Thoughts on 6ACV26 - Reincarnation - SPOILERS!

[Reply #80 on:]

yes.

[Reply #81 on:]

I can't score this one yet, as it is the first Futurama episode that I have ever turned the channel on. The first act was alright, I was at first disappointed to see the early 1900's animation, but it grew on me by the time the 7 minutes were up. I liked the cheesy little story and I must admit, the characters looked pretty darn cute...
The second act...
First off, I don't recall a single funny moment from act two that WASN'T provided by old video game SFX. There were no funny jokes in this act, and the story had nothing to do with video games or a kind of video game-esque quest. It felt too boring to be a video game, what with all the philosophical thinking and no action. It was at the end of this act that I...(deep breath) changed the channel. I don't mind episodes that have little or nothing to do with the show's story, but they have to be damn funny to work (AoI 1 and 2) or else they'll just end up being a miserable failure (Xmas Spectacular). So far, I'm thinking 5/10 but I need to force myself to watch act three before officially voting.

[Reply #82 on:]

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?

Bingo. Give that little girl a prize!

[Reply #83 on:]

Someone get me an avatar of Cubert's pet seal with the silly hat right the fuck now! (Please).

I loved each of the segments for reasons everyone has pretty much covered. I loved the animation of Colorama, the whole "Leela I'm trying to listen to this physics lecture!" made me laugh so hard, and the Action Delivery Force was just great. I could go into detail but I think this is actually the most fun episode I've seen in a long time. I want there to be a sequel!

[Reply #84 on:]

I think 'Future Challenge 3000' would've been too similar to 'Raiders of the Lost Arcade' if it contained too much action.

[Reply #85 on:]

I think 'Future Challenge 3000' would've been too similar to 'Raiders of the Lost Arcade' if it contained too much action.

If taking the action and humor out of something to make it slightly less similar is the way to go, I'm guessing you liked it. I would've preferred Raiders of the Lost Arcade 2: Kingdom of the Ambergris-al Skull over this nothingness.

[Reply #86 on:]

This was excellent, I liked the first and last parts more than the second, but all three were great. The second went in a very strange and unique direction, and I'm fine with that within the scope of a third of an episode... in fact, the more I think about it, the more I like it.

I'm mainly relieved that this was so much better than the Xmas episode we got last year, was starting to wonder if the reduced running time had made 3-parters too tough to pull off.

[Reply #87 on:]

Someone get me an avatar of Cubert's pet seal with the silly hat right the fuck now! (Please).

Second...actually, a screenshot would be fine too

[Reply #88 on:]

Avatars are made here and scroll.

[Reply #89 on:]

10/10

While I wouldn't put it on my personal list of favorite episodes, I have to say that I thoroughly enjoyed this. It was pure fun watching the three different animation styles; I don't believe I liked one segment more than the other, they all got some good laughs out of me.

[Reply #90 on:]

Avatars are made here and scroll.

Awesome, Bend-err. Thank you. I'm tempted to change my avatar to Amy-Betty-Boop, but I am just too attached to my Hermaphrobot one right now.

Also, I've read some remarks in this thread, that the third segment wasn't somehow off in its anime parody, that it didn't hit the right cliches, etc. To me, it hit the perfect note. Watching Voltron clips on Youtube makes me realize how much they nailed it.

(Warning: clicking on the below might subject you to a LONG movie-commercial for Fancy Feast cat food, involving marriage proposals and a wedding where kitty cat is maid of honor. Be forewarned.)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E796cjH-YeY&NR=1

[Reply #91 on:]

It was funny and cute.
I liked the first one, cause I'm a shipper of course.

The second act really lacked a plot, and was over way too quickly. It was funny though.

The third act was probably the one they spent the most time on. It was entertaining, although I'm not a fan of Anime.

