Thoughts on 6ACV07 - The late Philip J. Fry - SPOILERS

[Reply #480 on:]

Solid Gold Bender: What did you enjoy most about this episode? The character development, the shipping (relationship between Fry and Leela), the time travel, etc...? In these review threads posters will typically discuss what worked for them/didn't work for them, why they did or didn't enjoy it, and what rating they gave it. Please tell us why you like it!

It was a perfect mix of plot and smart humor. It included a catchy spoof of 2525 and had a perfect sci-fi twist. The love story was once again brought into play(and by epic proportions) and sparked a great feeling in me. The clever jokes and a successful PE was a great thing to see. Also the music was visually stunning. The dramatic feeling of "the end of life", and Leela's note to Fry was amazingly in sync with the story. This and OCW are tied for my favorite episode.

[Reply #481 on:]

Agreed. One of the best lines in the whole season (and created a fun little dynamic between Bender and the professor).

Yeah, and knocking back brewskies while the Universe ends seems rather apt.

Also the music was visually stunning.

[Reply #482 on:]

SGB probably meant that the music, in concert with the visuals, was stunning. And I agree with him. Let's try not to scare off every new poster by making him feel like a dunce cap-wearing dumbass, shall we?

Agreed. One of the best lines in the whole season (and created a fun little dynamic between Bender and the professor).

I just watched this episode the other day, and paid special attention to the dynamic between Fry, Farnsworth, and Bender; they do make a neat little trio. I love their fight after Bender travels forward from the all-ladies future--both Farnsworth's irritation at being interrupted just when he was about to close the deal, and Bender's comment about not continuing the fight he was obviously winning after Fry breaks it up. One of my favorite, most chuckle-worthy moments in an episode that's full of them.

[Reply #483 on:]

SGB probably meant that the music, in concert with the visuals, was stunning. And I agree with him. Let's try not to scare off every new poster by making him feel like a dunce cap-wearing dumbass, shall we?

That's not what he said.
His post-count says he ain't that new, so he has no exemption from the generally high standard of post we expect, nay, demand from PEELers.

[Reply #484 on:]

Ugh, let me re-phrase: "the soundtrack and the scenes just perfectly mixed."

[Reply #485 on:]

Yeah, I preferred the odour of that writing.

[Reply #486 on:]

I really liked this episode.  I'm a huge fan of the love-story arc between Leela and Fry, and this episode definitely reinforced that theme amongst the show and its viewers.

It's interesting because we've seen more development in the Fry-Leela love story as the new season progressed.  In my opinion, after Rebirth the viewers were shown episodes where there's obviously more love-story interaction between the two, and The Late Philip J. Fry played right into it.

Don't get me wrong: Futurama is without question a comedy, and this episode had its great moments (the robo-Amy Wong/Cubert AC comment cracked up me silly).  Watching Leela receive Fry's birthday card forty years (?) after he disappeared and then write that message in the Cavern on the Green really hit a sweet spot, for me personally, in this episode.  In the year 1 Billion, Fry is just left with wondering what happened with his old life (twice over, too!  The irony.. ).  Talk about being lonely.  And of course the writers played the show's inherent sci-fi theme into actual science, showing the viewers that the big bang eventually reoccurs over time (there has been significant talk amongst the scientific community that this could indeed be a possibility, but it's pure speculation).

Overall, I really enjoyed this episode.  I thought it was pretty funny, and touched upon some key character development points that every series needs.  I do feel that the whole "time travel" concepts need to be played down a bit.  We've seen this several times over, and received a HUGE dose in Bender's Big Score.    I'm not quite sure we need anymore of this for a while!

[Reply #487 on:]

futurIMAfan, you've only been a here a few days and have already made two amazing posts! 

I agree that the time travel should be toned down. Episodes like All the Presidents' Heads really don't need it...

[Reply #488 on:]

futurIMAfan, you've only been a here a few days and have already made two amazing posts! 

Three!

Also, I'm up for time travel in Futurama whenever, as long as it is not as sucky as ATPH...

[Reply #489 on:]

Yeah this was the best episode so far, but its certainly not a 10..it really wasn't very funny and it couldn't have been more predictable. They would have done this episode better in the old Futurama. I found it kind of shallow. It was interesting though. The Fry/Leela stuff was lame and eye rolly.

9/10

[Reply #490 on:]

Have you seen "Overclockwise" yet? Because the Fry/Leela stuff was much worse in that.

And if the whole second universe thing was predictable to you, then you would have to be some kind of wizard.

[Reply #491 on:]

Interesting, how a 9/10 garners such faint praise from you.

[Reply #492 on:]

Yeah this was the best episode so far, but its certainly not a 10..it really wasn't very funny and it couldn't have been more predictable. They would have done this episode better in the old Futurama. I found it kind of shallow. It was interesting though. The Fry/Leela stuff was lame and eye rolly.

