Thoughts on 6ACV25 - Overclockwise - SPOILERS!

[Reply #200 on:]

I'm not a fangirl

I'm a 31 year old trucker from the deep south with a wife and kid. Damned stereotypes.

Oh God, is my face red. I'm so sorry

[Reply #201 on:]

Aww, why the cringe, Pendulum? I loved all their expressions at the end. I think, overall, the writers did a particularly nice job with the ending - one of the best emotional-type ones in the series, in my opinion. Left me feeling happy, if that means anything to anyone!

It was just that expression in particular, with Fry and Leela's mouths hanging open that made me cringe. I found the scene overall to be a pretty satisfying conclusion to the episode.

It just felt a bit contrived and a bit too cutesy for me, almost to the point of making Fry and Leela look kind of gormless. It was only a one second thing, and I really shouldn't complain about it, because I felt that overall it was a really sweet scene to end the [canon portion of the] season on. Leela's tear was a very nice touch.

They must die together...

I had imagined something a bit different.

I like the thought of them dying together much more though. It's a very romantic and ideal sort of death.

[Reply #202 on:]

I'm not a fangirl

I'm a 31 year old trucker from the deep south with a wife and kid. Damned stereotypes.

Oh God, is my face red. I'm so sorry

Lol don't sweat it, I have been called much worse than a "fangirl"

But I do wonder what is wrong with me on a daily basis and I like it!

[Reply #203 on:]

Damn I voted 8 when it deserved a 9.  Oh well.   Not sure if it was a 10, since it wasn't as good as Devil's Hands, but the ending alone was fantastic, both hilarious and genuinely heartfelt, that the two will have a happy ending despite their ups and downs and mutual bouts of assholism (hence Fry slapping Leela at one point).   Also some nice callbacks, like Angelyne being in the jury, amongst other one shots like Viktor and Grrl and important NPCs like Petunia and Fishy Joe.

I am disappointed that Bender transcending reality and being "god" turned out to be such a minor part of the episode, comparable to the gender bending in Neutopia.  More burping galaxies and creating heavy elements that are dangerous to the reproductive systems of nearby lifeforms, please.

So even though I voted eight, it deserved a 9.  Really, it should have been a double episode, or even a movie like Wild Green Yonder, as it felt like I was only watching half the story.   The ending however is probably one of my absolute favorites.

Another thing that surprised me was because I felt Leela was actually somewhat justified in her decision to do more with her life.  She's an intelligent young woman who has a lot of potential, and she's working a job with a high mortality rate for minimum wage.  Amy is a genius, but she's a billionaire trust fund baby whose basically Queen of Most of Mars, and she's getting intellectually simulated by helping invent new machines with the Professor in a way she won't be if she's schlepping about her apartment in her underwear quaffing mimosas and bulk buying diamonds over the internet.  Plus she doesn't got on as many potentially lethal missions as Leela, so she doesn't have to worry: "What will I leave behind if I die tomorrow?" as Leela does.   Leela doesn't really have as much intellectual fufillment, since she is essentially a deep space trucker working for peanuts.   I can see her wanting to do more with her life (though I still think it was rather bad to not even consider that doing more with her life doesn't mean Fry can't come with her and they can make a fresh start TOGETHER.)  So kind of understandable, kind of not, but still a lot less callous then some of the things she has done to him.  

So good but not great episode, but FANTASTIC ending.  Good jokes, ambitious plot that didn't quite work, and overall it felt like it couldn't make its mind up whether it wanted to be an "emotional" episode or a "funny one" and it narrowly missed the sweet spot that other "inbetweens" like Cold Warriors had.   9 out of 10.  

Also Mom was fantastic again, and seems to be utilized much better in this and Tip of the Zoidberg then she was in AOTKA.  The minute you saw her Eye Toy rip off, you knew she was basically using it to spy on people in their own homes, and she had some great lines "Shut up you repulsive disappoitment!"  and "This better not be those little korean girls again!"