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

[Reply #92 on:]

really loved this episode.  Loved the first segment since I'm a fan of old cartoons and noticed all the cliches they joke on.  The second segment wasn't that good.  I liked some of the jokes--Bender trying to leave a room but doesn't get away--but the plot just wasn't that good. We didn't see much of them making fun of the 8-bit animation.  This could've been a random regular episode.  It wasn't as good as that AOI2 episode where life were like a video game.  That was a better take on that concept.  The anime segment was great, makes me wanna see more of Futurama in anime form.  Maybe Bongo Comics can do a spinoff comic.

Really loved this episode, but have to give it a 9/10 due to the second segment not being as good as the other two. 

[Reply #93 on:]

Well that was one of the strangest things I've watched in a long time, in a good way. I really enjoyed all three segments and surprisingly no weak parts. Very funny and I loved all of the animation styles. Hard to pick a favourite segment, but possibly the first one, and then the third. Having said that the 8-bit one had some of the best jokes so they're all good at the end of the day...

My main criticism is I can't help thinking it would have been nice to have made this Anthology of Interest 3. Sure it worked as it was, however as an Anthology of Interest then it would have given us a tiny bit of traditional Futurama in-between the craziness and they could have asked the What-If machine what it would have been like if they looked like an old early 1900's style cartoon, and then for the next one the joke could have been Dr Zoidberg asking something serious, but Fry butting in and asking what it would be like if they were 8-bit instead, overriding Dr Zoidberg...

Then for the third segment Dr Zoidberg tries to ask his serious What–If question again, but is interrupted this time by Bender who asks what it would be like if they were animated anime style. The ridiculousness of the questions overriding Dr Zoidberg's serious What-If scenario that he never gets chance to see would have been a good joke to have between the various animation styles...

Oh well, still a solid 8/10

[Reply #94 on:]

I just saw this one again, and I have to say: in terms of its rewatchability factor, this has to be one of the best episodes yet.

The first segment is still my favorite; it's the one that comes closest to its source material. I love the bounciness, and the fact that everything's anthropomorphic ("You'd make me the happiest finger in the whole wide hand!"), and the early twentieth-century references (the Chesterfield thing), and how some of these references are subverted (Farnsworth addressing the crew from what at first appears to be a TV but is instead a port-a-potty was so brilliant...and I loved how gleefully Zoidberg entered after he had exited). It's just thoroughly enjoyable, cute and funny and visually spot-on.

The second segment was better the second time around. It had some funny dialogue (Leela shamelessly hitting on Fry, Leela being surprised Farnsworth was able to live through his own long-winded sentence) and video game touches (the mechanized music, inserting a coin after you clear a level, the sadness meter). And I liked how it utilized Farnsworth. This is the only segment that could sort of work in a plain ol' canon episode, but I don't fault it much for having a fairly mundane story that didn't make full use of the video game context. What was there was funny, and that's what matters.

And the third segment was just...so good. All the lost-in-translation stuff you get from anime, and the clunky dialogue ("The list of things I have heard now has everything", or however Fry said it), and the misspelled captions. It was just really well-observed, I thought, and deliciously ludicrous in execution.

So, yeah. It's hard to judge this episode when compared to any other episode (even an AOI), but in terms of how much I enjoyed it, and how much I'll be able to enjoy it upon rewatches? It's a definite 10/10.

[Reply #95 on:]

Stuff I noticed:

The bird in Fry's watch in 'Colorama' sounds very similar to Nudar.

The ending of 'Colorama' is very, very similar to the final episode of Clone High. The two main characters (Fry & Leela/Abe & Joan) finally (in Clone High's case, almost) reveal their feelings to each other, but are cut short ("Will you marry me-"/"But Joan, I love-") by being frozen, and their words come out jumbled. (*Choking sounds*/"ACHUKEALA")

[Reply #96 on:]

Well, there was one joke with a Betty Boop reference. When they had piled out of the ship and everyone bumped into each other, Amy said, "Watch it stumble bums, you're Booping my Betty."

There was another Betty Boop reference, but it was subtle.  When Fry was walking on the surface of the comet, that faux 3d background effect was something they did in a few Betty Boop cartoons as well as some other Max Fleischer cartoons. 

