Thoughts on [4ACV06] - Bender Should not be Allowed on TV

[Reply #40 on:]

I haven't read any posts on this thread yet; I just got done watching the episode on the West coast.  Here's my review:  Actually, words fail me, so here's my raving:

Weeping Jesus on the cross, that was awesome.  I won't even bother mentioning my favourite lines, because there was one every four or five seconds.  Everything about this episode was classic, and reminded me of why I got interested in Futurama in the first place.  Keep in mind that I'm a die hard Bender fan, I love Hermes, and I've always defied convention by liking Dwight and Cubert.  Also, I'm cynical about TV but I hate morons who blame violence on TV as if there's nothing at all going on in the minds of its perpetrators at all.  It all came together.  Everything I ever wanted in a Futurama episode.  Even my recent thoughts that a diversion on Hermes' "other interests" would be funny if it was tastefully handled.  It's as if they read my mind.  I've never been so blown away by an episode of a TV show.

In short, when the Led Zeppelin DVDs came out a few months ago, I was heard to remark, "I think I can say without hyperbole that this is the greatest thing that has ever existed in the history of the universe."  Maybe it's just the Guinness talking, but I'm thinking of retracting that statement and applying it instead to "Bender Should Not Be Allowed on TV."

I'll watch it again in about three hours when my friends show up, and then maybe I'll have a more sophisticated reaction.


Edit: OK, highlights (expect further edits): Black Flag's "TV Party," also Young MC's "Bust a Move," "Everybody Loves Hypnotoad" (oddly disturbing for a PEELer but I was still shouting "all glory to the Hypnotoad" at the TV), Zoidberg scatting in the beatbox intro, "my good jerkwad," "That was so terrible I think ya gave me cancer!"...

[Reply #41 on:]

I totally agree with you canned eggs. 

By the way, somethng has been troubling me a little bit.  PEELers often mention the infamous Hypno toad.  Who was he? What did he do that was so bad?  Are we even allowed to speak of him?

[Reply #42 on:]

 

Originally posted by MrB:
I totally agree with you canned eggs. 

By the way, somethng (sic) has been troubling me a little bit.  PEELers often mention the infamous Hypno toad.  Who was he? What did he do that was so bad?  Are we even allowed to speak of him?

Never, ever ask.

[Reply #43 on:]

Overall, the episode included everything Bender does that entertains us... drinking, smoking and breaking the law. It had quite a few laugh out loud moments... the cool-o-meter (or whatever that was) that dropped to zero went pointed at Zoidberg. How often they poked fun at FOX, the Hypnotoad, other stuff I don't remember. Probably the best of the Bender episodes but I still question the logic of three Bender centered episodes in a row. I wish Fry and Leela, the other two main characters did more than just serve as wallflowers. I really loved how Bender booed all the kids trying out for the part of Calculon's son. Great stuff, it was all great. 13 thumbs up!

[Reply #44 on:]

Understood.

*looks around with shifty eyes*

[Reply #45 on:]

Very good episode.  I found the satire to be a little too in your face and lacking in subtlety compared to, say, "Itchy and Scratchy and Marge", but that's to be expected(plus some seemed sarcastic anyways), and it was still very good in that regard.  The meta humor was clever and usually hilarious, and the episode as a whole was very funny, especcially anything with the Hypno Toad and Fry's line "this show's been going downhill since season three".  For now I'd say A-/B+, but it seems like one I may need to see again in order to dissect some of the commentary I may have missed.

Edit: Even though I didn't give this one an A-triple-plus myself, I'm having a little trouble understanding the mediocrish reviews this is one getting.  I mean, it WAS very funny, and had some great satire no other show would attempt.  Sorry if this seems stereotypical, but it seems that at this board, if an episode doesn't have ten minutes of Fry and Leela looking lovingly at each other and/or various risque shots of Leela and Amy, people won't rate it highly. 

Enjoy a little Bender fun, especcially when its of this calibur!

