Originally posted by HipNoJoe:

Originally posted by gwynhwyfar:
I would be too if I had a comb-over looking haircut.

Hmm...
Could it also be that his spine is shaped like a question mark?
Or That his lady-love is a horse from the waist down? 

 

Originally posted by Decapodian:
Fry doesn't seem happy in that picture. He looks angry.

He's not angry; he's a maniacal Egor or Quasimodo figure on a demented quest to help the pretty horse-lady hunt down the evil metal knight. He's just happy to be a part of her world, even if that just means sweeping out her stall every day. Ah, true love.

 

Originally posted by SpaceCase:
Hmm...
Could it also be that his spine is shaped like a question mark?
Or That his lady-love is a horse from the waist down?   

Why couldn't she be the other kind of centaur, with the horse part on top...?

I apologize for such a delay in my response to that post. I really wanted to response, and the day that I read it, I actually had quite a bit written as a reply, but unfortunately I forgot how to finish the rest when I left my computer for an hour. I haven't gotten into the mood to rewrite it since then until now.

       

Originally posted by Sine Wave:
Well, Leela is the least mutated mutant ever, and I'm supposing it means she's totally human except for her eye, making baby-making not a problem. It's also the future, so I imagine contraception has taken leaps and bounds.

"[...] need I remind you, blood is thicker than water."- Fry ("A Clone of my Own" )

We don't know how in the Futurama world they have came to label those people mutants. In our world, when DNA messes up when it copies itself onto sperm and eggs, it forms a mutation. The child that is born with the mutation in their DNA is called a mutant. In the Futurama universe, they classify mutants as creatures with severe physical mutations. Though, that's as far as our knowledge goes on the topic of mutants. We don't know that all mutants would still be considered the species they originally came from. For example, look at leg mutant. I don't even think he could even be classified as a vertebrate now without the only characteristic that classifies whether an animal is a vertebrate or not- a spine (unless the backbone is the main bone that connects the knee cap to the ankle (heh, knees over toes in love- so cheesy!)). If Leela is considered a different species, that means contraception is going to be difficult or impossible. She probably doesn't have a different amount of chromosomes if her DNA isn't that different compared to the typical human. If she did, then it would be nearly impossible, like with the case of mules. I could imagine the for her to conceive would take many failed attempts. In basic biology, she's already passed her fertile prime, and she's now withered down to half as much time before her biological clock runs out (unless with the increased life spans comes the increased fertile life spans). Besides the general knowledge, my estimate is that she would be able to conceive as easy as a male chihuahua to a female great dane. Maybe not quite so, I don't imagine the male being that frisky. Change the difficulty of size to fertility. Somebody better be getting my point- it'll be a challenge.

There's a bigger question to ask, though. Why does society on the surface not accept mutants living with them? They already accepting of many different alien races (as much to their dislike), plus they even have robots who don't have the same lifestyle or fears that everybody else has.

       

Amy from "Less than Hero"
Are you off your rocket? Your parents are mutants! It's illegal for them to come above ground 'cause they're inferior genetic scum! Uh, present company excluded, of course.

This places me on a different cloud. Amy specifically stated that her parents are "inferior genetic scum". Hmm... is this a hint to the history of the beginning of the sub-society of mutants? I'm going to exclude the possibility that mutants are considered by the public of the surface to be an urban legend (mainly "I Second that Emotion" ) and label that fact as an incontinuity for the fact if I brought it up, it would contradict and confuse canon material. Let's look at mainly "Less than Hero". The mayor himself was the one who issued the one-day mutant surface passes. Why would the government allow mutants on the surface just for one day, but aren't willing to allow them to live there? Looking back on the "inferior genetic scum" comment by Amy, is it possible that they don't want mutants to be up there spreading their infected DNA to new lives?

I actually believe that in the previous millennium, there was a large epidemic that pushed the mutants to the surface.

1. They could have been just an ordinary group of people (probably well below the poverty line) that immigrated to the sewers to escape from something along the lines of governmental punishment or survival (as bizarre as it may seem). Then, because of the living conditions under there, the next few generations formed mutations quickly and then evolved into mutants. This is probably my nicest theory on this topic, but it could be more supportive.
2. If Futurama mutants are anything similar to real-life mutants, then there could have been an outbreak in the number of children born with mutations. I'd imagine the outbreak to be like the current outbreak with autism; though few are born with it, the number is significant and increasing over time (by they way, an unlikely theory that might explain autism is some kind of pattern in genes). Those children may have been deemed "too ugly" or "too difficult to receive help" by the government and are ordered to retreat to the sewers where their genes through many generations will stay the same and will never interfere with the pure DNA on the surface as long as no crazy woman would dare be stupid or determined enough to allow herself to conceive a hutant baby, or in Leela's case, a mutant who poses as an alien and gets pregnant to a human. I do believe that this is the actual reason why the mutants got condemned to the sewers (or at least close).
3. Don't doubt the non-obvious- there could have been a race of mutants living in the sewers even when Fry was back working for Panucci's. This is too irrational for even the creators of Futurama, though.
4. This theory came from posters below, so it came from an edit. When Earth went under its first alien invasion, a weapon that the invaders could have used could have caused something like radiation that mutated citizens. However, it doesn't quite explain why they would be sent underground.

