Thoughts on 6ACV20 - Neutopia - SPOILERS

[Reply #120 on:]

this is the opinion of a typical futurama fan: Love that show like I've loved no other. It's almost too smart for its own good. Probably why it got cancelled the first time.

some you you guys/girls just get too into it.

[Reply #121 on:]

Oh lawd... If you had been here when the show was canceled... This kind of reaction is expected in my opinion considering all the effort we went through just to get these new episodes.

* i_c_weiner awaits futurefreak's "I've watched the pilot live" rant.

[Reply #122 on:]

I watched the pilot live!

</rant>

flesheatingbull: There's a difference between "typical fan" and "dedicated viewer". The latter gets the show uncancelled.

[Reply #123 on:]

My opinion: 6/10 - probably could have given it a 7/10 actually. Basically; not a classic, but I still enjoyed it and laughed out loud at quite a few moments. As the son of an airline pilot I found the take-off procedure joke fricking hilarious. I also found the Hermes/Labarbara subplot quite sweet.

Preferred it to Benderama.  

[Reply #124 on:]

In my opinion, it was below average but still in the "typical Futurama episode" group (albeit near the bottom of that group).

I find the hysterics about "Futurama is going down the drain" to be overblown and ridiculous, since we know that many of the upcoming episodes are likely to be very good, judging by what we have learned about them.

And as has been pointed out earlier in this thread, these two episodes are merely #17 and #20 of a 26-episode production season, several of which (TLPJF, PoB, LI) are as good as anything from the original run.

[Reply #125 on:]

Agree with mongo. They can't all be homeruns, but still better than 90% of the crap on tv. Gave it a 7.

[Reply #126 on:]

Girly calendar FemProfessor is going to haunt my nightmares.

Note: this is a spoiler thread, the spoiler tags here are just to protect your eyes (and possibly manhood).

Show spoiler

It's the noise of that during this scene that creeps me out!

[Reply #127 on:]

I just pretend he's wearing a suit...

[Reply #128 on:]

Neutopia was a pretty good way to start off Futurama, but it was kind of repetitive and boring during the first and second acts. They weren't bad, but writers could have done a better job writing this episode. I'd give it a 7/10 for some of the Comedy and seeing Futurama BACK!

[Reply #129 on:]

I enjoyed the new episode.  I'll rate it a 6.5/10 after first viewing.  I definitely got a few good laughs out of it.  I also tend to like episodes like this one with a rapidly moving story line.  On the down side, as others have brought up I'd like to see them lay back a bit on the pop culture references.  They were used sparsely in the classic episodes and that's the way it should be.  Too many of them in Futurama and they seem like "INSERT JOKE HERE" scripting to me.  Since the current season is in the can already I guess I'll have to wait and see how much they keep dipping into the pop culture well.  It doesn't matter though, I'll be watching anyways!

[Reply #130 on:]

I don't think there were too many pop references in Neutopia or Benderama. There were too many of them in some eps like AotKA though, and I unfortunately think there will be some more in YLL.

[Reply #131 on:]

Nice to see you back, bankrupt. And yeah, I'm looking forward to seeing if they address the pop culture comments in the next production season. Hopefully they do, but the jokes don't kill the episodes really for these episodes.

[Reply #132 on:]

Yeah, I can see that the show's comedy has 'adapted' to CC and the people who view it. Like, I can imagine the average CC veiwer would say the original run of the show is for kids.

[Reply #133 on:]

I enjoyed the new episode.  I'll rate it a 6.5/10 after first viewing.  I definitely got a few good laughs out of it.  I also tend to like episodes like this one with a rapidly moving story line.  On the down side, as others have brought up I'd like to see them lay back a bit on the pop culture references.  They were used sparsely in the classic episodes and that's the way it should be.  Too many of them in Futurama and they seem like "INSERT JOKE HERE" scripting to me.  Since the current season is in the can already I guess I'll have to wait and see how much they keep dipping into the pop culture well.  It doesn't matter though, I'll be watching anyways!

^^
I 100% agree with this comment.

[Reply #134 on:]

I dislike any pop culture references in ny television show, so naturally I'm going to not like them here. But I can live with them. I agree though that they seem unnaturally znd awkwardly placed. :P

[Reply #135 on:]

Girly calendar FemProfessor is going to haunt my nightmares.

Note: this is a spoiler thread, the spoiler tags here are just to protect your eyes (and possibly manhood).

Show spoiler

YOU WATCHED IT, YOU CAN'T UNWATCH IT!

I could pound your head till you think that's what happened.

Good news, everyone! I've invented a device that corrects spelling mistakes in PEEL posts!

