd really notice it.

[Reply #43 on:]

Usually I don't really like Hermes episodes beacuse he's my least favourite character of the PE crew, but actually I thought this episode was pretty good. I loved Zoidberg in this episode.
I also noticed the eyebrows, didn't really like it, especially Amy's eyebrows looked a little weird.

7/10

[Reply #44 on:]

I noticed the eyebrow thing, only because you guys mentioned it.  

Didn't bother me too much though.

Anyway, this episode was just as good on a second viewing. I'm surprised about the opinions being so mixed, but oh well. Not many people like Future Stock either, and that's one of the best episodes of the series. 

[Reply #45 on:]

This episode actually made me laugh.  It was about ten times better than I could have expected.  Probably my favorite of the season so far, although it did feel like a good filler episode of the older seasons.

Was I watching the same episode everyone else did?  Because that episode really sucked and was way, way, way, to predicable.  I saw that Roberto thing coming from a mile away. This was like when Homer got the hair wig from Snake. I'm not trolling this is the way I feel about this episode. I guess I already saw the good episodes for this season, the last 3 sucked ass. I'm going to wait till Netflix to see the rest.

*Ranting stops now*

Yes, many major parts of the episode were almost instantaneously noticeable to see.  Like Zoidberg remaking Hermes or Roberto coming back to life, etc.  I didn't mind though, because most of the episode made sense from a logical standpoint (except robot body inserting Roberto brain on its own somehow, but I can let that slide too).  The pacing was great, and the humor felt more like Futurama and I laughed at the show for once in a long while.  The characters felt a lot more like themselves to me.  Plus Hermes insatiable hatred of Zoidberg is downright funny in random certain doses.

Edit: Out of curiosity who keeps editing MuchAdo's posts and for what reason!?

[Reply #46 on:]

@ Unreal: I like Future Stock if my opinion means anything. But I seem to like a lotta the less-loved episodes like The Honking, so take my opinion at whatever the face value is I suppose. While I didn't re-watch this week's episode, I'm still thinking about it, and in a positive manner so that bodes well. As opposed to last week's episode which I basically forgot about after viewing it. Not really. Actually it simmered over a nice fire of negativity for a while, then was tossed in a lovely disgruntled crust afterwards.

[Reply #47 on:]

I had no stronger feelings one way or another going in, I really don't have strong feelings one way or another coming out. Clever plot with some good gags, really solid episode. Not a favourite of mine, but good ep.  

They killed ROBERTO?!?!?! First Calculon, now this??? What in Robot Hell is going on this season?!?!?

And yeah what is with killing off these robot characters? Me thinks maybe this is building up to something later on? *Crossing my fingers*.

I'm really hoping so too, perhaps to do with robot wars, or is that too far off you think?

[Reply #48 on:]

I'd be pleasantly surprised if they actually had a motive for killing off the characters, and not just because they're bored and ran out of ideas, which appears to be their reasoning for mutilating the main characters in every other episode.

[Reply #49 on:]

Edit: Out of curiosity who keeps editing MuchAdo's posts and for what reason!?

It's over now, no worries.. forget it, who cares.

Anyway, was any surprised that there wasn't a ganja joke in a Hermes episode for once... I actually liked that.

Roberto... RIP you crazy SOB, but I have a feeling he will be back someday.

But, maybe not.... eh; if I had to bet.. he'll come back.
Everyone loves laughing at Herman's pyscho Roberto voice at the table reads... why would they not bring him back?

Calculon 2.0 is coming...  so anything is possible... be cool about, take deep breaths.

I love Roberto as well... this can't be the end, can it?

(Was anyone else hoping Roberto stayed Mecha at the end?
B/c I thought the insane pieced together look.. really worked for him.)

[Reply #50 on:]

I don't see how anyone can have a problem with this episode, it was just great from start to finish. Roberto was hilarious, all the upgrades Hermes got were awesome, there have been some great shots of Planet Express this season (the one with all the ships at the end is amazing) and it was pretty funny.

