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Multiple designs for the energy being were considered for this episode however the final version was decided upon due to a desire to keep the design simple.<ref name="Cohen">{{cite video | people=Cohen, David X.|year=2003|title=Futurama season 4 DVD commentary for the episode "Where No Fan Has Gone Before"| medium=DVD||publisher=20th Century Fox}}</ref> Despite this effort Schinagawa still notes that the final design for Melllvar is more sophisticated than some energy beings featured in the original series.<ref name="Schinagawa">{{cite video | people=Schinagawa, Pat|year=2003|title=Futurama season 4 DVD commentary for the episode "Where No Fan Has Gone Before"| medium=DVD||publisher=20th Century Fox}}</ref>
Multiple designs for the energy being were considered for this episode however the final version was decided upon due to a desire to keep the design simple.<ref name="Cohen">{{cite video | people=Cohen, David X.|year=2003|title=Futurama season 4 DVD commentary for the episode "Where No Fan Has Gone Before"| medium=DVD||publisher=20th Century Fox}}</ref> Despite this effort Schinagawa still notes that the final design for Melllvar is more sophisticated than some energy beings featured in the original series.<ref name="Schinagawa">{{cite video | people=Schinagawa, Pat|year=2003|title=Futurama season 4 DVD commentary for the episode "Where No Fan Has Gone Before"| medium=DVD||publisher=20th Century Fox}}</ref>

⚫
===''Star Trek'' references===
⚫
In the DVD audio commentary the writer for this episode notes his pride in having included a large number of references to the original series, particularly those items which he claims "the people on the internet" had not found on their own. In particular he noted that in "Shatner's Log", a play on the legendary captain's log, the line "The impossible has happened" is the same line given in the opening log in the episode "[[Where No Man Has Gone Before (TOS episode)|Where No Man Has Gone Before]]."<ref name="Goodman">{{cite video | people=Goodman, David A.|year=2003|title=Futurama season 4 DVD commentary for the episode "Where No Fan Has Gone Before"| medium=DVD||publisher=20th Century Fox}}</ref>


==Broadcast and reception==
==Broadcast and reception==
Although the episode was not the last episode produced for season four it was used as the season finale for the fourth broadcast season. The episode was then nominated for a [[Nebula Award]] in 2004 for best script<ref name="locus">Cook, Lucius ([[April 26]], [[2004]]). [http://www.locusmag.com/2004/Reviews/04Cook_Futurama.html Hey Sexy Mama, Wanna Kill All Humans?: Looking Backwards at Futurama, The Greatest SF Show You've Never Seen]. ''[[Locus Online]]''. Retrieved on [[July 2]], [[2007]].</ref><ref name="nebula">{{cite web |url=http://www.locusmag.com/SFAwards/Db/Nebula2004.html |title=2004 Nebula Awards |date=[[2004-04-17]] |access date=[[2007-07-02]]}}</ref>. Either due to or in spite of the fact that most of the episode is considered [[fan service]], [[IGN.com]] ranked the episode as number ten in their list of the "Top 25 ''Futurama'' Episodes" in 2006<ref name=IGN>{{cite web |url=http://tv.ign.com/articles/716/716663p1.html |title="Top 25 Futurama Episodes" |accessdate=2006-11-04 |format= |work= }}</ref>
Although the episode was not the last episode produced for season four it was used as the season finale for the fourth broadcast season. The episode was then nominated for a [[Nebula Award]] in 2004 for best script<ref name="locus">Cook, Lucius ([[April 26]], [[2004]]). [http://www.locusmag.com/2004/Reviews/04Cook_Futurama.html Hey Sexy Mama, Wanna Kill All Humans?: Looking Backwards at Futurama, The Greatest SF Show You've Never Seen]. ''[[Locus Online]]''. Retrieved on [[July 2]], [[2007]].</ref><ref name="nebula">{{cite web |url=http://www.locusmag.com/SFAwards/Db/Nebula2004.html |title=2004 Nebula Awards |date=[[2004-04-17]] |access date=[[2007-07-02]]}}</ref>. Either due to or in spite of the fact that most of the episode is considered [[fan service]], [[IGN.com]] ranked the episode as number ten in their list of the "Top 25 ''Futurama'' Episodes" in 2006<ref name=IGN>{{cite web |url=http://tv.ign.com/articles/716/716663p1.html |title="Top 25 Futurama Episodes" |accessdate=2006-11-04 |format= |work= }}</ref>

