Review: "The Cyber House Rules" (Season 3, Episode 9)

 

"You're better than normal. You're abnormal! If you ask me, you shouldn't care about what other people think!" "You're right. I'll start by not caring what you think!" - Fry and Leela, defying the Star Trek dynamic of "captain going to first officer for advice."

Airdate: April 1st, 2001

Written By: Lewis Morton

Plot: The Orphanarium is having a reunion of a class of it's former... orphans. Leela, having had a less than pleasant experience there, but goes - Fry encourages her to rub her success in. It doesn't work too well. There, however, she encounters Dr. Adlai Atkins, a plastic surgeon who offers to give her a prosthetic eye. Despite Fry's objections, Leela agrees to the surgery, and strikes up a romance with the doctor.

Meanwhile, Bender finds out from the operator of the Orphanarium that the government offers $100 a month for every orphan adopted. Bender decides to clear house to make a solid $1200 a month. Unfortunately, he has to actually raise the children, which is a fairly costly measure.

Review: 

You ever go into something thinking that it is going to be a bunch of subpar, mediocre, or downright bad, then you watch it, and it's actually pretty good? Well, that's pretty much my thought process when I began to review "The Cyber House Rules". It's not an episode I watch that often, so I was focusing on the "Be Yourself" trope - a trope that is "tried and true", to put it kindly. What I instead got was a pretty hilarious take on that message, and also an episode that focused on everybody's favorite starship captain...

...Leela.

(Sorry, Zapper.)

Review: "The Birdbot of Ice-Catraz" (Season 3, Episode 5)

Airdate: March 4th, 2001

Plot: Leela, opposed to the path the Planet Express Ship has to take while towing an oil tanker (by a penguin preserve on Pluto), resigns her command to protest with environmentalists - led by Free Waterfall Sr. Y'know, the guy who's son got eaten by Lrrr. Bender is appointed Captain, much to Fry's displeasure. The two fight, and Bender gets so deperssed, he refuses to drink. Thus, he becomes loopy, and crashes the oil tanker on the preserve. Bender is sentenced to community service, and becomes one with the penguins... who begin reproducing at a rapid pace.

Review: 

When I was younger, I was quite the environmentalist nut. I though Al Gore was a god, I was wondering why there weren't more Prii on the road, and I always used wind power when playing SimCity 4. (TURBINES FOR LIFE!) Thing is, I wasn't one for nature walking, or cleanup efforts... in short, I was more Leonardo DiCaprio than anything else in my environmentalism.

This episode is Futurama's first to tackle the environmentalist topic, and in this case, does a pretty good job in skewering both sides of the topic.

Review: "Anthology of Interest I" (Season 2, Episode 16)

 

Airdate: May 21st, 2000

On October 25th, 1990, a TV showed featured two siblings (and their baby sister) gathering in a treehouse to tell the darkest, and yet funniest, tales of terror. The elder brother regaled two stories about a haunted house and an alien invasion. The younger sister recited one of the great horror poems of antebellum America.

Thus, The Simpsons made a mark on animation history. The "three shorts" episodes became more acceptable for adult-targeted animated shows to execute, albeit one restrained to an annual basis. However, and correct me if I'm wrong, but it would be The Simpsons sister show that sealed the deal for this being a trope in the "adult-targeted animation" genre.

The first "Anthology of Interest" (and, by the way, no matter what the name, the three shorts episodes are all getting the "Anthology of Interest" tag) is framed by the Professor's introduction of his device - the "Fing-Long-er". He uses it to turn on the "What-If Machine" - a screen that generates alternate realities. The main trio all get a chance to see their alternate realities.

"Let's watch, shall we..."

(Warning: Spoilers Ahead)

Review: "Mothers Day" (Season 2, Episode 14)

Do you remember the good old days before the ghost town?

Airdate: May 14th, 2000

Synopsis: It's Mother's Day - a day when all robots pay tribute to Mom, the owner of Mom's Friendly Robot Company. Thing is, she's not a fan of the "jerkwad robots", so to speak. In fact, she's just laundering the money they give her, and turning the lavish gifts into a "hocus-pocus" cure for cancer. This year, she commemorates the 70th anniversary of a tragic event by activating the command antenna on every robot, demanding that they conquer earth for her. They proceed to cause anarchy in New New York City.