[Reply #204 on:]

I can see her wanting to do more with her life (though I still think it was rather bad to not even consider that doing more with her life doesn't mean Fry can't come with her and they can make a fresh start TOGETHER.)

That's actually a very good point. I am reminded of "Law and Oracle", when Fry did basically the same by quitting his dead-end delivery boy job. He was still in contact with his friends from Planet Express.
(Maybe -and it's a big maybe- they tried to cover that with the lines "But I thought we were supposed to be..." "What?", as if Leela wanted Fry to take matter into his own hands, to come up with a plan for the future, maybe even expecting Fry to annonce he'd come with her.)

What I really liked about the ending: They did include Bender (writing the Fate down, and also in the end by turning the page and revealing the happy end). TDHAIP and ITGWY focused a bit too much on Leela and Fry, and I liked that statement "We have THREE protagonists, and everyone is supposed to be important in the last scene")

[Reply #205 on:]

Why was Nine wearing his tinfoil hat if the last Dark One was killed?

[Reply #206 on:]

I can see her wanting to do more with her life (though I still think it was rather bad to not even consider that doing more with her life doesn't mean Fry can't come with her and they can make a fresh start TOGETHER.)

That's actually a very good point.
(Maybe -and it's a big maybe- they tried to cover that with the lines "But I thought we were supposed to be..." "What?", as if Leela wanted Fry to take matter into his own hands, to come up with a plan for the future.)

I also saw it as a joke on the part of the writers to the fan, her saying: "What are we?"
It was a bit of leaning on the fourth wall, since Fry probably has as much of an idea as the fans do.   But it also feels in touch with her personality.  For all her independence and strength outside of love, when it comes to romance, she is surprisingly traditional.  She thinks the man should pay for dinner (even when she ate all his food as well), and its not enough for her to have ambitiion, she doesn't want her boyfriend to be a lazy twenty something whose content with his dead end job.   Even though her combat abilities and overall togetherness and emotional maturity is greater then Fry's, she still wants him to take charge of a situation from time to time.  The moment you just described hinged on Fry's reaction, not Leela's own love for him and what she wanted out of life.

Danny: people who have tinfoil hats on their head usually have a few screws loose, judging from the people nine was hanging out with (the old woman in the dirty pink dress springs to mind, a bit like a sci fi Miss Havisham).  Besides we all know Futurama penetrates even the thickest foil hat.

[Reply #207 on:]

Why was Nine wearing his tinfoil hat if the last Dark One was killed?

Because tinfoil is so in this season  

[Reply #208 on:]

I am currently wearing one to stop Lady Gaga from eating my brainwaves.

[Reply #209 on:]

I can see her wanting to do more with her life (though I still think it was rather bad to not even consider that doing more with her life doesn't mean Fry can't come with her and they can make a fresh start TOGETHER.)  So kind of understandable, kind of not, but still a lot less callous then some of the things she has done to him.  

Exactly. I wasn't so shocked by Leela's disenchantment with her job and her relationship with Fry. It would be frustrating to be so on-again/off-again (although it's obviously partially Leela's fault that the relationship was in such a place), and there is a point in your life where you desire stability on a personal level and fulfillment on a professional one. And Leela had neither of those things at the start of "Overclockwise."

I wouldn't go so far as to call her behavior callous, because it's not like she didn't understand that her actions were going to potentially hurt Fry, but she was definitely being a bit self-centered. But so what? Leela's entitled to her "fresh start," and I think she was showing Fry a lot of respect by not assuming that he would come with her in her new life. After all, would it have been fair to expect Fry to give up a job he loves and a place that's come to be like home to him, just because his quasi-girlfriend is in crisis?

Oh, and I also liked that Leela didn't leave solely because of Fry, nor did she come back for the same reason. Yes, she missed Fry and not the badminton racket, but she also missed "this place," meaning the makeshift family she had at PE and the wild 'n' crazy space adventures. Sometimes you have to get out in the world and see what else is out there before determining that what you left behind was actually what you had wanted all along. It's definitely a common character arc in cheesy movies and the like, and just because Leela's journey was compressed to twenty-two minutes doesn't make it random and out of character.

