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Post by cyclica on Oct 2, 2011 12:32:58 GMT -5
Fry and the slurm factory
Charlie and the chocolate factory, with futurama characters.
This is another of those episodes where I'm struggling to find anything to say about it. There were no real highs or lows, there's a few good lines and a few things to nitpick about, and that's about it. I can't even say the episode was bland or boring, the main story was 'colourful' and kept moving... in fact, thinking about it, the main thing that kept me watching the episode was the fact that I've seen the movie (gene wilder version) and liked it, and enjoyed seeing the same story again, with a few futurama jokes thrown in almost as a bonus.
Still, I liked it better than family guy's willy wonka episode.
Things I liked-
- Slurms mckenzie was ok. His mistreatment by glurmo and his sacrificial death kept this ep from being too much of a copy of 'willy wonka'.
- The soylent cola discussion was interesting. I liked how casually leela mentions that there's a drink made from people, and it really made me (momentarily) curious as to what the secret ingredient of slurm could be, if not people.
Favourite line-
Glurmo: No food or drink allowed on the tour. You'll have to wait until you're partying with Slurms MacKenzie.
Fry: When will that be?
Glurmo: Soon enough.
Fry: That's not soon enough.
Minor annoyances-
- It might have helped if fry was depicted as more of a slurm addict in previous episodes. He comes across as an addict from out of nowhere in this ep.
- The ad for slurm at the start felt like a simpsons-style ad to me, especially the 'humerous disclaimer' at the end. The first time watching, I thought to myself, why am I watching this if they're just gonna rip jokes right off the simpsons?
- Amy is wearing earrings just so bender can steal them. It's leelas ring from the pilot all over again.
- I can't normally tell what voice actors are doing what voice unless I'm told, but in the case of Tress Macneille, I can always tell. Her voice for the slurm queen sounds very similar to several other characters on the show- mom, hattie, petunia, skinners mother on the simpsons, the crazy cat lady... it's like she has one 'old lady' voice and just keeps on using it.
- The slurm queen plans on making leela a queen like herself.. how does that work, how can she become a slug? It's a pretty huge business descision to make on the spot too, you'd think if she was planning to turn someone into a slurm queen she would have by now, and not waited until someone just showed up.
- Besides, it's very 'doctor evil' of her to put the three in easily escapable situations and just assume they will be killed. Where was she off to in such a hurry that she couldn't stick around? She also put a lot of faith in the addictiveness of her slurm to leave fry free to rescue the others.
- Slurms mckenzie partied to death... couldn't he have just left the music on to cause the cave-in, while he escaped?
- Fry doesn't let the authorities know they're selling slug 'excretions', just because he himself likes the taste? What a jerk! You'd think with the slurm queen dead it would be the end of slurm anyway.
Random stuff-
- Apparently pamela anderson did the voice of one of the party girls. It seems like a very small role to get a celebrity to do, I can only assume she did the voice at the same time as voicing herself in the anchovies episode.
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Post by partcynic on Oct 16, 2011 14:02:50 GMT -5
First, apologies for leaving this so long. But I do have some good news - from Tuesday, I will have access to the rest of my Futurama DVDs, and can therefore watch/review the rest of the series without interruption.
Second, I'm reviewing this ep a full week after having last watched it. I made a few notes here and there, but this might not be as accurate as I'd like in places.
***
1x13 "Fry and the Slurm Factory"
I can't believe I never noticed it before, but the last third of S1 is far too heavy on episodes that do nothing more than transplant "Futurama" characters into the plots of films; relying on the audience's familiarity with the source material for jokes rather than creating fresh humour. During this block, we've seen this episode type executed both wonderfully ("A Flight to Remember") and weakly ("Mars University"), and "Fry and the Slurm Factory" sits somewhere betweeen the two. While its reliance upon referencing the Gene Wilder film adaptation of "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory" makes the first half very predictable, it diverges from straight parody somewhat in the second portion, and the truth about Slurm is kind of interesting. In all, this isn't really what I would expect for a season finale, but I'd imagine that this became the closing ep of the season by accident more than anything else.
Likes:
- The stuff with the F-Ray was entertaining. I loved the Professor putting on a Hazmat suit while the rest of the team got flimsy glasses, and Fry/Bender's resulting hijinx was entertaining. It also provided a decent way of linking the early segment to the main plot with Slurm.
- I liked the little flashes of characterisation we got. Hermes discussing the Grunka-Lunkas' potential for exploitation with the Tour-worm was a wonderfully in-character moment, and it's nice that Amy's clumsiness popped up again (slipping on the slime in the gift shop - not clever or funny, and but I like that it was remembered).
