Reviews: "Futurama" - Season One - Week One [1/12 - 1/16]

[livingfruitvirus]

Well, it's been hyped and advertised enough to put FOX to shame.

This is the thread for week one of Futurama. I call it "Season One" as I'm compiling a big fat page of every review thread we've ever done on this board EVER, and I want to create some organization with the larger shows like Futurama.

Anyhoo, what's airing this week:

Sun 12th - Space Pilot 3000 [1ACV01]
Mon 13th - Episode Two: The Series Has Landed [1ACV02]
Tue 14th - I, Roommate [1ACV03]
Wed 15th - Love's Labour's Lost In Space [1ACV04]
Thu 16th - Fear of a Bot Planet [1ACV05]

Enjoy!

[Killtacular]

The new look is finally here. Hurray.

Looks like they've made promos for all 72 Futurama episodes. Sweet. Maybe they'll actually advertise sooner than 10 PM if that's the case. Otherwise, that's kind of a waste.

[Nexus810]

does anyoen think that Futurama looks a little clearler and such that it originally did?

[Moof]

Pages turning....neeto

[Killtacular]

How can it be clearer? The show's been digitally animated since day one.

[sl4]

Originally posted by Nexus810
does anyoen think that Futurama looks a little clearler and such that it originally did?

Yeah, I noticed that too.

[Blue]

Wow finally and tomarrow we get lupin all right things are getting better :D :D :D :D :D

[Nabuca]

I really like the new presentation for the block. As for the Futurama pilot, a great pilot for an awesome series that should get the respect it deserves now.

[mjsmith]

Me, too. can hardly wait for tomorrow's!:meatwad:

[Nexus810]

I dont know why it just looks clearer, jesus no need to get snotty. heh

[ArmyOfClones]

I love this show! I can't wait to see all of the episodes again! I thought I would never see it again. :)

[Matthew Williams]

I think it has to do with it being clearer on CN than on your Fox affiliate. Nature of cable, I guess.

I like this first ep, but I'm waiting to catch up on the rest... I'm too used to Fox's commercial style on this show, so having one break was weird. I like how they made it seamless going from the second segment to the third one...

As for new look... creative. :)

[Moof]

Ahh, i can Remeber that day after the Super Bowl that Fox over promoed. T'was a good day

[KingKoopa]

I'm feeling the same way now that I did when I watched Adult Swim for the first time. Even though I've seen everything tonight before, it feels all-new. I can't wait for tomorrow to see what Inuyasha and Lupin get for intros, provided they're any different.

[Alaskanbullworm]

Ahhh, great network, great series, great episode, great................ "That's great!"

It seems so much better with the episode divded into 2 now. I just wonder how they'll do the Anologies of Interest episodes. I also need to catch up on all of the episodes I missed from Fox (like so many others here).

[Killtacular]

I've always enjoyed the first episode of the show, not only because it has solid gags and some great jokes, but because it's the only episode Matt Groening has written for ANY show. Makes me wish he wrote more.. I wonder why he chose to only do one episode. Oh well, his vision fully fleshed out, regardless.

Some of my favorite jokes:

- Fry getting crushed in the automatic door.

- France's celebration of the new year being exactly the same in 3000 as it is in the year 2000.

- Bender preparing to open the floor grate when Fry just opens it up.

- Farnsworth's obsession over the lengths of wire.


I also love the credits. The credit theme is even better than the opening theme, although I wish it continued after the drum loop at the end.. that drum fill makes it seem like it's building into a climatic finish. But it just stops instead.

[Dogasu]

I like the new Adult Swim look as well. Spiffy :D

However, I really don't care for the first few episodes. The setup episodes just aren't as funny to me, and for me, at least, the good episodes won't start until the middle of this week/beginning of next. A good (and necessary) setup episode, but there are a lot better episodes.

[JTurner954]

To me, this show is hit or miss. Unfortunately from the episodes I have seen, it is mostly miss (The Simpsons has the same problem, except most of theirs is a hit). I'm glad to see that I can watch the show again and catch up on episodes I haven't seen.

I only remember seeing three episodes I have liked and this is one of them. Stuff like the Suicide Booth ("You are now dead") and the scene with the Head Jars ("Bad President") are hilarious. The best character on this show is without a doubt Bender. He was the main reason that I watched the show even if I didn't end up liking the episode.

Overall grade: A (I give the show itself overall a C, but this could change overtime).

BTW, I have no problem with the new Adult Swim show intros and commercials. I guess the old people got tired of swimming ,went to Grizzlebees, wished they had less fun, and died). Or not.

[Ramso]

I'm surprised nobody pointed out that they showed the edited version of this evening's Futurama.

Now before everyone starts lighting their torches and picking up their weird rake things you always see in Frankenstein movies, there's a good reason behind the edit.

When Fry first enters the tube the man in front of him tells the tube his destination: "Radio City Mutant Hall."

However, in the first (and only, with this line) airing the man was headed for the "JFK Jr. Airport."

After John's plane accident, however, this line was changed for subsequent airings.

