Review: "Bendin' in the Wind" (Season 3, Episode 13)

"Hey, the blues! The tragic sound of other people's suffering! That's kind of a pick-me-up." - Bender.

Airdate: April 22nd, 2001
Written By: Eric Horsted
Plot: An accident involving a can opener and whale oil leaves Bender disabled below his neck. While in hospital, he comes across Beck, who not only convinces him to take up being a washboard player (with the power of his mind), but also encourages him to join his jam band. Thus, he and the PlanEx crew go out onto the road!

Review:

Well, this episode is more interesting than "Route of All Evil". And that's not a stab at the fact that a test pattern would be more interesting than "Route of All Evil". It revolves around an interesting character and, albeit not atypical of shows that dabble in a certain story structure, explores how his fatal flaw can be interfered by being brought down to his knees.

Metaphorically speaking, of course, since this episode actually disables him for a bit.

Review: "The Route of All Evil" (Season 3, Episode 12)

"We're practically old enough to find the FOX Network infantile."- Dwight. That's pretty much his character.

Airdate: December 8th, 2002. (I hate you, Rupert Murdoch.)
Written By: Dan Vebber.
Plot: Cubert and Dwight (Hermes's son) are suspended from school for attacking a bully. Acting like idiots at Planet Express, Farnsworth and Hermes tell the kids to get a job. They start their own paper delivery company, Awesome Express, and quickly manage to get enough cold hard cash to buy out Planet Express.

Meanwhile, Bender, Fry, and Leela decide to make their own drinks. Ergo, Bender becomes pregnant.

Review:

OK, short one - this episode is probably among the most forgotten of Seasons 1-4. It focuses on uninteresting secondary/tertiary characters, features a mundane plot, and an equally weightless B-plot.