Well, Lets Bring Her Around Again - General Futurama Discussion

[Reply #560 on:]

The Butterjunk Effect has the worst ending. I'm fine with everything up to that point, but the ending is god-awful.

The only thing faster than a meteor in the entire universe, was that ending.

[Reply #561 on:]

The Butterjunk Effect was one of my favorite episodes of Season 7A.   Loved it! However, agree with the ending and Fry didn't derserve what happened to him at the end.  At least he saved Leela and Amy from going into that lava pit when he became that butterfly.  As Machiavelli once said, "The Ends Justifies The Means".

Yes, some endings weren't all that great and never should have happened.  Like Neutopia.  They never should have swapped genders.   What are some other things that never should have happened to the characters?  Here's some:  Leela never should have slept with Zapp, Fry never should have gotten electricuted at the end of BATB.  Should have been Zoidberg that sounds more fitting for him than for Fry anyway.  (please ignore this) Leela never should have got turned into a squid and got kidnapped and tied up because of it. 

Just thought of something.  In Saturday Morning Fun pit in that Scooby Doo segment, as I recall in the Scooby Doo cartoons, Daphne and Fred were kind of a couple.  So, why didn't the writers make _Labarbra_ be Daphne instead since Hermes was Fred?  That would have been better.

[Reply #562 on:]

In response to your last paragraph, I think it's just because they wanted all of the main characters to have prominent roles, whether or not the roles they were given really made sense (They had Frank Welker, for crying out loud! ). 

[Reply #563 on:]

Like Neutopia.  They never should have swapped genders.
[...]
Leela never should have slept with Zapp

Swapped genders wasn't much more than slightly interesting scenario to me, so it would have been good as a Anthology of Interest segment.

The "incident" between Leela and Zapp is basis for hilarious, recurring idea of one-sided interest and their interaction. It "justifies" those characters' relation well.

[Reply #564 on:]

Fry never should have gotten electricuted at the end of BATB.  Should have been Zoidberg that sounds more fitting for him than for Fry anyway.

Why don't you just kill Zoidberg off if you hate him so much?! I think Kurt must have been spurned by a lobster at some point and that's why he hates Zoidberg so much. There's no other explanation!

[Reply #565 on:]

A purple lobster.  With a scrunchie.

[Reply #566 on:]

[Fry]A year later, I got spurned at a Red Lobster by a guy named Scrunchie.[/Fry]

[Reply #567 on:]

Just thought I'd ask.  Where did 'Fry Eats a Scorpion' come from?

Never hated Zoidberg. 

[Reply #568 on:]

From the mind of David X. Cohen et al.

Haven't you seen that episode, Kurt?

[Reply #569 on:]

So me and my dad are done watching Season 1, and are half-way through Season 2. This is his first time watching the whole series. He's watched Season 7 with me before deciding to rewatch the series with me. He likes S7 more than S1, and currently thinks Season 2 blows both of them out of the water.

[Reply #570 on:]

Just thought I'd ask.  Where did 'Fry Eats a Scorpion' come from?

Never hated Zoidberg. 

Overused joke where people talk about "Fry Eats a Scorpion" as if it was an actual episode. They are "referencing" a nonexistent thing. So clever!

[Reply #571 on:]

I don't think Kurt would care for Fry Eats a Scorpion very much. I mean, the scorpion gets captured all by itself and everything.

Did I mention it's female?

[Reply #572 on:]

THE WRITER OF THE EP HAS SPOKEN.

_{If I recall, you came up with that. Or was it MRM?}

[Reply #573 on:]

No, Beamer's the creator. I think MRM was responsible for "Hermes finds a Balloon"

Of course, they both pale in comparison to "Amy Eats Wikipedia".

[Reply #574 on:]

I think MRM was responsible for "Hermes finds a Balloon"

Nope. I'm the mastermind behind the highly acclaimed Steamin' Pile of Indian Crap soap opera. I think Meatablepie came up with Hermes finds a Balloon.

[Reply #575 on:]

THE WRITER OF THE EP HAS SPOKEN.

_{If I recall, you came up with that. Or was it MRM?}

It was written by Carolyn Premish.

[Reply #576 on:]

Of course, they both pale in comparison to "Amy Eats Wikipedia".

What about "Amy Does Aldebaran"?   

[Reply #577 on:]

Anyone see the new Simpsons episode? One of the best I've seen in a while. The opening was Radioactive Man, and it was killed.

[Reply #578 on:]

We have a Simpsons thread in the TV forum.

