Shipping Even Higher into the Sun...

[Reply #320 on:]

In Fry's defense, he seems to be dismembered in some way on an annual basis. You find the whole process a bit boring after a while.

But yeah, I was going by this promo picture and some good ol' fashioned hunch-having when I said that this episode seems like it could be shippy...

[Reply #321 on:]

He is also incredibly stupid as well.  He might have forgotten that Revolving Blades + Human Flesh = Death.

On the other it could be that Hermes, Amy and Bender are in shock about it or they just walked in, and only Leela has started reacting to it.  Shredding a employee into a gooey splintery pulp is a crossing of the moral event horizon. (Amy should probably quit if he's going to start making a habit of this.  Her blood's not getting any younger, and the professor just needs to put a sieve under the drip tray.)

[Reply #322 on:]

This scene could also be an unimportant "throwaway" gag.
Like the professor "I'm gonna get a blood sample...oops...wrong button".
He presses some switch again, and a small needle appears, just poking fry.
(Like the guillotine brainscanner in "The Sting", that turned out not to be soooo important after all.

Might also be possible that the blades just appeared, and Leela is the first person to react.
Fry might not have looked up at all, sees on Leelas face that something seems to be wrong, and then raises his gaze...

[Reply #323 on:]

I like the idea of it being a blood sampler.  

Professor: Fry has volunteered to test my new blood sampling machine!
Fry: I didn't volunteer!  You drugged me and had Zoidberg tie me up!
Professor: Volunteered yes.
Heremes: Sweet cockatiel of Lille! What on earth are you going to do to him?
Professor: Well my blood supplies are getting low, so I thought I would try out this new machine before I used it on Amy.  I can't risk anything going wrong with that precious blood of hers.
Amy: I'm not getting in that thing!
Professor: Don't worry my dear girl, it's not finished yet.  *places a sieve over the bucket.*  There we are.

[Reply #324 on:]

Why? The whole point of Uncanny Valley is that it looks human, but there's something off.  A china doll can fall into the uncanny valley as its human, gets very close to looking human, but its proportions are off, and its skin has a glossy sheen that normal humans don't have.   It's not just sex robots with vinyl skin that fall into it.

The Uncanny Valley is a term coined to describe something that looks human, but isn't and has a certain hard to pin down "otherness" that is what sets it apart. Leela's single gigantic eye is not in the uncanny valley. Leela's pretty obviously not the same as us. She's not "almost human", she's very fucking different to look at. The term "uncanny valley" doesn't apply. Look at the articles on Wikipedia or TVtropes if you need clarification.

Something like Fry's Liubot falls into the valley. The unearthly glow surrounding it, coupled with the occasional software glitch give you the hint that it's not human, whilst you'd need to watch the entire episode (assuming that you hadn't seen IDAR) to know that she's not actually human. If you simply saw her talking to Fry and telling him that people need to know about the CAN EAT MORE, then you might not be able to figure out WTF seperates her from an actual human. That's the uncanny valley. Please stop mis-using the term. It's really beginning to annoy me.

[Reply #325 on:]

Topic: I think the most touching relationship I've ever seen is that between tnuk and his various WRONG .gifs.

[Reply #326 on:]

Please.  Leela basically is human.  For example, go back to the realistic picture of Leela.  Cover it with your thumb, and its basically a normal human.   Leela is far closer to a normal human then Kif is, Zoidberg is, or the horrible gelatinous blob is, but we've seen them both with human girlfriends, yet Leela's appearance elicits fear and revulsion.  Leela's would probably have a much easier time fitting in if she didn't look so human, as well as having one eye.

By your definitions, the example you just gave, the Liubot is also not in the uncanny valley.  You can tell she's not human from her robotic actions and by her blue glow and the fact that her image constantly flickers.  You just said "otherness that is hard to put down" is what sets something in the uncanny valley.  Liubot doesn't drop hints, its pretty obvious after two seconds of talking with her that she's a robot (again the blue glow and the fact she constantly barks out software and program errors)

She's not very fucking different, if covering her eye is all it takes for her to pass for a nomal human. She's a mutated human. Her eye is all that seperates her from humans, yet aliens with extremely bizzaire appearances have no trouble getting dates with humans, yet Leela is often told her eye looks repulsive... (yet we've seen women date giant blobs with three eyes.)

