Things you would like to see Futurama parody

[on:]

Since Futurama has parodied classic sci fi like Star Trek and 2001 A Space Odyssey, to pop culture like Titanic and Sailor Moon, are there any things in particular you would like to see a parody of? (Whether it's an entire episode like A Flight to Remember, or a small one off like Nannybot resembling the Alien, or Amy being a dead ringer for Sailor Moon in the anime segment), feel free to give some examples here.

Entire Episode
Personally, I would love to see an episode that parodies some of Jules Verns's books.  We could have "Around the Milky Way in Eight Hours" or "20,000 Leagues Under Europa", where the planet express ship is converted into a submarine, and delves under Europa's ice shelf.  Or Journey to the Center of Io (similar concept, the heroes dig into the core of Io, which could also work as a send off of atrocious "disaster" movies like The Core.)   As a matter of fact, we could have an AOI style episode that parodies Jules Verne, and to tie them together further, we could have them all be set in the Jovian system (To Callisto and Back?  Around Ganymede in Eight Minutes?)

I would also love an episode where the crew visit London, which serves as a parody to Dr Who, Torchwood and Blake's 7.   (Mom could have an outfit that resembles Sarvalan.)   I also think it would be a neat touch if the British brand of suicide booths all look like the Tardis. (Termis?)

Tales of Interest: I would love to see an AOI that had a steampunk segment.  (Bender could have a smokestack instead of an antenna, with a smokebox where his door usually is.)  I also think the Crushinator would look good in this episode (I'm working on a drawing of her where she resembles the Rocket.)

One offs:
I would like to see a Pokemon reference, but I can see how an entire episode could quickly become annoying, containing too much of the pop culture references that do not sit will with the fans. If its done well, an entire episode would be pretty memorable.   A Flight to Remember was a good parody of Titanic, and this is coming from someone who despises that movie.

Any more?

[Reply #1 on:]

I personally like it when Futurama gives a slight nod of the head to sci-fi classics, and instead of parodying them outright, does something more original.

If they start referencing things like Pokemon, I may just stop watching.

[Reply #2 on:]

I would also love an episode where the crew visit London, which serves as a parody to Dr Who, Torchwood and Blake's 7.   (Mom could have an outfit that resembles Sarvalan.)   I also think it would be a neat touch if the British brand of suicide booths all look like the Tardis. (Termis?)

[Reply #3 on:]

Paying homage to classic Sci-Fi is what Futurama does well, and they should do it more.

[Reply #4 on:]

Well Pokemon is almost 20 years old, so I would say its a lot more recent.  Plus I would say its one of the most iconic things about the 90s and 00s, so it would feel better then a reference to say, Lady Gaga or Susan Boil.

Plus the idea of rats shooting electricity out of their cheeks fits in well with the Futurama universe, along with the hypnotic toads and the hermaphrodite amphibians that can get knocked up through heavy petting.  

That was pretty good Xanfor, I'm surprised we haven't seen a Dalek yet in Futurama.   Maybe they could be the traffic wardens in Neo London, where they shoot down anyone who disobeys the speed limit?  

[Reply #5 on:]

I would also love an episode where the crew visit London, which serves as a parody to Dr Who, Torchwood and Blake's 7.   (Mom could have an outfit that resembles Sarvalan.)   I also think it would be a neat touch if the British brand of suicide booths all look like the Tardis. (Termis?)

[img]http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-atTKMH43d50/TcbBldeli_I/AAAAAAAAAl8/LSRETNP7Gs4/s1600/futurama1.jpg[img]
[img]http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-tO4G-ocpNGM/TcbBljvR3JI/AAAAAAAAAmE/LWuyTJLyzdY/s1600/futurama2.jpg[img]

I'm gonna need some fucking eyewash.

[Reply #6 on:]

What does a metrosexual Dalek say?

EXFOLIATE, EXFOLIATE

[Reply #7 on:]

What does a metrosexual Dalek say?

EXFOLIATE, EXFOLIATE

That's the Skincare Dalek. The  metrosexual ones say "I MOISTURISE REGULARLY!", then they invite you to sit down and talk about your feelings before they zap you.

[Reply #8 on:]

What does a metrosexual Dalek say?

EXFOLIATE, EXFOLIATE

That's the Skincare Dalek. The  metrosexual ones say "I MOISTURISE REGULARLY!", then they invite you to sit down and talk about your feelings before they zap you.