==Continuity==

The central premise of the episode, that in the future [[Star Trek]] has become a proscribed religion, so much so that it was forbidden even to speak of it, was contradicted by Hermes in the episode [[Brannigan Begin Again]]. In that episode Hermes uses the Federation as an analogy to explain to Fry the concept behind the [[Democratic Order of Planets]] (DOOP). It is highly unlikely that Hermes, being both officious and pedantic in the extreme, would commit a crime by casually discussing Star Trek. A possible explanation for Hermes' omission could be found in his extensive exposure to Brain Slugs. However, an even less likely contradiction is found in the episode [[That's Lobstertainment!]], as Star Trek: The Pepsi Generation is nominated for an Oscar for Best Product Placement.

==Cultural references==
* The ship that jettisons the last ''Star Trek'' videotapes to the forbidden planet is an Eagle Transporter from ''[[Space: 1999]]''.
* Shatner performs a spoken-word version of "[[The Real Slim Shady]]", a reference to his much-maligned album ''[[The Transformed Man]]'', in which he performed spoken words of contemporary songs such as "[[Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds]]" and "[[Mr Tambourine Man]]."
* Zapp Brannigan was partially inspired by both [[James T. Kirk|Kirk]] and Shatner.
* "Where No Fan Has Gone Before" was the name of a ''Star Trek'' [[fan club]] in the 1970s founded by Joseph Ames, Jr., then a grammar school student in [[Maple Grove, Minnesota|Maple Grove, MN]]. The name was taken from a defunct [[fanzine]] of the same name listed in a 1974 edition of the "[[Star Trek Welcommittee]] Directory".
* Nichelle Nichols' gymnastic attack and battle cry mock that of [[Xena]].
* The sign outside of the Star Trek church reads "The sci-fi religion that doesn't take all your money", a reference to [[Scientology]].
* Doohan's replacement, Welshie, first traveled with the ''Star Trek'' cast after his appearance on a ''Star Trek''-themed variety program, a reference to the re-casting of Jan Brady in ''[[The Brady Bunch]] Variety Hour''.
*Bender's Line " Another great science fiction show, cancelled before its time" may reference Futurama's own cacellation, as the writers would have known by this time.
* Nimoy's mention of his apartment lease in his farewell to Shatner may be a reference to a [[Travelocity]] commercial they both participated in.
* William Shatner sings a pathetically-mild version of [[Eminem]]'s rap song "[[The Real Slim Shady]]".

