Futurama

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Futurama
An opening title for Futurama
The opening title screen for Futurama.
Genre Sitcom
Science fiction
Format Animated series
Created by Matt Groening
Developed by Matt Groening
David X. Cohen
Voices of Billy West
Katey Sagal
John DiMaggio
Phil LaMarr
Lauren Tom
Maurice LaMarche
Tress MacNeille
David Herman
Frank Welker
Kath Soucie
Tom Kenny
Composer(s) Christopher Tyng
Country of origin United States
Language(s) English
No. of seasons 5
No. of episodes 76 (List of episodes)
Production
Executive
producer(s)
Matt Groening
David X. Cohen
Ken Keeler
Running time 22 minutes approx.
Broadcast
Original channel Fox (1999–2003)
Comedy Central (2008–present)
Picture format 480i (SDTV) (Seasons 1-4)
720p/1080p (HDTV) (Season 5 - present)
Original run March 28, 1999August 10, 2003 (Fox)
March 23, 2008 – present (Comedy Central)
External links
IMDb profile
TV.com summary

Futurama is an Emmy Award-winning animated American sitcom created by Matt Groening, and developed by Matt Groening and David X. Cohen for the Fox network. The series follows the adventures of a former New York City pizza delivery boy Philip J. Fry after he is accidentally frozen, seconds after the start of a new millennium, on January 1, 2000 and is revived one thousand years in the future.

In the United States, the series aired from March 28, 1999 to August 10, 2003 on Fox before ceasing production. Futurama was then aired on Adult Swim on Cartoon Network, from January 2003 to December 2007, when the network's contract expired. The series was revived in 2007 as four straight-to-DVD films which would then be split into a sixteen-episode fifth season. Comedy Central entered into an agreement with 20th Century Fox Television to syndicate the existing episodes and air the films as new episodes in an episodic format.[1][2] Comedy Central began airing Futurama on January 2, 2008,[3] with new episodes starting on March 23, 2008.

The name "Futurama" comes from a pavilion at the 1939 New York World's Fair. Designed by Norman Bel Geddes, the Futurama pavilion depicted what he imagined the world to look like in 1959.[4]

Contents

[edit] Cast and characters

See also: List of recurring robot characters from Futurama, List of recurring human characters from Futurama, and List of recurring alien characters from Futurama

Futurama is essentially a workplace sitcom whose plot revolves around the Planet Express delivery company and its employees.[5] Episodes invariably feature the central trio of Fry, Leela and Bender, though storylines centered on the other main characters are common.

Philip J. Fry (Billy West)
Philip J. Fry is an immature, slovenly pizza delivery boy who accidentally becomes frozen just after midnight on January 1, 2000, reawakening on New Year's Eve, 2999. He gets a job as a cargo delivery boy at Planet Express, a company owned by his closest living relative, Professor Hubert J. Farnsworth. Fry is, through actions which he takes in the episode "Roswell That Ends Well", his own grandfather.[5]
Turanga Leela (Katey Sagal)
Leela is the competent, one-eyed captain of the Planet Express Ship.[5] Abandoned as a baby, she grew up in an Orphanarium believing herself to be an alien from an unknown race. She later learns that she is actually a mutant from the sewers.[6]
Bender Bending Rodríguez (John DiMaggio)
Bender is a foul-mouthed, alcoholic, cigar-smoking, kleptomaniacal, misanthropic, egocentric, ill-tempered, pessimistic robot originally programmed to bend girders for suicide booths, and is now assistant sales manager of Planet Express. He is Fry's best friend and roommate.
Professor Hubert J. Farnsworth, a.k.a. The Professor (Billy West)
Born April 9, 2841, Professor Hubert Farnsworth is Fry's distant nephew.[7] Farnsworth founded Planet Express to fund his mad scientist-esque experiments and inventions. He clones himself to create a successor, Cubert Farnsworth.
Dr. John A. Zoidberg (Billy West)
Zoidberg is a lobster-like alien from the planet Decapod 10 and is the neurotic and self-conscious staff physician of Planet Express. Although he claims to be an expert on humans, his knowledge of human anatomy and physiology is woefully inadequate. Zoidberg is basically penniless and held in contempt by virtually all.
Amy Wong (Lauren Tom)
Amy is an incredibly rich, blunt, spoiled and extremely accident-prone long-term intern at Planet Express. She is an engineering student at Mars University and heiress to the western hemisphere of Mars. Though born on Mars, she is ethnically Chinese, prone to frequently cursing in Cantonese, and overuses 31st century slang. Her parents are Leo and Inez. Although initially portrayed as somewhat promiscuous, she eventually develops a relationship with Kif Kroker.
Hermes Conrad (Phil LaMarr)
Hermes is the Jamaican accountant of Planet Express. A bureaucrat and proud of it, he is a stickler for regulation. Hermes is also a former champion in Olympic Limbo, a sport derived from the popular dance and similar to the track event of hurdling. He has a wife, LaBarbara, and a 12-year-old son, Dwight.

[edit] Setting

Fry's first glimpse of New New York City.
Fry's first glimpse of New New York City.