I dislike any pop culture references in any television show, so naturally I'm going to not like them here. But I can live with them. I agree though that they seem unnaturally and awkwardly placed. :P

[Reply #136 on:]

I know...I'm posting from a phone and I can't edit. I'll just proofread extra carefully...

[Reply #137 on:]

7/10.

I especially loved that scene when Fry made the hammock out of their clothes. He looked so cute there.

[Reply #138 on:]

Meh. I didn't really care for it. There was something that just didn't seem "right" about it. Maybe it had something to do with the quality of the video I watched (it was pretty crappy, lol). I'll watch it a few more times in the future and maybe it'll grow on me.
For now I give it:

6/10

I'm thinking the same thing. Perhaps a few more looks over the episodes will make them more attractive me to me, but I simply didn't think they were up to par to what I know Futurama is capable of being. I'm still more than stoked to see what episodes roll out over the course of the summer.

[Reply #139 on:]

Heh, I don't know how I missed it the first time around, but "male" Amana is just hilarious.

I think she might be my new favourite character.

[Reply #140 on:]

I didn't even notice a male Amana my first three views. Should I be ashamed? I'll rewatch it later. But I did think she was hilarious as a female. I hope she'll return.

[Reply #141 on:]

It was a joke.  In fact we never see male Amana, and female Amana suddenly appears from nowhere when the genders are returned to normal.

[Reply #142 on:]

Now that's odd, but then it's not so weird I didn't see her. Then again, I don't really see many ways they could have shown her sex change.

[Reply #143 on:]

It was a joke.  In fact we never see male Amana, and female Amana suddenly appears from nowhere when the genders are returned to normal.

[Reply #144 on:]

Haha, I love the professor's hairstyle as a woman. He's oddly adorable. Amy's pretty bad-ass with that 6-pack of hers. 

[Reply #145 on:]

I just realised, despite walking past it multiple times AND even setting up camp next to it, Fry never put his lucky shoe back on. Ah, I love his stupidness.

[Reply #146 on:]

So, it's Monday, I'm back, yippi-ki-yay motherfunsters. Two things. First, Neutopia was a good episode. I know there are those who disagree. I have points for them to consider.

First, it had a good feel to it. Not quite the same as the classic run, but more of a bridging between the classic run and the "new run" episodes that were very obviously produced by different people on a different channel. IAGDL, AotKA, PI and TDK, if you want to be specific. Which you probably do.

The feel was in part characterised by the "new Futurama" stuff like the main plotline being something we can all relate (somewhat) to in terms of the modern economy, airline travel, and being bankrupt, pop culture references which will be out of date in five years nevermind a thousand, crude jokes that FOX would've cut or scrubbed... but partly by some "classic Futurama" stuff like the background characters all being New New Yorkers we've met before, Bender taking the opportunity to molest a household appliance, and of course, the staple of Futurama episodes, a PX ship crash.

I can forgive this episode its few failings based on the feel of it alone. It had a good pace to it as well, moving forward and not lingering overlong on anything (though I have to say I'd liked to have seen more of the genderless section) whilst managing to resolve everything along the way (with the obvious exception for the sake of a joke of Scruffy). Which brings me to the funny. Visually, the episode was a treat. Wonderful animation, a slew of sight-gags, and a couple of callbacks to the established continuity of the show made it an engaging and appealing episode. The dialogue in the section between crashing on and then leaving the unknown mineral world was a little off-model, I felt. But there were a couple of laughs in there, and elsewhere there were a couple of nerd jokes and some wonderful gross-out moments with Zoidberg and the Professor.

I liked the opening gag, loved Farnsworth's beslippered Segway-esque contraption, and Zoidberg's Uzi (little touches. I love 'em), but the first thing that made me chuckle aloud was Amy's Aliens-esque Mech Suit. Flashing forwards, the fact that every hatchway or cupboard is secured for flight using a strip of tape was one of the best sight gags in the production season so far, IMO.

The sound quality was awesome too... there was even a noticeable echo to people's voices whilst speaking in the cave.

Characters didn't act TOO far off their basic natures, although I expected more anger and/or violence from Leela with regard to being made to pose for the calender, and in response to the chauvanism of the male crew members. Fry was perfectly characterised, and Bender was true to form. Two out of three aint bad. Overall, I'm giving it an 8/10 - having watched it twice so far and thoroughly enjoyed it both times. It's a solid episode, and it deserves more respect than is being shown here.

The calender thing resolving an 11-million-dollar deficit in PX's finances was a stretch. But meh. I can let it go.