⚫
===''Star Trek'' references===
⚫
In the DVD audio commentary the writer for this episode notes his pride in having included a large number of references to the original series, particularly those items which he claims "the people on the internet" had not found on their own. In particular he noted that in "Shatner's Log", a play on the legendary captain's log, the line "The impossible has happened" is the same line given in the opening log in the episode "[[Where No Man Has Gone Before (TOS episode)|Where No Man Has Gone Before]]."<ref name="Goodman">{{cite video | people=Goodman, David A.|year=2003|title=Futurama season 4 DVD commentary for the episode "Where No Fan Has Gone Before"| medium=DVD||publisher=20th Century Fox}}</ref> Other references to the ''Star Trek'' franchise, in order of appearance in the episode, are as follows:
* The name of the episode is a play on the ''Star Trek'' saying, "[[Where no man has gone before|To boldly go where no man has gone before]]".
*After the regular Futurama introduction, the Planet Express Ship is shown flying across a backdrop of stars; this is similar to the opening sequence seen at the beginning of each original Star Trek episode. The music being played during this sequence are also similar to the music used for the Original Series opening. This classic Trek star backdrop is used throughout the episode.
*Zapp Brannigan says, "Bring in the accused," a line taken from the end of ''[[Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home]]''.
*Fry enters the courtroom in a robotic wheelchair that emits beeps for communication identical to the one used by [[Christopher Pike (Star Trek)|Christopher Pike]] in the episode "[[The Menagerie (TOS episode)|The Menagerie]]."<ref name="Cohen">{{cite video | people=Cohen, David X.|year=2003|title=Futurama season 4 DVD commentary for the episode "Where No Fan Has Gone Before"| medium=DVD||publisher=20th Century Fox}}</ref>.
*The Planet Express crew is charged with visiting the forbidden planet Omega III, for which the penalty is "twelve concurrent death sentences." Similarly, [[Talos IV]], the planet to which [[Spock]] took [[Christopher Pike (Star Trek)|Christopher Pike]] in the two-part episode "[[The Menagerie (Star Trek)|The Menagerie]]", is a forbidden planet in the Star Trek universe, punishable by death under [[Starfleet General Orders|Starfleet General Order]] #7.
*According to the video [[Nichelle Nichols]] plays, Star Trek evolved into a religion in the [[23rd century]]; this may be a reference to the fact that the events of [[Star Trek: The Original Series]] occurred in the 23rd century.
*A sign in front of the Church of ''Star Trek'': "Ceiling of the [[Christine Chapel]] Closed for Renovation", refers to Dr. McCoy's assistant, played by [[Majel Barrett]] in addition to being a reference to the [[Sistine Chapel]].
*The Star Trek "priest" orates: "And [[Montgomery Scott|Scotty]] beamed them to the Klingon ship, where they would be no [[Tribble (Star Trek)|tribble]] at all", referring to the events of "[[The Trouble With Tribbles (TOS episode)|The Trouble With Tribbles]]." The crowd chants, "All power to the engines!"
*The crowd is dressed in the traditional uniforms of [[Star Trek: The Original Series]].
*Two people in this crowd have the appearance of the black-and-white aliens from "[[Let That Be Your Last Battlefield (TOS episode)|Let That Be Your Last Battlefield]]."
*The Church's influence caused [[Germany]] to be briefly renamed "Nazi Planet Episode Land" (referring to the episode "[[Patterns of Force (TOS episode)|Patterns of Force]]"). In reality, because of laws limiting Nazi imagery, that episode is rarely seen in Germany.
*"He's dead, Jim!", one of [[Leonard McCoy]]'s famous lines, is repeated during a scene when [[Trekkie]] virgins are thrown into a volcano.
*This death is described as "the manner most befitting virgins." This may be a reference to the episode "[[Arena (Star Trek)|Arena]]," in which the [[Metrons]] tell [[James T. Kirk|Kirk]] that he will settle the conflict between the [[NCC-1701|Enterprise]] and the [[Gorn]] "in the way most suited to your limited mentalities."
*One of the Trekkies being executed is wearing a shirt that reads, "Beam Me Up, Scotty. There's no intelligent life here."
*All the tapes of ''Star Trek'' are fired out of a ship on a torpedo, and land on the forbidden planet Omega III, just as Spock's body was ejected onto the [[Genesis planet]] at the end of ''[[Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan]]''. Similarly, the Genesis planet became a "galactic controversy" and a forbidden planet by the time of the events of "[[Star Trek III: The Search for Spock]]".
*Fry talks to [[Leonard Nimoy]], asking him if he remembered the episode where he "got high on spores and smacked Kirk around" ("[[This Side of Paradise (TOS episode)|This Side of Paradise]]").
*When Nimoy's head leaves the shelf, [[Jonathan Frakes]]' head moves forward to exclaim, "Yes! Front row!" Frakes played [[William Riker]], first officer in ''[[Star Trek: The Next Generation]]''.
*Nimoy to Shatner: "Bill, you are, and always shall be… my friend," a reference to one of [[Spock]]'s lines to Kirk in ''Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan'' and ''[[Star Trek III: The Search for Spock]]''.
