Great artists unemplyed and looking for job? nah... Let's be more optimistic!

[on:]

You know, when I first heard that Fox is going to cancel Futurama I was pretty shocked. But not for long. To be frank, I've never really worried about the future of Futurama. Come to think of it, I didn't even sign the petition (like one vote ever made a difference )
Futurama, as I've mentioned in my first post, lives it's own life. And only its creator, may end that live not some ball-sucking Network. I believe that Matt Groening loves his creations like children of his and won't let them die just beacuse of one another stupid decision of some jerks.
Now I may not be very much into TV business and I may not be aware of some important facts. Nevertheless, I think, If those brainless assholes from FOX don't want to make money on Futurama... Fuck'em!!! It's not a good home for a series that good. Let's leave the place for criples like its chairmen.
Matt shall find a new and better breeding grounds for his creations. There's gotta be a network willing to take over the profits of airing the show and I'll sign every petition to any other networks chairmen to do so.

[Reply #1 on:]

The problem is that Fox didn't just cancel it outright.  If they did, Matt could just say "Fine, I'm headed over to [INSERT NEW NETWORK HERE]."  But Fox hasn't "officially" cancelled it yet.  They just have a backlog of episodes (now how did that get there) so they don't feel the need to order another season.  They fully intend to air these episodes (such as they air Futurama eps) during what they will call the fifth season.

It's the sixth season that's the issue.  Suppose Fox decides to renew.  They might be able to get the same writers and animators back, but they'll have to pay top dollar.  And Fox is already tapped out thanks to football and other sports not performing up to par.  So they'd probably just cancel it at that point.

Now, say Matt decided to move to another network.  There's most likely a clause in his contract that says that Matt can't have another station air Futurama while Fox still has episodes they're going to show.  So Matt would have to wait until the "sixth" season.  By then, though, any other network will face the same uphill battle that Fox has.  The other station would either have to pay top dollar to get the same writers and animators back or pass.

Of course, there's a third option as well.  They could hire all new writers and animators.  Of course then we might see a big drop in quality.  It might get to the point when we'd point to Futurama's fifth season and say "That was the last good season of Futurama."

Of course, I hope that I'm wrong and Fox (or another station) can smoothly get the writers and animators back for another five (or six, or ten) years, but I'm not too optimistic.

[Reply #2 on:]

 

Originally posted by jasonlevine:
(Stuff) They could hire all new writers and animators.  Of course then we might see a big drop in quality. (Junk)

But then again, we might see a rise in quality.  Ya never know, that's what I'm saying.

[Reply #3 on:]

If only we could predict the future, the only way we will find out any outcome is with time.

[Reply #4 on:]

A new staff could improve things, but more than likely the quality would drop. The current staff (writing and animation) have a real feel for the characters, and that'll be lost if they're replaced down the line.

Just like how The Simpsons' animation got better as time went on and the quality of writing varied with the arrival and departure of writing staffs over the years, a similar thing would happen with Futurama.

[Reply #5 on:]

Even still, a new group would also develop a feel for the characters, and given a season or two, return it to its former glory.  It might feel a bit different, but if it thrives, where's the problem?

[Reply #6 on:]

Hmmm when did the newest Chump get here? Welcome!
As for the "new staff" I think writers could be replaced if they had one or two original ones (Matt G could be enough) to get them into the Futurama-character mindset, but the animators would be hard to replace. Most cartoons evolve and look different from how they began (Simpsons is an extreme case due to its longevity) but you can see a difference already in Futurama. I like the way the characters are looking, and wouldn't the new animators want something completely different?

I'm not sure if that made enough sense to understand...

[Reply #7 on:]

 

Originally posted by Nixorbo:
Even still, a new group would also develop a feel for the characters, and given a season or two, return it to its former glory.  It might feel a bit different, but if it thrives, where's the problem?

But what if the characters they decide Fry, Leela and Bender are aren't the characters we've come to know and love.  For example, over the years Homer Simpson has turned from a loveable idiot to an all-out moronic jerk.  What if Fry's lovable stupidity were to suddenly make a similar shift?  The new writers/animators might flesh out a good portrayal of a moronic jerk Fry, but it'd still be a completely separate character to us.

