Devils Hands = Good Season Finale?

[Reply #120 on:]

Actually DXC said that when it was written, the threat of cancellation was on their minds, so they wrote it in a way that it would make a series finale if the worst came to the worst.

[Reply #121 on:]

 

Originally posted by Asylum-Fry:
  It wasn't meant to be the final one? But it seemed so....... final. Especially if you heard it was the last episode before you saw it.

EDIT: Also, I meant no offense to you, CyberKnight, if my posts sounded like that. I was just being a desperate debater.

What Fred said.

And hey, no offense taken. 

This is a forum, after all. Free exchange of ideas and all that. 

[Reply #122 on:]

Thank you!!!
At least someone on this site knows what I'm talking about!

[Reply #123 on:]

 

Originally posted by SuperFry:
Okay thanks but I do think it was a good season finale

Then why did you bother starting this topic?   

[Reply #124 on:]

Because I wanted to know what other people thought.

[Reply #125 on:]

Honestly, i think you people are too hard on Futurama sometimes. Devil's hands was a side splitting ep.
And there is nothing wrong with three seconds of  warm-heartedness at the end of the ep/series. Futurama has always done a good job of avoiding sap i think. And about the out of character stuff, i like to look at it another way... character depth! nothing wrong with the characters showing a little range, after all who would want them to stagnate in the last ep?
To wrap it up i thought it was a good finale, but i'm still hoping against hope that it won't be the finale.

"By devil i mean Robot Devil, and by metaphorical, i mean get your coat."
genius!

[Reply #126 on:]

 

Originally posted by CyberKnight:
 Seriously though, I find many striking parallels between the Fry/Leela dynamic and the Paris/Torres relationship on Voyager (stop groaning over there, Teral    ).

I never understood that pairing on V'ger, but I see what you're getting at.

But if you start to compare Leela/Fry to Seven/Chakotay, God help me, there'll be  hell to pay. 

[Reply #127 on:]

Can I compare Leela/Fred to Seven/Fred? 

Personally I think the way Leela and Fry's relationship developed was one of the show's best features.

They started out as two people who, although they empathised with each other's positions, weren't close friends and bickered a lot.  As the show goes on, we see their friendship grow, with occasional hints that there might be even more there.

In "Parasites Lost" Fry for the first time reveales the true depth of his feelings for Leela, but at that point Leela only thinks of Fry as a friend.  During Season 3 Leela is so sure she and Fry will remain only friends, that when she finds herself married to him in "Time Keeps On Slippin'", her immediate reaction is that Fry tricked her into it.

But then Fry saves Leela's life in "Love & Rocket", and from that moment on Leela seems more receptive to his feelings.  Finally, in "The Devil's Hands..."  Fry is finally able to use the holophoner to show Leela how he feels about her.

[Reply #128 on:]

 

Originally posted by Teral:
 I never understood that pairing on V'ger, but I see what you're getting at.

But if you start to compare Leela/Fry to Seven/Chakotay, God help me, there'll be  hell to pay.   

You have mentioned the name of the devil relationship. You must suffer! 

That contributed greatly to my consternation over "Endgame". They had only 2 hours to wrap up the show, and they wasted a good portion of it setting up a relationship which had little to no fan support, thus ticking off some of the largest sections (D/7, J/C) of shippers and guaranteeing the episode infamy. 

And I wasn't too big a fan of the P/T relationship either - I felt that it shoehorned the characters into the "token progressive relationship" of the show. But that's more the fault of the writers than the relationship.

[Reply #129 on:]

I still think that the last sean was the most adorable thing i ever saw. I wish that happend to me.

[Reply #130 on:]

Why wouldn't it be good?

[Reply #131 on:]

after seeing the episode for the 8th/9th time i have to say that this has touched me in a way that i never thought possible, 

Leela does exhibit a calculating exterior, she does however have a softspot for Fry that is often seen but like my own life she feels the need to keep him at an arms length, as she feels that someone can not possibly feel the way Fry does, she sees his mistakes and frequent stupor as signs that he doesn't infact love her (logical mind transposing past failed relationships upon Fry) 

Leela is an almost perfect case of love-hate flip-flop, due to the earlier trauma of her years within the orphanarium she seeks assurance that her child(ren) will be brought up in a loving home and she associates these feelings with strong powerful men who can show the world their worth in form of power over others, so by doing so Leela is infact giving in to her infantile sexuality, as displayed by her rapid warming and cooling to Fry.

