Review: "Parasites Lost" (Season 3, Episode 2)

Airdate: January 21st, 2001

Synopsis: Fry grabs an old sandwich at a truck stop. After an unrelated work-related accident, Fry's body repairs itself. A colonoscopy reveals that Fry has worms lodged in his intestines. The crew shrink down to miniature size to try and remove the worms from power. Since the worms are linked to Fry's mind, however, they would defend themselves if Fry knew what was happening. Therefore, Leela must "distract" Fry from the mission.

While out on the town, Fry proves himself to be more articulate and verbose than ever before. A newly enamored Leela halts the mission, in order to continue living this fantastic experience with Fry. The experience reaches it's peak when Fry manages to play the Holophonor - an instrument infamous for it's challenge. Yet, who's actually performing these actions - Fry, or the Worms?

Review: While Futurama is plenty well known as a sci-fi parody, what really seems to sell fans on the show is that underneath the sitcom-esque clothes lies one of the best episodic sci-fi shows out there, full with drama and character development. We didn't see too much of that drama in Season 2, however. Therefore, one must present the question - at what point did Futurama go from "sci-fi comedy" to "complex dramedy"?

For most people, the line is crossed in "Parasites Lost".

And in the eyes of some people, it is Futurama's zenith.

Does the same hold true in my eyes?

(Warning: some Star Trek spoilers later in the review.)

Review: "Amazon Women In The Mood" (Season 3, Episode 1)

Airdate: February 4th, 2001.

Synopsis: Kif is unable to ask Amy out on a date, due to his eternal shyness. Zapp takes advantage of this, and manages to wind up on a "double half-date" with Leela, Kif, and Amy at Le Palm D'Orbit, an orbiting restaurant. There, Zapp tries to get Kif to use his boorish pick-up lines, and when Kif finally tries to show his true colors in a song, Zapp blocks it by "singing" his own tune. The restaurant abandoned by all except the four, the captain's attempts to pilot it back home end with them crashed on Amazonia, a matriarchal planet that has effectively eliminated all men.

Fry and Bender attempt to rescue them, and it ends with the crew arrested. After a tour of the planet, they are brought to the Fem-puter, the leader of the planet. There, Fem-Puter is infuriated by the fact that there are men that trespassed on the planet, and sentences them to die.

Review (SPOILERS): As far as I can recall, Season 3 is going to focus quite a bit more on continuity and the development of plot elements introduced in Seasons 1 and 2. Indeed, the season premiere, "Amazon Women In The Mood", fleshes out Kif and Amy, all while serving as a parody of sci-fi pulp, mocking both genders, and analyzing hypocrisy in radical politics. For the most part, the end result is good - although is the episode overrated?

Season 2 Wrap Up

Image found on Wikipedia. I do not own it.

So, that ends Futurama Season 2. When I first started reviewing this season, Stephen Harper and Tony Abbott were Prime Ministers of nations. Boy, how times have changed... and how lazy I was until, January-ish.

Seriously, though, let's analyze this season.

Review: "The Cryonic Woman" (Season 2, Episode 19)

"Welcome... to the world of tomorrow!"

Airdate: December 3rd, 2000

Synopsis: Bender and Fry's antics go too far, resulting in the trio's dismissal (Leela left the keys in the ship's ignition, and caused Bender and Fry to steal the ship... with the building and the rest of the crew in tow.) Jobless, Bender and Fry wind up at the cryogenics center. There, the duo unfreeze a motley crew of people, such as Pauly Shore and Fry's ex-girlfriend, Michelle. The latter gets back together with Fry, only to realize that the 31st century is a bit disturbing.

Review: "The Cryonic Woman", in theory, should be pretty good, given that it revolves around a character unseen since the very start of the show. Oh, and it's also the finale of Season 2. The idea was good, actually, but unfortunately, the execution of the episode is somewhat lacking - in fact, I'd even call it the worst episode so far.

