I chose the third one. It pretty much sums it up perfectly, and I'm guessing it will be the most popular option.
I also chose the third option.
Why? It's not because I think the new seasons were bad, or even average. I just think the original four seasons were
very good, and the chances of the CC run matching the lofty standards were always going to be ridiculously low, especially after such a long hiatus.
Overall, the quality dropped by a noticeable (though not seriously concerning) amount. It could be very hit-and-miss at times, but a handful of the hits were
very strong. "The Late Philip J. Fry" is quite easily a contender for my favourite episode of all time, and several other stand-outs ultimately made the return worthwhile, in my opinion. "The Prisoner of Benda", "Reincarnation", "Fun on a Bun" and "Murder on the Planet Express" are some of the show's best episodes.
Of course, there were also a few really terrible episodes such as the dreaded "Futurama Holiday Spectacular" and a number of dull ones that simply aren't very entertaining (examples include "The Duh-Vinci Code", "Fry Am The Egg Man" and "Near-Death Wish"). This is unique to the CC era, because there isn't a single episode from the Fox run that I find painful to watch. Even the typically unpopular episodes such as "The Cryonic Woman" have their moments.
The storytelling is probably the most notable change in the show, and it's most noticeable in the latter half of season 6. Many episodes had very rushed endings that felt like they didn't have much time to develop, or in some cases they were virtually "blink and you miss it". "Law and Oracle", "Ghost in the Machines", "Neutopia", "Yo Leela Leela" and
especially "All the Presidents' heads" all had
extremely rushed endings, all of which were pretty crap (with the possible exception of LAO).
The character development was fairly minimal, though that's not really a big deal in a show like this (season 2 also had very little of this). An over-arching plot similar to the brainspawn saga from the original run would've helped.
The comedy is something I've already kind of touched on. For the most part, it was fine in the CC run. Maybe not quite as good of the Fox run, but still good. But as I said earlier, there were a few episodes that really weren't very entertaining.
The original run had some amazing emotional moments, and it feels like a number of the ones in the CC run fell flat. The endings of "Cold Warriors" and "Near-Death Wish" spring to mind, for example.
Really though, Futurama had a good life. If the Fox run is a
10/10, then the CC run is a
7/10.