*The landscape of Omega III features the mountainous [[Vasquez Rocks]], where the episodes "[[Shore Leave (TOS episode)|Shore Leave]]", "[[Friday's Child (Star Trek)|Friday's Child]]", and most notably "[[Arena (Star Trek)|Arena]]" were filmed, are shown on several occasions throughout the episode.
*Various sets from the series can be seen on Omega III, including (in order of appearance): ""[[Spectre of the Gun (TOS episode)|Spectre of the Gun]]" (incomplete [[American Old West|Wild West]] buildings), "[[Who Mourns for Adonais? (TOS episode)|Who Mourns for Adonais?]]" (Greek ruins), "[[Bread and Circuses (TOS episode)|Bread and Circuses]]" (TV backdrop of the [[Colosseum]]), "[[The Gamesters of Triskelion]]" (the three disembodied brains of the Providers), "[[The Ultimate Computer]]" (the M5 computer), and "[[The City on the Edge of Forever (TOS episode)|The City on the Edge of Forever]]" (The Guardian of Forever).
*The Star Trek actors' ship was pulled down to the planet surface, where they were given youthful bodies bodies and everything was provided for them. This is similar to what happened to [[Zefram Cochrane]] in "[[Metamorphosis (Star Trek episode)|Metamorphosis]]."
*Fry asks [[Walter Koenig]] to repeat something with his Russian accent, and then to say "nuclear wessels," a line from ''[[Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home]]''.
*Melllvar, the entity on Omega III, resembles the Companion from "[[Metamorphosis (TOS episode)|Metamorphosis]]" and the vampire cloud from "[[Obsession (TOS episode)|Obsession]]" in appearance and various other energy beings from ''ST:TOS'' in its powers.
*Melllvar speaks lines reminiscent of the "God" that resided behind [[The Great Barrier (Star Trek)|The Great Barrier]] from ''[[Star Trek V: The Final Frontier]]'' such as "It is I" and "You doubt me?" (paraphrased as "You doubt my power?").
*The entity zaps Scotty's replacement (named Welshy), who happens to be wearing a red shirt. This is a play on Apollo zapping Scotty in the episode "[[Who Mourns for Adonais? (TOS episode)|Who Mourns for Adonais?]]." It is also similar to events of [[Star Trek V: The Final Frontier]] in which "God" zaps those who doubt his power. It also shows the recurring theme of [[redshirt (character)|redshirt]] security guards being killed off.
*Melllvar gives [[Leonard Nimoy]] his body back by enveloping him, much in the same way that The Companion rejuvenated [[Zefram Cochrane]] in "[[Metamorphosis (Star Trek episode)|Metamorphosis]]".
*Melllvar says he watched the episodes over and over, especially the five with the energy beings. The five episodes he refers to are "[[The Squire of Gothos]]," "[[Metamorphosis (Star Trek episode)|Metamorphosis]]," "[[Obsession (Star Trek)|Obsession]]," "[[Day of the Dove]]," and "[[The Lights of Zetar]]".
*During Ambassador [[Sarek]]'s Trivia Challenge (named for [[Spock]]'s father [[Sarek]], ambassador from Vulcan) one of the questions asks who Kirk left on Ceti Alpha V (as seen in the episode "[[Space Seed]]"). Shatner stands up and screams "KHAAAAAAAAAN!!!" as he did in "[[Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan]]."
*During the trivia contest, the prize money's unit of currency are Quatloos, the same currency used by the Providers in "[[The Gamesters of Triskelion (TOS episode)|The Gamesters of Triskelion]]."
*One of [[James T. Kirk|Kirk]]'s lines in Melllvar's script states that he loves his ship like a woman. This sentiment is taken from the first season episode [[The Naked Time]].
*In one of [[Spock]]'s lines in Melllvar's script, [[Leonard Nimoy]] reads, "Fascinating, Captain, and logical, too," playing off the fact that Spock frequently uses the words "fascinating" and "logical."
*Bender works inside a [[Jefferies tube]] on the Planet Express ship with the same camera angle as was often used on Scotty.
*The starship fires down on Melllvar, as the Enterprise did on Apollo's temple in "Who Mourns for Adonais?" and Vaal in "[[The Apple (TOS episode)|The Apple]]." As in the original series, the beams are shown leaving the ship in diverging directions, but somewhere in between they converge so that both strike the target at the same time, in the same spot. The music from this scene is a remix of the incidental music from "[[The Doomsday Machine (TOS episode)|The Doomsday Machine]]."
*The consoles on the star ship explode at critical moments, as happens throughout the series and movies.
*The Planet Express ship is pulled by a ray that resembles a giant green hand, much like the giant green hand that grabbed the ''Enterprise'' in "[[Who Mourns for Adonais?]]".
* In one line, Nichols refers to kissing Shatner in "[[Plato's Stepchildren]]" as something "heroic" she had done. While this was meant to be comedic, this actually was mildly heroic, as well as dangerous, as it has a debated claim as the first [[interracial]] kiss on TV (see "[[Plato's Stepchildren (TOS episode)#The kiss|Plato's Stepchildren]]").
*Melllvar forces the Planet Express crew to battle the ''Star Trek'' cast to see who is better. This is very similar plot-wise to "[[The Savage Curtain (TOS episode)|The Savage Curtain]]."
*Melllvar and Fry's list of episodes featuring armed combat to the death included 19 ([[Arena (TOS episode)|Arena]]), 46 ([[The Gamesters of Triskelion]]), 56 ([[Spectre of the Gun]]), 66 ([[Day of the Dove]]) and 77 ([[The Savage Curtain]]). Interestingly, they do not mention episode 34, "[[Amok Time]]," which features one of Star Trek's most famous fights to the death.
