To the Year 3014 or Bust - General Futurama Discussion

[Reply #400 on:]

I always felt that "Calculon 2.0" would be about re-introducing Calculon. Calculon does change appearance over the years (back in our time he was just a robotic arm). And they've been pretty loyal to continuity- Calculon hasn't made an appearance since his death in "The Thief of Baghead".

It sucks how they'll continue something like Calculon's death but not explain how Mars was restored to normality.

I remember hearing about how it was going to be addressed in "Viva Mars Vegas", but it was cut. Maybe it's a deleted scene on the Volume 8 DVD, but I don't know. I don't have that DVD yet. I should, but I'm too stingy. And I don't really have a DVD player at the moment.

[Reply #401 on:]

I pretty much agree with every single thing that every single person has said on page 10 of this thread.

Despite a few missteps, I was generally quite pleased with Season 6A. 6B was a little bit of a step backwards, although it still had some good episodes. And then season 7A was a big disappointment. I have no faith that 7B will be better since it's the same production run, but maybe they'll surprise me.

I can't say that I "don't care" if it's cancelled though. I'm too emotionally invested in the show. I love the writers, I love the characters. I want them to come back. I just wish they would be better.

I also wish they could make me the exact same age I was when I watched the original run of Futurama, and make me feel the exact same feelings as back then. I really don't think this is too much to ask.

[Reply #402 on:]

Googzeez, I agree with you. Unmentionable does try to impel his beliefs down our throats. However, the way Danny is responding to him is wrong. What is a comedian without a microphone? What is a lightbulb without electricity? What is Unmentionable without hate-filled responses fueling him to continue this incessant prattle?


Edit: Thanks mods, I put a lot of time into those posts.

[Reply #403 on:]

Woah, this whole debate just vanished.

[Reply #404 on:]

I also wish they could make me the exact same age I was when I watched the original run of Futurama, and make me feel the exact same feelings as back then. I really don't think this is too much to ask.

We could try the Deaginator. It fills you brain with Ice Cream, video games, potato chips, and a void on dealing with the opposite gender.

[Reply #405 on:]

It was pretty much guaranteed that the entire debate/rant would be deleted. At least we know SBG is on Unmentionable's side now.

[Reply #406 on:]

No Danny, I'm not. I just hate the way you act towards him. Would you punch a special needs kid? I hope in time you realize that empathy is a tool best used for everyone.

[Reply #407 on:]

Everyone chill and bring this to another thread if you don't want rapidly dropping posts, that or PM. I at least want to hear people's complaints without them being deleted.

[Reply #408 on:]

Let's drop it before people start getting banned.

[Reply #409 on:]

I at least want to hear people's complaints without them being deleted.

Let's do this shit!

[Reply #410 on:]

I do not officially condone that. In fact, I would not recommend posting on that thread, It's our last thread of complaints on the last page.

[Reply #411 on:]

22 posts deleted because this is a thread about Futurama discussion, not snarking about personal squabbles. Deleting a post  takes 2 clicks. Deleting all 22 of those posts took 5 clicks. Certain people are putting WAY more effort into kvetching than I am into deleting it.

[Reply #412 on:]

So.. who else is happy to hear that the porno deaing alien from the “Spanish Fry” episode will be back?

[Reply #413 on:]

He was memorable, so yes. And since SF is a fairly forgettable episode, there's no fear of mucking it up.

[Reply #414 on:]

I loved that guy! Glad to see he's back! And yeah, you really can't screw up something that has almost no canon.

[Reply #415 on:]

Closest news I've seen to word on Season 8, no source, doesn't mention renewal and it's not reliable much at all...

"The show itself is in no danger either, in case you were worried. Futurama delivers solid ratings for the cable network with each episode, then again in late-night encores."

Source.

[Reply #416 on:]

Most CC shows got renewed in jan 2013. However Futurama wasn't. Eric Rogers joined the Bricklberry team. And still there's no reason to worry. Yeah, right.

[Reply #417 on:]

Last year was only a twelve episode run? Futurama delivered solid ratings? 31st Century Fox was a noteworthy episode?

I'm not sure how Futurama does in reruns on Comedy Central, but I'm not so sure if they're actually that good compared to the other shows on it right now. The article made me feel slightly better about Futurama's future, but it just doesn't seem that reliable. Still, I really hope CC or Fox will bring it back again like before.

[Reply #418 on:]

Last year was only a twelve episode run? Futurama delivered solid ratings? 31st Century Fox was a noteworthy episode?

