Thoughts on Episode 8ACV08 - Zapp Gets Canceled - (SPOILERS)

[on:]

Release Date: September 11th, 2023

When Zapp Brannigan is canceled for crude behavior, Leela takes over as captain of the Nimbus on a critical mission.

Discuss

[Reply #1 on:]

Solid, sorta sweet episode. I have never smelled a durian, and I hope to go the rest of my life without catching a single woft. 7/10

[Reply #2 on:]

How many of my Hulurama reviews are going to be some variation of “this wasn’t very funny, 5/10”?

Its sadder when the episode is focused on Zapp, who’s almost every line was funny/quotable in the Fox era. The writers never got him quite right in the CC era, here its more of the same. The opening with Kif and the flame creature ship was fine, but the whole sensitivity training plot did nothing for me. The story itself was fine, I liked the idea of the other cancelled members and Kind, but that entire section was dead comedy wise (Kind acts exactly how Zapp did and Zapp disapproves, k), and then the climax is Kind shouting a bunch of cancel culture buzzwords. Ugh

Someone must’ve thought that Durian joke was funny. I wonder if it was the same person that put the Dung joke in Parasites Regained. Okay it wasn’t that horrid, but it wasn’t funny and had WAY to much time dedicated around it.

The Leela plot was good on paper. It was executed ok. I enjoyed the air planet. The alien designs and explanation of how it worked, that whole section actually felt like Futurama. I wish something more came out of the aliens groping each other as a greeting to tie into the cancel culture plot.

That scene of Leela grabbing the Durian was horridly directed. I get they’re doing the cartoon logic joke of her somehow reaching it from all the way on stage, but that was really pushing it. She jumps ahead to grab the Durian directly over the hole at a bit of an angle, then somehow lands 90 degrees to her right a few feet away from the hole? That whole sequence confounded me.

The last scene tried a little to hard to be heartwarming, but...ech. I still enjoy those small moments of Fry being a supportive boyfriend.

So yeah. Stories were okay, it just wasn’t that funny. 5/10. Story of this entire Season. Blech.

[Reply #3 on:]

Was an okay episode.  Didn't laugh much, but it had some sweet moments, though the "you've got what it takes yadda yadda to be Leela" felt very forced.  It was nice to see Glab again, and I wasn't expecting her to be a focal character in an episode.  The voice felt off, sounding more like Mom then Glab, but thenagain the last time the character had a speaking role was 24 years ago, I think, the last time Zapp got cancelled?   

The air planet was cute

Also, the shit made out of fire reminded me of the Angel's planes from Captain Scarlet, just like the PE ship reminds me of Thunderbird 2.

I guess it's a higher tier Hulu episode, acceptable. Feels more like a CC episode then a Hulu episode, which is...a good thing at this point.  6 or 7 out of 10.  Could have done with more jokes, but more jokes landed then didn't land and I had a few chuckles, which is a significant improvement over the majority of the Huluramas.

Also, I find it weird that we have yet to have a substantial Fry-centric episode.   The only one we've had that revolved around him basically had him in a coma for almost the entire episode.   Also some of the jokes were so on the nose and done to death by this point, like when Zapp told Glab to smile more.

[Reply #4 on:]

That was... surprisingly good, actually. I was dreading this episode based on the title, expecting some incredibly poor satire surrounding cancel culture. I'll admit, not all those jokes landed, but the plot with Dr. Kind made up for it.

The air planet was super cute and creative, and I loved how they were assuming that they were technologically superior based on the bucket-entrance.

Leela allowing to Zoidberg to suck her face at the end was unexpected and hilarious.

[Reply #5 on:]

Wasn't nearly as bad as it could have been given the basic premise.

I engaged with Leela's plotline in a way I haven't with any of these Hulu episodes yet. Her feeling unfulfilled at Planet Express but then finding herself conflicted by the demands placed on her as a DOOP captain and coming to appreciate the amount of autonomy she has at Planet Express really worked for me.