- I didn't have a problem with any of the references to "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory". There was nothing new, but everything was passable, and parts of the Grunka-Lunkas' songs were humorous.
- The second half of the episode managed to diverge from the ep's basic concept, and created some relatively novel stuff. It was fun to watch Fry, Leela and Bender investigate, and there was plenty of action and some enjoyable lines (Soylent Cola; the suspicious origin of toothpaste).
Mixed Bag:
- I liked the concept of Slurms Mackenzie, and think that the idea of someone who's miserable through having to pretend to be happy all the time is interesting. However, it felt like the show was trying to create emotion where there wasn't any - Slurms simply wasn't on-screen long enough for his 'sacrifice' to have any impact, and it's contrived that he gave his life when he could have put the stereo down, run off and avoided the cave-in completely.
- The Slurm Queen's plans to destroy everyone were perfectly watchable, but if the entire future of Slurm was at stake, wouldn't she have stayed to make sure everyone met their demise? Beyond that, why didn't she put Fry in more danger (was she intending for him to 'overdose' on the concentrated Slurm or something)? The stuff with Leela was also silly, stretching believability for a not-very-good joke about New Coke.
Dislikes:
- I know we've seen billboards (etc.) for Slurm before, but Fry's addiction to the stuff should have occurred more gradually. As is, he goes from apparently never having touched it to junkie overnight.
- The gag with the water from the boat ride failed. If it really was sewage, wouldn't Fry and Leela have realised that as soon as they dived in (not to mention the smell it must have been giving off while they were aboard the ship...)
- I could have done without the 'Bender stealing from his friends' bit. I didn't hate it, but I'm generally finding his character a lot more tired and repetitive than I did when I first watched the show.
- Fry's content to let the entire world (multiple worlds?) consume slug excretions simply because he likes the taste? It's definitely in-character for him to do this, but a bit of perspective wouldn't hurt.
***
Overall, I'd say that "Fry and the Slurm Factory" is a decent enough episode. I didn't dislike anything to a significant level, and there were enough good lines and entertaining moments to make the show agreeable. That said, I'm pleased S1 has now come to a close, and I'm looking forward to the more original material in S2.
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Post by cyclica on Oct 16, 2011 17:47:06 GMT -5
^ I'm glad you're back, and have your dvds again.  (couldn't you have watched the show online?) I agree with everything in your review and we've made many of the same points, so there's not much I can say. Hopefully the next ep will provide more fuel for discussion. |
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Post by partcynic on Oct 22, 2011 18:28:15 GMT -5
Unfortunately, no. My current Internet connection gives me grief listening to audio on Youtube, let alone watching whole shows.  Plus, I prefer the more immersive experience of watching a DVD. Same here. When I first saw your review for the last episode, I actually thought of just writing '^ This' below it as mine. Here's hoping we have at least a few bits of varying opinion on future episodes (I've just started working on S2 now - I want to build a little buffer so I don't end up holding things back again). And to answer your question from a while ago: These will be a bit rough, as some of them I haven't seen in years. As you could guess, I gravitate a bit more to the development/emotional episodes, so I might not have done justice to some of the more comedy-centred ones. Favourites: A Flight to Remember; Parasites Lost; The Luck of the Fryrish; Leela's Homeworld; Jurassic Bark; The Sting. There are few episodes that I genuinely dislike (at least at the moment), but I've never been very fond of A Leela of Her Own; A Pharoah to Remember, or Bender Should Not Be Allowed on TV. There are probably a few others there, but nothing really stands out at the moment (and I still haven't seen S5 and beyond). |
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Post by cyclica on Oct 23, 2011 12:08:23 GMT -5
I second that emotionIt's only the first episode of season 2 and already it has a different 'feel' to season 1. I think part of the reason for this is that from this point on, there seems to be more scenes within the planet express building, and more scenes involving hermes, amy and zoidberg, who in season 1 were treated more as side-characters. Also, this episode is the first that, for me, anyway feels like 'just a typical day', whereas previous eps always featured something big in everyone's lives, such as an eventful delivery, the world in peril, or just some big change for a charatcer, like fry becoming benders roommate or going to university. This 'typical day' feel gives the eps a slower pace, and they continue throughout season 2, and occasionally later eps. Things I liked-- The mutant storyline was only ok, but I did love how the writers are creating storylines that take place over several episodes / years. The 'leela is a mutant' story was planned out before the