Futurama is set in New New York at the turn of the 31st century, in a time filled with technological wonders. The city of New New York has been built over the ruins of present-day New York City, referred to as "Old New York". Various devices and architecture are similar to the Populuxe design. Global warming, inflexible bureaucracy and substance abuse are a few of the subjects given a 31st century exaggeration in a world where the problems have become both more extreme and more common.

Numerous technological advances have been made between the present day and the 31st century. The ability to keep heads alive in jars was invented by Ron Popeil (who has a guest cameo in "A Big Piece of Garbage") which has resulted in many historical figures and current celebrities being present; this became the writers' excuse to feature and poke fun at celebrities in the show. Curiously, several of the preserved heads shown are those of people who were already dead well before the advent of this technology. One the most prominent examples of this anomaly being Richard Nixon who died in 1994. The Internet, while being fully immersive and encompassing all senses--even featuring its own digital world (similar to Tron or The Matrix), is slow and largely consists of pornography, pop-up ads, and "filthy" chat rooms. Some of it is edited to include educational material ostensibly for youth. Television is still a primary form of entertainment. Self-aware robots are a common sight, as well as being the main cause of global warming thanks to their alcohol-powered systems. The wheel is obsolete (no one but Fry even seems to recognize the design)[8] having been forgotten and replaced by hovering vehicles and a network of large, clear pneumatic transportation tubes.

Futurama's setting is a backdrop, and the writers are not above committing continuity errors if they serve to further the gags. For example, while the pilot episode implies that the previous Planet Express crew was killed by a space wasp, the later episode "The Sting" is based on the crew having been killed by space bees instead.[9] The "world of tomorrow" setting is used to highlight and lampoon issues of today and to parody the science fiction genre.[10]

[edit] Society and culture

Earth is depicted as being multicultural to the extent where there are a wide range of human, robot, and extraterrestrial beings shown in the series who interact with the primary characters. In some ways the future is depicted as being more socially advanced than Fry's, and thus the audience's, reality. The future is often shown, though, to have many of the same types of problems, challenges, mistakes and prejudices of the present. Robots make up the largest "minority" in the series. While a few are depicted as wealthy members of the upper-class, they are often treated as second-class citizens.[8] Most robots are self-aware and have been granted freedom and free-will. However, at times of crisis, robots may have their free-will removed when their "patriotism circuits" are activated, forcing them to serve humans or to serve in the military in times of war.[11] Many robots live in apartments specially constructed for robots, with rooms the size of a typical coat closet and closets the size of typical rooms.[12] Sewer mutants are mutated humans who must live in the sewers by law. They hold urban legend status and are regarded as fictional by some members of the public.

Religion is still a prominent part of society, although the dominant religions have evolved. A merger between the major religious groups of the 20th century has resulted in the First Amalgamated Church,[13] while Voodoo is now mainstream. New religions include Oprahism, Robotology, and the banned religion of Star Trek fandom. Religious figures in the series include Father Changstein-El-Gamal, the Robot Devil, Reverend Preacherbot and passing references to The Space Pope. While very few episodes focus exclusively on the religious aspect within the Futurama universe they do cover a wide variety of subjects including predestination, prayer, the nature of salvation, and religious conversion.[13]

Earthican flag, "Ol' Freebie".
Earthican flag, "Ol' Freebie".

Earth has a unified government headed by the President of Earth - Richard Nixon's head (from season 2 onwards). Earth's capital is Washington, D.C., and the flag of Earth is similar in design to the flag of the United States, with planet Earth displayed in place of the fifty stars.

The Democratic Order Of Planets (D.O.O.P.) is a fictional organization in the Futurama universe which has been compared to both the United Nations and to the United Federation of Planets of the Star Trek universe.[14] Numerous other galaxies have been colonized or have made contact by the year 3000. Mars has been terraformed and is home to Mars University as well as tribes similar to Native Americans.

The heads of the past presidents from George Washington to Bill Clinton and many famous, and infamous, people from our era are placed in jars. These heads are displayed in the National Head Museum. They are fed food in a similar way to fish.

[edit] Linguistics

Alien Language 1 and its equivalent Latin characters.
Alien Language 1 and its equivalent Latin characters.

There are two alternative alphabets that appear often in the background of episodes, usually in the forms of graffiti, advertisements or warning labels. Nearly all messages using alternative scripts translate directly into English. The first alphabet consists of abstract characters and is referred to as Alienese,[6] a simple substitution cipher from the Latin alphabet.[15] The second alphabet uses a more complex modular addition code, where the "next letter is given by the summation of all previous letters plus the current letter".[16] The codes often provide additional jokes for fans dedicated enough to decode the messages.[10] Aside from these alphabets, most of the displayed wording on the show uses the Latin alphabet.

Several English expressions have evolved since the present day. For example, the word Christmas has been replaced with Xmas (pronounced "EX-mas) and the word ask with aks (pronounced axe). According to David X. Cohen it is a running joke in the series that the French language is extinct in the Futurama universe, much like Latin is in the present.[17] In the French dubbing of the show, German is used as the extinct language instead.

