New Futurama Speculations 2.0 - (Hopefully) Making Dreams Come True

[Reply #240 on:]

I guess that part of the confusion involves whether the heads will be kept or not.

Dude, I mentioned this in my post at the top of this page. On the one hand I kind-of support the idea of the crew brought back in entirely new bodies (whatever that may be). The problem with that is what to do of the original heads. Do they have a proper burial and do The Professor and Fry (and Bender?) keep whatever the rebirthing process is a secret from the crew (lie to them and tell them they were unconcious) or do they tell them and deal with the crew having their identity called into question (as well as having to look at their own dead heads and skeletal remains (which would be physiologically scarring))? Tough call.

I know you mentioned this at the top of the page, that's why I mentioned it here (I suppose I should have made that more clear...sorry). I agree that it would be rather interesting, albeit disturbing, to have the crew be entirely remade separate from the heads, but you raise good questions about what would then be done with the original heads afterwards (because yes, there’s no way those would just be ignored). However, I have the feeling that the original heads are going to be kept in some fashion and eventually become part of the new rebirthed crew somehow. I could be wrong, but it almost seems too bizarre even for Futurama for there to be “copies” of the crew accepted from that point onward as the real crew (even if, as coldy mentioned, that is essentially what happened in the game). Whatever happens though, I still hope for the best.

If they decided to remake the crew separate from the heads (which will almost certainly not happen, but it's worth discussing), I'd have the same concerns I have about rebirthing them with their heads, which is was it worth it? There has to be a point to it. A one episode dealie almost would make it unnecessary unless that one episode bothered to use itself to its full potential (you know, that point we've been arguing since we saw the Rebirth footage).

If the crew was cloned, the point would have to made that (similar to The Venture Bros.) that they are still the crew, and that's all that matters. Imagine if the crew knew they were clones and the freak-outs' they would likely have. This would be the time for Fry, The Professor, and Bender? to make their arguments to them that they consider them one-in-the-same. I could even imagine a repeat of Fry's ITWGY line to Leela ("You're you, that's all I need to know"). That's what would be needed to make it worthwhile.

Of course, thinking it over, that might be kind-of hard to make funny, and many viewers might not see cloning (for the story purposes of what is primarily a comedy) to be a big deal ("they're back, so let's get to the funny"), diffusing any drama associated with the episode, so add that to the reasons to go for a reanimation of the heads/replacement of their bodies over full cloning.

Wait a minute! We (everybody who has posted) keep forgetting to mention that it wouldn't be just a head-grafting thing. The crew's skeletons are still hanging off their heads. Wouldn't everyone think it somewhat callous of the writers to have those just tossed away? Sure, I could imagine a joke from The Professor about how he doesn't even have most of his original bones anymore, so it's not a big deal (although he does sentimentally keep several of his older body parts and organs around), but that doesn't seem enough. Surely whatever the writers have cooked up should either have the original parts of the crew (head and skeletal bodily remains) serve as the basis for new meat or alternatively completely resurrect the crew separate from their remains and pay respect to their deaths and second chances' at life.

All these conflicting and difficult thoughts make me want to make a vow here. That vow is that if Rebirth makes an attempt at trying to take its own subject matter seriously, that I will at the very least respect the writers for having balls. I can only imagine how much debate went on in the writers room when they decided to go ahead with this episode (probably even more than is going on in this and the previous speculation post) and how hard it was to finally find one plotline to go through with (along with at least some question of if they did it right). To pay respect to the tightrope walk this episode is and the writers themselves had to go through to write it (over a simple "We're back and everything is okay"), I will go easy on them (unless it totally sucks). That is my vow.

[Reply #241 on:]

Watching it again from the beginning of the series allows me to go back and pick out the character details and inside jokes that were planned from the show's start, but viewers didn't necessarily pick up on the first time through. There is always something new to pick up on that you didn't catch before!

[Reply #242 on:]

futurefan, how right you are!

Fistful, again I'd imagine that they'd try to keep the original heads and skeletal remains, although I have no idea how regrowing their bodies onto their framework would quite match the supposedly more literal rebirth that we're supposed to see, so maybe the entirely separate body idea has a bit more merit (although I still feel that it's more likely that the original heads and remains will be directly reformed or added to in order to restore the characters).

