|
|
Post by cyclica on Dec 4, 2011 16:02:07 GMT -5
I liked the continual sparring between Amy and Leela Me too. The leela vs amy conflict scenes are always more enjoyable to watch then when they are just being friends. - As always, Zapp was excellent, and while his material was minor, it was perfectly in-character. Given this ep's focus, I think it's also worthwhile to bring up the similarities between he and Bender - and more importantly, the differences. If anything, I'd say that Zapp is the character of Bender done properly - he's a self-centred tool, but the show openly acknowledges that he's a loser and treats him appropriately, while Bender is just as bad (in some cases, worse), yet is supposed to be looked up to (let's face it, he's the 'edgy' character designed to spout catchphrases for merchandising). I appreciate that in "Futurama", humour is always going to take precedence over development or believablity, but I think it says a lot that I always find Zapp funny, while Bender tends to miss as much as he hits. Which would you prefer- bender's bad behaviour being toned down/removed, or the crew continually pointing out when he's doing something bad and admonishing or punishing him? - If Flexo and Bender are just from the same production line (bending robots), shouldn't there be quite a few more lookalikes walking around? How many of them have been made? There's a behind-the-scenes reason for this- they were worried new viewers would be too confused by having robots similar to bender in the background. - If the Professor was concerned about the atom's security, why would he be okay with Flexo (a stranger) helping out, even if he thought Fry recommended him? If he was too cheap to hire proper security, couldn't he have just insisted that Hermes, Amy and Zoidberg boost the crew's number by accompanying the others on the delivery? why would he think that adding a single individual to the crew would be sufficient protection? Robots are super stong. And it's possibly H, A & Z were all busy working and couldn't come on the delivery. The total lack of consequences for Bender stealing the atom (the cost of which could have destroyed Planet Express and left everyone but Amy in poverty) is the most egregrious example of the immunity he gets given, which would never be extended to any other character. The fact that bender is a robot excuses a lot of his behaviour for me, but I see what you mean that in-universe, his behaviour is forgiven too easily. In fact, hindsight makes it look even stupider that Leela was willing to have a go at he and Fry for messing about with a hose, but didn't bat an eyelid at a betrayal that could have had permanent, irreversible negative effects for everyone. Good point. Now I think about it, beyond amy deliberately provoking her, leela only ever gets angry at fry and zapp. I guess she has low tolerance for stupidity, but can put up with (bender's) amorality just fine. In this episode, it was the deliberately nasty ending for Flexo, who gets framed for a crime he didn't commit for no reason besides presumed comedy. Suffice to say, the joke failed for me - it was just pointless cruelty. Yep. |
|
|
|
Post by partcynic on Dec 7, 2011 15:13:50 GMT -5
I found this ep a bit humorous, but not that funny. The chin stuff in particular felt forced.
Agreed. I didn't love Flexo, but I liked the ideas he introduced.
Yes. Though thinking about it, I almost wish the writers hadn't done this. They had to cop out of their own story because they knew its natural conclusion would severely compromise Bender's position in the series, so this ep ends up being a glaring display of unwarranted favouritism for the character.
I'd say the latter. The writers plan things out well, but not always that well. Fry's comment there is the equivalent of Buffy's "Lover's Walk" quip about Joyce having an aneurysm - interesting in hindsight, but most likely a coincidence.
The best solution would be a little bit of both. The writers needed to sit down and actually come up with parameters for Bender's behaviour, so that they could determine what was standard, what would be daring/'edgy', and what would ignore basic characterisation and sense. As things currently are, they're far too willing to toss out the 'he's a robot' excuse to cover the massive inconsistencies he creates. Don't get me wrong - I don't want him to a sanitised good guy who gets moral lectures every time he does something questionable, but the show needed to distinguish between amoral-but-funny and show-destroying.
They were transporting one atom in a small safe, so I can't see why Flexo's strength would be relevant there. It would be much more important that the team would know that he's near-identical to Bender (a known thief), and thus a potential risk. I agree that the other characters may have been busy, but that's still no reason to hire Flexo. A known, trusted security firm would have been much better, even if it cost more.
