Thoughts on 7ACV21 - Assie Come Home - SPOILERS

[Reply #120 on:]

In what universe was "Calculon 2.0" joke-heavy? I thought that was the least funny episode of 7B by far.

In what universe was Calculon 2.0 not joke-heavy? It was probably the most I laughed at any episode of season 7!

TOTPSC!

[Reply #121 on:]

Yeah? Well... shut up!

[Reply #122 on:]

Calculon 2.0 had good jokes, but it wasn't exactly humorous episode to begin with like joke-filled Assie Come Home or Free Will Hunting were.

It just doesn't feel like there was so much jokes in Calculon 2.0.

[Reply #123 on:]

Eeehhhh I gotta gripe about this one and anyone who still reads these is gonna hear about it!

It started off interesting enough, not sure how Bender was still able to communicate without his disk from How Hermes Requisitioed His Groove Back but anyhow...I like how they went back to the porno dealing monster from Spanish Fry. The first half I found entertaining enough, humorous, the part with Tinny Tim was in standard classic Bender form. But then it got weird, right from when Bender left his shiny metal ass at the lighthouse. Kinda completely contradictory to what we witnessed with the cutting off of the legs, and Fry's reasoning was a tad weak for me but alright...but the whole sequence with the reading of the Bible and then on was just...um...bad. I wasn't moved at all by the sequence, I felt it forced, and I was not sympathizing with Bender like the music would have you do. Isn't this the same robot who traded in his crotchplate/ass to the robot devil for an airhorn because it would be funny? I think the episode started off well enough, but finished horribly. I am not even sure how to rate this. If I were to give it a letter grade, probably a C- or D+. Ehhhh I'm thinking 6 or 5 on this one. I'm feeling a little harsh tonight, I guess a 5. It just wasn't that funny.

[Reply #124 on:]

I love-love-loved this episode! This is definitely my favorite 7B episode so far.


Story
The pacing in this episode was steady and appropriate. I think the last couple minutes of the show (everything after when Bender gave up his ass-plate to the lighthouse) was a little rushed, but that leaves everything prior to the conclusion feeling natural. I was glad to have an episode where we follow the main trio to other planets. I watched this episode with a smile on my face and walked away wanting more.


Plot
The plot was simple yet solid. The plot felt reasonably driven by the characters' motives: Bender needs to restore his body and recover his beloved ass and Fry and Leela are there to help him in his quest.

More importantly, there were no holes in the plot and there were actually a couple good twists that I did not see coming. First, the mirror in Blipton was creative and, second, I did not foresee Bender being robbed of his body. I think both of these plot twists worked because other possibilities in these veins were explored first. That is, the Professor was confused over which uniform in which to vest the crew, so the obvious concern for the audience would be that they were given the wrong outfits, not that they would see the Blips or Cruds flipped horizontally. Also, Leela was worried about the ship being stolen and then we saw that it wasn't, so the audience would be concerned for the ship's safety rather than Bender's.


Humor
This episode was littered with one-liners and the humor in this episode was consistent and rewarding. The dialogue was upbeat and flowed well whereas there were visual cues in the background to keep the viewer entertained, as well. For example, the billboard in Blipton read "Visit Beautiful Detroit" while the picture on the billboard showed a dump with cars piled on top of each other. Probably the best visual gag was the creative and unexpected (and dark) reveal behind the fireworks at the end.

My favorite line from this episode: "Huh. I never even knew you had an ass." This line worked so well due to Bender's response, wherein he fumed and fouled in anger.


Characters
Everyone was in character and it was a treat to finally focus on Fry, Leela, and Bender as they go on an adventure on other planets. It was also nice seeing old characters crop up for quick cameos.

As for the new characters, I thought the Bloodsips and Cripsuds were very fun. Unfortunately, they were somewhat unidimensional as characters, but they weren't around long enough for that to become an issue. Plus, John Dimaggio finally got to put his Tracy Morgan voice to work in the show. Furthermore, Tarquin was entertaining. He certainaly had a lot of weird things to say.

And then of course there's Assie, the most loyal plate of them all!


Classic
This episode felt classic, in that it had strong pacing and focused on the main three characters going on a crazy adventure together on other planets.


Visuals
As always, the visuals were strong in Assie Come Home. While there were many intriguing visual cues and impressive vistas, I have to say that for some reason seeing Bender in his gangster get-up was especially entertaining for me.

The Futurama team and Rough Draft Korea continue to amaze me with their creativity and the beauty of their concoctions. The lights in the ERR "party" were well-done. The Sargaseous Sea was particularly beautiful, both from inside and out. The gravity well was also beautiful as well as a creative touch.


Gripes
 • Those bodies on the Floatwell sure did decay quickly. They went from shipwreck to skeletons in the timeframe of this episode.
 • The lighthouse beacon is "already the brightest object in the known universe" with no way of making it brighter, and yet using Bender's ass as a reflecting plate somehow makes it brighter. Plus, in The Six Million Dollar Mon, we saw that Mecha-Hermes' ass was even shinier than Bender's.
 • The ending (assplate magically going back to Bender) was overly mushy and did not make me laugh or elicit any emotional response. I think it was intended to be over-the-top, but every minute in a TV show is precious and this portion did nothing for me.
 • I'm not convinced that Bender would actually agree to leave without his assplate. Sure, it was for a good cause, but Bender is evil and readily sawed his legs off of an orphan child.
 • Oh no! Our son Johnny fell down the gravity well! (Really, lady, you specify to your husband that Johnny is your shared son? He can't put that together? And neither can the audience? Mmkay, then…)



Highlights
 • He's too dumb and I don't care! *High five*
 • You think we walked straight out of Blipton?
 • The stupidity behind shooting the mirror and themselves, accompanied by the line Too many lives and mirrors have been shot at.
 • I guess they didn't like all of my screaming and winking!
 • URL's giant robot head.
 • I'm pretty sure I saw an R2D2-like bot in Senator Hedonismbot's lair. Take that, Star Wars!
 • "Gropey and Cheaty" shooting the other gamblers and holding up the Borax Kid
 • Bender, the hero of our story, regretlessly robs a child of his legs and cart. I love these reminders that Bender is in fact evil and that the Planet Express crew seems to have no peoblem with this fact.
 • Visited old characters and locales while seeing new content, as well.
 • The booty call is at daybreak.
 • I can feel it in my Weather Channel app.
 • We finally got to see somebody biting Bender's shiny metal ass!
 • There were plenty of callbacks to old characters and locations. It worked well and did not feel repetitive:
  - The Professor comes into the conference room with a mysterious crate (Mars University)
  - Bender loses his body and must recover it (A Head in the Polls)
  - Leela desperately wants to see what is inside the crate (The Lesser of Two Evils)
  - The Galactic Bazaar & The Beast with Two Bucks (Spanish Fry)
  - ERR and the nerdbots (Mars University)
  - Hedonismbot (Various)
  - Borax Kid (Neutopia)
  - Tinny Tim (Various)
  - South Street Spaceport (Various)
  - Space
  - The Yo Leela Leela aliens were the piñatas in the bazaar. Yeah, I'd like to take a whack or two at 'em.


Overall
Other than a weak ending, this is the best episode I've seen since longer than I can remember.
9/10

My ass is my soulmate!

[Reply #125 on:]

As Futurama season 8 was finally released in Germany, I watched the episode again today.
Better than I remembered. Also, being able to see it on a 46 inch TV did the detail level much more justice than a little PC window (I do not know wether I mentioned it before, but I like details).

[Reply #126 on:]

I still think this is a great episode barring the dumb ending.