Am I correct in assuming the changed line appears on the DVD? I decided to hold out for the Region 1 and thankfully it's on the way. Any reference to it in the commentary?

[dawnyoshi]

Well, Futurama has begun. Awesome show of course! ^_^

I can't help but love watching life go by while Fry is frozen solid. Ahh...memories of when this show premiered.

On to my opinion of Bender:

"Bite my shiny metal ass."

Bender=funny of course

hmm...talking celebrity heads. Who doesn't see some washed up jokes in the future?
oh well. it starts funny. Definetely good to see on CN.

A

[Sir Gatts]

Futurama appears to be the best show on CN Sundays in my opinion. Since I haven't seen too much of this series when it aired on FOX, I really hope that this series doesn't dull out when we get into the later episodes.
Originally posted by Nexus810
does anyoen think that Futurama looks a little clearler and such that it originally did?
One of the many advantages of cable. :)

[Mibbitmaker]

I really enjoyed seeing the pilot again, myself. Mainly because it's fun to see the set-ups to many of the plot points they played out later; Lela's parents for example.

After seeing the Nixon head among the Presidents, then the gang hide in the criminals' room, I thought... shouldn't Nixon be in the criminals' place? :D

Anyway, I'm a sucker for 1st episodes.

Excellent new AS wraparounds. Actual cartooning this time. Very creative.

[livingfruitvirus]

Originally posted by Ramso
Am I correct in assuming the changed line appears on the DVD? I decided to hold out for the Region 1 and thankfully it's on the way. Any reference to it in the commentary?

You are correct, suh.

And for some reason the commentary is disabled when I try to play it.

[sl4]

Great episode. The episode that premiered earlier today on FOX was my first time watching Futurama, and this episode was my second. I can't wait until tomorrow to see the next one! :)

A+

[Sheamon]

With the crappy way FOX has treated it, and me for whatever reason missing the repeats over the years (not like they had a good timeslot or played many of them in the first place) this is actually the first time I've seen this episode since it premiered many years back. Ah... memories... The show feels somewhat different than recent eps, but remains integrated (as mentioned before about Leela) with the current way the show's done. Also mentioned earlier, the show takes a few eps to get going since we're doing mostly introduction now (the experimentation and wacky premises is one of the better parts of the show IMO, something that fits much more on a show like this than the Simpsons, which has befallen a similar fate which does not fit the show well) but is nonetheless a good one.

Grade: B

And believe it or not, it wasn't until tonight when I saw his name in the credits that I realized Fry was Billy West. All these years of Futurama and Ren & Stimpy and I don't figure it out til now :eek:

[David Lucas]

I really don't know why, and if it's true, it might bare bad for other episodes.

BUt I could have sworn that when Bender first looks at Leela, his two eyes zoom out, and then you hear something else "zoom out" and you get the impression subtley enough.

Was this a different episode, or did they cut it for sexual reasons?

[KingKoopa]

Futurama was a great way to open up the block, but I'm afraid the series may go downhill. I've never seen Futurama before, so I don't know if it gets better or worse, but since I loved the episode and it's apparently a twist from the original series, I'm not sure. I hope it stays on the same level, at least, but we'll just see.

[livingfruitvirus]

Originally posted by David Lucas
I really don't know why, and if it's true, it might bare bad for other episodes.

BUt I could have sworn that when Bender first looks at Leela, his two eyes zoom out, and then you hear something else "zoom out" and you get the impression subtley enough.

Was this a different episode, or did they cut it for sexual reasons?

You're thinking of "When Aliens Attack" when they're shooting the single female lawyer scene.

Fry: Camera 1.
Bender: [left eye zooms in]
Fry: Camera 2.
Bender: [right eye zooms in]
Fry: Camera 3.
Bender: [something offscreen zooms in]

[Killtacular]

Nothing was editted in that episode. Nothing SAID Nothing was editted in that episode.

I don't even consider the Radio City Mutant Hall an edit anymore, because that's the final cut, as far as FOX is concerned.

[Killtacular]

Heh. I enjoyed the Wonder Twins interstital by J. J. Sedelmeyer. Didn't know he still made stuff for CN.

[livingfruitvirus]

Originally posted by Matt Wilson
Heh. I enjoyed the Wonder Twins interstital by J. J. Sedelmeyer. Didn't know he still made stuff for CN.

Yo. Keep it in tha "Anything Else" thread, mistuh.

[IWDP Lim]

Futurama - Um, well, I did like this one, but, I don't know about the rest of the series. The animation still bothers me (I never really liked mixing CG and cel stuff), and when I was watching it on FOX, the whole thing just had a "Guess which celebreity head shows up this week!" kind of thing going for it. Oh well, I'm gonna try and give it another chance, but, I don't know. Although I'll admit I do like that squid guy a lot.

[Tim Vee]

Neat little bit: you see Nibbler's eyestalk shadow on the underside of the chair when Fry tips back. This isn't some random thing, it's a plot point that's going to be revealed later in season 5 :D .