Exactly.. what the fuck!
I think they mean 11 airdates that contained 13 new episodes last year.. got confused and just wrote 12.
The ratings aren't total garbage yet.. but a 1.5 million rating is what CC expects, they were a little low last year b/c of 10's of reasons.
31stCF was an okay episode, but had a shitty ending, and was nothing new or original.

But it is in CC's best interest for at least one more run of 26 shows to ensure a strong number of reruns when compared with (now more numerous) other animated shows that have 150+ episodes.

[Reply #419 on:]

So.. who else is happy to hear that the porno deaing alien from the “Spanish Fry” episode will be back?

I am, he's a great character. There's still plenty of other characters I'd also like to see back, but this is decent enough for now as long as they use him properly...

[Reply #420 on:]

The ratings aren't total garbage yet.. but a 1.5 million rating is what CC expects, they were a little low last year b/c of 10's of reasons.

Yep. A too low rating would probably already have resulted in cancellation.
I'm guessing that this season hit the cancellation limit rather precisely:
Neither too much over it (auto renewal), nor too much below (auto cancellation).
So, the empiracal data does not seem to support one decision more than the other one.

[Reply #421 on:]

Is Futurama the Best Argument Against Transhumanism?

[Reply #422 on:]

Comedy Central doesn't really care about ratings, they care about how many DVD's they sell. How are those numbers?

Last time the news of a renewal was announced in March - if we don't know by the end of next month, then it's time to start really worrying

[Reply #423 on:]

I hope there will be new seasons of Futurama.
In a big supermarket, Futurama DVD was the one of the top sell products.

[Reply #424 on:]

Comedy Central doesn't really care about ratings, they care about how many DVD's they sell. How are those numbers?

Yep, some official Vol.5/Vol.6/Vol.7 sales stats would be welcome.

[Reply #425 on:]

ComedyCentral_nl Y U NO SELL FUTURAMA HERE?

Isn't there any site where we can find those ratings? maybe we should just wait or any news to come out...

[Reply #426 on:]

I've decided to try my best to ignore Futurama's future for now, just gonna wait it out and see if Season 8 will happen or not. Fingers crossed.

[Reply #427 on:]

Yeah, no point getting worked up about it. Just take it as it comes.

[Reply #428 on:]

I keep in mind that we only found out about Season 7 in the middle of March, PLUS we found out by accident, so it could take a while for an official announcement.

[Reply #429 on:]

Comedy Central doesn't really care about ratings, they care about how many DVD's they sell. How are those numbers?

Last time the news of a renewal was announced in March - if we don't know by the end of next month, then it's time to start really worrying

Why would CC care about dvd sales they see no money from?
I'm pretty sure it's mostly Fox that makes the dough from dvd sales (could be wrong).
Yes, Futurama was last renewed in March of 2011, but Fox/CC in fact have until the end of April to decide before an official hiatus has begun.
And finally, perhaps Futurama should end before it goes on too long?

[Reply #430 on:]

That's something I've always thought. I'd rather it end before it becomes stale. (Not that I think it's stale at the moment).

[Reply #431 on:]

I'd love to see it keep going, but I wouldn't be as heartbroken if it ended now. 140-odd episodes is a pretty solid run. 72 was criminally short, hence how upset we all were in 2003.

I would imagine DVD sales could have an impact on Comedy Central's thinking just in terms of seeing how much interest the show is getting....they wouldn't see the money from it (unless Fox has some deal worked out where they get a small cut, which is always possible), but it would be hard data that they could also take to advertisers. Nielsen ratings are already flimsy and at this point I think even TV networks and advertisers are starting to realize that. But, I'm not really sure how much impact it would have on their thinking exactly, especially when the benefit of good DVD sales is smaller for them than it would be for shows that they actually produce and own the rights to (South Park, Workaholics, etc).

The other benefit of good sales, though, is that it's also motivation for Fox to push harder to keep the show in production, including cutting a better deal (such as a reduced airing fee) with Comedy Central to keep the show going so they can benefit from the DVD sales later. Syndication (on local channels) revenue would do the same. Again, not foolproof, but if we knew how both of those things were doing we might get a better sense of how willing everyone involved would be to push forward with new episodes.

[Reply #432 on:]

So we have titles and a trailer for 7B . . . . anyone want to post screen caps and play guess the episode?

(Do we have all the titles yet? Last I looked they were in a state of flux, but most seemed pretty set.)

[Reply #433 on:]

(Do we have all the titles yet? Last I looked they were in a state of flux, but most seemed pretty set.)

Yep.

[Reply #434 on:]

Sweet.