However, what happened 70 years ago? Thing is, Mom and Professor Hubert Farnsworth once dated. Professional disagreements, though, caused them to separate. Her sons try and convince Farnsworth to get back together with Mom, or at least get the remote to call off the invasion.

Review: Futurama has largely held to it's dystopic view of the future. The antagonists are ruthless, the protagonists aren't too much better... and, in a way, the world's not too different than our world. I've mentioned it before, but it comes in full force here - this time, Futurama uses science fiction themes to communicate and subvert a love story by showing the insanity of both participants.

Review: "How Hermes Requisitioned His Groove Back" (Season 2, Episode 11)

Airdate: April 2nd, 2000

This is where he lost his groove. (Don't worry - he doesn't jump. And no, that isn't exactly a spoiler.)

Synopsis: Hermes tries to prepare for a promotion from the Central Bureaucracy. However, all seems ruined when Bender's cheating at poker leads to the destruction of his offices. Only saved from suicide by threats of a demotion, he is put on paid leave ("the ultimate penalty") and sent to Spa 5 by Zoidberg - a nice, relaxing labor camp.

Bureaucrat Morgan Proctor takes over, and finds out that Fry is an utter slob. Being cooper up by neat freaks at the Central Bureaucracy, Proctor finds Fry's slobbishness attractive, and begins an affair that would make the Major cabinet blush, complete with granting Fry perks and demoting the rest of the crew. Once Bender finds out, well, let's just say...

"I am Bender. Please insert girder."

Review: Ah, the bureaucracy. No institution is more American than the offices often called the fourth branch of government. In many regards, bureaucrats are known as the blood of the public sector - to the point where conservatives a-la Rand Paul talk about the "federal bureaucracy" in an extremely pejorative tone. (Blogger's note - I tend to align with the more left-wing Democratic Party.) Jokes about the utter redundancy of the bureaucracy rarely get old, and this episode goes above and beyond with the satire, while also expanding on Hermes.

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.

Review: "A Bicyclops Built For Two" (Season 2, Episode 9)

Note: sender of E-mail is not as dignified as he appears. Not. Even. Close.

Airdate: March 19th, 2000

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)

Review: "The Lesser of Two Evils" (Season 2, Episode 6)

Airdate: February 20, 2000

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.

Review: "Why Must I Be A Crustacean In Love?" (Season 2, Episode 5)

Airdate: February 6th, 2000.

Synopsis: Leela and Amy drag Fry and Bender to a gym. Zoidberg, extra-frisky, comes along, and manages to mess around the place. The reason - it's mating season for the Decapodians. Thus, they have to go back to Decapod 10 so that Zoidberg can join his species in the frenzy. Zoidberg has limited success in attracting a mate, but finds a potential partner in Edna. However, Fry tries to get Zoidberg to engage in a deeper relationship with her. Once Edna learns of Fry's strategies... she tries to seduce him. Zoidberg catches them, and declares that they shall settle this with claw-plach!

Fry: "What's that?"

Zoidberg: "A fight to the death!" 

Review: Another Star Trek: TOS parody here - they are a plenty in the first two seasons. This time, the episode parodied is among the most famous in the history of Star Trek: "Amok Time." The results here are quite funny, if not the best Futurama has to offer.

Review: "XMas Story" (Season 2, Episode 4)

"Lock the door, and hit the floor!
Cause Santa Claus comes tonight!!!"

Airdate: December 19, 1999

Synopsis: It's XMAS! Like Christmas, but with more X! Fry and Leela are the loneliest people in New New York, however. After reminding Leela of her constant loneliness, Fry goes out to buy her a present. This does not end well, especially when Robot Santa arrives... and threatens to blow them all to kingdom come.

Review: Ah, the Christmas special. Started with A Charlie Brown Christmas and Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer, these specials are just a bundle of heartwarming... or at least cheese. These episodes and specials often have something extra put in them to get the viewer into the Christmas cheer, and makes you enjoy the Winter season... until February, when the third snowstorm comes, and you're tired of classes being cancelled all the damn time!

Sorry.

Normally, these Christmas/Chanukah/Kwanza/insanely-politically-correct-celebration-of-the-winter-solstice episodes are just full of joy and optimism. This episode manages to combine that heartwarming schmaltz we all love with one of the most disturbing environments in Christmas special history.

