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Author Topic: Thoughts on 7ACV23 - Game of Tones - SPOILERS  (Read 43378 times)
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PEE Poll: How was this episodo?
1/10 Mike Rowe shat on this   -2 (2.4%)
2/10 Just kill this show already!   -0 (0%)
3/10 I blame Zoidberg for such an episode!   -1 (1.2%)
4/10 Not good at all.   -2 (2.4%)
5/10 Wait, what was this?   -2 (2.4%)
6/10 Mehh   -0 (0%)
7/10 Pretty good   -5 (6%)
8/10 Good!   -7 (8.3%)
9/10 Rowe did this...?   -27 (32.1%)
10/10 Futurama Reversed the Shark!   -38 (45.2%)
Total Members Voted: 84

MuchAdo

Professor
*
« Reply #40 on: 08-15-2013 09:41 »

Since now Digby was confirmed to be there as well..
think about how many people are at the cryo lab on December 31st 1999?

It made sense that we wouldn't see them in the dream, as the original Fry didn't.

But we now know in "Bender's Big Score" we have multiple versions of Fry and Bender going in and out of this place, Fry and Nibbler under the desk from "Why of Fry", obviously the original Fry in the chair, and now Digby.
Glad they added one more person to that insanity.

Awesome!
UnrealLegend

Space Pope
****
« Reply #41 on: 08-15-2013 09:46 »
« Last Edit on: 08-15-2013 09:48 »

Since now Digby was confirmed to be there as well..
think about how many people are at the cryo lab on December 31st 1999?

It made sense that we wouldn't see them in the dream, as the original Fry didn't.

But we now know in "Bender's Big Score" we have multiple versions of Fry and Bender going in and out of this place, Fry and Nibbler under the desk from "Why of Fry", obviously the original Fry in the chair, and now Digby.
Glad they added one more person to that insanity.

Awesome!


I want to make a picture with all versions of Fry and Bender present at once. It's total chaos!

-Original Fry
-Nibbler
-Pizza-eating Fry
-The Fry that Becomes Lars
-Fry who blows the original Fry into the tube
-Bender
-Bender who needed to use the toilet
-Bender from "way at the end"
-Digby

Granted, not all of these people are present in the room at the exact same time, but it's pretty cool.
Tachyon

DOOP Secretary
*
« Reply #42 on: 08-15-2013 09:48 »


Overall it was a great episode but I think all the previews set my hopes too high...


Well... THERE'S AN APP FOR THAT! (don't watch teasers/trailers/previews and don't read spoilers before seeing an episode for the first time)

FutureMike17

Bending Unit
***
« Reply #43 on: 08-15-2013 09:51 »


Overall it was a great episode but I think all the previews set my hopes too high...


Well... THERE'S AN APP FOR THAT! (don't watch teasers/trailers/previews and don't read spoilers before seeing an episode for the first time)



Haha I always end up watching the previews and clips before the episode airs because my curiosity gets to me. I never read spoilers though because I feel like those ruin the entire episode for me.
MuchAdo

Professor
*
« Reply #44 on: 08-15-2013 09:53 »

Granted, not all of these people are present in the room at the exact same time, but it's pretty cool.

Exactly.
Eternium

Professor
*
« Reply #45 on: 08-15-2013 09:53 »

This was great! Another sad ending :D 10/10
UnrealLegend

Space Pope
****
« Reply #46 on: 08-15-2013 09:54 »

So... why was Fry's mum dreaming about a tiny Seymour? :p
MuchAdo

Professor
*
« Reply #47 on: 08-15-2013 10:04 »

B/c it was cute, and obviously Fry's subconscious could influence her dream since he could control himself in her dream as an independent guest.
 
A better question... how in the F did Nibbler do this?
Is he magic now?
DannyJC13

DOOP Secretary
*
« Reply #48 on: 08-15-2013 10:08 »

Song used at the end of the episode is 'Manchild' by eels, for anyone who is curious.
GedeWK

Bending Unit
***
« Reply #49 on: 08-15-2013 10:48 »

Song used at the end of the episode is 'Manchild' by eels, for anyone who is curious.
Actually, coffeeBot already told the song name, in page one. But never mind.
Jezzem

Urban Legend
***
« Reply #50 on: 08-15-2013 10:59 »

This episode actually ended up being so great. I really liked that they managed to do any episode that's basically Fry and the crew going back to Fry's time, but without them actually doing that because we all know about the problems involved in time travel episodes.

It felt kind of nice seeing the crew go with Fry on his delivery in 1999, knowing the series is a few episodes away from coming to an end. Like a sort of send-off, but not part of the actual finale if that makes sense.

The stuff with Fry realising that he does miss his family and wanting to spend time them made me tear up. I really felt for him during the dinner scene.