And that episode was abysmal.

[Reply #579 on:]

We have a Simpsons thread in the TV forum.

And that episode was abysmal.

Drop it Blobfish, I hated YLL for a while but I ended up forgetting about it.

[Reply #580 on:]

I never understood the hatred for Yo Leela Leela... I mean, the episode's pretty mediocre/forgettable for the most part, but being actively terrible enough to warrant the backlash it's gotten from the fans? I don't think so.

[Reply #581 on:]

I never understood the hatred for Yo Leela Leela... I mean, the episode's pretty mediocre/forgettable for the most part, but being actively terrible enough to warrant the backlash it's gotten from the fans? I don't think so.

This, all of this.

[Reply #582 on:]

I personally think Yo Leela Leela is on the same level as A Leela of Her Own (I'm seeing a pattern...); they're both equally forgettable, and both have a bit too many pop culture references (Baseball and that Gabba show, respectively), which is something that is never appreciated by us fans, as I can tell.
 Admittedly, the episode doesn't have very many upsides (other than Leela staying in character, which was somewhat rare in this season, and some callbacks), so I can't say I don't see why it's lowly regarded. I think it was ok, but far from the best the show has put out.

[Reply #583 on:]

I consider A Leela of Her Own to be much better than Yo Leela Leela.  A Leela of Her Own is very bland and forgettable, but Yo Leela Leela is simply terrible.

[Reply #584 on:]

I thought Yo Leela Leela was better than A Leela of Her Own, simply because the former actually made me laugh a few times (and didn't totally ruin one of the best jokes of the series).

[Reply #585 on:]

I really like "A Leela of Her Own"--and not in the lowered-expectations way that I like a number of new-run episodes (YLL included), but both on its own merits and in relation to the rest of season three and the original run. I've honestly never understood why so many people seem to dislike it: it's funny (I find use for "they're the beaniest" and/or "they are the king of beans" in daily conversation far more often than you'd think) and it takes Leela's character down a few pegs (I like when the show doesn't take her terribly seriously and shows that, at some things, she's as grossly incompetent as everyone else). Also it has the Cygnoids and Abner Doubledeal, both of whom I quite enjoy.

I suppose Beamer's complaint--that it ruins Blernsball by turning it into baseball with a tether--is valid, but I thought that sacrificing the game's more bizarre qualities for the sake of a more cogent story was an acceptable call. Then again, I am one of the few people who legitimately enjoys the story, so I guess I'm a bit biased there.

[Reply #586 on:]

I had issues with parts of both episodes, but overall I liked watching them.  Did anyone besides me enjoy hearing Katey Sagal sing in Yo Leela Leela?

[Reply #587 on:]

I hate "A Leela of Her Own".

I really don't mind "Yo Leela Leela" at all. It's not a favourite episode by any means, but it's perfectly enjoyable as a "nothing special" kind of episode if you ask me.

I completely agree with Beamer in that I'm quite baffled at how much people hate it. I just don't understand. There's some genuinely very funny dialogue in it ("That wasn't really a question", "That wasn't really a story" and "Welcome to the glamourous world of cable TV... I'm going to need that pen back".

And I don't have a problem with the story, either. It makes good use of the show's sci-fi setting and, the ending - something that people seem to really have trouble with - is a great deconstruction of writing-structure cliches.

I don't know. Maybe working in TV, myself, has made me biased towards enjoying it in the same way that I'd probably get more out of "A Leela of Her Own" if I was a professional baseball player.

[Reply #588 on:]

"A Leela of Her Own" was just below average for me personally, around 55-65%.
"Yo Leela Leela" however is at a tie with SMFP and TFHS for the worst episodes.

Even though ALOHO shat on the fun of blernsball, YLL shat on pop culture references.
Honestly, I think both are bad but YLL took it to an extreme.

YLL made me question how long the show was going to run after it went on air.

[Reply #589 on:]

They are both just nothing impressive and Futurama needs interesting and fitting subject to be good.

Yo Leela Leela is better of those with more jokes and better plot of Leela's character.

[Reply #590 on:]

Let's all admit this: Most Leela episodes turn out to be a piece of shit even before the episode even ends.

[Reply #591 on:]

I don't really care to venture an opinion on episode quality right now. I just want to say that I find the acronymization of episode names cumbersome. I like this show. I've watched all the episodes. I own the DVDs. I do not have every episode title memorized so thoroughly that I see "APTR" without any context and immediately think "A Pharaoh To Remember".