|
|
|
|
Post by cyclica on Dec 14, 2011 15:32:57 GMT -5
Put your head on my shouldersAnother solid episode, with the good by far outweighing the bad. Things I liked--The sequence at malfunctioning eddie's used car place was pretty good. Victor the sleazy salesman was hilarious playing off of amy, who is exactly the kind of rich, ignorant person that salesmen like him dream about, even thinking she was at an auction. And how depressing is it that they dug up actual historical figures like washington and lincoln just to appear in an advert? (In other news, a recent episode of the simpsons has used archive recordings of teddy roosavelt in order for him to make a guest 'appearance' on the show) -The fry/leela 'ship gets a little nudge forward. After turning fry down, she eventually saved him from being stuck with amy and her date. I love those little moments that show a real bond between leela and fry. - The fry/amy 'ship. I didn't see it coming (first time watching), but they do have chemistry and in many ways have a lot in common. Though they did seem a little 'tame' together, you'd think they'd have more on their minds than just making out. Things really got interesting though when fry's head became attached to amy soon after breaking up with her, and it lead to a lot of funny moments (amy singing to herself to give fry privicy, fry 'discovering' deodorant, fry's panicked reactions to amy and her date wanting to take things further). - Bender's dating service was ok, though I found his 'exploding ass' subplot a bit meh. Though I did love that the final shot of the episode was bender's ass blowing up, framed inside a valentines day heart.  Favourite line--Zapp, to the 'woman' he's on a date with: 'Baby, wait! You didn't show me your surprise!' Favourite animation- -Bender's pimp-walk after saying: 'Shut up, baby, I know it!' Nitpicking--Attaching fry's severed head to amy's shoulder is easier than putting it back onto fry's body? -Why didn't fry ask to be a head-in-a-jar? I understand being on amy meant he got control of her arm, but if he was so unhappy he was trying to rip himself off her... -Here's an admittedly really minor nitpick which I still found very annoying- fry's date in the restaurant said she'd lost her teeth, but you can clearly see her teeth still there. It's like there's no communication between writers and animators. -It was pretty stupid how all the dates bender set up left halfway through dinner to catch the bus.
|
|
|
|
Post by partcynic on Jan 3, 2012 18:57:38 GMT -5
2x07 "Put Your Head On My Shoulders"
A refreshing offering after the problematic previous show, "Put Your Head On My Shoulders" reveals that the "Futurama" writers apparently have their own time machine, and having learnt that Bender's characterisation in "The Lesser of Two Evils" really annoyed me, decided to rectify things by giving him one of his better subplots (so far) in this episode. Seeing a well-characterised Bender who's also funny is a treat, and the A-plot here is also very enjoyable, being a wacky exploration of an unexamined dynamic that compensates for its 'cartoony, even for "Futurama"' concept with some very nice character moments.
Likes:
- This episode is well-structured, with each act having a discrete contribution to the story (1: setup of Fry/Amy; 2: the relationship; 3: the combined consequences of the breakup and accident). I quite liked that the 'two heads' story didn't go for the obvious (Fry and Amy hating each other and not being able to bear it), and while it felt a bit self-consciously 'crazy', it was done well in the context of the plot and contributed a little to both characters' development.
- Despite the fake relationship in "A Flight to Remember", Fry/Amy was a pairing I'd never properly considered, but this ep made their encounter work, with the same things that got them to bond being what basically broke them up (if anything, the fact that both of them are overgrown children could have split them without any need for Fry's freakout). I also liked that there were no hard feelings in the end (makes sense, given that their fling was entirely physical), and Amy's line about being able to think of Fry every time she sees her disfiguring scar was funny.
- Fry was basically a jerk in his 'commitment issues', but his teenaged attitude to relationships was set up excellently in "Why Must I Be a Crustacean in Love", so it wasn't much of a shock. I also liked that the reward for his behavior was Amy being completely nonplussed by the breakup, as well as her instantly finding another date.
- The majority of the Bender subplot was fun, with his brief dip into pimping and then the excellent dating service. It felt like exactly the sort of scheme he'd concoct, and I loved that he'd rounded up everyone's dates from the bus stop. It also provided a couple of humorous moments from Zapp, as well as the great fake-ending with his attempt at claiming he'd deliberately set things up so that Fry and Leela would spend time together, and then Leela's annoyed correction. Two other moments that stood out were Leela trying to use his services but attempting to do so without sacrificing her pride (and the subsequent "$500... Zapp Brannigan okay?... $600" sequence), and Bender telling Fry that as a friend, he'll need his full payment in advance.
- It's interesting to watch the evolution of Fry/Leela. At this juncture, he's still quite a bit out of her league, and if anything, her decision to help spare him from an unwanted menage a trois was magnanimous (when she could have left him to stew, both for his bad treatment of Amy, and then for only asking Leela herself out when Amy had moved on, making it blatant that she was a lesser choice). However, given his (perfectly acceptable) issues here, it's very cool to think that in less than a season ("Parasites Lost"), he'll have developed some real emotional maturity.