[edit] Humor

Futurama's original spoof closing logo for "30th Century Fox".
Futurama's original spoof closing logo for "30th Century Fox".

Although the series utilized a wide range of styles of humor including: self-deprecation, black comedy, off-color humor, slapstick, and surreal humor; its primary source of comedy was its satirical depiction of everyday life in the future and its parodical comparisons to the present.[5] Matt Groening notes that, from the show's conception, his goal was to take what was, on the surface, a goofy comedy and show that underneath were "legitimate literary science fiction concepts".[18] The series contrasted "low culture" and "high culture" comedy; for example, Bender's catchphrase is the insult "Bite my shiny metal ass" while his most terrifying nightmare is a vision of a number 2, a joke referencing the binary numeral system.[5]

The series developed a cult following partially due to the large number of in-jokes it contains, most of which are aimed at "nerds".[5] In commentary on the DVD releases, David X. Cohen points out and sometimes explains his "nerdiest joke[s]".[19] These jokes included mathematical jokes--such as "Loew's \aleph_0-plex" (aleph-null-plex) movie theater,[19] as well as various forms of science humor--for example, Professor Farnsworth complains that judges of a quantum finish "changed the outcome by measuring it", a reference to the observer effect in quantum mechanics.[20] Over its run, the series passes references to quantum chromodynamics (the appearance of Strong Force-brand glue),[21] computer science (two separate books in a closet labeled P and NP respectively, referring to the possibility that P and NP-complete problem classes are distinct),[22] electronics and genetics (a mention of Bender's "robo-, or RNA").[23] The show often features subtle references to classic science fiction. These are most often Star Trek - many soundbites are used in the series as an homage[5] - but also others, such as the reference to the origin of the word robot made in the existence of a robot-dominated planet named Chapek 9,[24] or the black rectangular monolith labeled "Out of Order" in orbit around Jupiter (a reference to Arthur C. Clarke's 3001: The Final Odyssey).[25] Bender and Fry sometimes watch a television show called The Scary Door, a humorous pastiche of The Twilight Zone. Also, the sewer Mutants from New New York worship a nuclear warhead in reference to the film Beneath the Planet of the Apes.

[edit] Opening sequence

Much like the opening sequence in The Simpsons with its chalkboard, sax solo and couch gags, Futurama has a distinctive opening sequence featuring minor gags. As the show begins, the word "Futurama" is displayed across the screen along with a joke disclaimer such as "Painstakingly drawn before a live studio audience", "Presented in Doublevision (Where Drunk)", "As Seen on TV" "Condemned by the Space Pope", "Filmed on location", or "Dancing Space Potatoes? YOU BET!"[26] After flying through downtown New New York and past various recurring characters, the Planet Express Ship crashes into a large screen showing a short clip from a classic cartoon. These have included clips from Looney Tunes shorts, cartoons produced by Max Fleischer, a short section of The Simpsons from a Tracy Ullman episode,[27] and the show's own opening sequence in "The Devil's Hands Are Idle Playthings". In Bender's Big Score, the opening clip is from the first Futurama episode where Fry gets frozen.

The Futurama theme song was written by Christopher Tyng and is based on the song "Psyché Rock" by Pierre Henry.[28] The theme is played on the tubular bells but is occasionally remixed for use in specific episodes including a version by The Beastie Boys used for the episode "Hell Is Other Robots" in which they guest starred.[26]

[edit] Production

See also: List of Futurama episodes
David X. Cohen with Matt Groening at the Futurama panel of Comic-Con 2007.
David X. Cohen with Matt Groening at the Futurama panel of Comic-Con 2007.

Matt Groening began thinking of Futurama in the mid-1990s. In 1997, he enlisted the help of David X. Cohen, then a Simpsons writer and producer, to assist in developing the show. The two then spent time researching science fiction books, television shows, and films of the past. By the time they pitched the series to Fox in April 1998, Groening and Cohen had composed many characters and story lines. During that first meeting, Fox ordered thirteen episodes. Shortly after, however, Groening and Fox executives argued over whether the network would have any creative input into the show.[29] With The Simpsons the network has no input.[30] Groening explains, "When they tried to give me notes on Futurama, I just said: 'No, we're going to do this just the way we did Simpsons.' And they said, 'Well, we don't do business that way anymore.' And I said, 'Oh, well, that's the only way I do business.'"[31] After negotiations, he received the same independence with Futurama.

