Synopsis: While watching TV, the trio catch an advertisement for "Past-o-Rama", a theme park dedicated to celebrating the past in it's own cheesy way. While there, they take an old AMC Pacer type car and run into Flexo, a bending unit. In fact, he looks just like our loveable rascal. For some strange reason, Fry looks askance at him, especially after the quartet are commissioned to deliver a tiara to the "Miss Universe Pageant".
Review (SPOILERS): Season 2 contains yet another Star Trek parody, this time aping from "Mirror, Mirror" with "The Lesser of Two Evils". Don't expect these parallels to let up until the third season. Here, though, was another episode that was quite funny, if not Futurama at it's best.
Bender is often cited as a fan-favourite character, mainly because of his ability to showcase the worst aspects of humanity. Selfish, callous, and committing every one of the seven deadly sins (we're only 19-ish episodes in), he is the textbook anti-hero. And while Fry and Leela aren't exactly Starfleet material themselves, to put Bender with somebody that seems like he could fit with the ranks of Picard, Worf, and Wes... uh, LaForge is definitely interesting, especially if it was somebody that looked quite the same.
Thus, with Futurama still being a parody of Star Trek, the twist of Bender's counterpart generally being an alright guy isn't unexpected. Thing is, Flexo does have some of the same hangups as Bender - he likes his fembots, his tobacco products, all that jazz. If anything, he's more of a prankster than the outright felon-ish, downright callous bender. In a way, that does say something about the cynicism of the Futurama universe, where even the "good" counterparts to the anti-heroes are full of human hangups.
Actually, if you remember back in "When Aliens Attack", you see where Fry gets his hang-ups over Flexo over. He briefly mentions that he could be a superhero, much like Captain Janeway from Star Trek: Voyager. While Voyager wasn't an especially rare series, it does indicate that Fry was at least a little bit into Star Trek, where the mirror counterparts (with beards and all that) are antagonistic. And since Fry spent three years in front of a TV (to maintain his comp), well, it just shows how unadjusted to the real world he is.
Also, remember that Bender made a very good first impression with Fry - befriending each other after an awkward trip to a suicide booth. Flexo's first impression was after Fry hit him with the car. Who knows? Maybe Fry is trying to project his guilt into an unreasonable hatred for Flexo? Or maybe it was a misplaced disgust against Bender's actions. Who knows?
If you want to take this episode on a sociological level, it does show how appearances can influence public perception. Does facial hair cause people to become suspicious of the person wearing said facial hair? Does that extend to body? It definitely is an interesting question. (I find it ironic that the climax occurred at a beauty pageant - one with various alien species.)
Other than that, not much to say about this episode. In some ways, I think they could've done a bit more with Flexo, added a few more twists with Bender, all that jazz. It was a pretty funny episode, if not the funniest in the show's history.
Oh, I almost forgot... Past-O-RAMA!!!! I love this segment. It is one of my favourite parodies of theme parks in TV history, right up there with Duff Gardens from The Simpsons and Luna Park from "The Series Has Landed". The cheapness, the inaccuracies, Hammurabi dancing with Einstein... it is pure gold. If for nothing else, watch "The Lesser Of Two Evils" for that scene alone.
Tidbits:
- How the hell did Flexo, on his first day on the job, outrank Fry? What, did he take the Chef's exam?
- Much as I like Leela as a character, this episode also serves to remind us that she's still written like an actual person - even Zapp isn't completely distracted by her presence at the beauty pageant, and is able to maintain some control. Bad as you feel when she realises that she didn't win the pageant, it is realistic writing.
- Cop Department is a hilarious kick-off to the entire episode. Fox was known for cheesy TV like that in the 90s, when they were just trying to prove that they could exist. In fact, I would bet that the complacency with cheap TV led to the dissatisfaction with Futurama amongst the network executives.
Favourite Scene: Past-O-Rama. As an aspiring history teacher, the entire thing makes me laugh... if not cry a little inside.
Least Favourite Scene: I don't get why everybody was quick to defend Flexo so quickly. It seems like the treatment of Bender's hang-ups varies from episode to episode... so far.
Memorable Quote: "Both are good choices. Whatever floats your boat." - Bender, on the difference between good and evil. What a philosophical statement.
Score: 8.
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