*During their fight to the death, the Star Trek cast and the Planet Express crew are only to use "whatever they can find." [[James T. Kirk|Kirk]] and the [[Gorn]] were put in a similar situation in "[[Arena (Star Trek)|Arena]]."
*The music during the fight scene resembles that first used during Kirk and Spock's fight in "[[Amok Time (TOS episode)|Amok Time]]" and reused later for many fight scenes in the series.
*Shatner rips his shirt, as he did in nearly every Kirk fight scene in the original series.
*When discussing their battle plan, Shatner remarks "''Wasn't there an episode where I threw my boot at the enemy?''" To which Nimoy replies, "''You mean Doohan?''" This is a reference to rumors that there was friction between [[William Shatner]] and [[James Doohan]]. However, they had renewed their friendship when Shatner cared for the ailling Doohan, who was dying of [[Alzheimer's disease|Alzheimer's]] and finally succumbed to it on [[July 20]], [[2005]].
*Bender finds a [[Thompson submachine gun|Tommy gun]] similar to those seen in [[A Piece of the Action (TOS episode)|A Piece of the Action]]."
*[[Nichelle Nichols]] distracts Fry and Bender with her famous [[fan dance]] as seen in "[[Star Trek V: The Final Frontier]]."
*The line, "There's no right way to hit a woman," is from the episode "[[Charlie X (TOS episode)|Charlie X]]." Shatner's subsequent attack on Leela ("the wrong way") parodies Kirk's often-used but pointlessly acrobatic combat style. During their fight, Leela lifts a large rock over her head to strike Shatner, as Kirk was menaced by [[Gary Mitchell (Star Trek)|Gary Mitchell]] in "Where No Man has Gone Before."
*Fry strikes Dr. McCoy with a two-fisted punch, used commonly in the series.
*Nimoy attempts to use the [[Vulcan nerve pinch]] (unsuccessfully) on Bender. (He should have realized that an attempt to use the nerve pinch on an android would be futile; in the episode "[[I, Mudd]]," [[Spock]] tries to use it on the android Alice without success.)
*At the climactic moment in the battle, when [[Turanga Leela|Leela]] is holding the rock above Shatner's body, she pauses in the same position in which [[Spock]] pauses when he holds the piece of transporter equipment over Kirk during his fight with Kirk in "[[This Side of Paradise (Star Trek)|This Side of Paradise]]."
*Shatner persuades Leela not to kill him by explaining to her that "this is exactly what Melllvar wants! We're just pawns in his diabolical game of checkers!" This is similar to the moment in "[[Day of the Dove]]" when Kirk persuades the Klingon commander [[Kang (Star Trek)|Kang]] to cease the hostilities because they are just pawns in a game being played out by an energy being who feeds off violence. His mixed metaphor is an allusion to the fact that Kirk frequently uses metaphors involving board and card games.
*Fry remarks that Melllvar is "just a child," the same as Spock said of [[V'Ger]] in ''[[Star Trek: The Motion Picture]]'', or Kirk said of [[Trelane]], in the episode "[[The Squire of Gothos (TOS episode)|The Squire of Gothos]]." Melllvar being chastened by his energy-being mother is a parody of the climactic scene of the latter.
*When the battle ends, Shatner and Leela are shown making out, mocking Kirk's many relationships with women.
*When the combined Star Trek Cast/Planet Express ship tries to lift off the planet surface, it is too heavy. This is a reference to the episode "[[The Galileo 7]]," in which the damaged shuttlecraft cannot bear the weight of its entire crew.
*A starship that resembles the [[Romulan]] [[Bird Of Prey (Star Trek)|Warbird]] from "[[Balance of Terror (TOS episode)|Balance of Terror]]" combined with a [[Klingon]] battlecruiser decloaks (using visual effects similar to the decloaking effects on Star Trek) and fires on the Planet Express ship.
*[[George Takei]] quotes a self-destruct code, similar to but not exactly matching the "[[NCC-1701|Enterprise]]" self-destruct sequence seen in the episode "[[Let That Be Your Last Battlefield]]" as well as in "[[Star Trek III: The Search for Spock]]". The code causes Bender's [[exploding head|head to explode]].
*Fry's speech to Melllvar regarding moving out of his mother's basement is a reference to William Shatner's appearance on a ''[[Saturday Night Live]]'' skit where he tells obsessive fans to "[[Get a Life]]" and move out of their parents' basements.
*Kirk's speech "I wonder, my friends, was he really such an evil energy gas?" mimics the musing orations that Kirk gives at the end of many episodes.
*The line, "You and I are of a kind. In a different reality, I could have called you friend," is from the episode "Balance of Terror," which, as Melllvar corrects Fry, was episode nine of the series. Fry thought it was episode ten, which is actually [[What Are Little Girls Made Of?]].
*The last line in the episode (spoken by Shatner) is, "Let's get the hell out of here." This same line was used by Kirk at the end of "The City on the Edge of Forever."
*The ending credits feature a song that musically evokes the ''Star Trek'' Fanfare, and plays back images from the episode; the last image is [[Kif Kroker]] in a parody of the famous "Balok puppet" from the episode "[[The Corbomite Maneuver (TOS episode)|The Corbomite Maneuver]]," and whose image was the last seen in the ending credits for the entire second season of ''The Original Series''.