[Mynd Hed]

Well, this was never one of my personal favorite episodes. Not that I'm such a big Futurama guy in the first place (I like it, just not as much as most other people here seem to) but I felt that the pilot had to spend too much time in exposition and not enough time being funny. It definitely had its moments, though, like Bender being obsessed with bending things, the Prof. shaking the ID chips out of an envelope labelled "Contents of Space Moth's Stomach", etc.

C+

[dino boy]

Wow, Futurama was...really funny! And here I badmouthed it in another thread. I have seen a few episodes before and wasn't that impressed, but I was really surprised tonight. I was laughing the whole time!

[Scythemantis]

Originally posted by KingKoopa
Futurama was a great way to open up the block, but I'm afraid the series may go downhill. I've never seen Futurama before, so I don't know if it gets better or worse, but since I loved the episode and it's apparently a twist from the original series, I'm not sure. I hope it stays on the same level, at least, but we'll just see.

It stays just as clever, and not just a lot of random bizarre nonsense like in the simpsons lately. Great parodies of old sci-fi movies, tons of easter eggs (some monsters from dungeons and dragons, which Groening played in college, make appearances as aliens, for example) really quotable quotes, and plenty of character depth and development. I don't see much of a difference between the series and pilot, except that the point of everyone having a predetermined career is never brought up again. The atmosphere of the pilot has a dimmer, more real-world feel to it but that's revisited in several other episodes.

Like the simpsons during its best seasons, it ranges between wacky and emotional but always does both fairly well, and neither ruins the other.

[Andy Mancini]

It's nice to see the earlier episodes again. The new episodes are alright, but they can get a little too political for my taste.

[The Landstander]

Sunday: You know, this was pretty good. I know that it wasn't the best episode of Futurama, however I'm pretty sure Groening was going for a pilot and not a particularly good episode. As far as pilots go, this was very well done. It introduced the main characters (Frye, Bender, Leela) , introduced several aspects of the show (Future world, Celebrity Heads) and basically set up the backstory. B
Positives: Good pilot episode, Suicide Booth, Frozen Heads, Bender
Negatives: Frye and Leela weren't that funny

[kaine23]

I can't wait to see the video game episode again!

[Chris Sanders MSX]

I liked it and i still wish Matt had went against his "style" and used the Simpsons as a way to get Futurama a better non premptive time slot and some decent advertisement. I mean come on FOX isn't going to dump the Simpson's if Matt played his card. Do you know how many networks would be ready to scoop it up ??

But I guess it was his decison, although I think it was a stupid one. Matt ahd nothing to loose and everything to gain. *Sigh Oh well, I loved last nights episode. I love pilot's because you can compare the slight changes they make during the series like Bender's development.

You know if you ever want to see if the show gets worse as time goes on you could watch the show on FOX when it's not being prempted by Football (which is rarely ever). Trust me shows don't get cult followings if they suck.

[MBxxSC]

Trust me shows don't get cult followings if they suck.




Uhhhh...sorry to have to say it, but the very definition of a "Cult Show", or "Cult Movie", is that they do generally suck, hence only a small, niche audience("Cult"), likes them.

[Chris Sanders MSX]

Originally posted by MBxxSC
Uhhhh...sorry to have to say it, but the very definition of a "Cult Show", or "Cult Movie", is that they do generally suck, hence only a small, niche audience("Cult"), likes them.

Usually cult shows are shows that were misstreated by the network or just went unoticed until some one or a group noticed how great they are. Like Invader Zim or the Clerks cartoon.

[The Landstander]

cult movies often are bad movies (plan 9 from outer space)

cult tv shows, however, usually are different, slightly offbeat shows with their own style of humor/drama. (futurama, for example)

[Artemis]

Originally posted by Chris Sanders MSX
Usually cult shows are shows that were misstreated by the network or just went unoticed until some one or a group noticed how great they are. Like Invader Zim or the Clerks cartoon.

That's what I thought a "Cult TV show" meant when people weren't talking about tv shows for the occult.


Anyway, I love Futurama, but I never ever caught it's pilot so last night's episode was new to me. It was very funny and even though the announcer was really annoying when he said it, this episode really was an "action sci-fi comedy drama" because it had everything. I liked looking back at this episode just to see the episodes of today and what played out (Leela's parents, Bender's development, etc.) The Suicide Booth was hilarious. Is that what they're going to legalize in the future? XD

Solid A+ from me.

[MothMonsterMan]

Personally, I quite enjoyed the sort of personal feel around the new presentation, and how it changed for each show. Plus, if I had to here that lady yelling, "Betty, Betty, Betty, Betty," I was gonna shoot somebody.

[Conekiller]

I forgot how funny that was, i can't wait for tonight's one of my fave's

"FINE I'll go build my OWN amusemnt park, with BLACKJACK and HOOKERS!"

gotta love that line

also keep an eye out for hte names of the arcades in the background like "nongender specific Pac-Person"

[oranthal]

cyber-cop: i want to get 24th century on his ass.

that was super funny! i have never really followed futurama before except for a few episodes from 2002, but i'll be watching every episode on CN. is it safe to assume that they'll by airing these shows in order?

[MothMonsterMan]

I still remember seeing that episode for the first time. Quite a nice start for a series. First impressions, very important, right?

