Fry Region: #1 Philip J. Fry vs #4 Mom

[on:]

Mom will surely be the toughest test Fry's faced thus far in Fall Madness, as she easily dispatched Calculon last round. Who'll make it through to the Regional Finals? Discuss now and the poll opens tonight at midnight!

[Reply #1 on:]

Not a huge fan of Mom, she has some funny lines/moments, but Fry has to win this one.

[Reply #2 on:]

Another hard decision.
Sure, Fry is THE main character around whole the show revolves, but Mom is becoming more and more of a fantastic character in my view.
her relationship with Zoidberg in the past has been a great add to her character and made her a bit more human and less of a cold-hearted evil hag (which she still is, luckily).
So in the end of it it comes down to Main character who had his life fleshed out in the episodes a lot vs a minor character who had a lot of stuff added to her since her first appearance and who I really want to see more backstory about, especially with Zoidberg and explaining why they are so rather close together.

For now here, I will go with Mom, who I don't expect to win though.

[Reply #3 on:]

After some thought, I realise - even though that Mom has seen quite some abuse of her character - that compared to anyone else, Fry is quite a boring character.  Even if not just one-dimensional, the other characters surrounding are just that much more interesting.

That probably makes sense, from a storytelling perspective, considering Fry is the main character and protagonist, but that alone should not make him win.  So I am going with Mom for this one as well.

[Reply #4 on:]

Both are good characters. I'm honestly not too sure who to go with. Fry is a sweetheart heart but Mom is just evil and awesome. I'll work on deciding while at work.

[Reply #5 on:]

Whilst I don't like to see Fry get shit upon by fate, I think that Mom is a glass half full of evil and half full of win. She could probably carry her own episode without the main cast being in it, and has a fantastic set of lines from the Original and New episodes. The only place she's at all underutilised is the first two and the last movie.

That said, I think she might be able to beat Zapp, and I don't want that to happen. I'm torn!

[Reply #6 on:]

Fry. I think Mom is hilarious, and a great villain--but come on. How can I vote against a character as dumb and sweet and goofy and relatable as Fry? More than any other character on the show, Fry has developed from this one-dimensional and sort of selfish Guy from the Stupid Ages into a complex and reluctant grown-up/hero. I didn't care for some of the things that were done to his character in season six (he can be whiny, yes, and watching him pine for Leela does make me question whether or not he's in possession of a spine), but he's still the heart of the show. And that has to count for something.

[Reply #7 on:]

Fry's a bit on the one-dimensional side, but Mom is even more flat than he is. And I like Fry. He's a likable guy. I root for him, and I don't root for Mom. Mom is hilarious, but Fry is also very, very funny, plus he has heart. Heart is always a plus. So I'm going to vote for Fry, though it can be argued that either deserves the win.

[Reply #8 on:]

Fry's a bit on the one-dimensional side, but Mom is even more flat than he is.

In the fatsuit she's certainly not "flat". She could probably squeeze between two buses on a narrow road when she's not wearing it though.

[Reply #9 on:]

Fry's a bit on the one-dimensional side, but Mom is even more flat than he is.

In the fatsuit she's certainly not "flat". She could probably squeeze between two buses on a narrow road when she's not wearing it though.

Fry definitely couldn't fit himself between the aforementioned buses, which demonstrates a lack of cat-like sneakiness and as such is another reason I'm voting for him.

You heard that right.

[Reply #10 on:]

Fry was a bit too whiny in season 6B. Yet, it can JUST be forgiven to give him still my vote.
(But season 7 should feature the emotionally tougher Fry, or next year, he will join Leela on my personal "Protagonist with too severe flaws to make it to Nr. 1).

[Reply #11 on:]

Fry has had some issues as of late being a one-dimensional character, especially with the stupidity aspect of his personality being accentuated in the new 26 episodes. That being said, he has many levels of emotion during the entire run that are far more diverse than anything Mom has shown us. And that being said, it's not like Mom's one dimensional. She has layers, but I would argue far less than Fry overall.

[Reply #12 on:]

You expect more layers from the protagonist than an antagonist.  So I don't blame Mom for not having as many as Fry.

[Reply #13 on:]

This is true, but I also feel it's true that Fry is a more complex and interesting character. Mom can sort of carry an episode, in that she plays prominently into A plots frequently. But Fry has been the centerpiece of several truly masterful episodes.

[Reply #14 on:]

You expect more layers from the protagonist than an antagonist.

Generally-speaking, I disagree with this. You need to make your antagonists more layered, because usually it helps to flesh them out and keeps them from becoming these one-dimensional, too-easy-to-hate characters. The protagonist can be a bit more shallow; the audience tends to like him simply by virtue of his being the star of the show. But antagonists are always more interesting and compelling--you feel more ambivalent about them--when they're more nuanced.

That said, Futurama is a cartoon and thus shouldn't really be blamed for not fleshing Mom's character out. She is an awesomely evil villain. (And, you know, she does have a back story that, at the very least, explains her occasional moments of sweetness towards Farnsworth or her sons. There's no accounting for the megalomania, though.)

[Reply #15 on:]

Clearly, Gorky has never seen James Bond-- wait a minute.

[Reply #16 on:]

I missed the button! No I didn't! Fry! Mom! Fry! Mom! Fry! Mom! Fry! He's better than even 500 of Mom!...

[Reply #17 on:]

Mom has her moments....but Fry is the main basis for the entire show and a great character.  I have to vote for him.

Though I don't care for the direction they seem to be taking him (regarding the stupidity....yes, Fry is a little slow, but you don't have to make note of it at every tired instance).

[Reply #18 on:]

Yeah, storywriting has been a bit unsolid on Fry in season 6B (mostly just stupid and whiny. I mean that guy coped with 1000 lost years quite fast...)
(6A Fry was much better imhO).

[Reply #19 on:]

With all the talk here, this is what I expected, 5 to 8 votes for Mom.  If we did this at the end of the original run, she probably would have gotten just 1-2 votes.

[Reply #20 on:]

Fry wins 18-5. Continue discussion in the General thread.