======================================================================== ============= THE FUTURAMA CHRONICLES ==== EPISODE CAPSULE ============= ======================================================================== Official Title: Space Pilot 3000 Episode Number: 1ACV01 (#1) First Airdate : Sunday, March 28th, 1999 (8:30 PM) Written by : David X. Cohen and Matt Groening Directed by : Rich Moore, Gregg Vanzo ======================================================================== = Additional tidbits = Opening theme promotion : IN COLOR Opening theme cartoon : "Little Buck Cheeser" (MGM, 1937) Subsequent Fox Airdates : 15-Jun-99, 08-Aug-99 28-Mar-99 Nielsen ranking: 11th place (averaged 19.04 million viewers) 15-Jun-99 Nielsen ranking: 3.9% of audience (#80 for the week) 08-Aug-99 Nielsen ranking: 4.5% of audience (#67 for the week) MPAA rating : TV-PG Length minus commercials : [21:49] ======================================================================== = Foxworld Synopsis = After an accidental cryogenic freezing, Fry awakens at the dawn of the year 3000. With the help of his two new friends, a degenerate robot named Bender and a beautiful one-eyed alien named Leela, Fry defies his life assignment as a delivery boy. He tracks down his great-great-great-etc. nephew, Professor Farnsworth, who hires the three to work for his intergalactic delivery service. It's a brave new world and Fry is in for the ride of his life. ======================================================================== = Minutiae = - Even though the show is supposed to begin in our time (1999), it is still in the future. (It premiered in March, showing December.) {ec} - The ship of the game Mokey Fracas, at the very start of the series, is the Planet Express' ship. {lp} - Panucci's Pizza does not want you tipping the delivery boy. {dh} - A sign on the street says "AKBAR." (Akbar is a character in Matt Groening's "Life in Hell" comic strip, and the name of a Simpsons font.) - Applied Cryogenics is on the 64th floor. - The Pope is counting down to the millennium in Roman Numerals. {dh} - Some people claim to have spotted Nibbler in 20th-century New York! See "Final Thoughts / Comments." - A medieval civilization rose and fell during Fry's hibernation. {dh} - The cryonics chambers used low-tech minute timers. {hl} - Upon learning the date, Fry comments "Wow, a million years!" when it's actually been only a thousand. He obviously doesn't have very good math skills, because this is too large a goof to actually _be_ a goof. - The ceiling pipe has band-aids on it. {dh} - They're still using dot-matrix, tractor feed printers in 2999. [According to {tjm}, "those government offices are so slow in updating their equipment."] - The probulator's dot matrix printer is also tractor-feed. {ds} - Leela's computer keyboard has an antenna on it. {ds} - When Fry says he's going to be more than just a loser, a buzzer sounds, as if he'd just given the wrong answer in a game show. - Did you notice the squeaking sound to the holographic monitor? {dh} - The man in Leela's poster, who gives a thumbs-up, has five fingers on each hand. Most people in Futurama's universe have four. [{tpe}: "Maybe, not unlike Leela and her one eye, he's an alien? Hmmm... It's just crazy enough to work!"] - Twice, the cryonics chambers immediately set themselves to "1000 years." It must be the default setting. {dh} - After being crushed so many times in the Star Trek-like doors, at one point Fry actually STOPS in the doorway, waiting for it to crush him -- which it does, sideways. {ec} - There was a flying billboard -- one of the kind with the rotating triangles, to show 3 different ads -- and one of the panels didn't rotate. {jj} - One of the billboards in the future shows Angelyne, a real-life busty female entertainer that has billboards hanging around the Los Angeles area. In the cartoon billboard, she's hooked up to some sort of respirator. {aa} - There's a cat in a jet pack beind chased by a dog in a jet pack. {ww} - There's a Ralph Wiggum-like character when Fry rides the "travel- tube." {dh} [That's actually a woman.] - Next to her, there's a man who's dressed like an Orthodox Jew, only with a futuristic slant. - In the intro, the Statue of Liberty holds a gun in her torch hand; during the episode, she holds part of the transport tube. - One of the fish underwater is a robot. {dh} - Fry passes a three-eyed fish underwater in the transport-tube. This is a reference to "The Simpsons." (See "Other References.") - The Circle Line ship is shipwrecked under New New York Harbour. - There's a corpse in the Circle Line shipwreck. {pm} - Apparently there is an easy way and a clumsy, newbie way to exit the tube system. {ds} - All the people in line before Fry select the "quick and painless" method of killing themselves, with a simple zap and they're gone. It's also more courteous to the people behind you. - A "life" is worth two bits. {dh} - The knife in the suicide booth is programmed to thrust forward then twist. {ds} - Did you notice the Simpsonish music while the suicide booth is trying to kill Fry? {dh} - The suicide booth is called a Stop-N-Drop. {dh} - In 1999, Fry rides his bicycle past O'Harrison's Pub. In the future, O'Zorgnax's Pub looks quite similar. - Bender libation is "Old Fortran Malt Liquor" -- FORTRAN is a programming language. - when Bender motions with his hands the various degrees he can bend girders at, none of them are close to being accurate? (In fact, his motion for 32 degrees is more acute than his motion for 30.) - Leela is Officer 1BDI. (say it outloud) {dh} - Dec 31, 2999 is on a Tuesday, sure enough. (Bender says the museum is free on Tuesdays.) {pb} - Bender drags Fry up the Museum steps. {dh} - The uniform worn by the feeder at the Head Museum looks a lot like the ones worn by employess of Hot Dog on a Stick! {tpe} - Matt Groening's head is floating in a jar in the Head Museam. - The top shelf presidents are displayed in chronological order from Nixon through Clinton; to Nixon's right is some gray-hair I didn't recognize (not LBJ); to Clinton's left was Warren Harding. (Harding in 2000?) {pb} - There are two heads of Grover Cleveland on the presidents' rack, with Harrison in the middle. {pb} - One of the policemen says he going to "get 24th century on his ass"; "get 24th century" has the same meaning as "get medieval." And partway through Fry's suspension, say the 24th century, there _was_ a medieval-type period, with New York rebuilt as castles before being destroyed again and rebuilt as the futuristic city. {tjm} - The Criminal room of the Head Museum can be locked from the inside. {dh} - Bender and Fry hide out in the Head Museam a lot longer than it seems, because it's dark out once they escape. - There's a Chevy Building in the New York ruins. {pm} - Bender keeps booze in his chest cavity. {dh} - In the future, poor-sighted people still need eyeglasses. {dh} - Professor Farmsworth has an old-fashion TV set, complete with rabbit ears. {dh} - The brick dropping out of Bender as the peace officers come a- knocking is supposed to symbolize him "shitting a brick." - When the different countries count down to the year 3000, France uses _English_ "seven" (not "sept"). {jj2} [{yd} guesses that French culture has been eliminated.] - Japanese society has been replaced by aliens. {yd} - The Great Pyramid (of Cheops) hovers off the ground and spins. {dh} ======================================================================== = Parallels to Science Fiction = ~ "Babylon 5" (TV series/movies) - People have chips implanted in their hands. {ds} + "Back to the Future I & II" (movies) - When Fry runs out of the building to begin with, and looks around at New New York, it kind of reminded me of "Back To The Future II." {ak} - Fry's character is based on Marty McFly; Fry shows a little kid how to play a video game, like Marty [in Part II]. {dj} [When Marty was playing that Western shooting game, the kid said it was "like a baby's toy." Maybe? Posssibly? {ak}] + "Beneath the Planet of the Apes" (movie) - When they go