Thoughts on 6ACV15 - Möbius Dick - SPOILERS!

[Reply #40 on:]

The ending is very much like Close Encounters of The Third Kind. The name "Lando" was ripped off from Star Wars, of course.

Not to forget the reference to Aliens when we see Lando attached to the whale.
Come to think of it, it's likewise a reference to Pirates of the Caribbean, especially the barnacles.

[Reply #41 on:]

Strange episode. It was funny, and it was interesting, but strange.

I really enjoyed acts 1 and 2, but the third act was kinda weird.
There were a lot of sight gags and jokes that were pretty good throughout.

And I must say that the music and animation in this episode were just fantastic. Really well done.

Agreed that it was definitely the best Leela centric episode this season. Pretty good stuff.  

8.5/10

Will be interesting to see if Zoidberg's girlfriend sticks around.

[Reply #42 on:]

Good episode! Perhaps the best since TLPJF!

In the words of Fry: Whoa... SCIFI!

9/10

[Reply #43 on:]

I also spotted two references to 2001 which made me happy...

I only spotted one (when they were inside the Bermuda Tetrahedron): the two-wheeled spaceship. There was another ship which looked like the Discovery One, but which was smoother along the sides.

I counted the ship that looked like Discovery and the fact that the 4th dimension looked like the trip through the Star Gate.

[Reply #44 on:]

Just watched this one. I don't have a lot of time to properly review it (or to read what others have said about it), so I guess I shall be back later to do so. But for now, I'll just say that this episode was easily the best one of season 6B thus far. It was weird and science-y (and a bit fantastical; I liked Scruffy's lampshading of the this with his line at the end of the episode about the plausibility of the whole scenario) and jam-packed (but amazingly not rushed; really great pacing) and funny and the first example I can think of in all of season six where sending the entire crew (sans Farnsworth) on the delivery not only made perfect sense, but enhanced the episode. Great use of Hermes and Zoidberg and Amy (I loved Leela threatening to marry various characters off, and how Hermes and Amy both had moments of bad-assery (tackling Leela and harpooning the giraffe whale)), and I liked the flashbacks (Zoidberg's fear-induced hair was great, as was the crew's fascination with his popularity; Farnsworth's entire narration of that first flashback was hilarious).

This episode is actually damn near perfect, but it loses a point for some lame pop culture references (the McDonald's one was actually funny, and the Fox News one wasn't terrible, but there were a few that just didn't sit right with me) and for taking Leela's obsession a bit too far. It makes total sense for Leela to risk everyone's life for the sake of a delivery; that's not out of character, and actually contextualizes a lot of her behavior earlier on in the series, specifically in "The Sting." I guess I just found her a wee bit too..."Bender's Game"-y, particularly with repeatedly stabbing the whale (I did love her thinking that harpooning the whale would kill it, though). Those issues aside, though, this episode was not only hilarious, but made great use of every character (even tertiary ones, like the Wongs and Munda and Morris) and gave us more background on Planet Express's history, which is always cool to see.

So, yeah. 9/10. Awesome episode.

[Reply #45 on:]

I really enjoyed this one. It was solid throughout, and a great mix of sci-fi and Futurama humor.

There were a lot of good lines and jokes in the episode, and it was interesting to see the first PE crew. The animation was great as well, especially with the fourth dimension sequence and the space whale. I also enjoyed some of the freeze frame jokes, like the ELO spaceship.

I was entertained from start to finish. For me, the best episode of this half-season so far. 9.5/10

[Reply #46 on:]

The usual site I use for watching the new eps is down... COME OOOOOON.

[Reply #47 on:]

My avatars for this episode are done too, 15 new ones.

[Reply #48 on:]

Did anyone else get the Firefly vibe when they entered the old Planet Express ship and talked about how they left in a hurry?  Sounds a lot like "Bushwhacked" to me.  In a good way, because the scene was short and not a total rip, but a decent homage.

[Reply #49 on:]

Did anyone else get the Firefly vibe when they entered the old Planet Express ship and talked about how they left in a hurry?  Sounds a lot like "Bushwhacked" to me. 

Both scenes are in fact references to the real-life "ghost ship", the Mary Celeste, which was found drifting at sea, with places set for dinner, as though they had been inerrupted during the serving of a meal.

So it's not surprising that they felt similar to you. However, I jumped straight to the real-life example rather than Firefly. For which I will be eternally ashamed.

[Reply #50 on:]

I know too little about Mary Celeste, I'm afraid.  But now I am intrigued.

[Reply #51 on:]

Also, there were hints and shades of Master and Commander: the Far Side of the World. Great movie with Russell Crowe, back when he used to be in good movies.