[Majin_Megabyte]

Originally posted by Conekiller
I forgot how funny that was, i can't wait for tonight's one of my fave's

"FINE I'll go build my OWN amusemnt park, with BLACKJACK and HOOKERS!"

gotta love that line

also keep an eye out for hte names of the arcades in the background like "nongender specific Pac-Person"

I also agree tonight's episode is also one of my fave episodes.
The blackjack and hookers joke always cracks me up.

[Jethro_McB]

Originally posted by Conekiller
I forgot how funny that was, i can't wait for tonight's one of my fave's

"FINE I'll go build my OWN amusemnt park, with BLACKJACK and HOOKERS!"

gotta love that line

"In fact, screw the amusement park! And screw the blackjack too!" - You forgot the best part!

I thought the pilot episode was outstanding, but let me say that as a nitpicky nerd, there were three goofs that I couldn't quite figure out:

1. New York was blown up by the aliens. We saw it. So why is it still *mostly* intact underground?

2. Fry was in the capsule for 1000 years, starting at 12:00 and some odd seconds on January 1st, 2000. But he wakes up on the morning of December 31st, 2999. That's a day shy of 1000 years! Objection!

3. Bender won't do anything he's programmed not to, yes? But he steals like crazy. That seems to be contradictory. But then again, I'm an idiot.

Other than that, though, this episode did very well in the whole "set-up the complex new world" department, mainly because it managed to introduce a lot of characters and ideas while still being funny. Favorite joke of the episode: Bender and Fry in the suicide booth. Demonstrates Bender's irrational cheapness (uses a coin on a string to pay for his own death) and Fry's overall stupidity ("Yeah, I'd like to place a collect call!") Also, Fry's declaration of "My God, a million years!" was side-splittingly funny. A

[Beat]

Futurama- Bottom line, it's just like I remembered. Pretty funny, but never truly appreciated.

[J.C.]

This was actually the first time I've heard the "Radio City Music Hall" change since I always skipped this episode when they reaired it on Fox, due to being able to record the entire first season during its original run. After having the episode pretty much memorized, that bit really stood out for me, but it's easy to ignore. My favorite bit in this episode has always been a toss up between Fry accidently turning on the coffee machine while trying to pilot the ship and how the knife in the suicide booth twists after delivering the death blow. Nice touch.

[Mynd Hed]

Bender won't do anything he's programmed not to, yes? But he steals like crazy. That seems to be contradictory. But then again, I'm an idiot.

My understanding was that when he got zapped by that loose wire, he gained the ability to disregard his programming permanently. But then again, he drinks and tries to commit suicide before getting zapped, and I doubt those activities are part of his programming, making my argument moot. (-:

[Lord Trunks]

It's Great to see these early episodes again after a long wait, man do the characters act different...they have developed so much in later episodes.

[Jethro_McB]

Originally posted by Mynd Hed
My understanding was that when he got zapped by that loose wire, he gained the ability to disregard his programming permanently. But then again, he drinks and tries to commit suicide before getting zapped, and I doubt those activities are part of his programming, making my argument moot. (-:

Well, he drinks because he's an alcohol-powered robot, as we find out later on (I think in the third episode, because he "sobers up" and Leela insists he drink before he hurts someone.) But yeah, the suicide thing implies that he has free will, even though he says he doesn't.

My head hurts, I need to lie down. This is what I get for being a nerd. :p

[HomeMoviesFan]

Great, great. I remember this one incident that my little sister bought a few kids magazines (I think one was the Nickelodeon one) and they actually had Futurama on the cover, advertising it. So, my sister wanted to watch it with me because of this. Now, I love Simpsons, and I really wanted to watch this, but somehow I knew my sister would be a little young at the time (she was about 9 at the time). I had to watch the pilot with her just sitting there through beer, sex and other adult jokes and tons of cussing, it made me feel horrible. At the end she gets up and says "That sucked! It wasn't funny at all! I didn't get what any of those stupid jokes meant!" And she storms out of the room...most stupidest moment of my life. Why? Because I had to sit there, I was supposed to enjoy it, but I regretted it just to hear her say that it sucked! And that sucked! Luckily, I caught the pilot once more, instantly hooked and watch all the episodes from then on. What did that have to do with anything? Well, last night, my sister tuned in for it again (she's now 13, I'm 16). I told her what happened last time, but she said she was stupid back then and didn't get adult jokes. And, well she got it all, and that really cancelled that moment in 1999 out. That was the best moment of the show. But...for the actual show, I remembered it so much. And I realized how much they didn't pay attention to from the pilot (The whole 'forced job' thing; the tubes that carry people to other places) Also, didn't anyone find the Professor's voice weird? And Bender's too? Anyways...great start for a wonderful series!...

[Bogey B]

was it just me or did the collect call joke with the booth seem hilarious
also with said booth after the chainsaw tazzer etc. the knife pops out that gets me every time :moon2:

[Samurai Rocko]

I have'nt seen that episode since it premeired. I've only seen about 13 episodes of the entire series, so I hope the series gets better from here on out.