underground to the old New York. _Right_ from the movies! {jj2} ~ "The Caves of Steel" (novel) - The way Bender swallowed his empty liquor bottle reminded by of a robot in this Isaac Azimov book. ~ "Doctor Who" (1996, Fox TV Movie) - The countdown to the millennium occurred at the same time all over the world. {db} ~ "Final Fantasy VII" (video game) - The underground old New York City is similar to the slums underneath the city plates in Midgar. {jmg} ~ "War Games" (movie) - I always thought that the first scene (Fry teaching a kid how to play a video game) is a reference to "War Games." In the movie, the first scene with David Lightman has him playing "Galaga." He has to go and gives control of the game to a kid. {ndc} ~ "The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy" (TV series/novels) - Similar premise (sans cyrogenics). {hl} - Cynical Bender much like the manic depressive Marvin the robot. {hl} - The coffee machine in Professor Farnsworth's ship may be a reference to "The Restaurant at the End of the Universe," in which a spaceship's specialty was producing hot drinks. + "Logan's Run" (TV series/movie) - Implanting a 'fate chip' in the palm of your right hand. {meh} + "Mystery Science Theater 3000" (TV show) - The word "3000" is written on the moon. It looks like the MST3K logo, a planet with the name on it. It's even in the same font. {rm2} + "Sleeper" (movie) - Pretty much the same premise. {hl} - Suicide Booth: similar to Sleeper's Orgasmatron. {hl} + "Star Trek" (TV series/movies/novels/other) - Theme played with the video game. {ds} - Fry's comments on the automatic door. "Just like on Star Trek!" (Then he gets hit by the door.) {jmg} - Leonard "Spock" Nimoy says that he no longer does the Vulcan 'live long and prosper' sign. {hl} - Other Star Trek Sound Effects. {hl} - I was wondering if the whole head museum was a subtle Trek reference. The rows of jars containing heads, with the one jar containing Nimoy's head in front to greet people, reminded me of the original series Star Trek episode ("Return To Tomorrow" I think it was called) where the alien minds were preserved in glowing spheres, with Sargon in the one sphere in front. {tjm} + "Star Wars" (movies) - Lightsaber clubs. {jk} - Other possible reference is the way New York is set like Coruscant, mostly in the opening theme song, and Farnsworth's ship in the seem song seemed to be a parody of the Millenium Falcon's entrance into Cloud City in ESB. {pm} - A guy on a jet bike is wearing a helmet like leia wore in "Return of the Jedi" on the speeder bike. {ww} - Akbar is also the name of a Star Wars character ... One of the players of the "Cantina." He's got orange skin and a white dress with a brown belt ... {kdj} + "The Time Machine" (movie/novel) - The time-lapse lapse of civilization was a nod to the George Pal film of "The Time Machine." {ah} ~ "War of the Worlds" (movie) - The space ships destroying the cities were similiar to the ones in the 60's "War Of The Worlds." {jlm} + "Young Frankenstein" (movie) - The scene with all the heads in jars and the two live ones in the middle ... and then the camera shot doing a double take ... classic. {jj2} ======================================================================== = Other References = + "Donkey Kong" (video game) - The video game Fry was teaching the kid how to play, with the monkey throwing barrels [was similar]. {dj} + "The Simpsons (TV show) - Fry passes a three-eyed fish outside the pneumatic tube. This is a Simpsons character named Blinky, who plays an important part in the episode "Two Cars in very Garage, Three Eyes on Every Fish (7F01)." ======================================================================== = Freeze Frame Fanaticism = >> Video game {dh} Monkey Fracas Jr. >> Clock on wall of pizza place {dh} 11:35 PM (25 minutes to midnight) >> Pizza Box {pm} (slightly modified to align the edges) ______________________________________________ I PANUCCI'S I I PIZZA ____________I I ____________________ I I I I Do not tip I I [PICTURE I I I the Delivery Boy! I I OF ITALIAN I I ==============O I CHEF] I I O I I I________________________________I____________I >> Neswpaper headline {dh} 2000! DOOMSAYERS CAUTIOUSLY UPBEAT >> Sign on door {dh} APPLIED CRYOGENICS - NO POWER FAILURES SINCE 199[7] >> Countdown Sequence {pm} 10- New York 9- Paris, Eifel Tower Backdrop 8- Rome, Pope on Balcony turning "Calendar" of Roman Numerals 7- Egyptian Desert, Sphinx and the other three Pyramids as backdrop. 6- Athens, Acropolips as backdrop, two highlights next on the sides of it 5- Great Wall Of China 4- Taj Mahal, some people counting down in Water 3- Minute African Village 2- Tokyo, very similar to New York shot except for the Japanese Handwriting font 1- Shot of the Earth from Space >> Things seen in Fry's "Wow, the future" lecture {pm} - A Rocket taking off, white exhaust trailing - A Metro System, rails connected by towers, green Metro trains going along - A few starships being moved by propellers, some designs similar to WW1 fighters - A few blimps - A line of traffic going as if there was an invisible road, some things going random - A Flying Saucerer of Earth religion, seen stopping in the reflection on the window - One of the "Bachelor Chow" Ads, women holding a bowl of it, the food looks similar to refried beans >> When Fry exits to the street he sees... {dh} - A rocket-propelled dog chasing a rocket-propelled cat. - An old guy wearing goggles, driving a rocket-propelled chair. - A couple wearing clear plastic with black strips covering the naughty bits. - A rocket-propelled cyclist. >> Side of the suicide booth {dh} SUICIDE (Stop-N-Drop - BOOTH American's favorite suicide 25c booth since 2008) >> SUICIDE BOOTH - Modes of Death {dh} - Chainsaw - Band-saw - Knife - Drill - Electric shock >> Bender's libation {pb} - Old Fortran Malt Liquor >> Heads in Jars - At First - Leonard Nimoy - When Fry and Bender hide - Johnny Carson (?) - Lucille Ball {yd} (?) - Ed Begley Jr. {yd} (?) - David Duchovny - Gillian Anderson - Liz Talyor - Dennis Rodman - Matt Groening - Barbara Streisand - Hall of U.S. Presidents - ? - Richard Nixon (falls off) - Gerald Ford - Jimmy Carter - Ronald Reagan - Geroge Bush - Bill Clinton - Warren Harding - Andrew Jackson {gw} - Grover Cleveland - Benjamin Harrison - Grover Cleveland (again) - Elsewhere in the Museam - Rodney Dangerfild (drawn like Larry Burns) {gw} - A Hindu guy (not Apu) {gw} - Later on - Richard Nixon (again) - Dick Clark ======================================================================== = Goofs = - Fry didn't have the noisemaker until he needed it. {dh} - Before Fry enters the "travel-tube" it went up and sideways not straight up as we see later in the next scene. {dh} - Leela's wrist-pad is on the wrong arm when she alerts the police. (Oddly enough, this is the first time in the series that we see Leela's wristpad, and the only time we ever see it on her left arm.) - They misspelled "Barbara" Streisand. It's actually Barbra. {aa} - When Bender snapped the bars in the hall of criminals, there were 2 bars left on each side of the window, but a quick close-up showed THREE bars left on each side, and then the scene resumed with the 2 bars... {dr} - Bender's arm seemed to tear off as in break, not just the whole arm segment falling off, so they couldn't be re-attached. {pm} - Leela wasn't wearing a ring prior to the handholding scene with Fry. {dh} - How did the officers find Leela, Fry and Bender at Prof. Farnsworth's house? {jtc} - Prof. Farmsworth's slippers change color and shape from one scene to the next. {dh} - Bad framing error when Bender was carrying Farnsworth onto the ship. {pm} - During the Countdown at '9' when they showed Egypt, the people didn't seem to resemble Egyptians. {pm} ======================================================================== = Extended Goofs / Technical Nitpicks = >> The Time Zone Game Many people pointed out that, even assuming all civilizations go by our Gregorian calendar (which they don't), the many time zones of the world would not be counting down to