Tag: Billy West
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Why Futurama Never Feels Pressure To Compete With The Simpsons
“Futurama” is a fantastic series, but it’s destined to rank second place in creator Matt Groening’s legacy. How could it not when the man has “The Simpsons” on his resume?”The Simpsons” is a genuine American cultural institution — everyone knows who the titular family is — and while plenty complain “The Simpsons” has declined over…
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Early Drafts Of Futurama Had A Very Different Purpose For Bender
In the seventh episode of “Futurama,” called “My Three Suns”, Hermes Conrad (Phil Lamarr) finally notices that Bender (John Dimaggio) the alcoholic robot, doesn’t really seem to fulfill any specific function at Planet Express. Rather than face a cut in his salary, Bender proposes to be the company chef. This is an issue for two…
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Futurama Season 11 ‘Space Italy’ Continues The Show’s Greatest And Laziest Joke
The latest episode of “Futurama,” the season 11 finale entitled “All The Way Down,” covers a lot of territory. Professor Farnsworth (Billy West) devises a new machine called the Simputron, which is able to render a full-scale simulation of the known world. Only, because he hasn’t tapped a reliable power source for the process, the…
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Futurama’s Pilot Put Dick Clark In A Confusing Situation
The first episode of David X. Cohen’s and Matt Groening’s animated sci-fi sitcom “Futurama,” called “Space Pilot 3000,” saw the directionless twentysomething Fry (Billy West) wandering into a cryogenics lab, delivering a pizza just minutes before midnight. No one is there. He checks the order slip and sees that the pizza was ordered by “I.C.…
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Futurama Season 11 Just Inverted The Plot Of A Classic Episode
This new “Futurama” season has been anything but shy about satirizing hot topics in 2020s culture. The latest one? “Cancelation,” or powerful people being ostracized/held accountable for misuses of authority. The episode’s title is the blunt: “Zapp Gets Canceled.”Zapp Brannigan (Billy West) is a starship captain in the Democratic Order of Planets (Doop). Befitting the…
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Futurama Season 11 Smuggles Some Its Best Satire Yet Inside A Stilted Critique Of Cancel Culture
Of all the rude, crass, self-absorbed, ridiculous, inappropriate criminals on “Futurama” — that is to say, most of the characters on the show — none is more worthy of censure than Captain Zapp Brannigan (Billy West). Zapp works for Doop, an organization similar to the Federation from “Star Trek,” but far more trigger-happy and willing to…
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One Of Futurama’s Funniest Recurring Characters Was Only Meant To Be In One Scene
The character of Roberto, the homicidal robot, first appeared on the “Futurama” episode “Mother’s Day”, although he would become more of a star in the following season’s “Insane in the Mainframe”. Roberto, played by the amazing Dave Herman, was a vicious criminal often frustrated that he was programmed to be as violent as he was.…
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Futurama Season 11 Brings Back The Angry Dome, One Of The Show’s Best Random Gags
Episode 2 of “Futurama” season 11, “Children of a Lesser Bog,” was a sequel to an episode from back in season 5, “Kif Gets Knocked Up A Notch.” Amy Wong (Lauren Tom) and Kif Kroker (Maurice Lamarche) had children, but Kif’s species (the Amphibiosians) live as tadpoles in a swamp for 20 years before maturing.…
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Futurama’s Covid Episode Brings The Show’s Timeliest Satire Yet
“Futurama” has never been shy about tackling current events and season 11 is no different. Fresh off satirizing Amazon and online shopping two episodes ago, the series’ latest episode — “Rage Against The Vaccine” — is about the Covid-19 pandemic.In this episode, Planet Earth (and Planet Express) deal with the outbreak of a new virus,…
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Futurama Season 11 Pays Homage To One Of The Best Episodes Of The Comedy Central Run
Spoilers for “Futurama” season 11 follow.The latest “Futurama” episode, “I Know What You Did Next Xmas,” joins the canon of previous holiday episodes — “Xmas Story,” “A Tale of Two Santas,” and “The Futurama Holiday Spectacular.” Indeed, it is Xmas season (as the December holiday is exclusively known in the 31st century), and as usual…