It's one thing if the episode in question has already been identified earlier in the post, or in the posts immediately preceding it, but who has time to memorize all of the following to the point where you instantly know what each one means, including variations on capitalization/inclusion of small words like "of" or "the"?

SPT, TSHL, IR, LLLIS, FOABP, AFOD, MTS, ABPOG, HIOR, AFTR, MU, WAA, FATSF, ISTE, BBA, AHITP, XS, WMIBACIL, TLOTE, PYHOMS, RB, ABBFT, ACOMO, HHRHGB, TDS, BGM, MD, TPWP, AOI1, WITHW, TH, TCW, AWITM, PL, ATOTS, TLOTF, TBOIC, BL, TDTESS, TL, TCHR, WTBR, IITM, TROAE, BITW, TKOS, IDAR, ALOHO, APTR, AOI2, RTEW, G, FS, TTPIC, KGKUAN, LH, LAR, LTH, ATOF, BSNBAOT, JB, COTH, TMLH, TWOF, WNFHGB, TS, BH, OF, TFP, THBB, SF, TDHAIP, BBS1, BBS2, BBS3, BBS4, TBWABB1, TBWABB2, TBWABB3, TBWABB4, BG1, BG2, BG3, BG4, ITWGY1, ITWGY2, ITWGY3, ITWGY4, R, IAGDL, AOTKA, PI, TDVC, LI, TLPJF, TDK, ACO, TPOB, LN, TMAR, TFHS, TSOTC, MD, LAO, B, TTOTZ, GITM, N, YLL, FATEM, ATPH, CW, O, R, TBATB, AFTA, DT, TTOB, ZD, TBE, TSMDM, FOAB, FWH, NDW, TCF, VMV, N, FPL, TDB, TTT, FALBF, TIT, SMFP, CT, ACH, LATG, GOT, MOTPE, SAS, M?

Not I.

[Reply #592 on:]

I just write the acronymized episodes with all caps.

I feel comfortable that way, but if it's a one word episode then I just write the title instead of adding another letter.

[Reply #593 on:]

I'm actually okay with Space Pilot 3000 being abbreviated to SP3K, since, hey, what other episode has the "3000" in its titled? But I generally think the initalisms should be avoided, unless it's in a post which mentions the same episode title repeatedly (and even then, one should still try to use the full title at least once, for context).

[Reply #594 on:]

I tend to use the acronyms when it's an episode with more than two words in the title because I'm lazy, and generally know what they stand for. Plus, there's generally a clue in the context. For example, if somebody's talking about the Brainspawn in TDTESS, they're probably not referring to The Why Of Fry, or Saturday Morning Fun Pit.

Reducing names like The Sting or Reincarnation to "TS" or "R" just seems like intentionally being a tit though. I mean, it's easy enough to use the title of the episode when it's that short.

I'll probably never type out "Bender Should Not Be Allowed On TV" rather than BSNBAOTV, unless there's a very clear reason why I should use the full name instead of the abbreviation. It's long, it's a pain in the butt to type over and over again, and the abbreviated form of the name is rather unambiguous.

By the same token, Xmas Story and Jurassic Bark are nice and short, so they'll probably get the "full title" treatment from me unless I need to type it out a bunch of times. It comes down to a combination of being lazy but wanting to make myself understood within certain parameters for me.

I do not have every episode title memorized so thoroughly that I see "APTR" without any context and immediately think "A Pharaoh To Remember".

Well in that case, I think you ought to consider that your Futurama homework for the weekend.

[Reply #595 on:]

Re-watching Vol. 8 on DVD and all I can say is...

SPDFE! 

(Some Pretty Damn Fine Epsiodes!)

[Reply #596 on:]

I think Seven-B (Volume Eight) really hit its high mark about halfway through the season, with Calculon 2.0. In my opinion, that episode and all of the ones after it were pretty good (Yes, even Genestalk; it's not as good as these other episodes, but it's creative and pretty entertaining.), especially Assie Come Home, Murder on the Planet Express and Meanwhile.

[Reply #597 on:]

I don't know. Maybe working in TV, myself, has made me biased towards enjoying it in the same way that I'd probably get more out of "A Leela of Her Own" if I was a professional baseball player.

I dunno, I kind of actively hate all sports and that's never really affected my feelings for sports-related episodes of TV shows. I like "A Leela of Her Own" despite not giving two shits about baseball, same as I like The Simpsons' "Homer at the Bat," which is lousy with references to actual players and twists on their actual personalities that I actually know nothing about.  