[Reply #52 on:]

When the space whale came out of the fourth dimension and blew out a breath of "Mandelbrot Set".... I felt that was just for me.

9/10

[Reply #53 on:]

The monster design on the space whale was also very nice.

[Reply #54 on:]

I enjoyed this episode immensely. This was waaaay better than Yo Leela Leela. There's a second watch needed to remember some of the one-off jokea, but the Doctor Who reference at the end sealed it. First 10/10 of the season for me. Ken Keeler has yet to disappoint.

EDIT: Son of a glitch, I accidentally hit 1/10. Stupid iPod.

[Reply #55 on:]

Quite good episode. First two acts were enjoyable and it kind of fell apart in the third. Leela was out of character, as others have said - her fervor chasing the whale could have been explained in a couple of lines, had we had the Professor berating her for losing a previous package at the start or something like that.

But it at least felt like Futurama and had a few funny moments. 7/10 from me.

[Reply #56 on:]

Quite good episode. First two acts were enjoyable and it kind of fell apart in the third. Leela was out of character, as others have said - her fervor chasing the whale could have been explained in a couple of lines, had we had the Professor berating her for losing a previous package at the start or something like that.

She didn't feel out of character to me.  Leela tends to get obsessed with minor things.  She is quite stubborn.

[Reply #57 on:]

First 10 out of 10 so far this season. Amazing. Had a super theatrical/sci-fi feel to it, and the music was superb.

Also, noticed a dodgy error, dunno if it was intentional or not, but when the Ship is pulled along by the Space Whale, the crew hit the wall in this order:

BENDER - Amy - Fry - Hermes - Zoidberg - Leela - BENDER

The first Bender dissapears through the wall when Fry smashes against Amy. Also, when they stand up and Leela goes for the Anchor, she's at the front and Bender is behind her.

[Reply #58 on:]

That wasn't an error but very well intentional. You can even still see Bender's hand when he hits again.

[Reply #59 on:]

That wasn't an error but very well intentional. You can even still see Bender's hand when he hits again.

Nope, that's the elbow pad on Amy's outfit. Even look just before that scene. I think I've stumbled on a big-ish animation goof.

[Reply #60 on:]

I've got to be pretty picky to find anything to criticize with this one. The only even negative thing I thought in first viewing is that they are still making fry less manchild and more plain child with some lines, but it's still making me laugh. Otherwise tho, jokes kept coming pretty fast, pacing felt good, they didn't cheat past the whole resolution part of the plot the way they have been doing a bit lately, so yeah. Very solid episode.

I can't say 10/10, because that requires it be incredibly exceptional in some regard, but without any real detractors to point to, I'll happily give it very high marks.

[Reply #61 on:]

Wait, who the hell gave this 1/10?!

[Reply #62 on:]

That wasn't an error but very well intentional. You can even still see Bender's hand when he hits again.

Nope, that's the elbow pad on Amy's outfit. Even look just before that scene. I think I've stumbled on a big-ish animation goof.

Oh, you're right. Watching it in slow motion has Bender disappearing when Fry hits Amy.
And yes, Leela is also in the front when they're standing up.

So the 2nd is a goof, but the 1st could also be a play on the 4th dimension.

Wait, who the hell gave this 1/10?!

EDIT: Son of a glitch, I accidentally hit 1/10. Stupid iPod.

[Reply #63 on:]

Ah, I see.

[Reply #64 on:]

Quick! Someone remove tnuk's ability to change his avatar! I like it how it is now!

[Reply #65 on:]

Thank you, Xanfor.

[Reply #66 on:]

 

[Reply #67 on:]

How could John Zoidberg have aged 50 years without changing?

He's fatter now, and doesn't have hair...

[Reply #68 on:]

Also it's a completely different species, maybe they age much much slower.

[Reply #69 on:]

 

[Reply #70 on:]

So Zoidberg doesn't have hair when he was shot into space?

This happened twice. Please be more clear to what you're talking about...

Either way, he only grew that hair because he was scared... It's not something he would do to look stylish or anything.

[Reply #71 on:]

 

[Reply #72 on:]

great episode best of the season!! it had just the perfect level of craziness that I am expecting Futurama to have and that All The Presidents' Heads didn't had... just a perfect episode to me, not rushed, hilarous, great story, flashback, four-dimensional space whale

all in all 15/10 for me :P

[Reply #73 on:]

Okay, the thread has been conquered...by which I mean that I've read every post. Here are just a few points I'd like to make, to the benefit of nobody.

The third act's conclusion got especially weird and somewhat reminiscent of Yivo<->Fry, just the two flipped.