As for the episode, loved it.  I give it a 9.  Almost a 10.

[Reply #97 on:]

Well that was one of the strangest things I've watched in a long time, in a good way....

My main criticism is I can't help thinking it would have been nice to have made this Anthology of Interest 3. Sure it worked as it was, however as an Anthology of Interest then it would have given us a tiny bit of traditional Futurama in-between the craziness...

Otis, I get what you're saying. I agree with your description that it was very strange, which I think is one of the reasons why it made such an impression on me. If there were intervals of "regular" Futurama in between, then it would not have as much novelty and creativity about it, and therefore I don't think it would be as entertaining. For me, at least.

I love our "regularly scheduled programs of Futurama," but I think it's refreshing to take a break. For me, it felt like going on a trippy, corney, and belly-shaking vacation for about thirty minutes. Who needs hallucinogens with cartoons like these?

[Reply #98 on:]

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.

[Reply #99 on:]

I am fine with it not being an AOI. I don't think it needed regular Futurama in there. That would have shortened the amount of time devoted to the animation by at least a minute for each segment, and they were already pretty short. I think the pacing of this, though of course it is different from anything else, was solid.

[Reply #100 on:]

Strangely, this ep felt very Futurama-y for me.

[Reply #101 on:]

Well, running times are 1:30 less than the original run now... that's just about the time that the AOI in-between scenes took up on the show.

I'm fine with the lack of fitting it into regular canon.

[Reply #102 on:]

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

Yes, too many Futurama episodes lack cannons.

[Reply #103 on:]

Complaining about none cannon in an episode made for writers to break cannon and just make cute little stories, like AoI or the Simpsons ToH episodes... yeah... lame.

[Reply #104 on:]

Complaining about none cannon in an episode made for writers to break cannon and just make cute little stories, like AoI or the Simpsons ToH episodes... yeah... lame.

I can count on one hand the episodes with cannons.  Even a brilliant episode like "The Late Philip J. Fry" had no cannons.

[Reply #105 on:]

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."

And there was honestly a comment complaining that there wasn't enough pop culture references.  

[Reply #106 on:]

Complaining about none cannon in an episode made for writers to break cannon and just make cute little stories, like AoI or the Simpsons ToH episodes... yeah... lame.

I can count on one hand the episodes with cannons.  Even a brilliant episode like "The Late Philip J. Fry" had no cannons.

Isn't GodFellas the only episode with a cannon?
EDIT: whoops, sorry for the double post

[Reply #107 on:]

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."

And there was honestly a comment complaining that there wasn't enough pop culture references. 

Oh.  Yes, this episode sucks.  Thanks to these comments, it made me realise I was wrong about enjoying it!

[Reply #108 on:]

Prisoner of Benda has a cannon.

Strangely, this ep felt very Futurama-y for me.

I agree! Not sure why, but it really did.

[Reply #109 on:]

I don't know, this episode wasn't all that great, in my opinion... I liked the first 1920's act, but they lost me on the video game act, and didn't gain much ground in the third act (even though I would wreck Wapanese Amy). All in all, 6/10.

[Reply #110 on:]

'All the Presidents' Heads' also has a cannon... or Bender at least, whom it turns out can be used as a cannon.

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.

[Reply #111 on:]

I loved loved loved the Fleischer one!! <3
I give the overall episode an 8/10.

[Reply #112 on:]

It felt too boring to be a video game, what with all the philosophical thinking and no action.

Wasn't that the whole point? Same with the Diamondium and rainbows in the Fleischer segment and the dancing in the anime segment?

[Reply #113 on:]

All three segments were hilarious! My favorite was probably the anime segment (being an anime dork and all), but there wasn't a single weak plot. All of it was very inventive, very funny, and very entertaining.
Definitely one of the best of the season, and a great way to end!
9/10

[Reply #114 on:]

It felt too boring to be a video game, what with all the philosophical thinking and no action.

