Thoughts on 6ACV16 - Law and Oracle - SPOILERS

[on:]

And here it is, the review/discussion thread for the next new Futurama episode: "Law and Oracle" airing on July 7th, 2011.

Please keep this thread free of general Futurama discussion; it's all about Law and Oracle. Also, make sure to leave a short review on CGEF!

[Reply #1 on:]

I am REALLY enjoying this episode so far.

[Reply #2 on:]

Second. This has been pretty solid.

[Reply #3 on:]

Agreed, solid is exactly the word I was used, and it stayed that way all the way through. Great story, great sci-fi elements (Pickles was a great new character), it didn't feel rushed at all but rather felt like a full lengthy episode. And I laughed a lot...very solid jokes.

8/10

[Reply #4 on:]

I thought it was a fantastic episode! The one thing that really got me was the Schrodinger's Cat bit. I was literally ROTFLOLing.

[Reply #5 on:]

The first act went by...fast. Funny, but fast. I loved the recreation of the first scene in "Space Pilot 3000," and seeing Fry's dissatisfaction with his job was interesting. That in itself seemed like a callback to the pilot, and I liked it. The Roberto appearance was a little forced (like, "Hey, guys, remember this crazy fella? We're gonna use him as a big ol' plot contrivance to get the motor runnin' here!"), but not unamusing. And I get that it was just meant as a set-up to get Fry to the police academy as quickly as possible, and in that respect it worked. The police chief was hilarious ("I'm PMS-ing like a lumberjack!"), and all-in-all, the episode started off strong.

The second act was pretty great; it earned a few belly laughs from me (the Professor replacing Fry with some wood and four wheels; the chief having a nice bathroom baby), which is no small feat. I can't speak to the accuracy and/or hilarity of what I can only assume is a Minority Report parody, never having seen the movie myself, but having one of Fry's friends commit a future-crime seemed like an obvious but necessary plot twist. On a related note, I loved watching Leela and Bender interact sans Fry (and hey, they finally did a delivery!), how what started out as awkward and disinterested chit-chat turned to anger. Seeing Fry and URL bond was cool, too (I loved how URL called him "Phil"). So, yeah. Second act was just as strong as the first.

The third act wasn't as laugh-out-loud funny, but it was still good stuff. URL hooking up with the chief was disgusting but hilarious (loved the acting there), and it was cool to see Fry actually being competent for once. This episode also works as a nice companion piece to "Ghost in the Machines," only with the roles somewhat reversed: Fry has to save Bender...who has to save Fry...or something. I don't know. I also liked how things returned to the status quo much more smoothly than in the previous three episodes; the pacing was steady (after the madcap speed of the first act, that is), and the ending seemed both logical and earned.

But anyway, this was easily the most entertaining episode of the season thus far. An easy 8/10.

[Reply #6 on:]

8/10 here. I can watch this episode over and over. Good mix of science and humor. Loved it! Chief was good with out being over bearing. Lots of good jokes that hit. Good parodys. Not perfect, but pretty damned close.

[Reply #7 on:]

Done. I liked everything about this episode except the chief, who irritated the crap out of me. I am not sure what to rate it yet but at least 8/10, maybe even 9/10, I have to let it stew in my head for a bit. Fry's line about "you don't have to do something just because it's going to happen" was great. I thought the pacing was a lot better than the other three episodes of 6.5 so far. I LOVED the Leela/Bender delivery, hilarious. And the ending was classic Futurama - well thought out, surprising in several small and funny ways, and generally quite delicious.

I missed a lot of the first couple of minutes because there was a lot of yelling going on in the house about I don't know what. Basically I looked back at the screen and Roberto was holding a knife to Zoidberg's throat and I was all "uh, okay". So if the bit before that sucked, let me know.

Edit to add, I did see the recreation of the pilot and thought that was great.

[Reply #8 on:]

Just like last week, it felt like an older episode of Futurama in all the right ways.

Liked the Schrödinger's cat reference, and I wonder if we will see any of URL's partner in the future or if he will be retired for good. I also think I'm going to use "PMSing like a lumberjack" from now on. I definitely need a rewatch but it's a solid 8.5/10 so far.

Edit: aaaaand my DVR just died, looks like I won't get a rewatch right away. Luckily hubs is a cable man.

[Reply #9 on:]

Not exactly how to grade it just yet because I was interrupted a few times. I got to watch the entire episode, but I had to pause it a few times.


