Thoughts on 6ACV26 - Reincarnation - SPOILERS!

[Reply #120 on:]

I'd love another Reincarnation, but with two new styles, and a new episode of Action Delivery Force. That would rock.

Bender: No, that other word ... It would suck. (He he he.)

Farnsworth's Dimondium goes up against Wernstrom's Diamondillium in a bid to construct an impenetrable sheild around the Earth to keep Yivo out. DeathBall determines Diamondillium to be the winner. After it proves ineffective, Farnsworth fires a Dimondium cannon at Yivo.

Yes, I know all of that, I mean where did it appear in Reincarnation? The comet was made from it?

Pay attention, you may be tested over this.

The second act... the story had nothing to do with video games

You weren't paying attention, either. Ever heard of pixels?

The second act really lacked a plot

It was a parody of subatomic physics.

Overall a 6/10. Good fun, but not cannon.

Canon (one 'n' in the middle). A cannon is a weapon.

Farnsworth addressing the crew from what at first appears to be a TV but is instead a port-a-potty was so brilliant...

That was done in Airplane II: The Sequel. I saw the joke coming a mile away.

On the topic of the Professor--he never seems to be moving the same way as everyone else, he seems pretty still. I doubt that was intentional, but for some reason, it made me laugh.

He was not animated in the same style as the rest of the characters, either. I'm sure it was intentional.

TOPD!

[Reply #121 on:]

Actually, thanks to that moment, every episode features a cannon because every episode features Bender. Therefore, 'Reincarnation' is actually a cannon episode, it features a cannon in 3 different animation styles.

I was going to say that! Damn you!

Wow, on the site where I watch the episodes (I won't be naming it), the response to this episode is extremely negative. It's all "WTF? The writers have obviously ran out of ideas!!1" or "Worst episode ever."

Was that site Futurama Stream? Cause the comments are awful there.

Examples:

waste of my time. this episode simply sux

ermm... this episode sucks big time... c'mon futurama you can do better!

WTF? this sucked

this sucks ass, it's obvious the writing staff ran out of ideas... I could write a much better episode myself.

[Reply #122 on:]

Yeah, that was the one. My guess is that they only saw the opening of "Colourama" and were totally put off by it, and assumed that the rest of the episode would be about a talking Planet Express Building.

[Reply #123 on:]

Who in their right mind would do that though? Retards.

Also, when the Planet Express building lifts it's 'hat' off, there appears to be a poster or something inside of the 'hat', but I couldn't tell what it was...

[Reply #124 on:]

Who in their right mind would do that though? Retards.

You just said it yourself. Retards would do it, and the amount of retards on the internet (especially YouTube) is astounding.

[Reply #125 on:]

Wow, I really enjoyed this one. All three segments were pretty funny and enjoyable, and the way the crew was depicted in each animation style turned out well. I enjoyed the black and white segment the most, but the anime segment comes a close second. And there were a lot of great lines and scenes. Farnsworth in the porta-potty, Bender breaking the Professor's lens and trying to leave the Planet Express building, Zoidberg's scenes in the anime segment...those were just a few. I also really enjoyed the God entity opening the episode...nice to see him (or rather, it) return and nice to have another cold opening.

I prefer it the way it was -not just 'Anthology of Interest III'. 'Anthology of Interest's are for what-if stories, not new animation styles. I mean... this way we can have sequels to 'Reincarnation' and it's not like we can't have new 'Anthology of Interest's too. I dunno, I just think that the God entity should have appeared inbetween each segment to frame them a bit more and that would have made it practically perfect - but I imagine they wanted to do that, but didn't have the time for it.

I agree. I actually thought that this episode would work better if it wasn't another AOI...I don't know, but I'd prefer that they be split up into two separate things. I feel that the AOIs should be more for "What if?" scenarios than alternate animation style scenarios.

Overall, a great episode and a great season finale. I think it would be interesting to see another Reincarnation.