Most of all, though, the part at the end with Fry in his mother's dream made me actually cry (rather than just tearing up), which is a first for any Futurama episode. For that reason I'm giving it a 10/10.

I just realised that this whole post mostly focused on Fry's dream and not on any of the rest of the story. I thought the whole first act had a lot of really good jokes, and in general had a nice classic-Futurama feel to it (actually, I think this is actually the episode that most feels like classic Futurama out of all of this season at least).

The resolution was kinda silly (I knew what the resolution was going to be, because I watched that animatic that was posted here before), but it was funny in a way the felt very Futurama-ey so I'm fine with that.

Also, even though I knew it was coming, Seth MacFarlane's line as Seymour still somehow caught me off-guard in a really hilarious way.
MuchAdo

Professor
*
« Reply #51 on: 08-15-2013 11:11 »

Seth MacFarlane's one line as Seymour worked b/c it was really quick and funny.
Inquisitor Hein
Liquid Emperor
**
« Reply #52 on: 08-15-2013 11:53 »

So... why was Fry's mum dreaming about a tiny Seymour? :p

She did not really dream about tiny Seymour.
Fry controlled his parts of the dream by himself (spoken words, actions, etc...).
As he was the one bringing Seymour along, Seymour's appearance and actions were Fry controlled. Mrs. Fry did therefore not really dream the dog, but rather observe Fry's memory.
Spicy Weasel

Delivery Boy
**
« Reply #53 on: 08-15-2013 16:09 »

Now I am starting to think maybe more seasons would be a good thing.   I'd watch 10 FunPits if they would continue to give us gems like this.

Thanks, Futurama.   
SolidSnake

Professor
*
« Reply #54 on: 08-15-2013 16:29 »

Not really. I feel like having an episode like this was a miracle. If they get renewed, god knows whether they will have another "miracle" to put out. I really wouldn't want to watch 10 fun pits just for one great TV Show episode. Although I LIKED Saturday Morning Fun Pit.
Beamer

DOOP Secretary
*
« Reply #55 on: 08-15-2013 16:36 »

Super solid episode. Lots of laughs, good storyline, nice little emotional tag at the end.

Except they ditched my favourite joke from the animatic. :(
cyber_turnip

Urban Legend
***
« Reply #56 on: 08-15-2013 16:41 »

I found this episode to be a really confusing, mixed bag, personally.

The premise was utterly fantastic.

I loved that they found another great way to go back to the cryogenics lab on 1999. Every time they do it, I think "that has to be the last time - they can't possibly revisit this scene again" and then they go there again, anyway.

I'm sort of upset that this episode means that they can't really do one where the crew go back in time to 1999 and meet all of Fry's family and so forth for real as a handful of writers have suggested in the past - but I shouldn't be bothered about that seeing as the show's cancelled. Still, that would have been a great plot for one last straight-to-DVD movie to wrap everything up and, whilst they didn't do it here exactly, it was close enough that they'd be retreading a lot of material.

I hated that the plot was resolved with such a cheap gag. Something on this scale (Nibblonians, Fry's past, the show's final "emmy shot" episode) deserves more of a sincere finale than "lol my car's keys make a loud noise". Also, the idea that that ship would still be relatively untouched, 1,000 years in the future was ridiculous - as was the acknowledgment that people had found it (the radio being stolen). I hated a lot of other stupid bits, too, such as how he just flew that thing into (presumably) space, with a smashed window.

The jokes weren't great. There were a handful of good gags (I very much enjoyed Seth MacFarlane's cameo), but most of them were very weak - which, to be fair, is typical of season 7 and this episode didn't have any gags that struck me as horribly cringey like most of season 7 has. It just felt a bit lacking. I wanted more laughs - especially as the episode could have done with a bit of humour to offset the emotion, which seemed a bit contrived given the lack of laughs.

I did like the concept of the emotional button at the end. It nearly got me - but it also didn't feel like it played completely properly and it also felt like the show is getting into a bit of a rut now that they've "cracked" the formula for making an emotional episode.

All in all, it was probably the best of 7B so far, but I didn't even like it as much as "Fun on a Bun". I really hope that this doesn't end up being the 7B highlight, because I wanted something more from this last batch of (relatively weak, so far) episodes. Still, I have high hopes for "Murder on the Planet Express" and "Meanwhile".

5/10 by Futurama's standards, 8/10 by overall TV standards
Boxy Robot

Starship Captain
****
« Reply #57 on: 08-15-2013 17:14 »

Except they ditched my favourite joke from the animatic. :(

Which joke was that, may I ask?
Mr Snrub

Urban Legend
***
« Reply #58 on: 08-15-2013 17:59 »

Mike Rowe, you've done it again!