Those calling themselves "true", "dedicated" and "diehard" fans panning this episode should take a good, long, hard look at themselves. The series isn't falling into the crapper. It's going in a slightly different direction but retains the qualities that attracted everyone here to it to begin with. It's got a blend of sci-fi and comedy, it's got a fantastically characterised and played set of characters. It's got a lot of heart and soul, and it's got the balls to be totally and utterly stupid with it. I mean, did anybody here not think it was hilarious that the PX ship needed to be refitted with propellors and a bare metal skin in order to make flights with passengers onboard? Given that it's already an intergalactic spaceship and no aeroplane has looked quite like that since the 1950s? Little retro touches like that make me smile anyhow. They missed an opportunity for a joke about rising mercury on the mineral world, that was somewhat disappointing, but I can forgive them for managing to make me laugh anyway. I'm very surprised at people saying that this episode wasn't a decent one. Perhaps they're the same people who liked Lobstertainment and Cryonic Woman. It wouldn't surprise me as much, that way.

Plus, there was a perfect Zapp moment. What more do you want?

Now, off to review Benderama.

[Reply #147 on:]

Well, I finally watched it, and thought it was pretty good. It seems weird that the actual gender switching doesn't occur until the final 5 minutes of the episode, and I felt it should have taken up 2/3rds of the episode instead like The Prisoner Of Benda. Tone wise the episode is similar to In-A-Gadda-Da-Leela, where the jokes were good and slightly iffy in places, but plot wise it missed potential. That Borax Kid appearing in the final minute seemed too Deus Ex Machina for me as an ending too. The 1st and 3rd acts were very good, with some pop references such as The Office and Mac and PC giving me a laugh, where as in the 2nd act it was a little boring. The girly calender was a little disturbing, but amusing nevertheless. Scruffy as a woman and staying as one at the end made me laugh. I'll give it an 8 out of 10.

[Reply #148 on:]

it's good to see a lot of the staples of this site enjoying this episode.

[Reply #149 on:]

I highly doubt that a staple could post.

[Reply #150 on:]

[Reply #151 on:]

I highly doubt that a staple could post.

ahh, but that begs the question, can a post staple?

no, I guess not.

[Reply #152 on:]

You could wait for the mailman in the morning, and when he arrives you could gather your post and staple it to your refrigerator so it won't run away before you have a chance to read it.

But you don't. Because that would be stupid.

[Reply #153 on:]

I thought it was good. Better than Benderama. I thought few of the jokes fell flat, and that the story was good. I enjoyed the whole "Plan Am" bit.
Just one big issue, episode length. I felt that the whole episode just built up for a hilarious bit at the end, and we get the "Girlie Calendar". And there it ends, we get the alien that comes and saves the day. And nothing more is explored in the "reversed-genders" part. I wish we could've had 5-10 more minutes to keep going with that storyline. Other than that, I don't have any huge complaints. 8.5/10, rounded down to 8/10.

[Reply #154 on:]

Those calling themselves "true", "dedicated" and "diehard" fans panning this episode should take a good, long, hard look at themselves. The series isn't falling into the crapper. It's going in a slightly different direction but retains the qualities that attracted everyone here to it to begin with. It's got a blend of sci-fi and comedy, it's got a fantastically characterised and played set of characters. It's got a lot of heart and soul, and it's got the balls to be totally and utterly stupid with it. I mean, did anybody here not think it was hilarious that the PX ship needed to be refitted with propellors and a bare metal skin in order to make flights with passengers onboard? Given that it's already an intergalactic spaceship and no aeroplane has looked quite like that since the 1950s? Little retro touches like that make me smile anyhow. They missed an opportunity for a joke about rising mercury on the mineral world, that was somewhat disappointing, but I can forgive them for managing to make me laugh anyway. I'm very surprised at people saying that this episode wasn't a decent one. Perhaps they're the same people who liked Lobstertainment and Cryonic Woman. It wouldn't surprise me as much, that way.

I could not have put it better myself.

[Reply #155 on:]

Don't you mean "second" ?

I kid, I kid. I kid because I love.

[Reply #156 on:]

I tried to know as little as possible about these new episodes beforehand.
Consequently I went in with no preconceptions.
Overall, I liked it. It wasn't great but it was okay.
I give it 7 out of 10.
I'll be interested to see if that changes significantly with subsequent viewings.

[Reply #157 on:]

I already gave my posstive review somewhere else. But...

I found this on the Infosphere. Under "Neutopia".

Leela: My "girls" are back!



That is so freakin' hot!!

[Reply #158 on:]

i just caught another rather enjoyable joke. when genderless farnsworth comes down from working on repairing the ship, he says 'good news nuchachos'. i loved the initial joke, and was glad to see them follow it up.

edit: the christopher cross line was BOSS too.

[Reply #159 on:]

Do her "girls" look bigger to anybody else?


... Hey, it's a legitimate question!