Review: "Brannigan, Begin Again" (Season 2, Episode 2)

"Whoopsie-daisy!"

Airdate: November 28th, 1999

Synopsis: The Planet Express trio are sent over to the new DOOP HQ in the Neutral Zone - they are to deliver scissors for the ribbon cutting ceremony. While there, however, they come across Zapp Brannigan, who fears Neutrals (yes, there's a planet called the Neutral Planet) because of their lack of stance, and who arrests the crew for carrying scissors, claiming that they're part of "a Neutral plot".

Leela: But they're not even sharp! Who could I possibly hurt with them?

Zapp: The Yarn People of Nylar 4!

While interrogating the crew on the Nimbus, Zapp is informed that he is going to miss the ribbon cutting ceremony. Zapp decides to improvise and use the ship's laser... which he cranks up to hyperdrive and fails to turn off, eventually destroying the new HQ. Forced to stand at a court martial in the Old DOOP HQ in Weehawken, Leela's testimony is just enough evidence to convict Brannigan, and he is dishonorably discharged. Before leaving, Zapp gives a mournful speech on the recent developments.

My friends, you can take away a man's title and his uniform, but you can never take away his integrity or his honour. Plus, it was mostly Kif's fault.

Kif, thrown under the bus, is now forced to roam the streets of New New York with Zapp. The two wind up at Planet Express, and are employed by Professor Farnsworth. Zapp notices the dissatisfaction that Bender and Fry have with Leela's management skills, and after a particularly awkward delivery, Zapp leads a mutiny against Leela, with the intent to hijack the ship and kamikaze it into Neutropolis, the capital of the Neutral Planet.

Review: The Zapper is back! The three previous episodes that featured the comic genius that is Zapp Brannigan were aided by his presence, but he only really had one prior episode really "focused" on him - "Love's Labours Lost In Space". "A Flight to Remember" was focused on Fry and Leela, and "When Aliens Attack" focused on Fry trying to thwart an alien invasion.

This episode actually focuses on his character, and does so in an awesome manner - but also a manner that makes the character much, much darker.

Review: "Fry and the Slurm Factory" (Season 1, Episode 13)

Worth noting, this is the highlight of the tour.

Airdate: November 14th, 1999

Synopsis: Slurm, Fry's favorite soft drink, announces it's brand new marketing scam, and it catches the eyes of Fry and Bender. Whoever finds a golden cap wins the grand prize - a trip to the Slurm Factory on the planet Wormulon. One Bender breakdown, a "f-ray", and a swallowed cap later, the Planet Express crew are on the tour. There, Fry's utter addiction to Slurm drives them to the secret ingredient.

Review (SPOILERS): If I had a trademark favorite drink, it would be Diet Pepsi. Sure, Diet Coke is a decent alternative, but Diet Pepsi - that's the real mccoy of soda drinks. It's one of the reasons why Taco Bell is my favorite fast-food joint. If a restaurant has Diet Pepsi, I will order it. It, to me, is the perfect soft drink - tasty, yet it's structure allows for more, y'know, actual food to be eaten... like Taco Bell.

Alright, it probably has chemicals in it that probably has adverse effects on my health that I don't even know about yet, and every glass I drink may cut my lifespan by a minute, but it still tastes fantastic!

Yet, that has no contest on Fry's addiction to Slurm, the soft drink that dominates Futurama. In it, Slurm provides a tragicomic coda to the first season of this classic sci-fi series - tragic because it showcases the dystopia of the universe and just how messed up addiction is, and comic because it provides a hysterical deconstruction or subversion of Star Trek cliches.

Review: "When Aliens Attack!" (Season 1, Episode 12)

Airdate: November 7th, 1999.

Synopsis: May, 1999. A transmitter controller for WNYW-TV, the FOX affiliate in New York City, orders a pizza and beer. He invites the pizza delivery boy, one Phillip J. Fry, to watch the season finale of Single Female Lawyer, a show that revolves around lawyer Jenny McNeil and her various sexual exploits. While yawning, Fry spills his beverage on the control panel, knocking the station and the program off the air. FOX has to replace it with "eight animated programs in a row".