[Reply #46 on:]

This ep. had its moments, but it didn't hold together very well, and left me unsatisfied overall. I consider myself a Bender fan, but these last three episodes have been disappointing. I would place this one at 5/10 right in between Bend Her (4) and OF (6).
Highlights:
Fry: "Nah, I had it coming."
Bender plugging the TV into his rear
Hermes: "That's not a Cigar... and it's not mine."
HGB squishing through the doorway of the studio

Basically, I was unimpressed.

[Reply #47 on:]

Can someone name all the episodes the Hypno-Toad has been in...are there any besides The Day The Earth Stood Stupid and this one?  When I first saw that thing on TDTESS, I thought it was the funniest thing ever.  And I have no idea why.  Help me.

I loved that scene where Fry doesn't notice Bender's things being stolen: "Hey, Bender.  Hey, Bender.  Hey, Bender."  The best part was the phone directly after that...hilarious!

[Reply #48 on:]

   

Originally posted by TriforceBun:
Can someone name all the episodes the Hypno-Toad has been in...are there any besides The Day The Earth Stood Stupid and this one?

No, that's it.

By the way, did anyone think that the Hypnotoad's show was based on The Mass Hypnosis Hour, the show that was mentioned in a lot of early interviews but never actually made it to the screen (aside from the opening credits)?

[Reply #49 on:]

This episode was funny, if not a little predictable.  It ranks up there with "Pharoah to Remember" and "30% Iron Chef" in terms of Bender-centric eps.  That being said, it was funny, but it was nowhere near as good as "I, Roommate" or "Godfellas" (classic Bender eps).  I still say "Bend Her" is the best of the recent ones, and it had much better Calculon lines in it as well.

Did anyone else think that the All My Circuits show was really overused in this ep?

I give it 3.5/5.

[Reply #50 on:]

awww geee i just got to see the last 10 minutes of the episode
can just tell me fast what happened b-4?

[Reply #51 on:]

Oh god, I couldn't stop laughing! The Hypnotoad, dice roll executive, everything. Also, Fry was here as stupid as he could be.

Tinny tim walks by with Bender mask while Fry is playing video games and reading a magazine.

Fry: Hey Bender

Cubert passes by

Fry: Hey Bender

Now Hermes's son walks by

Fry: Hey Bender

Phone rings. Fry picks it up

Fry: Hey Bender

Good god, I almost fell on the ground. I also like the Father's Against Rude Television (F.A.R.T).

Hermes: We are F.A.R.Ters!

And I feel bad for Zoidberg not being cool. He's cool! One more episode left Noooooo!!!!
 

Overall: A

[Reply #52 on:]

This episode was like eating sugar. You get full. and it's sweet with jokes. But you get malnorished and your teeth fall out. This episode despirately needed a less preachy 1/2 plot. But "Everyone Loves the HypnoToad" alone makes it better then Spanish fry. In fact over all this was better then Spanish Fry but it had the same "Joke Vehicle" Feel to it.

[Reply #53 on:]

I liked this episode, it seemed to flow a lot smoother than I expected it would.  The intro theme was hilarious, as was the recap of All My Circuits.  Those brought the humor level up quickly, and it stayed there.  My only gripes are with the puking and the slightly predictable and lame ending (the Professor's line, mostly).  Other than that, good stuff.

[Reply #54 on:]

It was an ok episode, but now its only one episode left   

[Reply #55 on:]

The Bender "coma" scene was annoying.
Tinny Tim was great.

The episode was OK, but not great.

[Reply #56 on:]

The episode started off good (Dwight and Cubert were actually interesting for the first--and last--time). "Bite my shiny metal ass!"

And then it got better. The whole sequences with the FARTers in Hollywood was brilliant. And not just because it was good to see Lost Los Angeles again. "This mob's with me." The chanting stopping for the red light. Farnsworth's "I was using that." I couldn't stop laughing.

And then it got even better with the credits. I've been waiting two decades to hear Black Flag sing "TV Party" on a sitcom (OK, so I'm old), but hearing Zoidberg singing it was even better! (Well, I didn't hear that on TV--but thankfully I was able to download it.) And Billy West is Black Flag's best singer since "Johnny Bob."