[Anarky]

i was disappointed they didn't have a Sideshow Bob cameo in the Hall of Criminals. could you imagine stuffing all that hair into a jar??? :-)

futurama kicks
i never watched it on fox because of my work sched. and i think btas was always on cn at the time so my vcr was spoken for.

i think it'll find cn a better network for its purposes

[Joe Tully]

Originally posted by oranthal
is it safe to assume that they'll by airing these shows in order?

Yup, they are in order Sunday-Thursday.

[JTurner954]

Futurama: Like I said before, the episodes on this show are hit or miss. Tonight, it was a miss. I liked the stuff in the beginning, but once it went into the story (went they left the track and got lost), it goes downhill. I'm glad that the whole "lost keys" sequence wasn't stretched or else that would have made the episode worse. The best character of the show is Bender, and he saved this episode from getting a bad grade so .....

Overall grade: C+

[KingKoopa]

I enjoyed tonight's Futurama. It had plenty of funny jokes and elements, mostly one-liners. I have to give tonight's episode an A, but I don't have a scale of what to expect from the series yet. Maybe after I've seen the whole series I'll think lower of this episode, we'll see.

[Sir Gatts]

Monday: This episode had a good amount of comedy but it appears that they were trying to focus more on building the character development. Currently it looks as if each episode will follow the other, probably a sign that there is some kind of long term plot in work on the side. I just hope that the later episodes take after the theme of the previous episode than this episode.

[Joe Tully]

Originally posted by Sir Gatts
Monday: This episode had a good amount of comedy but it appears that they were trying to focus more on building the character development. Currently it looks as if each episode will follow the other, probably a sign that there is some kind of long term plot in work on the side. I just hope that the later episodes take after the theme of the previous episode than this episode.

Yeah, there is some sense of plot to the whole series, though it is not that strong. But if they aired some episodes before others, it'd be a little confusing.

[The Landstander]

Tuesday: Hmm...well this episode was mediocre. The inaccuracy of the moon landings was good, but after they got out of the amusement park and went to the farm, it just got, confusing. The episode seemed to rely on more induvidual quick jokes and sight gags for comedy than big plot-related jokes. I'll give it a B-.

Positives: Lots of good one-liners and sight gags I don't feel like listing, the introduction of Hermes and Dr. Zoidberg

Negatives: Overall weak plot

[ButteredToast]

It's Dr. Zoidberg.

And I finally got to re-enjoy one of my favorite quick jokes in the show... the space alligators. :D

[Tim Vee]

The pilot was good, but Monday's episode was great! I haven't seen this one in forever, and had forgotten one the best bits: the introduction of the Crushinator.
Fry: Bender, please tell me you didn't touch the Crushinator.
Bender: Of couse not! A woman that fine you gotta romance first. :D

[CLStorm]

Tuesday: Man I love this episode, great jokes and everything. I can't find anything bad about it really. Definitly one of the better Futurama episodes.

[J.C.]

Tuesday: This was the episode that made me an 'official' fan of show, as in I knew I had to catch this series every week after seeing this one. The look on Frys face when he first sees the Crushinator is priceless and I always get a laugh out of the farmer tossing his space helmet to the floor and jumping on it, only to end up nearly choking to death right away. The scene about The Honeymooners being mistaken as the first astronauts was also funny "And he was just using the moon as a metaphor for beating his wife". Also found the moments with Fry and Leela towards the end to be pretty touching.

Grade: A

[Agaetis Byrjun]

Last nights show was great
cant wait for tonights episode

:harley: :dad:

"Im a bowler ok So im going to go in the shower and wash my balls." - Craig from The Mount. Kilimanjaro Show (My Show) hehe

[Spastic Minnow]

What I still remember from the first time I saw the moon episode years ago and still love this time around were the names on the video games. "Non-gender Pac-person" and "Mortal Cooperation"

[CryptiniteDemon]

For anyone doubting how Futurama is going to be in later episodes, don't worry. They don't go down hill and they usually keep a fresh story. It's a great series and deserves Adult Swim. Fox treated it like a red-headed step child.

[Mynd Hed]

This is one of my personal favorite Futurama episodes, it is, of those I've seen, the most consistent in terms of laughs, doesn't get too hung up introducing all the new characters, and manages to slip a little meaning in there as well. Good times.

Overall Grade: A-

[Artemis]

This is the second time seeing this episode and I felt it was one of the weaker episodes. Some of the gags were nice, but overall I wasn't feelin' it. This is the first episode I caught way back in it's premiere year so I wrote Futurama off as "Eh..." then. Thank God I caught later episodes and realized how funny this show can be. :)

[Nabuca]

Ya came back for the Crushinator didnt ya?

[Gruntling]

Futurama
The Series Has Landed: 9.3

This was a great episode! I got many laughs from it. I especially liked the part when the robot-daughters were introduced! :D

[Moof]

my god

that line

"I have alot of memories in that place" BLEEET "And now their gone"

I can't stop laughing

[JTurner954]

Futurama: This episode was a hit. I saw this episode before and really liked it, but then as I'm watching it again I was questioning if I did like it. After the commercial break, the really good stuff happens. I know why I was so confused: Usually, an episode starts out really good and then goes downhill. However, this one started out bad and then got better.