==References==
==References==

Revision as of 14:44, 14 October 2007

"Where No Fan Has Gone Before"
Futurama episode
File:Futurama ep65.jpg
Episode no.Season four
Directed byPat Schinagawa
Written byDavid A. Goodman
Original air dateApril 21 2002
Episode features
Opening cartoonUnknown
Episode chronology
Futurama season four
List of episodes

"Where No Fan Has Gone Before" is the eleventh episode of the fourth season of the animated series Futurama. It originally aired in the United States on April 21, 2002.

Plot

Bender, Leela and Fry, along with most of the cast of Star Trek: The Original Series, are court-martialed by Zapp Brannigan, who has the group recount the events that led to the court-martial.

It is explained to Fry that Star Trek is forbidden in the future. All the episodes of the original series and movies were jettisoned to a forbidden planet. Fry runs to the Head Museum to talk to Leonard Nimoy’s Head. Nimoy's head tries to deny knowledge of the show but Nimoy's head eventually recounts how the rest of the cast left Earth. He did not go with them as he recently signed a six month lease on his apartment. Fry, Leela, Bender and Nimoy's head journey to the forbidden planet where they crash and find several original sets from Star Trek as well as the cast, complete with their bodies and eternal youth. A large energy being named Melllvar reveals himself and gives Nimoy a body, ordering the actors and the Planet Express crew to participate in a Star Trek convention. While Melllvar forces the cast to perform his fan script, Bender, Leela and Fry escape in the Planet Express ship. Fry then convinces the crew to go back for the actors, only to have Melllvar destroy the ship's engine as it crashes back on the planet.