New Year's Eve at the same exact time. One solution was posted: Theodore Jay Miller: Maybe the countdown WASN'T simultaneous. Maybe we saw "10" happening somewhere, "9" as it happened a few hours earlier, "8" from a few hours before that, "7" from a few hours later, etc., all edited together later on. Todd Paul Emerson: Am I the only one who noticed that the western hemisphere was shown in complete daylight, which would hardly correspond with Fry being in NYC at midnight? >> What's wrong with the crogenics lab? The cryogenics lab shouldn't have survived the numerous alien attacks against New York City. (Many people saw this error as well.) Brian Leahy: If they were really blasted all the way back to the dark ages and had to start over, it's surprising that the Cryonics building - including it's apparently kick-ass self-contained power system - wasn't raided for parts and materials. Maybe the medieval look was just in fashion for a while... Michael R. Flavin: Also, how come when Fry first showed up in 1999 with the pizza, the Cryogenics lab was a huge room filled with blinking lights and machinery, but when he comes out, it is simply a regular sized room with a table and a chair? Patrick Dolan: Well ... My guess is that the cryo tubes were moved from their original building and moved into the new one, thus explaining why the room changed and why Fry didn't wind up underground. Of course, that doesn't explain the view out the window for 1,000 years ... Maybe time flew by so quickly, we simply couldn't see the pod being moved around, or it was moved between alien attacks. Brian Leahy: It's interesting that, despite two devastating attacks, they never had a fatal power failure in the cryonics lab. They must have one hell of a backup system... It must have been many stories shorter afterward, and the corpsicle room must have been near the top floor. Denizen Auberon: Well it's also less-than-believable that they would have a free Cyrogenics facility completely unmonitored, and yet fully maintained for 1000 years, and that if it's as simple as turning a dial to change the suspension period (as we saw with Fry's kind- hearted 5-minute thawing of Leela), then surely someone would have noticed Fry missing, and the Cryo guys would have seen some strange delivery boy in the freezer ... I mean they had a THOUSAND years to notice. >> Did Fry really wake up too early? Chris Simmons: 1000 years from Midnight, January 1, 2000 (The countdown had already ended as Fry was falling into the Cryo booth) equals Midnight, January 1, 3000, NOT December 31, 2999. He actually was frozen for only 999 years, 364 days. And to be even more nit-picky, he "awoke" during the day; he was frozen 2-3 secs after midnight. Darrel Jones has a possible explanation. Leap-seconds: "The solar year is not a precise multiple of the solar day, so "leap days" have been introduced to fill out the extra time. Our current calendar would take millinea to even get a day off, but is still not 100% perfect. So scientists have introduced an occasional "leap second" to fill out the time. My theory is, in 1000 years enough leap seconds will have been added to push the calendar back several hours. That's why Fry woke up several hours before Midnight, New Years Eve 3000." Andrew Gill: One problem -- the Gregorian calendar lasts 365.2425 days, and requires an extra leap day once every 3333 years, since the solar year is 365.2422 days. And since we don't adjust seconds, since the Earth's rotation is constant. Why do you think that we change to Spring at a different time every year? Although you could take the standard opinion and claim that the timer was just a little off (which is still a hugely respectable degree of error), see the end of this section for the final word on this conundrum. >> That blimp _wasn't_ accurate. Andrew Krupowicz: At the end of the episode, were people cheering the start of year 3001? If they were celebrating the start of year 3000, then how come the blimp said "3000" after he was defrosted? Part of a longer message that got cut out? >> Who ordered the babelfish? It's unlikely that language, accents and slang have gone unchanged in 1,000 years. Leela's boss spoke in an Indian-American accent similar to Apu's from The Simpsons, but no such speech pattern could be retained for so long. (Unless he himself was unfrozen not long ago.) I'm surprised 20th Century English is still so predominant at all. One peace officer, as he's trying to shoot down Our Favorite Crew, remarks "Ah can't see nuttin'. Pretty, yo." -ed Nathan Mulac DeHoff: While this is quite true, it would be unlikely that the average "Futurama" watcher would be able to understand the language spoken in 3000. It reminds me of a comment made by Terry Pratchett. Someone mentioned that the Discworld couldn't have "gypsies," since they were named after Egypt, and the Disc equivalent of Egypt is Djelibeybi. Terry stated that, if he changed the entire language to fit the Discworld, the books would only be enjoyable to the kind of people who like to learn Klingon. Chris Sobieniak: Perhaps by 3000, there English becomes the dominant language, while the others just fade away (like Latin). Who knows? I can't say what would be the driving force for such a momentary change in language by then. I didn't really gave it much thought myself. Though I assume there's still a few of us that like to wonder at the use of Japanese in Gothan City on the WB toon Batman Beyond (pretty much a Blade Runner rip-off). Andrew Gill: Oh, and one comment about this. English used to be a very lax vulgar (=common) language. Then the grammarians came along and decided that to now split infinitives would be wrong, &c. In fact, spelling didn't truly come along until the printing press. With this in mind, it's not hard to believe that English -- as she is spoke -- will become even more firmly cemented in our culture, to the point that it won't change after mid-2300, I guess. {ag} Robert Teague: If you want a "within-continuity" explanation ... When Leela was examining Fry on the Probulator, it inserted a chip to allow him to understand the languages it was programmed with. For Terri, Leela, and the others who spoke English before it was implanted, the building is equipped with a machine that does the same thing at a distance. My two cents, anyway ... >> Hey, 'you gonna pay for that? Marco Della Guardia: I don't know how the public transport system works in New York nowadays, but here in Italy you have to buy a ticket to use it, whatever it is bus, or underground. Now, it seems to me that Fry uses this futuristic public transport system free of charge. Even if the fee was deducted in some way through the career chip installed in the hands of everyone, he didn't let Leela install one of them in his hand. >> Bender: Cheating when cheating isn't cool. Theodore Jay Miller: MY question is, why did Bender bother pulling back his quarter with a string? He was in the booth to commit suicide; what good will keeping the quarter do him when he'll be dead in a minute? Todd Paul Emerson: Perhaps, as a robot, Bender can't be killed in the same way that humans can? He seems like the kind of character that would enjoy going into the booths on a regular basis to be "killed," then he just gets repaired and everything is back to normal. Considering his contempt for the human "skin tubes," repeated use of a suicide booth is just his way of mocking us. Therefore, reusing the same quarter just adds more fuel to his fire. Or, even though he thought he was going to be dead in a minute, perhaps the ol' string-on-a-quarter bit was his way of symbolically sticking it to The Man. "I may be dead, but at least I didn't have to pay!" Fight the power! Reznic de Bergerac: I agree with the latter. After all, Bender did voice his obvious distaste for the booths ... that is why he quit his old job. Although I think that was at least partly intended to set up the next gag. Curtis Gibby: It's the principle of the thing, or perhaps his programming told him to do it. Nice Guy Eddie leaves us this thought: "He didn't