Thoughts on 6ACV19 - Ghost in the Machines - SPOILERS

[Reply #320 on:]

Bender loving Fry isn't characteristic? Where have you been for six seasons?

Haha, I've been watching it forever! I've seen every episode

[Reply #321 on:]

That's not what he was getting at...

[Reply #322 on:]

The thought of an "irritable vending machine" itself is slightly terrifying. Actually, kind of really terrifying.

I'm glad I'm not the only one kept awake by this idea at night. I have enough problems at the moment, worrying about the ghost of my old laptop haunting me, without thinking that all the vending machines I've insulted over the years might be plotting their revenge.

I mean, it's bad enough when you get one of the ones that talks, nevermind plots.

The thought of an irritable vending machine would probably be fun with me.  That way when it takes my money or dispenses an item I don't want, at least I can argue with it.

[Reply #323 on:]

I've seen this episode three times, and each time I love it even more.

10/10

[Reply #324 on:]

The thought of an irritable vending machine would probably be fun with me.  That way when it takes my money or dispenses an item I don't want, at least I can argue with it.

I don't know that a vending machine has ever dispensed an item that I didn't want. The worst is when the little thing doesn't spin all the way so the item I did want doesn't fall. Frustrating as hell.

Actually on topic, I like this episode even more now than I did originally, and I'd given it an 8/10. The ending is all that kills it.

[Reply #325 on:]

Now he is presented with a dilemma; his life or Fry's.  To me it makes sense that he chooses the former to save.  It is only later he begins to realise that he is not so keen on killing Fry after all (particularly when that doesn't have to happen to save his own skin).  I also like the subtle joke about Asimov's Robot Laws that is completely violated in this episode.  Although, that would not be the first time Futurama has done that.

I don't mind Bender deciding to kill Fry to save himself, Svip. My point is that he decided to do this too easily. There wasn't even a moment of hesitation.

Haha, I've been watching it forever! I've seen every episode

Missing... the... point.

[Reply #326 on:]

I don't think there's a single person on PEEL who hasn't seen every episode...

If so, just no...

[Reply #327 on:]

Oh, there have been plenty. They generally don't stay that long though.

[Reply #328 on:]

The ending is all that kills it.

I think the entire third act is terribly rushed, and Bender's descent to hell/ascent to heaven/return to earth is waaay too quick and cheaply-resolved. But I love the moment at the very end, where Fry asks Bender if he'd been haunting him and Bender just gives him this look like, "Duuuuuuh....no?" I know a lot of people dislike that part, but it is so deliciously awkward--and, consequently, hilarious--to me.

[Reply #329 on:]

Yeah, I like that look too. Just everything in the two or three minutes before it is just kind of crazy and rushed and sloppily done.

[Reply #330 on:]

The ending is all that kills it.

I think the entire third act is terribly rushed,

The entire run through 6B seems to suffer from this somewhat. They're embracing bigger concepts with shorter run-times. The writers really need extra time to properly explore the ideas they're coming up with at this point. I don't think that a 40-minute episode or a 2-parter each season would be too much to ask for.

[Reply #331 on:]

Geting a longer run time might be impractical for the network, but I would love to see the writers put together some two-parters. I think the plots they are coming up with really demand this. Doing the movies ruined the writers a little bit, I guess. It seems like they are still in that Big Complicated Plot mindset.

[Reply #332 on:]

A two-parter finale of season 7 would be cool. I think it could be pulled off.

[Reply #333 on:]

I hated how Robot God just kind of went 'Oh just get out!' and threw Bender out of Robot Heaven... It was just too, I dunno, Simpsons-y...

[Reply #334 on:]

Yeah, that was kinda Simpsons-y now you mention it, a little too much I agree. It's not enough to do too much damage to this ep though. It's generally a pretty solid rather good ep, but unfortunately as with so many 6B eps something lets it down. The Amish Planet is the biggest contributor to this, along with Bender being a little too prickish, but it still has a lot of great and funny moments to keep it within the realms of being decent on the whole...

[Reply #335 on:]

SOLID, hold onto your dooky! its about to get spooky

best line: and my cleavage isn't helping
not helping him

[Reply #336 on:]

I just noticed that the robot smashed by the globe in this episode (the concession stand robot) was also destroyed by Clamps in Silence of the Clamps six episodes earlier. Hm. Is he gonna be the show's Kenny, or was it just a funny coincidence he was destroyed twice?

[Reply #337 on:]

There could be more than one consession stand robot, you know.