Also, who's to say they'd get quality writers?  Fox could slash the budget and they might not be able to afford talent like they have now.  We might get stuck with bottom of the barrel writing talent deciding "What this character needs is a good catch-phrase that he/she will say every other line."  I'd much rather Fox come to their senses and hire back what writers/animators they could now than take chances on who they'll get in a year's time.

[Reply #8 on:]

 

Originally posted by Chump:
Hmmm when did the newest Chump get here? Welcome!
As for the "new staff" I think writers could be replaced if they had one or two original ones (Matt G could be enough) to get them into the Futurama-character mindset, but the animators would be hard to replace. Most cartoons evolve and look different from how they began (Simpsons is an extreme case due to its longevity) but you can see a difference already in Futurama. I like the way the characters are looking, and wouldn't the new animators want something completely different?

I'm not sure if that made enough sense to understand...

Actually, I think the writers would be more important (no offense to the animators intended).  I'd think that new animators would gradually work their unique style in.  I could get used to Fry being drawn differently.  I don't think I could get used to Fry being a completely different character.

[Reply #9 on:]

I think anyone can figure out the characters, espcially if they were guided by the creators as to how they were to be... you could pick it up by watching each episode and then decide where to go from there. If they can't figure out fry is a romantic idiot, then they shouldn't write Futurama. 

[Reply #10 on:]

I’d definitely settle for futurama cumming back with a whole new bunch of animators and writers cos lets face it, there is very little chance of getting the original team back after they have being working elsewhere for a year.
Even if the quality of Futurama was only half as good as it was, it would still be twice as good as the next best show

[Reply #11 on:]

Can't argue with your thinking, Wanker.

And Jason, we could sit here trading "what if's" all week.  I'll be the happy What-If Machine and you be the sad one.

[Reply #12 on:]

I'm agreeing with Jason right now. A completely new writing staff would be sucky. Maybe it would be alright if Matt and David X. were there to guide everything, but it sounds like they are tired of running the show full-time, and want to take a step back. If the show gets renewed, who knows if they'll feel like leading an entirely new staff. And if Matt and David aren't there, FOX will probably hire Mike Scully to do the show, and then all hell will break loose.

Of course, that's not to say I'd completely disown the show. Obviously I'd give it a chance, but damn it I really wish FOX would order another season before all the good writers leave.

[Reply #13 on:]

I really don't think Matt would let any new crew to actualy change the characters.
Besides the characters aren't that clear right now. Their characteristics vary depending on who writes an episode. And writers aren't really that consequent. Every one of them probably has his own vision of every character. New writers (I assume they wouldn't hire some amateurs) would probably make you feel a little diiference but I guess it could be something natural like for example: the characters developed a little bit just like everyone deleveops a bit after some time. I don't mean of course something like 'Fry growed up, Bender quit stealing, Leela got married and Zoidberg made fortune'That'd be an outrage!

[Reply #14 on:]

Be afraid. Be very afraid.

[Reply #15 on:]

LOL! Something's not quite right about Fry, maybe he got a haircut...?

[Reply #16 on:]

Yeah  His hair do look new. And his ear! If Fry had an ear that big, I bet he'd store snacks in it.

[Reply #17 on:]

Aargh! sarge, don't ever do that again!

[Reply #18 on:]

Sarge, you look diferent somehow.  New glasses - no that's not it.  I know, some hack animator has redrawn you, applying their vision of what you should be, not what we've all come to know and love.

The show won't be the same with either of new writers or animators, change both groups and it's going to be an even bigger change.  If only I owned a network, I could offer jobs to all the talent.  Or maybe if I was a lawyer (law talking guy) I could find a way for Matt to get out of his deal with FOX.

[Reply #19 on:]

 

Originally posted by FishyJoe:
I'm agreeing with Jason right now. A completely new writing staff would be sucky. Maybe it would be alright if Matt and David X. were there to guide everything, but it sounds like they are tired of running the show full-time, and want to take a step back. If the show gets renewed, who knows if they'll feel like leading an entirely new staff. And if Matt and David aren't there, FOX will probably hire Mike Scully to do the show, and then all hell will break loose.

Of course, that's not to say I'd completely disown the show. Obviously I'd give it a chance, but damn it I really wish FOX would order another season before all the good writers leave.

