Futurama . . . Um . . . (MVOO)

[E. Penrose]

I am disappointed by "Futurama."

The jokes occasionally work. The flubs leave a bad taste in my mouth. Many of them involve sex or scatology. They don't flow together, perhaps because many of them are plug-ins, set into a script without relevance to the character or plot or build of the situation.

The scripts are weak. The promises of a range of exotic settings, of the work-place and of developing characters haven't been fulfilled. Parody is occasionally good; but it is also plugged into episodes with no build-up or follow-through.

But this is my opinion. What's yours?

I'm giving it one more chance, then . . .

E. Penrose

[Lonestarr]

I disagree with your entire post. "Futurama" is a hilarious show. You must've caught a bad episode. Wait for one of the good ones (if Fox ever pulls their heads out of their butts); you'll be glad you did.

[BourgeoisBuffoon]

Yes, FUTURAMA is EXTREMLY funny! It has the nice advantage of being set in a time where anything could happen...so unlike the Simpsons, whackiness is GOOD.

The jokes are very clever, it has good plot points, and even tried some character development. These are all winners in my book.

If you can, see the series premiere eppy, that's the best. Not to mention explaining many running gags. :)

[Calhoun07]

Futurama is the best animated show in prime time right now. I just wish I could watch it...thank god football season is almost over.

[Wyloms]

Originally posted by Calhoun07
Futurama is the best animated show in prime time right now. I just wish I could watch it...thank god football season is almost over.

I like Futurama but i like football also so I can wait a little longer till it comes back. heh heh

[Craig Marinaro]

I've found the three new episodes this year to be only so-so...not bad, not great. The season premiere had a very daring concept, but it wasn't played well for laughs or for pathos. Out of the three or four subplots going on in that episode, the Fry one was by far the most interesting, and it's sort of a waste that they didn't spend more time with it. Hopefully it'll come up again at some point. And this year's Xmas and "Tales of Interest" episodes were both subpar sequels to two of my favorite episodes. The biggest laughs I got in the "Tales of Interest" episode were the clever throwbacks to last year's edition (someone saying "Goodnight, sweet prince" when Bender dies, Leela becoming evil when she changes her boots, Fry not being able to phrase his question to the machine, etc.).

The show has its ups and downs. I loved some of the episodes last year. "Parasites Lost," "The Day the Earth Stood Stupid," the war episode, the four-leaf clover one, and the skipping-time one, off the top of my head. Perhaps the developments in character in one episode don't evidence themselves in the very next episode--but then, that's not usually how real life works either. Futurama has a long-term memory, which is one of its biggest assets. They'll often bring back elements from a previous episode--i.e., the Kif-Amy romance (which everyone figured they'd just forgotten about after the Titanic episode). Other running gags, such as saying "aks" instead of "ask," or French culture being dead, resurface randomly--much subtler than even The Simpsons in its glory days.

They're obviously putting a lot of work into the show, and while I can see where you're coming from, even my least favorite episodes of the show have been a lot of fun and given me several good belly laughs. The only other show I can think of that I can say that about is F! So I'd feel like an ungrateful Comic Book Guy-type if I started ripping into them.

Speaking of The Simpsons, last night's episode had to be the blandest in recent memory. Even most of the Scully-era eps at least gave me one or two guilty laughs. This one was poorly plotted, the emotion was *really* forced, and the obvious attempt to replace Lionel Hutz with Gil rubbed me the wrong way (Hutz was always one of my absolute favorite characters). Hopefully this one was just a drop in the bucket--the other two Al Jean episodes were pretty enjoyable.

-C
DYN: Ron "Bleeding Gums Murphy" Taylor has passed on. I just saw his name in the credits of last week's episode, too. Not sure who he voiced.