Leela's origin

[:]

When we first saw Leela on the show, she was the only creature of the planet with one eye.  Then we learned she grew up in an orphanage.  But we didn't find out until season 4 (was it?) that Leela was a sewer mutant.  What did everyone think when they first learned Leela was a sewer mutant?  Also,  when I first saw it, assumed that when Leela was growing up, she was shuffled from foster home to foster home.

I liked it, because if she had been from another planet, it would've been too cliche.
Anyone else want to put their 2 cents in?

[#1 :]

 

What did everyone think when they first learned Leela was a sewer mutant?

it was kinda weird but interesting. i never thought she could be a mutant before watching teh ep.

[#2 :]

'What' not 'When'. Stupid Canadians.
 

I hated the fact that she is a mutant. Plus I hate her parents. Being a mutant sort of... destroyed her in my opinion.

[#3 :]

I can't predict the outcome of any TV show so it came as quite a shock to me.
I'm not sure if I liked her being a mutant because the sewers are gross and some other reason that I can't quite find in my head

[#4 :]

Leela's parents themselves don't bother me. It's the fact that her spunky character dissolves like powder when she's with her parents. And that attitude also kinda dissolved at the end of the 4ACV season. But that's not the thread point, really.

[#5 :]

To be honest the fact that Leela was a mutant didn't have a huge impact on me, although I couldn't see it coming, I was not really shocked by it.  I think this was just a one episode thing that  didn't really have much of an impact on the series as a whole.

[#6 :]

I like the idea of Leela being a mutant- she just doesn't seem like an "alien" to me. Although that might be because I actually picked up on the show in the middle of McSeason 5.

[#7 :]

her being a mutant didn't faze me in the least. Besides, i actually like her parents, and i like to see her interact with them. I hope they show up in the comics.

[#8 :]

 

Originally posted by Venus:
Besides, i actually like her parents, and i like to see her interact with them. I hope they show up in the comics.

I think they make an appearence in #11? Someone correct me if I'm wrong.

[#9 :]

 

Originally posted by alexvilagosh:
'What' not 'When'. Stupid Canadians.
 

shuddap, i edited the post. 

[#10 :]

Well, you didn't do a very good edit of it - it still says "teh" instead of "the".

Anyway, Leela's parents can be quite pathetic and lame, although her father was pretty funny in TMLH. I don't really have any strong feelings either way over Leela being a mutant - although I would've prefered it if she was an alien instead.

[#11 :]

On ebay this minute I saw an LP by an electronica artist named Leila, and the album is called 'Space Love'. UK record was printed in 1998...

As Spock would say, "Fascinating!"

[#12 :]

 

Originally posted by KurtPikachu2001:
 What did everyone think when they first learned Leela was a sewer mutant? 

I think the words "paranoid denial" best covers it.

You've all heard me rant about this in countless threads scattered around "Human Resource Dep", so I'll keep it brief this time.

Leela found out about her origin way too early, and making her a mutant didn't sit well with me. One of the most interesting aspects of Leela was her alien origin, making her an outsider in society (yes, I know she's still an outsider, sort of, in the normal world, but the difference is she now has a people she belong to) and her quest for finding her origin was never cashed in on, even though it could make for a great story arch.

Plus "hot alien babe" sounds so much better than "hot mutant babe".   

[#13 :]

i agree that they didn't expand enough on her search. I would have liked to have seen her look, i also would have liked to have seen that bracelet before that ep. It was kinda hard to see that thing as being so important to her when i had never seen it before.

And i really wish the details of her abandonment had been consistent. In xmas story we see a pic of Leela as a baby sitting on a table in the back of an allyway under a sign that says 'abandoned property' but in Leela's Homeworld she was abandoned in a basket on the front step.

As much as i love Leela's Homeworld, and believe me, i do, i wish Kristen had watched xmas story before writing that script. Or at the very least i wish one of the other writers would have caught the mistake.

