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| Note: sender of E-mail is not as dignified as he appears. Not. Even. Close. |
Synopsis: While on a Matrix-like "internet", Leela meets another cycloptic humanoid. However, Fry interrupts their transmission before important information can be exchanged. On a trip to deliver popcorn to Cineplex 14, however, the cyclops able to come in contact with the PlanEx trio, and they wind up on the planet Cyclopia. There, Alcazar explains that the two of them may very well be the last of their race. However, not only does Alcazar have a more loutish side to him, the truth about his role as the future of the species is more shocking than meets the eye.
Review (SPOILERS): The cliche of "last of the species" is very much identifiable in science fiction - to the point where even newer takes on the subject tend to subvert it immediately, or add other unique twists - The Last Man on Earth, for example (featuring soon-to-be Gravity Falls alumnus Kristen Schaal). (I'm not getting into the twists, because spoilers.)
Here's the deal - the premise itself is one that, without any sort of twist, is one of the creepier in sci-fi lore. Two people of the opposite sex are the last of their species? Hate to bring this into the picture, but that would be impossible as far as the continuation of said species goes, what with the "incest or death" after "Generation A" reproduces. The inbreeding would devastate the species. And that's without the reluctance on either partner's part. To look at that, Futurama takes on a look at how a domestic situation would play out with this trope - one that dates back to "Genesis". (Reminder: spoilers after the break)
For starters, unlike the charismatic (or at least more "everyman") Adam, Alcazar is an utter pig. The night after he and Leela first meet, this supposedly charismatic and charming man turns into an utterly abusive jerkass. Thing is, he lured her in, played on her emotions, and managed to bring her in deep enough to keep her committed. Or, simply put, he lied on the internet to get laid, and did it in a way that would keep him near a woman (on a side note, he seems to treat women as objects) for a long, long time. (A warning about potential scammers on the internet? Why do I have a feeling that there will be a movie based off of this?)
Even Leela seems to understand that, at most, she's doing it in a futile attempt to continue her species. Willing to keep her crew on a planet and make herself miserable to appease a jackass who could possibly continue her species, this runs counter to the principles that Star Trek captains tend to take, thus continuing Futurama's proud tradition of parodying and subverting tropes found in the premiere sci-fi franchise.
Oh, and let's just be blunt here - Al's strategy is to lure somebody in with a sob story that he made up, thus causing her to have sex with him in an "attempt to repopulate the race". Some would argue that any consent Leela (and anybody else that he got involved with) gave can be thrown into question. That's kinda heavy, even by Futurama standards. Granted, the five brides kick his ass, and the scenario isn't necessarily played for comedy, but still.
I did like how Al tried to portray himself as this odd man who just happened to be the last of his kind, when in reality, he was the pathetic ruler of a lonely nation. Kind of an interesting swap.
As far as parodying the domestic situation, bizarrely enough, they picked the most complete parody of the domestic comedy there was - Married With Children was intended to be the antithesis of Family Ties and The Cosby Show. The family seemed to hate each other, snarking every minute of every day, and there only lay a thin undercurrent of heart. A very thin undercurrent.
OK, I think I should admit something here. Married With Children is one of my guilty pleasures - if not my ultimate guilty pleasure, period. It's as crass, as cartoonish, as lowbrow as sitcom gets, and I love it. It's the ultimate time waster. Most of my favourite shows are highbrow (Steven Universe) or contain a highbrow undercurrent masked by some lowbrow elements (Red Dwarf). There has to be one exception, and MWC is it.
However, again, there was a thin undercurrent of heart underneath MWC. Here, it seems like they simplified the style to a MWC-ish take on the plot, and simply threw in a few jokes related to Peg Bundy (portrayed by Katey Sagal). Simplifying it to "jackass lies to women to have sex and practically enslaves them"... while MWC was pretty dark, I don't think that Al would even go that far. He was chauvinistic and rather callous, but Alcazar is a bit beyond that here. And besides, Peg was shown to be even more of a lout than Al. (MWC fans, feel free to argue this with me.) Here, the MWC references seemed, at least in my eyes, a bit superficial for my tastes.
Beyond that, looking at how she interacts with Fry shows the continued evolution of their relationship. Sure, it's still rocky at several points - after shooting Alcazar in the video game, for one. However, Fry's still the first one she goes to when she wants to complain about Al's odious behaviour. We're nowhere near a romantic relationship yet, but this is a great sign of how their friendship works. (Besides, Fry saves Leela - a possible swap of the situation found in "My Three Suns".)
Even better, this episode does work as a fine analysis of Leela's orphan status. Her near resignation to a lifetime of misery with Alcazar gets even more depressing when you consider that... this could be the last of her species. That's rather sobering. For now, her impossible search continues.
The sum of all this? Not a bad episode at all.
Tidbits:
- One big missed opportunity is not getting Ed O'Neil to play Alcazar. Not that David Herman does a bad job, but Ed O'Neil would've made it even better. Maybe they had him in mind, and O'Neil had a conflict.
- Love the stab at AOL. To think, that was how most Americans accessed the internet circa 2000... boggles the mind to see how much we evolved. And yet, many of us still have one option for internet service providers. More things change, more they stay the same.
- Bender really does nothing in this episode. Seems to solidify his position as a comic relief character.
- Visually impressed by the popcorn nebula. This show has fantastic animation, and this funny scene is just an example of it.
- Also, Alcazar's story of how the planet was hit by missiles by a jealous race of mole people? Well, let's just say I went to the movies to see a certain science fiction film, and I am visually reminded of a certain scene involving a massive planet-wrecking laser.
Favorite Scene: Al getting kicked by the women he scammed. Ah, carthasis.
Least Favorite Scene: Again, the Married With Children scenes were underwhelming - maybe a bit simplistic. I might be a bit too hard, so feel free to disagree with me.
Memorable Quote: "Saving a race of one-eyed monsters? Who could object to that?" - Farnsworth, at the wedding. I love just how casually... species...ist? Is that the word? Ah, whatever - he's a bit of a bigot, even to the people he employs. Love this approach to character development.
Score: 8.
(And yes, this is my second review in a calendar month. I'm a bit shocked, too.)
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