I think that the show was never going to fundamentally change Zapp or how he behaves but at the very least I don't think that they tried to both sides it. Like the episode was pretty unambiguous that the way he abuses people is bad but he's reinstated because the DOOP is an organization where people like that can thrive and which doesn't truly care about his abusive acts beyond a performative slap on the wrist of sensitivity training.

The air planet was fun to visit and, as Box Inc said, felt like actual Futurama.

The only thing against it is that I really didn't laugh a lot. Still found it to be more enjoyable than most of the other Hulu episodes so far though.

6/10

[Reply #6 on:]

Not going to lie, I wasn't a fan of this one which is a shame since this episode was talked up alot by the people who worked on it. The jokes were so corny and on-the-nose this time around, like usually with past episodes this season some of the references or jokes weren't so directly obvious. But the jokes with this episode were probably among the worst of the entire series. Yes, worse than the jokes from "Yo Leela Leela". Although I really did like seeing the people from DOOP again, plus the Leela captain plot. That joke at the end of the second act was genius when Leela is talking to the troops. I also like that it's trying to be more genuine with it's approach to story-telling, with the Fry and Leela scenes and whatnot, but like most episodes this season it really just fell flat on it's face. I like the fact they're trying but it just feels so forced imo. Maybe it's just me. I found the Zapp subplot to be quite good, even if all of the jokes were absolutely terrible. The cute-looking groping people was just such a weird trope, I honestly couldn't get behind it or find it amusing. Admittedly, it did have a nice, bittersweet ending.

I'm thinking of giving it a 5/10 because of how bad the jokes & third act were. But, considering the fact I didn't absolutely hate either plots, I suppose I'll give it a 5.5/10, or otherwise a 6/10

[Reply #7 on:]

OK, it was not "excellent" by any means but it was actually one of the rare examples of the episode I would actually like to watch again soon.

Honestly, I initially thought  that Zapp´s prologue was kinda crap but the later sensitivity training reflected it effectively, so I´m not complaining. Overall, I liked both halves of the story, with maybe the exception of Leela being immidiately made captain, that was kinda one of those unorganic forced plot points I detest in these episodes.

Some people are complaining about the lack of humor but I was personaly satisfied with this effective plot-driven cartoony space opera. Once again it makes you think the writers watched recently a lot of Star Trek: Lower Decks. And fans might somehow remember some fanfictions on The Leela Zone.

7/10   

[Reply #8 on:]

I didn't feel the "you've got what it takes to be a Leela" line was quite earned, the premise seemed a bit daft, some of the sensitivity-related dialogue/wit was a little cringe and yeah, Leela running catch was a bit wuh?

Otherwise, I really enjoyed it. Call me a sucker but Fry and Leela being so in love is so very heart-warming and Leela in general seemed much more in character than at other points in the season. (i.e. not "Bah, who cares, I'm a raging alcoholic suddenly since forever I've decided"

Although, I say that, she did seem quite timid throughout, so maybe I shouldn't praise the characterisation completely.

The air planet was great though, I'll agree that a lot of the episode in general seemed particularly Futurama-y. I just feel like, even though the ending was better executed than several recent ones (that line I complained about earlier notwithstanding), I would have liked to have spent more time. It didn't feel rushed - quite - but it seemed to be over a lot quicker than last week's episode, despite being exactly the same length.

But anyway, rather enjoyed it; certainly among my most preferred for the season.

[Reply #9 on:]

I'm in basic agreement with Cube's review: this episode could've been a disastrous, reactionary take on "cancel culture," but instead it was a pretty clever indictment of the lip service institutions pay to diversity, equity, and inclusion while still engaging in the same horrible, harmful, morally bankrupt shit they always have. Of the episodes this season that have leaned heavily into current-ish events and satire (the other three being "The Impossible Stream," "Related to Items You've Viewed," and "Rage Against the Vaccine"), this was definitely the strongest; I enjoyed it quite a bit.

With that said, there was also something about it that left me sort of wanting. It was funny enough (the valor/velour thing made me chuckle, as did the bucket stuff, and I loved the sensitivity trainer cheerily referring to her predicament as "a learning experience"), and I thought it handled the Fry/Leela stuff pretty well (the captain's log run was cute), and honestly it felt like a story—from a character perspective—that was logical/natural and warranted telling: Leela is highly ambitious, and it makes sense for her to feel dissatisfied with her dead-end job. It was sort of an inversion of "Brannigan, Begin Again," and I thought that was pretty cool.