die, did he?" >> Speaking of the Suicide Booth... Chris Cosby: Anybody notice how Fry and Bender probably should've been vaporized before leaving the Suicide Booth? You see a flash of light after the guy who goes in before them, which I assume was him getting vaporized so the next customer wouldn't have to deal with a messy corpse in their way. How come Fry and Bender weren't disinigrated? Are we to believe that this was some sort of ... magical suicide booth? There was some debate over this in USENET, and the conclusion was reached that, although the man in front of Fry was probably killed "quickly and painlessly," some vaporization still should have occured as 'cleaning.' That means Fry or Bender did something wrong (yanking the quarter back; opening the door too soon), causing the machine to malfunction. >> The Time Zone Game Deluxe An error from the beginning reappears, as the world once again counts down to the new millenium simultaneously. So the question is reinstated: can this really happen? Idaho Runner: Yes it CAN happen. Since any sort of time scale is artificial and arbitrary, why can't the planet have decided on a single standardized time rather than having "time zones" and convuluted things like that? Say everyone decided to set their watches to Greenwich Mean Time. It would be "midnight" during the middle of the day for some people, but so what? You would just associate "midnight" with lunch rather than associating "noon" with lunch. And since Fry was locked in the cryonic chamber at 12:00 midnight _Eastern Standard Time_, that would explain why it was not 12:00 midnight when he arrived in the future. New New York no longer uses EST. Problem solved. ======================================================================== = Reviews = Steev Hayes: Being the first episode, and having to take the time to make all of the introductions, I was surprised that they had room for many jokes. There were many parts that I was caught laughing outloud, but there could have been more. The show looks VERY promising, as do the characters. Fry being the lazy normal kid that we can all relate to, Bender being the slapstick comedic relief agent, and Leela the mediator/sexy alien woman. Very promising. (B) Dale G. Abersold: A great start for a series with a lot of potential! Of course pilots always suffer to a certain extent: it's not always easy to introduce a whole slate of characters and situations AND make it entertaining at the same time, but "Space Pilot 3000" was a very funny episode, chock full of humor from the obvious to the obscure. The artwork and animation are superb! The future has never looked so stylishly retro. It's somewhat like "The Jetsons" with two major differences. (A) "Futurama" is actually funny. (B) "Futurama" is much better animated. Early reports seem to be correct: Bender does seem to be the standout character (well, the kooky neighbor does tend to get a lot of attention), but their is huge potential everywhere. I've been eagerly awaiting this show for many months now and it did not disappoint. Kudos to everyone involved: I'm so glad my anticipation was rewarded! Here's hoping that Fox realizes what a great show it's got. (A) Sarah Culp: I thought the inaugural episode started out average (not too good, not too bad), and got better. The 1999 part of it was very Simpsons-ish, especially the "Don't tip the delivery boy!" on the pizza box. The characters are good: Fry's so pathetic, he's lovable; Leela's very cool, great hair; and Bender had some very funny sarcasm, although his voice seems kinda off. The end and the preview for the next show confused me, though, as it looks like the show will be mainly set in space, and not in the cities, as I had thought. Time will tell. (A-) Yuri Dieujuste: Judging by this episode, I believe that Futurama has a long time ahead of itself before it becomes stale and unprofitable (but so does OFF). The storyline made sense and the humour was placed in the correct places. The part where Fry sees his old neighbourhood after 1000 years scared me a bit, but it made me think a little. Hopefully Futurama will succeed with the general public. (A+) Chit Duree: Looks like the Simpsons writers are gonna have to start working extra hard, cause as far as tonight went, Futurama blew away The Simpsons (...Blasphemy!). Technically, it looks and sounds incredible, with psuedo-3D animation, a cool techno/classical sound track (in Surround Sound no less!), and great ambiant Sound FX. More importantly though, it's got a cool and very original cast to back it up, and the setting and premise provides a near infinite supply of story lines. It'll be like a whole series of Simpson's Treehouse of Horror episodes! I can't really comment on the writing, since I doubt Matt and David (this ep's writers) will do the show regularly, but as far as this episode, it was really clever and funny; best line: "Wow! A million years!" Looks like I'll be watching a whole hour of TV each week now! (A) Jeremy Gallen: This show is funny! This isn't a rip-off of "The Jetsons" or anything. It's a brand new, improved comedy that takes a supposed peek at the future. It has some new jokes not seen anywhere else. I recommend this show to anybody who likes bizzare humor or anything similar. A definite 10/10. (A+) Curtis Gibby: Futurama was great. I loved the "in Color" at the beginning as a nod to some of the 50's sci-fi that Groening is ripping off/drawing from. I agree with most of you that the characterization was a little weak, but I loved Bender. The kitchen timers on the cryo-units were a great gag. (A) Haynes Lee: Superior drawn animation and Matt Groening wisely kept away from the Jetsons format. More Bender! (A) Jake Lennington: Can we say - WOW! Futurama was a blast. I hope next week is just as good and it is great now that Mr. Groening has another venture to express his satire upon. (A) Ondre Lombard: No matter what Mr. Matt Groening says about the exquisite talents of the current Simpsons writing staff, nothing comes close to his own style. Futurama has gotten off to a non-mean- spirited start, and it isn't obnoxious either. It's sharp, witty, funny, very imaginative well animated and it's fun. Not much can be said for Fry's character -- it will have to be developed more with upcoming episodes, but Bender was quite a scene-stealer (at least second to the futuristic environment), and Leela proves that Katey Segal isn't as one dimensional as Married...with Children had her be for 11 seasons. Cheers to Futurama. I hope it's very successful so that people will forget about Simpsons and allow it to pass away with dignity. (A-) Paul Melnyk: I don't think words can describe the greatness of this show. To me it's fun, it's feel-good, and the characters are great. I was already liking Fry in the first few seconds of the show. He's developed enough. Bender is also a very good character. Instead of being completely cynical, he can be friendly and funny. Also, I was blown away by the detail in the animation with the color and effects. MG has done something which the Simpsons couldn't do. Make me watch not because of humor, but because of the characters and the context of the show. I'm obsessed with this show and waiting for S1-2/13. (A+) Mike Smith: First of all, I have to said that the Premiere of "Futurama" is First-Rate! The computer animation on certain scenes is First-Rate! So, does MG & David S. (Or, is it X.?) Cohen's writing is well worth the promise!!! This might be the "King of the Hill" followup we might needed!!! (A+) Yours Truly: Well, I liked it enough to write this capsule, didn't I? In case that doesn't speak for itself, I thought Futurama was awesome, with as literal a meaning I can give it. I haven't met a Matt Groening creation I haven't liked. (A) Average Grade: [27/13=2.077] (A) ======================================================================== = Final Thoughts / Comments = >> You're frozen ... when your tank's not open We allow Tyler McHenry to rant on the subject of cryonics: "Cryonics is not to be confused with cryogenics or