Thoughts on 6ACV16 - Law and Oracle - SPOILERS

[#80 :]

So Planet Express delivers pizzas now? And they've been doing it for the last ten years? WTF?

Not to start an argument now that you're obviously a tad upset, but I thought that to be quite obvious.

We've never seen it before, and it's been going on for ten years. That's what made me "wtf?" at it. I really ought to stop reading PEEL and finish putting the computer cabinet (and the old computer) back together. Sitting here with parts strewn all around me is just begging for a screw or other small, sharp component in my foot when I stand up.

In addition, Fry left Planet Express. Now that I think it over, I don't like that. Part of the core idea of the series is that he's a delivery boy in the 31st century working for his nephew, who's a mad scientist with a crew of general misfits and weirdos. Hm. That might also be another reason that I found TCW so jarring.

Told myself so. I put my hand down on the floor and cut my finger on a shard of glass from the monitor I put a hammer through. I'm actually going to leave PEEL alone for a few minutes whilst I tidy up now.

[#81 :]

In addition, Fry left Planet Express. Now that I think it over, I don't like that. Part of the core idea of the series is that he's a delivery boy in the 31st century working for his nephew, who's a mad scientist with a crew of general misfits and weirdos. Hm. That might also be another reason that I found TCW so jarring.

I think it's perfectly okay for Fry to leave his job if he has a good reason for doing so, and if the proper consequences are shown. I think in this case he has a good reason (he is bummed out by being a delivery boy - sure, it's in a cool future, but he's been there eleven years already), and the proper consequences are shown (the crew is really bored without him, everyone realizes how vital he is for the spirit of the company even though he doesn't do any practical work). To me this is totally different than "this week on the Simpsons - Homer tries being a bartender but next week he'll be back at the power plant!".

[#82 :]

Just watched it. Thought it was really good! The only gripe I have with it is that the first act happens too fast, but once Fry joins the police force it stays consistently good. Fry and URL worked so well together, and the Chief I thought was funny because she was a little over the top. All the pop culture references made sense in this one, and the Circuit City part is now one of my favourites scenes. Taking the main plot into a Minority Report way was a good move, and actually made me want to rewatch that movie again today. I can't believe I actually missed the twist coming. The 3D Pandora planet was funny and didn't overstay its welcome. Lots of jokes, both clever, slapstick, and visual throughout the whole episode and definatly one of my favourites of the season. 9.0 out of 10.

[#83 :]

His review.

Me pointing out what I think is a contradiction in his review.

Him explaining why it isn't.

Okay. I thought it was funny though average too (exact words to my brother, "that was good, average (hand signal for average)").

[#84 :]

So many references Tron, Minority Report, Space Pilot 3000 Avatar.

AND Police Academy!

AND Police Academy IV!

And don't forget The Maltese Falcon.

[#85 :]

I was highly dissapointed that Fry's new so-called catchphrase (Help! Police!) wasn't used in this ep, I mean, just look at the plot, it could have been made into a hilarious/ironic joke...

[#86 :]

• The music throughout the episode is really cool. Is it a reference to something I don't get?

I might be wrong about this as I haven't seen the film in some time, but I assumed it was a loose parody of the music from Police Academy.

[#87 :]

I hope they havn't written Smitty out of the show .

[#88 :]

The episode was godd and really funny. I love the Chief and I find her really funny. Love the baby bit. Love how URL has more and brilliant scenes. I would watch this over and over again. 

[#89 :]

I thought the chief was hilarious. I didn't think of her as a "butch lesbian". She's just a standard-issue tough-guy police chief doing guy stuff, who happens to be female. And judging by the reactions of every other character in the episode, the future is free of the stereotypes that make you uncomfortable with the character. Which is more sexist, the  story where all the characters accept the "controversial" character without batting an eyelash, or the viewers who go "That's stereotyping and insulting!"?

I'm not going to get into detail, but this was a very fun episode.

Edit - in response to TNUK: I'm okay with Fry leaving PlanEx. He'll be back in the warm embrace of their dysfunctional arms immediately. His little experiment made for a funny episode, is all.

[#90 :]

I hope they havn't written Smitty out of the show .

There's no way that Smitty's retirement will last. Smitty's early retired simply facilitated Fry being partnered with Url, in the same way that Amy and Kiff's break-up facilitated her brief relationship with Bender. The difference is that it was important to restore Amy and Kiff's relationship to the status quo at the end of "Proposition Infinity". Whereas Smitty is an ancillary character so it wasn't important to show him returning from retirement to the NNYPD.

