Mars University
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| Futurama episode | |
| "Mars University" | |
 |
|
|---|---|
| Episode no. | 11 |
| Prod. code | 1ACV11 |
| Airdate | October 3, 1999 |
| Writer(s) | J. Stewart Burns |
| Director | Bret Haaland |
| Opening subtitle | Transmitido en Martian en SAP |
| Opening cartoon | "Pigs in a Polka" |
| List of all Futurama episodes... | |
"Mars University" is episode 11 of season 1 of Futurama. It originally aired in North America on October 3, 1999.
Contents |
[edit] Plot
The Planet Express crew's latest mission is to deliver a crate to Professor Farnsworth's office at Mars University (motto: "Knowledge Brings Fear"). While touring the campus, Bender comes across a chapter of his old fraternity, Epsilon Rho Rho (ERR). The nerdy fraternity brothers beg Bender for his help in the art of being cool, as "even Hillel has better parties than us!"
Fry finds out that his 20th century college drop-out status translates to him being a 31st century high school drop-out. Knowing this, he vows to enroll, and drop out all over again.
In a scene straight from Animal House, Bender and the Robot House boys climb a ladder to peek in a girl's dorm window. A mishap with Bender's extendable eyes causes them to fall and crush Snooty House's servants quarters (as well as the servants).
Fry gets a room in the financial aid dorm, and finds his roommate Guenter is an intelligent monkey wearing an undersized hat. The Professor enters, and reveals that Guenter was the content of the crate, and that the electronium hat is the source of Guenter's intelligence.
Bender and the Robot House members get called before Dean Vernon, who places them on dodecatuple secret probation.
At the parents' reception, Fry humiliates Guenter by releasing Guenter's unintelligent parents from their cage. Later, Guenter expresses his unhappiness at his current life. At the 20th century history exam, the stress finally becomes too much for him, and he tosses the hat aside, jumps out the window, and into the Martian jungle.
While Fry, Leela, and the Professor head off into the jungle to find Guenter, Robot House enters the fraternity raft regatta in a bid to lift their probation status.
When Guenter is found, the Professor offers him the hat, and Fry offers him a banana. Before Guenter can decide, Robot House speeds past with Bender on water skis. The boat's wake washes ashore and drags the humans into the river and towards a waterfall. Guenter puts the hat on and rescues them, but in the process the hat is damaged. Guenter announces that he likes the new reduced-capacity hat, and that he's decided to transfer to business school, to the horror of Professor Farnsworth.
Meanwhile, Robot House wins the regatta, and a parade in their honor is held, lead by an unhappy Dean Vernon.
[edit] Cultural references
- The DVD commentary acknowledges that the production team meant to pay tribute to classic college films, including Revenge of the Nerds and National Lampoon's Animal House. Plot items which parody these films include:
- The subplot around the fraternity Robot House contains many references to the Animal House, including using a ladder to peek into a girl's dormitory, and Bender demanding an eternal loop of the song "Louie Louie".
- Dean Vernon is named after Dean Vernon Wormer from Animal House and his placing Robot House on "dodeca-tuple secret probation" mirrors Wormer's placing Delta House on "double secret probation".
- The final montage, showing what happened to various characters, also echoes the final scenes of Animal House.
- Fat-Bot is a direct parody of Flounder from Animal house, right down to the "ridiculous looking beanie".
- The regatta parodies a similar plot point used in Revenge of the Nerds where the competition must be won to head the Greek council.
- When Guenter gets the phone number of a girl Fry was flirting with he parodies a line from the film Good Will Hunting.
- When Fry flashes back to his college experience, the prizes for the carnival game include Bart and Homer Simpson dolls.
- Amy's parents attempt to pay for her to get into the Phi Beta Kappa Society, the oldest honor society in the United States.
- "Coney Island Whitefish", the mascot of Fry's previous college, is a slang term for a used condom found lying on a beach.
- Above the entrance to the library, the words Vos Savant is chiseled along with Socrates, referring to Marilyn Vos Savant.
[edit] Goofs
- Bender states that he went to Bending College and stayed in an ERR fraternity house, however we learn later in a flashback to his birth that his entire knowledge was installed during his construction.
- Guenter states that he can only cry because of the hat he wears, but studies have shown that primates can in fact cry.[citation needed]
- At the time Bender and the rest of the Robot House attempt to sneak over to a women's dormitiory, notice that Mars' innermost moon Phobos can be seen. However, it is clearly drawn out of proportion.
[edit] Continuity
- This episode features one of the three alternate theme songs, this one known as the "Martian Mix".
- Besides the pilot, this is the only episode where Dr. Zoidberg does not appear.
[edit] Production Jokes
- The name of the robot house, Epsilon Rho Rho, spells out ERR, which means to make a mistake; however, the actual character of rho looks more like a lowercase "P" (p) than an uppercase R. In the context of the show, however, it probably refers to "ERR", a message often displayed in older calculators and spreadsheet programs when an error or illegal operation is performed.
- One of the numbers of Chrissy's phone number that Guenther gets is a lambda (λ).
- Professor Farnsworth mentions that Mars University was founded in 2636, exactly 1000 years after Harvard University was founded (in 1636).
[edit] The Passage of Time
- When Fry proclaims that the Martian Jungles are "just like the ones on Earth," Professor Farnsworth says "Jungles? On Earth?" and then laughs, meaning deforestation has gone unabated on Earth to the extent the rain forests are destroyed. Similarly, when the Professor uses a gas grenade to try and knock Gunther out of a tree, several Earth rain forest animals (including an elephant) fall out of a tree.
