Thoughts on 6ACV14 - The Silence of the Clamps - SPOILERS

[Reply #200 on:]

francis x. clampatzo. reference to david x?

also, i'm surprised that no one has mentioned the hilarity of Calculon's song at the wedding.

[Reply #201 on:]

Calculon's song was pretty funny! Hehe.

Ok, I just spent almost an hour (?) reading this whole thread. My thoughts/responses:

I think the bleeping could have worked better if there was less of it in the scene between Clamps and Zoidy. A couple times is shock enough, after that it got old. I was kinda on the fence about Zoidberg's swear in the last scene. I think, if the swearing had been toned down a lil earlier, it would have been better.

Fry's childlike behavior of asking Clamps to play: I felt this was in canon with his character throughout the series. There are times when we are allowed to see Fry capable of more mature endeavors (like his role in Law and Oracle) but at the same time it's nice that we can revisit his normal state of mind. This line just reminded me of his stick figure drawing on a spaceship at Age 20 in Luck of the Fryrish. It made me smile.

I did notice Monique on the jury too, how odd. I liked the convex/concave mirror joke when Bender was trying to hide his identity, then how he drew Fry on a piece of paper only to have that paper fall over a second later haha.

I kinda agree with what some were saying earlier about Clamps being a wasted character in this plot. It would have been nice to get some more development/background on his character throughout the story, and it is true that by the end I didn't learn anything new about Clamps.

I thought it was funny how Fanny clearly states aloud to Bender about her affair with him, and DonBot stands idly by continuing to dance with her hahaha.

The plot is sorta similar to that of Lrrrenconcilable Ndndifferences when Lrrr forces himself on the PE crew for help with his marriage, this being analagous to Clamps forcing himself on the PE crew for help whacking Bender. However I felt L.N. was well better played off in that way than this episode imo.

That's all I can think of for right now anyway, that and this:

But Futurama is usually not
one to break the fourth wall if you know what I mean.

This is gonna be a lil offtopic from the subject, but since the movies I think that Futurama has done this on a pretty consistent basis, the first time being in Bender's Big Score when they were being "cancelled" by those "incompetent morons" at the "BOX" network (and of course the sign had the B change to an F a couple of times). This sorta breaking of the 4th wall continued with the ending of ITWGY and then reemerged in "Rebirth" (even the name suggests that). It seems to have become more commonplace now than one would think, I have just come to expect it

[Reply #202 on:]

I disagree with everyone about Clamps character not being developed.  We learned to a large degree how he operates and to what lengths his character will go from this episode.... it just so happens that he mimicks the person he is a parody of very well... so everyone at first glance just dismisses that anything ocurred.  In reality, a very real battle was being fought inside Clamps that progressed through out the episode, and it was enjoyable to perceive if you were really noticing the little cues of its unfolding.

[Reply #203 on:]

 

[Reply #204 on:]

Finally got around to rewatching this episode, and it's not as bad as I initially thought. The third act is still a total waste, in terms of the emotional commitment you are asked to make to a character that winds up not being Bender; a mislead like that works in, say, "The Sting" or "Rebirth," where you still learn something important about the characters from the whole ordeal, but in this episode it just seems like lazy writing. Billy is still a funny character, though (and I love Hermes's frustration with the way he talks: "You're from the moon!"); I just wish he actually had been Bender, because that would have been more interesting to me than seeing Bella come back out of nowhere to shoot the innocent husband and father ('course, I still love how the crew rejoices about this at the end of the episode). But whatever, that's not a deal breaker or anything.

The second act still drags, I think, and I don't much care about Fry forming a relationship with Clamps, or about Zoidberg's jealousy re: snipping. The courtroom scene still doesn't amuse me (though Bender doodling Fry's portrait on a piece of paper in an attempt to conceal his identity is kind of funny, and Calculon's coerced confession is all right), but Bender having to enter Witness Protection leads to a few good moments (the goodbyes to the crew, particularly to Leela, are funny). But once Clamps shows up, I think the entire episode goes downhill; he's just too one-note for me to care about his mission to kill Bender.

