Season Wrap Up: Season 1

Box for re-release of Volume 1. Found on Internet.

Holy Slurm, Season 1 of Futurama is over. Only took me, what, six months? Curse my lack of discipline when it comes to blog schedules! The question always is - how did the season turn out? The question for first seasons always is... does it still hold up?

In short, season 1 of Futurama holds up well - character is reasonably good, the animation isn't too bad, and the voice acting is still pretty good.

In more detail, however, the season is good, yet there's still that tiny sense that the writers are finding their footing. Which is alright - few shows come out of the gate blazing and maintain that quality for as long as Futurama probably did. The only other show I can recall having a great first season and largely maintaining that quality into it's sophomore season is Gravity Falls, and even then, that's only midway through it's second season.

Character overall is good, even if it seems a bit sitcom-ish at this point. It works, though, since Futurama really did seem to start off more as a comedy than a space opera. Plots often involve Fry doing something stupid, Leela snarking about it, and Bender acting like a more malevolent jokester. Classic comedy trio - it's almost like The Tree Stooges: The Next Generation. Still, a few throwaway lines not only showcase some deeper emotions in the characters, but there is quite a development in their relationships - starting out as mere coworkers and acquaintances, by the end of the season, they at least seem like friends.

Other characters undergo radical change, although whether this is development or finding footing is up to the eye of the viewer. Farnsworth fits both - initially starting off as a bit of a stereotypical senior, by the end of the season, he's a genius with hints of insanity and callousness to his crewmembers.

The rest of the characters largely stay in their initial characterisations, although they are funny enough to carry entire plots. Most notably, there's the Zapp Branigan, who starts out as a Kirk parody and never stops providing the laughs, all with a touch of horror at the power he yields.

In terms of plots, they largely stick to parodying/homages to Star Trek episodes - most notably, "My Three Suns", which parodied TNG's "Reunion", and "Fear of a Bot Planet", which was a homage to "Let This Be Your Last Battlefield" and "The Measure of a Man". Still, the plot did lay out some foundations for future arcs, such as the relationship between Leela and Fry, and the exploration of Bender's psyche.

Overall, not a bad first season of Futurama - not in the slightest. Character development was good, and the plot overall was established pretty well. Animation and voice acting are a bit off, especially early on, but I don't hold it against the show.

Now, to list my favourite episode and least favourite episode of the season. These don't necessarily line up with what got the highest and lowest score - these are just my favourite and least favourites, respectively. I plan to rank the seasons at the end of my retrospective, so these might change by the end of this blog's life.

Favourite Episode: "Love's Labours Lost In Space" - the Zapper is introduced, and is solidified as one of the greatest Kirk parodies ever.

Least Favourite Episode: In hindsight, "My Three Suns" - you could remove the episode from the season, and the impact would barely be noticeable. It has few memorable jokes, not too much character development, and it's political satire is relatively basic.

Average Score: 8.1. With the score system I use, an 8 score is great, albeit with room to improve. This score will not be factored exactly into where I put the season at the end of the retrospective - it's just there for mathematical purposes.