Various Space Pilot 3000 things

[on:]

...But what's the deal with career chips? Did they just decide to drop them after the pilot or what?

Also, in the beginning of SP3K, Fry is extremely upset at his assignment of delivery boy, yet at the end he's ecstatic. Is this because he had some say in the matter? Was all he really cared about was the choice? But then one could argue that in the end, he had no say in it, and could chalk it up to his short attention span (or Brain-Thing  )
My point is, why is SP3K so confusing continuity-wise?

[Reply #1 on:]

Well its a Pilot episode so they are still figuring out some bugs and are still in the planning stages. Maybe in watching the episodes they saw some things they decided not to do again because they were hard to draw or weak ideas. Its all a development process usually the first couple episodes a show is trying to find its groove and find out what it wants to say and how to say it.

[Reply #2 on:]

They make a comeback in "The Cryonic Woman," though considering how often the crew try other jobs, they're ignored most of the time.

Also, Fry was happy to be a delivery boy because he got to fly around in a spaceship, visiting new worlds and teaching alien women to love... by which I mean delivering cargo. But it was always Fry's dream to be an astronaut, and this was close enough.

[Reply #3 on:]

I can understand the whole "Working on Things", but they planned ahead enough to get Nibbler's shadow in.
But these are still excellent points.

[Reply #4 on:]

They probably figured out the whole plot 1st.  You know what's really funny,  it says you joined in April, but where I am, it's still March.

[Reply #5 on:]

Well, I think the career chips were intended to be a recurring thing, but were dropped. My guess as to why they are dropped... well, they are kind of boring... how often can you refer to them in the course of a show?  Although, I remember watching the show with the intention of seeing how often the career chips were completely ignored when they should have had some effect on the plot... and really, if you try hard enough, they aren't often directly contradicted.  Although it is obvious that the writers ignored them. (but if you have any specific instances, I'll be glad to think of excuses, it's kind of fun...)

As to Fry's change of heart... well, at the beginning of the show, he was totally bummed on life. His job sucked, he had no friends (that we know of, at least), and his girlfriend left him. His negative attitude (especially concerning his job) is totally understandable. By the end of the episode, his life has turned around. He has new friends, a new family, a whole new life! So, the new job is sure to be seen as more favourable, his life is looking great. It doesn't hurt that his job allows him to do what he had been dreaming of his entire life, even though it has the same name as the job he used to have. 

[Reply #6 on:]

As for some instances where they should have been used:

Shouldn't That Guy have been assigned CEO, as there are no choices about jobs in the future?

Bender in Bendless love, getting a new job without proper chip

Professor hiring Flexo in The Lesser of Two Evils.

Zapp being hired in Brannigan Begin Again.

Dwight and Cubert getting jobs in Route of All Evil.

Bender becoming professional singer in BITW

Leela in A Leela of Her Own.

Bender becoming a professional Chef in The 30% Iron Chef.

[Reply #7 on:]

First off, a few reasonable (in my eyes, anyways) assumptions. First: You get assigned general job areas (eg: Delivery Boy, not Pizza Delivery Boy for X Pizzaria) and it is up to you to find a specific job within that career. Second: Career chips are checked when applying for a job to make sure that you are qualified for/assigned to that position. Once you have the job, no career chips are needed. Third: Robots do not have career chips, but rather depend on their programming and design to limit them to the jobs they are supposed to do. 

That Guy was likely assigned to be a businessman, being as that was his area of expertise. A CEO counts under the businessman category.

Bender mucked up his specific Career programming in the pilot, which was keeping him in his original designated job (either do the job or commit suicide). Besides which, in Bendless Love, he got a job as a bending unit, which he would have a chip for/be programmed for, if it was needed.

Professor hiring Flexo goes back to the same robots question for me, except Flexo had a massive injury and was rebuilt by... the crazy professor.  He would have no qualms about removing or rebuilding parts of the programming if necessary. Or, if you think that a chip is needed, they would still have the option of giving him a spare Delivery Boy chip. (they would have at least one extra, as Fry would have been assigned two, one from the previous crew, and the one that Fry was assigned by Leela in the pilot. One of which would not used to this point).