I was all set to call this episode overrated and another way to milk out the best bits of old Futurama...but good god this was superb. This was one of the funnier episodes this half season, with Fry concluding that dream sex with Michelle doeswn't count as cheating and Mt. Shushmore probably the hardest I've laughed during an episode since Zapp Dingbat. Seths cameo, thank god, was short and actually really funny. I didn't cry at the end, but I've never cried at a Futurama episode, and I did appreciate how touching it was. So now Fry's entire family is covered in terms of emotion.

My only gripe was it wasn't explained why Nibbler couldn't recall the sound either. I realise you could just say that it was a thousand years ago and he probably forgot, but all they needed to do was say that and I would've been satisfied.

But overall, 10/10. It's weird that this has been the second perfect score I've given  7b, but overall I've found it disappointing.
SolidSnake

Professor
*
« Reply #59 on: 08-15-2013 18:26 »

Did anybody else realize how Fry's old house didn't look beat up like it normally does in the earlier seasons' flashbacks? :hmpf: Maybe that could be just how Fry remembers it though.
Jarvio

Bending Unit
***
« Reply #60 on: 08-15-2013 18:58 »

It was a great episode and one of the best of 7B for sure. Intriguing story, some great emotion, and a good 'companion' to "Luck Of The Fryrish", "Jurassic Bark", and "Cold Warriors" (the episodes that deal with fry's family members, and seymour).

I enjoyed the dreams, the mysterious intro to the episode, and the close encounters reference.

One thing really annoyed me though, and that was the explanation for the tone. I found it silly, although I have warmed to it a bit. What I found ABSOLUTELY STUPID though was the fact that the nibblonian spaceship was still there after 1000 years. Also, why did they even want it back? They have more ships...

4/5 overall.
AllEggsIn1Basket

Professor
*
« Reply #61 on: 08-15-2013 19:01 »

Is this the same mom who said "Your brother may be gone, but his crap sure isn't?" Aside from the relative departure from Fry's mom's previous characterization, this was a great episode. Really great. Like I'll probably still cry when I watch it at home on DVD great. I loved how the perspective on the Nibblonian loaner car made it seem big in space when in fact it was Kitten Ship size. The shot of the whole crew + Nixon and Agnew in diapers while they explored Fry's dream was a fun visual. I can't say too much about it because I will get too choked up thinking about the ending, but it was a 10/10 for me.
Quantum Neutrino Field

Liquid Emperor
**
« Reply #62 on: 08-15-2013 21:06 »

My only gripe was it wasn't explained why Nibbler couldn't recall the sound either. I realise you could just say that it was a thousand years ago and he probably forgot, but all they needed to do was say that and I would've been satisfied.

They were both really drunk. Wouldn't that cover the memory loss?


One thing really annoyed me though, and that was the explanation for the tone. I found it silly, although I have warmed to it a bit.

I liked it a lot, mystery solved with anticlimax. It felt right with added complexity to cryolab scene.
DannyJC13

DOOP Secretary
*
« Reply #63 on: 08-15-2013 22:45 »
« Last Edit on: 08-15-2013 23:21 »

Did Digby realise how much damage he was causing though? Why would the nibblonians make a key fob that is capable of destroying a fucking planet? Aren't they a peaceful race? Why was Digby's ship so slow? Why do they care so much about a company ship? Don't they have thousands at their disposal? If the key fob sound is so powerful and loud why didn't we hear it in the pilot (yes I know they don't plan everything in advance, but still)? Wouldn't all of Earth heard it? Why was the tone faster when Digby used the fob in the cryogenics lab back in 2000? Could Digby see outside of his ship (the one that blasts the tone)? Did he really not remember that he was sent to Earth (despite being drunk), considering how important Nibbler's mission was? Nibbler remembers the night of December 31st 1999 almost perfectly, he really couldn't remember the tone or where Digby left the ship? How did Digby survive for 1013 years in that tiny ship without food or water whilst looking for the company car?
Boxy Robot

Starship Captain
****
« Reply #64 on: 08-15-2013 22:50 »

Did Digby realise how much damage he was causing though? Why would the nibblonians make a key fob that is capable of destroying a fucking planet? Aren't they a peaceful race? Why was Digby's ship so slow? Why do they care so much about a company ship? Don't they have thousands at their disposal? If the key fob sound is so powerful and loud why didn't we hear it in the pilot (yes I know they don't plan everything in advance, but still)? Wouldn't all of Earth heard it? Why was the tone faster when Digby used the fob in the cryogenics lab back in 2000? Could Digby see outside of his ship (the one that blasts the tone)? Did he really not remember that he was sent to Earth (despite being drunk), considering how important Nibbler's mission was? Nibbler remembers the night of December 31st 1999 almost perfectly, he really couldn't remember the tone or where Digby left the ship?