Mixed Bag:
- The series needs to stop trying to make the 'Bender's ass' meme happen. It's just not good enough to become a joke worth repeating, and has gotten tired fast. As such, I wasn't too keen on the initial check-up scene, though I was pleased that it had little role in the plot and only re-emerged to cyclically close the episode.
- After the silliness with Fry's arm getting snipped off a couple of episodes ago, it was nice that Zoidberg mentioned that he had to act quickly to preserve Fry's head (I'll assume he always has some medical supplies on him, even though he'd have no real reason for bringing them to the 'picnic'). It's a shame that the same idea wasn't applied to the rest of his body, but since they were on an icy moon, it might be able to pass (barely).
- I never noticed on prior views, but this episode is the one in which the 'Zoidberg is an utter loser whom everyone despises' concept takes full root. That doesn't have to be a problem (as it often results in good jokes), but it could have been handled better. For example, we've never had any prior references to Zoidberg's poverty (why's he broke? He doesn't seem to be frittering money away, and he must be pulling in some kind of salary from Planet Express. Even if Hermes keeps the purse strings tight, I don't see why he would be any more broke than the other working characters). However, what bothered me more was the sudden change in Leela. Though she's never been overly keen on Zoidberg, she seemed genuine when she was encouraging Edna to choose him in "Crustacean...", and I can't see her ever being the type to be nasty to someone who didn't actively deserve it, let alone when that same someone was sat right next to her.
Dislikes:
- In the first few episodes, Amy was portrayed as a trust fund girl who was a bit spoiled and clumsy, but not necessarily stupid (academically or socially). While I think she could certainly be the type to unthinkingly mention her family money when it wasn't suitable (even though she was obviously uncomfortable about Leela realising who her parents were in "The Series Has Landed"), I'm sure she'd have the basic brains to know that when negotiating for an item, you offer less than its sticker price, not more.
- Why was Fry the only one injured in the car crash? The collision they experienced would have easily killed them all, and should have been set-up in a different way if the writers wanted Fry to be the sole victim.
- I didn't believe that Amy would be willing to go on a date with a new guy while she had another man's head grafted onto her body, nor that the strange situation would require no explanation, nor that the guy would be fine with it, even to the point of being willing to sleep with her. Would Amy even want to get physical with someone else with Fry looking on?
***
Coming after the last episode, I'd definitely say that "Put Your Head On My Shoulders" is a major improvement. It's not an episode I usually think about when considering the best of S2, but that made watching it again a pleasant surprise. Though it doesn't really stand up with the best of the season, I think this ep is a strong example of what good-but-not-great "Futurama" should look like, and a very worthy entry into what is the show's most consistent year.
|
|
|
|
Post by cyclica on Jan 5, 2012 14:33:35 GMT -5
I loved that he'd rounded up everyone's dates from the bus stop. I liked that too, as being bender's plan, but I didn't much like how it ended, with everyone's dates abruptly leaving to get on the bus, as though none of them wanted to stick around and continue with their date. Though I guess it makes sense given bender wasn't trying to match compatable people. It was still too abrupt for me though. - The series needs to stop trying to make the 'Bender's ass' meme happen. Especially since he doesn't even have an ass. At least not until this episode, where he has one temporarily installed. Bite my finally-existing ass! As such, I wasn't too keen on the initial check-up scene, though I was pleased that it had little role in the plot and only re-emerged to cyclically close the episode. I love it when a storyline is cyclical. ...but since they were on an icy moon, it might be able to pass (barely). I can't beleive this hasn't occured to me until now - was there any air on that icy moon? For example, we've never had any prior references to Zoidberg's poverty (why's he broke? He doesn't seem to be frittering money away, and he must be pulling in some kind of salary from Planet Express. Even if Hermes keeps the purse strings tight, I don't see why he would be any more broke than the other working characters). He does fritter money away in the final episode (of the original run), buying 8 copies of fry's opera cd and so on. Though yeah, he should be getting paid by the professor. It's strange that the sourse of zoidberg's poverty is never fully examined. - Why was Fry the only one injured in the car crash? The collision they experienced would have easily killed them all, and should have been set-up in a different way if the writers wanted Fry to be the sole victim. Zoidberg and amy were ok because they landed on giant koalas. It was on the australian news, you probably didn't hear about it.  - I didn't believe that Amy would be willing to go on a date with a new guy while she had another man's head grafted onto her body, nor that the strange situation would require no explanation, nor that the guy would be fine with it, even to the point of being willing to sleep with her. Would Amy even want to get physical with someone else with Fry looking on? I'd buy that amy would be ok with going on a date even with fry's head attached, but now that I think about it, it is strange that amy's date had no objections. He didn't even seem to notice fry. |