The first act is still the strongest part of the episode; it is funny and solid and well-paced. Bender's line about being great at sex, followed by the scene where the EBI agent commends him for his "tasteful love scene," is great. It also helps (albeit, only slightly) with the episode's internal logic that Fry and Leela never see Clamps face-to-face before he joins Planet Express; Joey Mousepad is the one who receives the package.

So, yeah. This still isn't the best episode of the season by any means, but I may have been a wee bit harsh on it the first time around. It's probably more a 6/10--which is to say, slightly below average but enjoyable enough.

[Reply #205 on:]

But Futurama is usually not
one to break the fourth wall if you know what I mean.

This is gonna be a lil offtopic from the subject, but since the movies I think that Futurama has done this on a pretty consistent basis,

It was done a few times in the original run, too.

[Reply #206 on:]

Oh that's right, I forgot about the heads in jars thing that occurred periodically. I was too focused on when they pointed out their own cancellation.

Ok I am taking this conversation to that thread now...

[Reply #207 on:]

I also felt cheated that the Crushinator was brought back, but for such an insignificant role.  I certainly find her a lot more entertaining then Clamps, though I am guessing some people might think she's another one joke character as well.   She did deserve more then one line though.

I think my favorite part of this episode was her daughter.  How does a pink mini car with a ribbon manage to be so cute?

[Reply #208 on:]

I had a thought earlier: maybe the hillbilly farmer built/had someone build that bot that looked like Bender to please the Crushinator who fended off her father attacking Bender in The Series Has Landed with, "No, Pa. I love him."

On that note, I wonder what happened to his other two robot daughters.

[Reply #209 on:]

I had a thought earlier: maybe the hillbilly farmer built/had someone build that bot that looked like Bender to please the Crushinator who fended off her father attacking Bender in The Series Has Landed with, "No, Pa. I love him."

On that note, I wonder what happened to his other two robot daughters.

They're probably on their own reality television show, Mare Serenis Shore or something similar.

[Reply #210 on:]

I had a thought earlier: maybe the hillbilly farmer built/had someone build that bot that looked like Bender to please the Crushinator who fended off her father attacking Bender in The Series Has Landed with, "No, Pa. I love him."

On that note, I wonder what happened to his other two robot daughters.

They're probably on their own reality television show, Mare Serenis Shore or something similar.

Yeah, one spraypainted herself orange ...

[Reply #211 on:]

I give it an 8/10. It had some pretty good jokes in it! It seemed like it had retro Futurama humor!

[Reply #212 on:]

Did anyone else think The Crushinator and Billy's daughter bot was cute?

[Reply #213 on:]

No.

[Reply #214 on:]

Pay no attention, EvilChicken. I'm sure everyone loved the baby bot except winna, but you know him. He didn't like Country Bear Jamboree either.

[Reply #215 on:]

I thought the baby was cute, and I was seriously upset when West died, thinking of his poor child.

Hey! This is my first post in this thread, I still have said nothing about this episode.

To all my fans who want my opinion before you can make up your own: I still have no idea what I think about it, it's crazy. It feels pretty forgettable, but not bad - just pretty neutral. Along the lines of episodes like "The Deep South", that you never think about but then when you hear them mentioned you go "oh! well... that's a good ep." In comparison to most others, I liked Zoidberg going crazy. I think it worked well, and it gave him some deep we haven't seen before. The ending was a little predictable though, it was obvious pretty early on that Billy West wasn't Bender.

[Reply #216 on:]

I'm glad I'm not the only one who thought Baby Crushinator was cute!   I want one of my own now.   Agreed Aki, the thing that bothered me most was how that baby now has lost her father, and the Crushinator is now a widow. 

Though I thought LI had established all robots besides Bender as immortal? 

[Reply #217 on:]

Well, Billy could have downloaded his backup copy into a new body at some point off-screen, but then we wouldn't have that morbidly hilarious moment where the crew rejoices at the death of a husband and father.