IMHO this episode was as close to a perfect 'ending' (god i really hope not!) as futurama can provide, as it does indicate that Leela finally realises that someone who can go through the trouble of dealing with the robot devil, and then forego the amazing gift he sought to woo her with in favour of the one person he loves, might be the person for her...

every time i watch that final part i can almost hear the love in the last line...
"i want to hear how it ends..."

i think that the ending music will be with me for the rest of my life. 

p.s. also i think that Leela WAS a tad out of tune, but not enough to ruin it IMHO.

 

[Reply #132 on:]

TDAIPT was a great episode! Though not a great finally episode.  The Sting would've been a great finale.  I have seen the full The Why of Fry so I can't say anything about that.  But wat TDHAIPT failed was it only tied things up with Leela and Fry, what about Bender or Hermes or Dc.Zoidberg,etc.

[Reply #133 on:]

 

Originally posted by Asylum-Fry:
 Leelaholic is most certainly right. It may be the end episode, but it sucked in terms of staying in character and time frame. The Why of Fry would have made a better end to Futurama.

Just my opinion.

I second your seconding of Leelaholic's opinion. The Why of Fry would indeed have made a much better end to Futurama. IMO the devil's hands ep. felt forced and at many times the cast was definitely out of character. It was an overall dissapointment. As far as providing an ending it got that done, but the entire episode just wasn't that great. It wasn't a good note (no pun intended) to end on for me.

But TWOF tops in on my list of all time favorite eps. The ending wasn't a tear jerker but who says a finale has to be? Especially if it has to sacrifice the show's funniness to provide an ending.

And about the why of Fry focusing too much on Fry, isn't TDHAIP the same? Well, I guess they focused on Fry AND Leela, but still, it's the same thing. They both sorta left out zoidberg and amy and those guys. It's just that in TWOF you don't notice it cause it's not necessary. The show is based around Fry anyway, and TWOF perfectly encapsulates Fry's role in the series and provides a great warm ending, in it's own non-sappy/crappy way.

If the series ended there (with the credits rolling and Fry saying "whoo hoo!" after Leela kissed him) then I'm sure I would have left the show feeling better than I did after I saw the Devil's hands.

[Reply #134 on:]

Hmm...I somehow feel compelled to state again that The Why of Fry wasn't all THAT great.

Now, DON'T GET ME WRONG.  I still like it.  The story is pretty cool, and for the most part the humor is capable.  But to be honest, I wouldn't even put it in my top twenty episodes, and a I feel a finale should be roughly around a top episode.  Why of Fry just doesn't quite have enough humor, and even the story perhaps lags in places.  Both Devil's Hands and Why of Fry work for me as finales in terms of their stories.  But as actual episodes, Devil's Hands is far better.

[Reply #135 on:]

But i think we can all agree the best thing of all is if there wasn't a finale!

[Reply #136 on:]

Her voice was bad if I was in that crowd I would have booed and thrown something very random at her for it.

[Reply #137 on:]

David X. Cohen said that it was meant to be a season finale OR a series finale; at the time, they weren't sure what the future for Futurama was; the ambiguity of the episode was intended.

It wasn't as funny as it normally is, but I thought it was okay. There definately should have been another season...

Okay, people are gonna kill me, but some of the music sounded like it was from the Wild Thornberries. I live with younger siblings, you don't understand what I am forced to watch!!

Wasn't Katey Sagal like a back-up singer way back when? Someone wrote the music, and she just sang what she had to. It was either the written part that turned out like crap or she was having an off-day.

Regarding Leela... the shallow part of her was dating (and/or sleeping) with all those guys partly because she was lonely. She probably had her own machinations, too... [maybe to make Fry jealous, to have fun away from work, to prove that she's in charge of her personal life] With Fry, it's very extended flirting. It doesn't seem like she's ever been "in love." She doesn't know how to act. Anyways, Fry has had innumerable girlfriends throughout the series, probably double the beaus Leela has had.

