Review: "A Clone Of My Own" (Season 2, Episode 10)

Airdate: April 9th, 2000

Congratulations, Wesley Crusher. You are no longer the most hated teen genius in sci-fi history.

Synopsis: Mars University (the college where Fry dropped out of) hosts a surprise 150th Birthday Party for Professor Farnsworth. A recollection of his life makes him realize that he's not long for this world - even if he makes another decade, after that, robots take him away to the Near-Death Star for eternity. Thus, he decides to name a successor - his clone, Cubert Farnsworth, who has been sitting in a tube for a while (thus making him the second of his family to sit in a tube for an extended period of time.) Thing is, Cubert is a bit of a jackass, dismissing every one of the Professor's accomplishments as impossible, and refusing to continue his legacy.

Oh, thing is, the Professor also fibbed a little about his age.

Review: Of al the major Futurama characters, the one I would argue is the most interesting is Professor Hubert Farnsworth. As much of a madman he is, what with his dubious ethics and questionable treatment of his employees (at best), there's also been hints at pathos, that he really has done little with his life. "A Clone of My Own" is the first episode to really dive into Professor Farnswroth's mindset, and the episode reaps the rewards.

After all, who is Farnsworth? Typically, he would be this quirky inventor who comes up with these crazy contraptions. But, Futurama is not a typical sci-fi opera - it's a sardonic comedy (OK, dramedy, but you get the point). In this case, Farnsworth is a businessman who just practices pretty nutty (and arguably) stupid science on the side. Really, what has Farnsworth done with his life? He made a robot that qualified for a boat loan.

Truly gonna change the world, there.

A man with so many regrets, and such a small legacy, he wants to at least continue it... effectively by relaunching it. His clone's name practically confirms that he has high hopes for his son to do better than he ever did - Cubert was meant to be Farnsworth 2.0. Finding out that his son might not have the same aspirations as he did makes Farnsworth think that he failed at life.

Why, yes, this is quite a self-centred worldview. It reminds me of Rimmer's father in Red Dwarf - not eligible for the Space Corps, he abused his kids so that they would get in. Psychological projection, it led to psychological damage - especially for Rimmer, who spent his life obsessing over passing the exam, and has only surpassed a lazy bum by the time he gets a face full of radiation. (For those unaware, no, that last part's not a spoiler.)

Of course, Cubert is pretty obnoxious himself. Let's just be real here - space operas and children rarely mix well, if at all. Star Wars: The Phantom Menace gets a lot of flack because of it's inclusion of a younger Anakin Skywalker (among many other complaints). "And The Children Shall Lead" is widely considered among the worst TOS episodes. TNG's Alexander is not well liked among the fandom. And, most damningly, TNG also had Wesley Crusher.

The writers wrote Cubert to be a parody of "know-it-all" teen Wesley, one of the most disliked characters in Star Trek. Granted, Wesley's popularity has ticked up slightly over the years (hindsight has proven well for the character), but still - a 13 year old critiquing every flaw and saving the Enterprise is stupid, even if it does happen only a few times.

Cubert "answers" Wesley by having every single person hate him - not just dismiss him, but actively hate him. They use him as a means to an end - rescue the professor. He mocks and belittles the campy science found in Farnsworth's inventions, only to put two and two together. However, unlike Wesley, there's a reason he saved the crew - he is a clone of Farnsworth, something that extended to his brain.

Going further on that point, Cubert's relatively low aspirations seem to indicate that Farnsworth himself was not only a bit obnoxious when he was younger, but also wanted to just play it safe. If "Tapestry" taught me anything, should Farnsworth have continued on this path, he would never, ever have been noticed by anybody.

Of course, comparatively speaking, Farnsworth is running a low-end delivery company. Then again, having so much intelligence, he uses a low-end service to fund his inventions.

I think I've rambled on about Farnsworth and Cubert for too long, so let's go to other aspects of the episode. The Near-Death Star is yet another prime example of the dystopia that is Futurama. Inspired by the Matrix, to stuff the elderly in cold blocks where they are forced into "retirement homes" - I can't help but think this is a parallel to how society tends to stuff their elders in Retirement Homes, left to be ignored or abused. This doesn't outright parody sci-fi as much as it uses sci-fi as a vehicle for social commentary. That's what I like about this show - even when not twisting around sci-fi tropes, it still uses them quite well.

This episode also showcases Fry, Leela, and Bender working as a more cohesive unit - again, showing how the three's relationship with each other has dramatically improved since "Space Pilot 3000" and "The Series Has Landed". (Oh, by the way, happy belated 1st anniversary.)

Generally a likeable episode, I did have a bit of a problem with the ending. It seemed a bit... simple and cliche. Cubert has this spark of madness, and wants to be an inventor like his father? I personally would've preferred it if they made this personal discovery a minor arc - just over a few episodes for a year. Then again, I think that the writers were trying not to make him a copy of Wesley, and just wanted to keep him firmly planted in parody mode, so I'll give the writers a pass on this one.

Altogether, "A Clone Of My Own" is a fun, quirky episode, one that fleshes out Fanrsworth and makes him a more sympathetic character, without making him too much nicer. One of the better episodes so far this season.

Tidbits:

• Nice analysis from Zoidberg... "Blood... thicker... water?" It's understandable why Farnsworth would hire him - dude's incompetent, Farnsworth is a cheapo, put two and two together.
• I love how Farnsworth claims he has all this dirt on the executives Mars University. If true (again, Farnsworth is a bit loopy), this makes future episodes on Mars a bit more brilliant, for reasons I'll get into when the times comes.
• The idea of the French Language being dead by the 31st century is a brilliant stab at French world power, perceived to be in decline when this episode aired. Recent events have challenged this idea.
• Bender's fanboyism of Elzar is back. This will come more into play later in the season.

Favorite Scene: Yeah, I loved the Near Death Star scenes. Brilliant parody of... well, you know the franchise it's riffing on. Don't need to go any further.

Least Favorite Scene: The ending seemed a bit too neat and "sitcom-ish" for my tastes. Maybe they were going for that angle, but still.

Memorable Quote: "I don't want to be an inventor. I want to be something useful, like a teacher's aide, or a prison guard, or a science-fiction cartoon writer!" - Cubert. It works as funny self deprecation, but I have to wonder, were the writers being a bit prophetic, as well?

Score: 8