The old "Everything is worse now" discussion - General Futurama Discussion. SPOILER ALERT

[#240 :]

Pickles reminded me of General Grievous from Star Wars...

[#241 :]

Pickles reminded me of General Grievous from Star Wars...

Mods, please move to the 'Law and Oracle' thread.

and Gorky, I agree on both points. Fry has sounded different since the last movie, and roberto did indeed sound off.

[#242 :]

Mods, please move to the 'Law and Oracle' thread.

Hell no, this is the general discussion thread. I tried creating a thread for stuff like it, but it was locked and I was told to come here.

By a mod. Ha.

[#243 :]

When Leela says Fry is still alive in "The Sting," everyone reacts with disgusted disbelief.

That was all a coma-induced dream.

But your point still stands.

[#244 :]

I actually thought Roberto's voice sounded off in "Law and Oracle," too, but I may be alone there.

Just listened again, it does seem slightly different.

ALSO, I NERDGASM'D, JUST SAW THE NEW CRYO-TUBES IN THE APPLIED CRYOGENICS BUILDING. WOOOOO!

[#245 :]

Also, did anyone else notice that Fry's voice sounded a little deeper in Law and Oracle?

Fry's voice has seemed different to me since the movies; he occasionally sounds a bit worn-out, more  like current Billy West than young Billy West (which, as he's said numerous times, is the inspiration for Fry's voice). It's not jarring, exactly, but it's kind of odd.

I actually thought Roberto's voice sounded off in "Law and Oracle," too, but I may be alone there.

I thought Smitty's voice sounded a tad off. More Billy West and less Smitty.

[#246 :]

Eh, seems realistic for Fry to sound a little older than he used to.

[#247 :]

Eh, seems realistic for Fry to sound a little older than he used to.

It doesn't seem realistic that Fry sounds older in this episode compared to previous episodes this season (that all take place in the future as compared to this).

[#248 :]

I also think Katey Sagal's voice sounds different--though interestingly enough she sounds younger (read: whinier) to me in certain sixth season episodes (and the movies) than she did in the original series.

And the quality of Fry's voice (be it deeper or higher or younger or older) changes from episode to episode; I honestly think it's a random kink in Billy West's voice acting, not a conscious choice to make the character sound older.

[#249 :]

Well, when Billy West started making Fry as an impersonation of himself, it was only 23 years ago he reportedly sounded like that. Now it's 36 years. Obviously, it's getting harder as his current voice changes with age.

[#250 :]

Oh, definitely. And it's not that the inconsistencies with Fry's voice bother me; it's just that they're pretty noticeable in certain, more recent episodes. I still think Billy West is a genius, and I love the work he does on the show. He pretty much abuses his vocal cords on a weekly basis for my amusement, so I can cut the guy some slack.

[#251 :]

They don't really bother me either, I like to see the overall change from season 1 to season 6 as Fry getting older. I don't even notice a difference episode from episode unless I really think about it, and it is just as easy to shut it off. Personally, I admire most voice actors and -actresses out there, because it seems so magical and extraordinary for me. I can picture people acting (regularly), painting, playing music, writing, what have you, but voice acting has a special place in my heart because it seems so magical. The times I've seen video of someone from the cast while doing their voices... wow. It feels impossible. I really admire that someone like Billy West (and John DiMaggio and all the others) can do such varied and such cool voices, and be able to reproduce it from year to year.

Still, I can get annoyed when a more seldom used character comes back with a somewhat different voice. Not extremely annoyed every time, but somewhat, because the first voice really sticks with me. This has been the case with quite a few secondary and tertiary characters of the second run, including but not limited to Smitty and Roberto.

[#252 :]

The only time Fry's voice has sounded off to me was in Lethal Inspection.

Zoidberg's "Okay" at the start of Benderama was weird, though.

[#253 :]

Mods, please move to the 'Law and Oracle' thread.

Hell no, this is the general discussion thread. I tried creating a thread for stuff like it, but it was locked and I was told to come here.

By a mod. Ha.

But you're discussing Law and Oracle specifically in it. It's like if we have a religion debate in the test thread. And, for that matter, the purpose of this thread is much more defined than the test thread: this is for discussion and comparison between episodes at large, specifically the "Everything sucks now" topic. We have threads for the individual episodes, it would behoove you to discuss the individual episodes in their individual threads. I mean, Law and Oracle's thread even stickied.

And don't even try to make this ad hominem.

[#254 :]

This thread should be used for the purpose of comparing old to new Futurama, or discussing Futurama on a wholescale that doesn't necessarily fit with the other threads (you know, to go with the flow of things). If you have specific remarks about a particular episode, just take it to the episode's thread. It's an iffy situation, you just has to use your best judgment on it so I don't have to make it for you. This topic was initially created by [-mArc-] to keep the news and episode review threads clean of other banter.