Smitty will be back the next time a story calls for the Smitty-Url duo. No worries.

[#91 :]

I'm not going to lie, I didn't absolutely love this episode (a nicer way of me saying average). The Oracle to me was reminiscent of the Cyber Leader from Doctor Who, which I strangely enjoyed. The pace of the episode was very fast and had me thinking "no way was that 20 minutes". I agree the police chief needed to be toned down just a decibel, but for the most part she was effing funny! And Leela trying to make smalltalk with Bender was classic. I watched a second time and then a third, but no change of opinion on the episode. However, I can agree that the quality of the episode was consistent and only strengthens broadcast season 6B.

[#92 :]

That was easily my favorite episode in a while.  The lines were just delivered excellently, and finally Bender wasn't the focal point. 9/10

[#93 :]

On a shot of the police office, there are signs of two wanted people (a woman and a man), while at the same time the exact same people are walking past the office. Nice freeze frame joke that I didn't notice before.

i posted this earlier. sorry, had to brag.

also, did anyone else think that the opening gag was specifically written for totalnerduk and jivefunk?

[#94 :]

There's no way they wrote Smitty out. I am sure he'll be back again.

Did not notice that, Aki/flesheatingbull. Hooray, an excuse to go watch this wonderful thing again!

[#95 :]

upon 2nd watching, it just keeps getting better - even the Indian girl in the Vonage commercial had good lines.

Here's another one:
Chief (she's "well endowed", she's standing naked in the locker room): "Congratulations on your Big Bust!"
Fry: "You too!"

comedy gold.

[#96 :]

upon 2nd watching, it just keeps getting better - even the Indian girl in the Vonage commercial had good lines.

no, THAT is comedy gold. i loled.

[#97 :]

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.

Well, you can't search for it at PEELified ... And thanks for the link. (I always wondered whether Zappa Brannigan's name was an homage to Frank Zappa, who Matt Groening was friends with right before he died. No word about this at the Infosphere.)

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.

New discussion topic: Will the packaging for this season's DVD include a pair of 3-D glasses?

(Of course, Leela was unable to watch a 3-D movie in "Fear of a Bot Planet" --- er, FOABP --- so this is joke is a repeat.)

[#98 :]

I think it's perfectly okay for Fry to leave his job if he has a good reason for doing so, and if the proper consequences are shown. I think in this case he has a good reason (he is bummed out by being a delivery boy - sure, it's in a cool future, but he's been there eleven years already), and the proper consequences are shown (the crew is really bored without him, everyone realizes how vital he is for the spirit of the company even though he doesn't do any practical work). To me this is totally different than "this week on the Simpsons - Homer tries being a bartender but next week he'll be back at the power plant!".

Also, The Simpsons started doing that practically every week for a while, whereas Futurama has only done it a few times (usually with Bender, and I don't think he technically leaves his job in most cases). It's only a problem if it's really overused.

I liked this episode. It was really funny. I do have to say though that the pacing was WAY too fast, and it seemed like there was too much crammed in, considering it isn't even one of the show's crazier episodes or anything. I thought the plotting was weak as a result, just because nothing was really developed for more than a scene or two. But it was funny enough that I didn't really care too much. "Congratulations on your big bust." "You too!"

[#99 :]

also, did anyone else think that the opening gag was specifically written for totalnerduk and jivefunk?

What? How?

[#100 :]

I forgot to mention in my first post: it was nice to see Fry in that noble role for a change, instead of just being the stupid character. Like...he still says stupi things, but it's nice to see he's capable of doing other things.

Also, placing Ghost in the Machines right before this one actually does good with the setup of this other side of Fry, given that he jumped out in front of that ball to save a human. At first it bothered me that he, and not Leela, did that the last episode but it totally works in conjunction with Law and Oracle.

[#101 :]

So my DVR did not record the last 10 minutes of the episode so I still need to see that part...a couple questions though.

1. If you have a TV capable of broadcasting in 3-D, did the 3-D actually work for this episode?

2. Are Fry and Leela still in a relationship?  While I mostly believe the writers are just ignoring/not addressing the subject (since it was mostly established in Season 6), I have begun to wonder if they really are still in one.  Gosh, I am tired of these mind games!