9/10

[Reply #126 on:]

A couple of my favourite lines (that haven't been mentioned yet):

Bender: Have you tried getting her pregnant?
Fry: Gosh yes, I've tried and tried but so far I only got Amy pregnant.


Narrator: Meanwhile, on space planet 4…


Fry Zoidberg a diplomat? The list of things I've heard now contains everything.


Also, is Cubert's 'Custard time? Hooray!' a Teletubbies reference?

[Reply #127 on:]

Yeah. I think it would be a bit strange to have three incredibly similar questions in a row on the what if machine (What if we looked like an old Fleischer cartoon? What if life were like a video game, but not like last time I asked that? And what if life were like anime?).

And the opinions on IMDb are also oddly split. Half the posters seem to love the episode, but half seem to think it's one of the worst things the show has ever done. It's very strange that it's causing such a rift with casual viewers.

[Reply #128 on:]

For what it's worth, I watched this episode with a friend who I would call a casual viewer, and he seemed to enjoy it. He did ask me, when act two was starting up, something like, "So this isn't a real episode?" And I explained to him that it wasn't, and he seemed okay with that. He laughed a lot, at the very least, so that was cool.

I think you have to go into the episode knowing that it's kind of experimental or whatever you want to call it, and learn to accept it on those terms. I personally think this episode is one of the funniest things Futurama has ever done, period, but it's also interesting as a standalone episode to which there really is nothing in the series's canon that's comparable.

[Reply #129 on:]

I'm also wondering if Leela's line about "banana oil" is a reference to Olive Oyl's grandmother, Nana Oyl.  Though I remember it's a 20's slag for "nonsense", which was what the character was named after (all of Olive Oyl's relatives are named after types of oil), so that reference is more likely.   I also absolutely loved Nibbler as Sweet Pea and was sorry we didn't see more of that.

Also, is it me, or was Amy's voice extremely deep this episode? Lauren Tom's voice has been much deeper then usual this season (there are times when it sounds more like her natural speaking voice then Amy's voice), but it came off pretty jarring considering she was voicing parodies of two of the squeakiest voiced characters ever (I'm guessing her "boopin my betty line" was meant to be a brooklyn accent which is associated with the flapper girls after which Betty was modeled, though I'm not sure as I'm not very good with determining accents.  It certainly isn't an attempt to emulate Mae Questel's voice for Betty.)  

[Reply #130 on:]

I'm happy to see that Reincarnation didn't suck and I hope the writers pick over making sequels to this than the Holiday Spectacular. I would also like to see another Anthology Of Interest too, but if it was terrible then I may question it. We already know it's non-canon anyway but I agree that the shorter running time is probably stopping them from adding in-between transitions to each segment. I don't think any segment should return, but if one was going to I'd probably pick "Action Delivery Force", but it might not feel as fresh though.   

[Reply #131 on:]

This episode was just delightful. It was sweet in the first segment yet kind of philosophical in the second and all-around silly in the third and just plain fun in all of them. I laughed out loud at multiple things in all three segments and enjoyed pretty much every moment of the episode. I just felt so good watching it and, strange of a description as it may be, I too felt the “casual” vibe that Professor Zoidy and spira mentioned; it’s not to say that this style of episode is what Futurama should always have been (and I think I’d prefer if this were the only episode in this format), but despite being non-canon it to me it felt so naturally Futurama-like and had perhaps the strongest “classic” feel of any of the new episodes. It is definitely my favorite of 6B and I think it now among my favorite episodes of the series as well.

As far as the second segment “point” discussion goes, Jezzem’s comment about the point being the lack of typically game-like action was kind of an aha moment for me. Maybe there was some miscommunication, but hadn’t we been told that each segment would end with something unsuitable for the animation style? It confused me then when the segment was just kind of over, and the reveal of the fundamental pixel was in the middle of the segment. As such, I like the idea that the bigger irony was in how mundane (besides major scientific discovery, of course) the actions were.