[#255 :]

In hindsight, I'm surprised at how well "Law and Oracle" worked as compared to other similar style episodes (lead characters leaving their job) in the original run. We have "A Leela of Her Own", which most fans rate as one of the worst episodes, and we have "Bender Should Not Be Allowed on Television", which most fans see as a pretty solid episode. And then comes "Law and Oracle" and is rated 8/10, 9/10, 10/10. I think everything is not worse now.

[#256 :]

They don't really bother me either, I like to see the overall change from season 1 to season 6 as Fry getting older. I don't even notice a difference episode from episode unless I really think about it, and it is just as easy to shut it off. Personally, I admire most voice actors and -actresses out there, because it seems so magical and extraordinary for me. I can picture people acting (regularly), painting, playing music, writing, what have you, but voice acting has a special place in my heart because it seems so magical. The times I've seen video of someone from the cast while doing their voices... wow. It feels impossible. I really admire that someone like Billy West (and John DiMaggio and all the others) can do such varied and such cool voices, and be able to reproduce it from year to year.

Still, I can get annoyed when a more seldom used character comes back with a somewhat different voice. Not extremely annoyed every time, but somewhat, because the first voice really sticks with me. This has been the case with quite a few secondary and tertiary characters of the second run, including but not limited to Smitty and Roberto.

bubblegum tate(sweet clyde too) have also sounded off at times this season.

[#257 :]

Re: Smitty sounding off.

I think Smitty has sounded more "Smitty-ish" in subsequent episodes than he did at the start of Proposition Infinity.

[#258 :]

Every once in a while I notice some sort of vocal oddity in the new season, but I cut them all a lot of slack because overall the voices match the old season near-perfectly, and that is very impressive. Fry is the voice that seems to fluctuate the most in the new season, but all seven of the PE voices have evolved in some interesting ways throughout the original run and after.

On a sort of related note, it is really fascinating to me to go back and listen to how DiMaggio has refined Bender's voice from the first episode to now.

[#259 :]

Every once in a while I notice some sort of vocal oddity in the new season, but I cut them all a lot of slack because overall the voices match the old season near-perfectly, and that is very impressive. Fry is the voice that seems to fluctuate the most in the new season, but all seven of the PE voices have evolved in some interesting ways throughout the original run and after.

On a sort of related note, it is really fascinating to me to go back and listen to how DiMaggio has refined Bender's voice from the first episode to now.

indeed. he has added a lot of personality to the role over the years.

also, THERE CAN BE NO OTHER opinion on the fact that olde farneypoo and el zoido have maintained their character and charisma throughout the three different periods.

god bless deer tick and billy west.

[#260 :]

Agreed. I think all of them have maintained their character throughout the whole run and that the shifts in voice between season 1 and season 6 are far from drastic and basically all for the better.

[#261 :]

On the voices sounding different: the only character that sounds different to me is Fry. He just sounds ... older. His voice is all differenty from the original run, and even the movies. It just sounds like Billy hasn't hit the mark just right yet. It sounded more spot on in Law and Oracle than the past few episodes though to me. Speaking of Billy: I'm not really a fan of the Professor's new maniacal laugh. It seems a little out of character.

[#262 :]

I am glad the episodes seemed to have improved since Neutopia. As I recall, this exact same thing happened the last 13 episode run, so I am a bit more optimistic now than I was a few weeks ago

[#263 :]

I am glad the episodes seemed to have improved since Neutopia. As I recall, this exact same thing happened the last 13 episode run, so I am a bit more optimistic now than I was a few weeks ago

But don't forget they air them in the wrong order, we haven't seen any episode set after Neutopia yet...

[#264 :]

My whole point was, the whole run isn't turning out to be as bad as that. I realize the production order is off. 

[#265 :]

Like I said earlier in the news thread, "The Silence of the Clamps" is the only episode remaining in season 6B for which I am less-than-excited; every other episode seems like it will be pretty interesting. There's something to be said for starting off with your weaker episodes (though I enjoyed "Neutopia" and "Benderama"; "Ghost in the Machines" could have been better), if only because "weak" by Futurama standards is still pretty damn good, and I'd rather sit through a few subpar episodes at the beginning of the season than wait for them to all pop up at the end.

That doesn't make any sense, probably, but it's how I feel about the matter. Admittedly, the network would be best off spacing out the super-brilliant episodes and the not-so-stellar ones...or, alternately, the writers would be better of not writing crappy episodes.

[#266 :]

Nah, makes sense. I, like several others I presume, am really looking forward to Overclockwise and Reincarnation, the last two of the season, and from what I've seen/read about them I definitely think they should be saved for the end. I think season 6.0 did a good job of spreading around the stellar episodes. The highest ranked ones were 5th, 6th, and 10th, and I also really liked the 1st and 12th, so that's a nice mixture.

So far I think airing Neutopia first was a good idea. Best to get that one out of the way early.

[#267 :]

I agree about season 6A. I was really happy with that three-week run--with "The Duh-Vinci Code," "Lethal Inspection," and "The Late Philip J. Fry"--that not only got me giddy enough to enable me to sit through the less accomplished "That Darn Katz!" and "A Clockwork Origin," but also got me feeling better about the season in general. Then "The Prisoner of Benda" came along and completely blew me away, so that was also a good thing. If this season follows a similar pattern, that would be fine by me.