Review: "The Honkng" (Season 2, Episode 18)

Airdate: November 5th, 2000

Synopsis: Bender's recently deceased Uncle Vladimir grants him a haunted castle in his will. In order to obtain it, however, he has to stay there for a night. (Groundbreaking tactic, there.) The spirits of the castle haunt him, though, and he flees into the wilderness, where he comes across a Werecar that runs him over. After returning back to Earth, he begins acting funky. That, and tire tracks are popping out across New New York, in areas where he has been.

Review: Futurama mainly tends to utilize and riff on science fiction tropes, with the past two seasons largely being inspired by Star Trek. However, it doesn't limit itself solely to the sci-fi genre. In this episode, it mixes in elements of horror and the supernatural, and the end result is surprisingly good, if not as brilliant as the past three episodes.

Admittedly, though, much like the last episode, I'm going to be reviewing this more on the character interactions and the comedy - not a horror movie fan. (I do love Gravity Falls, although it's less "horror" and more "supernatural". Take that however you will.)

Review: "War is the H-Word" (Season 2, Episode 17)

Airdate: November 26th, 2000

Synopsis: Fry and Bender enlist in the Army in an attempt to get a discount on gum. There's no mandate for length of servitude unless war is declared. Within seconds of their enlistment... well, take a lucky guess. Leela also enlists to make sure the duo don't kill themselves. Because of the sexist enlistment policy (no women allowed), she goes in drag, as Lee Lemon.

They go to the planet of Spheron 1, a desolate planet with nothing of note. While there, Fry's attempts to save himself result in him becoming Kif's surprisingly abused assistant, Zapp becomes attracted to Lemon, and an injured Bender is jerry rigged in an attempt to end the conflict once and for all.

Review (SPOILERS): "War is the H-Word" is, at the surface, a parody of war movies, such as Saving Private Ryan. However, since I don't really know any "proper" war movies, I'm going to analyze it on another level - being a direct riff on the Star Trek franchise, and the values contained within said franchise. Oh, and review the characters in this episode.

(I am aware that this was a parody of Starship Troopers, but I never saw that film, so I'm reviewing this episode on my own merits.)

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: "The Problem With Popplers" (Season 2, Episode 15)

"I brought my own mic!"

Airdate: May 7th, 2000

Synopsis: The trio wind up on a planet, in search of a food break (welcome to my world). There's no fast food, but tons of another edible life form that looks like fried shrimp. Quickly addicted to it, they call the food "popplers", take them back, and make loads of money off the venture. However, the plan enters a tailspin when it turns out that the Popplers are really the larval stage of Omnicronian development. Yeah... Lrrr is not really pleased with this development.

Review (SPOILERS): In my opinion, there are two types of great Futurama episodes. The first type is the type that stretches the show beyond it's comic exterior to provide a more introspective, dramatic take on it's characters. The second type, a nonstop barrel of laughs, interspersed with well-done character interactions and comedy. This is the latter, and makes this a contender of the best episode of the second season.

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: "Bender Gets Made" (Season 2, Episode 13)

Bender can get out of this for old time's sake. He just doesn't want to.

Airdate: April 30th, 2000

Synopsis: Bender causes Elzar (his idol) to temporarily blind Leela at a live taping of his show. To try and make it up for her, he offers the crew a dinner at the restaurant. However, he stiffs them with a $1200 bill. To try and get closer to Elzar (and avoid jail), Bender agrees to work off the bill. There, he meets up with the regular diners, the Robot Mafia. Impressed with Bender's attempts to cheat him out of his change, the Donbot offers Bender a spot in the mafia. Here's the problem - his first major hit is on the Planet Express ship.

Review: I think it's time I came forward and admitted something about myself... I never saw The Godfather.

Yes, I'm aware of the horse-head-in-bed scene, and all that jazz, but I never really sat down to watch The Godfather. Most I know about the movie is that Abe Vigoda wound up taking a bit part in Good Burger, where he provided the comic relief in the deep plot about shutting down a competitor to the titular establishment. (We'll get to a plot like that in season 3.)

Oh, never saw Goodfellas, neither. Nor The Sopranos. So, as far as "mafia" movies, I'm going into this with a relatively fresh mind when it comes to the cliches and stuff.