[Reply #210 on:]

I suppose you're right Gorky, and that's what seperates her from the utterly selfish Michelle.  Michelle doesn't give a damn about Fry's happiness, and is perfectly happy with sacrificing it for the slight chance she might fit in better in the year 4000.

But it did feel pretty grating that she didn't even ask or discuss it with him... you know like... couples SHOULD do.  She's a mature woman, and Fry is her boyfriend, therefore she should discuss what she wants out of life with him, since he is well, a part of her life.   I am going to give her a free pass at this one, as its pretty mild compared to some of the things she has done over the series.   Plus we have seen that despite everything else, Leela is somewhat socially awkward and is somewhat immature when it comes to romance.

[Reply #211 on:]

I was surprised she, or the writer, even thought she was in a relationship. Since Rebirth she's bopped Zapp, didn't notice Fry was in the hospital for 2 weeks when he was hit by a bus. There was the Prof./Zoidberg scene but... I mean really? And all of that was in 6A I can't recall anything at all in 6B. Egad! And then all she has to do is say she 's not sure about the relationship and Fry, instead of saying "What relationship?" like a normal guy, starts acting like a 5 year old that lost his Mommy (again). It's like a script package they pull off the shelf and shoehorn into a story every once in a while so they can say there's something to it. Then go back to doing important stuff.

[Reply #212 on:]

Damn I voted 8 when it deserved a 9.  Oh well.

This time, on the poll results is a link to "Remove Vote".  If you click on that, your vote will be deleted and you can vote again with your new score.

I wish that all the episode polls had this feature, but sadly only a few do (it must be an option that must be selected at the time the poll is created).  There are a lot of people who change their opinions about an episode after viewing it a few times, but they had already voted, not to mention sometimes accidentally entering the wrong score.

[Reply #213 on:]

I wish that all the episode polls had this feature, but sadly only a few do (it must be an option that must be selected at the time the poll is created).

That it is. I had never considered that before, but if I ever make another episode review thread, I'll be sure to enable voters to change their minds about ratings as they see fit.

And then all she has to do is say she 's not sure about the relationship and Fry, instead of saying "What relationship?" like a normal guy, starts acting like a 5 year old that lost his Mommy (again). It's like a script package they pull off the shelf and shoehorn into a story every once in a while so they can say there's something to it. Then go back to doing important stuff.

Since when has Fry been a normal guy, though? He's kind of dense when it comes to romantic relationships. Hell, he only thought his relationship with Michelle was in trouble after she made him go a thousand years into the future and become leader of a dystopic society run by children, and after all that nonsense she still wasn't happy. I'd find his innocence unbelievable for most twenty-five year-old guys, yes. But Fry's not most guys; he's always been a bit slow on the uptake.

And I don't think the Fry/Leela stuff was formulaic or similar to anything else that has been seen in the show previously. Should Fry have asserted himself a bit more and been more proactive about the situation? Maybe. But I still think it was nice to see him showing Leela some respect by not forcing or expecting her to stay with him when she was clearly conflicted and unhappy. He's entitled to be sad about his sort-of girlfriend dumping him, and the only part of his moping that bothered me was the committing-suicide thing...but that was more a device to get him to meet back up with Bender than it was a statement about how distraught he was.

[Reply #214 on:]

Damn damn damn, I fell asleep Thursday night during BBS in the run-up to Overclockwise and it won't be shown again until Wednesday night (they usually rebroadcast the new eps again on Sundy night, but not this time). So I avert my eyes whenever I stumble upon this thread but am encouraged that I caught some positive tidbits from Ms. Goldfish.

I'll be back here after the show on Wednesday...

[Reply #215 on:]

<deleted browser hiccup double post>

[Reply #216 on:]

Loved it, but I thought it was finale of the series, not the season. Yeah, I expected the return of Pazuzu and The Other One stuff.