But, again, something about it didn't quite sit right with me. I know I keep ringing this bell, but something about the four-act structure just isn't working. The act breaks in this episode were sort of weird—the first two in particular, with Leela being offered the job and being cheered by the soldiers, just felt like the wrong cut-to-commercial points to me—and the back-and-forth with the Zapp and Leela plotlines didn't quite match up or something. I don't know, I'm probably being overly critical, but the flow of this episode seemed off in some way, such that the twist ending more confounded me than thrilled or surprised me.

Overall, though, from a writing and character perspective, I think this was among the best episodes of the season so far. I sympathized with Leela and her predicament, and I bought Zapp's growth (but, to Cube's point, not too much growth), and the episode's resolution was both humorous and (low-key) touching. Actually, that's perhaps the most amazing thing about this episode: it nailed the pathos without resorting to characters sobbing inconsolably. Leela's emotional arc was realistic and well-handled (and Fry's interactions with her were similarly down-to-earth and sweet. Oh, but it kind of sucked that this wasn't actually a Trio Episode, despite Bender tagging along...though I did love his acknowledgment that he probably should've called Leela sooner about the attack on the Nimbus).

I'm really struggling with what grade to give this one. I think I liked it a little less than "I Know What You Did Next Xmas" and about the same as "Related to Items You've Viewed," so I guess I'll toss it a solid 8.5/10 (rounded up for the poll). 

[Reply #10 on:]

Good
- Captain's Log: National Donut Day
- The return of the fire people
- Nice to hear Kathy Griffin and a thematically relevant guest, too
- Great character design on Dr. Kind and a good performance from DiMaggio to further sell it
- As with most of season 8 so far, very few jokes so bad they make you want to cringe. That makes it a huge step up from season 7
- A fun, new planet
- Hyper-chicken doing his own sentencing
- Zapp refusing to recycle his badge

Bad
- Kif being used as a luffa went on a little bit too long for my liking. It was stupid the first time and it didn't get funnier as it went on
- There's some pretty major logistical issues with Zapp using all the water on a shower and then defeating one fire person with Kif's goo
- The cancel culture gags at the hearing at the start are still fairly limp -- particularly "green face"
- The repeated "I'm going to allow this" gag from a past episode largely felt very weak
- The implication that Zapp and Glab have been working alongside each other for decades and yet this is the first time she's encountered his misogyny
- It seemed out of character for Leela to bring Fry along... oddly unprofessional for her
- It seemed even more out of character that she just stood by and let Bender take the second spot she was clearly about to give The Professor
- A lot of wonky direction throughout. Particularly the awkward animation cheats they employ to allow Bender to put his head inside his own body
- Weird obsession with durians didn't really quite work
- The Professor taking a midnight smellgaze felt awkward and like it was lacking a punchline -- like a weird Family Guy imitation
- The awkward ending of Fry telling Leela she's good at being Leela felt almost like self-parody of their relationship

Solid episode. Surprisingly solid given the title and the core premise we were sold on. Good fun, decent enough storyline, some good jokes. Stands as my third favourite episode so far, this season... which doesn't speak massively highly about season 8 as a whole, but still

7.5/10

[Reply #11 on:]

Per the usual, I'll keep my statements short, but sweet. This episode for me, for the most part, felt like something that would've been in with the older run of the show. I was worried like some of you that that cancel culture thing was going to be very ham-fisted and overdone to the point of physically cringing while watching but... it wasn't. It was nice to see Leela go through a little story about her being ambitious, and how her daily life with Planet Express had become what she thought was unfulfilling.

I actually thought Fry being supportive of Leela was quite charming the entire episode, even the ending. Perhaps he can encourage her to find fulfillment through other avenues outside of work if flying deliveries around has gotten dull. There are a few things I can't pinpoint that bothered me; I'm sure those are things you guys all pointed out. I could see myself rewatching the episode, which is arguably a first for this season.