So many questions, so little time.
Mr Snrub

Urban Legend
***
« Reply #65 on: 08-15-2013 22:53 »

A wizard did it.
Tachyon

DOOP Secretary
*
« Reply #66 on: 08-15-2013 22:59 »

...he really couldn't remember the tone or where Digby left the ship?

As QNF mentioned, both Nibblonians were completely stumbling, falling over shitfaced.  As a matter of fact, I *have* misplaced my keys whilst in such a state, after walking to a friend's house 'cause I was in no condition to even sit in a car, let alone operate it.  And if it had been a loaner, I can't imagine remembering what its door locking tone sounded like.

fryfanSpyOrama

Urban Legend
***
« Reply #67 on: 08-15-2013 23:14 »

A great episode.  Wasn't expecting it to be a touching one, but the ending was just heartwarming.  Fry's relationship with his mom was something we didn't know much.  This episode was better than the one focusing on Fry's relationship with his dad.  I didn't mind that we didn't know what Fry asked his mom, but we didn't need to.  I also loved the Inception style premise and they didn't have to rely on time travel to have the the gang meet Fry's family.  Nixon's always great.  Cool twist ending on the melody, true Futurama fashion.
Jarvio

Bending Unit
***
« Reply #68 on: 08-15-2013 23:17 »

It's bugging me, but how was the nibblonian spaceship still there after 1000 years? Also, why did they even want it back? They have more ships...

This was a very good episode but it was full of plotholes.
TheAnvil

Bending Unit
***
« Reply #69 on: 08-15-2013 23:22 »

Wow, that ending rivals the Seymour ending.

Really good episode, the only thing I could fault was that Seth McFarlane was in it.
The Sophisticated Shut In

Bending Unit
***
« Reply #70 on: 08-16-2013 01:23 »

Oh, man. I went into this completely unprepared - no previews, no animatic, nothin' - and all I can say is why did no-one warn me?  :cry:

Seriously, if I wasn't smiling so hard I'd be crying. I'm with Zmithy on this - Game of Tones is tied with TLPJF as my favorite episode of the Comedy Central run. It's near flawless.

The only tiny gripe I have - and it's a small one - is that I wish Fry and Leela had interacted a little more as a couple in the episode. They felt quite distant from each other. Considering Leela spent half her life searching for her family, you think she'd show a little more empathy toward Fry when he wanted to stay with his. Her behavior was no different to the rest of the crew, and she does have a much closer relationship with him - I guess I was hoping for some recognition of that. Not much, just something like their interaction at the end of Cold Warriors. It would have been nice. Equally, Fry's family are never going to meet the love of his life in reality, so I'm surprised he didn't try and introduce her to his parents. (I know it was all in his head, but that doesn't seem like a distinction Fry would be smart enough to make. )

Still, that was it. Laying that aside, the episode was a solid 10/10. Definitely my favorite of 7B so far.

It's bugging me, but how was the nibblonian spaceship still there after 1000 years? Also, why did they even want it back? They have more ships...

This was a very good episode but it was full of plotholes.


Plenty of things in the Futurama-verse have been shown to be still standing after a thousand years, including Fry's old house and the cryogenics lab. In the first five minutes of the pilot episode the show asked you to believe that building was still standing in the exact same place - and you must have done, or you wouldn't have kept watching.  :laff: The ship still being on the roof isn't such a big ask by comparison.

As for why they wanted the ship back - Digby answered that. It was a company car. That was the joke. He was a chauffeur and after a thousand years the company still had him trawling the universe looking for the car he lost. No wonder he kept setting the tone louder and louder ; he was probably getting desperate.

Did Digby realise how much damage he was causing though? Why would the nibblonians make a key fob that is capable of destroying a fucking planet? Aren't they a peaceful race?

I remember their planet being depicted as some kind of fuzzy-wuzzy pink utopia in its infancy, but once the Brainspawn came along the Nibblonians seemed to evolve into quite a military race. Just look at the tech they had in The Day The Earth Stood Stupid, and at how many soldiers they sent to Earth to gobble up the brains when the coast was clear. Also Nibbler's ship in BBS, which might have been kitten-sized, but was still firing lasers at the scammers, iirc. He also tends to use military sounding phrases like "I was stationed at" and "I was posted to".  *shrugs*

Why was Digby's ship so slow?

I assumed because it's so small, and because it was just for chauffering Nibbler around, not hi-speed intergalactic travel. Or because after a thousand years Digby had given up hope of actually finding the ship and had got lazy. He was just cruising on company time.  :D

Why do they care so much about a company ship? Don't they have thousands at their disposal?

They're just being pedantic. It's the equivalent of those bosses who keep a count on the office supplies. Even after a thousand years and even if they had a thousand other ships, some companies would still keep on your ass about it.

