Thoughts on 6ACV20 - Neutopia - SPOILERS

[on:]

Review and discuss the new Futurama episode 'Neutopia' in this thread and consider posting a short review on CGEF, too!


I'll leave this thread open for the time being, but please don't post before there's something to be said (e.g., before the episode is on).

[Reply #1 on:]

Apparently kneeing Bender in the groin works.

I learn new things every day.

[Reply #2 on:]

Zoidberg's Uzi amused me to no end.

[Reply #3 on:]

YES. SCRUFFY IS A GIRL. WIN.

[Reply #4 on:]

Zoidberg with an Uzi. o_O

The first act was non stop laughs, but the second act was a bit 'meh.'

The third act again was 'meh' but was pretty funny, just a really rushed ending. Didn't explore the opposite genders at all.

7/10. Not the greatest, but still pretty good. Also, Fry on the bike was also hilarious.

[Reply #5 on:]

I have to agree with the first review posted in the previous news thread. Not the most deep satire ever in Futurama. But eh. Good enough, I suppose. Had a few good jokes, I guess. I didn't have high expectations for the episode to begin with. I wonder if Scruffy's "change" is permanent? I have to say that'd make the episode worth it if it is...

[Reply #6 on:]

I liked the set-up; turning Planet Express into an airline was an interesting concept. The abruptness of the OMGZ WE'RE GOING BANKRUPT thing was kind of silly (and didn't they just do this battle of the sexes thing with "Into the Wild Green Yonder"?), but it led to some really funny dialogue (Farnsworth admonishing everyone to talk louder amused me, as did...well, pretty much everything else in act one.)

The entire episode was actually really fast-paced and gag-centric...and, surprisingly, most of the jokes hit their mark for me (I actually laughed uncontrollably at Leela forgetting that Amana was a refrigerator; I must not be well). Some of it was predictable (the Hermes and Labarbara lovin'), but a lot of it was just really silly and great. At any rate, there was just a large volume of jokes, so if one was lousy, a better one would be along in a second or two. I didn't exactly care for all the contemporary references (Desperate Housewives, Tommy Hil-kajigger), and some of the battle of the sexes stuff was a bit cliche (guys like fart jokes, girls don't, yadda yadda yadda), but I still found the episode consistently amusing.

The last act was...disturbing, to say the least. Thankfully, the gender-switching thing didn't take up too much of the episode's run time. Though I didn't find it particularly inspired, or even all that amusing (though Leela calling Fry a skank made me giggle), it wasn't as awful as I thought it would be.

What really got me about this episode, though, was how they covertly put in this Hermes/Labarbara story. It wasn't what you'd call emotionally resonant or anything, but it was a nice change of pace. Usually Fry and Leela are the shippy anchor in episodes like this (see also: "The Prisoner of Benda"); it was fun to see Hermes and Labarbara's relationship get some, uh, action.

So, yeah. This episode exceeded my expectations...but those expectations were admittedly pretty low to begin with. It had its moments, though; it's your average, joke-packed episode. Nothing too special, but certainly not as vomit-inducing as I thought it would be.

7/10

[Reply #7 on:]

I liked it. It showcased some of the annoying flaws of the Comedy Central episodes--contemporary pop culture references, for example. But they brought enough funny for me to not mind too much.

I thought the rock characters were hilarious.

[Reply #8 on:]

7/10

I feel like they really could have spent more time on the genders being switched. It felt a little like an episode of Family Guy for me.

[Reply #9 on:]

I liked it, but it was overall just an average episode to me. It reminded me a lot of the flaws I found with The Duh-Vinci Code: the main plot point waits until the third act to be exposed. The episode developed way way too slowly. There's also the possibility of an unaddressed continuity error with Scruffy still being a female at the end, but I guess we'll have to wait for 6ACV21-26 to see if that holds true. I'll wait until my intensive second viewing to grade it properly, but right now, I'd give it a 4 at best.


Memorable jokes just off the top of my head:

• Scruffy still having a mustache as a woman.
• "Your manwich!"

[Reply #10 on:]

I liked it, but it was overall just an average episode to me. It reminded me a lot of the flaws I found with The Duh-Vinci Code: the main plot point waits until the third act to be exposed.

Who's to say what the main plot point is, though? Yes, the bankruptcy was established in act one, then sort of dropped in act two for the weird battle-of-the-sexes thing on the deserted planet. But it was picked up again in act three, what with the perverted, gender-bending calendar. It's not like acts one and two were completely irrelevant; I don't think the point of the episode was that the crew switched genders. It was probably something more along the lines of, like, the crew dealing with their gender-related issues in tandem with their financial issues...in which case the two plot points dovetailed nicely in the final act.