The definition of uncanny valley also includes humans that are diseased, dead or deformed, and the latter is just what Leela is.  She's a deformed human being.  Instead of being born with flippers or hands on her head or froglike skin like the other mutants, she has one eye.






Need to put more gaps between the Wrong thing.  It gives me a headache when I look at it.

[Reply #327 on:]

That promo picture is quite interesting. Makes me very excited for that episode. I would wonder why The Professor would do something like that, but then again, Fry does seem to lose limbs and nearly die in quite a few episodes.

[Reply #328 on:]

Please.  Leela basically is human.  For example, go back to the realistic picture of Leela.  Cover it with your thumb, and its basically a normal human.

You can see straight away exactly why Leela isn't normal. Huge eye. Bit obvious. The valley is meant to be something where there's a far more subtle distinction. If Leela went around wearing something over her face then she'd look normal. No valley there. She doesn't though, and she doesn't look "normal but a little bit off". She looks very obviously different. You can tell she's different, and you can see where the difference lies. In the valley, you know something's wrong, but you can't put your finger on what, exactly.

As for the headache, you've earned it.

[Reply #329 on:]

Please.  Leela basically is human.  For example, go back to the realistic picture of Leela.  Cover it with your thumb, and its basically a normal human.

You can see straight away exactly why Leela isn't normal. Huge eye. Bit obvious. The valley is meant to be something where there's a far more subtle distinction. If Leela went around wearing something over her face then she'd look normal. No valley there. She doesn't though, and she doesn't look "normal but a little bit off". She looks very obviously different. You can tell she's different, and you can see where the difference lies. In the valley, you know something's wrong, but you can't put your finger on what, exactly.

As for the headache, you've earned it.

Okay, so she has one big eye instead of two small ones. Big deal. Yeah, she may have some other mutant characteristics, but I would say she is more human than people make her out to be.

[Reply #330 on:]

Please.  Leela basically is human.  For example, go back to the realistic picture of Leela.  Cover it with your thumb, and its basically a normal human.

You can see straight away exactly why Leela isn't normal. Huge eye. Bit obvious. The valley is meant to be something where there's a far more subtle distinction. If Leela went around wearing something over her face then she'd look normal. No valley there. She doesn't though, and she doesn't look "normal but a little bit off". She looks very obviously different. You can tell she's different, and you can see where the difference lies. In the valley, you know something's wrong, but you can't put your finger on what, exactly.

As for the headache, you've earned it.

Zombies are supposed to fit into the uncanny valley, yet its pretty obvious they're not human.  Intestines falling out all over the shop says "HELLO I'M NOT HUMAN" a lot more then someone who has one eye.  Leela is a human but one who has been mutated.   Porcelain dolls fall into the valley yet its extremely obvious they're not human (since their faces are usually a hybrid of adult and child features.)   I've always been told that the valley describes something that is human, but doesn't quite make it.   All it takes for Leela to pass for human is to cover her eyes with her hands or just to turn around.

I'm looking at examples that have been filed under Uncanny Valley, and a lot more strange examples have been put there (such as the kigurumin, which are certainly less humanlike then Leela would be if she was a real person.)

[Reply #331 on:]

Depends on your concept of zombies.  They could easily look exactly like human, but something is off.  But due to this ambiguity, I disagree with Wikipedia's inclusion of zombies as an example for the uncanny valley.

[Reply #332 on:]

Depends on your concept of zombies.  They could easily look exactly like human, but something is off.  But due to this ambiguity, I disagree with Wikipedia's inclusion of zombies as an example for the uncanny valley.