[edit] Production process

It took six to nine months to make an episode of Futurama.[32][33] This long production time meant many episodes were worked on simultaneously.[34]

Each episode began with the writers discussing the story in a group. Then a single staff writer wrote an outline and then a script. Once the first draft was finished, the writers and executive producers got together with the actors to do a table read.[29] After this script reading, the writers rewrote the script as a group before eventually sending it to animation.[35] At this point the voice recording was also started and the script is out of the writers' hands.[33]

The animation in Futurama was done by Rough Draft Studios, which Groening insisted be used. Rough Draft receives the completed script of an episode and storyboards it into over 100 drawings. Then they create a pencil-drawn animatic with 1000 frames. From there, Rough Draft's sister studio in Korea puts together the 30,000-frame finished episode. The show was also sometimes animated overseas by Tokyo Movie Shinsha.[29]

[edit] CGI

Computer generated explosion in Futurama
Computer generated explosion in Futurama

In addition to traditional cartoon drawing, Rough Draft Studios often uses CGI for the fast or complex shots such as during the movement of spaceships, explosions, nebulae, and snow scenes among others. Most of the opening credits are rendered in CGI. The CGI is rendered at 24 fps (opposed to hand-drawn at 12 fps) and the lack of artifacts makes the animation appear very smooth and fluid. CGI characters look slightly different due to spatially "cheating" hand-drawn characters by drawing slightly out of proportion or off-perspective features to emphasize traits of the face or body, improving legibility of an expression. PowerAnimator is used to draw the comic-like CGI.[36]

[edit] Broadcast

When it came to deciding when the show would air, Groening and Cohen wanted Futurama to be shown at 8:30 Sunday nights, following The Simpsons. The network disagreed, opting instead to show two episodes in the Sunday night lineup before moving the show to its regular time slot on Tuesday.[37] Beginning its second broadcast season Futurama was again placed in the 8:30 Sunday spot,[38] but by mid-season the show was moved again. This time Futurama began airing in the 7:00 p.m. Sunday timeslot, its third position in under a year.[39]

Due to the 7:00 p.m. Sunday timeslot, the show was often pre-empted by sports and usually had a later than average season premiere. It also allowed the writers and animators to get ahead of the broadcast schedule so that episodes intended for one season were not aired until the following season. By the beginning of the fourth broadcast season all the episodes to be aired that season had already been completed and writers were working at least a year in advance.[33]

[edit] Ratings

When Futurama debuted in the Fox Sunday night line-up at 8:30 p.m. between The Simpsons and The X-Files on March 28, 1999, it managed 19 million viewers, tying for 11th overall in that week's Nielsen Ratings.[40] The following week, airing at the same time, Futurama drew 14.2 million viewers. The show was then moved to Tuesdays at 8:30 p.m. Futurama's first episode airing on Tuesday drew 8.85 million viewers.[41] Though its ratings were well below The Simpsons, the first season of Futurama rated higher than competing animated series: King of the Hill, Family Guy, Dilbert, South Park and The PJs.[42]

When Futurama was effectively cancelled in 2003, it had averaged 6.4 million viewers for the first half of its fourth broadcast season.[43]

[edit] Cancellation

Even by the fourth season Futurama was still being aired erratically.[44] This was parodied in the opening sequence of the last episode of Season 4 with a picture of Fry, Leela and Bender captioned, "See You On Some Other Channel." Due to being regularly pre-empted by sporting events, it became difficult to predict when new episodes would air. This erratic schedule resulted in Fox not airing several episodes that had been produced for seasons three and four, instead holding them over for the fifth season. Although Futurama was never officially canceled, midway through the production of the fourth season, Fox decided to let it go out of production and told the writers and animators to look for new jobs.

Fox's decision to stop buying episodes of Futurama led Rough Draft Studios, the animation producers, to fire its animators.[45] Futurama was not included in Fox's fall 2003 lineup.[46]

[edit] Syndication

In late 2002, Cartoon Network acquired the exclusive cable syndication rights of Futurama for a reported ten million dollars.[47] In January 2003,[47] the network began airing Futurama episodes as the centerpiece to the expansion of their Adult Swim cartoon block.[48] In October 2005, Comedy Central picked up the cable syndication rights to air Futurama's 72-episode run at the start of 2008, following the expiration of Cartoon Network's contract. It was cited as the largest and most expensive acquisition in the network's history. It is currently airing every night, followed by South Park.[49] A Comedy Central teaser trailer announced the return of Futurama March 23, 2008,[50] which was Bender's Big Score divided into four episodes followed by the other three movies.

[edit] International syndication

The Series aired on the Seven Network in Australia when the show first began but was left off-air for a few years until 2005. It was then picked up by Network Ten which aired repeats of the series until late 2007. The series is also shown most days on subscription based channel FOX8.

In the United Kingdom, repeats are broadcast on the digital channels Sky One, Sky Two and Sky Three on weekends which previously aired the continuous run of seasons 1-4. Repeats were also shown on Channel 4 until late 2005.

In Latin America, the show is re-run by the cable channel Fox, during prime time Monday through Friday.

In Canada, certain syndicated episodes are shown on YTV Monday to Thursday in prime time and each day of the week at or after midnight.

In Germany, all episodes were aired on ProSieben.

In Malaysia, episodes of the first two seasons were originally aired on TV3, while episodes from the last two seasons were aired on 8TV after a rather long hiatus between TV3's airing of the last episode of season 2 and 8TV's airing of the first episode of Season 3. Both channels aired the show late at night, around 10:30 PM, with the appropriate ratings, as indication that the series was not suitable for minors. Nevertheless, some episodes were not aired for unknown reasons. Additionally, Futurama was also available on the Asia-wide Star World network.