It feels pretty forgettable, but not bad - just pretty neutral. Along the lines of episodes like "The Deep South", that you never think about but then when you hear them mentioned you go "oh! well... that's a good ep."

Agreed. After I rewatched it, I found a few more moments that were funny enough, and the story itself didn't bug me as much. That said, I don't think this will ever be an episode I sit down to watch for the hell of it when I'm in need of a Futurama fix. And there's nothing wrong with that; there are plenty of episodes from the original run ("The Deep South" is a good example; I'd say "Raging Bender" is another one, at least for me) that are okay, not great.

[Reply #218 on:]

Why thankyou, my good chum.

It was allrite, but I would probably find it funny if I see it in context.   Mind you, what I've noticed this season is that all of the clips have ended up being the funniest/interestingest/or the only funny part of the episode.    So either this episode is going to be especially dire, or they are saving the best for later.  =)

Yes I said interestingest.  Bite my peachy, curvaceous ass.

[Reply #219 on:]

Though I thought LI had established all robots besides Bender as immortal? 

Backup units may be able to fail, it may have been defective, or it might have even been damaged in the assassination. There's also another issue, in that it might actually be an expense to go get yourself a new robot with the same personality of the old one, so the Moon Farmer might not be able to afford to ressurect Billy. Or Billy may now be backed up and living on the moon again with his robotic wife and daughter. We don't know. These things are never adequately explained, and I think that the writers do some of it on purpose.

Grr. Those jerks.

[Reply #220 on:]

Thats why I thought LI was such a dumb episode, since it pretty much invalidates robot deaths, whether they are crowd scenes, one offs like Fry choosing to save the human rather then the seemingly immortal robot from being crushed or ones like Billy West.    Couldn't Crimes of the Hot have just downloaded all the robots into non polluting bodies? 

Oh well... at least it means the Gypsy didn't die when her head exploded.  I hope she was brought back in time to enjoy the free buffet.  

[Reply #221 on:]

LI only established that robots in general have backup units. There will probably always be exceptions. I wouldn't be surprised if robots on the outskirts of civilization (for example Billy West) have never heard of backup units and just assume that every death is the end. The robots of Robo-Hungary in "The Honking" seemed pretty unaware of the concept that robots are created by humans, and West himself seemed like he didn't care much of technology such as that of spacecraft. It's not unlikely that they simply don't know of it or, like tnuk said, they can't afford it.

I think we overall should assume that robots make it most of the times - many robots have been chopped up or exploded and then returned - but at the same time there's always a chance of eternal demise.

[Reply #222 on:]

LI only established that robots in general have backup units. There will probably always be exceptions. I wouldn't be surprised if robots on the outskirts of civilization (for example Billy West) have never heard of backup units and just assume that every death is the end. The robots of Robo-Hungary in "The Honking" seemed pretty unaware of the concept that robots are created by humans, and West himself seemed like he didn't care much of technology such as that of spacecraft. It's not unlikely that they simply don't know of it or, like tnuk said, they can't afford it.

I think we overall should assume that robots make it most of the times - many robots have been chopped up or exploded and then returned - but at the same time there's always a chance of eternal demise.

True but Billy wasn't just any robot, he was exact same type of robot as Bender, and it has been confirmed that that line of robots all have backups.  I could see older models like Lisa and the Robo Hungarians not having backups, (but it is strongly implied in the future that older or obselete models are not tolerated to exist by Mom, who seems to either make all robots on earth, or at least the overwhelming majority of them).  I dunno, I felt LI screwed with canon way too much, and could have easily had Benders mortality/the inspector written in a less clunky way.  

*shrugs* I woudl say you're right Aki, but I can't see why Billy isn't just able to rebooted, considering he's from a line of robots confirmed to all have backups.  Unless he was made to be a husband to the Crushinator, who was pining after Bender, or something, but I think LI has made all robot deaths/inuries invalidated until proven otherwise.    Why did Bender mope about in Bending in the Wind, when as far as he knew back then, he could have just had his brain transplanted into a new body?