Zapp being hired: Zapp's career was something in the "Space Crew" area. Being a captain (or general, or whatever he was that day) in the DOOP would count under this. So would working for the professor on the PE ship. Being a space-based delivery company, he would have the option of hiring people both from the "Delivery Boy" and "Space Crew" careers, as both are needed/apply to the job at hand.

Dwight and Cubert are still children, so either would not have career chips assigned yet (I would expect it done on graduation from high school, after skills have been given time to develop), or, as children, have 'interim' chips allowing them to do jobs normally reserved for children, such as a paper route.  Once they had the original route (Awesome Express), they could take over PE (through the legal loophole they found) and run it as an extension of their Awesome Express paper route.

Bender becoming a professional singer could have happened either because of what I mentioned (robots not being applied to the chip rules), or because he was re-assessed upon his paralysis (no longer being any good for bending or delivery), or Beck greased the wheels a bit for his new act, if you know what I mean... The career chip system seems like it would be easy to get around if you could slip some money around.  I prefer the first option, of course.

Well, in A Leela of her Own, Leela WAS delivering... the ball to people's heads!  Or, perhaps exception were made when it came to sports, to take into account new talent. Or, the owner guy pulled some strings to get Leela in, perhaps having her technically "volunteering" to play for them while still maintaining her career at Planet Express. Okay, this one is the weakest... but I think I would be able to come up with something if I wasn't tired. I'll try again in the morning.

I don't think Bender ever was a PROFESSIONAL chef, he just was a challenger on a Chef TV show. I don't know the rules of the current Iron Chef show, but it seemed to me as if the one in the year 3000 was open to whoever wanted to challenge the ruling Iron Chef. I don't think a career chip would be required to appear on a TV show.

Okay, so some require a bit of a stretch, but I don't think any are too far, and it is pretty good, considering that the career chips were all but ignored by the writers.

[Reply #8 on:]

 

Originally posted by EddieTheEditor:
Also, in the beginning of SP3K, Fry is extremely upset at his assignment of delivery boy, yet at the end he's ecstatic. Is this because he had some say in the matter? Was all he really cared about was the choice?

joke    ( P )  Pronunciation Key  (jk)
n.
Something said or done to evoke laughter or amusement, especially an amusing story with a punch line.
A mischievous trick; a prank.
An amusing or ludicrous incident or situation.

[Reply #9 on:]

It might also be possible to get a second job that isn't specifically covered by your career chip, as long as you keep doing your primary job.

If everyone is assigned a job, though, why are there so many bums?

And what about elected officials?  Can only people with certain career chips run for office?  Do you get a special chip upon being elected?  I'm going to guess that heads aren't subject to the career chip system, so Nixon wouldn't have to worry about it, but what about McNeal, John Jackson, Jack Johnson, and Mayor Poopenmeyer?  And don't forget that Bender had somehow gotten hold of an arm with a "Prime Minister of Norway" career chip.

[Reply #10 on:]

The whole "I'm a delivery boy! Wahoo!" thing is funny because it's ironic. The whole episode, he's trying to avoid becoming a delivery boy. When he finds out he'll be a delivery boy on a spaceship, he thinks it's awesome. (Not the definition Bender reads/sings from the dictionary, but definitely ironic in the "exactly the opposite of the expected outcome" way)

It's also entirely possible that all of the above-mentioned instances included a trip to the career office for a petition of change of career, which we never see, because it'd be boring as hell.

Bender working at the factory as a scab, obviously, wouldn't apply, because he's a scab. He's sneaking in and working.

Bums are people who've deserted, like Fry. (That'd be my guess, anyway). Either that or they were assigned the job of "bum" (Which is probably what politicians were assigned, too. "Back what when I were a Senator." )

[Reply #11 on:]

Also, Leela's hair used to be really bouncy.

[Reply #12 on:]

They also toned down the use of the suicide booths an awful lot. But most of us know the reason for that.

Those who don't listen to the commentary for SP3K.