[edit] DVD movies

When Comedy Central began negotiating for the rights to air Futurama reruns, Fox suggested that there was a possibility of also creating new episodes, partially stemming from the fact that the network had already revived Family Guy (its other short-lived series that ended up on Adult Swim), but not Futurama. Negotiations were already being made with the possibility of creating two or three straight-to-DVD films. When Comedy Central committed to sixteen new episodes, it was decided that four films would be produced.[51] On April 26, 2006, Groening noted in an interview that co-creator David X. Cohen and numerous writers from the original series would be returning to work on the movies.[52] All the original voice actors still take part in the series. In February 2007, Groening explained the format of the new stories: "[The crew is] writing them as movies and then we're going to chop them up, reconfigure them, write new material and try to make them work as separate episodes."[53]

The first movie, Futurama: Bender's Big Score, is written by Ken Keeler and Cohen, and includes return appearances by the Nibblonians, Seymour, Barbados Slim, Robot Santa, the "God" space entity, Al Gore, and Zapp Brannigan.[54] It was animated in widescreen and was released on standard DVD on November 27, 2007, with a Blu-ray disc release to follow.[55] Futurama: Bender's Big Score was the first DVD release for which 20th Century Fox implemented measures intended to reduce the total carbon footprint of the production, manufacturing and distribution processes. Where it was not possible to completely eliminate carbon output carbon offsets were used. They refer to the changed processes as "carbon neutral".[56]

According to Rich Moore the titles of the other three movies are The Beast with a Billion Backs, Bender's Game, and Into the Wild Green Yonder.[57]

[edit] Impact

[edit] References to Futurama in popular culture

  • In an episode of The PJs, Fry's face can be seen on a milk carton as a missing person, referencing Fry's disappearance after being frozen. This was an act of reciprocation for an advertisement of The PJs etched into a manhole cover in the Futurama episode "I Second That Emotion".[66]
  • The Planet Express Ship appears in the Dark Horse Comics miniseries Outer Orbit, and the theme from Futurama was heard in the background of a scene on the moon in The Adventures of Pluto Nash. Also, in Alan Moore's "Top Ten" (issue 11), a discolored Fry, Leela, and Bender can be seen in the background of one of the frames.[68]

[edit] Awards

Wins[72] Nominations[72]
Annie Awards:
  • Outstanding Individual Achievement for Directing in an Animated Television Production
  • Outstanding Individual Achievement for Voice Acting by a Male Performer in an Animated Television Production
  • Outstanding Individual Achievement for Writing in an Animated Television Production
  • Outstanding Directing in an Animated Television Production
  • Best Home Entertainment Production

Emmy Awards:

Environmental Media Awards:

Writers Guild of America Award:

Annie Awards:
  • Outstanding Achievement in an Animated Television Program
    • 1999 — Futurama. The Curiosity Company in association with 20th Century Fox Television
  • Outstanding Individual Achievement for Writing in an Animated Television Production
  • Outstanding Achievement in a Primetime or Late Night Animated Television Program
    • 2000 — Futurama. The Curiosity Company in association with 20th Century Fox Television
  • Outstanding Individual Achievement for Directing in an Animated Television Production
  • Outstanding Achievement in a Primetime or Late Night Animated Television Production
    • 2001 — Futurama. The Curiosity Company in association with 20th Century Fox Television
  • Outstanding Achievement in an Animated Television Production
    • 2003 — Futurama. The Curiosity Company in association with 20th Century Fox Television
  • Outstanding Music in an Animated Television Production
  • Outstanding Writing in an Animated Television Production
    • 2004 — Patric Verrone for episode "The Sting".
Emmy Awards:

Nebula Award:

Writers Guild of America Award:

  • Animation
    • 2004 — Patric Verrone for episode "The Sting"

[edit] Media

[edit] DVD releases

[edit] Full season releases

20th Century Fox Home Entertainment released all 4 seasons of Futurama on DVD in order:

DVD Name Ep # Release dates Additional Features
Region 1 Region 2 Region 4
Volume 1 13 March 25, 2003 January 28, 2002 November 27, 2002 This three disc boxset includes the 13 episodes from production season 1. Bonus features include commentary on every episode, Animatics for "Space Pilot 3000", Deleted scenes, Script/storyboard for "Space Pilot 3000", Featurette, Interactive still gallery (stills & video) and easter eggs.
Volume 2 19 August 12, 2003 November 11, 2002 May 13, 2003 This four disc boxset includes the 19 episodes from production season 2. Bonus features include commentary on every episode, deleted scenes, easter eggs, still gallery/concept art, alien alphabet.
Volume 3 22 March 9, 2004 June 2, 2003 September 24, 2003 This four disc boxset includes the 22 episodes from production season 3. Bonus features include commentary on every episode, deleted scenes, animatics, still gallery/character art, 3D models from rough draft sequences, easter eggs.
Volume 4 18 August 24, 2004 November 24, 2003 November 24, 2003 This four disc boxset includes the 18 episodes from production season 4. Bonus features include commentary on every episode, deleted scenes from 16 episodes, storyboard, character art and "How To Draw" galleries, animatics, 3-D Models, pencil tests, easter eggs.
Note: The box sets in Region 2 and 4 are marketed as "Season" rather than "Volume".
Note: Each of the box sets represent one of the four production seasons of the series. However, Fox spread out the series over 5 television seasons, often airing the series out of production order. Of note: after the production of Futurama was originally canceled, Fox aired the 16 previously unaired episodes, all from production seasons three and four, as a "season 5", running sporadically between November 2002 and August 2003. The box sets restore the episodes to production order.