9/10

Bulllshiit.

[Reply #493 on:]

What is bullshit DannyJC13, please elaborate

[Reply #494 on:]

This is one of the show's most well recieved episodes to date, and it was in no way predictable.

[Reply #495 on:]

Of course it was predictable, it was a forward-only time machine, and you KNEW they'd get back again, so the only possible way they'd get back was to go forward to the restart of the universe. You'd have to be an idiot not to see that coming

[Reply #496 on:]

But in an episode filled with time travelling elements, there's a number of things that could have happened. Leela could have come forward from the past to rescue them. They could have found some sort of wormhole. They could have come up with dozens of different endings to am episode of this nature. There really isn't any need to resort to calling people idiots because they didn't forsee an obscure twist.

On another note, has there ever been a plot twist where people haven't accused it of being predictable?

[Reply #497 on:]

My opinion on TLPJF:
For me, it's also "just" a nine (though I consider hardly any episode a real 10: For that, not even the slightest, tiniest detail may stain the viewing pleasure. The slightest, tiniest, smallest mistake will be eligible to reduce the 10 to a nine)*.

That said, TLPJF is imho:

- The series best episode for "first viewing". The jokes are spot on, the plot is direct, yet with interesting twists, refernces to sci fi classics, etc. Also a really great song/montage.
- Compared to other episodes, TLPJF gains less upon repeated viewings. All necessary information was delivered (in a brillant way, no doubt about that) upon first viewing.
E.g. we already knew the "In the Year 2525" song. The alternate lyrics and montage are great, but when you saw it once, you have seen it all. While in comparison, "I want my hands back" is a far more complicated and unfamiliar song.  It takes a while to get used to it, yet -in the long run- people will probably prefer it to "In the year..."

TLPJF might have had the strongest start, but other episodes imhO just managed to activate more second/third/fourth/etc.. viewing potential.

*Last, I also want to name my little "stain" on TLPJF: I strongly disliked Lewis Mortons ways of often using other chars as mere "one trick messing it up ponies" whose mere purpose is to put Leela on a pedestal. So, when I saw the future planet express, what happened: All the characters were deadbeats/losers, except Hermes, who performed the only halfway competent action. And what was that competent action? Cheering up Leela and praising her how great she was,,,ARRGH!!! Sure it was just a short scene that can be ignored. Yet, this sinlge scene incorporated in seconds my major dislike of Mortons writing style, heck, of the show itself.
So, as little as the detail was, the reminder is more than enough for me to "downgrade" TLPJF from 10 to 9...

[Reply #498 on:]

There really isn't any need to resort to calling people idiots because they didn't forsee an obscure twist.

On another note, has there ever been a plot twist where people haven't accused it of being predictable?

Are we going to start giving out "M. Night Shyamalan Awards" for the know-it-all astute PEELers who see twists coming from a mile away?

Saying that one predicted the resolution before it happened is pretty much akin to correcting someone's grammatical errors at a cocktail party. It really isn't necessary, and a tad obnoxious, imho.

UnrealLegend, thanks for being the voice of maturity. No need for name-calling, yup.

[Reply #499 on:]

Well..on a more neutral note:

I also saw the "reboot of the Universe" coming (but this might have been a lucky guess, I will not contemplate about the potential necessity to foresee that end).

The reasons behind my guess were rather simple: Throughout the episode, the three time travelers were shown to be somewhat powerless against the huge universe. "The tides of time played with them", so to speak.
So, other twists (e.g. someone coming back from the past with a backward time machine to pick them up) would have been a contradiction with the over-powerful, mercyless universe.
The "Reboot" was for me the only story-fitting solution: They are still powerless against that huge universe, but for once, the universe works in their favor.

So, without reverting to a "should have seen it coming" trope, the "Universe Reboot" was imhO the story twist that made the most sense, that turned out to be the best fit regarding the episodes overall mood,

[Reply #500 on:]

1 - The theory of the universe going through a series of big bangs and big crunches is an actual thing, and those of us who have heard of it at some point would naturally be less surprised by it. I wasn't surprised by them replaying the entire universe but was surprised and amused when they overshot and had to go through it an extra time.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Big_Crunch

2 - I see Bianca's got a working G key again. Neat.

[Reply #501 on:]

Thank you, Inquisitor! It is the most organic resolution isnt't it? (BTW, Are you interested in joining my book club? You seem quite literary. Because really, nobody reads the books and just goes for the gossip and wine.  )

[Reply #502 on:]

I strongly disliked Lewis Mortons ways of often using other chars as mere "one trick messing it up ponies" whose mere purpose is to put Leela on a pedestal.

Actually, I think it is you who is putting her on a pedestal, Hein.  No one else around here goes to such lengths to always make a case about how Leela's supposed misandry campaign is ruining the show for us.

As for foreseeing plot twists... have a cookie?  Or some free internet points?