On the other hand, while Fnord’s comment about it not being about video games but pixels themselves solves the problem about how the segment was the weaker parody of its source material, again I thought we had been specifically told that the segment would be in the style of an 8-bit video game, not just in a pixilated style (unless DXC simply thought more people would know what he meant by 8-bit video game animation than pixilated animation), so I think the surprise about the not-particularly-game-like nature of the plot is legitimate. But, the intended point being the limited detail is probably right, since each segment has one line that ought to clue the viewer in (Leela’s line about the color, Farnsworth’s line about the detail, and Amy’s line about the fluid movement).

[Reply #132 on:]

For all of them, I liked the fact that in the end, there was some great discovery or observation that is impossible to show in that animation style.... But it took me longer to realize what was going on in the anime segment, with the moves being so complex and fluid that they are barely able to be followed, yet because of the limited animation, Zoidberg is in the same pose. The fact that he is in the same pose with the epic music and the exciting backgrounds was the icing on the cake.

I completely agree with your point. I do suspect, though, that the real reason behind why a lot of early anime uses the 'Zoidberg's "intricate" peace dance' technique (static pose against a moving background) is just good ole'-fashioned laziness. Or, a tight budget. The production values of those cartoons don't seem very good.

Also, don't forget about Hermes' gag in the Action Delivery Force assembling bit: he sliced the employee benefits paperwork with his samurai sword. Hermes didn't really have any good spoken jokes (I guess the only one was the crack about Chesterfields, in the first segment), but he had some great visual gags, like the one you pointed out. They made me go,

HA HA HA HA HA.

Also, is it me, or was Amy's voice extremely deep this episode?.... It certainly isn't an attempt to emulate Mae Questel's voice for Betty.)

I did notice the deeper voice in the Fleischer segment (I didn't really notice such a thing throughout the season, though). I agree that she was going for a heavy East Coast accent. It didn't bother me at all, because the whole Futurama universe was turned upside down on its head.

And I'd like to suggest a What-If scenario for another AoI: What if life were lived in split screen?

HA HA HA HA HA!

[Reply #133 on:]

Her voice has sounded off quite a few time this season (people have said Billy West's voice acting has been all over the place, but there have been times when it barely sounds like Amy at all.)

I'd also love an animation that mimics the style of Peanuts. Bender would make a great stand in for Snoopy.  Would Leela be Lucy, or "The One Eyed Little Girl" (but that would make her an unseen character I think.)  

Another one would be an episode that entirely focuses on videogames.  One could be shooters like halo, the second could be fantasy/rpg games like the Legend of Zelda mixed in with JRPG and MMORPG.  The third could be platformers like Super Mario, with cutsie references to puzzle games as well.   There could also be a parody of disaster prone heroines like Zelda and Peach (Princess Amy?) in either the second or third segment.  Or both.  Peach probably keeps a toothbrush at Bowser's.

[Reply #134 on:]

I really enjoyed this ep.  I haven't watched many Fleischer cartoons but the style was very recognizable and very well done, especially the sound.  The second segment wasn't as memorable but it was still good.  Third was great.  The reverse Leela/Fry gag was really cute

8/10

[Reply #135 on:]

Some comments that got me riled up:

These was one of the rare moments i would like to see references to pop culture in Futurama, but they manage to screw up this bad?! This is their idea of an anime/ Video game rip-off these days?! My my, I have seen so much better on Family Guy. Fcking Family Guy.

First people complain about the Pop Culture references, and now they want more?! RETARDS.

Another:

What a horrible way to end an all around decent season. I think this season is probably the worst of all of them, But this finale really jumped the shark tank for this show. Hopefully season 7 is full of less gimmicky episodes and more hilariousness. (Side note to Writers) THIS SHOW IS SUPPOSED TO BE A COMEDY!!! Not a single moment in this episode made me smile even a little bit.

[Reply #136 on:]

Honestly dudes, I don't really care what the average viewer likes or dislikes about the show. It's popular enough to stay on the air, and it's an excellent show in my eyes. That's all that matters to me. The fact that I have PEEL, with fellows who in most cases basically agree with me, is nice since I have a community to turn to. I couldn't care less about the viewers outside of that community.

