As an avid Simpsons fan, I recently decided to give The Simpson’s sister series, Futurama, a shot…mostly because it was on Netflix where as The Simpsons isn’t. This critically acclaimed, yet overlooked cartoon series has its share of witty cultural references, hilarious gags, and heart-touching moments through its nine season run, however, of all the episodes, these five are my personal favorite. For those who have never watched the series, hopefully this list will motivate you to, and for those who have, hopefully you agree. Enjoy!
5) Mars University
Season 2 Episode 2
I guess the title in itself caught my attention, for in this episode, the the creators of Futurama decide to take a poke at college–a topic that is all too familiar to all of us. The Planet Express Crew has to deliver a package to Mars University, and while there, Fry–a college dropout from Coney Island Community College–decides to give college another try. Meanwhile, Professor Farnsworth engineers at hat that makes an ordinary monkey, Gunther, a genius. Considering Gunther and Fry are roommates for the semester, Gunther’s primary goal while at college is to make Fry look even more stupid than he already does. While Fry becomes increasingly frustrated by his roommate issues, Bender decides to help the robot fraternity grow in popularity. The allusion to Animal House (for anyone who appreciates it), and the intelligently written sarcasm towards modern college student problems such as financial aid, professors who can’t teach, and colleges being “adult daycares” make this episode a favorite among college students in particular.
4) Insane in the Main Frame
Season 3 Episode 12
In this episode, the oblivious Fry and Bender are caught on assisting a mentally insane criminal in a bank robbery, and as a result of their incompetent lawyer and subpar justice system, are sentenced to a mental robot asylum (even Fry, who’s human). The references to lawyers forcing their clients to plea guilty so that the case can move on, the overflowing number of inmates in US prisons, and lack of protection witnesses get for testifying all make this episode a favorite among law and government junkies. Still, the most priceless reference would have to be the one to One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest, for in the robot asylum, the nurse, Nurse Ratchet, brainwashes Fry to the point where he believes he’s a robot himself.
3) Roswell That Ends Well
Season 3 Episode 19
What if Marty McFly actually did “park” with the seventeen year old version of his mother on her prom night? Would he cease to exist? Would he technically become his own father? The following Emmy-winning episode tackles the very question when the Planet Experess team travels back in time to the year 1947 to Roswell, New Mexico. While there, we meet Fry’s grandfather, who Fry desperately tries to keep alive in order to keep his own existence. However, with Fry being the dim-witted person he is, ends up killing his grandfather by leaving him in the middle of an nuclear weapon testing site, and ends up sleeping with his grandmother…just consequently becoming his own grandfather. Meanwhile, the government stationed at Roswell see the Planet Express ship and are convinced that UFOs have visited Earth, thus alluding to the actual Rosewell UFO incident of 1947. This Back to the Future-ish, Edipus Complex influenced episode is one that is a fan all time favorite, and while watching it, one can get a pretty interesting history lesson out of this episode as well.
2)The Devil’s Hands Are Not Idle Playthings
Season 5 Episode 16
As someone who has played piano for four years and the viola for seven, this episode really touched home. As seen in earlier episodes, Fry is trying to learn how to play the holophonor–an incredibly difficult instrument which creates an image based on the music that the player plays and the quality of the players’ playing. Of course, Fry is the worst player his music instructor has ever taught, and therefore, he strikes a deal with the robot devil to get dexterous hands in order to captivate the girl of his dreams with his holophonor skills. The opera at the end of the episode is probably one of the most heart-warming and entertaining endings in Futurama’s run, and that segment alone puts this episode near the top of my list.
1) Jurassic Bark
Season 4 Episode 7
Probably the most infamous episode in the entire series, Jurassic Bark makes viewers laugh, cry, and love the loyal and good-hearted Fry even more than they do already. In this episode, Fry visits the pizzeria he used to work at 1000 years ago and sees his beloved dog frozen at the site in dolomite. Professor Farnsworth tells Fry that he is able to revive the dog, back to the way he was when Fry last saw him, thus leading Fry to remince about his faithful companion. During this episode, not only do we see the tight bond between a man and his pet, however, we start to realize that when Fry was frozen in the cryogenic lab for a 1000 years, he left a whole life behind, and that life will always be special to him. Also, the ending of this heart-wrenching episode is notorious for making viewers burst into tears.
Hope you enjoyed my list!!
Photo Credit: Futurama by Clive Varley via Flickr (License)
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