[Reply #503 on:]

As for foreseeing plot twists... have a cookie?  Or some free internet points?

I know! Write a screenplay with a completely unknowable, prediction-proof twist. I mean, it's easy, right?

[Reply #504 on:]

I know! Write a screenplay with a completely unknowable, prediction-proof twist. I mean, it's easy, right?

It sure is.  I just hop into my special capsule that I invented that completely eliminates all writers previous to me from the time-space continuum while I come up with ideas.  It's great!

[Reply #505 on:]

I see Bianca's got a working G key again. Neat.

Hopefully the rest of her keyboard will stop working soon.

[Reply #506 on:]

It'd be easy, Sparky! You just have to write like a small child, neglecting any foreshadowing or logic that could give the audience any clue. You know, the stuff competent writers do to avoid people complaining that they just pulled something out of their butt.

"Just as the evil robot gun machine closed in, it turned into poop and then Fry and Leela and Zoidberg turned into frogs and lived in the ocean happily ever after. The End."

I see Bianca's got a working G key again. Neat.

Hopefully the rest of her keyboard will stop working soon.

U MAEK ME LAWL   

[Reply #507 on:]

Of course it was predictable, it was a forward-only time machine, and you KNEW they'd get back again, so the only possible way they'd get back was to go forward to the restart of the universe. You'd have to be an idiot not to see that coming

No? I genuinely thought they would come to a point in time where they could go backward (but not so easily, there would of been a twist or something) and I didn't expect the ending at all.

[Reply #508 on:]

I've always been a bit weird when it comes to plot twists and realizing them. The ones that seemingly hardly anyone seems to get I see early on (Lars as Fry, dude looks a bit like Fry, sounds a bit like Fry, he's probably Fry in some form/Leela's probably actually having one big nightmare and Fry's alive and well) and the really obvious ones everyone else slates, I miss (the teleporter ray from Lrreconcilable Ndndifferences/Rumbledy-Hump is its own planet), so I never hold it against the show if I do figure them out.

[Reply #509 on:]

Of course it was predictable, it was a forward-only time machine, and you KNEW they'd get back again, so the only possible way they'd get back was to go forward to the restart of the universe. You'd have to be an idiot not to see that coming

No? I genuinely thought they would come to a point in time where they could go backward (but not so easily, there would of been a twist or something) and I didn't expect the ending at all.

Its never the setup.

[Reply #510 on:]

I know! Write a screenplay with a completely unknowable, prediction-proof twist. I mean, it's easy, right?

It sure is.  I just hop into my special capsule that I invented that completely eliminates all writers previous to me from the time-space continuum while I come up with ideas.  It's great!

See, I totally saw that coming, even before your post appeared. Someone give me a cookie, I am so smart. Next time say all writers will become poop or go back to their home planets, a la Poochie from that other show that must not be named.

[Reply #511 on:]

Next time say all writers will become poop or go back to their home planets, a la Poochie from that other show that must not be named.

Hi, Sparky! It looks like you have something to say! Do you?

[Reply #512 on:]

Hi, Sparky! It looks like you have something to say! Do you?

 

[Reply #513 on:]

Of course it was predictable, it was a forward-only time machine, and you KNEW they'd get back again, so the only possible way they'd get back was to go forward to the restart of the universe. You'd have to be an idiot not to see that coming

No? I genuinely thought they would come to a point in time where they could go backward (but not so easily, there would of been a twist or something) and I didn't expect the ending at all.

As someone pointed out earlier in this thread, that COULD have happened in this episode.

(I'll let you do the digging for the answer.)

[Reply #514 on:]

I see what you're talking about, Fnord.

Show spoiler

backwards time travel has been achieved in Travers's time, and using the time code, and in Roswell that Ends Well. And maybe on other occasions I'm not recalling right now.

[Reply #515 on:]

Show spoiler

"Backwards Time Travel Made Easy" was the title of a book that got thrown on the fire in this episode, too.

[Reply #516 on:]

Thank you, Inquisitor! It is the most organic resolution isnt't it? (BTW, Are you interested in joining my book club? You seem quite literary. Because really, nobody reads the books and just goes for the gossip and wine.   )

Hm...find someone covering my flight costs from Germany to Texas, add some mead to the wine, then we can talk about joining...

[Reply #517 on:]

Interesting factoid you might not know: There's a lot of German immigrants here, and the culture in the Hill Country (the area where I live) proudly touts its German heritage. If you ever come here to join my book club of anti-intellectual dumbasses--through teleportation, of course, because I'm broke as hell--then you might feel at home. Or you might laugh at the pseudo-German people here. Especially during Wurstfest in New Braunfels. Lots of fake leather lederhosen and overpriced, low-quality beer.

[Reply #518 on:]

I see what you're talking about, Fnord.

TNUK saw better, though.

[Reply #519 on:]

What can I say? He's a smart guy.