The Problem with Popplers
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| Futurama episode | |
| "The Problem with Popplers" | |
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| Episode no. | 28 |
| Prod. code | 2ACV15 |
| Airdate | May 7, 2000 |
| Where |  United States |
| Writer(s) | Patric M. Verrone and Darin Henry |
| Director | Chris Sauve, Gregg Vanzo |
| Opening subtitle | For External Use Only |
| Opening cartoon | Unknown |
| Guest star(s) | Phil Hendrie |
| Season 2 November 1999 – December 2000 |
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| List of all Futurama episodes... | |
"The Problem with Popplers" is episode 15 in season 2 of Futurama. It originally aired in North America on May 7, 2000.
Contents |
[edit] Plot
When the Planet Express crew lands on a previously undiscovered planet, they find that it is covered in a new and delicious animal life form which they call "popplers". These edible and highly addictive "popplers" soon become a new business venture for the crew as Earthlings just can't seem to get enough of these delicacies. Unfortunately, after popplers become an incredibly popular food item, it is learned that they are the larval stage of the Omicronian race, and the warlike natives of Omicron Persei VIII, led by Lrrr arrive to seek justice for humans devouring billions of their young. The Omicronians demand that they be allowed to eat the same number of Earthlings as "popplers" which were eaten. Since there are fewer humans on Earth than the number of popplers, the Omicronians choose instead to eat the first Earthling to eat their young: Leela!
In order to fool the Omicronians, Zapp Brannigan brings an ape which he claims "looks exactly like Leela". The Omicronians are initially fooled as they have difficulty recognizing individual humans; however, the Earthlings' luck is spoiled when hippie Free Waterfall Junior claims it is not fair to eat an innocent being such as the ape. After realising the trick, Lrrr demands he be allowed to eat the real Leela. Just when he is about to eat her, a small Omicronian, Jrrr, jumps into Leela's mouth and convinces everyone to not eat other sentient life. The Omicronians leave, but not before Lrrr eats Waterfall Junior and gets high from it.
The episode ends with the Planet Express Crew eating a smorgasboard of unintelligent animals, including a dolphin who wasted all his money on lottery tickets.
[edit] Characters
Characters who first appear in this episode are:
[edit] Trivia
- This is the first appearance of Phil Hendrie on Futurama as one of his Waterfall characters. He later appeared as Free Waterfall Sr. in "The Birdbot of Ice-Catraz" as well as both Old Man Waterfall and Frida Waterfall in "A Taste of Freedom".
- According to Kif in the episode, 198 billion Popplers were consumed by the inhabitants of Earth.
- Fishy Joe told Fry and Bender that they would receive one dollar for each dozen Popplers sold. This would result in Fry and Bender receiving $8.25 billion each. But since neither the rest of the episode nor any future episode ever mention any of this money, it must be assumed that Fishy Joe reneged on the agreement.
[edit] Poppler theme song
Pop a...
Poppler in your mouth,
When you come to Fishy Joe's,
What they're made of is a mystery,
Where they come from, no one knows.
You can pick 'em, you can lick 'em,
You can chew 'em, you can stick 'em,
And if you promise not to sue us,
You can shove one up your nose.
[edit] Cultural references
- The premise of the episode may be based on the film The Stuff. In the film, miners discover a tasty unknown substance and begin to market it. It becomes insanely popular, but it is soon discovered that the substance is alive.
- Fishy Joe's, the home of the Popplers, is based on the fast seafood chain Long John Silver's.
- The title comes from the Star Trek "The Trouble with Tribbles".
- The "popplers" theme is to the tune of the traditional "Sailor's Hornpipe", also used as Popeye's theme in the 1950's.
- The "popplers" are based on McDonalds McNuggets.
- The "popplers" are discovered on a class M planet, a reference to Star Trek. Leela also expects to find "Roddenberries" there, a reference to the creator of Star Trek Gene Roddenberry.
- The television news program Linda appears on, DateNight is a parody of the show Dateline and Nightline.
- When Leela pokes Jrrr in the stomach and he giggles it is a reference to the Pillsbury Doughboy.
- In a deleted scene in this episode, Lrrr says to Ndnd : "One of these days Ndnd, one of these days. Bam! Straight to Omicron Persei IX." This line is a parody of The Honeymooners. In a later episode, "Spanish Fry", he says a similar line, but instead of saying "Omicron Persei IX", he says "Straight to the third moon of Omicron Persei VIII."
- In one scene the Planet Express ship is hauling a trailer full of popplers, the trailer is labelled U-Yank, a parody of U-Haul.
- The protest group Mankind for Ethical Animal Treatment (MEAT) led by Free Waterfall Jr. is a parody of the animal rights group People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA).
- The episode references Futurama's own opening, when Leela crashes into a billboard after being distracted by protesters. Fry mentions it's "the second billboard you've crashed in to this week."
[edit] External links
| Preceded by: " Mother's Day " |
Futurama episodes | Followed by: " Anthology of Interest I " |
