The Mighty Specu-les! Futurama Speculation II

[Reply #360 on:]

I wouldn't be too worried about 'Yo Leela Leela', every Season has one or two bad eps.

[Reply #361 on:]

Maybe now they do, but they didn't used to ...

[Reply #362 on:]

Maybe now they do, but they didn't used to ...

You're right, I don't remember any bad episodes at the beginning. Of course there were a few brilliant ones, and some not so great, but Yo Leela Leela sucked noodles.

[Reply #363 on:]

I can think of countless episodes from the original run that I'd consider to be worse than Yo Leela Leela.

In-A-Gadda-Da-Leela, Attack of the Killer App and Holiday Craptacular on the other hand...

[Reply #364 on:]

I can think of countless episodes from the original run that I'd consider to be worse than Yo Leela Leela.

In-A-Gadda-Da-Leela, Attack of the Killer App and Holiday Craptacular on the other hand...

I meant the very beginning, season 1 - 2 etc.

[Reply #365 on:]

Then why did you include "Yo Leela Leela" in your list?  That is season 6, not 1 - 2.

[Reply #366 on:]

Then why did you include "Yo Leela Leela" in your list?  That is season 6, not 1 - 2.

I didn't say it was in season 1 or 2. What are you talking about?????????????????

[Reply #367 on:]

I can think of countless episodes from the original run that I'd consider to be worse than Yo Leela Leela.

In-A-Gadda-Da-Leela, Attack of the Killer App and Holiday Craptacular on the other hand...

I meant the very beginning, season 1 - 2 etc.

Season 2 has the worst episode of the original run: 'The Cryonic Woman'.

[Reply #368 on:]

I can think of countless episodes from the original run that I'd consider to be worse than Yo Leela Leela.

In-A-Gadda-Da-Leela, Attack of the Killer App and Holiday Craptacular on the other hand...

I meant the very beginning, season 1 - 2 etc.

Season 2 has the worst episode of the original run: 'The Cryonic Woman'.

Eh, what? Not too bad an episode, some funny stuff

[Reply #369 on:]

The point I was trying to make earlier when I said that they didn't used to all contain such bad eps is that I believe the original run didn't contain any such terrible eps as Yo Leela Leela (at least in my opinion). Season One didn't have a single dud, and the worst ep in Season Two as pointed out was The Cryonic Woman, but the good bits certainly trump Yo Leela Leela. This is the point I believe that fantafob was making before he got jumped on ...

That's Lobstertainment was bad, but again I think it was better than Yo Leela Leela, and nothing in Season Four was as bad either. Hopefully that explains my original point...

I can think of countless episodes from the original run that I'd consider to be worse than Yo Leela Leela.

In-A-Gadda-Da-Leela, Attack of the Killer App and Holiday Craptacular on the other hand...

I meant the very beginning, season 1 - 2 etc.

Season 2 has the worst episode of the original run: 'The Cryonic Woman'.

That's debatable. I certainly wouldn't call it the worst ep of the original run, but I do think it has the worst ending to any ep in the original run...

[Reply #370 on:]

I can think of countless episodes from the original run that I'd consider to be worse than Yo Leela Leela.

In-A-Gadda-Da-Leela, Attack of the Killer App and Holiday Craptacular on the other hand...

I meant the very beginning, season 1 - 2 etc.

Season 2 has the worst episode of the original run: 'The Cryonic Woman'.

Eh, what? Not too bad an episode, some funny stuff

I don't think an episode exists that doesn't have some funny stuff. It's let down by its plotting.

The point I was trying to make earlier when I said that they didn't used to all contain such bad eps is that I believe the original run didn't contain any such terrible eps as Yo Leela Leela (at least in my opinion).

I disagree, but then I don't really understand all the hate towards Yo Leela Leela. It's not a great episode by any means, but I don't think it's particularly bad either.

Season One didn't have a single dud

Mars University is one of the weaker episodes of the show in my opinion. It's not bad, per se, but I don't think any episodes are truly bad.

and the worst ep in Season Two as pointed out was The Cryonic Woman, but the good bits certainly trump Yo Leela Leela.

I think Yo Leela Leela far outranks The Cryonic Woman. Both have fairly strong first acts and I think that Yo Leela Leela does a better job of 'holding it together' afterwards.

That's Lobstertainment was bad, but again I think it was better than Yo Leela Leela, and nothing in Season Four was as bad either. Hopefully that explains my original point...