Overall grade: B making it the second episode in this series I liked.

[Sir Gatts]

Tuesday: Everything seemed kind of boring in the beginning until Bender became sober in the later half of the episode. I guess the first half was a result in attempting to further build the character development. I found the drink & drive and Bender ½ scenes a good laugh though.

[Spastic Minnow]

We might want to mention which episode we're talking about here considering we're talking about a week of shows.

[JTurner954]

Bender is the funniest character on the show so that would probably explain why I liked this episode with him and "little Bender". If there's an episode that focuses on Bender, I'll probably end up liking it.

[The Landstander]

Futurama: I, Roommate I loved this episode. The plot progressed onto different stories and it was funny every step of the way. I think it only slowed down near the end, with the thing with Bender's antenna. I think had we known beforehand that an antenna is important to a robot, then Bender cutting it off might've actually meant something.

Favorite Line: "Damn! I was going to eat that mummy!"

A-

Positives: Fry living in the office, Apartment Hunting, Bender's Place, "Kill All Humans", Bender's bender
Negatives: Antenna scene, "All my Circiuts" (i just didnt like it)

[mjsmith]

Kind of odd that Act 2 was split into two (The break came after the Odd Couple montage)! The antenna is due to TV messing up while Bender was in the room.

Best line: "Hi, babe. Want to kill humans?" :D

[Spastic Minnow]

It will make for some odd cuts but I'm really glad they're only inserting one commercial break instead of 2 during the show.

[candy17]

Originally posted by JTurner954
Bender is the funniest character on the show so that would probably explain why I liked this episode with him and "little Bender". If there's an episode that focuses on Bender, I'll probably end up liking it.
You're in luck. Some of the later eps of Futurama do focus on Bender.

My review on Futurama

Pilot episode: Good exposition episode. Not very funny (except for Bender's greeting with Fry--"Bite my shiny metal ass!"--and the Suicide Booth), but very entertaining. (B+)

The Series Has Landed: This was better than the first episode. My favorite part was when Craterface tries to confiscate Bender's beer and Bender shoves it in his eye. (A)

I, Roommate: This one was okay. I didn't really see it yet, so it doesn't get a grade.

Overall: It was good to see some of the episodes I remembered again. I'm so happy that CN picked up this series. Otherwise it would have been lost like Family Guy

[Mynd Hed]

Tuesday: Another of my personal favorite episodes, in large part because it focusses so much on everyone's favorite robot, Bender. Some good sight gags, including the ever-popular neon sign montage. (Bible Reading 2 Nite, good stuff).

Overall Grade: B+

[CLStorm]

Tuesday's episode: "I, Roomate"

It's been so long since I've seen these early episodes. :( Oh well, I guess the wait was worth it because this episode was just another example of why this show was/is so great.

[ToonamiFanatic]

I remember when it first came on Fox I remember seeing promos for the second episode there series has landed. but glad CN is showing it from the start very funny show.

the first episode was very good. like the part where fry was in the time capsule and the outside world was collasping and rebuilding.

the second episode was great too. If I was Fry i would of felt the same way going to the moon and all and finding out its just one big amusement park.

last nights episode was great also. Bender's small apartment had me chuckling for a little while about how small a size his room is.
and how bender has to drink beer and. other alcholic beverages or he will rust was a good gag. my faveorite charactor so far is Bender and Fry.

[J.C.]

Tuesday: The part that always cracks me up is the bit with the cell phone. Classic Bender. Also like the cop robots responce to seeing 'Little Bender' after the human picks it up, "You call that an antenna?" But this isn't one of my favorite episodes from the first season. Infact, it's probably my least favorite, although I wouldn't go as far to say I didn't like it since I enjoyed every episode from the first season. Think it just takes too long to get going, like some people have said, for my taste.

Grade: B

Really looking forward to tonights episode since it introduces two of my favorite recurring characters.

[KingKoopa]

This was good, or what I saw, anyway. From now on, it looks like I'll be only half-watching, because of the Daily Show, which I don't feel like missing.

[Joe Tully]

Originally posted by KingKoopa
This was good, or what I saw, anyway. From now on, it looks like I'll be only half-watching, because of the Daily Show, which I don't feel like missing.

Off-topic, but I watch it at 1:00 instead of the YYH rerun. And it's also on at 5:30 PM with last night's episode.

[livingfruitvirus]

Originally posted by Joe Tully
Off-topic, but I watch it at 1:00 instead of the YYH rerun. And it's also on at 5:30 PM with last night's episode.

ditto

[mjsmith]

Originally posted by J.C.
Really looking forward to tonights episode since it introduces two of my favorite recurring characters.

Agreed. Didn't get to see last Sunday's Fox episode, since it's so sounded funny, involving Kif getting pregenT!!!:shake:

[randomguy]

OK. I'll make a confession. Despite considering myself a hardcore animation fan, I had, until Sunday, never seen an episode of Futurama. I decided I'd watch them on ASA...and...