[#14 :]

hey' did anyone notice in the empathy chip episode that you see leela's parents?? watch the dvd with audio commentary, if you have it

[#15 :]

 

Originally posted by SubPar_Penguin:
hey' did anyone notice in the empathy chip episode that you see leela's parents?? watch the dvd with audio commentary, if you have it

No! You're the first to EVER point it out!

[#16 :]

 

Originally posted by Teral:Leela found out about her origin way too early... and her quest for finding her origin was never cashed in on, even though it could make for a great story arch.

I think a lot of this was because the show ended earlier than was planned. The writers had obviously decided that Leela was a mutant early on (because of the ISTE reference) and so they must have intended to reveal it eventually. If the series had gone on for a sensible length of time then there would probably have been some more episodes before this expanding on her search (As it is, only A Bicyclops Made for Two really covers it).

However, with the cancellation at the end of season 4 they had to quickly reveal Leela's origins and have a few episodes about her relationship with her parents, plus of course explain Fry's reasons for being in the future and resolve the Fry/Leela relationship.

[#17 :]

Yeah, that's usually the explanation, but the long production time for Futurama speak against it. The script for "Leela's Homeworld" was written back in early 2001 (at least one draft is from February 2001 (hjs can confirm this, she has the script)), meaning the decision to have "Leela's Homeworld" as a 4ACV episode was taken sometime during late 2000, a long time before any rumors of cancellation had surfaced. Granted FOX had been sluggish about their support for the show and the crew probably had a hunch that the number of seasons wouldn't reach rival the Simpsons, but there's quite a way from "hard sailing" to "wrap all archs up in a hurry".

I'm mostly disappointed about the lack of stories about her origin. I mean, it's a pretty important part of her character, and they made a big deal out of it in SP3K, so it's not something you can just drop, like they did with the career chips. Not that I didn't like "Leela's Homeworld", I love it, just the feel of a missed oppurtunity that forever will bug me.

[#18 :]

It REALLY bothered me how she just jumped into that sewer water when she didn't KNOW it wouldn't hideously mutate her. If anything it was CONVENIENT that it didn't. I don't see anyone, not even Leela, making an impetuous decision that could turn them into a hideous monster that can never again see the light of day.

The whole mutant thing bothers me in general. There are freaky looking space aliens everywhere, but somehow they are easily distinguishable from mutants unless they are mostly human looking with one giant eye. Err. . .

[#19 :]

I wasn't really bugged by her being a mutant, she's still the same Leela is another thing I take into consideration as well (though it may not be great to do). I only saw a few "looking- for- origin" eps before LH, and that's part of the reason it wasn't a giant shock to me. The more I think about it, though, the more I think being a mutant instead of an alien is..odd. But, aleins are kinda too cliche, and it adds an interesting plot that only Futurama could pull off (or even attempt   ).

I also pretty much dislike her parents, but I do have a side that likes them. The ending of LH is most likely my favorite emotional scene, and her parents were great in that ep. I'd like them more if they weren't so pathetic in LTH.

[#20 :]

I hold utter contempt Leela's parents. They made one good decision and that was letting her go. I firmly believe if she'd lived with them, she would not be the woman we know and love. They were willing to let their daughter kill them so she would never discover who she was. Traumatize her even more why don't you? They're also so pathetic, it's unbelievable. "Save us if you feel like it." I couldn't like the ending because I was still mad at what they had almost done. If not for Fry, the girl really would be an orphan.

One of the things Leela had in common with Fry was that they both had no family. Now Leela has a family. Fry still has to cope with his family being long gone.

[#21 :]

I'm not really sure how I feel about Leela's parent's decision to "abandon" her to the surface.  On the one hand, Leela spent most of her life feeling alone, and abandoned, and in the end, all she wants is her family.  But on the other hand, Allen makes a point about how Leela would've turned out had she been raised with parents.  Being alone sort of forced her to develop her emotional (and possibly physical) strength.  Plus, what kind of life would she have had living with the mutants.  To quote Amy: "Splech!"

