Futurama

This article is about the television series. For the exhibit and ride, see Futurama (New York World's Fair).

Futurama
File:Futurama title screen.jpg An opening title for Futurama.
Created by	Matt Groening David X. Cohen
Starring	See cast and characters below
Country of origin	USA
No. of episodes	72
Production
Running time	22 minutes approx.
Original release
Network	Fox
Release	March 28, 1999 – August 10, 2003

Futurama is an American animated television series that follows Philip J. Fry after he is cryonically frozen at midnight, December 31, 1999 and is defrosted a thousand years later in the year 2999. The series was created by Matt Groening and David X. Cohen, and produced by The Curiosity Company for the Fox Network, on which it aired from March 28, 1999 to August 10, 2003.

While Futurama was never officially cancelled, Fox decided not to buy the fifth season and the program fell apart soon after. On June 22, 2006, Comedy Central officially announced that they have ordered 13 new episodes of the series. In the meantime, Futurama enjoys syndication in many countries around the world.

The name Futurama comes from an exhibit from the 1939 New York World's Fair of the same name. The exhibit, designed by Norman Bel Geddes depicted what he imagined the world to look like in 1959.

Background

Mid-way through the production of the fifth season of Futurama, Fox decided to let Futurama go out of production and told the writers and animators to look for new jobs. A Fox spokeswoman told Zap2it, "Fox has decided not to order more episodes at this time, but we may do so in the future." According to Ain't It Cool News, Fox did not like the show and had started giving it a secondary status, running it and dropping it sporadically. They also did not show several episodes between seasons 3 and 4.

In October 2005, Comedy Central picked up the exclusive cable syndication rights to air Futurama's 72-episode run at the start of 2008, following the expiration of Adult Swim's current deal. It was cited as the largest and most expensive acquisition in the network's history.

The following summer, on June 22, 2006, Comedy Central announced that 13 brand new episodes were to be produced, to air with the reruns in 2008. Comedy Central also confirmed that Billy West, Katey Sagal, and John DiMaggio will return for the new episodes, with a 2008 debut planned. Fatboy Slim has produced a remix of the theme song, which is rumoured to be the theme for the new season.

Currently, Futurama is still syndicated around the world by many TV stations. The list of broadcasters showing Futurama is available here.

Cast and characters

File:Futurama characters.jpg

From left to right: Dr. Zoidberg, Professor Farnsworth, Bender, Amy, Hermes, Leela, and Fry.

• Philip J. Fry (Billy West) — Fry was cryonically frozen for one thousand years just after midnight on New Year's Day, 2000, reawakening on New Year's Eve, 2999. He eventually got a job in Planet Express, which was owned by his closest living relative, Professor Farnsworth. A DVD commentary revealed that Fry was named Philip after Phil Hartman, who was set to play several characters, but died before production began.
• Turanga Leela (Katey Sagal) — Leela is the competent, one-eyed (and latest) captain of the Planet Express ship. Abandoned at birth, she grew up in an "orphanarium" believing herself to be an alien from an unknown race. She eventually learns from her parents that she is, in fact, a mutant. Her name is a reference to the Turangalîla-Symphonie (1946-1948) by Olivier Messiaen, which, like many of Messiaen's works, features the Ondes Martenot, an electronic instrument similar to the theremin and featured in many science-fiction film scores.
• Bender Bending Rodriguez (John DiMaggio) — Bender is a foul-mouthed, drinking, smoking, kleptomaniacal, misanthropic robot. Originally built to bend girders, he eventually followed Fry to Planet Express, where he was also hired on. He is the roommate of Fry.
• Professor Hubert Farnsworth a.k.a. The Professor (Billy West) — Farnsworth is Fry's distant nephew, though he is somewhere in his 160s, and thus much older than Fry. He founded Planet Express to fund his mad scientist-like experiments and inventions. The Professor's name comes from Philo Farnsworth, inventor of the vacuum tube television, which was featured at the 1939 New York World's Fair.
• Dr. John Zoidberg (Billy West) — Zoidberg is a lobster-like alien from Decapod 10, and is the staff doctor (of questionable quality) of Planet Express. He speaks with an accent most commonly associated with native Yiddish speakers, while being generally viewed with amusement and/or derision by his peers at Planet Express.
• Hermes Conrad (Phil LaMarr) — Hermes is the Jamaican manager of Planet Express. A bureaucrat and proud of it, he is a stickler for doing everything according to regulations, especially if it involves paperwork and filing. Hermes is also former champion in Olympic Limbo, a sport derived from the popular dance, similar to the track event of hurdling.
• Amy Wong (Lauren Tom) — Amy is an extremely accident-prone intern at Planet Express, despite her not needing a job, as her parents are extremely wealthy. Born on Mars, she is ethnically Chinese, and prone to frequently cursing in Cantonese and using 31st century slang.