Gave this one a 9/10.

[Reply #12 on:]

Another solid one, but I didn't think it was amazing. Just a standard episode really. I think this era's biggest issue is just being a bit by-the-numbers - I won't say "boring", but like, it's pretty much exactly what you expect to where it can be a bit uninteresting. 

Fry being so sidelined and so exclusively there for the romance angle is kind of a letdown, and it feels like it's more noticeable because of Billy's sort of tired voice. Not at all to disrespect Billy, it's just something I notice. I did enjoy the overall plot of this episode, especially the weird alien planet. The DOOP are pretty cool and I alwayd prefer strange sci-fi episodes like this one. Zapp getting fired could've been done much better, though - the cause was very... nothing? And the entire ending just felt like a hodgepodge of buzzwords and stuff. Didnt come together in any sort of natural way - though I didn't see the simulation being real coming. Creative ideas but they don't strike a chord, least to me. Also, I guess Leela's moral issue with the treaty just got forgotten about by the end.

So does space have air in-universe now?

Edit: also I'm sorry to be captain negative but who has ever thought about a durian before in their life. I know they exist. That's about it.

[Reply #13 on:]

That was actually really fun, I loved Leela's B-plot exploring her capabilities in DOOP again, along with Fry being the ever-supportive boyfriend and improving as a colleague with it. Even though they alluded to the USA's um... diplomatic tactics... heavy-handedly, it was worth the spoofing and they didn't have such a ludicrous "all-sides" stance like in the COVID episode (scrubbing that rom my memory tbh). Tender and kind Leela is the best Leela, even with all her "hiya" kicks.

Leela's arc was the superior plot to me, but Zapp being Zapp is always a chuckle - even if he's a shadow of a shadow of his former FOX self. His treatment of Kif got seriously egregious this ep, and that's saying something.

Dr Kind was a fucking bizarre addition but not the worst single-ep character we've seen (thank god he got cremated rofl).

What else... the balloon people were a silly but inspired new alien race - really the perfect innocent lambs to drive home the genocidal, resource-stealing motives of the DOOP.

I think the 8-hour cancellation duration with the scarlet letter was the peak of the #metoo #woke humor. I didn't mind it as much as I thought I would, and they did a decent job at showing how it's a better cultural norm to keep individual's boundaries safe, but also how it can just end up a hollow virtue-signalling gesture for massive entities that don't really "fix" people's behaviour.

This episode along with our Xmas episode are this season's standouts to me, but alas, we know that's just around a 7/10.

Optimistic for the finale though, given the plot description and DXC's writing credit!

[Reply #14 on:]

who has ever thought about a durian before in their life.

Me, by using it as a weapon (or more accurately, a miniature poison bomb) in Hitman 3.

I agree that it did seem like a very weird example of Chekhov's Gun, but it was something different at least. Better that that some lame fart gas.

[Reply #15 on:]

That was... surprisingly good, actually.

Yeah, I was prepared to hate it and surprised that I didn't. 6/10, only losing points for the predictable jokes when we know that Futurama writers are generally capable of subverting expectations.

And I would absolutely hate to be stranded on that fucking planet with the gropists. Their little grabby hands made my skin crawl.

[Reply #16 on:]

who has ever thought about a durian before in their life.

Me, by using it as a weapon (or more accurately, a miniature poison bomb) in Hitman 3.

I agree that it did seem like a very weird example of Chekhov's Gun, but it was something different at least. Better that that some lame fart gas.

Excuse you, fart gas is PEAK writing talent. Nothing can surpass it. Except maybe chair gas.

[Reply #17 on:]

I watched this episode.

[Reply #18 on:]

I watched this episode.

The most truthful review to ever be uttered in this forum

[Reply #19 on:]

I'm not going to argue this was the best episode of all time or anything like that, but boy oh boy, I wish more of the new ones involved going on rollicking space adventures to meet funny aliens like this one did. IIRC, this was the only episode where they went further than the moon this season, besides going to Kif's homeworld to pick up his kids.