As far as her origin, it didn't really make much difference to me where she came from.  Alien, mutant, either way, she ends up with one eye.

And personally, I like her parents.  They just seem really sweet, if a little on the pathetic side at times, but they always mean well.

[#22 :]

i don't know if i would call it emotional strength, i think of it more as a huge emotional wall. But anyway, i do agree with Allen that allowing their daughter to hold them at gunpoint was not the greatest of parental desicions. I guess they didn't consider that after she shot them she would want to unmask them. What a happy surprise THAT would have been. And i was rather miffed at them for it, but they're so sweet to her and obviously love her so much, i can't help but adore them. I love that her dad laughs at his own jokes and i love that her mom always wears that matching bracelet. And yeah they came off as rather pathetic in LTH but they don't seem to be that way in other eps. It's possible that they were written slightly out of character in order to service the plot. It's happened before, and we don't really have any way of knowing since they were only in three eps, but they seemed off to me in that ep. i agree that the 'save us if you feel like it line' was especially cringe-worthy but i think what she was actually trying to say was that she didn't want Leela to feel obligated to them and end up putting herself in danger. Or im reading too much into things and it's simply that their whole family has self-worth issues. Either-or.

[#23 :]

 

Originally posted by Venus:
i don't know if i would call it emotional strength, i think of it more as a huge emotional wall.

A little bit of this, a little bit of that...

I say "emotional strength" 'cause...well, the girl can take a lot of crap.  The emotional wall is there too, she's even confessed that she has a tendancy to bottle feelings up, and that was probably developed at the same time as her strength.

And I agree with you with the parents letting her hold her at gunpoint.  They probably hoped that she would accept the story that they killed her parents, kill them, and be on her way.  But more than likely, she would've unmasked them...now that I think about it, why didn't her parents consider that?  Ah well, I guess you can only think so clearly while being held at gunpoint by your daughter.

[#24 :]

 

Originally posted by Beamer:
Well, you didn't do a very good edit of it - it still says "teh" instead of "the".

that's 'cause i meant 'teh', smartass. 

[#25 :]

Yeah about that "Oh God! I've killed my own parents!" thing.
I've got this teory...
Perhapes the ray gun she was using vaporized (ala StarTrekVouy:EliteForce) whatever it hits. She did cocked the gun and the charge went all the way to full power (right click..heh heh)

And it being a mutant's ray gun, Leela's parents might have know about it..
Well thats my POV anyway. I kinda like Leela's parents. Even if they are hidieous(sp?) mutants.

[#26 :]

I liked it more when she was an alien, but i really don't have any problem with her being mutant.
But one thing that i don't like is that her mom's hair style is/was the same as Leela's, ok, they have purple hair and have one eye, enough already...
Wich brings me to a theory that her parents are infact mutated aliens, how likely is it that two mutants look so much alike?
But that brings me to the fact that it's just a cartoon and they looked that way just beacuse we would see them more like her parent's or something simmilar..
Besides, that would be a pretty crappy plot.

[#27 :]

 

Originally posted by Teral:
Plus "hot alien babe" sounds so much better than "hot mutant babe". 

I guess you're not an X-Men fan, huh Teral?   

 

Originally posted by Allen:
One of the things Leela had in common with Fry was that they both had no family.  Now Leela has a family.  Fry still has to cope with his family being long gone.

At least he still has Zoidberg.  You all still have Zoidberg!

[#28 :]

 

Originally posted by Teral:
 I think the words "paranoid denial" best covers it.

You've all heard me rant about this in countless threads scattered around "Human Resource Dep", so I'll keep it brief this time.

Leela found out about her origin way too early, and making her a mutant didn't sit well with me. One of the most interesting aspects of Leela was her alien origin, making her an outsider in society (yes, I know she's still an outsider, sort of, in the normal world, but the difference is she now has a people she belong to) and her quest for finding her origin was never cashed in on, even though it could make for a great story arch.

Plus "hot alien babe" sounds so much better than "hot mutant babe".     

