Bender Should Not Be Allowed on TV
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| Futurama episode | |
| "Bender Should Not Be Allowed on TV" | |
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| Episode no. | 60 |
| Prod. code | 4ACV06 |
| Airdate | August 3, 2003 |
| Where |  United States |
| Writer(s) | Lewis Morton |
| Director | Ron Hughart |
| Opening subtitle | Controling you through a chip in your butt since 1999 |
| Opening cartoon | unknown |
| Guest star(s) | Bumper Robinson Kath Soucie |
| Season 4 January 2002 – August 2003 |
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| List of all Futurama episodes... | |
"Bender Should Not Be Allowed on TV" is the sixth episode of the fourth production season of Futurama.
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[edit] Plot summary
After an actor on All My Circuits malfunctions, an open casting call is held for a replacement actor. Bender applies and wins the part(even though the part is that of a childbot) by booing all of his competition and by saying that he is the greatest.
On the set, the writers have written a part for Bender appropriate to his acting ability, a never ending coma. Not liking the decision, Bender starts singing, dancing, drinking and smoking while the show is filming. Bender is almost fired, but the network executives reveal that Bender's reckless behavior boosted the show's ratings. The show is turned into a vehicle for Bender, and kids, such as Dwight, Cubert, The Cookieville Orphans and Tinny Tim, start to follow his example.
Farnsworth and Hermes, disgusted by this, start the protest group Fathers Against Rude Television (F.A.R.T). Meanwhile, the three kids decide to rob Bender, imitating his robberies on TV. The kids throw a party at the Planet Express office, until it is stopped by Hermes, Farnsworth, and Bender.
Bender, annoyed that he inspired the robbery of himself, decides to lead the F.A.R.T in a crusade to get himself off TV. Invading the set, Bender is held at gunpoint by both F.A.R.T and the network executives to quit the show and shoot the scene, respectively. Bender grabs both guns and makes a statement about just "turning off the TV, sitting down with your kids and hitting them".
At Planet Express, Farnsworth realizes that sometimes you just need to turn off the TV once in a while. The group continues to watch, however.
[edit] Cultural references
- The entire episode is a reference to parent group's reactions to Bart Simpson in the early 90s. The Simpsons had a similar episode about a parent's group protesting against violence on television.
- One of the mothers is upset that their child has wires hanging in his compartment. She screams at him "I told you, no hanging wires!" a reference to the 1981 film Mommie Dearest.
- One of the robots has his hands bolted onto his head, looking like Macaulay Culkin in Home Alone. Leela comments that he hasn't been cute since he had puberty installed, referencing Culkin's loss in appeal after he reached puberty.
- The name of Calculon's fourth evil septuplet, Sleazy Martinez, sounds similar to the name of the GWAR character, Sleazy P. Martini.
- Everybody Loves Hypnotoad is a reference to Everybody Loves Raymond.
- The head executive is a Mac laptop.
- Gamma Bot says "It will play in Peoria". Peoria, Illinois is often used as a test market for America at large in the entertainment industry.
- "F.A.R.T" is possibly a reference to "Americans for Responsible Television" (see Terry Rakolta). "F.A.R.T." could also be based on the Parents Television Council, which is a social conservative group lead by L. Brent Bozell III. The PTC is known for constantly protesting the FCC to remove content that they do not like.
- There is a reference to a device called a coolometer that measures coolness, which is measured in Megafonzies. Although no such device exists in the real world, in physics a device which measures electrical charge is called a coulometer.
- This episode shows multiple issues of "Playbot" magazine, a robot version of Playboy.
- When the Execubots arrive the Red Alert sound from Star Trek is played.
- One of the magazines shown with Bender's picture on it is called "TV Week Monthly" and features a logo similar to that of TV Guide.
[edit] Trivia
- This is the first of two episodes in which the theme song is sung by Billy West and John DiMaggio. "Spanish Fry" is the second.
- Amongst the F.A.R.T members are the male cygnoid from "A Leela of Her Own", the Horrible Gelatinous Blob (whose parentship was revealed in "The Route of All Evil"), and the Donbot.
- The end of this episode features the cast singing TV Party by Black Flag while Everybody Loves Hypnotoad is shown.
[edit] External links
| Preceded by: "A Taste of Freedom" |
Futurama episodes | Followed by: "Jurassic Bark" |