[edit] Other DVDs

DVD Name Ep # Release dates Additional Features
Region 1 Region 2 Region 4
Futurama:
The
Complete
Collection
72 March 22, 2005 October 25, 2004 November 22, 2005 A fifteen disc collection containing the first four seasons of Futurama. All bonus features from the first four box sets are included. The Region 4 version of the collection is significantly smaller than the others.
Monster
Robot
Maniac
Fun
Collection
4 August 23, 2005 May 30, 2005 August 22, 2005 Contains four episodes, one from each previously released season: "Hell Is Other Robots", "Anthology of Interest I", "Roswell That Ends Well" and "The Sting". New bonus features include an animatic for "Hell Is Other Robots" with commentary, special introductions and an easter egg.

[edit] Films

DVD Name Release dates Additional Features
Region 1 Region 2 Region 4
Bender's
Big Score
November 27, 2007 April 7, 2008 March 5, 2008 Bonus features include complete commentary, full-length episode of Everybody Loves Hypno-Toad, Futurama math lecture, and promo for An Inconvenient Truth starring Bender and Al Gore.[74]
The Beast with a Billion Backs June 24, 2008 June 30, 2008 August 6, 2008 Bonus features include complete commentary, animatic, deleted scenes, storyboards, blooper reel, record sessions, 3D models with audio description, Celebrity featurette: David Cross, Bender or Cast reads credits, new character design sketches. [75]
Bender's Game November 2008
The Wild Green Yonder April 2009

[edit] Comic books

Main article: Futurama Comics

First started in November 2000, Futurama Comics is a comic book series published by Bongo Comics based in the Futurama universe.[76] While originally published only in the US, a UK, German and Australian version of the series is also available.[77] Other than a different running order and presentation, the stories are the same in all versions. While the comics focus on the same characters in the Futurama fictional universe the comics may not be canonical as the events portrayed within them do not necessarily have any effect upon the continuity of the show.

Like the TV series, each comic (except US comic #20) has a caption at the top of the cover. For example: "Made In The USA! (Printed in Canada)". Some of the UK and Australian comics have different captions on the top of their comics (for example, the Australian version of #20 says "A 21st Century Comic Book" across the cover, while the US version does not have a caption on that issue). All series contain a letters page, artwork from readers and previews of other Bongo Comics coming up.

[edit] Toys, games and figurines

While relatively uncommon, several action and tin figurines of various characters and items from the show have been made and are being sold by various hobby/online stores. When the show was initially licensed plans were made with Rocket USA to produce wind-up, walking tin figurines of both Bender and Nibbler with packaging artwork done by the original artists for the series.[78] The Bender toys included a cigar and bottle of "Olde Fortran Malt Liquor" and featured moving eyes, antenna and a functioning compartment door; it received an "A" rating from Sci Fi Weekly.[79] A can of Slurm cola actually contains a deck of cards featuring the Planet Express crew as the face cards. A two deck pack of cards was also released.

I-Men released two packs of 2.5 inch high figures: Fry and Calculon; Zoidberg and Morbo; Professor Farnsworth and URL; Robot Devil and Bender; Leela and Roberto. Each figure comes with a corresponding collectable coin that can also double as a figure stand.

The collectible releases include a set of bendable action figures, including Lieutenant Kif Kroker, Turanga Leela, and Bender. There have also been a few figures released by Moore Action Collectibles, including Fry, Turanga Leela, Bender, and the Planet Express Ship. In late 2006, Rocket USA brought out a limited edition 'super' heavyweight die cast Bender. Another special edition Bender figure was released at the San Diego Comic Con (SDCC) in 2006; the figure was called "Glorious Golden Bender".

Toynami is currently producing new Futurama figures.[80] The first series of the Toynami figures is separated into 3 waves; wave one, released in September 2007, featured Fry and Zoidberg, while wave two, released January 2008, consisted of Leela and Zapp. The third wave will include Bender and Kif and currently has no release date. Each figure comes with build-a-figure pieces to assemble the Robot Devil.

