Leela (Futurama)
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Template:Futurama character Turanga Leela (referred to as simply Leela, born circa 2975) is the primary female character in the animated television series Futurama. She is a fit, attractive cyclops who captains the Planet Express ship. She is often the love interest of the series' main character, Fry. She is voiced by Katey Sagal.
Leela grew up in the Cookieville Minimum Security orphanarium, knowing nothing of her parents, origins, or species. She joined human society as an apparent alien from another planet, longing to discover her heritage, though aside from her one eye she could pass as a normal human. Due to having a single eye, she lacks stereoscopic vision and therefore has problems with depth perception. In spite of this she seems to have no difficulty in flying the Planet Express ship (other than colliding with billboards on a weekly basis, a reference to the show's opening sequence).
Her name is a simple pun on Olivier Messiaen's most famous orchestral work, the Turangalîla Symphony, famous for its use of the Ondes Martenot, an early electronic musical instrument much used in the themes and incidental music of science-fiction movie and TV shows. "Leela" is considered her given name and "Turanga" her surname, as evidenced when she addresses a letter to her parents (whom she discovered later in the series) 'Turanga Morris and Munda'.
The writers of Futurama often add minor details as coincidental references, and Leela is no exception. When she worked for the cryogenics lab, she was Officer 1BDI ("one beady eye"). Also, she lives in Apartment 1I ("one eye").
Biography
Leela was born into the society of subterranean mutants who live in the sewers beneath New New York. Since her mutation was relatively minor, the least mutated mutant ever, her parents deposited her on the steps of the Cookieville Minimum Security Orphanarium in order to spare her the degrading life of a mutant. Leela's mother (calling on her education in Exolinguistics) attached a note to Leela's blankets in an alien-like script, which convinced the head of the orphanarium that Leela was an alien, as opposed to a mutated human. Her parents closely monitored her youth, periodically intervening to protect her from falling down stairs, leaving birthday presents for her, etc. Leela's parents were first shown in the background in the episode "I Second That Emotion"
As a child, Leela often had to endure childish bullying from other orphans, mainly because of her being a cyclops, as well as for her dental braces. In the episode "Parasites Lost", Leela describes one of her happiest memories as "Double Soup Tuesday" at the Orphanarium.
As a teenager, feeling the torment of being a cyclops, Leela trained in Arcturan Kung-Fu, succeeding despite the misogyny of her teacher, Master Phnog. She developed a lasting crush on a fellow orphanarium inmate, Adlai Atkins. They would later meet as adults, after he had become a successful cosmetic surgeon.
As an adult, Leela could be seen as a very attractive, vixen-like woman, except that she has only one eye, the apparent reason for her lack of relationship experience. Leela's first mentioned job was a Career-Chip Officer, through which she meets Fry. After Fry convinces her to break from the bounds of her job, Leela becomes a Space Captain at Planet Express, piloting the aptly named Planet Express Ship.
Leela found Nibbler on the planet Vergon 6, in the episode "Love's Labors Lost in Space". Leela decided to keeps him as a pet. In the episode "The Day the Earth Stood Stupid", Nibbler saves her from the Brainspawn and takes her to his home planet, Eternium. However, due to the effects of the Brainspawn, she is unable to remember this. During the second episode of the fourth season, "Leela's Homeworld", it was revealed that Leela's parents, Turanga Munda and Turanga Morris, were actually sewer-dwelling mutants.
Leela is portrayed as the most competent and responsible character in Futurama. She captains the Planet Express spaceship, and usually saves the members of her crew when they find themselves in trouble. As a black belt in Arcturian Kung-Fu, she is valuable in a fight. She has rescued Fry and Bender countless times.
Leela also always wears a computerized armband on her wrist. It tends to be a catch-all useful gadget, although it doesn't have a definite name, as she's repeatedly described it as "this thing I wear on my wrist", or some equally ambiguous term.