Also, anyone notice the sound of Hermes losing his robo-boner was a detracting Lightsaber in the preview clip, but in the episode it was just a robotic sound? Must have been copyright issues.

9/10

Also, since when does spicy food melt metal? Cartoon logic of that sort isn't really what I expect from Futurama, and it's somewhat jarring to see it used like that. Which is another reason this episode lost a lot of points for me.

You have to remember it's the future, hot sauce is probably made out of lava or some crazy shit.

[Reply #51 on:]

Also, anyone notice the sound of Hermes losing his robo-boner was a detracting Lightsaber in the preview clip, but in the episode it was just a robotic sound? Must have been copyright issues.

9/10

Yep, I heard Lucas can be quite bitchy regarding that matter.
In the movie "Asterix - Mission Cleopatra", a Roman Centurion said "And when someone challenges the Roman Empire...THE EMPIRE STRIKES BACK", with the Imperial March playing in the background.
The credits featured a whole page of kiss-ass and lick-boot for the allowance to use that short theme
Yet again...he granted McFarlane the license for "Blue Harvest". And the movie "Fanboys" was allowed -after Lucas saw a preview screening- to use Star Wars sound effects.

[Reply #52 on:]

Not only was the outcome of the episode pretty obvious from quite early on, but there was another indication that the writers intend to keep screwing with continuity the way that a sex addict keeps going back to the dirtiest whore in town, even though he knows that her sex parts are a festering soup of diseases.

Wait... I must have missed something. Where were the continuity errors?

The only thing I can think of is the PE kitchen being in the completely wrong area of the building when Hermes smashes through the lounge wall, but that's a running joke, not continuity.

[Reply #53 on:]

When did the writers ever not screw with continuity for the sake of a joke?

[Reply #54 on:]

r.i.p. roberto
 
but awesome episode, loved the monster mash parody
also loved the bit with amy, leela, fry and the shower

[Reply #55 on:]

One thing I've been thinking. Are we certain that Roberto's dead? Bender has melted numerous times and there's also the whole backup copy thing. And the Robot Ghosts thing. Really, he may end up going all Agnew on us and returning later with a passable reason why.

Also, anyone notice the sound of Hermes losing his robo-boner was a detracting Lightsaber in the preview clip, but in the episode it was just a robotic sound? Must have been copyright issues.

9/10

Yep, I heard Lucas can be quite bitchy regarding that matter.
In the movie "Asterix - Mission Cleopatra", a Roman Centurion said "And when someone challenges the Roman Empire...THE EMPIRE STRIKES BACK", with the Imperial March playing in the background.
The credits featured a whole page of kiss-ass and lick-boot for the allowance to use that short theme
Yet again...he granted McFarlane the license for "Blue Harvest". And the movie "Fanboys" was allowed -after Lucas saw a preview screening- to use Star Wars sound effects.

If I recall correctly, The Professor's microscope used a lightsaber sound effect in Bender's Big Score.

[Reply #56 on:]

One thing I've been thinking. Are we certain that Roberto's dead? Bender has melted numerous times and there's also the whole backup copy thing. And the Robot Ghosts thing. Really, he may end up going all Agnew on us and returning later with a passable reason why.

That's the point: Of course they will bring Roberto back when it's coenvenient.
Yet -for continuity's sake- a little hint about Roberto not being completely destroyed would have been nice (e.g. his brain the only thing NOT to melt).

[Reply #57 on:]

I highly doubt Roberto's dead, besides Scruffy (and maybe Wernstrom) he's David Herman's most recurring character on the show...

[Reply #58 on:]

[unscientific]Seems like the longtime PEELers could not stand this one, while others really enjoyed it. Interesting to note.[/unscientific]

Whale biologist here...I call it like it is.

Frankly, I cannot stand Roberto, and his presence in "Insane in the Mainframe" is why I hated it. So his death bothered me not one iota.  Calculon, on the other hand...oh, sweet prince, whither hast thou gone?