show was first aired, and already in this early ep you can see hints of what's to come, with leelas parents appearing in the background at one point. Notice too that out of everyone in the crew, leela is the only one who didn't at first beleive these 'mythical' mutants existed. - I really loved the scene where an angry bender threatened to make everyone a cake 'they'll never forget', and it cuts to him laughing while applying rat poison... only to reveal he's just killing rats, and his plan is to make an amazing cake to get everyone to 'love and worship' him. ;D - The whole idea of bender experiencing the emotions of another person was fascinating, especially when feeling emotions that leela herself tries not to show, such as loneliness when amy tells leela about her date. We get the dual fun of seeing bender act goofy, AND getting lots of insight into leela. - I loved the ending. For a moment it seems we'd be getting the cliche 'robot learns something about humanity' ending ala data from star trek, but instead we have leela learn to stop caring and be more of a jerk.  It could be considered a continuity moment too, as leela certainly seems less of a nag from now on than she was in s1. Favourite line-Bender- "You guys realise you live in a sewer, right?" Mutant- "Perhaps. But perhaps your civilisation is merely the sewer of an even greater society above you." Leela- "No, we're on the top." Fry- "Daylight and everything. " Mutant- "Oh" Nitpicking-- Why don't the mutants come to live on the surface? In the future, humans happily live side-by-side with aliens and robots, but they don't accept mutants? Why not? - As much as I loved the ending message, I feel the professors last line 'so long' kinda ruined it. It should have ended with leela calling her friends jerkwads. - Leela's parents don't look quite the same as they do later on. - The mutant's plan is bizarre. They plan to sacrifice leela to 'el chipanibre' to stop him attacking them, *after* discovering he is leela's pet. What makes them think he'd attack her? And why are fry, bender and leela scared, if they think it's only nibbler they're about to face? And when the monster is revealed, the mutants don't try to untie leela, or apologise for their behaviour either.
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Post by cyclica on Oct 23, 2011 12:40:05 GMT -5
(I've just started working on S2 now - I want to build a little buffer so I don't end up holding things back again). Cool. These will be a bit rough, as some of them I haven't seen in years. As you could guess, I gravitate a bit more to the development/emotional episodes, so I might not have done justice to some of the more comedy-centred ones. Favourites: A Flight to Remember; Parasites Lost; The Luck of the Fryrish; Leela's Homeworld; Jurassic Bark; The Sting. There are few episodes that I genuinely dislike (at least at the moment), but I've never been very fond of A Leela of Her Own; A Pharoah to Remember, or Bender Should Not Be Allowed on TV. There are probably a few others there, but nothing really stands out at the moment (and I still haven't seen S5 and beyond). ^ Interesting. I can certainly see the appeal of the more emotional episodes. Perhaps the fact that they evoke emotion is what makes them more memorable to you than a pure-comedy episode. I've just had a futurama marthon, watching all the old episodes and *most* of the new series, so my favourites will include a few new ones that are fresh in my mind- Both anthology of interests, The day the earth stood stupid, I dated a robot, Time keeps on slippin', Roswell that ends well, Godfellas, Love and rocket, Less than hero, The why of fry, The farnsworth parabox, Beast with a billion backs, Lethal inspection, The prisoner of benda, Mobius dick, Fry am the egg man. And pretty much the whole of season 2 I find consistently good. As for dislikes, That's lobstertainment, Future stock, Leela's homeworld, 300 big boys, Lrrreconsilable ndndifferences, The futurama holiday spectacular and Neutopia would probably be my least favourites. I look forward to hearing your thoughts on Leela's homeworld. (and I still haven't seen S5 and beyond) If you're interested, new episodes are airing every saturday evening on sky1. |
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Post by partcynic on Oct 25, 2011 15:35:48 GMT -5
2x01 "I Second That Emotion"
This may sound weird, but watching this episode was perhaps only the second or third time in the current rewatch that I felt like I was really seeing "Futurama". I don't know quite how it happened, but in this ep, everything came together and the series suddenly established its identity. There's none of the rustiness or bet-hedging that was frequently evident in S1, and it's very impressive how everything was pulled together so quickly (perhaps getting renewed was a vote of confidence that spurred the writers on to bigger and better things?) While not one of my favourites, "I Second That Emotion" is a very enjoyable opener that sets the stylistic tone for S2, commencing one of the show's best years in fitting fashion.
Likes:
- Hurray for an original(-ish) concept. Words cannot express how nice it is to watch "Futurama" characters in a "Futurama" story - and not only that, but one that means something in introducing some important long-term story elements.