As for your vow, that's a good idea. It may be difficult to go easy on the writers since they've set a high standard for themselves (and you have the provision about how all bets are off if the episode's terrible), but I agree that I'd be grateful if there were some level of seriousness in the events of the episode. Like we've been saying, there really should be some seriousness involved because of the subject matter (not that I don't want there to be comedy, either), and I already am excited about the seemingly bold direction the episode could take.

[Reply #243 on:]

Maybe they need to put the crew's remains into whatever it is they're going to be "Rebirthed" out of in order to be able to "Rebirth" them?

Can anyone understand what I just typed?

[Reply #244 on:]

I kinda did, and I think you're onto something.

Two gold stars!

[Reply #245 on:]

Maybe they need to put the crew's remains into whatever it is they're going to be "Rebirthed" out of in order to be able to "Rebirth" them?

You mean like a mold? That's a pretty good idea! It's funny (reminds me of some of those monster skeletons you could put in a mold and surround with a jello-like substance) and it would fit into the whole rebirthing idea (if they were ejected out of whatever contraption would perform the "rebirth"). Add another two gold stars!

[Reply #246 on:]

Yeah... remember that scene from 'The Fifth Element' when... Leeloo* was 'recreated'?

(*Woo!)

[Reply #247 on:]

I've never seen it, how was it done?

[Reply #248 on:]

Not that different from how the parasites recreated Fry's lost tissues in Parasites Lost. See it for yourself: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KhAwNgYGkYg

Also, literally see the movie for yourself. It has Milla Jovovich half-naked for the first half of the movie and Bruce Willis basically playing future John McClane (along with a fantastically campy villain by Gary Oldman and "Tiny" Zeus Lester playing the President of the Galaxy). Awesome!

[Reply #249 on:]

Yeah, that movie's great fun. One of those films where you have to forgive glaring plot illogicalities.

[Reply #250 on:]

Example: In The Sting when Fry regenerated on the couch, he's just a clone and they could never really go with that explanation of Fry coming back to life because it isn't Fry, just a copy of Fry, the real Fry is still dead.

Is there anyone on this board who actually wants to discuss whether that is philosophically true or not?

P.S. I've made it obvious that I agree with you about cloning the crew being lazy and having a wealth of story problems (i.e. no reason to care in future episodes if the characters are in mortal danger if cloning is okay). I just want to point out that in the future this (cloning? Still the same person, or living insult?) will end up being a major form of debate and a pretty big step in deciding what man considers its self and mortality (this paragraph alone tells me that I'm certainly not intelligent or mature enough to discuss this (although if anybody wants I'd certainly try)).

It's going to be a big issue I am sure. I'm sure if the development goes on cloning of humans will be done within twenty years. An example taken from the TV series Heroes, and it's kind of a big spoiler (season 3 finale):

Show spoiler

When Nathan Petrelli dies, and they have captured the bad guy Zylar,  they realise that they can force Zylar to transform into Nathan's appearance, and change their memories - more or less, Zylar is turned into Nathan while Nathan himself dies, thus they let Nathan "live on" in the body of another.

What is a mind? What is life? Great philosophical questions. I am not religious in any form, but I have an open mind. Still I believe life exist until the body dies, and then you are gone. But maybe you can still find traces of personality and memories in the brain, if it has not been dead for too long. Then, would it be possible to take out these traces of a dead being, and place them inside another's living body, replacing his/her memories? Would that body wake up remembering only dying? And would that person be the same as before, but in a new shell? It's not about saving one's soul, but one's brain... a fascinating idea in my opinion, that a man can live forever, or rather a man's brain, but in varying bodies. Opinions?

[Reply #251 on:]

Maybe they're supposed to get cloned.  Maybe that's how they'll be rebirthed.  

Oh, and since there's going to be an episode that focuses on the events of ITWGY, I'd like to see Leo Wong get arrested for trying to blow up the Violet North Star and for his crimes against women.   Then he can go on trial and everyone testifies against him and he ends up in prison for the rest of his life and a law is passed that if a man discriminates against a woman, he goes to prison.

And sexism would be abolished for good.  Also Zapp gets arrested for helping Leo but he gets off with a warning and community service.   The Legion of Mad Hatters, The Feministas, and the PE Crew can all testify against Leo Wong.

[Reply #252 on:]

Where are the jokes in that, man?
That wouldn't be at all entertaining to watch.