cryobiology. Cryogenics deals with metals at supercold tempratures. Cryobiology deals with non- setitent creatures at supercold tempratures. Cryonics is the term for freezing humans to prolong life. Patients are freferred to as "Suspension Patients," or (euphemistically) "Freezer Geezers." :) Cryonic Suspention (that is, the process of suspending the biological state of a human using supercold tempratures) is currently being practiced and is legal everywhere but some places in Canada. (I don't know why.) In the United States, it is legal to suspend someone only after legal death. Mind you, legal death occurs after clinical death. Companies have been sued for suspending people before legal death. I know that Futurama is just a cartoon, but there were some glaring inacuracies regarding cryonic suspension. Firstly, you cannot freeze a person 'as is', like Fry. You must first remove the person's blood, and replace it with a biological anti-freeze solution. Then, the body is placed in an enclosed tank filled with liquid nitrogen. Liquid nitrogen stays cold on its own, so power faliures will not harm the suspended. Of course, some of this liquid nitrogen will evaporate, so more has to be added occasionally. To revive a suspention patient, it is first necessary to find a cure for whatever killed the person, otherwise there would be no point. After the person is removed from the tank, the blood will be restored, and the freezing damage repaired. Repairing the freezing damage is the only part that we have not accomplished yet. This will involve nanotechnology, or the design and fabrication of molecular- level (e.g. *very* small) machines, which will repair damage to individual cells. The person is then rewarmed gradually. Assuming the person returns to life, they can now be cured of whatever killed them before, and can continue with their lives. Nanotechnology is is a very early research phase, and will not be perfected to the necessary level for many years. For more information: - The Cryo-info archive - The world's largest Cryonics company Hope my rant was interesting!" >> Where were you on the night of ... Ryan Pohlner: Nibbler is the whole reason Fry is in the 30th Century! While Fry's chair is tipping over, you can see Nibbler's shadow around the table and chair! If Nibbler is responsible for Fry's fall, that means he is able to travel to time, as Leela found Nibbler in the year 3000 on the planet Vergon 6. There you have it. I have a few feelings on this ... I almost definitely agree that it's Nibbler's shadow, and _meant_ to be Nibbler's shadow, but it doesn't necessarily mean that Nibbler is responsible for Fry's fall. It also doesn't mean Nibbler can travel through time ... he could just be very, very old. I must ask _why_ the producers would do something like this? Is it a prelude to something big, or are they planning on referring back to it later, in one of the alleged "Cubert" scenes, that allow them to speak directly to the audience? Perhaps like what they did with Maggie's cash- register price in "The Simpsons' 138th Episode Spectacular (3F31)," but without lying to the audience. >> See? My name really _is_ I.C. Weiner. Dave Sweatt: Many people that believe in the Book of Revelation in the bible see hand and forehead chip implants as the prophecy of the 666 mark. They believe that the chip will replace all identity cards, credit cards, etc. They believe that it will be a crime not to have the implant, and thus you won't be able to work. (Not only would you be a criminal, imprisoned or a fugitive, but without an income you cannot afford a place to live, eat, etc.) If true, then Futurama presents a dark future indeed. Tech companies are actually developing these chips and have been for several years now. The technology has been used with cattle and other farm animals, some new organ implants in hospital transplant surgeries, and pets, saying its better than branding or tags on farms and helps identify lost pets [or lost organs too I guess :)]. The technology was used to help identify refugees at the US military installation on the Cuban island (name?), but instead of implants, the chips were place in plastic wristbands and worn by the refugees at the camp. This is not the first science fiction show to use implants for identification -- Babylon 5 used them and I believe Star Trek has referenced it as well. >> Hints at the state of life in the Future Even with the pneumatic tubes, some of New New York City's residents still need to drive around in flying cars. I guess the tubes aren't useful when you're transporting cargo, or traveling in groups. Also, if you've travelled by vehicle to the city, and don't want to splurge for a parking lot, you'll want to keep it with you. Notice that the cars use a traffic system just like ours, even though it is completely unnecessary without roads. Also notice that the pneumatic tubes are 100% free. Bender uses a coin on a string to fake out the Suicide Booth. Does this mean that, despite promises of electronic-only commerce and despite the forces of inflation, the United States (if that's what it's still called) still mints coins? Maybe that particular suicide machine was built way back in the year 2008. One of the cars on the street before Fry and Bender enter the meuseam of heads looks like a Volkswagon Beetle. It swerves past a Slurm truck that was going too slow for the driver's liking, apparently. The garbage cans on the city streets have tubes coming out of the sides that curve into the sidewalk. I wonder if the world's solved its waste problem yet ... Speaking of which, how come the decaying ruins of Old New York aren't flooded to the top with garbage? How come the ceiling isn't supported at all? How come I'm writing so much about a half-hour cartoon show? Hmmm ... >> Let me fit you into my busy schedule Paul Gallagher, to prove that Fry and Bender picked the right day to take advantage of the Head Museam's free Tuesday admittance, lays out the entire month for us: Dec 2999 S M Tu W Th F S 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 (I was hoping for a long weekend.) >> Any other jokes need explaining? Haynes Lee: Last Friday [March 26th] Dr. Jack Kervorkian got convicted for double degree murder for aiding the suicide of a terminally ill patient whose video was shown on 60 Minutes. Suicide Booths can't be too far in the future. Benjamin Robinson: FORTRAN is the name of the first high-level computer language. My first job involved programming in FORTRAN-77, a descendant of the original language. >> On the Cutting-Room Floor In the first and second network airings on Fox, the man who entered the pneumatic tube before Fry asked the tube to take him to "J.F.K. Junior Airport." After the death of John-John, the line was changed to "Radio City Mutant Hall" for the subsequent airings. >> Last, and probably least ... Jimbo Jones: And I am sooo glad that they stuck with their formula of NOT having a laugh track. Never needed to be told when to think. Daniel Tropea: I am grateful that they didn't use Clinton's head biting. I can just imagine the type of raunchy jokes that could have been used. Raymond Chen: When the head of Richard Nixon says "You just made my list!", this is a reference to ancient history: the Watergate Scandal. Nixon kept an "enemies list" of over 200 people whom he believed were part of a conspiracy against him. We're living in the Stupid Ages? Whatever makes these ages stupid seems to be just as alive and rampant in 2999. Jonah Falcon: Bender proposes a celebration when Leela finally agrees to join him and Fry. He pulls out three beers ... and drinks them himself. It's been noted in the script, but I think it's important, since it's the first episode and it _really_ establishes the pettiness of Bender's self-absorption. Jason Barrera: I swear that when Dick Clark's Head was talking, you could see Homer Simpson in the crowd in the background! It's way too grainy to make out in the realvideo version I have, and I only saw it for a few seconds, but it was either our lovable Simpson or somebody that looked