The Fry-Bender scene remind me of Watchmen comic book. Bender became Dr. Manhattan-ish guy and  Fry was asking him for help like Silk Spectre did.

[Reply #217 on:]

Gorky, there's a difference between being nice and being the biggest doormat in the Galaxy, if not the known Universe (1).

[Reply #218 on:]

Fair enough. I will grant that I find Fry and Leela's dynamic a bit more interesting when there's the slightest bit of antagonism, or at least a sense that they're challenging one another in some way. (That's why I love the whole prove-you're-not-attracted-to-me thing in "The Prisoner of Benda.") Fry probably could have put up a bit more of a fight for Leela (or for a say in their relationship), but it's not like Leela was trying to argue with him in the first place. She said she wanted to know what the future might hold for them, and that she was feeling uneasy, and Fry didn't really do anything about it.

Of course, there probably wasn't much he could have done, short of trying to predict the future...

[Reply #219 on:]

I absolutely love Fry and Leela's expressions as the read their fate and I think that the idea of having Bender turned inside out to make the universe his processor is very clever. However, I feel that this episode could have been expanded into a movie, which is why i give this episode a 9.

[Reply #220 on:]

Overclockwise is currently ranked the best Season 6 episode on CGEF. The Late Philip J. Fry has dropped.

[Reply #221 on:]

Why was Nine wearing his tinfoil hat if the last Dark One was killed?

Because they wear tinfoil hats to keep the voices out as well.

[Reply #222 on:]

Quite stylish too.

[Reply #223 on:]

What is the in-universe reason for the Fry-Leela relationship being on again/of again?

Fry said, and has pretty clearly demonstrated, that he'd like it to be on all the time but since it isn't surely we must conclude that it is because of Leela.

So how can she seriously claim to be unsatisfied with something that she is the cause of?

[Reply #224 on:]

Because she's a woman.

[Reply #225 on:]

I liked the A story with overclocking Bender especially since I'm not much of a fan the pure jerkass bender we usual got this season. Still... that B story with Fry and Leela felt rather weak especially the ending. Now, perhaps I'm being cynical, but the show seem to say that they'll continue to screw around with the relationship, and we should just take it cause eventually (aka. the season finale) they'll finally get together... Yay?

Guess I'll give this episode a 7/10. A mix of the 9 for story A and a 5 for story B.

[Reply #226 on:]

What is the in-universe reason for the Fry-Leela relationship being on again/of again?

Fry said, and has pretty clearly demonstrated, that he'd like it to be on all the time but since it isn't surely we must conclude that it is because of Leela.

So how can she seriously claim to be unsatisfied with something that she is the cause of?

I'd say Leela's shown less commitment to the relationship than Fry has, but they've both faltered. Leela says she's confused about their relationship, having lost track of the emotional underpinnings of everything after the second robot, in "Rebirth"--and Fry gives her a sort of free pass, saying that he can wait a little longer for her. So I'd say that, from the start, they both set the terms of the relationship: Fry loves Leela "always and forever" and can wait for her to make up her mind about how she wishes to proceed with the relationship.

From there, I guess you could tally the transgressions made by both characters. Leela boinks Zapp in "In-A-Gadda-Da-Leela" (but that's forgivable, considering the circumstances); she calls Fry a good friend in "Attack of the Killer App," which is maybe a way of distancing herself from him; she claims to not have a man in "That Darn Katz!"...but it's not like Fry showed an interest in mixin' it up on the dance floor with anyone but Bender; she shows a slight interest in one of the robo-cavemen who kidnaps her in "A Clockwork Origin"; she claims to love a man in uniform (but not Fry) in "Law and Oracle"; she gets her groove on with some presidents at the head museum part-ay in "All the Presidents' Heads"; and she flirts pretty gratuitously with Angus in "Fry Am the Egg Man"...while at the same time showing genuine concern for Fry and his Mr. Peppy-related dilemmas.

