Thoughts on 7ACV25 - Stench and Stenchibility - SPOILERS

[Reply #120 on:]

why would an attractive human female be interest in Zoidberg?  

The same question could be asked otherwise: Why would a lobster like creature be interested in a human female? Human women could look as ugly to a male Decapodean as vice versa.

Plus not having Marianne be an ugly or ugly cute alien like Zindy passed up some excellent chances for the grotesque but adorable interspecies romances that Futurama does so well.

As stated above: Marianne does not really have to be ugly for that. Simple hints that she is also ugly in Zoidbergs perception would have been enough.

Also: Nice to see you are still alive and back on the board

[Reply #121 on:]

Hey guys... sorry for vanishing so much and ignoring you all but I really didn't want to talk to anyone anymore.  Long story.

Feel like talking about it? We still have a rant thread in Offtopic.

Anyhow.  This is the only episode of this season I enjoyed.  It was gross, cute and funny.  I only have one problem with it: whilst i loved the character of Marianne, having her be human just pulled too many suspensions of disbelief for me: why would an attractive human female be interest in Zoidberg?  Why would a baby with such a crippling disability (a lack of smell) not have it be corrected in the 31st century?  Plus not having Marianne be an ugly or ugly cute alien like Zindy passed up some excellent chances for the grotesque but adorable interspecies romances that Futurama does so well.

They've already done the whole "robosexual" thing, so having her be a robot might have been seen as re-hashing that particular bag of weasels, and having her be a human also gives the whole "relationship with a crab monster" thing an extra squick factor for the human audience.

I'm not so sure: if anything I think having her be a robot would be an interesting way to show how robosexuality has become accepted and is much, much less of an issue then it was when Amy and Bender were doing the nasty.   The fact that the issue would not be an organic being dating a mechanical one but that she had no sense of smell and longed to smell her flowers would bea  great way of saying "Proposition Infinity" was a success without actually mentioning it at all.   Much as I like Marianne, I just love the idea of her charming voice coming from an ugly alien or a fembot.  I think the contrast between her appearance and her elegant voice and gentle demenor would be wonderful.  Mind you, I we have seen several human women express arousal around him instead of revulsion: Grrl, Candy and now Marianne, as you have said.  Also Kif is considered to be highly beautiful and desirable by a wide variety of species, but by a misandrist fembot.  He's basically a male version of Oola from Star Wars or Princess Ruto or Tali.  Though one thing about robosexuality, doesn't it only really apply between a relationship between a robot and a human?  They've never really included non-humans in robosexual debates, it only ever addresses ones between humans and bots: and it also seems some forms of robosexuality (such as homosexual robosexuality) is still frowned upon or taboo.

Also agree with Hein: case in point, Fry is a pretty cute guy and Edna was a highly desirable female of her species, but both found each other physically hideous.

[Reply #122 on:]

I'm not so sure: if anything I think having her be a robot would be an interesting way to show how robosexuality has become accepted and is much, much less of an issue then it was when Amy and Bender were doing the nasty.

That's a good point, actually. It would have been far less in-your-face than the anvilicious Proposition Infinity, and would have been a nice continuity nod.

That might be why they didn't do it, in fact - the writers almost seemed to have developed a hate-boner for continuity by that point.

Fry is a pretty cute guy and Edna was a highly desirable female of her species, but both found each other physically hideous.

Y'know, in retrospect I think that might actually be the best pairing in the history of the show.

[Reply #123 on:]

I'm not so sure: if anything I think having her be a robot would be an interesting way to show how robosexuality has become accepted and is much, much less of an issue then it was when Amy and Bender were doing the nasty.

That's a good point, actually. It would have been far less in-your-face than the anvilicious Proposition Infinity, and would have been a nice continuity nod.

That might be why they didn't do it, in fact - the writers almost seemed to have developed a hate-boner for continuity by that point.

Fry is a pretty cute guy and Edna was a highly desirable female of her species, but both found each other physically hideous.

Y'know, in retrospect I think that might actually be the best pairing in the history of the show.

It's kind of like Ocarina of Time = if Link ahd let his figure go and dyed his hair red and learned to talk, and Princess Ruto got mutated.

