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.

Review: "The Deep South" (Season 2, Episode 12)

Airdate: April 16th, 2000

Synopsis: Hermes applies for a pet license for Nibbler. Unfortunately, he gets a fishing license instead, one that's not just liberal - it's mandatory. Thus, the crew go fishing in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean. Bender's antics, though, meet with an unbreakable diamond tether - one that gets caught by a fish, dragging the crew underwater. They survive, but the ship... not so much. While looking for food outside (thanks to the Professor, he can withstand the pressure), he comes across a mermaid, Umbriel (Parker Posey), who takes him to the lost city of... Atlanta.

Review: In 1996, Atlanta was given the opportunity to host the Summer Olympic Games. In spite of a terrorist bombing that killed two people and injured 111 others, the Olympics are widely regarded as a beautiful success for Atlanta, transforming the city into the social and financial capital of the then-blooming American South, even helping to rebut some of the archetypes that were associated with the region in general (racism and poverty, most prominently).

"The Deep South" attempts to fuse the archetypes of "old" Atlanta, "new" Atlanta, and the mythical underwater city of Atlantis. How does it work? Mmm...

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.