This ep was just so silly and hilarious. Yeah, a lot of the jokes were so stupid and cartoony--the automatic brain atachment is what bothered me the most--but as Fry advised, I lightened up. I am going to rewatch, but since this ep didn't strike me as deep and substantial, I am not sure if I could summon an in-depth analysis.

Oh, and Danny, what about the lightsaber sound in the 3d pool game, that they were playing in the Star Wars like cantina? (which ep was that? Zapp Dingbat?)

(Edit: Originally had "Membrane" instead of "Mainframe." See, that's the problem with these punny titles! Especially for viewers who went to plenty o' keggers in the 90s with that Cypress Hill song blaring.)

[Reply #59 on:]

You know, I feel as though Roberto's character has changed quite a lot since his debut. He's gone from "crazy and scary" to just downright insane. I like the old Roberto more. Also, it gives me another reason to dislike Bender's Game.

[Reply #60 on:]

My biggest gripe -

Show spoiler

A strip of Hermes's skin melting the robot body was stupid. Aside from the outright impossibility of it, the robot parts were not at all harmed when they were actually grafted onto his super-spicy body. He even had skin on his head right up until the brain was removed.

[Reply #61 on:]

My biggest gripe -

Show spoiler

A strip of Hermes's skin melting the robot body was stupid. Aside from the outright impossibility of it, the robot parts were not at all harmed when they were actually grafted onto his super-spicy body. He even had skin on his head right up until the brain was removed.

Agreed.  While I enjoyed the rest of the episode, I did think the "HUR DUR SPICY FOOD DURR" jokes didn't really mesh, since it was just too ridiculously OTT.  At least the first time we saw the curried goat melting through the conrad's house, it did give some great jokes and felt a bit like a homage to Alien, so I can forgive the OTT there.   In the last case, it was just... stupid.

While I didn't enjoy the episode as much as everyone else seems to, I enjoyed it more then I thought I would, considering Hermes is my least favourite character in the PE crew.  But still, there were some great laughs, some genuinely touching moments, and I really like how they used LaBarbs in this episode, taking her back to a stern but loving wife who genuinely adores her pudgy husband, rather then Miss Yo Yo Knickers.  She also provided some of the funniest lines in this episode, as Dawnn Lewis usually does.  I also loved the mugging scene with Roberto.  He managed to reach a new level of crazy when he was trying to rob LaBarbara for her skin (or her ebony splendor as she calls it.)

Also, did anyone notice some of the shout outs to robots from the orignal run?  One of the geeks from MU was in hell, as was a fembot who I can't place (I think she was a pushy stage mombot in an episode I can't place right now), and I'm sure I saw Helper in the robot graveyard.

But I am glad that other people disagree with the OTT nature of the spicy goat curry.  If they had toned it down a little, or executed it better, this episode would have been a 9 for me.

[Reply #62 on:]

Not only was the outcome of the episode pretty obvious from quite early on, but there was another indication that the writers intend to keep screwing with continuity the way that a sex addict keeps going back to the dirtiest whore in town, even though he knows that her sex parts are a festering soup of diseases.

Wait... I must have missed something. Where were the continuity errors?

The only thing I can think of is the PE kitchen being in the completely wrong area of the building when Hermes smashes through the lounge wall, but that's a running joke, not continuity.

Roberto's "death" was what I was thinking of. Since recurring characters don't tend to stay dead, and any major changes are ignored in episodes going forward these days.

[Reply #63 on:]

Well he was revived pretty easily in the episode, I wouldn't be surprised if his brain was simply planted in someone else's robody.

[Reply #64 on:]

Molten metal wouldn't be kind to the circuit board that comprises his brain. If that's his "survival route", I'll be disgruntled.

[Reply #65 on:]

Prepare to be disgruntled then, because that's probably what they are going to go with.  Maybe if we're lucky we'll find out robot brains are coated in an unmeltable continunity defying super diamondinium alloy, or they'll just say SCIENCE HAPPENED or something.  The ending was pretty stupid, so I wouldn't be surprised if they didn't even bother explaining it.