[edit] Video game

Main article: Futurama (video game)

On September 15, 2000, Unique Development Studios acquired the license to develop a Futurama video game for the consoles and handheld systems. Fox Interactive signed on to publish the game.[81] Sierra Entertainment later became the game's publisher, and it was released on August 14, 2003.[82] Versions are available for the PS2 and Xbox, both of which use cel-shading technology, however, the game was subsequently canceled on the Nintendo GameCube and Game Boy Advance in North America and Europe.[83]

[edit] See also

[edit] References

  1. ^ "Groening's Bargain to Yield Four Futurama Movies". Reuters (Jan 28, 2007). Retrieved on 2008-06-03.
  2. ^ Wallenstein, Andrew (June 22, 2006). "Futurama" gets new life on Comedy Central. Reuters. Archived from the original on 06-11-06. Retrieved on 2008-06-03.
  3. ^ "Comedy Central TV Schedule". Retrieved on 2008-01-01.
  4. ^ Taylor, Timothy Dean [2001]. Strange Sounds: Music, Technology & Culture, 104-105. ISBN 0415936845. 
  5. ^ a b c d e f g Cook, Lucius (April 26, 2004). Hey Sexy Mama, Wanna Kill All Humans?: Looking Backwards at Futurama, The Greatest SF Show You've Never Seen. Locus Online. Retrieved on January 27, 2007.
  6. ^ a b "Leela's Homeworld". Futurama. Fox Network. 2002-02-17. No. 12, season 4.
  7. ^ "A Clone of My Own". Futurama. Fox Network. 2000-04-09. No. 10, season 2. 3 minutes in.
  8. ^ a b "Mother's Day". Futurama. Fox Network. 2000-05-14. No. 14, season 2.
  9. ^ Verrone, Patric M (2003), DVD commentary for "The Sting", Futurama. Original airdate June 1, 2003. No. 12, Season 4. 20th Century Fox.
  10. ^ a b Cohen, David X. (2003). Futurama season 1 DVD commentary for the episode "Space Pilot 3000" [DVD]. 20th Century Fox.
  11. ^ "When Aliens Attack". Futurama. Fox Network. 1999-11-07. No. 12, season 1.
  12. ^ "I, Roommate". Futurama. Fox Network. 1999-04-06. No. 4, season 2.
  13. ^ a b Pinsky, Mark [2003]. The Gospel According to the Simpsons. Bigger and possibly even Better! edition, 229-235. ISBN 978-0-664-23265-8. 
  14. ^ "Love's Labours Lost in Space". Futurama. Fox Network. 1999-04-13. No. 4, season 1.
  15. ^ Omniglot. Retrieved on 2008-06-03.
  16. ^ "The Day the Earth Stood Stupid". Futurama. Audio Commentary 11 minutes in.
  17. ^ "Space Pilot 3000". Futurama. Fox Network. 1999-03-28. No. 01, season 1. Audio commentary 20 minutes in.
  18. ^ Keller, Joel (January 31, 2007). Matt Groening talks about Futurama's comeback. TV Squad. Retrieved February 1, 2007.
  19. ^ a b "Raging Bender". Futurama. Fox Network. 2000-02-27. No. 8, season 2.
  20. ^ "The Luck of the Fryish". Futurama. Fox Network. 2001-03-11. No. 4, season 3.
  21. ^ "The 30% Iron Chef". Futurama. Fox Network. 2002-04-14. No. 22, season 3.
  22. ^ "Put Your Head on My Shoulders". Futurama. Fox Network. 2000-02-13. No. 7, season 2.
  23. ^ "Teenage Mutant Leela's Hurdles". Futurama. Fox Network. 2003-03-30. No. 9, season 4.
  24. ^ "Fear of a Bot Planet". Futurama. Fox Network. 1999-04-20. No. 5, season 1.
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  26. ^ a b Azrai, Ahmad (2004-10-31). Farewell to the funny future. Retrieved on 2008-01-10.
  27. ^ 'Flickr Slideshow'.
  28. ^ BBC-Music Profiles-Pierre Henry. Retrieved on 2008-06-03.
  29. ^ a b c Needham, Alex. "Nice Planet...We'll Take It!", October 1999. Retrieved on 2008-06-03. 
  30. ^ Snierson, Dan. "Space Case", Entertainment Weekly, 1999-03-26. Retrieved on 2008-06-03. 
  31. ^ Groening Bites the Hand that Feeds. Mr. Showbiz (1999-04-08). Retrieved on 2008-06-03.
  32. ^ Saunders, Dusty. "Fox's far-out Futurama looks like a hit", Denver Rocky Mountain News, 1999-03-25. Retrieved on 2008-06-03. 
  33. ^ a b c "David X. Cohen boards the Planet Express to find meaning in Futurama". Sci Fi Weekly (December 17, 2001). Retrieved on 2008-06-03.
  34. ^ Online Chat with Matt Groening. TV Guide (1999-04-06). Retrieved on 2008-06-03.
  35. ^ David X Cohen interview with GotFuturama.com. Retrieved on 2008-06-03.
  36. ^ Scott Vanzo of Rough Draft Studios e-mail response. Retrieved on 2001-06-20.
  37. ^ Duncan, Andrew. "Matt Groening Interview with Radio Times", Radio Times, 1999-09-24. Retrieved on 2008-06-03. 
  38. ^ Villanueva, Annabelle. "Fall TV Preview: Tricks and Treats", Cinescape, September-October 1999. Retrieved on 2008-06-03. 