If the key fob sound is so powerful and loud why didn't we hear it in the pilot (yes I know they don't plan everything in advance, but still)? Wouldn't all of Earth heard it?

Digby magnified the tone and kept aiming it at random planets in the hope he'd get a response. It was at the usual (pocket) volume when Fry heard it in '99.

Why was the tone faster when Digby used the fob in the cryogenics lab back in 2000? Could Digby see outside of his ship (the one that blasts the tone)?

Uh . . . didn't notice the first, and not sure about the second, although I assume he can. Even the box-ship in 2D Blacktop had a viewing screen, after all.

Did he really not remember that he was sent to Earth (despite being drunk), considering how important Nibbler's mission was? Nibbler remembers the night of December 31st 1999 almost perfectly, he really couldn't remember the tone or where Digby left the ship?

Bear in mind that Digby was just the chauffeur. It's doubtful he would have been told of the importance of Nibbler's mission. Nibbler seems to have been part of some sort of Nibblonian high council to which the general population was not admitted. We only ever see about eight of them in these meetings with Fry and Leela, and yet we know there are many more Nibblonians than that. Mom has a whole mine full of them in Bender's Game.

From Digby's perspective, I would say he was just given a job : Drop Nibbler here at the appointed time. I doubt he was told why, so it would just seem a typical job to him. I doubt Earth would be too memorable to him either. Remember, Eternium is the exact center of the universe, and Nibblonians live for millenia. To him, it's probably like trying to remember a stop you made on a road trip ten years ago, when all you remember is it was a gas station somewhere in California and you bought Fritos.

As for Nibbler not recognizing the key tone . . . well, he did have bigger things on his mind (the sudden appearance of Fry-from-the-future under the table being one of them) and he isn't the chauffeur, so it's doubtful whether he'd pay attention to something so mundane. It's the fundamental divide between the working class joe and the Very Important Person. (Which, in time-honored tradition, is later bridged with drink.  :D)

How did Digby survive for 1013 years in that tiny ship without food or water whilst looking for the company car?

 :laff:

I'm sure he made a few pit stops. Fishy Joe's, anyone?
cyber_turnip

Urban Legend
***
« Reply #71 on: 08-16-2013 01:27 »

Did Digby realise how much damage he was causing though? Why would the nibblonians make a key fob that is capable of destroying a fucking planet? Aren't they a peaceful race? Why was Digby's ship so slow? Why do they care so much about a company ship? Don't they have thousands at their disposal? If the key fob sound is so powerful and loud why didn't we hear it in the pilot (yes I know they don't plan everything in advance, but still)? Wouldn't all of Earth heard it? Why was the tone faster when Digby used the fob in the cryogenics lab back in 2000? Could Digby see outside of his ship (the one that blasts the tone)? Did he really not remember that he was sent to Earth (despite being drunk), considering how important Nibbler's mission was? Nibbler remembers the night of December 31st 1999 almost perfectly, he really couldn't remember the tone or where Digby left the ship? How did Digby survive for 1013 years in that tiny ship without food or water whilst looking for the company car?

Wow, it's unusual to see Danny being remotely critical of the show.

Those reasons there basically sum up why this episode left me cold; it was horrendously lazily written.
UnrealLegend

Space Pope
****
« Reply #72 on: 08-16-2013 01:32 »

Well I think SSI made pretty good explanations there, particularly the one for Nibbler not remembering the tune.

Obviously some aspects are a bit far-fetched, but that's pretty normal for this show.
JoshTheater

Space Pope
****
« Reply #73 on: 08-16-2013 01:36 »
« Last Edit on: 08-16-2013 01:49 »

I really enjoyed the premise of this episode and what they did with most of the plot. It was a lot of easy fanservice, but it worked and I enjoyed it quite a bit. There were a lot of great callbacks to classic episodes that I still found pretty satisfying despite many of them feeling crowbarred in.

Unfortunately there weren't as many genuine laughs for in this episode as there were in some other episodes this season (like The Inhuman Torch) which would have gone a long way in making this an episode I really enjoyed. Also, I'm very much with cyber_turnip on the explanation behind the music. It seemed very rushed and almost pointless considering all the buildup. Perhaps that's what the writer's were going for in order to be silly, but if so they didn't execute it in a humorous enough way for me to want to accept it as a good answer to what was going on.

If anything, it felt like the whole point of this episode was to find a way to justify the "emotional" ending, which isn't necessarily a bad thing, but I just didn't think they did it well enough. Now don't get me wrong, I thought it was sweet, and I can totally understand the emotional weight behind Fry getting to talk to his mother again, but...it just didn't work for me the way it seems to be for everyone else. It felt very cheap and forced, and reminded me of other times they've tried pulling emotional stunts like this, like with Overclockwise and Cold Warriors.