|
|
|
Post by partcynic on Jan 15, 2012 13:15:07 GMT -5
I really liked Victor and Eddie there, but I was less keen on Amy not knowing the difference between a sale and an auction. It seems that at this point the writers couldn't decide whether they wanted her to be smart-but-sheltered or a clueless valley girl, so they'd have her be either dependent on the plot. Agreed to all. I guess that after the effort of preserving his head and putting it on Amy (which had to be done there and then to stop him from dying), it would have been too much for his head to be removed once more. And since it only took about a day to mend his body, the Amy solution was probably an acceptable stopgap. Though head-in-a-jar would have certainly been the best alternative if it had taken any longer. Maybe she meant that she'd lost her real teeth, and was thus wearing dentures now. I agree that everyone leaving simultaneously was a bit much. I could have sworn that they tried to explain that by saying it was the last bus of the evening, but a script check shows that wasn't the case. It seems we have to infer it as opposed to having confirmation. Now that's how to make that line funny! Amazing! And then the koalas came back with them to devastate the ecosystem like the bullfrogs... oh wait, that was "The Simpsons".  Yep. Even if he found the idea of being watched appealing, I can't see him going through with it. It's one thing to be open-minded, and another to have your partner's grafted-on second head numb with trauma a few inches away from you. |
|
|
|
Post by cyclica on Jan 18, 2012 13:33:47 GMT -5
Welcome back! Maybe she meant that she'd lost her real teeth, and was thus wearing dentures now. It's possible, though I really doubt that's the case, she's using her lack of teeth as a reason not to kiss fry. It seems much more likely that it was an animation error. |
|
|
|
Post by partcynic on Jan 18, 2012 13:46:50 GMT -5
Welcome back! Thank you! I've written up the majority of my reviews for the next two eps, so the next few exchanges should be quicker. Hopefully we can finish S2 before 2013. |
|
|
|
Post by cyclica on Jan 21, 2012 14:55:15 GMT -5
Raging benderThis is one of the most 'meh' episodes so far. The jokes and change of setting are enough to hold my interest, but the overall story of bender becoming a wrestler and finding it 'fixed' was uninspired. Leelas subplot too left little impression on me- as an insight into her personal history it was ok, but it was a bit too mean spirited a story, and I don't like how it took over the main plot right at the end, leaving bender's story on a downer ending. Still, I found no big flaws with it either, and like I said there were plenty of jokes, so I wouldn't say it was a bad episode overall. Things I liked-- The cinema portion of the episode at the start was easily my favourite part. Everything worked- the supersmall slurm, the cameo from the mst3k robots, the movie posters (which, as a showcase-of-future-things-one-by-one scene goes, was funnier than the showcase of robot wrestlers, which I found dull). - The interactive movie was humerous too, though a little contradictory- the 'explosion in a special effects warehouse' line made fun of how movies would make any ridiculous excuse to put in action scenes... yet we don't actually get to see it, making fun of how movies can promise things they don't deliver. ...And how can you make a movie based off a soap opera, especially one that's still ongoing? Ah who cares, so long as it's funny. - The first time watching I didn't notice the robot bender was heckling was the masked unit, seen on the movie screen only a moment earlier. So bonus points awarded there for succesfully tricking me. - I don't normally like guest voices, but did I like that they brought in a comedian, rich little, to do the voice of boxing announcer howard cosell. They could easily have had the character be cosell himself, and I have to admire the creativity in openly having the comedian playing himself, doing an impression. - I liked that fnog was able to competantly fight back against leela at the end, with the explanation that "You were an excellent student. Too bad I was a lousy teacher!" Favourite line-Bender: Leela, you gotta train me to win. Leela: No way! If you wouldn't take my help when you didn't need it, why should I give it to you now when you DO need it? Farnsworth: What the hell are you talking about? Leela: I don't know. But I'm not helping. Nitpicking-- This is the second time hermes has had a brainslug, and for a different reason both times. Apparantly the writers wanted hermes to keep the brainslug for most of the season, and I'm glsad they didn't go through with it. It's mean-spirited enough already for him to be the victim twice. - It's pretty ridiculous that the wrestling commisioner gave bender the gig after seeing him 'fight' the masked unit, seeing as how all he did was stand there when the MU just tripped and fell. I realise bender got the job for being a crowd-pleaser rather than for any fighting skill, but it was still a bit much. Anyone at all could have just stood there as bender did and got the job. - Speaking of, we saw robots get beaten in the ring and come out ok, so why was the MU so badly damaged after just falling over? - Destructor was controlled by fnog, but in later episodes destructor is as 'alive' as any other robot. Why would he even need fnog to control him?