And this was the best satire of the TV industry since... ok, since a few months ago on South Park. Those bastards are just making it too easy to make fun of them this year. So Futurama took the tack of doing the most obvious possible satire, parodying themselves for another level of humor.

So, what die roll do you think means "intelligent animated comedies"? I'm guessng either 2 or 12 (the rarest rolls); whatever, once we figure it out, we can load their dice and get more good TV. Probably easier than getting pictures of the execubots sucking each others' jaglons.

Overall, I give it a 9/10.

By the way, I'm pretty sure that wasn't Fox. First, aren't they run by a monkey with a half-working intelligence hat? Or was it an Australian guy with a half-working intelligence hat? Either way, it's not a Powerbook. (By the way, a Mac is supposed to be a computer _with_ a heart; Gail Berman is more of a Sony Vaio running Windows .NET Server.)

Also, Fox doesn't do soaps. And I think the attitude was much more NBC than Fox. Fox never picked up generic shows then demanded that they be more daring.

Fox gets major points for showing this episode when they did. After all, there's actually been a new Futurama every Sunday for a month, and there's even some minimal advertising a few minutes before the episode, which is much better than they were getting mid-season. And wanting an episode called "Bender Should Not Be on TV" and ending with "What's on?" "Nothing good" "Let's keep watching" as the final episode? Come on, Fox obviously wants us to know they can take a joke.

But they lose all of those points and more for cutting the end credit audio. I called all my friends and told them to make sure to stick around for the credits, and at 7:30 everyone called me to ask, "Why was I sticking around for a Banzai promo?" Bastards.

By the way, Morbo says his race is coming to destroy all of the puny humans next week. He seems like a trustworthy newsmonster--and wouldn't that be a nice ending for the show? Fry finally gets Leela re-seduced, then NNY blows up before they can consummate....

[Reply #57 on:]

This beatbox was definitely better than the first one, not that I didn't like the first one, it was just better.  THe episode overall wasn't horrible, but not one of the better recent one.  I loved how Futurama basically said, "This is how we are being treated by Fox."  And the Fox execs will never know they were bashed, because they don't watch the show.

[Reply #58 on:]

I'm truly amazed at the fairly tepid response to this ep.  BSNBAOTV was one of the best episodes of 4ACV.  Granted it didn't have huge parts of Fry or Leela but my god, it was funny.  At least it included everyone (for once).  Let's show a little solidarity for one of the best animated prime time less than one hour sci-fi comedy shows ever made.  Oh heck, I'll go as far to say it is the best animated prime time less than one hour sci-fi comedy show of all time!  So, you don't like the kids, so what?  It was an episode that kept the interest level high and cliched or not, made some very good points.  Remember, we should have seen this over a year ago. 

All hail Futurama!  All hail me!

 

[Reply #59 on:]

Liked it.  A lot of good stuff, most of it already mentioned.

I'm a sucker for a well-done zoom effect (see Stellar Cartography in "Star Trek: Generations" - man I want one of those), so I think my favorite part of the episode was the 3 seconds when the Planet Express Ship went from NNY to Hollywood.  I could watch that on a loop for hours.

[Reply #60 on:]

Welcome to PEEL ThreeDLou !

[Reply #61 on:]

Thanks much.  Nice to be here.

[Reply #62 on:]

loved this episode everything from the amnesia, zoidberg (of course), benders coma acting, and especially i love that they used a black flag song. i rate it an A

[Reply #63 on:]

After seeing the episode a couple of times more, I might've been a bit harsh in my first judgement. Calculon doesn't play as major a role as I first remembered him to do (he still hurts this episode a lot though).

Similarly a couple of good things showed up: like the quick trip to LA ([Farnsworth]How cool was that?[/F]), the fork used to scrape Cubert's DNA of Farnsie and other stuff I'll post after my tennis match.

Still don't like Bender's final speech, but I'll probably up the final rating.

