Futurama Episode Dependence Tree

[on:]

I was watching a Futurama marathon yesterday, and a friend there noticed that some episodes are required to be seen before other episodes, in order for most of the episode to make any sense.  Be this big things or just minor jokes, I decided it might be a good thing to make a dependence tree on this.

http://spiltirsdag.dk/~svip/dependence.png

However, it is hardly done.  So I am asking for suggestions to dependencies.

[Reply #1 on:]

Space Pilot 3000
I, Roommate
Loves Labours Lost In Space
The Lesser of Two Evils
A Clone Of My Own
The Day The Earth Stood Stupid
Kif Gets Knocked Up a Notch (in the near future)
Leela's Homeworld
The Why Of Fry

[Reply #2 on:]

Okay.  I realise that these are episodes.  But I don't get their-

What you posted made no sense.

[Reply #3 on:]

Oh, you mean, just like everything he posts.
Impressive job, Svip. From what I can see you covered a lot. I would just say maybe, that if you traced Kif and Amy through Amazon Women, Where the Buggalo Roam and Kif Gets Knocked Up a Notch, then maybe that ought to start out with A Flight to Remember?
Also A Clone of My Own introduced Cubert, for the later episodes he featured in.

[Reply #4 on:]

Hm, I thought I did.

Oh, and added the Cubert thingies.

[Reply #5 on:]

My post is episodes that need to be watched in order to understand later episodes.

[Reply #6 on:]

They are hardly the only ones.  And the tree pretty much covered them already.

I was looking for suggestions to what I hadn't done already.

[Reply #7 on:]

Oh, Svippy, you and your charts...

Seriously, though, impressive job. I feel like people can use this as a reminder, if ever they are disheartened by an apparent lack of continuity in Futurama. There were very few episodes (if any) that, in the grand scheme of things, were inconsequential; most of them set something up that the writers could use later on. I mean, even an episode like "I Dated a Robot" sets up the Bender/Lucy Liu romance that the writers call back to in "Love and Rocket." It's not exactly an important plot-point, but you'd probably be a bit less confused by what happens in the latter episode if you've already seen the former.

[Reply #8 on:]

Don't worry.  As you have probably already suspected, Gorky, this chart is generated.  All I do is write down each node and then each connection, the script handles the rest.

But I totally forgot about that Lucy Liu/Bender thing.  My bad!

Ironically, I cannot get the following episodes connected with others:

"The Deep South"
"Insane in the Mainframe" (though Roberto might be suggestible)
"A Pharaoh to Remember"
"Where No Fan Has Gone Before" (Star Trek connections to earlier episodes?  I thought it was forbidden!)
"Three Hundred Big Boys" (maybe something with Nixon or Zapp/Leela or Amy/Kif)

[Reply #9 on:]

Insane goes to Bender's Game as one introduces Roberto. It's a stretch though. I can't think of any other connections for it.

One possibility is connection the running gag characters throughout the series. Three I can think of are Hypnotoad, Sal, and Scruffy. If we do that, Sal's been in a good deal of episodes, some without lines though, and I'd only include the ones where he says something. Scruffy appeared before his first line, but all of these weren't really the Scruffy we know and love. His first "janitor" appearance is in Anthology of Interest I. Hypnotoad, you've already done.

Whatever episode we find out that the Wongs own half of Mars (I believe it's Buggalo) has to be connected to Green Yonder for that reason.

[Reply #10 on:]

"Insane in the Mainframe" could technically be connected to any episode in which Judge Whitey appears ("A Tale of Two Santas" comes to mind), seeing as how his WASP-y ways lead to Fry's imprisonment at the HAL Institute (the Asylum for Criminally Insane Humans is full, after all, because being poor is a mental illness). But, like i_c says, that's a bit of a stretch.

[Reply #11 on:]

The Asylum is a connection though! You couldn't get the joke of the facility in Bender's Game without having watched Insane.

[Reply #12 on:]

Ironically, I cannot get the following episodes connected with others

Methinks that even the Robot Devil has a better grasp of what the word "Irony" means than you .

411 should at least be connected to the Pilot, since Fry met Leonard Nimoy there (and Nimoy sort-of admitted his involvement in Star Trek without breaking the law when he responded to Fry's Vulcan Salute (I don't know what it's called) with "I don't do that anymore")

212 should be connected to 316 because the animators put a trident on Hank Aaron the 24th's uniform, to reflect the sunken city of Atlanta (and the peoples change from Humans to Mermaids).

416 could be connected to 201, 402, and 404 because of the scene where leg mutant is being chased by the Chupanibre. It could also be connected to 214 because of the drop in Zuban Cigar price (Bender said they were the rarest cigars in the universe. It could be that they were made less rare (and thus less pricey) once the Robot Mafia started stealing chipments). Finally, shippers would like 416 to be tied to 415, since most assume that Fry and Leela's spending time at the aquarium is a continuation of their proposed date in 415 (but this is not fact. I just figured it beared mentioning).

[Reply #13 on:]

411 should at least be connected to the Pilot, since Fry met Leonard Nimoy there (and Nimoy sort-of admitted his involvement in Star Trek without breaking the law when he responded to Fry's Vulcan Salute (I don't know what it's called) with "I don't do that anymore")

And also to Brannigan, Begin Again, where Hermes openly mentions Star Trek.

Oh, and I would also connect Bender's Big Score to the other episodes about Fry's Past and to those where Michelle appears.

[Reply #14 on:]

411 should at least be connected to the Pilot, since Fry met Leonard Nimoy there (and Nimoy sort-of admitted his involvement in Star Trek without breaking the law when he responded to Fry's Vulcan Salute (I don't know what it's called) with "I don't do that anymore")

And also to Brannigan, Begin Again, where Hermes openly mentions Star Trek.