|
|
|
|
Post by partcynic on Jan 21, 2012 17:53:26 GMT -5
2x08 "Raging Bender"
Considering that this ep is both Bender-centric and devotes two-thirds of its time to a story about pro-wrestling, I'm pleased to say I enjoyed it quite a bit more than I'd anticipated. Wisely choosing to ignore depth or attempts to explore any larger theme, we instead get a consistently humorous story that manages to get a number of good jokes from what could have been a very perfunctory idea. I'll admit that I won't be including "Raging Bender" among my top eps any time soon, but it's a good example of how even S2's conceptual mediocrities can be made engaging.
Likes:
- The trip to the movies was fun. There was a lot of good character interplay while everyone was deciding which film to see, and I'd have been quite happy to see more of "All My Circuits: The Movie". Its James Bond styled credits were amusing, and the interactive aspect was a neat concept. I don't know exactly why, but it tickles me that the filmmakers actually thought people would want to watch spreadsheet scenes, and the film's general content had some good satire on the 'all action, all the time' blockbuster mentality.
- The transition from 'going to the movies' to the robot fighting league was done nicely with Bender's accidental defeat of the Masked Unit. The reveal that the competition was just a glorified popularity contest also made it more believable that the league head would take in interest in Bender despite his win being entirely due to coincidence.
- Putting this as a 'like' is a stretch (since it's probably just conjecture on my behalf), but it's interesting to see what happened to Fry's brain slug. Its death worked as a jab at his mental abilities, but it's very interesting to think that it might have perished due to Fry's lack of a delta brain wave (after all, they have to be drawing sustenance from something).
Mixed Bag:
- It was coincidental that Fnog just happened to be Destructor's trainer, thus providing Leela with the fire to re-team with Bender. That said, I liked that Leela's orphanarium memory ended up being relevant to the later plot, and the ep would have been too dull if that 'twist' hadn't come.
- Being more specific, I was in two minds about the Leela stuff. Though I liked learning a little more about her past, I thought the basic story idea could have been developed into a proper character analysis as opposed to being primarily used as an excuse for her to be contrary with Bender.
Dislikes:
- Is it unfairly snobby for me to me to automatically downrate this ep for being about pro-wrestling? Like I said in the introduction, it was done about as well as it could have been, but this kind of plot isn't something I could ever take much interest in. There's no shock or surprise in learning that the entire thing is fixed, and we don't get much character insight or development for either Bender or Leela.
- I was unsure about the gang's reaction to Hermes' brain slug. The jokes were perfectly funny, but since removing the slug suddenly wouldn't cause any harm (as we saw later), why wouldn't Leela (for example) do a stealth kick to get rid of it? As a side note, it's also really creepy that Hermes was aware of what was going on the entire time he was being fed on. I really hope the crew didn't know that victims are left 'trapped' when they opted not to help him.
***
I'm sure there's more I could write here, but this ep doesn't warrant a huge amount of text. I enjoyed it as a silly throwaway that possessed a few great moments (mainly the early cinema stuff) and then a large number of passable ones redeemed by consistent humour. As the one-off entity it is, I thus have no major issues with "Raging Bender", though I will say that I'm glad eps like this are exceptions rather than rules.