[Reply #13 on:]

 

Originally posted by Blackadder11:
Zapp being hired in Brannigan Begin Again.

You don't seem to need a chip to enroll in the army. Who knows what Zapp's career chip actually is?

If you want to start your own business, like Dwight and Cubert or the Romanticorp people from "Love and Rocket", you probably don't need a career chip to do that, either. Of course, you would have to employ people who are supposed to do those jobs.

You may also be able to apply to change your chip, though you may have to have a very good reason. Hey, if sewer mutants can come above ground with permission, why not changing jobs?

[Reply #14 on:]

Cause they were a throw off joke?

(I'm being ignorant deliberately  )

[Reply #15 on:]

The career chips would get really boring if they had to mention them every time we see someone with a job. They dropped them because they were boring. An example of this is the number 9 guy. In the AFtR commentary, they said originally they were going to have everyone be numbered, but that would just get really monotonous, so it was dropped.

[Reply #16 on:]

Yeah, I never thought career chips had any great use in the series beside being the catalyst for the relationship between Leela and Fry.
Also, I keep hearing about Nibbler's shadow in the first ep, but whenever I watch it I keep missing it! Anyone have a framegrab..?

[Reply #17 on:]

 http://www.palmy.net.nz/futurama/weirdscenes/frozenfry1b.jpg

Here is the link to a freezeframe of Nibbler in SP3K

[Reply #18 on:]

...because seeing as this is a Futurama message board, none of us have ever seen that.

[Reply #19 on:]

Hmm.. I wonder why they put him there of all places...

[Reply #20 on:]

 

Originally posted by Nasty Pasty:
 http://www.palmy.net.nz/futurama/weirdscenes/frozenfry1b.jpg

Here is the link to a freezeframe of Nibbler in SP3K

I have never noticed that. But it happened so fast that you wouldn't. Well that's one more mystery solved.

[Reply #21 on:]

The reason for Fry's change of heart in the pilot is really quite simple. He didn't want to be stuck in a crappy pizza delivery job like he was before he got frozen, traveling across the universe in a rocket ship delivering goods to distant alien planets is an entirely different matter.

[Reply #22 on:]

Maybe it's implying Nibbler had a part in knocking over his chair? Maybe? Anyway, Nibbler's supposed to be ancient, isn't he...

[Reply #23 on:]

 

Originally posted by EvilLunch:
Maybe it's implying Nibbler had a part in knocking over his chair? Maybe? Anyway, Nibbler's supposed to be ancient, isn't he...

EvilLunch, have you seen "The Why of Fry" yet? I won't spoil it for you, but it should answer your question.

[Reply #24 on:]

...OHHHHHHHHHH. Right. I see now.

[Reply #25 on:]

This is more to do with the first season than just the pilot, notice the disappearance of the transport tubes.

They were mainly seen in the pilot and AFTR, after the first season we never saw them used again, unless you count the opening of course.

-cs™

[Reply #26 on:]

They weren't needed. As a mode of transportation, they had the PE ship.  Also, they were in Problem With Popplers.

[Reply #27 on:]

Though they were mentioned in Raging Bender and the ship had to stop for them in Future Stock.

[Reply #28 on:]

I noticed something very clever in the dvd version of Space Pilot. When Fry falls into the cryo-tude, you can see Nibblers shadow when they have the shot of the chair legs. Cool huh?

[Reply #29 on:]

Yeah ok I missed those posts. Well Im still clever cause I saw it forst time I watched it. Didnt need no cheating screen grabs... lol

[Reply #30 on:]

 

Originally posted by Ranadok:
They weren't needed. As a mode of transportation, they had the PE ship.  Also, they were in Problem With Popplers.

Oh yeah, Doctor Zoidberg goes "I can't pay".

Totally slipped my mind.

-cs™

[Reply #31 on:]

 

Originally posted by hypknowtoad:
It's also entirely possible that all of the above-mentioned instances included a trip to the career office for a petition of change of career, which we never see, because it'd be boring as hell.

Ah, but if it was done in a funny way like HHRHGB....  Nah, it would still have sucked.