After seeing the crew's attempt to escape, Melllvar wonders if the Planet Express crew are more worthy of his adoration; he decides to settle the question with a battle to the death. After fighting for several minutes, Melllvar is called by his mother. While he is gone, the two groups combine the engine of the cast's ship with the body of the Planet Express ship. In order to lose enough weight to lift off, the cast jettison their bodies. Melllvar soon follows the crew into space, with his own spaceship. The Planet Express ship is then boarded by Brannigan, who starts the court-martial. At this point, Leela points out that during the course of the court-martial, Melllvar is continuing to chase them.

Everyone hurries back to the control room, where they still try to escape from Melllvar. Fry convinces Melllvar that he can't devote his entire life to Star Trek, and Melllvar eventually agrees to end the chase. The crew returns, with the tapes in hand, to Earth. The cast finally agrees to leave, deciding that living with "one really annoying Star Trek fan" was not worth the great things they received.

Production

The writer for this episode, David A. Goodman, states in the DVD audio commentary that making this episode was a "dream come true" for many members of the crew including himself.[1] Pat Schinagawa, who directed the episode also states that there was a certain amount of jealousy that she had gotten to do this episode[2] whereas Matt Groening states that while he is a fan of the Star Trek franchise he has never seen an episode of the original series all the way through, but he has seen the first movie.[3]

All of the living members of the original Star Trek cast agreed to appear in the episode with the exception of James Doohan who replied with "No way." Because of this, the episode's working title was jokingly named "We got everybody but Scotty".[1] Goodman also notes that this episode may be the reason he later began writing for Star Trek: Enterprise.[1]

Multiple designs for the energy being were considered for this episode however the final version was decided upon due to a desire to keep the design simple.[4] Despite this effort Schinagawa still notes that the final design for Melllvar is more sophisticated than some energy beings featured in the original series.[2]

Star Trek references

In the DVD audio commentary the writer for this episode notes his pride in having included a large number of references to the original series, particularly those items which he claims "the people on the internet" had not found on their own. In particular he noted that in "Shatner's Log", a play on the legendary captain's log, the line "The impossible has happened" is the same line given in the opening log in the episode "Where No Man Has Gone Before."[1]

Broadcast and reception

Although the episode was not the last episode produced for season four it was used as the season finale for the fourth broadcast season. The episode was then nominated for a Nebula Award in 2004 for best script[5][6]. Either due to or in spite of the fact that most of the episode is considered fan service, IGN.com ranked the episode as number ten in their list of the "Top 25 Futurama Episodes" in 2006[7]

References

  1. ^ a b c d Goodman, David A. (2003). Futurama season 4 DVD commentary for the episode "Where No Fan Has Gone Before" (DVD). 20th Century Fox. {{cite AV media}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |1= (help)
  2. ^ a b Schinagawa, Pat (2003). Futurama season 4 DVD commentary for the episode "Where No Fan Has Gone Before" (DVD). 20th Century Fox. {{cite AV media}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |1= (help)
  3. ^ Groening, Matt (2003). Futurama season 4 DVD commentary for the episode "Where No Fan Has Gone Before" (DVD). 20th Century Fox. {{cite AV media}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |1= (help)
  4. ^ Cohen, David X. (2003). Futurama season 4 DVD commentary for the episode "Where No Fan Has Gone Before" (DVD). 20th Century Fox. {{cite AV media}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |1= (help)
  5. ^ 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 July 2, 2007.
  6. ^ "2004 Nebula Awards". 2004-04-17. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help); Unknown parameter |access date= ignored (|access-date= suggested) (help)
  7. ^ ""Top 25 Futurama Episodes"". Retrieved 2006-11-04.
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