Setting

File:Futurama - The Future.jpg

Fry's first glimpse of New New York City.

Futurama is set at the end of the 30th century. Many problems that exist in the world today are still present. Global warming, inflexible bureaucracy, and substance abuse are all still issues in the 30th century; notably, in one episode, crack cocaine is available in a vending machine. Segregation exists between humans and mutants, who are forced to live underground. Other prejudices exist between groups such as humans, aliens, robots, and other groups. Futurama specifically takes place in the city of New New York; the city which was built on the site of "old" New York City.

Numerous technological advances that have been made by the 30th century. The technology to keep heads alive in jars has resulted in many of today's political figures and celebrities being active in 30th century. The Internet, while being fully immersive and encompassing all senses, is still slow and consists nearly entirely of pornography, though some of it is edited to include educational material, ostensably for the youth. Television remains a primary form of entertainment, though the resolution is much higher than modern TV. Robots are commonplace, and most have free will and seem to think in the same way humans do. Wheels are obsolete, having been replaced by hovering vehicles, and transportation tubes, which people can enter and be whisked away reminiscent of a pneumatic tube.

Galactic politics

File:Old Freebie.jpg

Earth's flag, "Old Freebie".

File:Doop logo.png

The Democratic Order Of Planets (D.O.O.P.) logo.

Earth has a unified government called the United States of Earth, headed by the President of Earth. Earth's capital is Washington, D.C. and the flag of Earth looks similar to the current Flag of the United States.

Numerous other galaxies have been colonized or have made contact by the year 3000. Much of the Milky Way galaxy now operates under the Earth government's sphere of influence. Mars has been terraformed, and is home to Mars University. Half of Mars is owned by the Wong family.

The Democratic Order Of Planets (D.O.O.P.) was founded in 2945 after the Second Galactic War. This organization, which is similar to Star Trek's United Federation of Planets, includes Earth and many other worlds, though Earth sometimes acts unilaterally without the aid of other D.O.O.P. members. Omicron Persei VIII is frequently engaged in conflicts with D.O.O.P.

File:Futurama - alien language.jpg

The Slurm poster in the background features "Alien Language 1", which reads "drink" when translated.

Linguistics

File:Alien decoder.PNG

Alien alphabet One compared to the Latin alphabet

Over the last 1,000 years, there have been some advances with the linguistics of the Futurama world. Most notably are the two alien languages that now appear often in the background. The first is a simple substitution cipher from the Latin alphabet. The second uses a more complex modular addition code (officially an ancient alien language predating the universe). They often provide additional jokes for fans dedicated enough to decode the messages. Aside from these languages, most of the displayed wording on the show is in English, and most of the alien species encountered speak English.

Additionally, several English expressions have evolved since present day. For example, the word "Christmas" has been replaced by "Xmas" and "ask" is an archaic pronunciation of "axe."

Season synopses

Main article: List of Futurama episodes

While Futurama consists of episodes that are more-or-less independent from each other, some episodes are a part of a larger storyline that spans the series. Also, various episodes explore the backgrounds and relationships of the characters, especially so in later seasons.

Season 1

After accidentally falling into a cryonic freezer, Fry awakens from a thousand years of cryogenic slumber to find that the world has completely changed. He meets Leela and Bender, and after a brief period of disorientation, finds his distant grand nephew Professor Hubert Farnsworth, who employs them in his intergalactic delivery service, where they meet Zoidberg, Amy and Hermes. The Planet Express crew travels the galaxy, interacting with its strange and colorful inhabitants. During one mission Leela rescues Nibbler, a small creature with an unusually large appetite. Fry develops a strong friendship with Bender, and moves into his closet. Also in this season, Amy meets Kif for the first time.

Season 2

As the Planet Express crew continues to deliver items throughout the galaxy, love is in the air as Fry, Leela and Bender embark on a series of short lived romantic trysts throughout the season. Despite this, Fry’s feelings for Leela begin to become more apparent though his overtures are always swiftly rebuffed. Bender’s character is developed intensely during this season, with most of the missions centering around him and his journey to overcome his contempt for humans. Early in the season Richard Nixon's head is elected President of Earth and reappears in this role throughout the rest of the series. This season also contains the first Xmas episode and the first Anthology Of Interest episode, both of which have a loosely tied ‘sequel’ in a later season. This was the longest season at 19 episodes.

Season 3

Fry’s feelings for Leela continue to deepen even though they both have romances with other people throughout the season. Amy also begins her relationship with Kif which will span the rest of the show. Huge leaps in the advancement of the story are made with the discovery of Nibbler’s intelligence and Fry’s strange immunity to the Brain Spawn’s attacks. We are also given a rare chance to see what Fry’s life was like back in the 20th century.