They also have a program that can detect the threadcount of a set of Egyptian cotton sheets at a glance.  You don't disintergrate organic lifeforms on a set of egyptian cotton sheets.  It's just not done.

[Reply #9 on:]

OMG it's Mike Kazaleh! Don't let Freako see!

TOO LATE.

[Reply #10 on:]

Xanfor, why did you ruin our eyes with Kazaleh's work? Also why does the guy still have his job? He can only draw Fry somewhat decently. Zoidberg is horrendous as is Leela.

ON topic, I'm always up for Star Wars parodies even if they're frequent. I, like SpaceGoldfishfromWezn, would probably like seeing a 20,000 Leagues parody. Oooh! Ohh! Back to the Future parody? Maybe? A nod would probably be better.

As for a steampunk element, #57 of Futurama comics will be covering that territory. Unless the preview for the cover is lying to me. Or the cover itself when it releases as it has on several occasions. Let's get some relevant artwork on the covers please... I would probably thoroughly enjoy an episode with that theme. Perhaps the crew would visit a steampunk-themed planet and would get sucked into shenannigans there. Steampunk PE ship anyone?

[Reply #11 on:]

That's what I was thinking!  It would probably be similar to the steampunk flying saucer that Kang and Kodos were flying in one episode of Treehouse of Horror.  I just saw the comic cover, and its pretty much what I had in mind, but I am disappointed its not going to be an actual episode.  Is it me, or does Amy look like Princess Daisy from Super Mario?

One thing I would like to see (this would probably work quite well in a AOI segment) is a parody of Alice in Wonderland and Through the Looking Glass. Perhaps it could have a sci fi theme, and take place across multiple planets, rather then being a straightup parody like say, Wizzin' was.  Like instead of growing large in the White Rabbit's house, it happens in a space station, or the Mad Hatter and friends live on an asteroid.

I think the characters would work something like this:
Leela = Alice                                Mom = Queen of Hearts (she has the hair for it)
Fry = Cheshire Cat                       Her sons = Playing cards
Hermes = White Rabbit                  Hatty = The Duchess
Farnsworth = Mad Hatter              Cubert = Doormouse
Zoidberg = March Hare                   White Queen = Amy
Red Queen = Lebarbara                 Live flowers = Petunia (geddit?)
Dinah = Nibbler                             Lrr = Jabberwock
Catapillar = Calculon                      Mock Turtle = Kiff
Gryphon = Zapp

I think we should have a nod to BttF rather then an outright parody, as there has been a glut of time travel episodes.   We've already had the greatness that is TLPJF, and the already good but not great ATPH doesnt stand up to well when compared to TLPJF and Roswell thats Ends Well.  I think a good Star Wars parody would be interesting, it deserves to be parodied in Futurama.  I enjoyed WNFHGB, even though im not a star trek fan, same with Blue Harvest and star wars.  

I've also just seen a Futuramized Fifth Element, and I have to admit, I would totally love it.  (Leela was the Diva, while Amy was Leeloo.  Leela/Leeloo sound pretty much the same since I'm pretty sure Leeloo was one of the reasons for her name, though Amy fits the role just as well.)

[Reply #12 on:]

Wait didn't KurtPikachu have a thread JUST like this?!

[Reply #13 on:]

Futurama needs more modern gaming references. I couldn't care less what it is; Halo or Assassin's Creed, Mass Effect or Uncharted; there seems to be a huge lack in this area.

[Reply #14 on:]

A Ratchet and Clank crossover! The Universes are very similar.

[Reply #15 on:]

SpaceGoldfish: But what about Tweedledum/dee?

Personally I'd like more Doctor Who references, but given that DW is British I just can't see it happening, which is a shame. It's the one pop culture reference I think I could handle.

[Reply #16 on:]

A Ratchet and Clank crossover! The Universes are very similar.

Not possible. They can't possibly have the Nibbolonian homeworld and the Great Clock in the centre of the universe at the same time!

[Reply #17 on:]

Personally I'd like more Doctor Who references, but given that DW is British I just can't see it happening, which is a shame. It's the one pop culture reference I think I could handle.

They could always go to England in some Episode.

[Reply #18 on:]

Not possible. They can't possibly have the Nibbolonian homeworld and the Great Clock in the centre of the universe at the same time!

Good point... But the Great Clock is in the Exact Center of the Universe Give or Take 50 feet.

[Reply #19 on:]

SpaceGoldfish: But what about Tweedledum/dee?