- Beyond the relief factor of having something new, the plot itself was fun. The emotion chip allowed for a steady stream of amusing jokes, as well as some decent contrast between Leela and Bender. I do make minor deductions for the 'Bender is a self-centred sociopath, but everyone forgives and loves him anyway' thread, but his douchiness was at least entertaining.
- This episode is nicely paced. Every scene was relevant to the plot and all of the humour grew organically from it, with no gratuitous or tacked-on scenes.
- The humour here is amongst the show's most consistent yet, with plenty of amusing moments. 'Kibbles n' Snouts'; ass-kissing Zoidberg; "if a person leaps out from the cake, put them in it after you cook it"; the rat poison gag; the 'All My Circuits' clip, and Farnsworth's 'just a little' gesture/response to Fry asking if his invention was crossing a line all made me smile, and that was just in the first half.
- I like how this episode expands the show's universe by introducing us to the mutants. Besides being a crucial element for Leela's eventual development, I personally find it more interesting to learn about how things have changed on Earth than to see new planets (though that's fun too).
Mixed Bag:
- The ending is very funny (and the subversion of "today's lesson"-style TV moralising is excellent), but I would like it if Bender got his comeuppance at some point. It's fine for the character to be a jerk if other people respond to him in turn, but if he's going to be a consistent tool to his friends and co-workers, there needs to be something beyond a once-a-season 'he's got a heart of gold, really' ep to make me believe that anyone besides Fry would ever willingly spend time with him.
Dislikes:
- Bender's early animosity towards Nibbler came from nowhere. The can-opener incident was primarily due to his own carelessness, and it was rather pathetic that he was attempting to be the centre of attention at a pet's birthday party. I get him being angry about the cake, but that was still just an accident, and not enough to justify what was basically an attempt on Nibbler's life.
- Leela's characterisation was off. Her sudden shift to being hyper-emotional didn't fit with how she'd been presented before (lonely and prone to depression, but highly smart, resourceful and competent). I accept that she'd be very upset by losing Nibbler, but the Leela character I recognise would have thought to head into the sewers herself to look for him, not sat around wringing her hands, waiting for someone else to show some initiative. Her histrionics at the end (being too scared by El Chupa Nibre) didn't fit either - yes, it was a bad situation, but no worse than many she'd been in before, yet managed to keep her head during. If anything, the episode's painting Leela as an over-emotional wreck smacked of sexist stereotyping.
- How are toilets constructed in the year 3000? I guess it's okay that Nibbler fit there, but Bender flushing himself didn't work. How would his torso be able to make it down the pipes, when he was having trouble getting a foot through? And why would he even need to flush himself when there was a sewer-access manhole right outside?
- If Nibbler is actually intelligent, why wouldn't he have made some kind of move for self-preservation when Bender tried to harm him? Did he deliberately eat the cake to make him angry?
- Why would Leela assume that El Chupa Nibre was Nibbler? If the creature was a sub-urban (heh) legend, wouldn't that make it obvious that it had been around long before Nibbler was flushed into the sewer?
***
My mixed/negatives list might be a bit longer than the positives section text-wise, but I do enjoy "I Second That Emotion" quite a bit. It was a fun edition to come back to, and I'm looking forward to getting reacquainted with the rest of the season.