  39. ^ Winer, Adam. "Futurama Shock", Entertainment Weekly, 1999-12-09. Retrieved on 2008-06-03. 
  40. ^ Bauder, David. "New animated show `Futurama' may be a score for Fox", The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, 1999-04-01. Retrieved on 2008-06-03. 
  41. ^ Groening's Gripe (April 1999). Retrieved on 2008-06-03.
  42. ^ Sterngold, James. "Futurama: Bringing an Alien and a Robot to TV Life", The New York Times, 1999-07-22. Retrieved on 2008-06-03. 
  43. ^ Fox puts 'Futurama' order on hold (2002-02-14). Retrieved on 2008-06-03.
  44. ^ UPDATE UPDATED!! FUTURAMA Thing of the Past?? Or What??. Ain't It Cool News (February 12, 2002). Retrieved on 2006-06-14.
  45. ^ Fox Says 'No' to 'Futurama'. Zap2it (February 12, 2002). Retrieved on 2008-06-03.
  46. ^ Remeber Me after my Death!. Can't Get Enough Futurama (May 15, 2003). Retrieved on 2008-06-03.[sic]
  47. ^ a b Toon Net Gets 'Futurama'. Daily Variety (September 9, 2002). Retrieved on 2008-05-28.
  48. ^ Adult Swim. Cartoon Network Pressroom. Retrieved on 2008-06-03.
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  50. ^ Silver screen Simpsons, Futurama facing finish?. BBC News (January 19, 2002). Retrieved on 2008-06-03.
  51. ^ Katz, Claudia. Interview with Evan Jacobs. EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW: Claudia Katz on Futurama the Movie: Bender's Big Score. 2007-11-16. Retrieved on 2008-06-03.
  52. ^ Matt Groening. Retrieved on 2008-06-03.
  53. ^ Staff Writer (February 26, 2007). Rhymes with Raining. Crave Online. Retrieved on 2007-03-25.
  54. ^ Ain't It Cool News: "Ben Sinister Has Read The New FUTURAMA 'Movie'!!". Retrieved on 2008-06-03.
  55. ^ Comic-Con: The 'Futurama' is Clear'. tvblogger.org. Retrieved on 2007-07-29.
  56. ^ “Futurama” Feature Length Movie DVD Specs (2007-11-14). Retrieved on 2008-06-03.
  57. ^ Vo, Alex (2007-07-30). Comic-Con Premieres New Futurama Footage; Plus, We Interview Futurama's Rich Moore.. Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved on 2008-01-05.
  58. ^ "Fraudcast News". The Simpsons. Fox Network. 2004-05-23. No. 22, season 15.
  59. ^ Robert Levine (2004-05-23). TELEVISION: THE EPISODE; The Season Finale That Isn't a Season Finale. Retrieved on 2008-06-03.
  60. ^ "Missionary: Impossible". The Simpsons. Fox Network. 2000-02-20. No. 15, season 11.
  61. ^ "Bart vs. Lisa vs. The Third Grade". The Simpsons. Fox Network. 2002-11-17. No. 4, season 14.
  62. ^ "Future-Drama". The Simpsons. Fox Network. 2005-04-17. No. 15, season 16.
  63. ^ "HOMЯ". The Simpsons. Fox Network. 2001-01-07. No. 9, season 12.
  64. ^ YOU GO, GORE. The Irish Times (September 15, 2006). Retrieved on 2008-06-03.
  65. ^ Tarnoff, Brooke. Futurama : Bender's Big Score Review. Retrieved on 2008-06-03.
  66. ^ "I Second That Emotion". Futurama. Fox Network. Audio Commentary 13 minutes in. "They reciprocated, actually, by putting Fry on the side of a milk carton in The PJs as a lost person."
  67. ^ Young Avengers Special #1
  68. ^ Nevins, Jess (2001-10-29). Notes to Top Ten #11.
  69. ^ Allakhazam, Star Wars: Galaxies (2006-06-13). Probulator.
  70. ^ Family Guy Present Blue Harvest
  71. ^ Aqua Teen Hunger Force (2008-03-21). ATHF.
  72. ^ a b Awards for "Futurama" (1999). Retrieved on 2006-06-12.
  73. ^ 29th Annual Annie Award Nominees and Winners. Archived from the original on 2005-03-12.
  74. ^ Futurama: Bender's Big Score. FoxStore.com. Retrieved on August 6, 2007.
  75. ^ Futurama DVD news: Retail information for Futurama - The Beast with a Billion Backs | TVShowsOnDVD.com
  76. ^ Groening lanches 'Futurama Comics' (2000-11-19).
  77. ^ Press release (2002-09-25) Do you want Fry with that? Titan Publishing. Retrieved from gotfuturama on 2007-03-04
  78. ^ Janulewicz, Tom (2000-02-29). Pushing Tin: Space Toys With Golden-Age Style.
  79. ^ Huxter, Sean (2001-03-05). Bender: Matt Groening's Futurama inspires a nostalgia for the inventive toys of future past.
  80. ^ Futurama SDCC Exclusive and Toy news. Retrieved on 2008-06-03.
  81. ^ Futurama Finds a Developer. Retrieved on 2006-07-25.
  82. ^ Sierra to bring Futurama game to the US. Retrieved on 2008-06-03.
  83. ^ Futurama Info — Futurama Information — Futurama Release Date. Retrieved on 2008-06-03.

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