|
|
|
|
Post by cyclica on Jan 21, 2012 18:13:43 GMT -5
^ It looks like you and I are in close agreement on this one. ...and I'd have been quite happy to see more of "All My Circuits: The Movie". Its James Bond styled credits were amusing, and the interactive aspect was a neat concept. I don't know exactly why, but it tickles me that the filmmakers actually thought people would want to watch spreadsheet scenes, and the film's general content had some good satire on the 'all action, all the time' blockbuster mentality. Totally agreed. Now I think about it, there's no reason why we can't have interactive movies right now. I'm sure there'd be some demand for them. And they're bound to make a lot of money, since movie-goers will keep coming back to see alternate storylines and endings they hadn't seen last time. - Putting this as a 'like' is a stretch (since it's probably just conjecture on my behalf), but it's interesting to see what happened to Fry's brain slug. Its death worked as a jab at his mental abilities, but it's very interesting to think that it might have perished due to Fry's lack of a delta brain wave (after all, they have to be drawing sustenance from something). Good point, it hadn't occured to me that the slug died from fry's lack of a delta brainwave to feed on. Going from there... would it be possible for a slug to completely drain someone like hermes of his delta brainwave, and leave him immune to the brainspawn's mental attacks? Maybe having a brainslug is a good thing! Perhaps I should save this for future episode discussions, but since the subject has been raised... do the brainspawn themselves have delta brainwaves? Could you put a brainslug onto a brain? |
|
|
|
Post by partcynic on Jan 22, 2012 10:12:23 GMT -5
This is a good summary of the episode. I think this one's in a similar category to stuff like "Mars University" - not something you can outright dislike, but a hefty distance from being inspired. Wow - really? I'm so glad they didn't do that. Not only was it unduly mean (as you pointed out), but I can't see how they could keep using that scenario without the joke well quickly running dry. Yes - it was very overdone. It might have been interesting if the league had actually set the whole thing up to scope for new 'talent', but it would be very tough to make that believable. Yep! It's interesting how we tend to agree about "Futurama" more often than "Buffy" or "Angel". This is pretty intriguing. It might help cut down on immediate piracy, too. Perhaps filmmakers could develop some original ideas like this instead of going for gimmicks (now in 3D!) I really like this topic, but my memory of the brainspawn eps is too fuzzy to offer any suggestions right now. I'll keep this in mind and return to it once they make their debut, though. |
|
|
|
Post by cyclica on Jan 24, 2012 15:49:25 GMT -5
A bicyclops built for twoThis is probably one of my favourites from season 2. The internet portion was fine, though the highlight was alcazar storyline. We finally a plot related to one of the main arcs of the show, that of leela's quest to find another of her kind, even if this story does turn out to be a dead end. Things I liked-- I found it one of the funnier episodes of the season. I suppose I needn't point out every time I find an episode funny, since I'll be saying the same thing for every episode (well almost). Though I have to mention alcazar's 'seduction' of leela as a comedy highlight, his tear-jerking tale of loneliness that he himself keeps interrupting to tell leela things like 'take off your jacket' (our people don't like to be hot ), and to immediately become a jerk once the next morning, was all comedy gold. - Bender's 'I love stealing' subplot was pretty fun too, as was the professor casually mentioning to leela it'll take her decades to repay the destroyed popcorn, while attempting to comfort her during an emotional moment. - The internet of the future. It's nothing but ads, porn, social networking and online gaming, in that order. Yup, sounds about right. I like how fry is instantly able to pick up the video game (though I wonder how you can 'shoot' with your finger). The colour scheme of the internet was nice too, I liked that they made it different to the real world. - I loved how, after leela and alcazar first met, fry immediately 'kills' him, and doesn't care in the least that he's destroyed her one chance of finding out who she really is, dancing like a dork when he wins the game. It's almost like the writers were 'shooting' the story itself, presenting an intersting (yet somewhat soap-operaish) idea, then immediately ripping it away from us. Though I am glad they returned to the alcazar story soon after, it would have been too cruel to just end the storyline there. - We have a tiny step forward in the fry/leela 'ship, in that fry is now bothered by leela seeing other men, whereas he had no problem before with leela wanting to date zapp brannigan in LLLIS. Favourite line-Fry: My God! Four identical castles! Bender: Each more identical than the last! Close second- Alcazar: This is my home. I hope you don't think less of me because I live in a giant castle. Leela: Oh, no, not at all. If anything, I'm more impressed. Nitpicking-- The professor is finally online... but didn't he have a working internet earlier on, in the big piece of garbage episode? I guess he meant he's finally on the 'vrtual reality internet' as opposed to the traditional one. - The alcazar storyline is full of holes (though to be honest, they didn't really bother me, I just thought it would be fun to mention them). If he met leela by chance, why does he already have one eye when they first met? And why does his city already have statues of 'leela'? And just how much of his story is true anyway? Was the planet really struck by missiles, were his praying-mantis people living there or did he just move to an abandoned planet and completely made the missile story up? Are all the ladies he's marrying the last of their kind like leela, or did he tell each a different story? What were they all doing when alcazar was busy with leela? At the end, were the brides just left behind on the planet with alcazar? - I have a small problem with pig and ratman. It's one thing for dr zoidberg to be a lobster-looking alien, but pig and ratman are just talking animals. And it detracts from the idea of alcazar being lonely for him to suddenly be revealed to be surrounded by friends. - Leela wants to stick with alcazar because leaving him would mean the end of the cyclopa race... so what was her plan, to have kids, and then what? The race would end there. - Would leela really say yes to marrying someone she was already planning to dump? Randomness-- The nerds in the interned chatroom are based on the writers of the show. I'm sure I've seen some of them on the simpsons as well, what with the two shows having writers in common. - The whole 'leela's changed her hair' thing was apparently a send-up of 'married with children', a show katey segal appeared in (which I've never seen).