I disagree myself, since most zombies we have seen are way too rotted to ever pass for humans.  Wouldn't a better example be the pod people from Invasion of the Body Snatchers?
The stylized drawings i've seen of Leela are cute, but the more realistic she gets, the more creepy she looks.  And I think the creepiness comes from her being otherwise human, except for that eye.  I really can't buy "one eye is creepy" when NNYorkers are walking around with blob boyfriends with three eyes.

[Reply #333 on:]

Creepy to you.  There are a lot of things non-human I find creepy.  This is highly subjectively, the uncanny valley tends not to be.

[Reply #334 on:]

Okay, so she has one big eye instead of two small ones. Big deal. Yeah, she may have some other mutant characteristics, but I would say she is more human than people make her out to be.

So you're saying you'd have trouble figuring out the difference between a girl with one gigantic eye and a girl with two smaller eyes? Yeah, this discussion presupposes a basic understanding of that. Once you've studied some character drawings and can see how Leela doesn't look like Fry, Amy, or Scruffy, you should have a better idea what we're talking about. Nobody's saying she's not human. She's a mutated human. Humanity is part of her genetic heritage. However, she looks nonhuman, and in quite an obvious manner.

That's the point that's being addressed here. The fact that Leela looks different than most humans: she's a deviation from form rather than something which approaches normal but is subtly abnormal. Subtle really doesn't come into it in her case.

Big. Freaky. Cyclops. Eye. Rightinthemiddleofherface.

The uncanny valley is a term referring to more subtle differences from recognisably human or near-human things. Usually robotics or images that have been slightly altered from their original form, in fact.

Zombies are supposed to fit into the uncanny valley,

Fresh corpses sitting up and ambling around, sure. Rotted cadavars stumbling over their own organs? Not so much.

I've always been told that the valley describes something that is human, but doesn't quite make it.

Yeah, and the zombies which do fall into this category are in the valley, whilst those who don't... aren't. Leela is either too normal or too weird, depending which hill you're looking into the valley from. She's obviously not like the rest of the population, but she's otherwise a reasonable example of recognisably human. If, say, she had two normal eyes but they were misaligned or not-quite-realistic-looking cyborg implants, then maybe she'd be sliding into the valley.

Those are just examples. There are other things that belong in there... but the point is that Leela does not, and you're repeatedly abusing the classification all over the board.

Leela belongs up there almost with the healthy person on the graph which shows the valley.

Perhaps just a touch below or above or to the side. But not in that dip.

[Reply #335 on:]

Creepy to you.  There are a lot of things non-human I find creepy.  This is highly subjectively, the uncanny valley tends not to be.

I would say it is pretty subjective, considering how many women buy those horrific handcrafted baby dolls, or how many men buy those vinyl sex dolls.  Some people think those things are just pretty neat, and are actually shocked that most other people don't want to pick up their dead eyed baby doll with hand painted freckles and birthmarks and an inner apparatus that makes the appear to breathe and have body heat.

A lot of people say many of the actors in the movie Freaks fall into the uncanny valley, and a lot of the traditional "freaks" are different in ways that are comparable to Leela: vastly different shaped skulls and bones, lack of lower torsos, having incredibly warped faces.   The definition of "uncanny valley" I keep finding is that something appears to be human, comes close to a human, but doesn't make it.  Leela woudl proably have a much easier time getting a date if she had green skin, two noses and tentacles for hair.   The fact that she comes so close to being human, without actually being one seems to be what freaks people out.   She's probably slightly above the geisha puppet thing (at least she has human skin and a human body.  One of the reasons supposed for the uncanny valley is because we are selecting a genetically desirable mate.   Leela is a human, albeit a mutated one.    A deformed mate is not desirable, since it will probably pass the unwanted its genes onto the child you have with it.   The men who react to her are probably subconciously revolting against the idea of having a deformed child with her.  (It's occasinally joked about, but having no depth perception is probably not good for your offspring's survival.)

[Reply #336 on:]

(It's occasinally joked about, but having no depth perception is probably not good for your offspring's survival.)

One large eye may not be good for depth perception but in low light situations like liivng in the sewers, having a large eye to gather more light is a great asset.