[Reply #64 on:]

It was such a huge improvement on the previous for episodes. Ok, so Cubert and Dwight were as annoying as ever, but the episode was very good itself. The ending credits were great, and the F.A.R.T jokes were pretty funny as well (dammit, I sound immature when I say that.) Fry - what can I say? It felt like it was the first season again. He was great. A definite 5/5 from me for this episode. I just hope The Devil's Hands Are Idle Playthings can match up to these standards.

[Reply #65 on:]

 

Originally posted by Timo:
I think my favorite part of the episode was the 3 seconds when the Planet Express Ship went from NNY to Hollywood.  I could watch that on a loop for hours.

Gee, I wish I had seen this... And whatever happens immediately before the president of the network enters. If Futurama gets interrupted next week, I'm very likely to put my shoe through the screen.

Nix - Thanks for the quote, good stuff.

Isn't the Hypno-Toad given a cameo role in "Kif Gets Knocked Up A Notch"? Although it may just be another alien frog thingy, I could've sworn the Hypno-Toads eyes are visible emerging from the swamp immediately before Kif's birthing ceremony begins. I'll check it out a little bit later.

EDIT: And I forgot to mention: From now on I'm answering my phone "Hey Bender".

[Reply #66 on:]

Network bots (game shows are back) Ha!
Hanging wires--Ha!

I agree that the one-off jokes were funnier than the overall show. 
Oh, and 'don't take tv so seriously,"--we can all take a burn.

[Reply #67 on:]

In my room, in a box, there is an alternate universe.  Not one whwere Futurama runs forever, but one where Matt and DXC didn't realize their show was in trouble and never made TDHAIP.  In that universe, all the PEELer's gathered 'reound last night to watch the final Futurama.  And in the end, most ofhtem were happy it went out on a good note.

A) Best version of TV Party since Emilio Estavez screamed it out in the desert in Repo Man.
B) That awesome Hypno-toad sound
C) "You're watching Futurama, the show that does not condone the cool crime of buglary" in Bender's voice
D) Ah!  A chip in my butt!  Now it makes sense!
E) I'm sorry, but I'm a sucker for F.A.R.T. jokes.

Really Good Episode!

[Reply #68 on:]

Damn - I gave this one a 4 out of 5 oven on CGEF BEFORE I heard the "TV Party" end credit version thanks to the post above.  IF I had heard that last night, it would have just pushed it up to the "5" mark.

Others have mentioned all the parts that stuck out in my mind so I won't bore you with them - but once again, there were a ton of great jokes in this one.  OK, OK - just one mention - Hypnotoad rules!

And - next week, the shippers who have been screaming about how bad the "stupid joke shows" of the last month have been sucking will get some much needed love.  Maybe once they can see the 4th series in order via DVD or Cartoon Network, they will realize that "Bender Should Not..." and the last few are really much, much funnier than they gave them credit for.

And then there will be blackness.

Hmmmmm, well the cool part is that for eight weeks or so, not seeing Futurama on FOX will feel pretty normal (not to mention a week later S2 DVDs will come out in the US), then Cartoon Network will begin their run of all 72 in production order WITH end credit jokes in place.  S3 DVDs should be here in the Spring and by next Fall, we should see S4 released in the US on DVD.  Wow - it's going to be a full year before I even realize Futurama is really, really gone.

[Reply #69 on:]

I'm also surprised at the lack of enthusiasm for this obviously great episode.  Has anybody else noticed that everyone who gave the episode the overwhelmingly positive response I believe it merits mentioned Black Flag, and no one who panned it did? 
Maybe that's what it took to understand this episode.  So if you didn't like it, go buy a Black Flag album on vinyl, rent "Repo Man," smoke some crack (optional), and watch the episode again.  You'll love it.

[Reply #70 on:]

 

canned eggs wrote:everyone who gave the episode the overwhelmingly positive response I believe it merits mentioned Black Flag, and no one who panned it did

Interesting observation. I had felt that the episode had a very upbeat, unrestrained feeling to it. That freedom felt appropriate given that we are building toward the end of the series. The opening credits started things off in an enthusiastic mood, which we saw again at the party, and the ending credits. I caught on to this; I just didn't feel that they did a good enough job of maintaining it through the other parts of the episode. They hinted at something great at the kids' party, and I wish I could have seen more of that in the episode.