A thousand years later, the signal arrives at the planet Omnicron Persei 8, home of the Omnicronians. Their king and queen, Lrrr and Ndnd, vow revenge on Earth.

Cut to Earth. One Phillip J Fry is dragged from the TV out for a Labor Day trip to the beach. Hilarity ensues... until a UFO shoots lasers at the beach. Lrrr declares that McNeil must be surrendered immediately. President McNeil retaliates by going to war against the mothership, with 25-Star General Zapp Brannigan at the helm. Doesn't work. Fry realizes what the Omnicronians are talking about, and that he must whip up a script for a show he didn't really watch.

Review: On June 23rd, 1998, Time Magazine released an issue that had three greyed-out faces of feminism - suffragette Susan B Anthony, writer Betty Friedan, and activist Gloria Steinem. Right next to them, sat the non-greyed-out face of Ally McBeal, the main character of Ally McBeal. Time Magazine posed the question... Is Feminism Dead?

To accomplish this review, I decided that it would be best to watch the pilot of Ally McBeal. It was... alright, I guess. The main character was a tad bit irritating, though, which you don't really want in a dramedy - it's acceptable in shows like Red Dwarf, where the main character can be irritating for laughs, or Breaking Bad, where you focus on a fall from grace. Not in McBeal.

This episode, from what I could tell, does a damn good mockery of Ally McBeal - it mocks the reason why shows like McBeal are loved. People like comfort food comedy. Sure, you could have shows like Red Dwarf, where characters are fleshed out with vast brilliance. You could just as easily, however, have a show like The Cleveland Show, where shows are unchallenging to the intellect of people, and thus, are bland comfort food TV.

Review: "A Flight to Remember" (Season 1, Episode 10)

OK, who didn't say "what could possibly go wrong" when they first watched this episode?

Airdate: September 26th, 1999

Synopsis: It seems like Fry, Leela, and Bender have quickly had enough of the Planet Express missions- they only reconsider their resignations upon learning that the crew is going on the maiden voyage of the space cruise ship, Titanic. (This is gonna be a successful trip!) To try and ward off the advances of the ship's captain, Zapp Brannigan, Leela declares her engagement to Fry. At the same time, Amy declares Fry her boyfriend to impress her parents. Bender doesn't even get involved in that brewing love triangle- he's out to rob, and runs into (and falls head over heels over) the Countess de la Roca.

Meanwhile, Zapp decides to deviate from the ship's course- instead flying through a comet field and near a "blackish, hole-ish thing". Three guesses and no prizes for guessing what happens.

Review (SPOILERS): I wasn't old enough to know the true impact of Titanic-mania in the late 90s. Believe me, if it was anything like Avatar-mania in 2010, it probably got all the awards the year after it was released, and is now seen as just an excuse to show tons and tons of special effects through a very standard "romance" plot set during a disaster...

I think. I dunno- I never really watched the movie. (Well, there goes whatever little credibility I had.)

What this episode does do, for those that never watched Titanic, is launch the romantic subplots that would dominate the show over the next few seasons.

Review: Season 1, Episode 9: "Hell is Other Robots"

Airdate: May 18th, 1999

Synopsis: While at a Beastie Boys concert, Bender's old friend hooks him up to a dose of extra electricity... essentially, a drug for robots. He quickly becomes addicted, and one instance of his desire for extra electricity almost kills Fry and Leela in an electric storm. His friends disappointed in his addiction, Bender turns to the Temple of Robotology- essentially, a robot version of a Baptist church. He tries to lead a clean lifestyle, yet goes too far in the other direction, becoming boring and tedious. Fry and Leela try and bring the old Bender back by taking him to Atlantic City... where he gives into temptation. Unfortunately, the Robot Devil takes notice, and Bender is promptly taken to Robot Hell. For all eternity.

Bender: "Ah, hell! Oh - I mean 'heck!'"

Robot Devil: "S'alright. You can say that here!" 

Review: This is the last episode of the 1st broadcast season, but not the last episode of the production season. (Thanks a bunch, FOX.) Worth noting because I'm doing the reviews in production order, not broadcast order.

Anyway... religion, death, sin, and all that.

Review: "A Big Piece of Garbage" (Season 1, Episode 8)

If only they played pool with the meteor.