As for the "Leela's an insecure, insensitive bitch", I was saying that way back in 2008.  Back then, I was firmly in the minority and took heat for my stance.  BBS effectively changed me from being a shipper to being an anti-shipper.  I knew when the writers "cemented" the relationship at the end of WGY, they would would hit that big, red RESET button in just a few episodes.

They've gone to the well too many times and now it's dry.  Either marry the pair or make them hate each other's guts to the point that every third episode is dedicated to Leela and Fry trying to find innovative new ways to kill each other.

[Reply #337 on:]

So, marry them?

[Reply #338 on:]

I agree. Marry or kill now, it's for the best.

[Reply #339 on:]

Fine. Let's start a petition.

[Reply #340 on:]

Clowns are one of the classic entries into the uncanny valley and frankly, I'd say you shouldn't have to see one of those for more than a split second to see what's different about them compared to normal human appearance.

Basically, I'm with SpaceGoldfish.

[Reply #341 on:]

Clowns are one of the classic entries into the uncanny valley and frankly, I'd say you shouldn't have to see one of those for more than a split second to see what's different about them compared to normal human appearance.

Basically, I'm with SpaceGoldfish.

Well I was wondering I was stretching the definition when I first posted it, so I can see Svip and tnuk's point.  But then I thought about it.  Realistic artwork of Leela creeps me out, much more then realistic artwork of say Bender, Kif and Zoidberg do.  Once you start adding things like tear ducts, eyebrows, eyelid wrinkles and realistic eyelashes, it just all goes to pot.

Plus, the uncanny valley is speculative, and it seems that what passes for it changes over time.  I remember reading that when the first photographs were revealed, a lot of people were freaked about them.  They were far more realistic then any painting they had seen, yet obviously were not a completely accurate representaiton because of black and white, and the limitations of the new technology, and the uncanny valley to the public is what is being blamed today.   Now when we look at old photos, we are more likely to appreciate them for their vintage charm, or think the sitters could do with good joke or maybe a sandwich.  (Victorian photographs are very popular among artists and collectors, rather then freaking people out like sex robots do today.)  So I believe a thousand years down the line, what freaks people out is different.  We don't have any one eyed but otherwise human creatures today, but as I have said, Leela's one eye coupled with her otherwise complete humanness is what freaks me out the most in realistic drawings or photos of her.  

Its the only explanation I can think of that Leela brings out fear and disgust in other humans, yet aliens with incredibly bizzaire apperances are often desired and are seen with human mates.  The Miss Universe pagent has plenty of barely humanoid females, but aren't all the judges human?  

Again what passes for the valley varies from person to person.  Lots of people hate antique porcelain dolls but plenty collect and make them, and are considerably less niche then say the reborn dolls or the sex robots.  Enough women want freakily almost human baby dolls with breathing apperatuses and an internal heater to mimic the warmth of a real baby, for them to be made in large numbers.  And some people actually find uncanny valley denizens like vinyl sex robots incredibly arousing.

Plus in the Furuama verse, due to the style, Leela passes for human MUCh better then she would in real life, (a real Leela would have to have the front of her skull changed to accomidate the huge eyesocket and have her nose lower down then it would be, since our eyes sit on either side of our nose).   Most humans in the artstyle have bulging eyes, or have eyes that pretty much meet in the same way Leela's eye does.  When I first saw the art for Futurama in 1999, I thought she was a human woman at first, until I looked at it again another time and thought "That lady has one eye!" However, Futurama kind of flip flops between acknowledging whether the Futurama verse sees itself as its artstyle, the way the Simpsons flip flops between acknowledging it takes place the real world with white people, or a world where their yellow skin and overbites are recognized, or whether Bart and Lisa have pointy hair or spiky skulls that the flesh has grown round.  (Not sure if I explained that well.)