Possibility #2, the sudden outbreak of mutants, may well result from nuclear war (Leela mentions nuclear winter in Crimes of the Hot). It may also have resulted from the alien conquests, but we don't know what kind of weapons they used.

Anyway, I think the writers were making a shot at possibility #3, referring to the "mole people" who are supposed to live in "old" New York's sewers.

   

Originally posted by Venus:
To address one of your points, i think the reason the Mayor allows one day surface passes and not full citizenship is that he wants the tourist dollars. Mutants who are allowed up only rarely are more likely to buy touristy crap and bring in extra money to the economy.

I could see that to be possible in the Futurama universe. However, there's two little things that wouldn't make much sense.

One, is the amount brought into the economy from the mutants really worthwhile? Moreso, how would the mutants even pay for the tackiest of the tacky? Down in the sewers, its basically a third world country. The only ways that they could get valuables is to either find one flushed into the sewage or go up to the surface and steal something. If they even have currency, the value of it would be the equivalent to a cigarette butt.

Two, how would mutants even obtain those passes? Leela had to go and physically meet up with the mayor to get the passes for her parents issued. Unless if there are people purposely handing out passes to mutants via toilet or even contact with grates, then the mutants could never get them.

Edit: By the way, I updated my post above this one. I still have to finish that section of it that I was working on, plus another one below it. I have chopped my whole response into separate parts now, instead of going back and constantly re-reading one post just to see what absurd things go on in my mind.

 

It's the same reason why the present-day state of New York has homeless people rounded up and thrown into furnaces every year.

Or down into the sewers... dun dun dun!!!

***STILL WRITING (IT'S SLOPPY)***
Quality-Control on this post will occur whenever I'm in the mood to.

       

Originally posted by Sine Wave:
As for having a baby, I don't think anyone would really bother with checking Leela and offspring to be a mutant. She's not physically repulsive, so they'd just take her word for being alien if they even asked any questions at all.

Oh, yes they will. We don't know much about the government in the future, though some evidence may lead us to believe that the government of Earth is still guided by severely flawed citizens like Zapp Brannigan. From what's evident in the pilot episode of the series, I have came to the conclusion though the government, on the surface, has just gotten a face-lift to match the culture of the era, some freedoms that we have right now have been lightened. Back in "Space Pilot 3000", Fry was required by the administrators of the cryogenics lab to take a DNA test. According to the law right now, a DNA test is considered a invasion of our privacy. But later, for cases like Fry's, every citizen would probably be required to take a DNA test. And yes, it really does benefit to the public, just looking at how Fry has turned out now. From this, I assume that the government is silent, but is nosy for our sakes.

So, why would the government need these DNA tests? This can be further explored, but we do have a general idea why that has been intentionally hidden throughout the entire original run. I think even during DVD commentaries the writers have commented on how they have thought this plot line through when the series was being planned out. Even posts below have mentioned it to being a cause for the mutant society. The first alien attack must have been the equivalent to Armageddon.

 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=61yyHv0Kji4

It could have all began with the idea of downloading personalities and characteristics into a robot and using the robot for social purposes. When it was released to the public, it became a big hit (probably amongst teenagers of the current generation). A customer would have claims that they are involved with a particular person, usually a celebrity. In a way, these robots were flawless. The only purpose they were programmed for was to meet the social wishes of the customer. They were like people because they didn't have the same maintenance nor did they interfere with others. They were thought to be only a fad, but then their popularity grew when more switched over to the fantasy relationship that can really only be had with a robot. Soon, it evolved into a phase, and later into a multi-generation problem. As stated in the video, the economy sank to an all-time low now that humans were too socially intertwined with their robot mates to have jobs. And we already know that humans can't reproduce with their robot counterparts, which crippled future generations. It can already be assumed that there wasn't much of a military to protect Earth from any attack. But, I guess they really thought that what's the worse that could happen? The human race, at that point in time, would have already made world peace. At a time when it was least expected, New York went under attack (NOT 9/11). The civilization collapsed under the attack (with a few standing buildings that still remains by the time the Fry wakes up) and was re-built by there by the few survivors that left with the duty to re-populate the planet. This would explain why the Space Pope would issue an educational video about the topic to prevent the event from repeating.

So, getting back to the topic of DNA readings, it's pretty much certain that information before the alien attacks was lost, including information on your family. When you think about it, it could support why Fry was only found to have one living relative, which is the Professor.

About the alien attack in the middle of the millennium, it could explain why there's a society of mutants. Some members here, as shown by posters below, theorize that a weapon that the aliens may have used could have caused the people to mutate and things took off from there. I also have found another theory to support how the mutant society came to be. Groups of civillians, during the time of the alien attack, could have evacuated to the underground. They originally planned to return to the surface again when the coast was clear, but the unsanitary conditions made them mutate into the hideous beasts they are now.