Fry, meanwhile, is responsible for the following missteps: exposing Leela's butt boil to the world in "Attack of the Killer App" (though he does repent), and also claiming to be "lookin' for love"--which implies he's a single fella; missing Leela's birthday date in "The Late Philip J. Fry" (as well as showing an interest in fertilizing some ladies in the all-female society of the future); getting Leela deported to the sewers in "The Mutants Are Revolting" (though, again, he repents); having sex with the mayor's wife in "Ghost in the Machines"; and...that may be it.

And then there are those episodes where Fry and Leela seem to be in a committed relationship: "The Late Philip J. Fry" and "The Prisoner of Benda"; those episodes where Fry and Leela seem to at least be dating: "The Duh-Vinci Code," "Lrrreconcilable Ndndifferences" and "The Mutants are Revolting"; those episodes from which nothing is detracted by assuming Fry and Leela are dating: all non-shippy episodes, but to name a few--"Proposition Infinity," "Lethal Inspection," "Benderama," and "The Silence of the Clamps"; those episodes in which Leela shows a degree of concern for Fry and his well-being that surpasses what was shown in the series prior to season six: "Ghost in the Machines," "Fry Am the Egg Man," and "Cold Warriors"; those aforementioned episodes in which Fry or Leela make comments that seem to contradict the notion that they are dating; and then the penultimate, Big Momma episode that is "Overclockwise."

So do I think Leela's being unreasonable for being uncertain about the future of her relationship with Fry? No. Do I think the on-again/off-again thing is partially her fault? Yup. But do I think Fry has been begging Leela all this time to be in a real relationship with him? Not so much.

I think what happened is that Fry and Leela reached a point where they both knew they loved each other, and where Fry was gung-ho to finally be in a relationship with Leela...but where Leela was more hesitant. After all, Fry has loved Leela "ever since [he] came to the future"--and Leela's feelings are probably much newer, and maybe less certain. So possibly what we're seeing in "Overclockwise" is Leela realizing that she wants to be with Fry, but looking back on their year of quasi-dating and wondering if being with Fry is what will be best for her. And maybe her conflicting feelings on the issue are what led her to flirt with other guys and define Fry as simply a friend in the first place. There's a vicious-circle element to the whole thing, I think.

Also: I don't think saying that she's feeling uneasy about their on-again/off-again relationship is Leela's way of blaming Fry for the uncertainty in their relationship. I think she's taking a bit of the responsibility by blaming her own "early life crisis" and implying that her fear of the future is partly what's kept her from making a full-blown commitment to Fry. I think that's an important distinction to make: Leela wasn't nagging, or telling Fry that he had to change who he was to make the relationship work; she was the one reading magazine articles on the viability of dead-end relationships and turning all the possibilities over in her mind. It was maybe insensitive to not include Fry fully in her decision of whether to stay at Planet Express or leave for good--but I don't blame Leela for putting her own needs first when it comes to her future.

[Reply #227 on:]

So do I think Leela's being unreasonable for being uncertain about the future of her relationship with Fry? No. Do I think the on-again/off-again thing is partially her fault? Yup. But do I think Fry has been begging Leela all this time to be in a real relationship with him? Not so much.

This is a really apt summary of a lot of things I agree with. I also appreciate your cataloguing of their various misdeeds throughout 6B. While Leela may have more, Fry's are more severe (also, Leela's are generally saying contradictory things, whereas Fry has done some pretty heinous offenses) so I think they balance out.

I don't want to be too harsh on Fry because I always thought the extent to which, in the original run, he was obsessed with the concept of trying to get Leela was kind of very creepy and stalkerish. So it's unfair of me to dock him now for not trying to enact a real relationship with Leela. But Gorky still makes a valid point there. It's not like he's completely unfaltering all of the time - which is an unrealistic expectation by any rate, but Leela's always been uncertain, to say the least, about this relationship and his various missteps don't really help him out in that regard.