Love life
Sean
Leela periodically referenced this never-seen ex-boyfriend (it's unclear when exactly they dated or for how long), describing him as uneducated, unambitious, pasty, and hunched but finding his musical ability (at saxophone) attractive ("The Devil's Hands are Idle Playthings"). He apparently cheated on her, and in "Love and Rocket" Leela unconvincingly insists that their breakup was mutual, implying that he dumped her. In the episode "Why Must I Be a Crustacean in Love?," this conversation happens between Fry and Leela:
- Fry (on how to trick a woman): "You just look her in the eye, start crying, and say 'I've never been so happy.'"
Leela: "I'd notice if a man did that to me. Hang on, they've all been doing that to me! Even Sean!" (sobs and runs off)
Doug
Doug is only seen in "Love's Labors Lost in Space" in the very beginning having dinner with Leela in a fancy restaurant. It is unknown whether or not he and Leela had been going out for some time or if they had just one dinner date. Leela likes him at first because he does not care that she is a cyclops. However, after he slurps up an after-dinner mint with his very long lizard-like tongue, Leela immediately dislikes him. This is perhaps a clue that the dinner date was their first encounter together.
Zapp Brannigan
When Leela finds herself on the Nimbus, she meets celebrated space captain Zapp Brannigan. Initially somewhat attracted to him, Leela quickly discovers he is actually a "pompous dimwit" when he arrests her and her crew for technical violation of D.O.O.P. law.
Zapp then summons her to the overly lush quarters he calls his "lovenasium" where he attempts to seduce her in the most inept and obnoxious way imaginable. Leela is completely unimpressed; however, when her forthright rebuff reduces him to tears, Leela, in a foolish move inspired by pity, sleeps with him. Upon awakening to find herself in Zapp's bed, Leela is mortified. Zapp, however, is delighted at his "romantic conquest" and gloats mercilessly, serene in his delusional Hugh Hefner self-image.
Throughout the series, Zapp brags about his night with Leela and tries to entice her into dates and romantic encounters. Leela remains unswayingly disdainful of him, especially after he inspires her crew to mutiny. Once, Leela agrees to go on half a double-date with him as a favor to her co-worker Amy Wong (the date ends badly when Zapp crashes their restaurant into a planet); at another point she accepts his invitation for herself and her coworkers to a reception celebrating one of his victories. Otherwise, however, Leela avoids him whenever she can.
Alcazar
Leela had a brief relationship with (and indeed almost married) a shapeshifter posing as another cyclops, Alcazar, who claimed to be the last other member of her 'alien species'. (Their relationship and Alcazar were parodies of the TV series Married... with Children, in which Katey Sagal starred as Peggy Bundy. Leela is even seen wearing something typical of Peggy and saying "Aaalllll." the same way that Peggy does.) ("A Bicyclops Built For Two"). The two slept together at least once, partly motivated by Leela's desire to keep the cyclops race going. After Fry, suspicious of Alcazar all along, discovered his master plan (finding 5 lonely aliens to be his wives and tend to his palaces), Leela attacked him, after which he revealed his true form. After he explained everything, Leela asked him why he didn't change form in the one place that counts.
Adlai Atkins
When recollecting on her crush on him from childhood, Leela meets and dates Adlai, who is portrayed to be a normal man. As a cosmetic surgeon, he offers and performs an operation to give her a normal appearance with a second eye. Leela willingly dates Adlai simply to appear 'normal' and also because he would be the only respectable decent man that she has had the chance to date.
After wanting to adopt a 3-eared orphan from Bender, she discovers that Adlai is too interested in making everything "normal," seemingly unable to accept things the way they truly are, so Leela forces him to undo the surgery and make her a cyclops again ("The Cyber House Rules").
Chaz
Leela dates the Mayor's Aide after he woos her by demonstrating the power he wields. However, after a chance encounter with children from her old orphanarium, Leela realizes that Chaz is far too interested in the power of his position. She decides to prematurely finish the date after he denies the orphans the use of an ice rink by shoving his badge in his mouth ("The Why Of Fry").
William Shatner
During a battle to the death between the cast of Star Trek and Leela, Fry, and Bender, Leela is about to hit William Shatner (voiced by himself) with a large boulder. However, Shatner convinces Leela that the two groups should not fight. In the next shot, Leela and Shatner are seen making out, and Shatner can be heard whispering "I love you so much". After this brief encounter, nothing further is seen of the relationship ("Where No Fan Has Gone Before").