Ruth and Esther, just for the sheer randomness of the idea.  

I think an Alice episode could be done pretty well, given the setting, and it will give the creators a lot of oppertunities to slip in mathmatical jokes (Charles Lutwidge, Dodgson or Lewis Caroll taught mathematics in Christchurch)

I think I'm going to go draw Leela playing croquet with a Hermaphamingo now.  

I think for the most part, parodies are usually better when they are more subtle, or if the writers decide to spoof an entire genre rather then just one thing (means more things can be done at once, and is more fun for people who haven't seen the original).  There are exceptions to this rule however, like Fry and the Slurm Factory and a Flight to Remember.

[Reply #20 on:]

Goldfishy, an Alice-themed episode would be great! Although, I think Scruffy would be a funny Dormouse.

[Reply #21 on:]

Goldfishy, an Alice-themed episode would be great! Although, I think Scruffy would be a funny Dormouse.

Yeah, Scruffy needs a bigger role!  He could be the Jabberwocky instead of Lrr though.
"I'm Scruffy.  The Jabberwock."  Or if he is the Doormouse, we could make Cubert be that disgusting baby that turns into a pig.  Either way, it will be Brillig.   I was also thinking if it might be interesting to have Amy as Alice, and Leela as another character, or the two of them sharing the Alice role.  Its difficult because Alice actually has very few female characters compared to its male ones (Besides Alice herself, the only important ones in the first book are The Duchess and the The Queen of Hearts, and the Red/White Queens in the second)

Also I really love the Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds, and I think a parody of that movie/song would be fantastic.  It could be the crew piloting the ship into a diemension where the laws of physics are extremely different/fluid, where they end up having marshmallow pies with rocking horse aliens, 'and testing out the ship's "anti-Blue Meanie cannon".   It could be called Leela in the Sky with Zircons or something.

[Reply #22 on:]

The steampunk idea is great, I'd love to see that -even if it was a full episode rather than an Anthology of Interest segment. Perhaps a visit to a steampunk planet or the effects of time travel, etc.

I also would have loved to see them visit London if it wasn't for how close to All the Presidents' Heads that'd likely be, now. Maybe a few seasons down the line...

[Reply #23 on:]

The steampunk idea is great, I'd love to see that -even if it was a full episode rather than an Anthology of Interest segment. Perhaps a visit to a steampunk planet or the effects of time travel, etc.

I also would have loved to see them visit London if it wasn't for how close to All the Presidents' Heads that'd likely be, now. Maybe a few seasons down the line...

That's why I am so excited for the upcoming comic, because they look just like how I imagined the characters in my head to look (especially Leela.  She had to have a giant goggle.) I think you are right, it should be its own episode (I thought the Alice one should be AOI, but its way too big and there are too many oppertunities within to be squeezed into one episode.)

I think the London bit was way too brief.  We didn't even see a flying Black Cab dammit.  I also think the Queen's guards should have actual furry aliens on their heads, which eat especially obnoxious tourists.

I have some other ideas for a Neo London setting:
The Underground trains actually bore their way underground, and the engines are robotic.  (We meet two named Sharon and Tracey, named after the boring machines that dug out the extended Jubilee line.)

Genetically engineered flying corgis have replaced pigeons and owls as the main pest.  

Tea was banned 600 years ago after a contaiminated crop killed off most of the Royal Family.  Most people in England have absolutely no idea what tea is. And the few that do are under the impression that it was an alcoholic drink.  

Oxford Street  now consists of 30 levels, extending into the air.

Adders are still the only poisonous snake in the British Isles, but are now fifty feet long, resemble Xenomorphs and terrorize the english country side.  

[Reply #24 on:]

I swear that Smokey and the Bandit are due for a parody.

[Reply #25 on:]

I'd like to see an X-files parody.  Or maybe Sherlock Holmes, though that's not really scifi.  But I don't have more developed ideas like some of you do.

[Reply #26 on:]

I'd like to see an X-files parody.  Or maybe Sherlock Holmes, though that's not really scifi.  But I don't have more developed ideas like some of you do.

Actually, a Sherlock Holmes murder mystery could be the focus of the London episode (maybe a robot Jack the Ripper who has been killing London's hookerbots?). 

I also think the London episode could include a few parodies of John Wydnham novels (Day of the Triffids, the Midwich Cuckoos, the Kraken Awakes, ect).  Maybe Croydon could be exclusively inhabited by creepy blond children with mincing english accents?  Or Kew Gardens could be a triffid reserve. 