Yeah, I got that vibe, too. I think partially it was just the visual of Leela being attacked by pink tendril-like things. But the notion of a character being swallowed whole by something that is waaay more powerful than they are--and feeding off of that feeling of love (in Fry's case) or obsession (in Leela's)--was also reminiscent of TBWABB. I didn't mind this, exactly (I preferred this episode to Billion Backs, if only because I don't think Leela was as out of character here as Fry was with Yivo), but I'm glad I wasn't the only one who noticed it. Like, thematically that's a pretty interesting concept, and I think it was well-executed in this episode.

"Zoidberg had hair?" "I never said that! If you chose to imagine him like that then it's your problem!"

I loved that exchange. The first act in general was so great, what with seeing the early years of Planet Express (I loved the NASA-like set up) and having it repeatedly be interrupted because people are so shocked that Zoidberg was popular. There was so much going on in this episode, but the expository stuff was really well-written and well-paced and just really solid. I was so impressed by the pacing in this one; there are a lot of story points, and not one of them is abandoned, and not one of them is rushed. If only every episode progressed that smoothly.

- Leela was really out of character in this one.  The greatest animal lover of the crew goes on a revenge course against an animal? Might well be possible (concerning her temper sometimes), but imhO, it would have taken a "bigger score to settle" with the wale than just the ship being damaged (which didn't happen for the first time, after all).

For openers, welcome to PEEL.

For closers: I agree that they took Leela's character a bit too far in this one, but I do think there's precedent for her being so dedicated to her job as captain that she goes a bit, well, loony. "The Sting" is the best example, what with her being scared of disappointing herself by not going on the mission, but she also has a very stern, serious attitude toward captaining in "The Series Has Landed" and "Brannigan, Begin Again." I don't think Leela's obsession with getting the statue back to Earth on time was out-of-character, but the fact that this obsession manifested itself as a desire to kill the whale once he destroyed the statue was a bit extreme.

I guess what I'm saying is that the writers did to Leela in this episode what they did to her in "Bender's Game" (though I think the results here were infinitely less sucky): they took a preexisting character trait (in BG it was her occasional violent anger; in this episode, it was her dedication to her job) and stretched it beyond the realm of believability (Leela killing an innocent creature and eating its heart was ridiculous; the way she stabbed the whale was a bit out-of-character, considering her love of all living things). But I can forgive the writers for the elasticity with Leela's characterization in this episode, because it led to a really interesting story and it made a degree of sense in the context of this episode (desperate times, desperate measures)...if not in the series as a whole.

The PX building being surrounded by farmland fifty years ago, on the other hand, is unforgivable (unless it were locatyed somewhere else before NNY). It's a continuity futz, and needs explanation if it's to be regarded as canonical, IMO.

I agree that it's probably a continuity error, but just to play devil's advocate: Couldn't you hand wave that away as a product of the crew's imagination? They all imagined Zoidberg with hair, after all; maybe they were superimposing this image of an idyllic field over the reality of the situation (which is that of a barren street corner or something).

Leela was out of character, as others have said - her fervor chasing the whale could have been explained in a couple of lines, had we had the Professor berating her for losing a previous package at the start or something like that.

 

I agree, but I at least appreciated Leela yelling at the alien about the typo on the statue. It was a nice way to lay in the theme of Leela being a bit too obsessed with doing her job perfectly, and taking that to a hostile (if not outright violent) degree.

[Reply #74 on:]

I'm glad that we got a Futurama episode this season.

That said, my 10/10 was probably a little quick... the episode does have a few nitpick elements in plot that can be made.

[Reply #75 on:]

Now anytime someone says "it's" instead of "its", you all can say "What the hell is wrong with you?" and claim you were quoting Futurama rather than insulting someone's grammar.

[Reply #76 on:]

Absolutely loved this episode, pure entertainment and pure sci-fi from start to finish.

I loved the Lost reference, with Oceanic 815 in the ship graveyard.

Think the funniest line for me was "Amy, you've got the 'poon!".

Solid 9/10.

[Reply #77 on:]

It would have been nice to see some more creepy stuff with the Bermuda Tetrahedron, and that may have explained better Leela's rather crazy obsession with killing the white whale.  Arguably they did a more than presentable job with it, and we just have to remember that in the five minutes we saw, there were probably hours of creepy stuff actually occurring.  In fact, the whole ordeal was probably much like Event Horizon if it had been played up more spooky than comedic.

[Reply #78 on:]

8.5/10. My favorite of the season so far. This was some of the most hilarious  confusing madness I've ever seen on Futurama. Love it.

[Reply #79 on:]

As a Lost fan, seeing Oceanic flight 815 floating in the graveyard of lost ships was a great gag. And Zoidberg's "horror hair"...