That's just my interpretation, though. I promise I'm not trying to undermine your observation.

[Reply #11 on:]

Well that was a weird weak episode start was very funny though 4/10

[Reply #12 on:]

I thought it was a great episode, although I think I am extremely biased. I thought it was really funny how much Fry looked like his mother. Leela's 5 o'clock shadow was awesome, I mean what is not awesome about a purple beard. Overall I really enjoyed it. The rock characters are awesome, and when Zap showed up and blasted him, I nearly fell off my chair.

10/10

[Reply #13 on:]

It was a good, average, enjoyable episode. I guess my only gripe isn't even my own, my husband made a quip while passively watching "if they're in space why are they crashing when the engine goes out?" I assume it's because they were already in the gravitational pull of the planet they crashed on. 7/10

It showcased some of the annoying flaws of the Comedy Central episodes--contemporary pop culture references

I think it just feels more contemporary, but when we look back on it it won't be. Some of the old episodes were like that, the Lucy Lu episode comes to mind.

[Reply #14 on:]

I liked it, but it was overall just an average episode to me. It reminded me a lot of the flaws I found with The Duh-Vinci Code: the main plot point waits until the third act to be exposed.

Who's to say what the main plot point is, though? Yes, the bankruptcy was established in act one, then sort of dropped in act two for the weird battle-of-the-sexes thing on the deserted planet. But it was picked up again in act three, what with the perverted, gender-bending calendar. It's not like acts one and two were completely irrelevant; I don't think the point of the episode was that the crew switched genders. It was probably something more along the lines of, like, the crew dealing with their gender-related issues in tandem with their financial issues...in which case the two plot points dovetailed nicely in the final act.

That's just my interpretation, though. I promise I'm not trying to undermine your observation.

When the run up to the episode and the synopses of it that you read center on "the crew switches genders", that's usually a sign that the main plot of the episode is "the crew switches genders". The bankruptcy was a set-up for the main plot, like how a fishing license is the set-up for the main plot of The Deep South or how trying to buy underpants is the set-up for the main plot of A Fishful of Dollars. If the bankruptcy was supposed to be the main plot, then it should've been mentioned during the episode before being brought back up later. You don't have a set-up, leave it hanging for the majority of the episode, and then randomly bring it back up at the end. I really feel like the episode would've been better if they had the focus been on the crew switching genders from Act II rather then them going on some weird quest to some far off land, becoming gender neutral, and then them finally switching genders just becoming a plot device to solve the issue raised in the set-up. The episode is structured horribly no matter if you think the financial situation or gender situation is supposed to be the main plot.

[Reply #15 on:]

Who's to say what the main plot point is, though? Yes, the bankruptcy was established in act one, then sort of dropped in act two for the weird battle-of-the-sexes thing on the deserted planet. But it was picked up again in act three, what with the perverted, gender-bending calendar. It's not like acts one and two were completely irrelevant; I don't think the point of the episode was that the crew switched genders. It was probably something more along the lines of, like, the crew dealing with their gender-related issues in tandem with their financial issues...in which case the two plot points dovetailed nicely in the final act.

That's just my interpretation, though. I promise I'm not trying to undermine your observation.

Good point.

I tried to stay spoiler free, but I must admit that I caved in and watched a clip on the comedy central website. In the clip, the crew had switched genders. So I naturally thought the episode woudl be about gender-switching. But really the plot was more broad than that...the gender switching was just a plot point in the final act of the episode.

I can't blame the writers for that, but it's a slight letdown when we're expecting all of these great gender-switching gags only to find out that it pretty much begins and ends with the one short clip we saw online.

[Reply #16 on:]

But the writers aren't really responsible for how the episode is presented by the media. I mean, I know DXC and others were hyping this as an episode where fans would get the, uh, privilege of seeing the characters' genders switched--but I think that's just because this description is a lot more sensational than, say, "Planet Express almost goes bankrupt, and everyone learns a Big Lesson about gender." You want to build interest in the episode by highlighting the absurdity of it (kind of like how DXC revealed that next season's premiere is about

Show spoiler

Bender impregnating a soda machine or something. Do I really think that will be the driving force of the episode? Probably not.

), so I don't fault the writers and news outlets for using the gender-bending aspect as their hook.