I wouldn't disown the show either.  It took quite a few seasons of the Simpsons quality decline for me to stop watching.  (I believe last season I only saw half the episodes and this one I haven't watched at all.)  Even if it started back up pretty low on the quality meter, I'd continue to tune in, assuming that the new team would need a season or so to find their stride.  Basically, with a new team, I'd be hoping for the best, but fearing the worst.

[Reply #20 on:]

It's better to fear the worst.  Then you are more happily surprised when the quality is better than expected.

I think this is all futile talk anyways.  Deep in our hearts I think we can all agree that the show is over after next season.  In all honesty, that's it, kaput.  I wrote my letter and I signed the petition, but it doesn't matter to Fox.  At least it had a good run and never went sour.

[Reply #21 on:]

If the show is renewed a year down the line with a completely different crew of animators and writers then I would expect that the show would drop in quality, especially given the fact that even to equal what has already been made would be a very big challenge.

Despite this, I would be more than happy for it to continue as long as we don't get stupid things happening like in The Simpsons where we found out that in Season 12, Homer had a cryon lodged in his brain. What a way to insult the veiwers inteligants, I really hope that if a new crew did continue to make it that they don't mess up what there already is.

Looking on the bright side like others have already mentioned, it could improve the show and make it feel a little fresher (not that it's stale). Potentially we could see new, different types of episodes, with creative, original plots that just would have never been made if the show had been renewd.

I think that as long as Cohen and a couple of others returned then it would make it a much safer bet to carry on. Even if most of the new writers turned out to be crap we would still have a couple of new episodes writen by Cohen which would be some sort of a compensation.

[Reply #22 on:]

Yea, Cohen and a few others would want to carry on the show if they had the chance, after the work they put in. It may not be the same but they may not neccesarily screw it up.

[Reply #23 on:]

 

[Reply #24 on:]

Don't talk as if there isn't any chance to bring the show back.

I know, EVERYBODY KNOWS it's difficult, but who knows if Matt defeats Fox, or if Fox order new episodes (damn, i doubt it...) try to don't fall into a pesimistic attitude.

[Reply #25 on:]

Oh God, not more of those pictures!

[Reply #26 on:]

        
Stop it, Sarge  !!!

[Reply #27 on:]

I make a post about how Slavon hasn't been here in a long time, & look who shows up.

[Reply #28 on:]

That Leela drawing looks a lot like one of Matt Groening's character design sketches from the DVD. Make Sarge stop!

[Reply #29 on:]

Who?

[Reply #30 on:]

[Reply #31 on:]

[Reply #32 on:]

 

Originally posted by Sarge:
 

Kryten's going to love this...   

[Reply #33 on:]

[Reply #34 on:]

[Reply #35 on:]

 

Originally posted by Sarge:
 

Cross betweem Kif and the Professor! The Kifessor!

[Reply #36 on:]

hehehe,
You know Sarge, some of those sketches are really good. Pretty original. I like them. Amy and Leela I find the bestest of'em.
They're yours?

[Reply #37 on:]

 

Originally posted by B.Frankendorfer:
It's better to fear the worst.  Then you are more happily surprised when the quality is better than expected.

I think this is all futile talk anyways.  Deep in our hearts I think we can all agree that the show is over after next season.  In all honesty, that's it, kaput.  I wrote my letter and I signed the petition, but it doesn't matter to Fox.  At least it had a good run and never went sour.

I agree with that. Artists should always be able to stop doing something when muze abandons them. I know I've seen all great episodes of The Simpsons and don't expect anything more from it. The real Simpsons are over for me. Now it's just...(I'm missing a word here and can't think of any metaphore... anyone??)
I still hope to see some great episodes of Futurama but frankly I don't expect many of them. After watching "Leela's Homeworld" I was quite dissapointed. The first signal came to me letin' me know that the Artists' muze is fading away (or they were just too lazy or drunk the days they've been working on it.)


P.s. Fox is dead. If not, it should die. One another show I'll love they take off, and I'll kill somebody
     

[Reply #38 on:]

 

Originally posted by Cheerful Chump:
P.s. Fox is dead. If not, it should die. One another show I'll love they take off, and I'll kill somebody
      

I don't think Fox is dead.  They're just slowly making that Simpsons prophesy true and are slowly turning into a hardcore porn channel.    Obviously, quality content like Futurama doesn't fit in with their vision of the future of Fox.

[Reply #39 on:]

 

Originally posted by Sarge:

Holy maloney with sugar on top!!