They didn't set up a very good reason that Fry needed to talk to his mother beyond missing her in general. They set it up to seem like he had some important things to say to her, but we never got to hear what those things were, in fact we never even got an idea or hint of what those things might be. As far as we know from the series, Fry's mother seems to be a very self-involved woman and not a particularly great parent, and this episode did almost nothing to change that perception beyond the last few seconds where she's happy to talk to Fry in her dream. It seemed to completely come out of nowhere to the point where it felt like mere exploitation of emotions. As if the writers thought "Hm what's an easy heartstring to pull at" and then did so, but without setting it up well even though they had an ENTIRE EPISODE to do so. They didn't give us any background on why he would want to talk to his mother any more than anyone else in his family, so it just didn't make sense to me as an emotional ending, to focus on that relationship alone for no apparent reason.

I guess I'm just a heartless bastard, but...the writing has to be clever if you're going to evoke an emotional response from me. As far as I'm concerned this episode doesn't come close to touching Luck Of The Fryrish, Jurassic Bark, The Sting, Time Keeps On Slippin', Parasites Lost, The Devil's Hands Are Idle Playthings, The Why Of Fry, Leela's Homeworld, The Late Philip J. Fry, or even Lethal Inspection when it comes to emotional endings.
DotheBartman

Liquid Emperor
**
« Reply #74 on: 08-16-2013 01:43 »
« Last Edit on: 08-16-2013 01:45 »

I can't say I really agree with the complaints about the Nibblonian plot being flimsy. Aside from most of those things being easily explainable (e.g. clearly Digby would have gotten out at some point and eaten something, or perhaps Nibblonians just live long without feeding. Also, the idea that the Nibblonian ship would last so long and only have its cassette - cassette! - player stolen is the whole point of that joke, so who cares if it's illogical? etc.), I just don't think they matter that much, because they weren't really the focus of the story. It's a plot that's purposely a little flimsy simply because that makes it funny; it's funny that there's all this terror over the sound and then it turns out it's just some clumsy alien furball who lost his "car" keys. It's a funny device to A)allow for some sci-fi parodies, and B) more importantly, provide an excuse for Fry to go into a dreamworld and see his family again.

Which is what the episode is really about and why it works. It's a big wish fulfillment thing that anyone can relate to, of being able to go back and see people you've lost or left behind, or change how you've done some things. Fry wanted one last chance to show his family and specifically his mom that he cared about them. The rest is just a funny device that gets the story to that point. It's not really supposed to be as airtight as a Bender's Big Score or Late Phillip J. Fry-type thing.
SolidSnake

Professor
*
« Reply #75 on: 08-16-2013 01:46 »
« Last Edit on: 08-16-2013 01:53 »

I really enjoyed the premise of this episode and what they did with most of the plot. It was a lot of easy fanservice, but it worked and I enjoyed it quite a bit. There were a lot of great callbacks to classic episodes that I still found pretty satisfying despite many of them feeling crowbarred in.

Unfortunately there weren't as many genuine laughs for in this episode as there were in some other episodes this season (like The Inhuman Torch) which would have gone a long way in making this an episode I really enjoyed. Also, I'm very much with cyber_turnip on the explanation behind the music. It seemed very rushed and almost pointless considering all the buildup. Perhaps that's what the writer's were going for in order to be silly, but if so they didn't execute it in a humorous enough way for me to want to accept it as a good answer to what was going on.

If anything, it felt like the whole point of this episode was to find a way to justify the "emotional" ending, which isn't necessarily a bad thing, but I just didn't think they did it well enough. Now don't get me wrong, I thought it was sweet, and I can totally understand the emotional weight behind Fry getting to talk to his mother again, but...it just didn't work for me the way it seems to be for everyone else. It felt very cheap and forced, and reminded me of other times they've tried pulling emotional stunts like this, like with Overclockwise and Cold Warriors.

They didn't set up a very good reason that Fry needed to talk to his mother beyond missing her in general. They set it up to seem like he had some important things to say to her, but we never got to hear what those things were, in fact we never even got an idea or hint of what those things might be. As far as we know from the series, Fry's mother seems to be a very self-involved woman and not a particularly great parent, and this episode did almost nothing to change that perception beyond the last few seconds where she's happy to talk to Fry in her dream. It seemed to completely come out of nowhere to the point where it felt like mere exploitation of emotions. As if the writer's thought, hm what's an easy heartstring to pull at, and then did so, but without setting it up well even though they had an ENTIRE EPISODE to do so. They didn't give us any background on why he would want to talk to his mother any more than anyone else in his family, so it just didn't make sense to me as an emotional ending, to focus on that relationship alone for no apparent reason.