I do appreciate what you're both saying, though; in a way, it's false advertising. However, I don't think i_c's "Deep South" comparison is really the same thing; the fishing license from act one is never mentioned again in that episode. Meanwhile, the bankruptcy and the calendar are both introduced in act one, only to be reintroduced (and resolved) in act three. A similar thing happens in "Benderama," really, where the monster is introduced in act one but doesn't wreak any havoc until act three. I agree that this episode wasn't brilliantly structured (though, like I already said, it was pretty fast-paced, and that made it more enjoyable to me), but I don't feel gypped or anything because we didn't get to see more of the nudey Professor.

[Reply #17 on:]

YES. SCRUFFY IS A GIRL. WIN.

Er ... The rock creature (the other rock creature, I mean) teleported everyone else who had been on the plane; why didn't he bring Scruffy into the room as well? Plot hole!!!

I think that having previews for this episode spoiled the third act. I mean, we all knew their genders were going to be changed, but watching the episode, it felt like an afterthought to me.

The rock creatures are of course a reference to Yarnek from the Star Trek episode "The Savage Curtain".

[Reply #18 on:]

The last act was...disturbing, to say the least. Thankfully, the gender-switching thing didn't take up too much of the episode's run time.

It was like someone let Evil Lunch write part of an episode.

[Reply #19 on:]

I really enjoyed this one, although the ending was slightly abrupt.
More analysis after repeat viewings.
For now, 8/10

[Reply #20 on:]

Well this season definitely started off with a bang, only problem is that Scruffy didn't remain a woman for the next episode (granted, the seasons not in order this year, but that defeats the purpose of having the episode be the first of the season) . Nonstop laughs all the way through.

10/10

[Reply #21 on:]

This episode definitely exceeded my (quite low) expectations. It had a lot of good laughs, and wasn't too centred on sex jokes, which was my biggest fear. It had some pacing problems, and the second act almost got a little confusing, but overall it was fun. As has already been pointed out, some of the male/female jokes seemed a little too stereotypical and done, but it was alright. I give it 6/10, in other words it's slightly under the average Futurama episode. I have only seen it once though, many episodes grow with time.

I also liked the reappearances of some characters we haven't seen too much of, like Victor, Dr. Goodandsexy (ok, Cahill) and Farnsworth's girlfriend from 300 Big Boys. No major roles, but still nice to see them.

I also like my awesome prediction of already having created the Infosphere page "rock alien", and then have that be the official name (the only time he is referred to is when Borax Kid says "the other rock alien"). I win!

[Reply #22 on:]

But the difference between Neutopia and Benderama in that regard, Gorky, is that it was pretty obvious what the plot of Benderama was. The delivery to the giant was a misadventure in Benderama, and it was pretty obvious from the get-go that it wasn't going to be the main plot in any regard. The main plot was obviously Bender duplicating itself and the implications of that. The changes in "oh noes" from Bender consuming all the matter, then all the alcohol, then all the water were all just bits of the total main plotline, whereas with Neutopia you have the company going bankrupt and having to figure out what to do financially, the company becoming a commercial air company, the crew being split into gender and competing, the crew becoming gender neutral and having a utopian society, the crew switching genders, and, oh hey, that bankruptcy thing is back again! I have no idea what the main plot of the episode was supposed to be. The plot changes of Benderama revolved around Bender duplicating himself, wheres I'm not sure what was the main plot which everything else revolved around with Neutopia.

[/rant]

[Reply #23 on:]

Is it possible to avoid spoilers from other episodes in the Neutopia thread? I haven't seen Benderama yet.

[Reply #24 on:]

I guess we'll have to agree to say I'm right and you're wrong disagree, weiner.

Seriously, though, I do agree that "Neutopia" was kind of all over the place, plot-wise. I guess I just thought there were a few narrative threads, thin though they may have been, present throughout the whole episode (the Hermes/Labarbara thing is probably a good example).

And sorry about the spoilers, Aki. I'll be more careful about that in the future.

[Reply #25 on:]

Initial thoughts: I would have rather they skipped the first and second act (which wasn't bad) so I could see more gender-switched Planet Express crew. I wish that had been the focus instead and had a better resolution

Show spoiler

(oh I'll just change you back because the episode needs to be over in 30 seconds).

I mean the whole airplane thing wasn't a bad idea, with them crashing on the island, I just hate that this episode was written with the conception that the writers had these two good ideas (the airplane and the gender switching) and decided to merge it into a so-so episode instead of having 2 good episodes. That's my beef, but I did like the episode.