[Reply #66 on:]

this episode was good, but it could've been better.  "Geez, loosen up Amy" was also one of my favorite lines. 

[Reply #67 on:]

I can't believe you folks are liking this episode. The plot was so ridiculous, it angered me. Hermes body was sitting in a dumpster for weeks and was then just sowed together. Then his brain is literally thrown back in his head, and he's back. So stupid.

Edit: the current last review on GF sums up my feelings perfectly. The original run seemed like it had rules and boundaries that it wouldn't cross, such as excessive and cartoony mutilation. It seems that the show no longer really cares to continue in this fashion. I, for one, am terribly disappointed.

[Reply #68 on:]

Roberto and Calculon are robots. I feel like the writers can take liberties with their mortality and bring them back to life all they want, and it really won't make any less sense than literally thousands of more ridiculous jokes they've done throughout the series.

How many times has Sal basically died and shown up again with no explanation? Who knows and who cares.

[Reply #69 on:]

Is there not a possibility that Roberto has the same back up unit thing Bender was supposed to have, so he can be downloaded into an identical body and return?

Anywho, I really liked this episode. Ken Keeler really knows how to include all the PE crew in his stories. I didn't laugh as much as I did in Zapp Dingbat, but a LOT more than I did in the Butterjunk Effect. I also agree with the other PEELers that have said that the relationship between Hermes and Zoidberg was written incredibly well. It gets a solid 8/10 from me.

[Reply #70 on:]

Eh, another mutilation-based episode. Cold Warriors mark II.

Didn't like it. Still don't understand this fetish the new writers have for turning this into Happy Tree Friends.

[Reply #71 on:]

^^^Thank you.

Last week Fry was an effing caterpillar and the girls sported wings. This week Hermes loses every body part on him which Zoidberg keeps. WHAT IS GOING ON??? I seriously thought I was watching an anime or something last week (please note to the anime fans, I don't watch a lot or any of them, but that's how I imagine they all go ).

Re: Is Roberto alive or not. I brought up this discussion in a thread in Re-Check/Weird scenes about robot duplicates, when I noticed one background robot had died in one episode but then reappeared in a leter one. I think the conclusion was that it was from a factory run so there could be many copies...but then when you have a specific robot like Roberto or Calculon, what next? Download his memory disk as others suggested in this thread and put him into a new shiny robot body?

Honestly I just think the writers are being jerks for no reason because they know their days are numbered with the show. As we discussed in the Stockroom, with the popularity of the Toynami line dwindling it kinda gets me worried as to the fate of the show - however with how things have been recently, I wouldn't be surprised or sad if it got the boot for a third time (the second being the last movie). This isn't Futurama. It's fan fiction gone horribly, horribly wrong.

[Reply #72 on:]

Cold Warriors was a mutilation-based episode?  Eh, I liked this a lot better than the part Hermes had in the movie missing his body; that whole storyline bothered me quite a bit.

Prepare to be disgruntled then, because that's probably what they are going to go with.  Maybe if we're lucky we'll find out robot brains are coated in an unmeltable continunity defying super diamondinium alloy, or they'll just say SCIENCE HAPPENED or something.  The ending was pretty stupid, so I wouldn't be surprised if they didn't even bother explaining it.

Or they won't say anything and Roberto will just be back.  Sometimes it's better not to explain something rather than make up shit that is utter nonsense, like that episode where head juice got you high enough to travel back in time.

Also, sure the spicy goat curry skin makes almost absolutely no sense, but Roberto did say he was going to eat his skin like flakes, perhaps he broke the skin down enough while chewing on it to render out the super spicy acids contained in the skin; personally I don't care, it tied in with the episode and was just a way to resolve the conflict by bringing up something earlier established in the episode, never to be brought up again... like when mars attacks.