I guess I'm just a heartless bastard, but...the writing has to be clever if you're going to evoke an emotional response from me. As far as I'm concerned this episode doesn't come close to touching Luck Of The Fryrish, Jurassic Bark, The Sting, Time Keeps On Slippin', Parasites Lost, The Devil's Hands Are Idle Playthings, The Why Of Fry, Leela's Homeworld, The Late Philip J. Fry, or even Lethal Inspection when it comes to emotional endings.
I kind of agree with you on that part. Although I do think that the Cold Warriors ending had the opposite issue this episode had. That episode had some kind of build-up, but the ending was nothing to sob over. Just a kinda forced awwe moment in my opinion. Liked it, but not anything to make me wanna improve my opinion of the episode drastically.

With this episode, there was no build up, and didn't really give a chance to evoke a whole lot of emotion out. I mean it was a kinda awe, but really needed the build up in order to make you feel anything more.
Quantum Neutrino Field

Liquid Emperor
**
« Reply #76 on: 08-16-2013 01:51 »

The only tiny gripe I have - and it's a small one - is that I wish Fry and Leela had interacted a little more as a couple in the episode. They felt quite distant from each other. Considering Leela spent half her life searching for her family, you think she'd show a little more empathy toward Fry when he wanted to stay with his. Her behavior was no different to the rest of the crew, and she does have a much closer relationship with him - I guess I was hoping for some recognition of that. Not much, just something like their interaction at the end of Cold Warriors. It would have been nice. Equally, Fry's family are never going to meet the love of his life in reality, so I'm surprised he didn't try and introduce her to his parents. (I know it was all in his head, but that doesn't seem like a distinction Fry would be smart enough to make. )

This episode concentrated to Fry's relationship to his family, specially to his mom. Certain aspects are used sometimes and other times left unused as they were not existing. In this episode Fry simply misses his family and wants to tell them that, he wanted to enjoy the family life he left behind without thinking the reality. I think there was no "time" for interaction with Leela other than part of the crew.
Monster_Robot_Maniac

Liquid Emperor
**
« Reply #77 on: 08-16-2013 02:08 »
« Last Edit on: 08-16-2013 02:13 »

This is officially my favorite episode of this entire season! Hell, this may even be one of my favorite epsidoes of all time! It had great Sci-Fi, a couple of great jokes ('Booby Tuesdays', anyone?), and a really heartfelt ending.
The entire storyline was really cool, too. I liked how quick the got to the basic plot, but it wasn't rushed at all. The idea of going into Fry's dreams to try and help him remember the tones was very creative. I also thought the idea that Fry couldn't go to places he'd never been to in the past was really smart, and was executed well. I thought the scene where the entire crew came to Fry's dinner table in his dream was hilarious, and Nixon's really long Baaaaaaaaahhgggrooooh! was awesome. Also, am I the only one who thought Seymore was going to talk alot more? Whatever, the less Seth McFarlane the better. The explanation of what the tones were was really cool too. I love it when they explain more about the Nibblonians and Fry's freezing, as those stories are always great.  Now I want to rewatch Space Pilot 3000 to see if those tones are really there, although I'm pretty sure they aren't.
Now, before i say anything about the very end, let me remind you all I'm a guy, so crying doesn't come easy to me. But the end of this episode actually made me almost tear up, and that's saying alot. I love how it showed that even though his mom was a sports fanatic, she still loved Fry a whole lot.
This episode was a solid 10/10. :D
This epsidoe stopped the Shark in midair, fed it steroids, got it to go to college and get a degree in Writing for Television, and reversed it, sending back into the ocean.
Beamer

DOOP Secretary
*
« Reply #78 on: 08-16-2013 02:53 »

Except they ditched my favourite joke from the animatic. :(

Which joke was that, may I ask?

When Hermes pulls out his phone to use the song recognition software, after his phone told him his singing was awful, instead of flying away, Bender then improvised a "Bender is great" song and the phone recognises "That was Bender is Great, by Bender!" Made me laugh (as much as it irks me seeing present-day technology still being used in the show).

For all those complaining about the characterisation/inconsistencies with the past/etc. THESE SCENES TOOK PLACE ENTIRELY IN FRY'S DREAM. Of course he's going to choose to remember everything more fondly in the best light possible. Nostalgia, yo.
The Sophisticated Shut In

Bending Unit
***
« Reply #79 on: 08-16-2013 02:54 »


They didn't set up a very good reason that Fry needed to talk to his mother beyond missing her in general. They set it up to seem like he had some important things to say to her, but we never got to hear what those things were, in fact we never even got an idea or hint of what those things might be. As far as we know from the series, Fry's mother seems to be a very self-involved woman and not a particularly great parent, and this episode did almost nothing to change that perception beyond the last few seconds where she's happy to talk to Fry in her dream. It seemed to completely come out of nowhere to the point where it felt like mere exploitation of emotions. As if the writer's thought, hm what's an easy heartstring to pull at, and then did so, but without setting it up well even though they had an ENTI.RE EPISODE to do so. They didn't give us any background on why he would want to talk to his mother any more than anyone else in his family, so it just didn't make sense to me as an emotional ending, to focus on that relationship alone for no apparent reason

I kind of agree with you on that part. Although I do think that the Cold Warriors ending had the opposite issue this episode had. That episode had some kind of build-up, but the ending was nothing to sob over. Just a kinda forced awwe moment in my opinion. Liked it, but not anything to make me wanna improve my opinion of the episode drastically.