|
|
|
|
Post by partcynic on Jan 28, 2012 11:55:41 GMT -5
2x09 "A Bicyclops Built for Two"
I don't know if you can say that "Futurama" has true arc episodes (since it's most often a case of 'here's more insight into character x' than 'here's the introduction/development/close of a long-running story'), but if anything in the show can be classified as an arc, the truths about Fry's freezing and Leela's background are obviously the most significant ones. Presenting an interesting 'what-if' scenario for the latter question, "A Bicyclops Built for Two" manages to be engaging, funny and emotional, and the plot has enough interesting ideas (and implications) to cover for its being a fakeout.
What I Liked about "A Bicyclops Built for Two":
- I enjoyed the first act (the Internet section), and it provided a believable way for Leela to encounter Alcazar. It was a bit odd that the characters acted as though Planet Express had never had the Internet before (didn't they access it to grab info on the garbage rocket-launch and to find out what happened to "Single Female Lawyer"?), but I suppose you can frame it as pleasure at having the immersive experience the Professor's bodysuits provided. Once the characters entered cyberspace, there was a steady stream of jokes, and the sex stuff wasn't as overdone as it might have been (in fact, I loved Leela and Amy scorning the guys for entering the 'Filthy, Filthy' chatroom and settling for the singular-filthy one instead). The action at 'Death Factory' was also great (Leela being so involved in the game that she blasted the Professor when he tried to interrupt), and on first viewing, it was a genuine surprise to see another cyclops.
- One of the things that separates "Futurama" from most other animated shows is its progressing timeline, and from that, the occasional willingness to create longer narratives. After a number of (very enjoyable) standalone episodes, it was nice to get something that tapped into a deeper story, and I could understand how Leela's desire to have some kind of connection to her past would motivate her to do things she wouldn't have otherwise. While it could have been frustrating to be offered resolution to the story that was then snatched away, I thought Leela's being conned gave her some vulnerability, and the episode's close was emotional without feeling heavy or overwrought.
- Fry's characterisation is consistently strong. Everything he did felt natural and understandable, from his 'not nasty, but not getting the big picture' desire to win the video game, to realising how miserable Leela's life would be if she stayed with Al and trying to persuade her against it. He also gets major points for being motivated to help Leela out of concern for her happiness, and not out of jealousy - if this portrayal persists (been a while since I've seen most of the eps, so my memory's foggy), I could find certainly myself a supporter of them as a couple.
- Bender's material is negligable and has nothing we haven't seen before, but that isn't a problem when most of it made me smile, and one line made me laugh ("Is the space-pope Reptilian?")
What I Disliked about "A Bicyclops Built for Two":
- The second act parody of "Married With Children" was fine as an homage to Katey Segal's past (and I can see how it would have been fun for the writers to pen it), but I wasn't fond of seeing the show dip into typical sitcom territory, even if done intentionally. Between the obvious jokes and the other characters hooting and hollering (especially when the likes of the pig and rat belong to a Saturday morning kid's show, not "Futurama"), it felt like the episode had randomly abandoned the series' verisimilitude halfway through.
- Even if Leela was desperate to perpetuate the cyclops race, she should have realised that it would be futile unless she'd be willing to participate in (or turn a blind eye to) incest later on.
- Knowing that Alcazar seemed to prey on vulnerable women, he must have had at least some knowledge of Leela prior to their 'random' encounter during the Death Factory game. I think it was necessary for the story for some of this to be divulged, otherwise we end up with too much coincidence in Al just happening to have chosen a cyclops form to go online with, and then just happening to have bumped into a cyclops woman whose history led her to be more susceptible to his manipulation. If he deliberately engineered that meeting, some foreshadowing would have been useful.