[Reply #73 on:]

The vegetable peeler extension is a Chekov's Gun: when there's a gun in the story, the gun's got to be discharged somehow. I agree with winna; the skin flake tied in with the resolution, and it was nice that Roberto's demand of LaBarbara's skin was not just something random and zany thrown in there.

I really dug the way Hermes' frightened reflection flashed in Roberto's knives during the mugging (those are some very shiny weapons).

Also (and I suspect that this has been discussed before), is Roberto the only robot in the Futurama universe with a "regular" human name? Most (all?) of the other robots have names that tie in with their functional purpose or some other characteristic about them--I can't think of another example. Or is "Roberto" supposed to be a play on words of "robot-o" or something?

Or is the simplest explanation: Is Roberto Latino?

[Reply #74 on:]

This is like when I stopped going to the Simpsons forum because that was when the show went down hill. Sadly, this time around I didn't want to give up on this show so fast. The last 2 seasons and the 4 movies are kinda meh. This season start out good, so I was thinking they got there act together. Sadly, I was wrong with the last 3 episodes nailing the grave for me.

*RIP Futurama*

I'll be seeing your dead roting corpse on Netflix about 6 months from now.

[Reply #75 on:]

The implausability of how hot the sauce/by extension Hermes' skin was is ridiculous. With the logic introduced at the beginning of the episode, Hermes shouldn't even be able to wear clothes because his skin would burn right through them.

I like to think of this in the same way that I think of Superman: where is the balance in these abilities? If Superman is so strong shouldn't he break every door he walks through or put cracks in the sidewalk with every step? Where is that line? Same problem here.

[Reply #76 on:]

I assumed that the toxic part of it was underneath the surface of the skin itself.

And my god, have some people not been watching the same show since the first season? The skin thing wasn't even nearly the most ridiculous thing they've ever done. Not top 100 even.

I mean I get a show having its own rules, etc, but Futurama's have always been pretty loose as it is. You're just not watching the right show if you want strict continuity and scientific accuracy.

[Reply #77 on:]

@DotheBartman>The combined wisdom of Leonard Hofstadter, Sheldon Cooper, Howard Wolowitz and Rajesh Koothrappali tells us that these aspects have to taken into serious consideration, and the their realism/logic must be subjected to detailed discussions and careful research

But on a more serious note:
The skin gag might not have been the craziest/weirdest one, but it was one of the more convenient ones. Happening when needed. Former gags and their "showdown meaning" were often subject to a more elaborate preparation and execution, e.g. the Fry/Roberto showdown in IitMF.

 

[Reply #78 on:]

Those are plot points.

Literally every Futurama episode has at least a few quick jokes that are completely ridiculous and unexplainable. It's hardly even worth listing them. And yes, they're "convenient" insofar as the absurdity is what makes it funny.

[Reply #79 on:]

I can't believe you folks are liking this episode. The plot was so ridiculous, it angered me. Hermes body was sitting in a dumpster for weeks and was then just sowed together. Then his brain is literally thrown back in his head, and he's back. So stupid.

Edit: the current last review on GF sums up my feelings perfectly. The original run seemed like it had rules and boundaries that it wouldn't cross, such as excessive and cartoony mutilation. It seems that the show no longer really cares to continue in this fashion. I, for one, am terribly disappointed.

Character mutilation isn't a new thing to Futurama, it goes back to the episode Fry lost his head and had it sown on to Amy's shoulder. That was just as ridiculous as dropping Hermes' brain back into his head and him springing back to life. Admittedly there have been a few occassions in recent episodes so they could do with cutting back on it, but it's certainly not a boundary the original run never crossed.

Also on the robots coming back issue, I think if nothing is mentioned we can just assume they downloaded into their backup units. Remember Bender thought himself invincible and it was treated as a standard part of all robots (Mom's lifetime guarantee I guess).

This episode was good, not the greatest, but good. 7/10. I don't think this season has hit the highs of the previous 2 but it's also been more consistent. The writers have finally found their groove again.