Again, I'd disagree and I'd certainly take Yo Leela Leela over Bend Her.


This all comes down to personal taste, and I agree with the sentiment (my 3 least favourite episodes of the show's history are from season 6) but I still prefer season 6 to the likes of seasons 1 and 2 for the stand-out episodes. As far as I'm concerned, the first 2 seasons are all decent, but nothing amazing (spare for the very, very back end of season 2). Seasons 3 and 4 are more hit and miss but I prefer them because the hits are so good. Season 6 is even more hit and miss still, but when it hits, it's still fantastic stuff and I'd sooner have a season that's a mixture of wonderful and bad episodes to one that's nothing but episodes that are just 'solid'. Of course, that's just my personal preference.

[Reply #371 on:]

Bend Her?  Seriously?  Bend Her is my favorite episode.  Either that or Love and Rocket.

Hail, hail Roboniaaaaaa, a land I didn't make up!!

[Reply #372 on:]

Bend Her?  Seriously?  Bend Her is my favorite episode.  Either that or Love and Rocket.

Hail, hail Roboniaaaaaa, a land I didn't make up!!

I think it's actually "All hail Roboniaaaaaa, a land I didn't make up!!"

[Reply #373 on:]

Bend Her?  Seriously?  Bend Her is my favorite episode.  Either that or Love and Rocket.

Hail, hail Roboniaaaaaa, a land I didn't make up!!

I think it's actually "All hail Roboniaaaaaa, a land I didn't make up!!"

All I know is that it's okay to go on a date with a guy just because you're hungry.  

As long as there's a chance you'll like him on a full stomach.

[Reply #374 on:]

Bend Her?  Seriously?  Bend Her is my favorite episode.  Either that or Love and Rocket.

Hail, hail Roboniaaaaaa, a land I didn't make up!!

I think it's actually "All hail Roboniaaaaaa, a land I didn't make up!!"

All I know is that it's okay to go on a date with a guy just because you're hungry. 

As long as there's a chance you'll like him on a full stomach.

Are you asking me out, coz I'm not going to by you dinner.

[Reply #375 on:]

Bend Her?  Seriously?  Bend Her is my favorite episode.  Either that or Love and Rocket.

Hail, hail Roboniaaaaaa, a land I didn't make up!!

I think it's actually "All hail Roboniaaaaaa, a land I didn't make up!!"

All I know is that it's okay to go on a date with a guy just because you're hungry. 

As long as there's a chance you'll like him on a full stomach.

Are you asking me out, coz I'm not going to by you dinner.

I'm not hungry.  I could do with a new pair of earrings though.  My birthstone is garnet.  Chop chop.

[Reply #376 on:]

I don't believe in birthstones. How about I get you a reply? Here you go . .  .

[Reply #377 on:]

I don't believe in birthstones. How about I get you a reply? Here you go . .  .

God, when I signed up to be a freeloading, golddigging skank, they never told me I would have to work this hard to have things bought for me.

[Reply #378 on:]

Just watched the preview (Thank to Slurmed), and found the panicking part with Hermes hilarious and can't wait for the episode!

[Reply #379 on:]

@cyber_turnip, our tastes seem rather polar opposite in many respects. Nothing wrong with that, we dig what we dig. On the subject of Mars University though, when I'd only seen Season One and nothing else I did used to think it was the worst ep ever, but I still liked it. Now though, I don't think it's weak at all, but perhaps still my least favourite of Season One. It's still a decent ep though, one which I would call an average ep for Futurama and no lower, not bad at all. I think Season One is solid myself, and yes it has extremely good eps that stand out like I, Roommate and Fry & The Slurm Factory...

[Reply #380 on:]

Mostly what bugs me about "Mars University" (and season one as a whole) is that Fry is still so one-dimensional. He's this dumb, lazy guy from the year 2000, and it's hard to find anything likable about him. It's not a deal-breaker for me, Fry's shallowness; I do enjoy a lot of season one, and agree that "Mars University" is by no means the worst episode that the series has to offer. But it's definitely not a favorite of mine, and that's partly because of how grating I find early-seasons Fry (he doesn't really become the "true" Fry, I don't think, until "Parasites Lost"--though there are flashes of the more complex, three-dimensional character he could be in the pilot and "The Series Has Landed," as well as "Xmas Story" and a few other season two episodes).

[Reply #381 on:]

Saw the clip, nothing special...

From what we've seen so far of Cold Warriors, it seems really bland and 'meh'...