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Post by cyclica on Oct 26, 2011 11:30:48 GMT -5
This may sound weird, but watching this episode was perhaps only the second or third time in the current rewatch that I felt like I was really seeing "Futurama". I don't know quite how it happened, but in this ep, everything came together and the series suddenly established its identity. I felt the same way. While not one of my favourites, "I Second That Emotion" is a very enjoyable opener that sets the stylistic tone for S2, commencing one of the show's best years in fitting fashion. That's a good way to put it. It's not one of my favourites either, though I can't find any real problems with it. ... I would like it if Bender got his comeuppance at some point. It's fine for the character to be a jerk if other people respond to him in turn, but if he's going to be a consistent tool to his friends and co-workers, there needs to be something beyond a once-a-season 'he's got a heart of gold, really' ep to make me believe that anyone besides Fry would ever willingly spend time with him. For me, the fact that he's a robot can excuse a lot. If he were a human doing/saying the same things he would be unbearable though. - Leela's characterisation was off. Her sudden shift to being hyper-emotional didn't fit with how she'd been presented before (lonely and prone to depression, but highly smart, resourceful and competent). I accept that she'd be very upset by losing Nibbler, but the Leela character I recognise would have thought to head into the sewers herself to look for him, not sat around wringing her hands, waiting for someone else to show some initiative. Her histrionics at the end (being too scared by El Chupa Nibre) didn't fit either - yes, it was a bad situation, but no worse than many she'd been in before, yet managed to keep her head during. If anything, the episode's painting Leela as an over-emotional wreck smacked of sexist stereotyping. I didn't notice it while watching, but now you bring it up, she does seem a little over-emotional compared to her usual self. Even in the last episode, the slug queen tied her and left her to die, and she was far more composed then than she was waiting for el chupanibre to kill her. Though I guess if she was her usual angry self, it wouldn't have been as noticeable when bender duplicated her emotions. And it wouldn't have been much fun to see both of them as feeling 'neutral'. And why would he even need to flush himself when there was a sewer-access manhole right outside? Walk to the bathroom, or walk all the way outside... which is the laziest option? - If Nibbler is actually intelligent, why wouldn't he have made some kind of move for self-preservation when Bender tried to harm him? Did he deliberately eat the cake to make him angry? A lot of nibbler's early actions are questionable when you go back and watch him knowing he's intelligent. It's possible the writer wasn't informed of the later nibbler storyline. In-universe, I can only assume nibbler was just very dedicated to acting like a mindless animal. - Why would Leela assume that El Chupa Nibre was Nibbler? If the creature was a sub-urban (heh) legend, wouldn't that make it obvious that it had been around long before Nibbler was flushed into the sewer? Yep. |
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Post by partcynic on Oct 26, 2011 15:48:11 GMT -5
I think you're spot-on here. It's a good transition for the series to pull away from 'event' episodes and simply have some showing the characters' regular lives. I can see why the writers would have needed those big statements during the first season, but the transition in S2 was instrumental in making the series and characters feel real (at least for the medium and genre!)
Yes. I was very pleased when I found out "Futurama" was going it have real continuity and progression. It gives the show so much more depth when it can give characters meaningful development.
Agreed! That was the one moment in the episode that made me laugh, as opposed to smile.
I like the idea, but it's a bit inconsistent in execution. As we discussed from my commentary, Leela was portrayed too emotionally, and Bender himself has evinced some pretty complex feelings during the series (like his sense of loneliness and abandonment in "I, Roommate"), so I didn't buy his being as emotionally clueless/nasty as he was here.
Nice point. Though I think it might be an interesting (but definitely unintended) commentary on human nature - I think real people might be more okay with total aliens than they'd be with deformed members of their own species, explaining why that prejudice is there.
Agreed. That whole segment made little sense.
Lol - though I think going outside would have been the lazier option. No need to take yourself apart and stick yourself back together again.
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Post by partcynic on Oct 26, 2011 15:51:58 GMT -5
2x02 Brannigan, Begin Again
A great second episode, "Brannigan, Begin Again" is exactly the kind of thing I want from a humour-focused edition of "Futurama" (which by definition, makes it a good benchmark for most of the show's output). While not being among my all-time favourites, it's very entertaining, and has frequently excellent humour coupled with minor (but pleasing) character development, all within the framemark of an original "Futurama" story.
Likes:
- The teaser was fine, if gratuitous.
- This was a Zapp-centred show, so there was no doubting that it'd be stuffed full of great moments. Indeed, the ep delivered, with amusing line after amusing line. Importantly, the story led to a bit of progression for him (and more noticeably, the really interesting change in Kif when he was with Leela), rather than just repeating things we'd seen before. When it was announced that he'd been discharged, his reaction actually made me feel bad for him, and that tiny moment of humility made it a lot more palatable later on, when it was revealed that at his core, he's just an opportunistic sleaze.
- From what I can remember, this may be the first time that a significant portion of the show was carried by a character outside of the main three. The parts focusing on Zapp/Kif worked really well, and I barely noticed that the first third of the show had comparatively little of the Planet Express crew.
- I really liked that Zapp's incompetence had consequences. It was very silly that he never got any reprimand for almost killing everyone in "A Flight to Remember", but this story rectified that (though it would have been even more awesome if what had happened before was mentioned briefly as people were assessing his ability).
- Zapp's appointment at Planet Express could have been contrived, but the Professor's line about employing him was the perfect join, being funny and wholly in-character.
- The ep did a decent job of making Fry and Bender's mutiny believable. Leela seemed overly harsh on them during the hose incident, and the pillow punishment was too much. It was enough to let me see why the guys would turn their backs on her, but was also reasonable from Leela's perspective - after all, all she wants is for them to do their jobs. It also meant that the 'reunion' worked, and the final scene showed a bit of character development for all three, with Bender and Fry having fun but also getting the job done, and Leela being the boss without overdoing it.