Airdate: May 11th, 1999

Synopsis: Farnsworth botches his Academy of Science presentation twofold; first by planning to introduce an invention he presented a year prior- the Death Clock- than sketching something else he made a year prior- the Smell-o-scope. (He loses to former student and rival Ogden Wernstrom, who invents a "reverse scuba suit" for fish.) However, said smell-o-scope detects a mass of garbage headed straight for New New York City.

Thing is, back in 2000, to solve a crisis in pollution, Mayor Giuliani kicked a barge of trash out to sea, hoping other countries would take it. They didn't. Instead, scientists shot it into space. Now, it's back. On impact, Farnsworth fears it will take take out the entire city. Compounding matters is that few in the 20th century know what garbage actually is- everybody recycles now. The mass of garbage too gooey to shoot out with a missile, the Trio are sent up into space to blow the garbage mass up.

It goes as well as you would expect.

Review (SPOILERS): Much like "My Three Suns" and "Fear of a Bot Planet", "A Big Piece of Garbage" follows Futurama's trend of ripping on cliche science-fiction plots- what if a meteor were to begin falling to Earth?

Replace meteor with garbage mass, and you get the answer.

This subtle twist allows Futurama to not only send-up a B-plot, but also send up many "environmental" shows and films produced during the 90s... up to and including Captain Planet and the Planeteers.

Review: "A Fishful of Dollars" (Season 1, Episode 6)

Mmmm... oil. The good-ol American gold!

Airdate: April 27, 1999

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.

Review: "The Series Has Landed" (Season 1, Episode 2)

Thankfully, there's no dancing to the Vengaboys.

Airdate: April 4th, 1999.

Synopsis: Fry, Leela, and Bender are introduced to the inner workings of Planet Express. After previewing a commercial that will air during the Super Bowl ("Not on the same channel, of course"), they meet the rest of the crew- John Zoidberg, the quirky doctor; Hermes Conrad, the straight-laced bureaucrat; and Amy Wong, the slightly flighty intern.

With Leela chosen as the captain of the ship, the new crew are given their first job- deliver a package to the Moon. While Fry is initially excited to go to the moon, he realizes that the place has become a cheap-o tourist trap akin to Disney Land... and they can't even do that right. Aggravated, he drags Leela out into the "real" moon... and his antics almost kill them, forcing them to work for a "moon farmer" to get some oxygen.

Review: As mentioned in my "Space Pilot 3000" review, Futurama's view of the future is very dystopian. However, it goes about this in a unique way. Unlike Blade Runner, which did a straight-up dystopia, Futurama did so via pretty much taking our society, adding a few spaceships and aliens, and poof! Dystopia. It's done in such a subtle manner that the average viewer probably won't notice.

Review: "Space Pilot 3000" (Season 1, Episode 1)

And it's still slower then the C train!

Airdate: March 28th, 1999

Synopsis (SPOILERS): It's December 31st, 1999, Manhattan. Phillip J Fry's life is in the toilet- he delivers pizzas on holidays, his girlfriend dumps him, and he's placed on a crank call to a cryogenics centre. Ringing in the new year at the cryogenics centre, he winds up falling into one of the freezers. Thankfully, he eventually defrosts.

The date? December 31st, 2999. "My god! A million years!"

Fry is introduced to Leela, the cryogenics counselor/fate officer. After being given a physical examination, he is assigned the career of... delivery boy. He has two options - take the career chip given to him, or be fired... ("Good!" "...out of a cannon, into the sun!") He bolts for it, and runs for his nearest relative, the elderly Professor Hubert Farnsworth. While on the run, he meets Bender, who's queuing for a suicide booth (which Fry mistakes for a phone booth). After escaping with their lives, the two befriend each other, and eventually manage to convince Leela to join them.

They all wind up at Professor Farnsworth's place, and use his spaceship to escape prosecution from the cops. Afterwards, Farnsworth offers the three jobs at his intergalactic delivery company, Planet Express. This thrills Fry, who gets the job of... delivery boy.

Review (SPOILERS FOR THIS EPISODE): Pilot episodes are always hard to nail down- the writers still have doubts on the paths the characters are going, there might be idiosyncrasies relegated to the pilot, and the acting/art might be off until the show gets a full pickup.

Still, even with those elements, "Space Pilot 3000" is a pretty damn good pilot - in fact, it might be one of my favorite pilot episodes.