[Reply #382 on:]

What!? It seemed really good to me, were you watching the same thing? Seemed like typical Futurama, pretty good...

@Gorky, Fry never bothered me in the early eps, I just thought it helped give us the sense we were experiencing the bizarre craziness of the future with him. Also, he didn't know anyone, so he wouldn't have any deep meaningful relationships with anyone friend or otherwise...

[Reply #383 on:]

I like the cool gun the CDC had and Hermes panicking, but that's about it...

[Reply #384 on:]

Don't worry, I still have a good feeling about this ep and I think it'll be one of the best out of Season 6 (don't disappoint me now, I don't want to have to take that back)...

*shakes fist at Futurama*

[Reply #385 on:]

@Gorky, Fry never bothered me in the early eps, I just thought it helped give us the sense we were experiencing the bizarre craziness of the future with him. Also, he didn't know anyone, so he wouldn't have any deep meaningful relationships with anyone friend or otherwise...

It's true that he wouldn't have had any strong connection to the PE crew at the start of the series, and it was sort of a process to develop friendships and such, but I just feel like he had few redeeming qualities in the first two seasons regardless. He was like Bart Simpson, kind of, but without the occasional self-reflection. I agree that he had an everyman quality that made it easy for the audience to sympathize with him and see the world through his eyes, but I also think that he could occasionally be really selfish and obnoxious. This was especially noticeable because he seemed kind of self-involved, even though other characters had already had some emotional attachment to him (Bender is bummed about not living together in "I, Roommate"; Leela tries to save him from being assassinated in "My Three Suns").

That said, I do think that Fry's growth as a character was somewhat dependent on the whole loving-Leela thing, which clearly made him want to be a better version of himself. So maybe I'm just complaining about something that's not such a big deal, or at the very least could not be helped until Fry had spent some time in the future and gotten to know everybody. But I still find Fry at his most bearable and sympathetic in the first two seasons when he's dealing with the loneliness that comes from leaving your family and life behind (so, like, the first two episodes of season one, and also "Xmas Story").

[Reply #386 on:]

That was a nice clip. Cold warriors is looking good. Also, I'm glad Smitty is back
EDIT: Oh sweet, I'm a Bending Unit

[Reply #387 on:]

Mostly what bugs me about "Mars University" (and season one as a whole) is that Fry is still so one-dimensional. He's this dumb, lazy guy from the year 2000, and it's hard to find anything likable about him. It's not a deal-breaker for me, Fry's shallowness; I do enjoy a lot of season one, and agree that "Mars University" is by no means the worst episode that the series has to offer. But it's definitely not a favorite of mine, and that's partly because of how grating I find early-seasons Fry (he doesn't really become the "true" Fry, I don't think, until "Parasites Lost"--though there are flashes of the more complex, three-dimensional character he could be in the pilot and "The Series Has Landed," as well as "Xmas Story" and a few other season two episodes).

Yep. Regarding Fry's characterisation, I liked those Episodes best when they went for a certain "Corporal Carrot"*-like intelligence. That's one character that's by far not the sharpest knive in the drawer. A rather simple man, but simple does not mean stupid.
Rather someone "having that ideas that are so obvious that everyone should have seen them".

E.g. Leela's Homeworld: Leela did chasing, fighting, etc... all things, that required trainig and experience. Where did it lead to: Yep, she nearly killed her parents.
What did Fry do: The nearest idea: Let's check the letter that was found with her.

Time keeps on slipping: Using the pump, EVERYONE could have easily moved those stars. Not a really complicated idea, but probably only Fry could have come up with that.

The Mutants are revolting: Again, Leela did organise the Mutant uprising, but where did it lead to? An escalation that might have well ended in bloodshed. What did Fry do: Get a piece of paper, read it, and achieved the mutants freedom.


I mean those Twist that show him as a genius, regarding to the definition "A genius is someone who has an idea that is so easy and obvious, that everyone else could have come up with it, too".

I do hope that they come up with something similar in "Overclockwise" (I think Bender using the whole universe as his processor might not be too good for the universe...)



*(Hope you know Terry Pratchett...)

[Reply #388 on:]

Agreed.  Fry is for the most part rather... stupid I guess.  Yet he has flashes of brilliance every so often,  and we have also seen he is a highly creative individual as well, and he has a lot of maturity that isn't always obvious, and his common sense is pretty hit and miss, it does have plenty of hits.  He's also quite understanding, so he can relate to problems in a way acedemically smart people can't (I don't think a genius in astrophysics is going to understand why people like junk tv.)

