Thoughts on [4ACV12] - The Sting

[Reply #240 on:]

Upon further viewing, I think I can safely say that "The Sting" is a strong contender for BEST EPISODE EVER(!), at least in my book.  This ep really did have it all.  It's enormously funny, exciting, really freakin' weird and mysterious, shippy as hell, and incredibly moving.  The animation is some of the best I've ever seen on the show, and that's saying a lot.  The voice acting is absolutly dead on, Leela's "It got through" line still gives me chills.  The story keeps you guessing to the very end, and it's just packed with references to past episodes and classic sci-fi movies.  There's a big musical number, which can pull even bad episodes into respectability, but here it was just icing on a very moist and delicious cake.  This is an episode that rewards repeat viewings, as you pick up clues that you probably missed before, but make perfect sense once you know what's really going on.  It's amazing that they could pack all this goodness into 22 mnutes and have it flow so naturally.  I really can't say enough about it.  I still get all misty at the end.  Futurama is really firing on all cylinders this season (300 Big Boys being the unfortunate exception), and a show like this makes it that much more tragic that it's been cut down in it's prime.

[edit]Yes, I know all of this has already been stated over 6 pages, but I had to get my two cents in.  Don't wanna be a poppler forever![/edit]

[Reply #241 on:]

 

Originally posted by sheep555:
^That looks familiar...

I guess your refering to the fact that I used the same post in the second Sting review thread. Well I thought it wouldn't last long (an I was proved correct) so I recycled it, if there's one thing this world needs it's more recycling (by the way I really mean that).

[Reply #242 on:]

Episode was cool, very trippy towards the end and the don't worry, be happy song was a fav!!

Best line :

Leela: The only thing the last crew did better than us was suck and die!! 

Couldn't stop laughing after that 

[Reply #243 on:]

What a mess!

A friend phoned right as the show was starting, and a technical fault with Sky meant I missed the start of the second half.

In addition, Sky's EPG and all the TV magazines had already given away the plot twist - that it was actually Leela who was stung.  Therefore I had the plot 100% figured out before it started.

I didn't think the jokes in the episode were too funny, and they seriously detracted from the emotional parts of the episode.

The only bit that had any resonance at all was the final scene where Leela wakes up in hospital.  That was so sweet.

[Reply #244 on:]

Well I guess that everybody is entitled to thier opinion,but... YOU'RE WRONG, YOU'RE BLOODY WRONG AND YOU KNOW IT!!!!

[Reply #245 on:]

I'd advise you to watch it again.  I was also distracted the first time I saw it, but when I watched it again, I loved it.  (Actually I watched it four or five times in about 24 hours.)  Knowing the outcome had no effect on my enjoyment.  So watch it again and see if your opinion changes.  And if it doesn't, well, let's not get into what will happen....

[Reply #246 on:]

I'll watch in again, and when Saturday comes I'll retape the second half to get the bit I missed due to the Sky glitch.

But I don't think it'll change my opinion.  The whole thing reminded me of one of those Brannon Braga mind-fuck episodes they do on Star Trek all the time, where a character is critically injured, and their fight for life takes on the form of a crazy dream.

[Reply #247 on:]

I just saw it and I liked it even though it was a very shippy episode but it was funnier than most shippy episodes.
I was surprised that Zapp wasn't at Frys funeral trying to score some consolation sex off Leela.
Also If I was writing the episode I would have had Leela bring Frys corpse home and have the PEE crew walk in on Leela and Frys corse having snu snu

[Reply #248 on:]

 

Originally posted by iliketowankalot:
Also If I was writing the episode I would have had Leela bring Frys corpse home and have the PEE crew walk in on Leela and Frys corse having snu snu

What, with that huge stinger still stuck in his abdomen? Wouldn't that be painful?

[Reply #249 on:]

gross man, necrophilia ain't my cuppa tea!!
unless leela was riding the stinger......

[Reply #250 on:]

I repeat: wouldn't that be painful? (And dangerous? That thing IS poisonous.)

[Reply #251 on:]

yeah but its already shot its load so it should be safe.

[Reply #252 on:]

Not in her dream, it hasn't. It went right through Fry, and Leela was (physically) unhurt. And I still maintain that it would be quite a painful experience, with venom or otherwise.

Also, should things like this be discussed here? There are kids on this board, for God's sake.

[Reply #253 on:]

Futurama is meant to be a show for adults so screw those kids on this board anyways kids today need a bit of corrupting, I was watching porno movies since I was 5 and look at me, I turned perfectly well adjusted

[Reply #254 on:]

Yes you did. *ahem*

So, on the subject of necrophelia involving odd foreing objects...

[Reply #255 on:]

I'm technically a kid, and I'm mature for my age when I want to be.  I'm sure whatever kid  watches Futurama is mature for their age.  So don't worry about it.