Wasn't that the whole point? Same with the Diamondium and rainbows in the Fleischer segment and the dancing in the anime segment?

I think the point of the 8-bit segment was they were making a big deal about the mysteries of the universe being in astounding resolution, but it was really only one dark pixel. But it could be argued that this was a second "whole point", I suppose.

[Reply #115 on:]

It felt too boring to be a video game, what with all the philosophical thinking and no action.

Wasn't that the whole point? Same with the Diamondium and rainbows in the Fleischer segment and the dancing in the anime segment?

If the whole point is "Ha ha, it's boring and unexciting" then that's kind of lame. If it were a funnier segment I could be more forgiving, but they wasted the video game concept on something boring while delivering few laughs (one chuckle in my case). If I weren't such a huge NES fan I'd have really hated the second act. Just my opinion.

[Reply #116 on:]

I'm not a gamer of any sort and I really enjoyed the second segment. But perhaps that is the reason - I bet people who are gamers were irritated by whatever blatant inconsistencies there were between this segment and actual 8-bit games.

[Reply #117 on:]

It's not really that- my favorite part was Bender trying to leave and all the cheesy SFX...I just figure if the story is going to be non-canon then it should be super funny (Edit: or emotional, though I understand how that'd be hard in 7 minutes or so) and I was disappointed. Not trying to sound like a lower horn or anything...

[Reply #118 on:]

Complaining about none cannon in an episode made for writers to break cannon and just make cute little stories, like AoI or the Simpsons ToH episodes... yeah... lame.

I can count on one hand the episodes with cannons.  Even a brilliant episode like "The Late Philip J. Fry" had no cannons.

Isn't GodFellas the only episode with a cannon?
EDIT: whoops, sorry for the double post

Dude, All the Presidents' Heads had a cannon. It was Bender.

[Reply #119 on:]

Overall, this was a really great episode. I've seen it twice now, so I'll attempt to write a coherent review.

I thought the first segment was well-done. It truly felt like it was poking fun at the Fleischer style of animation. I mean, it was constant bouncing...I especially liked Leela's ironic line towards the end, where she said "I love this time of day. There's such a beautiful stillness." The movement is also emphasized when Leela is looking in the telescope, and the Professor "adjusts it to eye level." 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. Overall, it was really true to that era of animation, but it wasn't the funniest of the three segments.
I liked the second segment as well. I thought Bender was absolutely hilarious. From when he made the Professor break the lens, to when he tried to leave before he was "done with the level," to "Byte my 8-bit metal ass!"

my favorite part was Bender trying to leave and all the cheesy SFX...

I agree 1000%, that was hilarious. In fact, both times that happened I laughed out loud. Once Bender did it though, it was just so funny.

I also liked the bit with the Professor's "There's a snail on the tail of a frog on the bump on a log that I found at the bottom of the sea," mainly because it's just like those camp songs.
The third segment, as others have said, was probably the best. It did the best at parodying the genre. I mean, the way they showed the bad translation and then having Bender say "perhaps they speak perfect English, as do we" was brilliant. I also loved how they took the Japanese landscapes and made them Central Park and Rockefeller Center...and then used that same building for Omaha, Nebraska. The randomness of Omaha was what made that joke for me. I also was highly amused when, when the team was assembling, Hermes flew off in his helicopter-desk only to return to where he was, and for his desk to transform back into a desk. It is so like Hermes, and it was just so funny.
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. Like the brand new color in the Fleischer segment (although, I could see that coming.) The second two took me a second to figure out what the irony was. Like in the video game segment, with the most detailed thing ever seen by man, and how it was simply a pixel. The pixel! And then the GUT was pixelized, too! It was brilliant. 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.

Overall, I thought this episode was very comical. I missed episodes that were simply funny. There weren't any hit or miss jokes that really stood out. Most of the jokes were worthy of laughing out loud. The episode exceeded my expectations--I never thought it would have been that good.

Great end to the season, and I'm giving it a 10/10