Sorry if that was long and pointless. 

[Reply #138 on:]

Yeah Katey was a backup singer for Bette Midler. And as for her sounding out of tune, i don't think that she did. To me she sounded opratic, which was what they were going for.

[Reply #139 on:]

 

But wat TDHAIPT failed was it only tied things up with Leela and Fry, what about Bender or Hermes or Dc.Zoidberg,etc.

What loose ends NEED to be tied up with these characters, though?  Besides, I think Fry is essentially the main character in the series, so it makes sense that the finale would focus largely on him.

[Reply #140 on:]

Opera is a lot more, um, dramatic than on Futurama. I personally have a distaste for opera, but her singing wasn't as bad as some people have said. I actually thought the whole musical thang was pretty cool the first time I saw it.

[Reply #141 on:]

 

Originally posted by leelaholic:
Q: Was it good?

A: Lord, no.

DAMN YOU!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Reply #142 on:]

 

Originally posted by DotheBartman:
Hmm...I somehow feel compelled to state again that The Why of Fry wasn't all THAT great.

Now, DON'T GET ME WRONG.  I still like it.  The story is pretty cool, and for the most part the humor is capable.  But to be honest, I wouldn't even put it in my top twenty episodes...

I partially agree with you, but go further: In my opinion, The Why of Fry sucked. The characters seemed out of character, the dialogue forced and the humour poor. The story didn't live up to its potential either- I was really looking forward to TWOF, as I was excited to learn more about the whole Nibblonians/ Fry's missing Delta brain wave thing. But to be honest, the actual episode was a big letdown.

[Reply #143 on:]

This entire thread reminds me of something:

FRY: "Just give me your best animal."

SHOPKEEPER: "Best? Well, that's a matter of opinion. I personally like the electric snail."

FRY: "That's a stupid animal. You're stupid. I said I want the best one."

And on that note, The Devil's Hands?? That's a stupid episode. You're stupid! 

[Reply #144 on:]

 

Originally posted by zoidyzoid:
 I was excited to learn more about the whole Nibblonians/ Fry's missing Delta brain wave thing. But to be honest, the actual episode was a big letdown.

They did address the mssing Delta brainwave. It was caused by Fry doing the nasty in the pasty. There really wasn't much beyond the confirmation to explore about Fry's brain, as most was laid out in "The Day Earth Stood Stupid" and "Roswell That ends Well".

Returning to TDHAIP, I still haven't heard a convincing explanation as how "everybody was out of character" in the final episode. As already stated I liked it a lot, so I'm really curious for an answer to that question.

[Reply #145 on:]

The way she sang Garish was kinda strange.

[Reply #146 on:]

Show spoiler

On the commentary for why of fry they say that linking roswell to TDTESS wasn't originally intended they just realised it was a good idea so put it in.

TDHAIP was funny, funnier than a lot season 1 and 2 episodes in my opinion. It was written to be more emotional as opposed to other times where they put some in to appear deep when they actually just ruined funny episodes

[Reply #147 on:]

I really like the Devil's Hands. The oprah was very good. *hums*.

[Reply #148 on:]

I know this thread is probably essentially dead, but in the words of Phillip J. Fry, "But I'm not gonna let you die!" (guess the episode for bonus points on your next test!)
Anyway, Devil's Hands IMO was a great episode. Before reading the following comments, let me remind you that I didn't write them to put you into a coma through pure boredom (I just wanted to sedate you a little bit).
Anyway, I don't think that anyone was out of character. For example, Fry's always been trying to win Leela over and Leela's always been partially interested in and partially oblivious to Fry's feelings (although she was more understanding in this ep).
The opera was not out of place either. We learned in "Hell is other Robots" that the robot devil suddenly bursts into song for no apparent reason (although if I did that, somebody would commit me or something).
The ending wasn't left unfullfilling to me (like my opinion is worth a cup of coffee). I personally think that it was perfect, and I'm sure Groening, Cohen, and the rest of the gang expected us, the fans, to assume that Fry and Leela got together.
Well, that's it. And remember, if you feel light-headed or the left side of your brain is numb after reading this long-winded post, consult a physician immediately (just not Zoidberg).

