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| Mmmm... oil. The good-ol American gold! |
Synopsis: A trip to a local department store manages to send Bender to prison. After failing to post the $80 bail ("I'd love to chip in, but Bender stole my wallet"), Fry goes to his old bank, Big Apple Bank, to get the $.93 out from his account. With interest, the account has gained some money... $4.3B worth, in fact. While initially being generous with his money, Fry eventually takes to buying stupid things, eventually regressing to his 1999 lifestyle, low-def TV and all.
Bizarrely, one thing that Fry buys at auction is what is thought to be the last can of anchovies ever. (Thanks a bunch, Decapodians!) This catches the eye of Mom, a capitalist who made her billions in the robot oil industry. Behind the public image of a sweet old lady is a callous robber baron who wants to buy the anchovies to protect her industry.
Review: Since I started my last review with a mention of Star Trek, might as well start this review with a mention of Star Trek, as well.
One of the greater disappointments in the Trek fandom was the TV series, Voyager. It was thought that Voyager would revolve around forming new alliances, developing characters with sketchy backgrounds, and the tensions between the Federation and the Marquis, both of whom were merged onto the Voyager spaceship. However, come the middle of the second season, Voyager largely abandoned this premise with little warning of buildup, and turned more into a TNG-style series- episodes of the week featuring Voyager coming across a problem, solving it, and going on their merry way. Not saying that Voyager was bad- it just ignored it's premise.
Thing is, shows evolve over time- you just have to build up the transition, and not just let the original premise go to the wayside until the last two episodes. Thus, we have the greatest difference between Voyager and Futurama- the latter managed to ease it's way out of the initial premise.
You see, this episode actually takes a close look at Fry's 20th century life- he sets his new apartment up exactly like he left it in 1999. Let's face it- it's pretty damn wretched. Besides his delivery job, he simply whittled his days away, watching reruns of old TV shows, completely alone, marooned for all eternity in the centre of a slobbish apartment...
...buried alive...
...buried alive...
WOAH- sorry! Now, where the hell was I? Oh, yeah, Fry's depressing 20th century life.
We had him say that his life in the 20th century wasn't so awesome as far back as "Space Pilot 3000". This is proof. Even as he tries to defend his newfound lifestyle, sitting in his apartment watching old sitcoms, it's surprisingly pathetic and weak. That's the point- when you get down to it, he has little to make a defense.
In fact, what was his descent into madness spun by? A pizza topping. That one thing sent him into a brief period of blinding nostalgia for the 20th century. He was brought out of his funk in what might be the only possible way...
...capitalism. The bad kind.
Mom is some sort of combo of a Trump-style capitalist meets Spitting Image's take on Margaret Thatcher meets the worst aspects of Sam Walton, cranked up to really spit in the face of corporatism. Seeming to own everything in existence- she owns trademarks on abstract concepts- she creates this fantastic advertising campaign that seems to woo over everybody with old-fashioned "robot oil". Behind the doors of her office, however, she is an authoritarian, deranged, abusive sociopath.
Here, we learn she'll do anything to maintain a business model callous to the needs of the "have-nots" (read- the robots). Why? Well, in this universe, the anchovy oil apparently can lube robots permanently. Her logic is that Fry or some other scientist will trace the anchovy DNA, put it into "third-world kids", replicate the DNA... BOOM! Unlimited robot oil for all robots, Mom's business model is kaput.
This has the one strike I have against this episode. Here, Mom hasn't really bothered to expand into other areas of business as a backup... ironic, given that future episodes have her part of a monopoly on Robot production. It's all about the oil.
Some might wonder why Mom's sons went far enough to attempt to syphon every dollar from Fry's account, when they could've just taken the anchovies. This, my friends, helps develop Mom's character- one who goes above and beyond to bury the competition.
Again, it's hard to argue anything bad against this episode. It's a funny take on the cruelties of capitalism. Now excuse me. I have to go buy cheap Bender action figures.
Tidbits
- Speaking of Bender, this episode finally crystallizes just how much of a criminal Bender can be. He steals tons and tons of Robot Oil, does a pathetic job of hiding it, and goes as far as to steal Leela's wallet. I also love how cheap bail is in the 31st century.
- The concept of beaming advertising in the minds of people is treated as pretty much normal. Ah, dystopia!
- "Visa hasn't existed for 500 years... American Express hasn't existed for 600 years... Sorry, we don't take Discover."
Favorite Scene: Every moment at Mom's Friendly Robot Company. Tress MacNielle makes every second of that scene awesome.
Least Favouite Scene: I'm going to admit here that this cold open, funny as it was, is pointless.
Memorable Quote: Pick a line from Mom. Any line. I'm not going to quote one- there's too much competition.
Score: 8.
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