Concerning making another Reincarnation, I don't know. I don't think it's impossible, but it might end up really sucky. I think it could go either way. If I were to say what I'd want for the next broadcast season, it would probably be a third Anthology of Interest. I think it has more potential, whereas a "Reincarnation II" would be much more confining, and I'm really scared by a second themed episode after TFHS.

[Reply #137 on:]

I don't understand how anyone could say that wasn't funny. I thought it was the funniest episode of Season 6 by kind of a lot.

As to the discussion of the "point" of the second segment, that it, what really it is parodying, I think it is fair to say that each segment pokes fun at more than one aspect of the animation style. For example, Leela's line in Colorama, "I love this time of day. There's such a stillness" (or something like that) when the entire city is bouncing wildly up and down. So it's definitely reasonable to say that the second one makes fun of both the low resolution and the usual action-packed-ness of early games.

I think I would also rather see an AOI3 than a Reincarnation II, unless they could really pull the latter off. The Peanuts idea is interesting, but Peanuts did originally start as a drawn strip and only much later was animated. Also, getting the rights to do something like that might be impossible. These three styles were more general styles used by multiple works and aren't specific to one, like the Peanuts style is.

[Reply #138 on:]

As to the discussion of the "point" of the second segment, that it, what really it is parodying, I think it is fair to say that each segment pokes fun at more than one aspect of the animation style. For example, Leela's line in Colorama, "I love this time of day. There's such a stillness" (or something like that) when the entire city is bouncing wildly up and down. So it's definitely reasonable to say that the second one makes fun of both the low resolution and the usual action-packed-ness of early games.

Good point. There's also Bender's line about speaking English in the third segment as well which people have mentioned, so maybe it's better to say they all have two notable irony moments where what the characters say conflicts with what their animation medium is actually doing. It's just that I don't think the second segment has one particular line that sums up in that manner the fact that they're going about their lives but still being in a game regardless, what with the sadness meter and platforming about the street and workplace.

[Reply #139 on:]

My first 10/10 this season. Absolutely loved it.

[Reply #140 on:]

10/10 for first, 9/10 for second, and 8/10 for third.

[Reply #141 on:]

Concerning making another Reincarnation, I don't know. I don't think it's impossible, but it might end up really sucky. I think it could go either way. If I were to say what I'd want for the next broadcast season, it would probably be a third Anthology of Interest. I think it has more potential, whereas a "Reincarnation II" would be much more confining, and I'm really scared by a second themed episode after TFHS.

I think there's a very good chance that we'll get another 2 non-canon, anthology episodes in season 7 at the end of each broadcast season, just as we did with 6. I wouldn't be surprised if one of those is 'Anthology of Interest III' and the other is something completely new.

[Reply #142 on:]

I also think such a thing is imminent. I have enjoyed all of the non-canon eps to various degrees. Yes, I liked TFHS, though I like both anthologies and Reincarnation a lot more. I think overall they do a pretty good job with these episodes. But I also think they're probably harder to do well than a typical episode.

[Reply #143 on:]

First people complain about the Pop Culture references, and now they want more?! RETARDS.

Hopefully season 7 is full of less gimmicky episodes and more hilariousness. (Side note to Writers) THIS SHOW IS SUPPOSED TO BE A COMEDY!!! Not a single moment in this episode made me smile even a little bit.[/b]

All criticisms of season 6 should be forwarded to 'Consulting Story Editor,' Robot Santa.



That may answer most of your perplexing questions.

[Reply #144 on:]

Thoughts on second view:

• I missed the "Child Labor Syndicate presents" in the beginning of Colorama the first time around.
• Farnsworth's lines about "a frog on this log that I found in a hole in the sea" et cetera are so simple yet so funny.
• "Search for knowledge ends - search for porn intensifies". I saw it the first time, but it's still hilarious.
• As Morbo announces today's high scores, one is "DXC" which I assume is David X. Cohen and another is "BBB", Bender Bending Rodríguez? The others are probably also references, but I see none.
• I still love the story of the second segment, being a science geek and all. And it was a lot funnier the second time around.
• "I'm puzzled, for we don't know what mouths are!"
• "Another one of your jokes, Fry?" "You and I are enemies now."
• I'm a little sad after realizing how little sense the final line of the episode, the "next week same time", makes. No new Futurama for ten months. :(

[Reply #145 on:]

"Another one of your jokes, Fry?" "You and I are enemies now."

