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Aki
Professor
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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!".
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Bend-err
DOOP Secretary
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So many references Tron, Minority Report, Space Pilot 3000 Avatar. AND Police Academy!
AND Police Academy IV!
And don't forget The Maltese Falcon.
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Juliet
DOOP Secretary
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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.
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dwurt
Poppler
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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
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Fnord
Starship Captain
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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.)
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DotheBartman
Liquid Emperor
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« Reply #98 on: 07-09-2011 08:47 »
« Last Edit on: 07-09-2011 08:48 »
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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!"
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futurefreak
salutatory committee member
Moderator
DOOP Secretary
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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.
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hobbitboy
Sir Rank-a-Lot
Urban Legend
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« Reply #103 on: 07-09-2011 09:34 »
« Last Edit on: 07-09-2011 09:36 »
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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?
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Bend-err
DOOP Secretary
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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.
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NastyInThePasty
Professor
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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.
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SorynArkayn
Bending Unit
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« Reply #115 on: 07-09-2011 18:36 »
« Last Edit on: 07-09-2011 18:37 »
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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.
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Nutmeg1729
Urban Legend
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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.
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Otis P Jivefunk
DOOP Secretary
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« Reply #118 on: 07-09-2011 21:48 »
« Last Edit on: 07-09-2011 21:49 »
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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... 9/10On 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...
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