[Reply #256 on:]

can we drop the pornspam and get back on topic before the mods close this thread please?

[Reply #257 on:]

That was exactly my point. Sorry if it was a bit ambiguous.

[Reply #258 on:]

 

Originally posted by Futurama_Hil:
I'm technically a kid, and I'm mature for my age when I want to be.  I'm sure whatever kid  watches Futurama is mature for their age.  So don't worry about it.

I find this strangely hilarious coming from you. Aren't you the one who protests even mentioning sex? Oh well.

   

[Reply #259 on:]

Okay, I've watched the episode for the third time and I still don't get what's so great about it.  Okay, Leela's in every scene, which is a big plus point, and the romantic scenes with her and Fry are the highlight of the episode.

But I still don't think "The Sting" is either particularly clever or particularly funny.  I'd rate it at three and a half stars, but since half stars are cop outs for indecisive people I'll stretch it to four stars just for it being a Leela episode.

[Reply #260 on:]

You didn't find things like the guilloutine scene and the "I'm going to steal Fry's corpse" scene funny? Besides, it wasn't supposed to be extremely clever or extremely funny (though it WAS quite funny). The focus of The Sting was the trippiness and the deep emotional content. (And Leela, but you already said that.)

[Reply #261 on:]

Guillotine scene - not particularly funny.

"Fry's corpse" scene - funnier, but I was distracted by how cute Leela looks when she's insane. 

[Reply #262 on:]

What about the Don't Worry, Bee Happy song? That seriously ruled.

Nibbler being thrown violently wround when Leela wakes up, the clever 2001 reference, the squeeze toy popping and it's Leela! (oh, wait you already said that).

But, yeah, the insane Leela looking for Fry was the cutest part of the show.

[Reply #263 on:]

The song - Meh.

Nibbler being thrown around - Didn't really notice.

Clever 2001 reference - Not that clever.  The oblong was used in "Put Your Head on My Shoulders", and the multi-colour trip thingy was used in a Simpsons episode.

Squeeze toy popping - Funny.

[Reply #264 on:]

The professor was particulalry funny in this episode. I just love the way Billy delivered the lines.
Leela: Fry's dead and it's all my fault!"
Proffesor: No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no...
I'M LYING TO MAKE HER FEEL BETTER!

And what is it he shouts when Leela says that Fry's reaching her in her dream? Something like
"Bull Pies!" Priceless, I just love it that he points at her too.

[Reply #265 on:]

 

Originally posted by M Jackson:
Leela: Fry's dead and it's all my fault!"
Proffesor: No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no...
I'M LYING TO MAKE HER FEEL BETTER!

Not that was funny!

[Reply #266 on:]

i made my friend who watched futurama casually watch The Sting yesterday. When she has nightmares people in her dreams will tell her to wake up, so i figured she would like this ep. She did. She was thoroughly creeped out when Leela woke up with Fry's jacket on her. And she was completely fooled when Fry was reformed by the honey. When he jumped off the gurney and told Leela to wake up she was all like
"oooooooohhhh!!!" And she thought the ending was the cutest thing ever. And she laughed at the shower-ending.

[Reply #267 on:]

 

Originally posted by Venus:
And she laughed at the shower-ending.

Who didn't?   

[Reply #268 on:]

Hey.  Just getting over a bout with bronchitis.  I'm on antibiotics and NyQuil.  Anyhow, I don't have enough energy yet to type out my whole etiological analysis of the ep, but I'm not even sure anyone's still interested in that.  Let me know, though.  I will ask one question in the meantime: one of the reasons it was thought far-fetched that the "It got through, Fry" line couldn't have been some sort of joke or word-play, was that it would be a mood-killer, that it would interfere with the touching moment of bonding betwen Fry and Leela.  Why, then, do we not say the same thing about the shower remarks?  Wouldn't they have the same effect? 

[Reply #269 on:]

The difference being, IMHO, that the "romantic" music was still playing in the first instance. I just don't think that there was any deeper meaning or joke to that line.

Besides, I'm suprised nobody suggested Fry and Leela take a shower together. Surely that's just as double-meaning?

[Reply #270 on:]

The difference is that "it got through" as you interpreted it is a gruesome reference, while "you could really use a shower" is just a light-hearted humorous remark. Also, the timing was different.
As for them taking a shower together - hmm... you know, I never really thought of it that way.

[Reply #271 on:]

"Nobody" as in "nobody here on PEEL" or "nobody" as in "nobody in that hospital room"?  If the latter, I guess it's because they whispered it, if the former, you have a point!  He might have been coming on to her again, ever the incorrigibly horny schoolboy.  It hadn't even occured to me until you mentioned it, but I doubt you were serious.  : )

[Reply #272 on:]

 

Originally posted by Anarchist:
The difference is that "it got through" as you interpreted it is a gruesome reference, while "you could really use a shower" is just a light-hearted humorous remark. Also, the timing was different.
As for them taking a shower together - hmm... you know, I never really thought of it that way.