I loved that. They portrayed the melodramatic self-seriousness of a lot of anime in a really funny way. I also loved Leela having a missing brother and Farnsworth's line about his ancestors. That whole segment gave you this sense of the richly confusing backstories of each character, a feeling that this was really just one episode of a legitimate(ly awful) anime series.

I'm a little sad after realizing how little sense the final line of the episode, the "next week same time", makes. No new Futurama for ten months.

That would have been particularly bittersweet if "Reincarnation" had been the last episode ever, but it is still a bit of a bummer.

[Reply #146 on:]

I also loved Leela having a missing brother and Farnsworth's line about his ancestors. That whole segment gave you this sense of the richly confusing backstories of each character, a feeling that this was really just one episode of a legitimate(ly awful) anime series.

Not to mention Farnsworth's mention of "your mother, the water mutant". Ahaha, so good.

Although I did find it odd that Farnsworth's voice was radically different in this one, I guess his normal Professor voice wouldn't have worked well in the anime style, but it was still disorienting.

[Reply #147 on:]

I take on board peoples thoughts about this best left as a non-AOI ep. I guess the shorter runtime wouldn't help matters, but had it been the old runtime I still think it could have worked even with three similar stories as per the way I described in my original post. Don’t get me wrong though, I do like it being something new though, it worked incredibly well overall. I guess the advantage of doing it this way was having plot elements link each segment. If shorter run time is such a hurdle though, then how does that bode for the prospect of a future potential AOI episode? It is a bit of a concern now y'all raised this...

Anyways, after a re-watch it reminded me of my favourite two scenes. In the first segment Nibbler crawling across the balcony, that was awesome. In the third segment Hermes going down the tube into a helicopter and then it all transforms back to his desk. Amazing idea and animation. Loved those scenes although there were many other great ones too!...

[Reply #148 on:]

That whole anime section must have been a nightmare for the voice actors, having to deliberately do the most authentic terrible voice acting they could muster.

The random laughter and the constant "angry" tones to the voices were what nailed it for me... basically almost every bad anime has those features.

So many of the jokes worked brilliantly, especially liked Leela shortening her skirt.

I work as an animator, so I picked up on every single little reference and nod to the animation styles being used, even the really subtle background ones.

I was laughing from the moment I saw the planet express building perched up on the side of a mountain with zero visible method of getting up said mountain... that's another stock anime thing as well.

[Reply #149 on:]

This episode is my first 9/10 of the season.  It was completely whacky and a joy to watch.  
I had a lot of laughs during this episode.  I always consider it a really good episode when there are a bunch of lines I would like to sample to make into new ringtones for the phone!

I love animation, so having three different styles in one episode was fantastic.  

The parts that I enjoyed most were:

Act 1: The Professor making the telescope bounce up and down to match the bouncing of Leela so she could see.

Act 2:  The Dig Dug and Tapper references.  A friend of mine in high school's dad had a Tapper arcade machine in his house.  I used to get all excited to play it when I would go over his house.  Of course, my friend thought it was old hat and never wanted to play.  Frustrating!

Act 3:  I grew up on the badly dubbed early 80s anime that used play on tv after school.  There were so many throw backs to that in this segment.  Of particular note for me was the background music during the space battle scenes.  I don't know if they straight ripped that from Robotech/Macross, but it sounded like it.  Made me laugh hard.  Maybe they'll mention it during the commentary for this episode when it comes out on DVD.  The horrible, monotone, over the top voice acting was spot on, too.

[Reply #150 on:]

This episode is my first 9/10 of the season.  It was completely whacky and a joy to watch. 
I had a lot of laughs during this episode.  I always consider it a really good episode when there are a bunch of lines I would like to sample to make into new ringtones for the phone!