See, we haven't even moved onto a new season, but LI is already causing plot holes.   

[Reply #223 on:]

True but Billy wasn't just any robot, he was exact same type of robot as Bender, and it has been confirmed that that line of robots all have backups.  I could see older models like Lisa and the Robo Hungarians not having backups, (but it is strongly implied in the future that older or obselete models are not tolerated to exist by Mom, who seems to either make all robots on earth, or at least the overwhelming majority of them).

It feels like you missed my point here. I have bolded what you failed to take into consideration:

LI only established that robots in general have backup units. There will probably always be exceptions. I wouldn't be surprised if robots on the outskirts of civilization (for example Billy West) have never heard of backup units and just assume that every death is the end. The robots of Robo-Hungary in "The Honking" seemed pretty unaware of the concept that robots are created by humans, and West himself seemed like he didn't care much of technology such as that of spacecraft. It's not unlikely that they simply don't know of it or, like tnuk said, they can't afford it.

In other words, they don't understand that they will return to life, and thus they assume that they will cease existing upon death. When West dies, no matter if he will return or not, the Crushinator thinks he dies forever. Compare it to ignorant humans like myself who doesn't believe in an afterlife, if it in fact turn out to exist one. Obviously I will act melodramatically when the love of my life dies, no matter if she continues living in another world, another part of our world, or whatever - because I don't know of it. The same may go with the Crushinator when West dies.

[Reply #224 on:]

True but Billy wasn't just any robot, he was exact same type of robot as Bender, and it has been confirmed that that line of robots all have backups.  I could see older models like Lisa and the Robo Hungarians not having backups, (but it is strongly implied in the future that older or obselete models are not tolerated to exist by Mom, who seems to either make all robots on earth, or at least the overwhelming majority of them).

It feels like you missed my point here. I have bolded what you failed to take into consideration:

LI only established that robots in general have backup units. There will probably always be exceptions. I wouldn't be surprised if robots on the outskirts of civilization (for example Billy West) have never heard of backup units and just assume that every death is the end. The robots of Robo-Hungary in "The Honking" seemed pretty unaware of the concept that robots are created by humans, and West himself seemed like he didn't care much of technology such as that of spacecraft. It's not unlikely that they simply don't know of it or, like tnuk said, they can't afford it.

In other words, they don't understand that they will return to life, and thus they assume that they will cease existing upon death. When West dies, no matter if he will return or not, the Crushinator thinks he dies forever. Compare it to ignorant humans like myself who doesn't believe in an afterlife, if it in fact turn out to exist one. Obviously I will act melodramatically when the love of my life dies, no matter if she continues living in another world, another part of our world, or whatever - because I don't know of it. The same may go with the Crushinator when West dies.

I think you missed what was my point, and I would bold what you failed to take into consideration, but I am too lazy.  

I was agreeing with what you said, but the point is Billy is the exact same type of robot as Bender, a recent model that all have backup units.   If he was some other robot like the Robo Hungarians, that would make sense, because he is on the outskirts of civilization, but again, he is a type of robot that has a backup, and would have been destroyed as soon as he was built, if he didn't have one.  He's a type of robot that was built on earth by Mom, and all have backup units.   The only other alternative I can think of, is if he was built on the Moon to specifically be the Crushinator's husband.

So, you could be right that he has no idea he has a backup, but if not, why wouldn't the Crushinator have one? (Again, the Crushinator was built on earth, at Mom's factory, hence why she turns up on Mother's Day, and was on the Galapagos beach party where all of Mom's robots were scheduled to be destroyed.)   So the Crushinator must be aware of backup copies, since she is seen on Earth enough, considers Mom to be her "mother" (and Mom forcefully destroys any her robots that don't have backup copies, due to her not wanting bad publicity from inferior models)  Further proof that the Crushinator is Mom's creation is shown in Mother's Day, since Mom was able to brainwash her to run riot, along with all the other Mom's Friendly Robots.