But yeah, cyber, I'm glad not everyone thinks I'm misusing the term.  I stretched it a bit (I thougth that from the beginning), but I think Leela's one eye coupled with her otherwise complete humanness freaks 31st century men out, even when we see decapodians, amphibosans, gelatinous blobs and even robots with human boyfriends/girlfriends, and that is never presented as weird or unusual (except for the robosexuals, but thats just replaced homosexuality and interracial dating as the new taboo love).  

[Reply #342 on:]

Either marry the pair or make them hate each other's guts to the point that every third episode is dedicated to Leela and Fry trying to find innovative new ways to kill each other.

IRL, the first point often leads to the second one

[Reply #343 on:]

But yeah, cyber, I'm glad not everyone thinks I'm misusing the term. 

No, not everybody. Just the people who understand where it comes from and what it means.

[Reply #344 on:]

Yeah, perhaps the term "uncanny valley" isn't quite right, but I agree with what SpaceGoldfish is saying and think it's one of the explanations that makes the most sense as a reason why Leela's seen as freaky. That, and the fact that she's the only one of her kind.

Interesting example with the old photographs. I didn't know that but I can totally see why that would be the case. It's so funny to think that all of the people in old photographs were once just standing around having their picture taken after eating lunch or something.

[Reply #345 on:]

But yeah, cyber, I'm glad not everyone thinks I'm misusing the term.  

No, not everybody. Just the people who understand where it comes from and what it means.

If you say so.  *rolls eyes back*

Another example is that the uncanny valley is theorized by some to be part of the animosity around interracial dating.  We are biologically hardwired to find our own race attractive, because in prehistoric times, a woman living in central America would probably never encounter a man living down in Peru, let alone a man from Europe or Asia or Africa.  Different ethnicities have vastly different facial and body structures, to the point that up until the 19th Century, a lot of scientists still believed that different ethnicities were actually different types of human at different stages of development.

In the 19th Century, European woman were often seen as hideous and repulsive to native Japanese.  The Japanese beauty ideal consisted of dark hair, small bosoms and hips with a long torso rather then an hourglass figure, and short legs, (the kimono exaggerates this physique) and blackened teeth.  In other words the complete opposite of European glamor.   And to the British, geisha and oiran were rather disturbing, with their heavily painted faces and highly ritualized mannerisms and speech.  

I always thought blaming the uncanny valley was a stretch to far, but we have seen that it is highly speculative, and it appears to have changed over time.  We can't really say for sure, because we don't have any one eyed women trying to blend in with the rest of the population, and we don't have human women trying to date alien frogs.

Its true isn't it Spira?  These people would have only had paintings and drawings as likenesses, then all of a sudden all come these new photographs that don't quite capture a perfect likeness, but were still far more realistic then anything they had.   But now when we have a grainy, bad photograph, it doesn't freak us out, we just go out and buy a better webcam.  We don't debate that because an african woman is likely to have different facial features to an asian woman or a caucasian women, it means that she's a different type of human or some sort of subspecies at a different stage of evolution.  (Well some do, but they do make themselves look pretty stupid when they try to say it.)   But some people say that's part of why our reaction to things that look like us but aren't evolved.    A strange traveller who looked like someone from your tribe but lacked your skin color/eye color/nose size/mouth shape was far more likely to be a threat or competition for your food sources, then they were to be a sexual partner.   It could also explain why Cro Magnons differentiated themselves from Neanderthals (who have turned out to look much more like us then we originally thought)

[Reply #346 on:]

I'm ignoring all this uncanny valley stuff (though that's some excellent debatin' there, fellers) because I don't have a strong opinion about it either way. Also, I'd much rather use Wikipedia and TV Tropes to look up stuff about, like, sex and violence. But maybe that's just me.

Anyway, my hunch about "Cold Warriors" having shippy elements was wrong (as usual), but it did showcase some other, equally interesting relationships--namely, the dynamic between Fry and his family. I loved watching the father-son stuff play out in the flashbacks between Fry and Yancy Sr., and the ending of the episode was kind of saw-it-coming, but still very sweet.