Season 4

Everyone is shocked when Kif becomes pregnant, and Amy may not be the mother, though their love for each other eventually remains strong. Leela learns the truth about her past and discovers she is not an orphan. Fry discovers that it was no accident he spent a millenium frozen, and uncovers a plot involving the Brainspawn, who convince him to travel back in time to prevent his freezing. However, Nibbler, in the year 1999, manages to convince him otherwise, referencing an enigmatic prophecy regarding Fry and 'The Other', thus ensuring that certain (not mentioned for spoiler) events will come to pass. Despite Leela's continued rejection of Fry, he does not give up on her, going so far as to risk his life for her and making a deal with The Robot Devil in an attempt to win her love.

Awards

Wins Annie Awards: Outstanding Individual Achievement for Directing in an Animated Television Production 2000 — Brian Sheesley for episode "Why Must I Be a Crustacean in Love?" Outstanding Individual Achievement for Voice Acting by a Male Performer in an Animated Television Production 2001 — John Di Maggio as Bender for episode "Bendless Love" Outstanding Directing in an Animated Television Production 2003 — Rich Moore for episode "Roswell That Ends Well" Emmy Awards: Outstanding Individual Achievement in Animation 2000 — Bari Kumar (color stylist) for episode "A Bicyclops Built for Two" 2001 — Rodney Clouden (storyboard artist) for episode "Parasites Lost" Outstanding Animated Program 2002 — "Roswell That Ends Well" Environmental Media Awards: Comedy - TV Episodic 2000 — "The Problem with Popplers" Writers Guild of America Award: Animation 2003 — Ken Keeler for episode "Godfellas".

Nominations 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 1999 — Ken Keeler for episode "The Series Has Landed" 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 2000 — Susie Dietter for episode "A Bicyclops Built for Two". 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 2004 — Ken Keeler for episode "The Devil's Hands are Idle Playthings" Outstanding Writing in an Animated Television Production 2004 — Patric Verrone for episode "The Sting (Futurama)". Emmy Awards: Outstanding Animated Program 1999 — "A Big Piece of Garbage" 2001 — "Amazon Women in the Mood" 2003 — "Jurassic Bark" 2004 — "The Sting" Outstanding Music and Lyrics 2004 — The song "I Want My Hands Back" for episode "The Devil's Hands are Idle Playthings" Nebula Award: Best Script 2004 — David A. Goodman for episode "Where No Fan Has Gone Before" Writers Guild of America Award: Animation 2004 — Patric Verrone for episode "The Sting"

Futurama in other media

DVD releases

File:Futurama-DVDs.jpg

Season releases

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	Bonus features include commentary on all 13 episodes, Animatics for "Space Pilot 3000", Deleted scenes, Script/storyboard for "Space Pilot 3000", Featurette, Interactive still gallery (stills & video).
Volume 2	19	August 12 2003	November 11 2002	May 13 2003	Bonus features include commentary on all 19 episodes, deleted scenes, easter eggs, still gallery/concept art, alien alphabet.
Volume 3	22	March 9 2004	June 2 2003	September 24 2003	Bonus features include commentary on all 22 episodes, 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	Bonus features include commentary on all 18 episodes, 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 are entitled "Season" rather than "Volume".

Best of releases

Region 1 DVD Name	Ep #	Release dates
		Region 1	Region 2	Region 4
Monster Robot Maniac Fun Collection	4	August 23 2005	May 30 2005	August 22 2005

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. The comic is the only part of the Futurama franchise which is still being published to date. While originally published only in the US, a UK version of the series is also available. Other than a different running order and presentation, the stories are the same in both versions.

Much like the TV series, each comic has a caption at the top of the cover. For example: "Made In The USA! (Printed in Canada)". Some of the UK comics have different captions on the top of their comics. Both series contain a letters page, artwork from readers and previews of other Bongo Comics coming up.

DVD movies

On April 26, 2006, the weekly newspaper The Onion published an interview with Futurama creator Matt Groening. Groening said that he will be producing four straight to DVD Futurama movies. He confirmed that David X. Cohen and Ken Keeler are also working with him.
According to IMDB, the process of filming the Futurama movies has begun. All old cast members will be returning to do the voices of their previous characters.

Toys and video games

Futurama video game

Main article: Futurama (video game)

On 15 September 2000, Unique Development Studios acquired the license to develop a Futurama video game for the next generation consoles and handheld systems. Fox Interactive signed on to publish the game. Sierra Entertainment later became the game's publisher, and it was released on 14 August, 2003. The game was subsequently cancelled on the GameCube and Game Boy Advance. The storyline of the game deals with the Planet Express crew having to defeat Mom's evil plan to take over the universe.

Futurama toys 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.

Toynami has recently announced new Futurama figures which are currently to be released in 2007.

External links

• Futurama at IMDb
• Can't Get Enough Futurama — Site with lots of information
• The Futurama Wiki
• The Infosphere: a Futurama Wiki
• Alien Language Translations--A site with excellent alien language translations for each episode and other Futurama related media.