Also, I do have to say they took the lady cop being like a dude a little too far with the toilet baby scene.  I am not saying this offended me, I just didn't think it was funny.  I think it would have been funnier if she yelled from the bathroom how big her shit was (if she had done that) or something like that.

"Congrats on your big bust"
"You too"
---very funny.

[#102 :]

1. If you have a TV capable of broadcasting in 3-D, did the 3-D actually work for this episode?

New 3D isn't like the old crappy red and cyan thing, it's just a little line-y...

[#103 :]

So, Fry is the Ron to Leela's Harry and Bender's Hermione (or should that be Bender's Harry and Leela's Hermione)? I suppose the red hair was a bit of a give-away.

Anywhoo, Futurama hasn't made me laugh so much since before it got cancelled!  

Some bits that caugh my eye:

• Fatbot is in Fry's Police Academy class.
• Graduation Banner:

   "Today: Police Academy Graduation
      Tonight: Police Academy Awards"

• 18th Precinct sign: "The place to call when you're being murdered"
• Wheels on a board? I guess wheels aren't as rare as they were previously.
• In the shot from inside Erwin Schrödinger's car during the Tron chase the rearview mirror is blank. Is this a sign of a reduced animation budget?
• Hattie's kajigger is, in this case, a snow globe.
• Also Lol @ Hattie's "Last Will & Whatchacallit".
• Is URL's off-duty beret a shout-out to Samuel L. Jackson (or just him being fashionably cool)?
• Re: the Maltese Liquor heist—are robots (e.g. Bender) actually in any danger from conventional handguns?
• The police fired Fry but let him keep his badge anyway?

[#104 :]

Also, is it me or do the characters sound a tad different from the original run?  Is this due to the actors aging or new production techniques?

1. If you have a TV capable of broadcasting in 3-D, did the 3-D actually work for this episode?

New 3D isn't like the old crappy red and cyan thing, it's just a little line-y...

Is that a yes or a no? 

[#105 :]

Is that a yes or a no?  

With the new 3D TVs I HIGHLY doubt it would work, but somebody in this thread (I think) tried it with the old Red and Cyan glasses and apparently it worked a little.

Ah, here: http://www.peelified.com/index.php?topic=21271.msg1217520#msg1217520

[#106 :]

Rewatched the episode. I still was not a fan of the Police Chief. I actually got to hear her first line and I didn't laugh at it at all. Even the "guys like this really bust my uterus" line fell flat on me. I can see why others thought she was funny, but it just didn't work on me at all.

On a related note, I actually enjoyed when URL was describing how they were getting it on. And then later when he was doing the same rewinding motion as Fry. And he had some great lines and development:
"Man that's heavy. Osmium heavy."
"Fools shoulda known it's fatal for anybody but robots and Billy Dee Williams"

Same with Hedonismbot:
"I'll be upstairs putting batteries in things." (which can be taken to very different ways, one of which I didn't think about until second viewing)
"Shall we adjourn to the dungeon?"

Also, Bender's "The very idea!" in reaction to Fry saying that Bender doesn't share was hilarious.

Unrelated to lines: when Schrödinger was refracted, I really liked the six split image. That was pretty cool.


Overall, great episode. I didn't enjoy it holistically as much as Ghost, but it was a much funnier episode (although I would've liked a less blunt reference to Avatar and Schröndinger's cat). This is an episode I think I will be able to rewatch plenty because I enjoyed the world that was created in the episode and they used a tertiary character very well in a supporting role. That may be the greatest compliment I have for the episode, even better than its jokes, especially considering how Amy/Bender worked (or didn't work) in P∞ and how Lrrr worked (or didn't work) in LrrrNdnd. I'll give it a 9/10.

[#107 :]

A parody of Minority Report?  Really?  I wouldn't have thought that movie was either recent enough, nor popular enough to warrant a parody.  It was a pretty good story though.

I did like the bit that made fun of James Cameron's Avatar, but I'm glad there wasn't more to it than just making fun of 3-D.

Also, as entertaining as this episode was, I hope that it doesn't lead to a series of "HomerFry becomes an X" episodes.  Futurama can do better than that.

[#108 :]

I mean, the film Minority Report is based off the Philip K. Dick story of the same name, an author whose right up Futurama's alley.

[#109 :]

Sure, but it's a fairly obscure story, even if you know who Philip K. Dick is.  I doubt that many Futurama viewers had heard of it before the movie was made.