But as far as Fry and Leela go: She did console him at the end of the episode, in a way, which was cute. I shall now make a prediction that "Overclockwise" will play up the ship--and if I'm wrong, then I will be convinced that the writers are reading my posts and changing the episodes at the last minute just to prove my predictions wrong.

[Reply #347 on:]

Not gonna lie, the shippy part of me was made really happy by the five-second-long Fry/Leela bit at the end. And I have to admit, seeing the relationships between Fry and his family developed further was equally if not a lot more interesting than more shippiness would have been. I though the new dimension added to Yancy Sr's character was fascinating and made him seem much more human and realistic as opposed to the caricature of a person he always seemed like.

Haven't they already said that Overclockwise is going to have a central Fry/Leela plot?

[Reply #348 on:]

Haven't they already said that Overclockwise is going to have a central Fry/Leela plot?

That they have. But we haven't had a true shippy episode all season (which is not a bad thing, strictly speaking. But the ambiguity with Fry and Leela's relationship, like we've said in the past, can be mad annoying), and I guess I'm just worried that this one won't be up to snuff in that respect.

Mostly, though, I'm being my usual goofy self in saying that the episode won't be shippy precisely because I say it will be shippy.

[Reply #349 on:]

But we haven't had a true shippy episode all season

They usually add the Leela/Fry relationship subplot in rather epic, background changing stories.

E.g.
- Time keeps on slipping: It was the whole universe that had to be saved.
- The Sting: "Death" of a main character
- The Why of Fry: Universe to be saved (again..)
- Leela's Homeworld: Radical background change regarding one main character
- Into the Wild Green Yonder: Again saving the universe, well...at least the lifeforms
etc....

So far, season 6B did not have any of those episodes. But when we look at season 6A:
- TLPJF: Another insight in the nature of the Universe
- The Mutants are revolting: Another change regarding society

The old Fry/Leela Relationship "Boy chasing after girl plot" was -in fact- never really interesting on it's own. It got interesting because they usually reserved that subplot for the "important" episodes.


My guess regarding season 6A and 6B:
The writers had 26 episode up their sleeves. Negotitations regarding a 7th season would have been based on the success of season 6's  first 13 Episodes. (it would have been too late waiting for all 26 to begin with season 7 production).
So they probably took the Episodes that looked most promising, that "just worked" into season 6A.  Season 6B was left with rather "Looks okay, but not too great right now" Episodes and a "Ah..what the hell. We still got plenty of time to improve them" attitude.
That's why a certain mass of rather ordinary filler Episodes in 6B.
A mixture of the 6A and 6B episodes might in fact really have looked like a on/off relationship between Leela and Fry...but -regarding season 6B- you sometimes wonder if they are even supposed to be good friends (e.g. Leela keeping the largest distance to Fry in CW, the first one to run away, and joing the mob beating him like anyone else), let alone an on/off couple.

[Reply #350 on:]

They usually add the Leela/Fry relationship subplot in rather epic, background changing stories.

Exactly. "Overclockwise" looks to be such a story, so it makes sense that it will be probably the shippiest one we get this season. Like I said, I don't mind the lack of Fry/Leela shippiness in terms of how it affects my enjoyment of individual episodes--it's just weird to not know where the two of them stand in their relationship, because sometimes they seem very close and sometimes they seem to ignore one another completely. That's not so much on-again/off-again as it is never-on-to-begin-with. I'm just hoping next week's episodes sets things straight, and that whatever developments are made in "Overclockwise" carry over into season seven.

(e.g. Leela keeping the largest distance to Fry in CW, the first one to run away, and joing the mob beating him like anyone else), let alone an on/off couple.