I wonder if that's the airing order? I heard we were getting a two-part finale this year, and Meanwhile seems to fit that, but Stench and Stenchability sounds like a standalone. (I'm guessing the Zoidberg romance one.) And Saturday Morning Fun Pit would normally be the last ep, wouldn't it? The Naturama type one?

[Reply #435 on:]

It's the confirmed Production Order but the Broadcast Order is never set in stone...

[Reply #436 on:]

I agree 7A was probably the worst season of all.   6A wasn't a true return to form, BUT it had great episodes, good episodes, solid episodes, mediocre and terrible episodes, so it left me confident that the show was going to find its feet.  6B filled me with doubts, that 7A confirmed.  6A and to a lesser extent, 6B had a mix of episodes, some were fantastic like Prisoner of Benda and others were terrible like IAGDL, but 7A just had a lot of episodes that weren't terrible, but were just forgettable.   I'd rather have a stinker every now and then if it means getting a fantastic episode as payoff, rather then a steady stream of episodes that are acceptable but aren't memorable enough to watch again. Even so, the show isn't circling the drain.
Yet.

[Reply #437 on:]

but 7A just had a lot of episodes that weren't terrible, but were just forgettable.  

^This.  
Many episodes had some sort of "filler quality": Some sci fi shenanigans, to keep you halfway entertained, but that's it.

6A was imhO the best of the new Season:
It had epic plots (TLPJF, TMAR), really absurd/whacky ones (PoB),  sci fi classic themes (Rebirth), etc... . Those episode did lean towards a certain direction. Compared to them, 7A was rather "in the middle": Some absurd jokes, some halfway epic scenes (e.g. the FoaB battle), some references...but none of those themes really "took the lead" in an episode. Just a bit of everything thrown together..

I assume that "strong theme/red line" was the reason why many viewers considered "Law and Oracle" season 6B's best episode: It did refer to an actualy movie, and had a strong major/classic theme (detective story). Möbius Dick had that strong,constant "Moby Dick" theme, and I do assume that might be the reason why many viewers* considered that episode also a highlight of season 6B.

*

Show spoiler

(I might have dropped one or two really subtle hints that I do not share their opinion...

[Reply #438 on:]

Möbius Dick has flaws, but is visually stunning and contains quite a few fun gags, even a little nerd bonus here and there. I like it.

Leela acting OOC and the continuity problems implied by Farnsworth's flashbacks aside, it's an example of a parody done well: not too heavily dependent on the original inspiration for direction and structure, but well enough tied into it that there are opportunities to draw multiple parallels between it and the work that it's playing with.

Law and Oracle, for me, is just the opposite. It's an episode which is much more dependent on following the source of inspiration, and irritates me no end in small ways here and there. It's not so much a parody as it is a straight cut and paste with jokes (and only Chief O'Manahan and the hovercar chase were brilliant jokes for me). But it's still a strong story, and it's got some good visuals. It's not hard for me to see why both are strongly appealing to fans of the original run.

Of the two, MD is better than LaO, I think. It's more of an original piece. It's got "Futurama" as a stronger theme than "Let's parody this book/movie!". That said, TLPJF beats both of them (and funnily enough, that's a loose parody of a book/movie as well) to hell and back. I think that one reason TLPJF works so well is that the major thing it's copying isn't much more than an excuse for unrelated hijinks, and many of those are (very loose) references to other works. It has jokes that are very Futurama and don't depend on source material (as well as some that do), and nobody really acts OOC. Futurama's at its strongest when it moves away from direct parody, and simply plays fast and loose with sci-fi tropes, taking the opportunity to make a few relatively original jokes, and showcasing the animation team's "skillz". More direct "parodies" feel more like "rip-offs", and something that should be on The Simpsons or Family Guy. One of the things that makes Futurama stand out as entertainment is the originality and depth of the world that MG and DXC managed to create.

That's one reason, I think, why PoB and FoaB work so brilliantly well. They're not really tied to any particular source for their direction and humour. They can draw on multiple different sources, and create a wonderful mish-mash of science-fiction and utter craziness. Any references are (like TLPJF's) usually in passing, rather than extended. Futurama's originality and idiosyncratic quirks are allowed to shine.

I really hope that they shitcanned the direct parody approach to episodes after 7A. I really, really hope that they did. Otherwise, I'll probably end up saying that rather than having simply undergone a decline in quality, the show now sucks. I don't want to end up saying that.

Nevertheless, I am prepared to say it if it turns out to be true.

[Reply #439 on:]

I still don't understand the people calling Leela OOC in Möbius Dick. She's a blatant hypocrite. If anything, her personality is exaggerated (something that's also happened to Fry and Bender in the new run).