I also think a film noir/Agatha Christie parody would be great.  Maybe Murder on the Andromeda Express, taking place on board the high speed intergalactic train we saw in Iron Chef.

[Reply #27 on:]

Firefly. I'd like a character to say "Gorram".

Stargate SG:1.

The Matrix-style VR "internet" that exists in the year 3000 hasn't been really examined again since its first appearance. There could be some funny Matrix parody there.

I think a Futurama parody of the Simpsons opening credits would be amusing, with Springfield and it's characters replaced by the setting and denizens of New New York.

While I know Star Trek is covered heavily, I'd like to see an episode made as an homage to a classic Star Trek episode (perhaps The City on the Edge of Forever), the way South Park did with Dagger of the Mind).

[Reply #28 on:]

Ohhh, I love the robot Jack the Ripper idea!

[Reply #29 on:]

Ohhh, I love the robot Jack the Ripper idea!

Yeah I think it could totally work!  We could also have a bit where Hermphrobot is insulted by not being murdered by the Robot Ripper, because he only targets female hookerbots. 

[Reply #30 on:]

Ohhh, I love the robot Jack the Ripper idea!

Wasn't Jak the Ripper in one of the comics? (Yeah it's spelt Jak in the comic...) But I dunno if he was a robot...

[Reply #31 on:]

Ohhh, I love the robot Jack the Ripper idea!

I'm not sure, I've never read any of the comics.  It could also be the focus of a steampunk episode (a steam powered robot Jack the Ripper murdering steampowered hookerbots?  I think that would be awesome)

Wasn't Jak the Ripper in one of the comics? (Yeah it's spelt Jak in the comic...) But I dunno if he was a robot...

[Reply #32 on:]

I haven't read any of the comics either, but I think the Alice in Wonderland idea is great too!

[Reply #33 on:]

I haven't read any of the comics either, but I think the Alice in Wonderland idea is great too!

I just think it has loads of possibilities for Futurama, and we shouldn't let the disappointing Alice of last year leave a bad taste in our mouths (sorry Tim Burton, but you just can't do adaptations.  Stick to the original stuff we love).

I also would love them to do a sequel to Reincarnation, where they do the show in the following styles:
Reminiscent of an Edward Gorey picture book.  Gorey was a huge sci fi nut to boot! The Stanley segment in Yokel Chords has probably been my favorite thing in the simpsons for years.

The characters resemble puppets (not live action as that would look too strange.)  Maybe with visible strings like Stingray/Thunderbirds (hell the planet express ship looks a bit like Thunderbird 2) or possibly Muppets.  Actually I think a Thunderbirds spoof would work pretty well, with the PE crew piloting different ships.

One that resembles an 80s cartoon, with all their glam rock hair, and of course, extremely trippy animation that is often coupled with  heavy handed anti drug messages.  The characters could also resemble the bigger 80s cartoon characters like Thundercats, Jem, Muppet Babies, Ninja Turtles ect.

[Reply #34 on:]

Bender goes into an Alice in Wonderland world for one page in Issue #46 (#57 in the UK).

[Reply #35 on:]

The characters resemble puppets (not live action as that would look too strange.)

Oh hell yeah. Live action Futurama. A ten-minute segment in the what-if-machine would be fantastic.

[Reply #36 on:]

Live action Futurama?

[Reply #37 on:]

I think live action thunderbird puppets would be great but I'm not sure about having actual actors. Bender and zoidberg would probably look stupid or the actual characters probably won't look like their counterparts, but the main problem I have with it is Leela, since her one eye wiill probably send her straight into the uincanny valley.  Pretty much every realistic art I've seen of her is usually a bit creepy, usually much creepier then zoidberg or kif. Once she gets a visible tearduct, she goes crashing straight into the valley.   Mind you it could work, but I think they'd need a massive budget to pull it off, unless they went for a so bad its good approach.

As for the comics danny, cure for the common clod has a very sinmilar plot to cold warriors.

[Reply #38 on:]

Sock Puppet Futurama?
Lego Futurama?
Claymation Futurama?

Oh so many possibilities.

[Reply #39 on:]

Sock Puppet Futurama?
Lego Futurama?
Claymation Futurama?

Oh so many possibilities.

the

Too right, I was thinking claymmation would be fantastic.  Or stopmotion figures.