That didn't really bother me, honestly; I'd be pissed at Fry, too, if he gave me some seemingly incurable, quarantine-worthy disease. The two of them had that sweet moment at the end of the episode, and Leela clearly was appreciative and proud of Fry for figuring out a way to create a vaccine for the cold. It's not that Leela can never get angry at Fry or succumb to this mob mentality regarding him; Fry will occasionally be a bit of a jerk to Leela, despite loving her (random example: when Leela is talking about the Orphanarium in "Leela's Homeworld," Fry hilariously-but-cruelly tells her that they talk about it all the time, and when she asks if this is true he says, "No. Buuuurn." That's not the same as beating someone up, but it's not the most sensitive thing to be saying to the woman of your dreams, either). Casual cruelty like that doesn't bother me when it seems to be coming from either a lighthearted (in Fry's case in "Leela's Homeworld") or justifiable (in Leela's case in "Cold Warriors") place.

[Reply #351 on:]

Uh... can we stop discussing Cold Warriors?  I haven't seen it yet and have been avoiding the *spoilers* page as a resulet.

[Reply #352 on:]

Watch it dammit!

Anyway, only shippiness I saw in Cold Warriors was Leela getting scared/upset when Fry was about to be sliced up and at the end on the top floor of PE.

[Reply #353 on:]

Even I liked the shippy moment at the end of Cold Warriors and I'm not much of a shipper. I think I liked the fact that it didn't intrude or take over the episode, it was just a small tasteful nod with heart. I can also see it helping set things in motion for the inevitable shippy nature of Overclockwise...

[Reply #354 on:]

Uh... can we stop discussing Cold Warriors?  I haven't seen it yet and have been avoiding the *spoilers* page as a resulet.

Sorry. I assumed that an episode was sort of fair game after it had aired in the States. Just be glad that I didn't mention the

Show spoiler

tap-dancing space aliens coming down in their flying saucers and miraculously curing the Earthican people of their common colds (and also teaching them a valuable lesson about arts patronage)

. I shall be more careful in the future.

And Danny, that's the only shippiness I saw, too. My shippy goggles much have a smudge on them or something.

[Reply #355 on:]

There wasn't much shippiness, since Leela's comment could come from just about any nice character (even Bender has comforted Fry or tried to cheer him up when he was sad).  The only "out of shippy moment" that bugged me was that Kif didn't really put up any fight when he was ordered to destroy Manhattan, despite that would mean killing Amy.  Considering Amy/Kif despite being the beta couple to Fry/Leela, that felt even more jarring, since they are portrayed much more consistently then Fry/Leela.  Plus we've gotten way more angry about throwaway lines that put the relationship in doubt. 

And that would have been pretty cool Gorky.  The Amazonians should totally tapdance and form a troupe with the decapdodians.

[Reply #356 on:]

Couldn't resist that one:

Show spoiler

After all the times Fry put his live in line to save Leela, loyalty and  honor would have demanded a bit more resistance to the planned killing then just a "No, Professor".
So, it turned out Master Fnog was right: No Warrior Spirit in this one

[Reply #357 on:]

The Kiff thing though, lets look at it. HE didn't launch the missile, and was hesitating. Why is unknown but Zapp used his head to launch. So, who knows. Maybe Kiff was trying to come up with a plan.

[Reply #358 on:]

Sorry to get offtopic, but please people, get character names right...

I'm sick of hearing about 'Zap' and 'Kiff'...

[Reply #359 on:]

What, didn't you know? Zap and Kiff are from an alternate dimension where only the characters' names are spelled differently! And don't soon forget the popular "Zoidburg". More casual fans enjoy that spelling quite a bit. My friend STILL doesn't get how to spell it with the appropriate "E".   For all we know Zap could be a lone man seeking justice and Kiff is the Knight Industries Forty Fifty. What? To farfetched and nerdy?

That aside I liked the shippage in Cold Warriors which I will not delve into to preserve SpaceGoldy's sanity. As for Kif, he did not want to press the button but was slammed into the controls involuntarily so I have no qualms over that bit. I'm in agreeance with Gorky in how shippiness is not more frequent; while it does not affect the storyline overall in terms of enjoyment it was a staple and perhaps THAT is why these episodes do not entirely feel "right" to me. That and either I'm stupid or there are less intelligent jokes, hardly any alien language easter eggs which have been replaced by tenfold more lame uses of "bad words" just because they can say them.