Kif
Though they never had a relationship, Leela impregnated Kif Kroker when Kif was deeply in love with Amy. This occurred through contact that would not normally be considered sexual, due to Kif's species' unique method of reproduction. Nevertheless Kif's species' culture would consider Amy -- the one who inspired Kif's love and thus made him fertile -- as the real mother. Many of Kif's offspring only have one eye.
Fry
Though she and Fry had several intimate moments throughout the series, and he was constantly trying to convince her to date him, they never ultimately hooked up, though they came close several times and have kissed. In addition:
- The What-If Machine invented by Professor Hubert Farnsworth reveals they would have slept together if Leela were "more impulsive".
- In the episode "Time Keeps on Slippin'" they are briefly married. Further, after rejecting Fry's amateurish advances, she confesses to Dr. Zoidberg, "Fry is very sweet. But he's so immature. I love his boyish charm, but I hate his childishness".
- When they traveled to a parallel universe ("The Farnsworth Parabox"), it was revealed that the parallel Fry and Leela were married.
- In the episode "Parasites Lost", Fry, benefiting from increased intellect thanks to a super-intelligent worm infestation, is able to properly tell Leela that he loves her, and she appears to reciprocate. Unfortunately, Fry, concerned that Leela loves him more for what the worms did than for his true self, subsequently rids himself of the parasites/symbiotes, and goes back to being inept with Leela, who promptly gives him the cold shoulder.
- During the cruise on the Titanic in "A Flight To Remember", Fry poses as Leela's fiance, in order to save her from Zapp Brannigan's advances. However, he also posed as Amy Wong's boyfriend as well, a fact which actually causes Leela to become jealous.
- In the episode "The Sting", Leela experiences a series of lucid dreams after Fry 'dies'. At first they seem to only indicate her feelings of guilt, since Fry 'died' saving Leela's life. In the very last one, before she awakes, Fry tells her never to give up through a picture of him on her bedside table, and then admits that, though he never told her before, he loves her. The end of the episode reveals that Leela had in fact been in a coma for the majority of the episode's events, and was dreaming; in real life, a healthy Fry had been speaking to her by her bedside for a solid two weeks.
The last episode of season 4 ends with yet another intimate moment, but with no explicit indication that they would ultimately get together. Many of the episodes do seem to indicate that Fry and Leela would end up together, given only slightly different circumstances -- for example, if a coin flip turned out differently.
Trivia
- Leela is seen wearing a ring in the first episode, Space Pilot 3000, but the ring is no longer seen after that.
- Leela's pants and boots were parts of her uniform from her previous job.
- In "Hell Is Other Robots", Leela tells Fry she could play the fiddle due to her previous experience in playing the drums. In her words, "They're kinda similar."
- In "The Why Of Fry", Leela is shown applying a contact lens.
- Occasionally, the wrist she wears her computerised band on changes
- Her name is a reference to 'Turangalîla-Symphonie' by Olivier Messiaen. Messiaen stated that the title of the piece derived from two Sanskrit words, turanga and lîla, together meaning something like "love song and hymn of joy, time, movement, rhythm, life, and death."
- In the original Space Pilot 3000 script, Leela tells fry she is Thirty, but this was changed to somewhere around 25.
Hair
As visible from the baby picture above (under "Biography"), Leela has a naturally purple hair color. It is unknown if this is the result of her being a mutant or not, though her mother (Turanga Munda) does have purple hair as well. In any case, her hair color is rarely mentioned, though she has a tendency to play with her hair when nervous or confused. "Lila" also means purple in Spanish, Swedish, Hungarian and German, which could have inspired part of her name.
Destiny
In "The Why of Fry," when Nibbler asked Fry if there was anything about the future worth saving, Fry first thinks of Leela, causing Nibbler to vaguely muse that she must be "The Other", without further explanation. It is possible that the same Nibblonian prophecy that mentions Fry also makes mention of Leela; this may specifically have to do with Fry and Leela eventually getting together, as Fry himself seems to believe. Another theory is that her part in the prophecy is fulfilled during the events of "The Day the Earth Stood Stupid".