[Reply #149 on:]

 

Originally posted by Gorky:
Anyway, I don't think that anyone was out of character.

Some of us just think that Leela was out of character - that she acted like totally dumb soulful and sweet innocent lttle girl. I don´t say that it´s tottlly true but can´t avoid part of the impression.

[Reply #150 on:]

Yeah, but we learned before and in the beginning of this ep that Leela is one for the arts.

[Reply #151 on:]

I liked "Devil's Hands" overall, and the ending was okay, but the problem is that "Parasites Lost" and "Time Keeps on Slippin'" were both very tragic, and I don't think "Devil's Hands" was enough to counter them.  Perhaps the ending would've been stronger if they'd known for sure that it was going to be the last episode.  I didn't need to see them have sex or get married, but I think it needed something more.

[Reply #152 on:]

i also loved the episode itself and as a finale.

[Reply #153 on:]

 

Originally posted by Action Jacktion:
  ...Perhaps the ending would've been stronger if they'd known for sure that it was going to be the last episode.  I didn't need to see them have sex or get married, but I think it needed something more.

I really don't think so. I think the episode was supposed to end on a high note but not be a complete ending, because there was still lingering hope for a 5th season. I think if the episode had ended with Fry and Leela actually kissing (instead of in a holophoner sequence) it would have given too much away and we still would wonder how they really ended up.

On another note, how did you guys think the series should have ended. I don't want people saying that it should have gone on for 20 more years or stuff like that, I just want to know what you would have wanted 4ACV18 (I THINK that's the right P-Code) to be. Sorry if this has already been asked...

[Reply #154 on:]

 

Originally posted by SuperFry:
Does anyone think this episode was good to end one of the best animes ever or do you think WHAT THE HELL HAPPENS NEXT! Because personally I think ending it their opens over 10 new doors for possibilities of the real conclusion (Who marries who, What happens to them if they go their seperate ways, etc.)

So basically the question is: Is this a good season finale?

And what show if any will ever substitute Futurama?

well, in the end fry and leela finally hook up ( assumingly, doesnt take a rocket scientist!)  hehehe

[Reply #155 on:]

 

Originally posted by Teral:
 They did address the mssing Delta brainwave. It was caused by Fry doing the nasty in the pasty. There really wasn't much beyond the confirmation to explore about Fry's brain, as most was laid out in "The Day Earth Stood Stupid" and "Roswell That ends Well".

Yeah, I probably phrased that wrong. I didn't mean that I was excited to learn more about Fry's brain thing and was let down because I didn't, I meant that I was anticipating good things from that aspect of the plot, but the episode in general was a letdown.

[Reply #156 on:]

 

Originally posted by VoVat:
 What loose ends NEED to be tied up with these characters, though?  Besides, I think Fry is essentially the main character in the series, so it makes sense that the finale would focus largely on him.

I do agree that it should be focused on him, but that doesn't explain that on what was predicted to be the last episode ever why Zapp and Kif weren't there. They wouldn't have much place in the episode plot, but they were very strong characters throughout the series and should have made an appearance (in  my opinion) even if their stories weren't wrapped up. And the Planet Ex. people of lesser parts also did little or nothing and they had even more reason to be seen. (I haven't seen the episode in ages so correct me if I'm wrong)

[Reply #157 on:]

i think it's cute how the first episode starts with a crappy animation (the video game) and the last episode ends with a crappy animation

[Reply #158 on:]

im gonna have to say that it was a good ending. i think that although it was not as everyone thought it would be, me included, it was a good way to end. it wasn't a definitive ending ,so it leaves the possibilty for fox or another firm to pick up where they left off.
it may not have been the best episode ever *COUGH* loves labours lost in space*COUGH* but it was, in my opinion, of an exceedingly high standard, even for futurama.
the plot was compelling and quite funny all the way through "they keep touching me in places", and it had something for nearly everyone. to be honest i think that everyone who disliked should bite my flabby human ass

[Reply #159 on:]

 

Originally posted by Atropine:
i think it's cute how the first episode starts with a crappy animation (the video game) and the last episode ends with a crappy animation

You wouldn't be saying that had Ken Keeler not pointed it out in the commentary.