Eh.  I don't think connecting goofs is appropriate.

There, now all episodes are connected to something.

[Reply #15 on:]

Svip, "Nibbler/Nibblonians on Vergon 6" also covers the Dark Matter deal?

[Reply #16 on:]

So what is the minimum number of episodes needed to be watched in order to make ITWGY make perfect sense?

[Reply #17 on:]

There, now all episodes are connected to something.

Still missing 317.

So what is the minimum number of episodes needed to be watched in order to make ITWGY make perfect sense?

What wasn't there to understand? I thought that one was the simplest of the films. But:

*The F/L episodes. You don't need to watch all of them. You just really need to know about their romance.

*The Fry episodes that explain his missing Delta Brain Wave, since it's major for Fry's bit in the story

*310 (Where the Buggalo roam), to explain the abandonment of the Martian City.

*Bender's Game, to explain Bender's joke in the restaurant and the switch from Dark Matter to Whale Oil.

That's it. Frida Waterfall and the Robot Mafia did premier in previous episodes, but their roles in ITWGY are stand-alone (as is the rest of the movie, aside from fun references).

[Reply #18 on:]

There, now all episodes are connected to something.

Still missing 317.

Then you aren't looking hard enough, mister!

I added all the episodes to begin with, so they would appear in the top right if not linked to.

[Reply #19 on:]

So what is the minimum number of episodes needed to be watched in order to make ITWGY make perfect sense?

For Delta Brain Wave: Space Pilot, The Day The Earth Stood Stupid, Roswell That Ends Well, The Why of Fry
For Wongs on Mars: Where the Buggalo Roam
For Dark Matter/Oil: Bender's Game
For Waterfalls: The Problem With Popplers, The Birdbot of Ice-catraz, A Taste of Freedom
For Mafia: Bender Gets Made

That gives you 10 episodes.

[Reply #20 on:]

There, now all episodes are connected to something.

Still missing 317.

Then you aren't looking hard enough, mister!

I added all the episodes to begin with, so they would appear in the top right if not linked to.

The Australian Guy! Should I turn in my nerd badge?

So what is the minimum number of episodes needed to be watched in order to make ITWGY make perfect sense?

For Delta Brain Wave: Space Pilot, The Day The Earth Stood Stupid, Roswell That Ends Well, The Why of Fry
For Wongs on Mars: Where the Buggalo Roam
For Dark Matter/Oil: Bender's Game
For Waterfalls: The Problem With Popplers, The Birdbot of Ice-catraz, A Taste of Freedom
For Mafia: Bender Gets Made

That gives you 10 episodes.

I took out the Mafia and Waterfall episodes from my Must Watch List since they aren't necessary to understand the story if ITWGY (their parts work stand-alone). Why did you take out the F/L episodes from your list (considering that's a very important part of the story (character motivations)?

[Reply #21 on:]

The Waterfalls and Mafia episodes are essential to understanding the plot. The revelation of Hutch Waterfall at the end requires knowledge of the running gag. And the shippy episodes aren't required because it's like any other romance in any other movie, and there really isn't much shippiness going on in Green Yonder except for the last minute of the movie.

[Reply #22 on:]

The Waterfalls and Mafia episodes are essential to understanding the plot. The revelation of Hutch Waterfall at the end requires knowledge of the running gag. And the shippy episodes aren't required because it's like any other romance in any other movie, and there really isn't much shippiness going on in Green Yonder except for the last minute of the movie.

I wouldn't say the knowledge of the Robot mafia is vital. Even if you'd never seen any Mafia episodes you'd know who he was virtually a few seconds later since Bender essentially introduces him.

Knowledge of the Waterfalls? Hmmm, I wouldn't say entirely vital but more important than knowledge of the Robot Mafia at any rate. It does help ever so slightly to know a bit about these characters beforehand but it's not essential to understanding the plot by any means.

You certainly do need at least some knowledge of the F/L story though otherwise the actions of certain characters at key moments wouldn't make any sense and just seem out of the blue. The best example is where Leela decides to trust Fry at the end despite everything. As an individual movie it doesn't have enough to build up a romance to such a degree but with prior knowledge of related episodes that aspect of the plot makes perfect sense.

[Reply #23 on:]

I agree with Curious Gorge on both the Robot Mafia and the Waterfalls. While you would understand their jokes and purpose better with prior knowledge of the characters and/or their history, it isn't necessary to understand the story. They work stand-alone.

I again agree with Curious Gorge on F/L. First of all, their is plenty of shippiness throughout the story. It's just intertwined so well it's harder to catch it (they make it part of the characters rather than a whim of the week). Second, without prior knowledge of that plotline, their bit in the story isn't affecting. Show ITWGY to a person who hasn't seen Futurama before and they won't be affected by F/L's story. Show it to someone who is a fan of the series and they'll understand the impact of how the story progresses the relationship (even non-shippers know it is a big deal). Without knowledge of prior stories their motivations seem forced and are unaffecting. With prior knowledge they make perfect sense and it's very affecting.

[Reply #24 on:]

Man.  I like how this turned into a serious discussion, though I had hoped it had turned into a shameless Svip-praising topic.

[Reply #25 on:]

Man.  I like how this turned into a serious discussion, though I had hoped it had turned into a shameless Svip-praising topic.

I really like your avatar.

[Reply #26 on:]

ALL GLORY TO THE SVIPNOTOAD!!!!!!

[Reply #27 on:]

Impressive Svip. Most impressive.

[Reply #28 on:]

Svip, you're alright.

[Reply #29 on:]

Impressive Svip. Most impressive.

Quite. It's a wonderful chart. Makes my perverse side want to watch them all in reverse order.