With this episode, there was no build up, and didn't really give a chance to evoke a whole lot of emotion out. I mean it was a kinda awe, but really needed the build up in order to make you feel anything more.

I think the "important things he needed to say" were that he loved her, and probably a few of the things he has achieved that she'll never know about - falling in love, holding down a job, traveling in space, etc. In the end, he didn't need to actually tell his mother he loved her, because they both knew it. I thought their tearful hug was perfectly played. Fry spent the whole episode desperate to tell her he loved her one last time, but when they came face to face again, he didn't need to.

The Fry family have never been all that great at expressing themselves. Remember Fry telling Leela in Parasites Lost that he keeps trying to tell her he loves her, but every time he tries "my mouth feels like it's stuffed with peanut-butter, even when it's not"? The ineptitude seems to be a family thing. Yancy Sr treats his sons like a platoon leader and is openly scornful of them at times, but obviously loves them underneath it all. Yancy Jr antagonizes Fry at every opportunity, but misses him sorely when he's gone. Fry's mother may be obsessed with sports, but I don't see why that would mean she cares for him any less than his father or brother do. In the flashback sequence of BBS they're openly affectionate toward each other, and Fry mentions in The Duh-Vinci Code that his mom says he has a good heart. Sounds like she cared enough to notice.  ;)

As for why Fry would want to talk to his mother above everyone else in the dream : he has worked through his unresolved issues with (and emotionally let go of) everyone else he encounters in the episode. Michelle returned in The Cryonic Woman for one more doomed stab at their relationship, and he was happy to leave her again. He addressed his rivalry with Yancy and mourned at his nephew's graveside in Luck of the Fryrish. He opted not to clone Seymour and decided to remember him the way he was in Jurassic Bark. He looked back on his relationship with his father in Cold Warriors and realized that though Yancy Sr was hard on him, he loved him and would probably be proud of the man he had become. In each case he took a look at his feelings for that person and accepted them. He has never done that with his mother, so when he suddenly sees her again, it's not surprising his feelings overwhelm him and he feels the full force of what he's lost. Thirteen years is a long time to repress how much you miss someone, and it's obvious that's what Fry has been doing when he tells Seymour maybe he didn't hate his life in the past so much - "maybe I just told myself that because I knew I could never go back".

The only tiny gripe I have - and it's a small one - is that I wish Fry and Leela had interacted a little more as a couple in the episode. They felt quite distant from each other. Considering Leela spent half her life searching for her family, you think she'd show a little more empathy toward Fry when he wanted to stay with his. Her behavior was no different to the rest of the crew, and she does have a much closer relationship with him - I guess I was hoping for some recognition of that. Not much, just something like their interaction at the end of Cold Warriors. It would have been nice. Equally, Fry's family are never going to meet the love of his life in reality, so I'm surprised he didn't try and introduce her to his parents. (I know it was all in his head, but that doesn't seem like a distinction Fry would be smart enough to make. )

This episode concentrated to Fry's relationship to his family, specially to his mom. Certain aspects are used sometimes and other times left unused as they were not existing. In this episode Fry simply misses his family and wants to tell them that, he wanted to enjoy the family life he left behind without thinking the reality. I think there was no "time" for interaction with Leela other than part of the crew.

True, it was a family-centered episode, but I think they could have squeezed in something small. Zapp Dingbat was very much centered on the Turanga family, but Fry was obviously supportive of Leela, as her other half. And Cold Warriors was really all about Fry and his dad, but Leela was there to offer him support when he seemed down. Plenty of episodes do manage the emotional balancing act of a primary (family) emotional plot and a background friendship / relationship in support. In Leela's Homeworld it's Fry supporting Leela. In Jurassic Bark it's Bender diving into the dolomite. Leela and the Genestalk was heavy on the Freela but still found time for Leela's parents. Even something as subtle as Leela telling Bender Fry needed a minute alone, in The Luck of the Fryrish, connects her to him. I don't ask for major relationship focus where it's unwarranted, but when you're upset, you tend to lean on your OH a little, and they pick up on your feelings. It seemed like a missed opportunity for some Fry / Leela relationship continuity before the big proposal in Meanwhile.

But it's a teeny-tiny complaint.  :D
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