I'll concede that having a vested interest in a particular episode's subject matter can make you more receptive to it--I seem to recall a handful of PEELer parents liking YLL because it rips on the silly children's programming they've been forced to watch with their kids--but it's not necessary for you to enjoy it. That said, I do like "Yo Leela Leela"; it gets as lot of crap from people that I feel is undeserved. I could do without all the pop culture references (that Lady Gaga thing is just...ugh), but the basic idea to parody preschool-age entertainment by using Leela's connection to the orphans to justify and contextualize the story was a good one. It wasn't a great one, but the resulting episode is by no means the Worst Episode ever.

And on that note...

Re-watching Vol. 8 on DVD and all I can say is...

SPDFE!  

(Some Pretty Damn Fine Epsiodes!)

I've decided to slowly but surely work my way through 7B for a second time--I've only seen most of the episodes once, excepting the ones I found particularly good (so, "Fry and Leela's Big Fling" and "Game of Tones" and "Meanwhile")--and while watching "2-D Blacktop" yesterday it occurred to me that it is quite possibly the most awful episode ever. Oh, it is not as offensively bad or character-destroying as something like "Proposition Infinity," nor is it as callous and unfunny as "Ghost in the Machines" (two of my most despised episodes)--but it is so poorly set up and structured and executed that as a viewer I find it insulting.

The Professor's Need for Speed--the goddamn catalyst for all consequent action--is never explained in the episode; it is merely a character trait bestowed upon him for the sake of a stupid story that parodies a stupid genre of movie. And that parody itself is given far too much screen-time, what with the recurring verbal abuse thing (which in itself doesn't bother me; I find it mildly amusing) and everyone's crush on said verbal-abuse sufferer and the constant references to the characters' oh-so-difficult lives. I get the spoof, yes, but I don't think it needed to be so simultaneously protracted and shallow (the basic joke, which the episode just shamelessly repeats again and again, is that the racers' problems are trivial and tacked-on and flimsy excuses for the far more, uh, "interesting" drag-racing stuff).

But I could forgive the Fast and Furious send-up if that was all the episode concerned itself with; however, the second dimension stuff in act three is so appallingly disjointed and unnecessary and unfunny that it makes me literally angry with rage. It feels a lot like children's educational programming, what with the Professor's elaborations on how life functions in two dimensions and how perilous that will be for the crew and blah-de-fucking-blah. And then everything is resolved so quickly and stupidly and I just hate it. It's just so lazy and bad.

So, yeah. I think 7B as a whole is perfectly acceptable--it has a few truly excellent episodes (the aforementioned "Fry and Leela's Big Fling" is undoubtedly my favorite, but "The Inhuman Torch" and "Murder on the Planet Express" and "Stench and Stenchibility" are also quite good) and a few inoffensively boring ones ("Calculon 2.0")--but "2-D Blacktop" just pisses me off with its in-your-face laziness. That, to me, is a greater sin than the alleged banality that makes people condemn episodes like "A Leela of Her Own" and "Yo Leela Leela"; hell, I've always disliked "Where the Buggalo Roam" because it's bland, but I would watch it on a constant loop (I mean, it has two of my favorite lines ever--"Teenagers all smoke and they seem pretty on-the-ball" and "Maybe we just made love") for the rest of my life and be only mildly amused for endless 22-minute increments than have to watch "2-D Blacktop" even one more time.

I mean, I'm probably exaggerating a little for dramatic effect. But seriously, guys, I really hate "2-D Blacktop."

[Reply #598 on:]

I mean, I'm probably exaggerating a little for dramatic effect. But seriously, guys, I really hate "2-D Blacktop."

No problem,
everyone has his/her personal "Möbius Dick" episode.

[Reply #599 on:]

I think Season 7 is the perfect example that the show needed to stop.

I like Season 7, I really do. While it is the weakest season in the show's run, I still thought it was alright. But as it went on, episodes began to be executed alot worse. Not all of them. Just some of them were. And 7B just yells to you, that the staff needed a break. You could see how rushed and poorly supervised the episodes are.

I'm not saying they're all bad (well, a good 5 or 6 episodes struck as particularly awful), more struck me as kinda bad in 7B than in 7A.

So I mean I guess I can say that I'm glad they stopped here. Although I absolutely loved the finale, I still think that it was logically the perfect spot to stop at. I really don't care if it stays dead. It at least had a good run. And it still gave us many more episodes to enjoy rather than hate.

Oh, and also, I liked 2D Blacktop.  Sorry Gorks.