[Reply #124 on:]

I just saw this one for the first time since it aired, and it was definitely better than I remember it being. It still sort of feels like two really short episodes mashed together, but since they run parallel to each other it doesn't feel as lame as the likes of "Neutopia". And especially unlike that episode, the plot is really well-crafted with no signs of rushing.

I'm still mildly pissed off at the crappy send-off for Roberto, but I'll give it a free pass just this once.

Meh, it was alright. 10/10

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Make that 7/10.

[Reply #125 on:]

I gave it a 7/10 the day it aired. I feel like that's harsh in retrospect.

[Reply #126 on:]

Ain't got no cash. Ain't got no style. Ladies vomit when I smile. But does Zoidberg worry? Feh! You wish! Bee happy!


Story
The story overall managed to be cute and cruel at the same time. I really like how we got to see two story arcs play out parallel to each other, especially since they connected to each other at certain points. These connections were particularly strong at the beginning and the end of the episode.


Plot
I really like what Inquisitor Hein said earlier about how this episode played on the viewer's incorrect expectations. I was expecting Bender's bug bomb that resembled a grenade to kerplode while Fry was distracting him. I was expecting Dr. John Zoidberg, "M"D, to botch the operation that requires a "skilled surgeon." I was also expecting the smell-bound Marianne to dislike Zoidberg's stench at the end of the episode and I especially was not expecting her to dislike the smell of flowers.

Marianne's inability to smell was pretty predictable, but that's not necessarily a problem. The fact that Marianne started off anosmic and later discovered her disgust for the smell of flowers fits the bill for comedy. Leela is a spaceship captain that is a cyclops and therefore has no depth perception. Bender is a bending robot that rarely serves his primary function of bending. Zoidberg is a terrible doctor that does not know human anatomy and has claws instead of hands. The Professor is a senile genius that does not know how to teach.


Funny
This episode, while not the funniest, definitely bore a lot of humor that I strongly appreciated. Zoidberg is usually a character that serves as a plot device for other characters' story arcs, but his weirdness really gets a chance to shine when a story revolves around him. I verily vaunt the vermilion vermin's vivace verbage: A real live date in a physical place that exists! Outside of the giant crab's quotes, I found it funny to see Leela overly excited at Randy's appearance. Although I'm displeased with the lack of handling on the matter of his return, I thoroughly enjoyed how Roberto, the crazed criminal, pled for cooperation under the Geneva Convention.

My favorite line from this episode: It's Gardenia imperialis. You can brew it into a tea, if you like severe stomach cramps.

Show spoiler

I think this line appeals to me the most since I currently live in the third world and stomach cramps are a little more frequent than I would prefer.

Characters
Bender was true to his evil form throughout this episode. I loved his Destroy All Humans-esque stance while decreeing his will to be the best tap dancer "of all time!" His evilness may have seemed like a bit much at some points, like when he merrily danced directly a six year-old's dead body. I think it was well-justified, though, as it drove the plot forward, especially since we eventually learned that adorable little Tonya is even more evil than Bender. In the DVD commentary for Amazon Women in the Mood, David X. Cohen explained that you can get away with socially unacceptable things in comedy so long as the perpetrating character is chastised by the other characters.

They certainly did a great job at making Tonya cute at some parts while giving her an evil grin at other parts. Speaking of new characters, Marianne looked, sounded, and acted like a Disney princess. Zindy played a role in the plot but obviously wasn't very well-developed due to her short amount of time on screen. I found it fitting, though sad, that even Zindy was disgusted by Zoidberg and dumped him almost as soon as they met.


Classic
Watching concurrent storylines play out parallel to each other seems like and element they haven't used much since the original run. The confluence of the multiple storylines wrapping up in the same location at the same time felt remeniscent of season 4.

There were also a couple of nice callbacks to season 1. The Parolee's Choice buses had Lightspeed Briefs advertisements on the rear. Randy also repeated one of his lines from I, Roommate like he did in Calculon 2.0: The robot has to go!


Visuals
The Futurama artists must have a fun job, since they constantly get to create new characters, new designs or outfits for existing characters, and new locales. I really enjoyed the tap dancing portions of the episode, especially when we got to see interesting creatures move about vigorously, often in interested outfits. I think it could have been a bit better, though, since most episodes of the new run have wowed me at a few points. For example, they should have given Bender's footcups tap dance shoe-style modifications.