... the series is brilliant. Say what you will about FOX treating it bad, but I can see why it wouldn't succeed on a mass scale. It's obviously very niche geared. Gotta love that nod to the classic silent-film moon movie (forget the name) in episode 2. Much of the joy of Futurama is similiar to that of The Simpsons in its heydey: watch carefully, and the series just throws reward after reward at you. To top it off, the characters are great and the animation is superb. I'm really looking forward to watching more. Great accquisition for ASC.

[JTurner954]

Wednesday episode: This episode was a miss. This is proof of why I stopped watching Futurama long ago: The story went downhill fast and it introduced two new characters that I did not like. The guy who owned the starship was VERY annoying. But Neder once again Bender saves this show from getting a failing grade. Every scene with him is funny, and even some scenes with Frye were good. But everything else just wasn't entertaining.

Overall grade: C

I think I saw Thursday's episode before and I think I liked it. I'm not too sure though.

[IWDP Lim]

Maybe another dumb question, but did Zap get redubbed? I could have SWORN that Phil Hartman originally did the voice for this ep, then he died and Billy West took over the role. :confused:

[Joe Tully]

Hartman was going to do the voice, but couldn't because of his death before the series premiere. :( West has always voiced the character.

Philip J. Fry is named after Phil Hartman.

[mjsmith]

Originally posted by JTurner954
I think I saw Thursday's episode before and I think I liked it. I'm not too sure though.

Hope you'll stick around for the end credits. You haven't seen it until you see what they did with the credits!!!

[The Landstander]

Futurama: I was never a big fan of the Captain, or for that matter Nibbler. Since this is their premiere episode, I didn't like it. The only good lines came mostly from the captain's assistant. This is the first Futurama I didn't like. C-

Positives: Captain's Assistant, Catching two of every animal sequence, the crew at the begginning
Negatives: The Captain, Nibbler, Cliche Plot, Lack of Phil Hartman (who would've done better as the Captain)

[Conekiller]

what should I look for in the crdeits?

[dino boy]

Wednesday night's Futurama wasn't very good. I was laughing constantly during the first three episodes, and was definitely starting to come around on the show. Last night, though, I was just waiting for it to get funny, and it never did. Zap Brannigan is not funny. Anyway, I hope it continues to be as funny as the first three episodes.

[Fata Morgana]

I was laughing continuously during that episode. I think you really need to be a fan of the original Star Trek to get what makes Zap Brannigan funny. :p

Fata Morgana

[Spastic Minnow]

I loved Kif's sighs, he doesn't do that much anymore.

The only detraction for Zap I am sometimes reminded of is knowing that Phil Hartman was supposed to voice him and probably would have made the role even better.

[J.C.]

Wednesday: Yeah, being a Star Trek fan is a big help in enjoying Zapp Brannigans character, especially in yesterdays episode. My favorite Zapp line was definatly "Kif, I have made it with a woman.... inform the men." LMAO Captain James T. Kirk would of been proud. And Benders 'gaydar' moments were just great, "I think he comes from a dimension that's big on musical theater." heheh Love this episode and it truly is sad that Phil Hartman couldn't live on to make this role his. He has been and will forever be missed.

Grade: A+

[ToonamiFanatic]

Originally posted by Conekiller
what should I look for in the crdeits?


only thing i noticed about the credits is the 30th century fox gag
and then showing the 20th century logo. never noticed anything different than that.

I just hate it I feel asleep for last nights episode forgot to set the VCR oh well ill try to watch it tonight without falling alseep :D

[Spastic Minnow]

If I remember right Fox never gave Futurama full screen credits, just the mile-a-minute sidebar credits like most of their shows. If I was them I'd figure, "why bother with joke credits if no one would ever see them". I could be wrong, but I know I didn't remember hearing Bender's folk song in the credits of the moon episode.

[Mynd Hed]

Wednesday:
Decent episode. Bender's "gaydar" was funny, seeing Fry (presumably) get some success with the ladies was nice, and Zap and Kif are good as always. Other than that, though, I found it to be only so-so, mostly just a big long excuse to introduce Nibbler. Not bad, but there are better episodes out there.

Overall Grade: C+

[livingfruitvirus]

Originally posted by ToonamiFanatic
only thing i noticed about the credits is the 30th century fox gag
and then showing the 20th century logo. never noticed anything different than that.

the 20th Century Television logo is required for FOX syndication. Sort of how you see the WB logo twice after Drew Carey syndication or any of their syndicated shows.

[moreysurf8]

A good ep. I for one thought Zap was hilarious. Bender was funny as always. Benders line about poking one eye out would've been funnier had I not seen it on the promos a bunch of times. I prefer to call it "the lovenasium" :D
Grade:A-

[Blue]

Cham-pag-en anyone?
IU love that line and that crying he dose funny. :D

[JTurner954]

Thursday episode: Well, remember I said I think I saw it before. Well, I did. And one question came to mind: Why didn't I remember an episode this good??