- The continuity is excellent throughout. I liked finally seeing DOOP, as well as bits like the first glimpse of an Amazon, the cameos of the Robot Elder and Slurm Factory worm in the jury, and one of the playing pieces in the chess game being a Tri-Solian.
- I'm never a fan of reset button endings, but I appreciated that the story at least tried to justify it. It certainly wasn't ethical or smart for Leela to lie, but I understand why she did it.
Dislikes:
- The courtroom scene was a mess. If DOOP is to be taken seriously as an intergalactic institution, it needs to show a little competence. No organisation would try an individual using a judge and jury who were all among his victims, as it would immediately void the case. It can't even be excused for humour, as the gags are either cheap (Fry and Leela hooting; the prosecutor chicken) or repetitive ("I'm going to allow this!") And given that Fry, Bender - and especially Leela - know that Kif was innocent, wouldn't they (she) try to stand up for him when he was also dismissed?
- I understand Leela wanting to punish the guys for disobeying her order, but why would she make them deliver the pillows by hand? Surely she'd know that the hotel would have no use for a product had been dragged a mile through the dirt, and that such poor service could hurt Planet Express in the future?
- Fry doesn't have a problem with exterminating an innocent race until it becomes clear that doing so will cost his own life? I realise that he's likely to see the conflict through a video-game, all-good vs all-bad lens, but a flash of awareness would have been nice, especially as Zapp gave no real reason for the attack.
- DOOP reinstates a man who destroyed a 400 billion dollar space ship and probably cost them a good chunk of their reputation? Hmmm... Though now I'm interested to know exactly what his story was (let's face it, not telling us was a cop-out, as there's no way he'd ever have gotten his position back).
***
Together with "I Second That Emotion", "Brannigan, Begin Again" makes a good one-two punch for S2, doing what it sets out to do very well and producing a successful, funny and accomplished story that also includes some neat bits of character progression. It adds up to a very solid episode, and one that's stronger than the majority of S1, further demonstrating the show's development.
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Post by cyclica on Oct 28, 2011 17:51:03 GMT -5
Brannigan, begin againThis is the first time futurama did a 'new/recurring character joins the crew' story, and it's probably the best of all of them. Things I liked-- It's a zapp and kif episode, and were still in the 'golden age' of zapp and kif, where everything involving either one of them is gold. - I loved everything concerning the neutral people. It's interesting that the fact that zapp doesn't understand them leads him to hate the neutrals more than he hates his actual enemies. I only wish they could have appeared in later episodes too, there's so much potential with these characters. - There's a lot of nice minor emotional moments in the episode. You feel for kiff all the way through, especially when leela's small compliment leads him to proclaim this 'the happiest day of my life', only for zapp to declare a mutiny later, leaving him crushed. And it's endearingly pathetic when bender and fry race to leela for help after zapp puts them on a suicide mission, begging her to be captain again. - The courtroom scene is probably the best/funniest one the show has ever done. I wish that judge would have stuck around in later eps, instead of the unfunny judge whitey we get later on. Favourite line-Kif: What shall I do with your civilian clothes, sir? Zapp: Take them to the laundry-brig. Nitpicks-- Although I found the court scene hilarious, it was also ridiculous in how little sense it made, and it was too cruel for kif to be fired along with zapp, for no given reason. - Bender seems rather 'tame' in this episode, spending the whole time as fry's buddy, and never breaking out on his own. It worked for the story, but it was still a little odd. - Why do the crew have to walk for miles to deliver the pillows, why not just park the ship next to the hotel? Randomness-- An amazonian! I wonder if the planet amazonia episode was planned out already, or if they just included an amazonian as a random joke, and decided to write an episode about her people later. - There's no amy in this episode, which is significant because in a later ep kif (who is in love with her) says he hasn't seen her since they were on the titanic together. I guess she was taking a day off or something. ... After watching s5, I found the episode 'mobius dick' offers a fascinating counterpoint to this one. After this episode it's the first ep the have a focus on leela's role as captain and how the crew sees her. In B,BA we feel for her as fry and bender mutiny against her, seemingly out of laziness as they claim she makes them work too hard, even though she's just trying to be a good captain... whereas MD shows us the other side of the coin - our sympathies are for fry and bender (and the rest of the crew) as we learn that when leela's anger gets the best of her, she can actually become the unresaonable, overbearing captain that fry and bender had earlier accused her of being. I found it fascinating to rewatch B,BA knowing about this other side to the characters, and that it is entirely possible fry and bender mutinied not out of laziness but after genuine justified concerns following some unseen adventure, and begged to take her back only after learning she was the lesser of two evils. It adds a new dimension to the episode, and its a testament to the strength of the friendship of the characters that they remain so close and continue to turn to each other even after putting up with each other's faults. Not to mention that it eliminates the problem of fry and bender spending this episode being jerks, and leela being bland, perfect and flawless, which isn't very interesting. Or maybe it's just a cartoon and I'm reading too much into it. 