Hey, couldn't Morbo's race have been the aliens who attacked Earth one of the two times? It's a thought...

 

Originally posted by Frida Waterfall:
Hey, couldn't Morbo's race have been the aliens who attacked Earth one of the two times? It's a thought...

When MORBO's people attack, there are NO survivors!!
Bwahahahahahaha!!

 

Even posts below have mentioned it to being a cause for the mutant society. The first alien attack must have been the equivalent to Armageddon.

That whole scene was a parody of Public Service Messages, in particular, Reefer Madness 

If Morbo's race did conquer earth, why does he always sound like he's planning to do it again? Why not just call in the saucers to "CRUSH THE PUNY EARTHLINGS!"


And Kryten's not praising Amy? Hmm, beelzebot better break out his winter clothes...

Wow I missed alot and I was only gone for two days.

Anyway I don't think Kryten has anything to worry about these things are gonna be long enough I bet their is gonna be at least one major story line invloving Amy.

What! Leela is not in the video game that sucks!

 

Originally posted by km73:
Well, she was identified by Bender as "human" in "The Birdbot of Ice-catraz".

Good point, but here's one thing to keep in mind. How accurate is Bender's life form reading function? Leela could have been easily identified as a human because of her physical characteristics.

My point isn't that she isn't human. She is a human, but to be more specific, a human mutant. I myself don't really know where I'm going with this entire response of a response- except where I lead myself to stop.

Take me for granted in this case- I'm totally lost in my theories.

 

Originally posted by HipNoJoe:
 If it is then I don't want to be right, baby.
Oh yeah.

[Scruffy]Second[/Scruffy]

I'm going to post in attempt to get this thread off the ground again.

Okay, getting back to the topic of "Bender's Big Score" and Leela's marriage doldrums... I came up with something a while ago, but I wasn't sure if I should put this on.

It's pretty much assumed that Leela would not be marrying Fry in "Bender's Big Score", rather some other human. Whether this takes place in one of the destinations in time where Bender goes or meanwhile as Bender is on his heist doesn't matter for this right now (though my best guess is that the wedding will take place separate from Bender's time traveling). We all know that Fry loves Leela so much that he is willing to do anything for her. And maybe that anything could be giving her up to somebody else. If Leela would be truly happy to be with this human over him, then though as much as he wouldn't want to, he'd let her go just so then she'll end up happy. Just knowing that she's happy, even without him, would probably give him a sense of fulfillment. How could something so antishippy give such a shippy message?!?

Maybe when Bender (and possibly Fry, as hinted in the trailer) is traveling through time, he (and/or Fry?) see their futures (I have a strange idea that Nudar could heavily influence what the see). In one, Leela could be living a miserable life unhappily married to Fry (ironic for us shippers), and this would come with the stereotypical vision of a failed marriage (barefooted pregnant wife and swarms of misbehaving brats). In the other, Leela could be pleased with her marriage with that human, living her dream when she was an orphan.

If the Galactic Space Entity makes a reappearance in the film (as described in the article on "Ain't it Cool News" ), then its possible he'll give Bender (and us) another moral for life. I'd imagine it being something along the lines of "the future is what you make of it" or something...

As Frida says, various attempts to reignite this thread seem to keep failing, and I think it's because a lot of the people that used to post here are gone.
There is no doubt that Fry would give her up if he felt it was in her best interests (see Cyber House Rules), but my vague idea is that maybe Leela's wedding takes place in some alternate dimension or timeline again and thus ends up not really being "real", or something. Now, I haven't actually seen the comic, so if this is contradicted then I don't know.

I think the Bender/Leela ship needs more development. Not only is it hot and steamy, but it poses interesting questions about what it means to be human.

I just seen the Why of Fry again feel I have to post the last scene here, even though someone has probably done so before....

   [He (Bender)scorches a hole in the photo. Leela looks at it satisfied. Chaz's head has been burnt away. Enter Fry. His head appears in the hole.]
 
               
FRY: Hey Leela. I guess I got this for you.

[He hands her a flower.]

LEELA: Oh. Thank you. You know what Fry. I don't care if you're not the most important person in the universe.
It really makes me happy to see you right now.
 
FRY: Then I am the most important person in the universe.
 
         [She kisses him.]

               THE END

FRY (OVER CREDITS): Yes!

Yeah they never really explain what happened with her ears. I always asumed it was just temporary deafness which is what you usually get from loud noises. Plus in the movies she hasn't got Calculon's ears so either I'm right or she got her ears replaced like Fry after the T-Rex ate his hands.

 

Originally posted by coldangel_1:
I think the Bender/Leela ship needs more development. Not only is it hot and steamy, but it poses interesting questions about what it means to be human.

Human and mutant.

Indeed it is.