[Reply #228 on:]

Oh, yeah, I agree with you entirely, spira. I don't consider it a bad thing that Fry's not pressuring Leela to do the full-blown, committed, boyfriend/girlfriend thing with him--it's actually nice to see him get away from those persistent, stalker-ish tendencies he had in the original run. It shows a level of respect for Leela and her feelings that was missing in seasons three and four, when he was so fixated on making her love him (which is impossible in the first place. And I think it's telling that what finally made Leela admit she loved him in Wild Green Yonder was seeing him do something selfless and kindhearted without that ulterior, make-her-love-me motive).

Granted, it also leads to some mopey behavior (I do kind of cringe at his line about loving Leela more than Mr. Peppy in "Fry Am the Egg Man," if only because Leela had spent half the episode eyeing up Angus)--but, overall, I think Fry's attitude toward his relationship with Leela has matured. It's gotten to the point where he's not afraid of making a mistake with her; he's secure in his feelings for her and her feelings for him, even if they don't immediately translate into a committed relationship.

[Reply #229 on:]

Look guys. The ending was perfect. Fry and Leela know their fate, and if they told us what was going to happen to them outright, then what would be the point of having new episodes? What the writers could do now is relate their facial expressions to future episodes so that it actually builds up to the REAL finale. However, they could just be a dick about it and just press the reset button once again, which would make this finale totally pointless.

[Reply #230 on:]

Fry and Leela's Ultimate Fate.

[Reply #231 on:]

I had been looking for a clip of that on YouTube, so many thanks, Danny. I don't plan on analyzing their facial expressions or anything--because I honestly don't think the writers intend to adhere to the general trend of Good Stuff Happens, Then Bad Stuff Happens, Then More Good Stuff, Then Some Truly Cringe-Worthy Stuff, Then Ultimately a Happy Ending--but it's still a really sweet (and not sappy or overly-sentimental, to me) ending.

I do think the writers probably meant to give themselves some wiggle room, though, in case they decide that they still (for whatever god-forsaken reason) want to be annoying ambiguous in how they handle Fry and Leela's relationship. It scares me a little, but I have faith that season seven will be good regardless of what happens with Fry and Leela. That said, I hope the writers have learned their lesson and decided that putting them together in a final way is not the death-knell of the series, and is certainly not as irritating as this on-again/off-again nonsense.

[Reply #232 on:]

I had been looking for a clip of that on YouTube, so many thanks, Danny.

I didn't upload it, but you're welcome.

[Reply #233 on:]

Overclockwise did do a nice job of making me even more excited for season 7, which is one of the purposes of a season finale, I think. Even though this isn't technically the season finale. But it sort of is. I just cannot wait to see how they deal with the relationship from now on.

Thanks for sharing, Danny.

[Reply #234 on:]

Fry and Leela's Ultimate Fate.

'Tis gone. Says something like, "This video has been removed due to copyright claim <etc, etc>." It went away faster than pork rinds and bacon in an Overeater's Anonymous meeting.

[Reply #235 on:]

No, you were just too slow.

And yeah, it's gone.

[Reply #236 on:]

Yes, how lazy of me to tend to my house while there's a blazing brush fire happening a mile away, threatening to send the whole neighborhood up in flames, all while neglecting PEEL.

On a separate note...in the scene where Fry has just crashed down Niagra Falls in the barrel/cask, and is wandering in that cave and goes through Bender's eye, is it cheesy of me to wish that right after he says "Hello?" then he would immediately say, "Pizza delivery for--oops"? Or maybe they've used that line too much throughout the whole series.

[Reply #237 on:]

I  voted 8/10...but I think this episode actually deserves a 9/10. The ending was just brilliant, I loved it!!!

[Reply #238 on:]

No, you were just too slow.

And yeah, it's gone.

Don't worry...it was "netted", so it cannot be "unnetted"...:P
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YlIKFssInwM

[Reply #239 on:]

How did... Yo... Wha? Nice!