All I'm saying is LI had caused massive plot holes in the past episodes, and is already causing more.  

The only way I can think your theory works is if Billy does have a backup copy, but is simply unaware of it for some reason, and the Crushinator is equally unaware (which I find doubtful for the reasons above.)  Also it doesn't really explain why the entire PE crew think Billy is dead, when LI has given them every reason to not assume this is the case (it also doesn't explain why the Robot Mafia don't assume Billy has a backup copy, and is therefore still alive.  It could be that he was only supposed to be taught a lesson, the way Fanny and Bender were "killed" in the movie.)

[Reply #225 on:]

The only way I can think your theory works is if Billy does have a backup copy, but is simply unaware of it for some reason, and the Crushinator is equally unaware (which I find doubtful for the reasons above.)

That was basically my point exactly. West may have a backup copy, but he and the Crushinator is unaware of it. I don't see why the Crushinator couldn't be unaware of it though - even though she's comes to the big city at some times (like in "Mother's Day"), she's still a hick with little contact with the outside world. It may be improbable, but I don't think it's implausible.

Also it doesn't really explain why the entire PE crew think Billy is dead, when LI has given them every reason to not assume this is the case (it also doesn't explain why the Robot Mafia don't assume Billy has a backup copy, and is therefore still alive.  It could be that he was only supposed to be taught a lesson, the way Fanny and Bender were "killed" in the movie.)

I remember writing about this on the Infosphere when someone argued that the Robot Mafia should know that they didn't really kill Bender (West) entirely, as he may return in a backup unit:

"First of all, maybe the Robot Mafia don't know about the backup unit, and second, maybe they don't care. The killing would perhaps just be a mean thing to do to Bender, not meant to take him out completely but more of a punishment. We've seen this before."

Still, the PE crew's behaviour surely is odd, and I can't find a reason for it. There is still the possibility, though, that West is too poor to return. Even if all robots are born with a backup unit, maybe it costs them to use it, much like a computer can be fixed when broken, but most times it cheaper to just buy a new one. That seems logical to me at least - Mom has no real interest in seeing destroyed robots return, so she'd have them pay for it themselves.

[Reply #226 on:]

I think we can agree on your point, even though for the reasons I have said, it has made I don't think it makes that much sense.   Believable, but with a raised eyebrow.    I mean she may be a hick, but she appears on Earth enough, has enough knowledge of her origins and represented the Moon in the Miss Universe pagent.   Though to be fair, everyone in Futurama drops a load of IQ points when the plot needs it (hell geniuses like the Professor, Dr Cahill and Amy can do that in mid sentence), and lets face it, Crushy doesn't seem like she has all that many to spare to begin with.   I think your point about robots having to pay a steep rate to return makes sense, since Mom is an utterly ruthless and morally bankrupt sociopath, so it makes sense that she would charge her babies a monstrous fee to stay alive, even if it costs her little or nothing.  Even so the behavior of everyone this episode is pretty strange, even with that explaination, which is why I think PI scrambled with the canon way too much.  

Anyway, I am rewatching the episode, and I think I was too harsh on it.  The last half devolves into a bit of a retread of the Fry and Bender are Really Good Friends Really Even Though Bender is More like Fry's Abusive Boyfriend then his Best Friend type storyline, which has already happened this season.  The first half however is hysterical, and has LOADS of good moments, like "I'll pay you back when you lend me more money!", the moments with Bella, the jury tampering and the "You're on trial in the next room!" and "The clamps are all rusted up with snitch juice."   I felt Clamps may be a one note character, but for one of those, he held (clamped, hurhurhur) the episode together quite well, and he got some of his funniest lines here (snitch juice, and saying sorry toots to his right clamp).   I dont want to see another episode with him as a main, though, unless they give him dialogue that doesn't revolve around "clamps" "clamping" or "THE CLAMPSSS!!!!"

I would say the first half is a 9, and the second half is a six or a seven. First half was hilarious, the second half was a dull and uninspired rehash of a previous episode this season that was pretty dull and uninspired to begin with.