Maybe it is a generational thing, or just a matter of personal preference, but I don't think this episode was quite fully developed.

[Reply #71 on:]

This was a great episode. Too bad it's there's only one left.  It was great to see the knocks at FOX and it makes me hope FOX really gets bashed in the finale! 

[Reply #72 on:]

 

Originally posted by leelaholic:
This was a great episode. Too bad it's there's only one left.    It was great to see the knocks at FOX and it makes me hope FOX really gets bashed in the finale!   

I hope they don't even acknowledge FOX's existance in the finale. They don't deserve it.

[Reply #73 on:]

Maybe this is a stretch, but...the "clone"/12 year "birthday"/scraping of Cubert is possibly a reference to Futurama being a clone of "The Simpsons"? And the "clone" imitates what it sees/"steals" from others? As in when Cubert (and Dwight)imitate TV and steal.
One or two years off, though. Simpsons would now be "13 years old" (Season 1: 1989/1990). This episode seems full of self-referential gags.

[Reply #74 on:]

This was a pretty good episode, and Hypnotoad and Tinny Tim make a comeback. I also like the use of Dwight and Cubert in this episode. They're turning out to be the sterotypical kid brats of the show.

And yes, Futurama still has the balls to go FOX bashing! Those three execu-bots were saying stuff so true, it's scary. Calculon wasn't so good in this episode, but at least Bender stole his spotlight. This is one of the better episodes of the season. I give it a 4/5.

[Reply #75 on:]

well, it wasnt as funny as the others i didnt really like it, i like the epi. when anoher robot that looks like bender comes, with a moostache thats a funny one

[Reply #76 on:]

It was ok, not great not horrible.  Like Obsoletely Fabulous it had some parts that kinda dragged.  I thought the use of Black Flags's TV Party was a stroke of genius.  The whole birthday thing was kinda forced.  The best parts were when Calculon was on screen.  Dwight smoking Hermes' blunt was funny.  The network execs were great.  I'll bet that's just how it gets done on fox.  Overall, just a little lacking.  Once again not enough of Fry and Leela.  7/10 

[Reply #77 on:]

There goes my theory.

[Reply #78 on:]

This episode didn't really sit well with me.  For a few reasons which I will just pull out of my head without going into this post with anything...

1. There were no actual jokes.  It gave me the feeling that perhaps the writers are drying out.  Most of the events that were supposed to be funny in this episode were just recycled material and strategies from most of the episodes we've seen so far.
2. The plot was entirely too predictable.
3. Bender was one big hyperbole.  His attitude and persona was extremely over-emphasized and embelished.  Also, his behavior towards the end of the episode was entirely off-character and made me feel as though I was watching an entirely different show.  His attitude towards acting was thwarted just because two kids stole some of his stuff?  I don't think so.
4. Cubert and Dwight's appearances in episodes is entirely too sporadic, and many episodes have been ruined because of their sudden appearance.

This episode just seemed like it was written by a slew of writers who were plagued by writers-block (amnessssssiiiiaaaaaa!!!!) and saw fit to permutate and bastardize the characters to fit some inane plot.

Wow... I've never bashed a Futurama episode this much... or at all...  I made myself feel bad   

But the beatboxing was great.

[Reply #79 on:]

I was going to post an extended review after watching the episode again, but Drippy has said everything I wanted to say, so I'll just make a couple additional ponts. 

I liked Cubert and Dwight and Farnsworth and Hermes in Route of all Evil, but in this episode they were all just lame.  They all worked good enough together in Route, why not now?

The entire episode just came off as too preachy.

They really overdid Zoidberg's patheticness.  I found myself wincing when he came on screen.

So, some gorgeous animation, sexxy beginning and end themes, a couple of chuckles, but by and large, a boring, boring episode.

Also, you people talking about Futurama "still" bashing Fox, you do realize this episode was written like two years ago or so, right?