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Post by cyclica on Oct 30, 2011 13:48:39 GMT -5
I barely noticed that the first third of the show had comparatively little of the Planet Express crew. Weren't they in every scene, except zapp & kifs montage? - The ep did a decent job of making Fry and Bender's mutiny believable. Leela seemed overly harsh on them during the hose incident, and the pillow punishment was too much. I didn't think she was too harsh, after all they have been shown to be lazy in past episodes, and like she said it was their third hose fight already that day, and they'd clearly done very little work. It also meant that the 'reunion' worked, and the final scene showed a bit of character development for all three, with Bender and Fry having fun but also getting the job done, and Leela being the boss without overdoing it. Agreed, the ending with all three on the same side was nice. - The courtroom scene was a mess. ...It can't even be excused for humour, as the gags are either cheap (Fry and Leela hooting; the prosecutor chicken) I agree with those examples, especially the hyper-chicken, I've never found him funny. I can't help but wonder if they wished they could put lionel hutz on the show, but obviously can't, so they have to come up with lawyer characters that are 'the next best thing'. - I understand Leela wanting to punish the guys for disobeying her order, but why would she make them deliver the pillows by hand? Surely she'd know that the hotel would have no use for a product had been dragged a mile through the dirt, and that such poor service could hurt Planet Express in the future? And why not just park the ship next to the hotel? - Fry doesn't have a problem with exterminating an innocent race until it becomes clear that doing so will cost his own life? I realise that he's likely to see the conflict through a video-game, all-good vs all-bad lens, but a flash of awareness would have been nice, especially as Zapp gave no real reason for the attack. He wasn't going to exterminate a race, just destroying a building. And I'd buy that he's stupid enough to just defer to everything that zapp said, and go along with his 'heroic' plan. |
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Post by partcynic on Oct 30, 2011 18:03:17 GMT -5
I'll group these three comments together to say I agree with all of them.
I really liked Zapp's unfounded hatred of the Neutrals, but I was just okay with the characters themselves. I found them funny for what they were, but you'd have to tread very carefully to prevent repetitiveness. Oh, and a bit of random info - when I first saw that one of the newer episodes was called "Neutopia", I wondered if they'd be making a reappearance (and was a bit disappointed when I found out what the actual concept was).
I'm glad you liked it, though as you know, I had the opposite reaction. I can't remember much of that other judge - maybe I'll end up changing my mind once I'm reacquainted with him.
I think this is one of those instances in which the show's S1 characterisation came back to bite them. I'm so used to the portrayal of 'Bender/Fry just want to have fun, Leela is a nag/grouch' that I didn't find their behaviour bad enough to warrant Leela's response. She's put up with worse from them without the rage. Though I concede that she said it was the third time she'd had to stop them, I think it was a bit cheap to jump in at the third instance rather than seeing how she'd deal with the issue over time.
I was tempted to make that point in my review, but I opted against it. Given that the hotel appeared to be a small-ish place in the countryside, it didn't surprise me that they might not have space for interplanetary craft right next to them. Or maybe it just got subsumed into the point about Leela's unfair punishment.
I'll take back 'exterminate a race' and replace with 'kill a bunch of innocent people', but the point still stands. Plus, it was a bit more than just destroying a building - it was about specifically attacking the political centre of the Neutral planet, which would likely 1) kill its leadership (and plenty of other beings) and 2) create mass fear in the hope that people would capitulate to the attacker's demands - aka terrorism. Of course, it's worth pointing out that this was written prior to 2001, but even then, there's no way the writers could have been oblivious to the connotations.
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Post by partcynic on Nov 2, 2011 12:35:20 GMT -5
2x03 "A Head in the Polls"
The first S2 ep I'm not too fussed about, "A Head in the Polls" is a competent offering with a passable plot and some decent comedy. However, unlike its two predecessors, it's overly simplistic and shallow, relying on repeating a bunch of highly similar, highly predictable Richard Nixon jokes. Beyond that, the humour is also a bit alienating for a non-American viewer (and/or anyone born after the Nixon administration), and while I got all of the references, this ended up being just as limited in scope as the 'put "Futurama" characters in the plots of famous films' stories we got toward the end of S1.