[#268 :]

I think all the 6A episodes after Killer App (with I guess the exception of the Holiday Spectacular, since so many people hated it) were, at the very least, good. And Season 6B has gotten better with each episode in my opinion. If it continues this trend, I will have no complaints and may have to revise my rating scale. Perhaps not everything is worse now.

[#269 :]

I personally liked both "In-A-Gadda-Da-Leela" and "Attack of the Killer App," but I know I'm pretty much alone there. Ditto with my appreciation for "Neutopia" and "Benderama." At any rate, though, I agree that season 6B has been getting consistently better ("Law and Oracle" was probably the best episode since "The Mutants Are Revolting," or maybe even "The Prisoner of Benda"), and I don't see why the trend shouldn't continue. I'm really hoping "The Silence of the Clamps" exceeds my expectations, because it's honestly the only hurdle remaining this season, in my eyes.

[#270 :]

a clockwork origin was my favorite episode last season.

[#271 :]

I personally liked both "In-A-Gadda-Da-Leela" and "Attack of the Killer App," but I know I'm pretty much alone there. Ditto with my appreciation for "Neutopia" and "Benderama."

When "In-A-Gadda-Da-Leela" first aired, I pretty much loved it, just because it was the first episode (together with "Rebirth") for so long. When I watched it again and thought more about it, I started getting annoyed by some things, but I grew to appreciate it still. Now it's below average for me, but I wouldn't call it a terrible episode. I loved "Attack of the Killer App" from the beginning as well (more than "In-A-Gadda-Da-Leela"), and I still though, maybe just because I didn't get the Susan Boyle joke (I had never heard of her). Now, it's about average. Both "Neutopia" and "Benderama" are about average as way, "Benderama" a tad above. So I don't think you're all alone on this.

[#272 :]

Personally I didn't like Neutopia much at all, with the possible exception of the first two minutes. I can grant the label "average" to the other three Aki mentioned. I just think that the general trend of season 6A, perhaps ignoring the Spectacular, was one of improvement, which is very much a good thing. The same thing, in my opinion so far, is happening with 6B.

[#273 :]

I'm probably in the minority, but I thought 6A was consistent from the start. The only episodes that I didn't really like were That Darn Katz and The Duh-Vinci Code, but even those were more mediocre than bad. As for 6B, it's too early for me to say. I didn't like Neutopia or Benderama much, but these past two episodes have been two of the stronger ones of the new run. I have high expectations for the rest of the season, perhaps higher than the last. Of course having higher expectations is probably just going to leave me disappointed...

[#274 :]

When That Darn Katz first aired I thought it was shallow and unfunny, probably in the bottom 3-4.  However, upon rewatching it a few times it has grown on me a lot and I now think it's OK.

Benderama didn't impress me very much but it's possible that it'll also grow on me over time.

[#275 :]

They do all tend to grow on me. Even the episodes that I think are great from the start seem even better when I watch them over and over.

I have fairly high expectations for the rest of the season as well, but I'm willing to accept a few duds because it's not like Season 3 was perfect so it's be unrealistic for me to expect perfection out of the rest of 6B.

[#276 :]

Not all episodes grow on me, just the majority. Some of the worst episodes (worst by Futurama standards, still not bad in general) seemed much better at first, before I started looking in to it and realized how they fail in continuity and timing.

[#277 :]

That is true; there are probably a select few that I feel are worse now than when I first saw them because of some specific issue I hadn't noticed before. I can't really think of any off the top of my head, but I am sure that they exist.

[#278 :]

Well I can see why some characters would go on deliveries.

Amy = She's young and the same age as Fry/Leela (roughly), and would probably be the most interested in visiting other worlds.  She also seems to be the only other character besides Leela who knows how to pilot the ship properly.   Also she's a mechanic who would be able to fix the ship if something went wrong or it needed maintainence over a long trip, and being a physicist, seeing other worlds would probably be good for her research.  Maybe less so now that she's a doctor, and not a student anymore.   As well as being able to fix the ship, she'd also be able to help repair Bender if he needed it.  She probably shouldn't go too much so she doesn't upset the status quo, and she is the professor's assistant.  Still I think she and the Professor really are the only ones having any business joining the crew, for the reasons I mentioned.   She certainly has more excuse coming on trips then Zoidberg does.

Zoidberg = Well he is woefully incompetent, but unless Amy and the Professor are inventing something, he'd probably be needed more in space then in the building.   He is a doctor after all, and they trust him with their lives... for some reason.

Hermes = He's a paperwork desk jockey.  No excuse.

The Professor: He'd go for the same reasons Amy would, pretty much.   So I think really, I would say him and Amy have the most reasons to go into space.

[#279 :]

Did anyone else think that Amy's voice sounded a bit off in "Ghost in the Machines" (Particularly when she says: "It's speeding up!" near the start.)