There were a couple of nice vistas, though, despite the lack of adventures to strange, exotic places. For one, Bender's finishing pose after tap dancing in the Planet Express conference area exhibited an interesting sense of perspective that we don't normally see in tradionally-animated cartoons. (One of Bender's hands was larger than the other, since it was closer to the camera.) Additionally, we watched Randy watching the gelatinous blob dance by looking through the transparent blob from backstage.

Also, in this episode I could actually see Zoidberg's stench. Does that mean that I now possess the sense of smision?


Gripes
The only joke that didn't really work for me was Zindy's line about the stench being "like Comic-Con in a submarine." I think this joke could have worked fine in a different context by a different character, but a first date seems like an odd place to put this line. Overall, it seemed a little too niche and juvenile to be thrown into a contextually irrelevant situation.

As for the story, I am a little bothered by Roberto's unexplained return. I'm glad that he returned, but I'm un-glad that his return is unexplained. As for Roberto being able to smell Zoidberg, I wouldn't mind seeing a robot smell something in Futurama if it were a one-off joke, as the rule of funny permits such lapses of logic. I don't like seeing this as an important plot point, though, especially since they only used Roberto for one scene and didn't explain his resurrection or return.

I don't really buy into the explanations that Roberto was revived through a back-up unit and that he must have had some sort of smelling function installed. It already annoys me how they constantly tweak the mythology in this show, but to completely avoid any attempt at an explanation just seems like lazy writing.

Also, you don't learn a good smell from a bad smell. We are neurologically programmed to detect certain elements of smell and taste as pleasant and others as unpleasant. That is why poisonous foods tend to taste bad. Sure, there is some room for variability between species and between individuals within a species, but 99.9% of humans would dislike Zoidberg's stench, regardless of conditioning.


Highlights
 • "Not The Episode With The Dead Dog"
 • We got to see a classic cartoon in the opening sequence again! Why is that so rare lately, even in episodes with the longer version of the opening?
 • Greetings, merchant! I need something beautiful and cheap for a lady who is one of those things.
 • Oooh, I like the way you hit!
 • Pigs and skunks, limburger cheese, and New Jersey. Haha, another New Jersey joke.
 • "NNY Recreation Center: Please Give Back Our Basketball"
 • The Professor inexplicably referring to Fry as Orange Joe.
 • Uh... It's like summer... with a dab of vanilla and honey... or maybe winter with some gravy on it.
 • Fry's indifference to the evilness of Bender's plan to sabotage/maim Tonya or Leela's outrage over said plan.
 • Tonya... Harding.
 • Why? Whyyyyy?! What did I not do yet to deserve this?!
 • "Nose Transplant In Progress: Don't Blow It!"
 • I revelled in the simultaneous, head-to-head tap-off ragtime score, which I assume was an original piece of music made for this episode.
 • The juxtapostion of Bender blithely eating a hotdog while everyone else witnesses Tonya's heart attack in fear.


Overall
This episode will probably not stand out in memory, but it will be consistently enjoyable upon repeat views.
8/10

Smell you later.

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I can't believe "smell ya later" replaced goodbye.

[Reply #127 on:]

People may have genetic predispositions towards and against certain smells, but that doesn't mean every single human smells/tastes things the same way. Famous chef Julia Child hated cilantro with a passion, and hey guess what? Studies show that some people are genetically programmed to hate the stuff.

I'm perfectly comfortable letting Marianne have her scent preferences. She has a bunch of positive associations with Zoidbergesque things, so when she for the first time in her life gets to smell them, she associates them with things she loves.

[Reply #128 on:]

This might be obviously late to point this out, but do you guys remember that bit where Marianne was asking Zoidberg to describe the scent of the white flower, also known as Gardenia imperialis? Well, I just figured out Zoidberg was describing it in relation to her other senses (Such as Summer being something she can feel when it is hot outside) and the "vanilla, honey, and gravy" bits being something she can taste. (I know that there's a whole debate towards people who cant smell also not being able to taste, but you also gotta remember it's the future. Any kind of terrible disease could have sprouted up that makes people not able to smell but still able to taste by a thousand period timespan. Or something along that effect.