[Reply #26 on:]

I thought it was a great episode, although I think I am extremely biased. I thought it was really funny how much Fry looked like his mother. Leela's 5 o'clock shadow was awesome, I mean what is not awesome about a purple beard. Overall I really enjoyed it. The rock characters are awesome, and when Zap showed up and blasted him, I nearly fell off my chair.

10/10

Well this season definitely started off with a bang, only problem is that Scruffy didn't remain a woman for the next episode (granted, the seasons not in order this year, but that defeats the purpose of having the episode be the first of the season) . Nonstop laughs all the way through.

10/10

Yo, Roswell That Ends Well, I'ma let you finish...but Neutopia was the BEST EPISODE of ALL TIME!

[Reply #27 on:]

I think it would have been better if they skipped the comeback to Earth deal altogether. They should have had them stay on the planet (moon? asteroid? wasn't it circling Mercury?) until the very end, when they finally proved themselves worthy of leaving. Just having them switch backdrop altogether messed things up.

Btw, Spacedal11, island?

[Reply #28 on:]

I believe that's what Spacedal was going for. Either have an episode that's strictly them crashing on a planet without gender and having to battle to see who is the better gender, and then them coming together at the end to show that neither gender is better than the other. Finally you have a joke resolving the episode with Hermes saying that it's good to be back on Earth and asking Labarbara to make him a manwich. The screen blacks out and she slaps him. PERFECT!

-OR- you have an episode that's strictly about them switching genders, having the story be all fish-out-of-watery, and then some sort of resolution at the end that I can't think of now.

[Reply #29 on:]

Labarbara does not need that much screen time, She's a weak, annoying character.
They were on that planet for way to long doing shit all. My friend said how do you like this show it's awful haha I couldn't argue with him that plot was all over the place luckily Benderama saved the night but still hoping for much better episodes this season.

It really was like one of kurts ideas come to life .

[Reply #30 on:]

I thought the best part of the episode was where they all had no gender...I was actually really interested to see where that might have gone.

[Reply #31 on:]

Island, planet, same thing.

[Reply #32 on:]

I thought the best part of the episode was where they all had no gender...I was actually really interested to see where that might have gone.

Same here. They could easily have shown much more of the neutopia which gave the episode its title.

[Reply #33 on:]

Girly calendar FemProfessor is going to haunt my nightmares.

[Reply #34 on:]

Indeed, I may have poured sulfuric acid on my eyes at that point.

[Reply #35 on:]

Weren't you supposed to be drinking that? And you'd better have finished all your arsenic. You're a growing boy.

[Reply #36 on:]

That was actually not a bad episode. The plot wasn't anything really special or deep or whatever, but it had a lot of good jokes and (as Gorky mentioned) I liked seeing a relationship other than Fry and Leela's explored a little bit.

Anyways, probably not the strongest season opener but it wasn't terrible like everyone was saying it would be...

6/10

Now, on to Benderama!

[Reply #37 on:]

I agree that I was quite happy that the episode went into the Conrad relationship a little more. The episode actually makes me really want a Hermes-centric episode this season.

[Reply #38 on:]

Well that was a weird weak episode start was very funny though 4/10

i guarantee that i'd hate you in real life.

10/10 for me.

[Reply #39 on:]

Unfortunately, I set my standards far too high for these two new episodes. As was clear with season 6, the writing staff just isn't writing the same show I know and love. This evenings episodes were weak, but please don't misunderstand me, they still had their great moments. But as episodes in total, I was not impressed. In my opinion, the concepts were dry, the timing felt all too rushed, and especially tonight, it seemed as though the use of wit and cleverness in writing, had been utterly superseded by the need to be raunchy, or "Comedy Central."

By bringing in previous characters like The Professors gal from 300 Big Boys, and Victor (Biktor), or Dr. Cahill from Benders Big Score, the writing gets less interesting and more or less. . . Disappointing. Reintroducing old minor characters without using them at all for the story, is nice but not quite as nice as it would be to have a full rounded story.

I love this show, sincerely and whole heartedly I truly do. If Futurama were a woman, she and I would have four kids together, I love it that much. But moreover I love what it used to be; it's beautiful, simple, witty, adventurous, and humble beginnings.  If all I have to look forward to this whole season is POORLY placed penis/scrotum/sex jokes, lackluster story lines, and flat sophomoric gag-type melodramatic punchlines, I might just be in for a difficult time.

Nevertheless I will continue to watch, love, and enjoy this show. Iz da best.