[Reply #253 on:]

Speaking as a female - the idea that if a man discriminates against a woman, the man will go to prison, sounds unbelievably stupid and/or ridiculous.

Good god, no.

Maybe it's because it's just been a while since I've watched ITWGY, but I don't remember Leo committing any crimes against women. Misogyny sucks but the mindset isn't exactly against the law or anything.

[Reply #254 on:]

Oh freedom of speech, why are you such a bitch?

[Reply #255 on:]

Plus women do it to men constantly with the whole 'stupid knuckle-dragging primitive' idea they have of us, not to mention the assumption that we're all rapists.

Example: on TV serials and adverts all the time you see the wife/girlfriend making jokes about the unrefined husband/boyfriend and how she has to shape him into something presentable because men are so stupid.

Hahaha hahaha haha HAHAHA-HAHAHAHAHAHA! HAHAHAHAHAHA!!! 

Fuck off.

[Reply #256 on:]

Example: on TV serials and adverts all the time you see the wife/girlfriend making jokes about the unrefined husband/boyfriend and how she has to shape him into something presentable because men are so stupid.

You mean like this? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a7vtyheqPVU

[Reply #257 on:]

Yesss.

[Reply #258 on:]

Silly Coldy. You can't be sexist toward males just like you can't be racist toward whites.

[Reply #259 on:]

Actually people were once charged for discrimination against whites, and the charge was for "reverse racism"

...what?

[Reply #260 on:]

It's still technically only racism, just the reverse to what everyone was used to.

[Reply #261 on:]

When will man learn that all races are equally inferior to robots.

[Reply #262 on:]

Possibly when we have better robots.

[Reply #263 on:]

Silly Coldy. You can't be sexist toward males

The lady chef who just recently forced me (and other males) out of a waitering job with her man-hating attitude stands as pretty compelling evidence that you can.

[Reply #264 on:]

Silly Coldy. You can't be ... racist toward whites.

Wrong.  Back in the late 80's, I was refused entry to a nightclub in Harlem (a ex-Navy buddy of mine was performing there; he's black).  I found out later from my buddy that the club owner told him he didn't want white people in his club, he wanted an all black audience.  That's racism; discrimination based on race.  An extreme example yes, but an example none the less.

[Reply #265 on:]

I assumed Jezzem was being sarcastic...?

[Reply #266 on:]

Hard to tell.  Damn these 2 dimensions!

[Reply #267 on:]

You're right Marcus I was. I figured everyone would have realised it but I was referring to the fact that it's not okay to be sexist toward females or racist toward any race that isn't white but you can be sexist toward males and racist toward whites and no one cares.

[Reply #268 on:]

Isn't against the law to be sexist against either gender or rasist against any race? What happend to all races being equal?

[Reply #269 on:]

"Equality" (especially in the case of gender relations) has meant that the previously persecuted group gets to persecute the group who used to do the persecuting (even though those original members are mostly dead or dying).

So it's actually a trade of one inequality for another; some kind of stupid see-saw of contempt and retribution.

[Reply #270 on:]

I've heard that before and I thought it stupid. What's the point when back then the main reason they put men above women wasn't just strength it was because they saw "Eve" as the reason man was banished from paradise. Most (If not all) men who thought that are gone now (At least all the guys I know don't think that way....).

[Reply #271 on:]

That proves my theory even more that religion is the source of 90% of the worlds problems.

[Reply #272 on:]

The biblical demonization of women is down to Constantine and the Roman Catholic Church in their effort to combat the Pagan Goddess influence.

Don't blame men. Blame the Vatican. Burn it down.

[Reply #273 on:]

Don't blame men. Blame the Vatican. Burn it down.

Feel free to apply this statement to any dilemma you might encounter throughout your life, kids. Most of the time, it works.

[Reply #274 on:]

Fire will fix everything!

...Really, it will.

[Reply #275 on:]

Hmm..crooked games..I know! Fire!

[Reply #276 on:]

When there's nothing specific left to burn, immolate yourself!

I just love fire.

[Reply #277 on:]

Nothing specific left to burn?

[Reply #278 on:]

"Fire, and lots of it!"

"That's your cure for everything!"

[Reply #279 on:]

As well as I've said before about there should be an audio track of just David Cohen's temp voice, they also should have a laugh track, track for a selected episode,
which consists of random people plus John Dimaggio as "that one guy".