That's not the most persuasive argument I've ever heard because there are plenty of edgy, off-color jokes in Futurama that could be construed as grotesque by anyone who is so inclined.  It's all a matter of taste, like anything in entertainment.  Another piece of my "puzzle" goes like this: Fry and Leela both would like a "normal" relationship with a member of the opposite sex.  That is to say, they would each like to fulfill the traditional gender roles society has assigned to them.  The problem is, neither one of them is ideally suited to the task.  They're both a bit androgynous.  Fry is slightly feminine and Leela is slightly masculine.  That's just how they are.  When she said, "It got through, Fry" she was recognizing that she's going to have to be the "dude" and protect him, rather than the other way around, which is what she has always wanted but couldn't have because her nature prevents it.  I believe that one of the major points in the development of the relationship between Fry and Leela in the show is to question and challenge traditional gender roles in a heterosexual dyadic relationship and to re-examine them in light of our changing needs as civilization progresses. 

Being aware of the fact that Fry failed to save her and saying so in a sly and subtle way is not really mocking him -- because she knew he would not be sharp enough to grasp it.  She said it to herself as a sort of epiphany and also to console herself.  Fry and Leela both want to occupy these traditional gender roles in their relationship but that is not possible for either of them because that's not who or what they are.  That is mostly what has been keeping them at arm's length from each other all this time.  When they finally realize that she is the "masculine" one and he is the "feminine" one, they'll get together for good.  That's what she meant when she said what she did -- it was finally beginning to dawn on her that Fry is the damsel-in-distress and she's the heroic starship captain -- and that if she really loved him she would have to accept that for his sake if not for her own.   

It's more like she said, "it got through, Fry.  I'm beginning to realize that I'm supposed to be the one who is the champion here.  You did your best but I can see now it's not going to be your role in this relationship. I love you nonetheless."  It was like a heavy sigh put into words and, again, I see it as an introspective, bittersweet moment, not at all in poor taste. 

Another odd thing in this vein is that the show's third protagonist, Bender, is essentially genderless.  I know there's an ep coming up where he becomes a "fembot" but, as he pointed out in AWITM, it's all cosmetic for robots, basically. 

[Reply #273 on:]

You know, I've never thought of it in that light. You're right - their gender roles are, in a way, reversed, and Leela may very well have realized that at that moment. Fry DID fail to save her life; he nearly lost her in spite of his best efforts. That is, she WOULD have died if he hadn't acted at all, but his efforts still weren't adequate. Leela would likely have fared much better if she were the one protecting him from the bee. I wonder, however, if Fry will, or COULD ever realize this.

[Reply #274 on:]

I know this thread is the sting, but on the topic of Fry saving Leela, he did save her life in Love and Rocket.  When he hooked his O2 tank to her suit.  So he has succeeded in saving Leela, and he alomst lost his life in L&R.
Back to The Sting
If Fry had not jumped in the way, Leela might have recived all the poison as well as the massive internal organ damage that Fry took.  I mean deadly poison and a missing spleen would have most defanitly killed her.
Granted yes, Leela has to save Fry repeatdly but there is a part of Leela that wants to be treated like a lady, like in Parasites Lost, she was loving the fact that Fry was the "perfect guy", masculine and sensative.
Personally i thought that "it got through" was more of realization of just how much Fry loves her, and that in her dreams in the comma she realized how much she cared for fry. All the times that Fry has tried to show leela how much he loves her, and this time, she understood the lenghts that Fry would go to for her.

[Reply #275 on:]

I think everyone's reading too much into the "it got through" line.  I figured it was just Leela acknowledging that much of what Fry said by her bedside did work it's way into Leela's dream, as well as his covering her with his jacket.

As for the shower line, I just saw it as a joke.  I didn't read anything suggestive into it at all.

[Reply #276 on:]

 

Originally posted by Chanukah Zombie:
It hadn't even occured to me until you mentioned it, but I doubt you were serious.  : )

Nah, I wasn't really being serious.  . I was just pointing out that you can see alternate meanings everywhere, if you think about it. One of my favourite quotes (which I first heard, strangely enough, on the "Ghostbusters" DVD commentary), is "Everything in life is either sexual or political." Frighteningly true. 

[Reply #277 on:]

I agree with Zoidberg MD and mostly PCC Fred.  "It got through" just meant that what Fry was doing in real life happened in the dream (i.e. the jacket) and possibly that Leela is realizing Fry cares much about her, I think.  And yes, that shower line is strictly a joke.

[Reply #278 on:]

ALL HAIL ZOIDBERG and PCCFRED

[Reply #279 on:]

Hello, I am new here!
I must to say that this is one of the greatest episodes of a tv serie ever!!!