Initial reaction was it was pretty damn good. I liked that the story was presented in the first act about two minutes into the episode. There was a lot of time for its development, a good amount of URL (which I really enjoyed), and a nice B plot (I can't remember one I enjoyed more this production season, maybe Clockwork's). URL was probably the best part of the episode for me (loved his development and calling Fry "Phil"), as well as Hedonismbot's line at the end. And I really liked that the future crimes had twists to them and weren't too straightforward. And I simply loved the SP3k callback and the executive joke.

Only beef was the B plot being an overt reference to Avatar, but I'm happy they didn't step foot on the planet. It got a nice gag with the 3D sandwich though. Likewise with how the Schrodinger's cat reference was just slightly overt with saying his name was literally Erwin Schrodinger.


Edit, in reaction to Gorky's review: I found the Police Chief to be the worst part of the episode. She was literally the only thing that made me rolling my eyes during the episode (well, other than when they started referencing Avatar). The "I'm PMS-ing like a lumberjack" was one of the worst jokes of an otherwise stellar episode. It was pretty damn sophomoric compared to the rest of the jokes in the episode.

[Reply #10 on:]

Did anyone else think the pop culture references* in this episode were a bit less, well, awful than in episodes past? I could have done without the dig at Leno (not because I like the guy or find him amusing--quite the opposite; it just didn't quite fit, and it seemed like the writers were trying to hard), but everything else was unobtrusive and harmless. The Eagles reference got a good laugh out of me (Leela's frustration was amusing), and the Hugh Grant thing was funny, too.

And as far as my love of the police chief goes: She was so over-the-top and butch that it really worked for me. I mean, it was maybe a teensy bit vulgar (the writers can use the word "vulva" now?), but it still amused me so. Guess I have no taste.

*By which I mean the overt, verbal references, not the homages to other movies (like Police Academy and (apparently) Avatar)--though the latter worked for me, too.

[Reply #11 on:]

I was irritated at the chief because of the vulgarity. If it was just over-the-top butch, it would have worked for me, but as it was, it made me twitch. i_c_weiner used the term "sophomoric", I completely agree.

I cringed at the Leno reference but thought the rest were fine. The Eagles one was definitely funny, probably because it did actually fit into the plot.

I didn't mind the Avatar reference at all, I found it funny. I can see why people would be annoyed, but not I. Farnsworth's "It would be cheaper to have you die" line was excellent and reminiscent of the commercial in The Series Has Landed.

[Reply #12 on:]

I didn't mind the references (other than Avatar) for one reason: they were all things from before Fry was frozen. The redeeming parts of the Avatar references were the Professor's line and the sandwich gag. Fry can take a dig at Leno (and thus take sides with his fellow ginger) because Leno had been airing for about 8 years before he was frozen. Now if he mentioned Conan getting cancelled, which happened well after he was frozen, then I would be antsy. Eagles from the 70s, only odd because Bender said it. Hugh Grant was so random that it was hilarious.


And Gorky, I just have that feeling like if it had been some man anatomy joke that people would be up in arms in how dumb of a joke it was. That's not to say I didn't like her at all; I liked the baby randomly being born, just because it was so random. It was a rather classy episode with a tone reminiscent of the original run, she was the only thing out of place for me. I didn't completely hate her, but she needed to be turned down a little.

[Reply #13 on:]

I was irritated at the chief because of the vulgarity. If it was just over-the-top butch, it would have worked for me, but as it was, it made me twitch. i_c_weiner used the term "sophomoric", I completely agree.

Fair enough. I agree that it was really coarse, but for some reason humor like that works for me. It's analogous to my love of Mom; she's just a dirty old lady, you know? And it's funny.

And Gorky, I just have that feeling like if it had been some man anatomy joke that people would be up in arms in how dumb of a joke it was.

That is entirely not true, sir. The "That's your penis" gag from "Benderama" made me laugh, too (though that's mostly because of Hermes's response: "That's my boy!"). I am an equal-opportunity fan when it comes to male vs. female anatomy jokes.

Seriously, though, I can appreciate where you and spira are coming from. It's just an agree-to-disagree situation, I suppose.

[Reply #14 on:]

I thought I wouldn't like the Avatar reference but the actual blue and red 3D planet worked for me, as well as the random flying at the screen and throwing a sandwich at the screen as general 3D gags too. Wonder what it looks like if you were wearing actual 3D glasses. I don't have a pair of red/blue ones to check.