The same can be said for Amy.   While she comes across as an idiot most of the time, it soon becomes fairly obvious that she's extremely intelligent in the book smarts department, but is extremely naive and has absolutely no common sense (we've seen that both Fry and Amy are incredibly trusting of people who do not always have their best interests at heart.  Especially if those people are Bender or the Professor.)

[Reply #389 on:]

I'd say Amy's just ditzy because of her age--also, she's good-looking, and a lot of smart girls downplay their intelligence and play up their boobies.

Fry, meanwhile, is genuinely kind of stupid--but also a bit of a savant. He has some hidden talents, and some insight into his fellow human beings. My gripe with him in seasons one and two is that he was mostly just stupid and selfish--and you couldn't really get a sense of how kindhearted and emotionally intelligent he could be. The writers made him a bit too one-note, kind of sold him short. Thankfully, he was fleshed out much more as the series progressed.

[Reply #390 on:]

Yeah, there were times when he was genuinely horrible/selfish.  I would say him being a complete jerk to Bender in I, Roomate, being completely ungrateful to Leela saving his life in MTS or totally turning into a commitment phobic asshole to Amy in PYHOMS are good examples (and they felt incredibly jarring, because otherwise he would be a sweet if slow guy that always wanted to do the right thing.)

I could see Amy deliberately downplaying her intelligence (because let's face it, our society can often be incredibly scathing towards intelligence, especially female intelligence), but for the most part, I see her being incredibly book smart, but absolutely no common sense (such as confusing Leela's haggling for an auction, or "fool me nine times shame on you, fool me ten or more times, shame on me", or coming dangerously close to having her hand shredded by the garbage disposal).    Most of it probably from being incredibly sheltered and wealthy, so she wasn't really taught things like the value of money, or that if all the computors in the world go homicidal, one is probalby not going to have your best interests at heart.  Amy probably values her intelligence a lot though.  Remember the Prof pointing out she didn't have a Nobel Prize yet was enough to have her burst into tears.

One thing though, I really want to see Fry get better at the holophoner.  TDHAIP and PL ahve shown that Fry has the ability to imagine amazing things, he just lacks the technical ability to express them (one thing i can relate to.  Lots of people say my ideas are much better then my drawing ability.  Most of the time it feels like my ideas get stuck halfway down my arm.  I just spent ages drawing a goldfish.  It doesn't look very good, but I am really happy that on parts of it, I did a really good job on the shading and the face.  Practice makes perfect.) 

Music seems to be the key to Leela's heart, and it's Fry's special talent.  I want to see him get better at it.  His simple little images of Leela, or himself and Leela kissing are incredibly touching and sweet. 

[Reply #391 on:]

Post is a bit older, but so what

Btw, if Morbo's race ever did invade Earth it would look something like this…

I do hope that invasion will not make it into an Episode.
I would not only take away the already mentioned  "threatening doom" joke, but also ruin another running gag. (I mean Morbo freaking out like a crybaby when some other, not-to-his-race related danger looms...so he probably is just some bigmouth, without the real guts to join that invasion anyway;) )

[Reply #392 on:]

Yeah, thinking about it since I wrote that I guess it wouldn't be so good. Maybe if it was the guaranteed last season ever of Futurama and one of the last five eps within that season, then I'd be down with it. For now though I agree that no is best. After all, Morbo had another hilarious freak-out in Cold Warriors ...

[Reply #393 on:]

After all, Morbo had another hilarious freak-out in Cold Warriors

Hehe...exactly that scene made me post my comment here...

[Reply #394 on:]

So, no epic Bender like in the Bongo picture...

[Reply #395 on:]

Oh yeaaaaah! I forgot that! Someone fucked up. It must be from next weeks ep, or possibly even the one after, but probably next weeks...

[Reply #396 on:]

Oh, I just remember, the Horse Burger/Popsicle salesman was in CW, so he survived being crushed by the statue in Mobius Dick.

[Reply #397 on:]

He always survives.

[Reply #398 on:]

Running joke I guess, like the manwich...

[Reply #399 on:]

I wonder if the Gypsy survived?  We haven't seen her since her head exploded.  Hope she had a backup or was repaired.  (I'm guessing Big Bertha refused to have a back up or to use it if she had one, despite what the infosphere said about her surviving.)