remarkably like him ... Yuri Dieujuste: French culture will never be eliminated. Face it! ======================================================================== = Fun Stuff = >> Acronyms for the Stars Every long-time internet fan knows that the shorthand term for the Simpson family was "OFF" (Our Favorite Family). Some Futurama fans tried to decide on a similar shorthand term for the Planet Express trio. Nothing was decided on yet, but here's what was tossed around: Chit Duree: OFHAAR (Our Favorite Humans, Alien, and Robot) Todd Paul Emerson: OFFF (Our Favorite Futuristic Friends) OFIG (Our Favorite Interplanetary Gang) OOF (Our Outerspace Friends) John Jenson: MFNM (My favorite non-martians) Jake Lennington: CARP (Courier, Alien, Robot, and Professor) Chris Simmons: OFFS (Our Favorite Fugitives in Space) Sean Austin: OFF2 (Our Futurama Family)2 >> Alien Language #1 sightings Slurm advertisement in O'Zorgnax's Pub: "DRINK" Graffiti in alleyway: "VENUSIANS GO HOME" Aliens counting down to 3000: "6" and "7" >> Fan-made Alternate Titles for this Episode "Oh Fry, When Art Thou?" {ds} "Time's Fry's (And He's Having Fun)" "Y3K Pilot" {hl} ======================================================================== = Voice Credits = >> Starring Billy West ......................... Fry, human PO, Nixon, Farnsworth Katey Sagal ................................................... Leela John DiMaggio ........................... Bicycle theif, Mr. Panucci, "JFK Jr. Airport," "Tourist," Bender, Leela's boss, Url >> Special Appearances Dick Clark .................................... His own head in a jar Leonard Nimoy ................................. His own head in a jar >> Guest Starring Tress MacNeille ............... Stop-N-Drop voice, Head Museam feeder Dave Herman ................................ Terri, Terri's assistant Kath Soucie ........................ Kid in Pannuci's Pizza, Michelle = Quotes and Scene Summaries {ds} = % December 31, 1999. We see a video game screen similar to "Defender" % with a small spaceship flying through space, as Fry's voice speaks % from off-screen. Fry: Space, it seems to go on and on forever. But then you get to the end and a gorilla starts throwing barrels at you. % Fry loses and his game ends. Fry: And thats how you play the game. Boy: You stink, loser. Fry's boss: Hey Fry, pizza going out. Come onnnnn! % Fry sighs to himself, then walks outside to see his girlfriend in a % taxi with another guy. Fry: Michelle! Baby! Where you goin'? Michelle: Its not working out, Fry. [yelling, as the taxi pulls away] I put your stuff out on the sidewalk! % Fry continues riding his bike to the delivery destination, muttering % that he hates his life. He locks his bike to a newspaper kiosk, but % it's stolen instantly as he walks into an apartment building. He % enters a room labelled "Applied Cryogenics." The room is full of % ominious blinking lights with cryogenic tanks lined along one wall. Fry: Hello? Pizza delivary for [looks at the card] I. C. Wiener! Oh, crud. I always thought by this point in life, I'd be the one making the crank calls. % He sits down and opens a can of LoBrau. As gives a toast to "another % lousy millennium," a building outside the window lights up with the % number 10. We see all the civilizations around the world counting % down, and as they reach 1, Fry blows a noisemaker, which hits him in % the face and sends him backwards into an open tank. The tank sets % itself to "1000 YEARS." A few seconds later, he's frozen, and the % view out the window shows the passing of days and nights, which begins % to accelerate. Two alien attacks and one medieval civilization later, % Fry is unfrozen. % He steps out, yawns, stretches, and hesitantly looks out the window % again. The gloomy New York cityscape is replaced by bright colors, % flying cars and flashy billboards galore. Fry: Oh, God. Its the future. My parents ... my co-workers ... my girlfriend ... I'll never see any of them again. [long pause] Yahoo! % End of Act One. (3:05) % After the intro sequence plays, we return to Fry staring out the % window. He's melodramatically welcomed to "the world of tomorrow" by % a man in a white coat, and taken to the "FATE ASSIGNMENT OFFICER." % The automatic door slides open into the ceiling. Fry: Cool, just like in Star Trek! % The door comes back down and hits Fry on the head. He wanders further % into the office, rubbing his forehead, until he enters a large room % with a woman standing in the center, facing the other way. As she % greets him, Fry looks her up and down happily, until she turns around % and reveals her one large eye. Fry: [disgusted] Eeee! Woman: Name? Fry: Uh, Fry. Woman: I'm Leela. Now, its New Year's Eve, so I'd like to decide your fate quickly, and get out of here. Fry: Can I ask you a question? Leela: As long as its not about my eye. Fry: Uh ... Leela: Is it about my eye? Fry: Sort of. Leela: [sigh] Just ask the question. Fry: Whats with the eye? Leela: I'm an alien, alright? Lets drop the subject. Fry: Cool. An alien. Has your race taking over the earth? Leela: No, I just work here. % A blimp outside the window displays the message "Happy New Year 3000." Fry: Wait a minute. Is that blimp accurate? Leela: Yep, its December 31st, 2999. Fry: [slowly] My God! A million years. Leela: I'm sure this must be very upsetting for you. Fry: [sadly] You know, I guess it should be, but actually I'm glad. I had nothing to live for in my old life. I was broke, I had a humiliating job, and I was beginning to suspect my girlfriend might be cheating on me. Leela: Well, at least here, you'll be treated with dignity. [sternly] Now strip naked and get on the probulator. % Fry lies naked on a cold, metal table, surrounded by gadgets and % wires. Leela lowers her eye goggle, presses a button, and we hear Fry % yell from off-screen. Later, as Fry is getting dressed ... Leela: Interesting, your DNA test shows one living relative. He's your great great great great great great great ... [time passes; Fry is now fully dressed] ... great great great great great nephew. Fry: That's great! Whats the little guy's name? Leela: [showing a picture of an old man] Professor Hubert Farnsworth. % As Fry watches Leela type at her desk, he comments "You know, I'm the % luckiest guy in the whole future. I've been given a second chance, % and this time I'm not gonna be a total loser." But then a buzzer % sounds, and a sullen Fry is given his permanent career assignment: % Delivery Boy. Fry: Delivery boy? Nooo, not again! Please, anything else. [grabs Leela's wrist] Leela: Take your hands off me. [slaps his hand] You've been assigned the job you're best at just like everyone else. Fry: What if I refuse? Leela: Then you'll be fired. Fry: Fine. Leela: Out of a cannon, into the sun. Fry: But I don't _like_ being a delivery boy. Leela: Well, thats tough. Lots of people don't like their jobs, but we do them anyway. You gotta do what you gotta do. [points at a poster with said phrase written on it] Now hold out your hand. I'm going to implant your career chip. It'll permanently label you as a delivery boy. [holds out a clamp-like device with a sharp claw at the end] Fry: Keep that thing away from me! % Fry runs away, and Leela chases him through the building until they % return to the cryogenics room. Leela yells at Fry to hold still, % because she doesn't have good depth perception, but instead Fry fakes % her out and sends her tumbling into an open tank. It once again locks % and sets itself for "1000 YEARS." Leela: [pounding on the glass] You've got to the count of five to let me out of here! One ... [a flash of light, and she's frozen] Fry: See you in a thousand years. % Fry chuckles to himself and begins to leave, but has a pang of guilt. % He sighs, then returns and sets Leela's destination to "5 MINUTES." % He says "You owe me one," and runs out to see his first real glimpse % of the future. After wandering a bit, he spots a man going to "Radio % City Mutant Hall" via a large pneumatic tube. [Alteration Alert! See % "On the Cutting-Room Floor" in "Final Thoughts / Comments."] Once the % man is whisked away, Fry asks the tube to take him to Crosstown % Express, and he screams as the tube carries him across the cityscape. % After a number of pedestrians make graceful landings, Fry shoots out % of the tube and hits his forehead on a brick wall. A man nearby % mutters "Pfft ... tourist." Around the corner, Fry sees a line of % people outside a large booth. Fry: Hey, a phone booth. I can call my nephew. Fry: [seeing a robot in line behind him] Whoa! A real live robot! Or is that some kind of cheesy New Year's costume? Robot: Bite my shiny, metal ass. Fry: It doesn't look so shiny to me. Robot: Shinier than yours, meatbag. % As the man in front of Fry gets his turn, we see the side of the booth % reads "SUICIDE BOOTH 25C." A flash of red light comes from inside, % and the door opens for Fry. Not seeing the coin slot, he presses the % red "START" button repeatedly, which annoys the robot. Robot: Listen buddy, I'm in a hurry here. Let's try for a twofer. % The robot keeps his $.25 token by pulling it back with a string. A % woman's voice speaks. Voice: Please select mode of death: quick and painless, or slow and horrible. Fry: Yeah, I'd like to place a collect call. Voice: You have selected slow and horrible. Robot: Good choice. % A compartment opens revealing various implements of death. Robot: [yelling] Bring it on, baby! Fry: Aaaaaaaaaaahhh! % End of Act Two. (5:36) % The suicide booth is aparently still in use. Inside ... Robot: Come on! come on! Kill me already! [To Fry] By the way, my name's Bender. Fry: Help! What's happening? % The booth's various weapons each jump into the center of the booth, % slashing and zapping in an attempt to kill their customer, which Fry % and Bender manage to avoid. As a final knife extrudes forwards and % twists in the air, the voice returns. Voice: You are now dead. Thank you for using Stop-N-Drop, America's favorite suicide booth since 2008. % The hatch opens, and Fry stumbles outside trying to catch his breath, % as Bender kicks the booth. Bender: Lousy, stinking ripoff. [To Fry] Well I didn't have anything else planned for today. Lets go get drunk! % Meanwhile Leela's five minutes are up. She's thawed out, and resumes % her counting, but gives up when she realizes what happened. She is % given the same melodramatic greeting that Fry got, but she replies % with "Shut up, Terri." She later reports to her boss. Boss: This is unacceptable, Leela. You must find this Mr. Fry and install his chip. Leela: Look, he's just a nobody who doesn't want to be a delivery boy. I'd really rather not force it on him. Boss: Well, thats your job, whether you like it or not. And it's my job to make you do your job, whether I like it or not ... which I do. Very much. Now get to work! [Leela leaves dejectedly] Ah, Life is good. % Bender and Fry are drinking at a local pub. Fry watches Bender take a % drink of Olf Fortran Malt Liquor. Fry: Why would a robot need to drink? Bender: I don't _need_ to drink, I can quit any time I want. [burps a flame of fire] So they made you a delivery boy, huh? Man, that's as bad as my job. Fry: Really? What do you do, Bender? Bender: I'm a bender. I bend girders. That's all I'm programmed to do. Fry: You any good at it? Bender: You kiddin'? I was a stud. I could bent a girder to any angle. 30 degrees, 32 degrees, you name it. 31 ... But I couldn't go on living once I found out what the girders were for. Fry: What? Bender: Suicide booths. [throws his empty bottle down his throat] Well Fry, it was a pleasure meetin' ya. I'm gonna go kill myself. [gets up to leave] Fry: Wait! You're the only friend I have. Bender: You really want a robot for a friend? Fry: Yeah, ever since I was six. Bender: Well, okay, but I don't want people thinking we're robosexuals so if anyone asks, you're my debugger. Fry: [sees Leela outside the pub's window] Oh no, its the cyclops! [Bender turns to look] Don't look! Don't look! Bender: [condescendingly] I'm not looking. % Bender obviously _is_ looking, because his eyes slide forward to about % three times their original length as he faces Leela. Outside, Leela % shows a photograph of Fry to a pedestrian. The man points to Fry % through the Pub window, and Fry and Bender quickly run away. Leela % activates her wrist-radio and states "This is officer 1-BDI, % requesting backup." The cop on the other end of the conversation (who % is actually right behind her) replies "We'll be there in five % minutes." % Bender and Fry run down the street, as Bender spots a museam. Bender % decides to hide in the museam because it's free on Tuesdays, and as % the two of them duck around a corner inside, they meet Leonard Nimoy's % head in a jar. There are rows of other heads in the room behind him. Nimoy: Welcome to the Head Museum. I'm Leonard Nimoy. Fry: Spock? Hey ... uh, do the thing! [presents the Vulcan 'live long and prosper' sign] Nimoy: [chuckles] I don't do that any more. Fry: This is unbelievable! What do you heads do all day? Nimoy: We share our wisdom with those who seek it. It's a life of quiet dignity. % Just as he says this, a woman announces "feeding time" and comes to % sprinkle fish food into Nimoy's jar. He darts his head around to % munch on the food, as Leela and her two backup officers pound on the % museam's front door. Fry and Bender try to hide their faces among % other heads in jars, but are quickly discovered. Leela: I'm sorry, Fry, but I have to install your career chip. Fry: Yeah, well, if you're sorry, then why are you doing it? Leela: Its my job. 'You gotta do what you gotta do.' % Fry backs away from Leela, but bumps into several head jars in the % "Wall of U.S. Presidents," causing Nixon's to fall and break. Nixon's % head uprights itself in a puddle of water, and informs Fry "You just % made my list!" before jumping up and biting Fry's arm. Fry: Stop it! Down boy! Bad president! % The two other cops approach and don light-saber-like weapons. Cop 1: Alright buddy, step away from the head. Cop 2: I'm gonna get 24th century on his ass. % Fry and Bender are beaten with light sticks. Leela: Please officers! There's no need to use force! Cop 2: Let us handle this, weirdy. Leela: Oh come on, he's just a poor kid from the stupid ages. Cop 1: Keep your big nose out of this, Eyeball! Leela: [angry] No one makes fun of my nose! % Leela jump-kicks the first cop, and then attacks the second cop. Cop 2: [on the floor] Damn. Leela: You guys were totally out of control. Cop 1: Its our job, we're peace officers! Cop 2: Yeah, you know the law. You gotta do what you gotta do. % This appears to have an effect on Leela, as we rejoin Fry and Bender, % who've found hideout in the Hall of Criminals and locked the door. % Bender thinks they're trapped, but Fry sees the prison bars blocking % one window, and has an idea. Fry: Wait a second. You're a bender, right? We can get out of here if you just bend the bars. Bender: Dream on, Skin Tube. I'm only programmed to bend for constructive purposes. What do I look like? A de-bender? Fry: Who cares what you're programmed for? If someone programmed you to jump off a bridge, would you do it? Bender: I'll have to check my program. [pauses] Yep! Leela: [banging on the door] Open up! Fry: Come on, Bender. Its up to you to make your own decisions in life. Thats what separates people and robots from animals, and ... animal robots. % Bender remarks "You're full of crap, Fry" and walks away, but his head % gets stuck to a wire hanging from the ceiling, and his circuits get % scrambled. He turns back around and says "You make a persuasive % argument, Fry," then tries for the prison bars. As Fry cheers him on, % Bender repeats that he can't do it, but finally, two of the bars snap % off. Fry: Yes! Bender: [proudly] You were right, Fry! From now I'm gonna bend what I want, when I want, who I want. I'm unstoppable! % He holds the two broken bars high in the air, but both of his arms % fall out of their sockets, clanking to the ground. Bender: Aww. % End of Act Three. (5:57) % Once Bender gets his arms put back on, Leela breaks into