[Reply #15 on:]

I felt this episode was fairly mediocre, but I'm also fairly drunk. The first act was pretty rushed, but the Pandora jokes had me in stitches. That was quite honestly genius. I'll probably watch it again tonight and once again when I'm more sober.
For now, 7/10
Subject to change later.

[Reply #16 on:]

I wholly appreciate where you are coming from, Gorky, and accept your invitation to agree to disagree.

The sandwich was epic, and I loved the caption to put glasses on one minute ago. I am actually smiling as I write this because that whole scene was just so great.

[Reply #17 on:]

Speaking of the 3D scene: I loved the callback to Bender being the Planet Express chef. Nice nod to continuity there, writers.

And for god's sake, was it funny to see Leela attempt to engage Bender in conversation ("Soooo...you're a robot?"). I liked the runner throughout the episode that the Planet Express family was somehow off without Fry there.

[Reply #18 on:]

Great episode! I'll give it an 8/10. It had loads of great jokes and I was really drawn into the whole story.

[Reply #19 on:]

good episode, they could've toned down the chief a bit, but I really lked the schroedinger's cat and early retirement jokes

[Reply #20 on:]

I liked the parts referring to the pilot and stuff, the whole oracle thing seemed a bit too silly but overall it was very enjoyable.

[Reply #21 on:]

I'd put this one in the "middle pile". (My categorization is into bad, good, and great.) It seemed a bit rushed at the end; it might have been nice to see this episode stretched out into two episodes, maybe a 2-parter: (1) would be Fry joining the police force, and (2) would be the Minority Report and Fry coming back to Planet Express.

The comment about URL calling Fry "Phil" reminded me that The Minority Report was originally a short story by Philip K. Dick, and made me wonder: Where did the writers get the name "Phillip J. Fry" from? (If this has been mentioned before, just post a link; it's not really something you can search for.)

[Reply #22 on:]

The comment about URL calling Fry "Phil" reminded me that The Minority Report was originally a short story by Philip K. Dick, and made me wonder: Where did the writers get the name "Phillip J. Fry" from? (If this has been mentioned before, just post a link; it's not really something you can search for.)

Yes it is.

[Reply #23 on:]

I liked this better than last weeks. At least it wasn't like the first 2 episodes they showed. They do things to fast lately.

[Reply #24 on:]

solid episode. the avatar joke worked perfectly because you don't even have to know what avatar is. it's funny nonetheless. the PoliceAcademy jokes were awesome, the chief's lines hit well with me, and the subplot with the PE crew missing fry was quality.

i reckon that i will watch this episode a lot more times.

ps: does anyone know offhand how shorter the episodes are on CC from when they were on FOX? it just seems like the episodes can't breath as much.

pps: i'd like to see some two-parters in the future.

[Reply #25 on:]

flesheatingbull, on iTunes all of the CC ones are 21:39 and the old ones are 22:33, give or take a second. I agree with your pps.

[Reply #26 on:]

flesheatingbull, on iTunes all of the CC ones are 21:39 and the old ones are 22:33, give or take a second. I agree with your pps.

less than a minute, you say? hmm. i suppose that one percent difference has a bigger effect than one might initially think.

thanks for the info, btw.

[Reply #27 on:]

Cutting those 54 seconds is actually a 4% reduction in the length of the episode.

[Reply #28 on:]

did anyone else notice that those folks on the wanted sign outside of the 18th precinct are also physically walking by the sign? also, angry? frustrated? become a cop! or something of the like.  background gags are back in full force, baby!

[Reply #29 on:]

Hmmmm....I don't know. It was interesting. Sort of funny. The only thing I really didn't like was the whole Tron sequence. And the first act went by REALLY fast, but I guess it was okay cause it got things moving.
Overall I'd probably give it a 7/10. I think I need to watch it again though...

[Reply #30 on:]

I really liked this episode. It had lots of good laugh-out-loud moments and just the right amount of nerdy/sciency-type jokes and sight gags.

I thought the recreation of the opening of the pilot was great and I thought the Avatar reference was good in that none of the characters specifically referenced the movie itself (and I thought that if Futurama were to reference any recent movie Avatar would at least be one of them).

It also did have the feel of one of the original episodes which is always a plus.

I'd definitely give this one a 9/10.

[Reply #31 on:]

Zoidberg's "Police Brutality" line, The c+15 joke, and Schrodinger's Cat joke had me in stitches.

[Reply #32 on:]

I give it a 7/10.