This episode was a BIG hit. They weren't shoving a story down our throats and it was filled with spoofs. This is probably going to end up being my favorite episode of Futurama. I really want one of those talking Bender dolls. Excellent episode that I call consider Simpsons level and maybe even better.

Overall grade: A therefore making four episodes I like in this show (you now know three of them).

BTW, Phil Lamarr needs to stop going around on different TV shows to do voice work. His voice is too recognizable.

[mjsmith]

Originally posted by JTurner954
I really want one of those talking Bender dolls.

I want that album, too!!! :D

[Midou Ban]

Thursday: DAMN! This episode was hilarious. The funniest part to me on that thing was when the robot started screaming when he heard lela (i think that's her name)sneeze. Who doesn't want to celebrate Robatakuh. episode was hilarious. The funniest part to me on that thing was when the robot started screaming when he heard lela (i think that's her name)sneeze. Who doesn't want to celebrate Robatakuh.
Fry: "So this planet is uninhabited right."
Bender: "No, It's inhabited by robots."
Fry: "So its like a warehouse being inhabited by boxes."

My grade: A

[Andy Mancini]

That episode was great, but they ruined one of the better jokes in the episode due to the fact that they only take one commercial break instead of two. The moment I am talking about is the scene after Bender gets hauled away for working with humans. Leela turns to Fry and says something to the effect of "If only I had two to three minutes to figure out a plan". In the AS version, they go directly to the shot of Fry and Leela dressed as robots. In the original airing, that scene was followed by two to three minutes of commercials. The second act begins with them dressed as the robots. I know that I'm being picky, but I always liked that joke, and it kind of bugged me that they didn't do it.

[Dogasu]

Yeah, I noticed they kinda messed that joke up too. Reminds me of the joke in Family Guy, where Peter's says something to the effect of "this is like one of those moments where the main characters says something witty and clever right before they cut to commercial" and then the camera just sits on Peter for 10 seconds or so. Classic.

Anyway, tonight's (Thursday's) episode was my favorite of the week. Great jokes (loved the Tetris one...we'll see more video game-related jokes in the future), a nice pace throughout, and robot dancing! There were just so many good things about this episode that I can't really list them all, but it was a good way to end Futurama's first week on its new home.

[The Landstander]

Futurama: Good. The first act was slightly slow after the baseball game, but the second act with Bender & the robots was just great. BTW, I noticed that joke didn't work as well, dj_gir. I had never seen the episode, but I could tell a commercial went there. The robot city was the best in the episode; it starts off as some sort of robot paradise and through the episode we learn of it's problems and corrupt government. B+

Favorite Line:
Leela: (After the start of the human hunt) Just act normal. Maybe then they won't notice how bad you look in that.
Ugly Robot: Ohh...That was unneccessary.

Positives: Robot City, Bender as evil, The Elders, The Opening Baseball Game
Negatives: Between the baseball game and robot city, ruined commercial joke, a couple of stupid jokes

[Morac]

Tetris wasn't the only game they referenced in Thursday's episode.
When they had the robots doing the voices from the classic Berzerk (http://videogames.gamespot.com/features/universal/milestones/p3_01.html) video game I was LMAO :D. It fit perfectly since the whole point of Berzerk was to escape from a bunch of murdering robots. Would have been funny if they had Evil Otto in the episode.

Also IIRC the robot screaming when Lela sneezed was a reference to Invasion of the Body Snatchers.

[ButteredToast]

Originally posted by Morac
Also IIRC the robot screaming when Lela sneezed was a reference to Invasion of the Body Snatchers.

I KNEW that was a reference to something! I just couldn't remember what at the time! LOL

[candy17]

Originally posted by JTurner954
Phil Lamarr needs to stop going around on different TV shows to do voice work. His voice is too recognizable.

Not to me it isn't. It wasn't like he sounded like Samurai Jack or Hector Con Carne when he voiced Hermes Conrad, so it's perfectly legal.

[JTurner954]

Originally posted by candy17
Not to me it isn't. It wasn't like he sounded like Samurai Jack or Hector Con Carne when he voiced Hermes Conrad, so it's perfectly legal.

His voice is too recognizable. If he didn't appear on Mad TV where he did all these voices on all of these animated shows, I wouldn't have a problem with it. It's to the point where knowing LaMarr is on there ruins it (that's one of the reasons why I can't enjoy Samurai Jack as much as I should of).

[J.C.]

Thursday: Was wondering how they'd handle the two minute joke, and it looks like they had to sacrifice it due to CNs format. Good thing there were many other good jokes afterwards to make up for it. Other then those already mentioned, I loved how the judge frozed up and everyone (including Fry, "Call technical support!") started yelling suggestions on how to fix it. The robot elders were also a hoot with their constant 'Silence' commands and how they couldn't remember if humans really breathed fire or if it was something they made up.

Grade: A-

[Artemis]

The computer judge had to be the best gag in the entire episode. ^_^ This is my favorite ep of the week. I couldn't stop LOLing at the constant gags and parodies.

[moreysurf8]

A excellent episode. I loved the tetris reference and when they started the hunt, they had the mac start up sound. The elders were hilarious also. "SILENCE......I cocur"
Grade: A