Likes:
- The first third of the episode (or everything prior to Bender deciding to sell himself) was pretty good, and I liked the commentary on the democratic political process (your two 'divergent' choices being almost identical; voter apathy and the appeal of fringe political parties). It was also nice to have little moments for Zoidberg, Hermes and Amy, as well as the introduction of the Brain Slugs (they really like Hermes, don't they?)
- After Zapp, Morbo is my go-to character for hilarious lines. Happily, he didn't let the side down, and everything he came out with was excellent.
- Hurray for other characters not letting Bender's obnoxiousness go uncommented on. His behaviour is so much more palatable when we can see other parts of the cast calling him out on it.
Mixed Bag:
- As I said in the intro, the Nixon stuff was variable in quality. We got a few decent jokes out of it (and you've got to love the Giant Robot ripping his way into the White House), but way too much of it was weak, middle-era-"Simpsons" style 'lampooning' that said nothing new and repeated the same jokes over and over. I do like that Nixon's presidency remained during the rest of the season/show, but it would have been better if getting him there had been less laboured.
- It was brief enough not to be a real problem, but the Claudia Schiffer bit was just another pointless celebrity cameo.
- The 'Bender lives the high life' stuff was fine, but feels like padding when you consider that it's of minimal relevance to the plot.
Dislikes:
- I know that Bender isn't the type to think about the long-term consequences of his actions, but wouldn't he have paused when thinking about what was essentially disabling himself? What good would the money he made be when he couldn't move around effectively and would have to spend most of it making sure he could do so?
- Did no-one really contest Nixon's supposed loophole about 'anybody' when entering for what would be his third presidential term? Any reasonable legal scholar would have pointed out that it clearly refers to the person and not just their physical form.
- If Bender has a self-destruct button installed on his person, why would he have needed to visit a suicide booth when he wanted to kill himself in "Space Pilot 3000"?
***
Overall, I'd say that "A Head in the Polls" is just an average episode - it has nothing worth hating, but not much to love either, and its basic plot/gags pale a bit when compared to the greater depth and sophistication that was apparent in the season's first two episodes. Still, it's worth it for some of the smarter commentary in the early part of the show, and it was nice to plug the presidential gap that seemed to have been hanging around since "When Aliens Attack".
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Post by cyclica on Nov 5, 2011 18:31:00 GMT -5
A head in the pollsIt was ok. There were no real flaws and nothing bad or boring enough to disrupt the flow of the consistantly-good second season. Though I can't say I was excited by the idea of an episode revolving around politics. And bender being just a head is barely interesting enough to last half an episode, I'm glad it didn't drag on any longer. Things I liked-- The scary door. I think I prefer the twilight show to be this way- just getting straight to the point. - There was lots of humour. The funniest parts for me were the clone politicians on tv, for some reason I found them so ridicuous as to be hilarious. And we get treated to not one but TWO 'humour rooms' (the head museum and the political party representitives), as the gang makes their way through two rooms full of people who bombard us with random jokes one by one. - Nixon. I liked how he's seen at first in the head museum with the other presidents' heads, with no indication that he's going to be a major character later on. And we have a permanent change to the show as he becomes president at the end. Though we never do see that giant robot body again. Favourite line-Johnson- I say your three cent titanium tax goes too far. Jackson- And I say your three cent titanium tax doesn't go too far enough! Nitpicking-- Bender is distraught when he hears the news report about the trapped robots, but instantly forgets about them when he finds out he's rich. I suppose it's in character, but it's jarring, like the plot rug has been pulled out from under us. I was expecting a storyline involving going to free the robots, but they were just never mentioned again. - In past and later episodes, bender has shown he can operate his body with his head detached, even seperating all his parts just 2 episodes ago. It makes me wonder if bender's body with nixon's head really was being controlled by nixon (somehow) or by bender, or even by bender's body becoming a seperate entity (how dare he run off with richard nixon!). - I know very little about nixon, and I have to wonder- did he deserve to be depicted as a monster who would crush people in a giant robot body, causing people to run away screaming? Was he really that bad? Like I said before, I always think of this nixon as an original character rather than as a parody of the real man, and I really can't see how the real nixon could bear any resemblence to the futurama version of him.
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Plus, I prefer the more immersive experience of watching a DVD.
It could be considered a continuity moment too, as leela certainly seems less of a nag from now on than she was in s1.