- How was Al able to juggle the five women he was manipulating (I'm assuming he was feeding them all the same lies?) If he had been playing the same game with each of them over some period of time, how was he justifying leaving for long periods of time to woo/visit the other three (and when Leela came along, four)?
***
My pros and cons for this ep are equal in length, but I'd say that overall, "A Bicyclops Built For Two" is a solid offering. It's genuinely interesting to be given a glimpse of a deeper story for Leela, the characterisation is mostly strong (and in some parts, excellent), and the arc focus provides some meaningful emotional moments without sacrificing humour or a quirky, original (for the show) plot. It's especially nice that this came after something as light and disposable as "Raging Bender", and it's good evidence of how the series was able to balance varying tones without compromising its consistency.
|
|
|
|
Post by cyclica on Feb 1, 2012 13:38:59 GMT -5
- One of the things that separates “Futurama” from most other animated shows is its progressing timeline, and from that, the occasional willingness to create longer narratives. I dunno, I could probably cite examples of multi-episode storylines from all the major animated shows (except maybe king of the hill). Though I do think futurama *wants* to be known for its longer narratives more than the others, and puts more effort into it, even if the results aren't always succesful (the stalling of the fry/leela relationship for one, and the inconsistent 'frozen ages' of the characters as time itself progresses). And I'd say futurama is one of the best shows (not just animated) at planning ahead, and putting in details and setting up stories that will pay off later. Though I wouldn't say futurama is miles ahead of other animated shows. If anything, I'd say they could learn a lesson or two from south park. Their entire sixth season was basically one long story. and I could understand how Leela's desire to have some kind of connection to her past would motivate her to do things she wouldn't have otherwise. While it could have been frustrating to be offered resolution to the story that was then snatched away, I thought Leela's being conned gave her some vulnerability, and the episode's close was emotional without feeling heavy or overwrought. Agreed. It's been a few months since I've seen season 1 so I can't remember with certainty, but this could be the first episode in which leela does something 'wrong', and isn't the perfect role model all the way through who always knows what's best. And I'm glad we get to see this side to her, she's insufferable when she's presented as perfect. Fry's characterisation is consistently strong. Everything he did felt natural and understandable, from his 'not nasty, but not getting the big picture' desire to win the video game, to realising how miserable Leela's life would be if she stayed with Al and trying to persuade her against it. He also gets major points for being motivated to help Leela out of concern for her happiness, and not out of jealousy - if this portrayal persists (been a while since I've seen most of the eps, so my memory's foggy), I could find certainly myself a supporter of them as a couple. Hmm... I forsee a few negative reviews from you further down the road. The movie 'benders big score' in particular is one big 'fry is jealous of leelas boyfriend' fest. - Even if Leela was desperate to perpetuate the cyclops race, she should have realised that it would be futile unless she'd be willing to participate in (or turn a blind eye to) incest later on. That reminded me of a quote from the episode where leela and zapp are trapped on a planet together. Zapp: We'll be like Adam and Eve. ...And we'll beget little Zapp Jr. and Leela Jr. and they'll have kids of their ow—Yecch! Is that really what happened in the Bible?! Leela: It's a sick and twisted book of holiness all right. ^ could that be taken as leela approving of it?  - Knowing that Alcazar seemed to prey on vulnerable women, he must have had at least some knowledge of Leela prior to their 'random' encounter during the Death Factory game. I think it was necessary for the story for some of this to be divulged, otherwise we end up with too much coincidence in Al just happening to have chosen a cyclops form to go online with, and then just happening to have bumped into a cyclops woman whose history led her to be more susceptible to his manipulation. If he deliberately engineered that meeting, some foreshadowing would have been useful. Yup. If he did already know about her, I'd like to know *how* he knew. Now I think about it, this problem could have been solved very easily - have alcazar be in the background when leela is in the chatroom, when she was telling the nerds she was the last of her kind and looking for a man. If alcazar was there in insect form the audience wouldn't suspect he's the cyclops, and it would all come together at the end. - How was Al able to juggle the five women he was manipulating (I'm assuming he was feeding them all the same lies?) If he had been playing the same game with each of them over some period of time, how was he justifying leaving for long periods of time to woo/visit the other three (and when Leela came along, four)? Yep. Perhaps each of the ladies was pushed into a plot hole, and it took them a while to climb out, giving alcazar enough time to meet leela. |
|