[Reply #227 on:]

I thought it was an OK episode. I was gonna give it a 7/10 but gave it a 8/10, just to be nice.

[Reply #228 on:]

The robots of Robo-Hungary in "The Honking" seemed pretty unaware of the concept that robots are created by humans,

They're probably programmed to be unaware of that fact.

[Reply #229 on:]

They're probably programmed to be unaware of that fact.

[/quote]

The robots of Robo-Hungary in "The Honking" seemed pretty unaware of the concept that robots are created by humans,

That could still prove what Aki thought, in that the robots do have backup copies, but are simply unaware of it (I mean, did Basil and Big Bertha die if they had backup copies?  I can see Big Bertha specifiying the did not want to be brought back in a new body).   I could see the Crushinator being an extremely expensive model to manufacture, so Mom could simply have programmed her to think she will die if she... dies.   A robot that is unaware of its immortality is a robot that will have self preservation, and therefore is unlikely to be constantly killing itself for fun/stupidity and won't drain Mom's money/resources.  

[Reply #230 on:]

Maybe their software eventually becomes obsolete and "unsupported", disabling backup capabilities after a certain age.

[Reply #231 on:]

I also felt cheated that the Crushinator was brought back, but for such an insignificant role. 

Did Crushinator have more than 2 lines in The Series Has Landed?

[Reply #232 on:]

I also felt cheated that the Crushinator was brought back, but for such an insignificant role.  

Did Crushinator have more than 2 lines in The Series Has Landed?

Well you could probably use your hand to count all of the lines she has had throughout the entire series.   And she hasn't spoken since Crimes of the Hot, but considering this was actually her biggest role in almost a decade, I just felt cheated that she only had one line.  2 if you count her weird crying that sounds like evil laughter.   I would just like them to do more with her.  Hell, they can't even keep her voice acting consistent. 

[Reply #233 on:]

Is it me or is this ep quite forgettable? I've already forgotten most of it and I only watched it a week ago ...

[Reply #234 on:]

Did you watch it just once or more than once?

[Reply #235 on:]

Just once so far, I admit it. I'll watch it again though, promise!...

[Reply #236 on:]

I just got around to watching this one:

I felt they missed an opportunity with the Space Pope. This character has been mentioned for a long time and never seen, and I dunno, I just felt like it was a moment of missed funny. It was pretty dull, actually.

I did like the introduction of Bella, and Bender hitting on the Donbot's daughters and Fanny again, and then not really remembering her, as well as the Don's blasé expression the whole time, not really caring at all about it.

I was quite hoping we'd see some characters development for Clamps, another missed moment of awesome there I feel, although I don't know. I did like that we're given some of the other characters, and this episode did remind me a lot of The Series Has Landed, with the scene in the moon dome and the family. Also, the baby robot was darn cute.

The swearing was pointless, apart from one of them - "I'm John *bleep*ing Zoidberg" was just hilarious, and I really enjoyed the fight scene. As someone else pointed out as well, some of the scenery and 3D imagery was fantastic as well.

It's not my favourite, but I didn't mind it, and it's getting a 7/10 from me.

[Reply #237 on:]

Yeah space pope was kinda a letdown. I am major disappoint.

[Reply #238 on:]

I agree that the introduction of the Space Pape was squandered in this episode.

For such a minor role, Futurama should've had Preacher Bot perform the marriage (like Leela and Alcazar's marriage), and save the Space Pope for a more substantial role.

The Space Pope probably could've and should've had an episode featuring him. Unfortunately, it seems like Futurama's creativity and originality has declined since the original run, which is why there are so many mediocre or worse episodes in the new seasons. That's probably why the Futurama writers couldn't come up with a good episode idea for Space Pope, and only gave him a lame cameo in this episode.

[Reply #239 on:]

I believe the Space Pope was actually introduced (if by introduced you mean the first time we see him in person) in the Duh-Vinci Code.

Just sayin'...