In the beginning of the episode, Leela said the same line Mr. Panucci says when a pizza is going out. Strange.

I also thought it was funny how Fry didn't care about walking around in public without pants. Ha ha.

[Reply #33 on:]

Unmentionable: Zoidberg and Leela's lines are taken straight from SP3k, and Fry's line once he gets to Applied Cryogenics is the same until he reads the fake name. Also, the direction in the sequence is almost exactly the same as SP3k's.

[Reply #34 on:]

Hmmmm....I don't know. It was interesting. Sort of funny. The only thing I really didn't like was the whole Tron sequence. And the first act went by REALLY fast, but I guess it was okay cause it got things moving.

That was actually what I liked most about it, very visual. Speaking of which, did anyone have 3d glasses at their disposal to watch the Pandora sequence??

I loved this episode from beginning to end. The opening sequence of them referencing the pilot was great. I always say after they do a pilot reference: "OK, they covered everything, they can't do another ref again without getting stale" but every time they seem to find a way!

I both hated and loved the police chief. She was very over the top as weiner said, but her bits with URL were hilariously awesome. And I was surprised and eager to see URL without the police uniform, he seems quite different!! Also I didn't realize he was that thin on the side.

So what happens to Smitty now that he's retired? I wonder if we will get to see him in the general populace now of a NNY background shot, that would be interesting.

This episode immediately made me think back to Colleen, and then I remembered she's off living on/with Yivo.

This episode was very classic Futurama to me. Lots of sci fi gadgets (love the investigation room), introduction of new sci fi stuff/characters while incorporating some classic old ones (like Roberto! what a surprise!). Funny all the way through. Random. NNY Scene. All my favorite elements. That's why this episode earned the awesome rating of...

10/10

[Reply #35 on:]

Unfortunately i only had red and blue 3D glasses not the red and greenish one, but I saw the 3D effect working somewhat, not great but it was there.

[Reply #36 on:]

Great episode, so many references. I loved all the background gags and all the little things like Amy's impression of The Professors was hilarious and the fact the Plan Ex Ship swung back and forth on the 3D scene and Hermes jab at the executives. Also, is Scruffy is a zombie? Maybe a further explanation to how he 'died as he lived'

[Reply #37 on:]

Smitty will probably just reappear on the police force without explanation. It's much easier to explain him returning than it would be for them to explain, say, Colleen returning. Just say he simply decided to unretire and that's that. It's one of those things that I don't expect to be permanent, like Scruffy still being a woman at the end of Neutopia. Two weeks until we potentially find out if that holds true...

Which reminds me: Scruffy appears again in this episode, albeit in a reduced "classic Scruffy" capacity. That's the 4 for 4 in Season 6B. Production-wise, Oracle is followed by Benderama, and then The Tip of the Zoidberg separates them from Ghost followed by Neutopia. With Clamps and Yo Leela Leela being the next two broadcast, both adjacent to the two duos aired, we shall see if Scruffy will make appearances in three straight production episodes and if the "upgraded from tertiary character" rumblings have merit.

And "zombie" can me a whole lotta things, especially when uttered by Hermes. If you take it as undead, it's likely a joke as he's not undead in Benderama, Ghost, or Neutopia, all which take place after Oracle.

[Reply #38 on:]

I loved this episode. There's just so many great moments. I was pleased to see the 3D planet, as I remember them mentioning this plotline ages ago, and wondering whether they were still going to do it. The pilot callback was awesome, and I also enjoyed the Tron and Minority Report homages. The twist with the Oracle was pretty unexpected too. The ending didn't feel as rushed as the previous episodes, although Roberto seemed rather shoehorned in. All in all though, this is great stuff and a solid episode.

Did anyone notice the Chief's name is O'Mannahan? I thought that was a clever, subtle little callback. Also, Zombie Scruffy!

[Reply #39 on:]

Great episode. A lot of great stuff in this episode. I particularly enjoyed seeing just Bender and Leela making a delivery, as well as that Circuit City sequence. Also, like last week's episode, some great callbacks to previous episodes.

Like "Ghost in the Machines", the first act went by a little bit too quickly for me, but the rest of the episode went by very well. The whole "Future Crimes Division" plot went great. Also, no out-of-place jokes (such as the "Obamacare" joke from GITM). I didn't mind the Avatar reference, and actually found it pretty entertaining. It was also interesting to see a 3D scene...the next time I rewatch this, I'll make sure to be prepared with some 3D glasses.

Overall, a 9/10 from me.