Not that that's a complaint; I did think that it made for a pretty good episode.

[#110 :]

Me, too. I don't like seeing characters I like physically harmed in episodes. Others may think it's funny but I don't. On the bright side, they are just cartoons so at least they don't feel the pain.

Haha it isn't that bad, I enjoy my fave character, Fry, getting hurt, it's just funny and junk.

I especially like when the Die of Power hits him on the head after entering Cornwood in Bender's Game.

[#111 :]

Sure, but it's a fairly obscure story, even if you know who Philip K. Dick is.  I doubt that many Futurama viewers had heard of it before the movie was made.

Not that that's a complaint; I did think that it made for a pretty good episode.

How could you not have heard of the story? When the movie came out it was everywhere that it was based on a story of Philip K. Dick. Same as Blade Runner and Total Recall.

[#112 :]

Terrific episode, the best so far this season. Since Minority Report is one of my favorite science fiction movies from recent years, I admired the fact that they not only referenced it, but also constructed a fairly complex and logical mystery in and of itself using the same "Precrime" concept. I also loved Amy's "Good news, everyone!" and the old-school "3D" world of Pandora (and Leela's obvious inability to maneuver the ship in such an environment). Just all around great episode.

[#113 :]

Wow fantastic episode. It was witty it had a good mistery sence and It looked fantastic. Shame it was so rushed at the start. 10/10  BABY!

[#114 :]

• Wheels on a board? I guess wheels aren't as rare as they were previously.

That is a really valid point and I totally missed it before. Hmm. Still a funny scene, though, and an excellent episode.

[#115 :]

Also, is it me or do the characters sound a tad different from the original run?  Is this due to the actors aging or new production techniques?

1. If you have a TV capable of broadcasting in 3-D, did the 3-D actually work for this episode?

New 3D isn't like the old crappy red and cyan thing, it's just a little line-y...

Is that a yes or a no?  

If you have an old pair of red/blue 3D glasses, or the newer transparent ones that filter the red and blue images, then yes, the lame 3D probably worked -- but I'd imagine it looked pretty bad, and not worthwhile.

Whereas, if you have a 3D TV and the proper electronic shutter 3D glasses, then no, it probably did not work because the new tech would not integrate the red and blue images properly.

I don't know if Futurama Volume 6 will include the cheap red/blue glasses. Considering that they can only be used for maybe a minute in one episode, it hardly seems worthwhile. And I don't know if there's much demand for it anyway, because it doesn't seem like many people liked the 3D Pandora planet sequence of this episode.

[#116 :]

I'd have given this a 10/10 if it hadn't been for the Avatar reference which wasn't subtle at all, and if the Schrodinger's Cat thing hadn't been slightly overplayed as well.

All in all, I did love this episode though. It got a fair few laughs out of me, not massive belly laughs but the odd giggle (and I inhaled my fajitas at one point).

The Tron sequence was good, although as tnuk said, the animation could have been so much better, and I did love the fact that it struck a balance between old and new, keeping some of the geeky stuff in but still giving it enough humour to appeal to everyone.

Character wise, I loved seeing more of URL and the Chief was an okay addition to the cast for this episode, not sure I'd like to see her again, though. Certain jokes get old fast and this one was played out fine within the length of the episode.

[#117 :]

Talk about the 3D glasses has given me an idea. I'm going to get some sweet wrappers and give it a watch with a blue one and a red one each over one lens of my glasses.

[#118 :]

I really enjoyed this episode. I loved start with the videogame. I loved Roberto and then seeing Planet Express surrounded by cops. I loved seeing Fry as a cop and what Leela and Bender were like without him. I loved seeing plenty of NNY scenes. I liked the storyline and the twist ending, it worked. It also had good jokes throughout. I even didn’t mind the Avatar parody...

I disliked that Fry has apparently delivered Pizza’s all this time. That is just too convenient and it really was a major flaw to me. Aside from that it was brilliant, and I also loved seeing more of URL, so I give it...

9/10

On a shot of the police office, there are signs of two wanted people (a woman and a man), while at the same time the exact same people are walking past the office. Nice freeze frame joke that I didn't notice before.

i posted this earlier. sorry, had to brag.

also, did anyone else think that the opening gag was specifically written for totalnerduk flesheatingbull and jivefunk a piece of baloney?

Fixed...

[#119 :]

I thought this episode was okay. It seemed a bit rushed, but it was fine.
8/10