I love animation, so having three different styles in one episode was fantastic. 

The parts that I enjoyed most were:

Act 1: The Professor making the telescope bounce up and down to match the bouncing of Leela so she could see.

Act 2:  The Dig Dug and Tapper references.  A friend of mine in high school's dad had a Tapper arcade machine in his house.  I used to get all excited to play it when I would go over his house.  Of course, my friend thought it was old hat and never wanted to play.  Frustrating!

Act 3:  I grew up on the badly dubbed early 80s anime that used play on tv after school.  There were so many throw backs to that in this segment.  Of particular note for me was the background music during the space battle scenes.  I don't know if they straight ripped that from Robotech/Macross, but it sounded like it.  Made me laugh hard.  Maybe they'll mention it during the commentary for this episode when it comes out on DVD.  The horrible, monotone, over the top voice acting was spot on, too.

They did indeed license music for all three segments!

[Reply #151 on:]

That whole anime section must have been a nightmare for the voice actors, having to deliberately do the most authentic terrible voice acting they could muster.

I wonder if it was a nightmare or if it was actually enjoyable. I bet they had some fun with it.

Otis, yeah, the Hermes-desk-thing was probably my favorite bit of animation in the whole thing. Really excellently done.

[Reply #152 on:]

Of particular note for me was the background music during the space battle scenes.

Yup, I was about to note that, too. The music was so cheesey, and completely took me back to my Robotech-viewing days.

And yet another thing I loved: while Fry and Bender were doing their "peace dance," the way the rest of the "Action Delivery Force" was standing, with their hands clenched in fists, and the Professor's and Hermes' trench coats dramatically flapping behind them. (I have no idea how to capture screen shots, otherwise I'd paste it here. If anyone could PM me on how to do that, I'd be grateful.)

All the melodramatic "ahhhhs" and the overtop "ha ha ha ha!" was so spot-on. Zmithy, I'm glad you could corroborate with your professional animation background.

I think Fry and Bender's dance was my favorite scene of all. It's so funny how both of them were so cute and chiseled. The 80s anime of my youth almost always portrayed the characters as unrealistically beautiful or handsome.

[Reply #153 on:]

For some reason, I also liked Hermes' trench coat blowing in the breeze.

[Reply #154 on:]

Oh, yes, and anime'd Hattie McDoogal pointing out the kajigger in the sky. I couldn't make out her exact line, but it was hilarious nonetheless.

[Reply #155 on:]

I think it was 'Jigger*Japanese word(s)*!'

[Reply #156 on:]

Futurama finale ratings:

http://bit.ly/oatxNT

[Reply #157 on:]

For some reason, I also liked Hermes' trench coat blowing in the breeze.

I was gonna make a GIF of that!

But it turns out I'm lazy.

[Reply #158 on:]

Oh, yes, and anime'd Hattie McDoogal pointing out the kajigger in the sky. I couldn't make out her exact line, but it was hilarious nonetheless.

As said above, she was saying "Kajigger" transliterated into Japanese. The closest I could figure  is "Kajigeru" or "Kajigaru"

Which would be カヂゲル or カヂガル, respectively.

[Reply #159 on:]

Hahaha banana ships.

We thought we were so smart with our science and dancing! Hahahah.

Oh. Wow. This episode was brilliantly done and choreographed. The three acts were put in the best order possible. Each act had me breaking out in laughter more than the previous one. That third act...oh wow I was laughing so hard I was crying hahaha. Maurice's dub of the word "English" had me cracking up for an extended amount of time. And professor's voice was perfectly hilarious!!

I don't know what I just saw, but it was amazing. It even had some shippyness in the first act for all the shippers!

10/10

So also I noticed the scoring for this episode is pretty high here around 9 and 10, yet the premise for the episode is kind of similar to that of In A Gadda Da Leela where the storyline is not in canon. Do you think people liked this one more because it established itself in the beginning that it was an alternate episode that would not be in canon?