It's hard to argue with genius.  Helpy's really nailed it.

[#29 :]

Aww, you're making me blush FC.

I agree with Chance, a laser gun at full power would most likely have vaporised the Turangas. I mean Leela is pretty steamed, she think she has her parents killers in front of her, she'd probably blasted them to smithereens. Then again, would Leela really have pulled the trigger? I'd like to think she wouldn't.

 

Originally posted by David A:
 I guess you're not an X-Men fan, huh Teral? 

No, they're freaks and should be kept underground.  Actually I never saw the movie until recently. Pretty good and Jean Grey were definetely cute.

[#30 :]

Even if it had vaporized them, Fry knew who they were and if he appeared just seconds after she had shot them he could have said something to her not even realizing that she had done anything.

[#31 :]

 

Originally posted by Teral:
 No, they're freaks and should be kept underground.    Actually I never saw the movie until recently. Pretty good and Jean Grey were definetely cute.

Movie?  They made that into a movie?  I was talking about the comic books.

Mmm... Kitty Pride.   

Anyway, I like the idea of Leela as a mutant.  If she was an alien, Zoidberg is an alien too.  If she's a mutant, then we get one of each.  Yeah, so... variety.

[#32 :]

 

Originally posted by Venus:

And i really wish the details of her abandonment had been consistent. In xmas story we see a pic of Leela as a baby sitting on a table in the back of an allyway under a sign that says 'abandoned property' but in Leela's Homeworld she was abandoned in a basket on the front step.

As much as i love Leela's Homeworld, and believe me, i do, i wish Kristen had watched xmas story before writing that script. Or at the very least i wish one of the other writers would have caught the mistake.

Actually first time that happaned in "Kif gets knocked up a notch"(in production older episode)and I agree with you (altough that "abandoned property" thing was just sort of side joke.).
I was little supraised by her being mutant and I don´t like it (my dad is one of those who *hate* Leela since that time)probably because revaeling of Leela´s origin is something what was supposed to be important change for the rest of series - and I think it doesn´t happened.

[#33 :]

Look its Leela, Hurray! Whaht? A mutant you say...also good. -z

[#34 :]

one word, (multiple times) dingdingdingdingdingdingdingd ing

[#35 :]

 

Originally posted by Shadowstar:
Leela's parents themselves don't bother me. It's the fact that her spunky character dissolves like powder when she's with her parents. And that attitude also kinda dissolved at the end of the 4ACV season. But that's not the thread point, really.

I have just one crazy idea - couldn´´t actually be this reason why they reveal her origin? I mean - in 3ACV there are just two episodes about Fry/Leela relatinship and when  writers thought about how it make in longer way, they made a decison to do a much more "romantic soul" from Leela- plus they maybe utterly didn´t want to create more "Leela searching" episodes.   

[#36 :]

I think they did it good how they explained Leela origin.  Yes she is not a alien but mutants are cool to and it explains why they let her on Earth, i.e. the surface.

The one thing that I always wondered about since Leela is a mutant why was this not discovered early.  What I mean by this even when she was a child she must have gone to a doctor couldn't they figure out this alien is just a mutated human. 

[#37 :]

I think the doctors she probably went to didn't discover it because Mutants weren't known in these times.
In ISTE Mutants were known to be just an urban legend, it wasn't proved that they exists, although the proffesor said that it would be possible to mutate down there.
Also all people Leela had to deal with in her youth were sure about her beeing an Alien, due to the letter she had with her when she was found.

[#38 :]

I like the fact that she's a mutant. It was a nice twist, and I didn't see it coming. Throughout the show, she was made to seem as if she was an alien, so that twist was nice.

I like her parents too, sweet, funny and caring. Yep, I'm happy with the outcome 

[#39 :]

I know that mutants were an urban legend but I would think a doctor could tell the difference between a true alien and human that happens to have a mutation.  Her only mutation is being a cyclops so that would mean all of the rest of her physiology is human.  That is not much of an alien.