the room. % Fry and Bender slip through the window, and Bender bends two of the % remaining prison bars inward so that Leela can't follow them. Leela % cries sincerely for them to wait, but they don't listen. % Bender and Fry find themselves in an alleyway and decide to escape % down a grate in the pavement. Bender stretches his arms and brags % "Looks like one of us will have to bend this grate," but Fry simply % lifts it open. Bender looks disappointed as they climb down, but he % returns once more and bends the bars on the already-open grate for his % own amusement. Apparently, the ladder leads down to a city of ruins. Fry: Good lord, what is this? Bender: It's the decaying ruins of Old New York. Welcome home, pal! Fry: [exploring the ruins] It's my old neighborhood. Man this brings back a lot of memories. Bender: Keep 'em to yourself, pops. Fry: [dreamy] This is where I brought my girlfriend on our very first date. % Through Fry's eyes, the scene transforms into New York of 1999, where % Fry and Michelle are ice-skating in central park. The bright colors % morph back into decaying ruins, and Fry and Michelle are replaced by a % huge, tentacled monster which dives back into the mud. Fry: [stunned] My God, she's gone! Everyone I ever knew or cared about is gone. Bender: Wait. Theres someone you know. [he points off-screen, and we see Leela standing prominently beside them] Fry: [to Leela] Aw, can't you leave me alone? I'm miserable enough already. Leela: Look, I know its not much consolation, but I understand how you feel. Fry: No, you don't. I've got no home, no family ... Bender: ... no friends! Fry: My whole world is gone. You can't possibly understand what it feels like to be so alone. Leela: I understand. I'm the only one-eyed alien on this whole planet. My parents abandoned me here as a baby, and I don't even know which galaxy they were from. I know how it feels to be alone. Fry: Look, Leela ... I don't understand this world, but you obviously do, so I give up. If you really think I should be a delivery boy, I'll do it. % Fry clenches his face as he holds his hand out. Leela takes out her % clamp-like device again and prepares to inject Fry, when she instead % pries it into her own hand, and her own career chip comes out. Fry: Your chip! What are you doing? Leela: Quitting. Fry: Why? Leela: Because I've always wanted to. I just never realised it until I met you. % Fry and Leela touch hands, then Bender slams his hand on top. Fry: [annoyed] What is the matter with you? Bender: I just wanted to be part of the moment. Leela: Hey, he stole my ring! Bender: Sorry. [returns it to her] [obnoxiously] Well that solves the mystery of the missing ring. This calls for a drink! [he takes three liquor bottles out of his chest compartment, but drinks all three at the same time] Leela: I don't want to spoil the party, but we're all job deserters now. We're unemployed and we have nowhere to go. Fry: Correction: we're unemployed, but we have a doddering old relative to mooch off of! [holds up a picture of his nephew] % Professor Farnsworth snores in front of his television. On screen, % Dick Clark's head is in a jar, speaking to the camera: "Hello, I'm % Dick Clark's head. Welcome to a special Year 3000 edition of New % Year's Rockin' Eve." The doorbell wakes the professor, as our % fantastic trio waits outside. Professor: [answers the door] Who are you? Fry: I'm your dear old uncle Fry. Professor: I don't have an uncle Fry. Bender: You do now. [pushes his way through the door] % Profesor Farnsworth uses what is apparently a DNA-matching device to % validate Fry's claim. When the test comes back positive, he thinks % it's absolutely incredible, and after Bender's request for money is % rejected, we follow them into the professor's laboratory. Professor: Let me show you around. That's my lab table, and this is my work stool, and over there is my intergalactic spaceship. [gestures unenthusiastically] And here's where I keep assorted lengths of wire! Fry: Whoa, a real live spaceship. Professor: I designed it myself. Let me show you some of the different lengths of wire I used! % The door is pounded on yet again, and Cop #1 speaks. "Attention, job % deserters! Come out with your hands up. We have you partially % surrounded." The crew is shocked, and Bender is so scared that he % literally [drops] a brick. Outside, Richard Nixon's head (being % carried by one of the peace officers) instructs "Get those bums!" Bender: Well we're boned. Leela: Can't we get away in the ship? Professor: I suppose it is technically possible. ... though I _am_ already in my pajamas. % The group makes their way into the ship, and Fry dons the controls % first. "I'll get us out of here" he says as he presses a few buttons, % but all the ship does is pour Fry a hot cup of coffee. Professor: Can anyone drive stick? Leela: I can, as long as I don't have to parallel park. % Outside, the police are preparing an offense as the ship prepares to % leave. Cop #2 instructs "If they try to take off, give em' an ass % full of laser" to the other cop, who's sitting in the controls of a % rocket-like weapon. Back in the spaceship ... Leela: Prepare for liftoff. 10 ... % The countdown for liftoff coincides with that of the New Year's Eve % countdown. Scenes of celebration are shown from around the world, % as each one recites a number counting down to the new millenium. The % countdown is completed by those in New New York. Terri: Fire. Leonard Nimoy: Four. Professor: Three. Bender: Two. Leela: One. Fry: Blast off! % The ship leaves orbit as fireworks fill the sky. Nixon yells at the % cops to fire, but the fireworks in the sky block their vision. Cop #1 % says "I can't see nottin'. Pretty, yo." Meanwhile, in the spaceship, % signs of relief and cheers of celebration can be heard now that % they're safely out in space. Fry: So I guess without jobs we'll be fugitives forever. Professor: Not neccesarily. Are you three by any chance interested in becoming my new spaceship crew? Bender: New crew? What happened to the old crew? Professor: [sadly] Oh, those poor sons of ... [brightly] But that's not important. The important thing is, I need a new crew! Anyone interested? Fry: Yes! Yes! That's exactly the job I've always wanted! Leela: Thanks for the offer, professor, but we don't have the proper career chips. Professor: Oh, that won't be a problem. As luck would have it I saved the chips from my previous crew. [shakes them out of an envelope labelled "Contents of Space Wasp's Stomach"] Fry: This is awesome. Are we gonna fly through space fighting mosters and teaching alien women to love? [grins smugly] Professor: If, by that, you mean transporting cargo, then yes. It's a little home business I started to fund my research. Fry: Cool! What's my job gonna be? Professor: You'll be responsible for insuring that the cargo reaches it's destination. Fry: So, I'm ... gonna be a ... delivery boy? Professor: Exactly. Fry: [long pause] Alright! ... I'm a delivery boy! % The ship flies away into space as the music plays. % End of Act 4 (6:43) ======================================================================== = Contributers = {aa} Amid Amidi {jk} Joe Klemm {ak} Adam King {jtc} Justin Thomas Cass {db} David Brunt {kdj} Koan D. J. {dh} Dave Hall {lp} Leandro Pardini {dj} Daniel Janes {meh} Mark E. Hardwidge {dr} Dave Rout {ndc} Nicolás Di Candia {ds} Dave Sweatt {pb} Paul Brinkley {ec} Ellen Cohen {pm} Paul Melnyk {gw} Gary Wilson {rm2} Roscoe Mathieu {hl} Haynes Lee {tjm} Theodore Jay Miller {jmg} Jeremy Michael Gallen {tpe} Todd Paul Emerson {jj} Jeff Johnston {ww} Wes Wasley {jj2} John Jenson {yd} Yuri Dieujuste ======================================================================== Futurama and its characters belong to ===== First uploaded: 07-Apr-1999 FOX. Please do not confuse them with ===== Revision F : 13-Mar-2000 fans of the show, such as the people ===== E-mail jedraw@earthlink.net who contributed to this capsule. :-) ================================= Compiled by Jordan "2BDIs" Eisenberg. =================================