[Reply #338 on:]

How come we haven't seen duplicates of others then besides Bender?

[Reply #339 on:]

How come we haven't seen duplicates of others then besides Bender?

It's implied there are duplicates, e.g. Flexo (close enough), and a bending unit that is identical to Bender appears on the πkea instructions...

[Reply #340 on:]

How come we haven't seen duplicates of others then besides Bender?

Bending robots are obsolete in 3011 (Main focus of 'Obsoletely Fabulous' and side joke in 'Attack of the Killer App') With Flexo now being recycled (The side joke I mentioned) Bender is probably the only one of his kind left in New New York...

[Reply #341 on:]

They should do an ep where the Professor gets a new Bending Unit, but then I realised it'd be to much like OF... Unless, they become friends and not enemies, now that would be a good episode.

[Reply #342 on:]

They should do an ep where the Professor gets a new Bending Unit, but then I realised it'd be to much like OF... Unless, they become friends and not enemies, now that would be a good episode.

It may be too similar to the first and second acts of 'The Less of Two Evils' also...

[Reply #343 on:]

I really just believe it was a continuity error. We never see two of any other robot in the series, think about the confusion it might cause...

Damn this would make for great discussion in the Recheck-Weird Scenes forum, I'm gonna take it there...

[Reply #344 on:]

I still think they just made a new concession robot after the first was destroyed.

[Reply #345 on:]

I thought it was a solid episode.  Some touching scenes, some great Robot Devil dialogue, and some funny imagery and jokes.

The uses of Bender's body gave solid laughs, and I thought the entire Amish sequence from Fry leaving (and the Amish spaceship especially) to Bender saving him was great.  I laughed out loud at Fry's confused, then scared, comment at the end of that.  "I think I was just saved by the Robot Devil with Bender's voice....I wanna go home!"

I also got a good laugh, though probably unintentional on the writers part, about how Bender became a "ghost."  His consciousness is floating around on the cloud, it's the year 3000 so the cloud would greatly be established.  It always puzzles, and bothers me, that they use current pop-culture references when they could reach out and use all the crazy future potential stuff.  It's Futurama after all.

I'm not sure what some people are saying though about there being too much happening.  This episode was pretty simplistic.  A led to B which led to C, which brought everyone back to A just like most episodes.

[Reply #346 on:]

I loved the line: "Shut up God!" Just shows how ignorant Bender really is. It was also good to see the Robot Devil again.

[Reply #347 on:]

Ghost in the Machines was a great episode. Like what Solid Gold Bender said that it was great to see robot devil again. I also LOVE the robot devil's songs.

[Reply #348 on:]

To add on to that, I didn't get the Anything Goes joke at first. But it was a good subtle joke. I would love to hear it, considering how much I loved "The Robot Hell Song".

[Reply #349 on:]

I like how Fry has no idea what a "taking-off cap" is yet he has one less than a second after the Professor explains what they are/are for.

[Reply #350 on:]

I loved the line: "Shut up God!" Just shows how ignorant Bender really is.

I thought the same thing. Being brought up a Catholic, I actually almost gasped at that.


I must have been brainwashed.

[Reply #351 on:]

Loved this episode, mainly because of the robot devil stuff, he always cracks me up!

[Reply #352 on:]

Another fun episode from 2011!  Fry doesn't appriate robots, so Bender kills himself and comes back as a ghost to haunt him.  Once the haunting gets too bad, Fry is sent to an Amish planet for peace of mind.

Bender wants to come back to life, so he sells his soul to the Robot Devil to come back to life.  Very fun episode!  One of the best!  9/10

[Reply #353 on:]

I loved this one, too. As I said in the MOTPE thread, I love darker episodes of cheery shows, so this one really appealed to me. I liked the storyline start to finish, and other than the God part, which I though was a little distasteful, I don't think it hit any bad notes. If anything could've improved this one, though, I think that the Robot Devil's little song near the end needed to be much longer. 9/10 from me, one of the very best episodes!

[Reply #354 on:]

and other than the God part, which I though was a little distasteful

Shut up, MRM!

(Let's make this a new meme, 'kay?)

[Reply #355 on:]

I really dug this episode until the last few moments, which were completely ridiculous. What's up with so many CC episodes ending with a cheesy Deus Ex Machina?

[Reply #356 on:]

I liked the storyline start to finish, and other than the God part, which I though was a little distasteful,

How dare you use that word! It was a lot distasteful! 8-)