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| Development | 3>
Fox expressed a strong desire in the mid-1990s for Matt Groening to create a new series, and he began conceiving Futurama during this period. In 1996, he enlisted David X. Cohen, then a writer and producer for The Simpsons, to assist in developing the show. The two spent time researching science fiction books, television shows, and films. When they pitched the series to Fox in April 1998, Groening and Cohen had composed many characters and story lines; Groening claimed they had gone "overboard" in their discussions.[10] Groening described trying to get the show on the air as "by far the worst experience of [his] grown-up life."[11]
During that first meeting, Fox ordered thirteen episodes. Immediately after, however, Fox feared the themes of show were not suitable for the network and Groening and Fox executives argued over whether the network would have any creative input into the show.[12] With The Simpsons the network has no input.[13] Fox were particularly disturbed by the concept of suicide booths, Doctor Zoidberg, and Bender's anti-social behaviour.[14] Groening explains, "When they tried to give me notes on Futurama, I just said: 'No, we're going to do this just the way we did Simpsons.' And they said, 'Well, we don't do business that way anymore.' And I said, 'Oh, well, that's the only way I do business.'"[15] The episode "I, Roommate" was produced to address Fox's concerns, with the script written to their specifications.[16][14] Fox strongly disliked the episode, but after negotiations, Groening received the same independence with Futurama.[17]
The name Futurama comes from a pavilion at the 1939 New York World's Fair. Designed by Norman Bel Geddes, the Futurama pavilion depicted how he imagined the world would look in 1959.[18] Many other titles were considered for the series, including "Aloha, Mars!" and "Doomsville", which Groening notes were "resoundly rejected, by everyone concerned with it".[19][20]
It takes approximately six to nine months to produce an episode of Futurama.[21][22] The long production time results in several episodes being worked on simultaneously.[23]
[edit] | Tags:Sitcom,Animation,Science Fiction,Animated Sitcom,Matt Groening,David X. Cohen,Billy West,Katey Sagal,John Dimaggio,Tress Macneille,Maurice Lamarche,Lauren Tom,Phil Lamarr,David Herman,Christopher Tyng,Ken Keeler,Patric M. Verrone,Josh Weinstein,Eric Horsted,Michael Rowe,Dan Vebber,Claudia Katz,The Curiosity Company,20th Century Fox Television,Fox,Comedy Central,480i,4:3,Sdtv,1080i,16:9,Hdtv,Dolby Surround,American,Animated,Fox Broadcasting Company,New York City,Pizza Delivery,Philip J. Fry,Cryogenically,Retro-futuristic,The Simpsons,Reruns,Cartoon Network,Adult Swim,Direct-to-video,20th Century Fox,Seventh Season,Guinness World Record,Annie Awards,Emmy Awards,Writers Guild Of America Award,Godfellas,The Prisoner Of Benda,Nebula Award,Environmental Media Awards,The Problem With Popplers,The Futurama Holiday Spectacular,Tie-in,Comic Book Series,Video Game,Edit,Suicide Booths,Doctor Zoidberg,Bender,I, Roommate,1939 New York World's Fair,Norman Bel Geddes,Futurama Pavilion,Comic-con,Show Runners,List Of Guest Stars On Futurama,Professor Farnsworth,Zapp Brannigan,Charlie Schlatter,Lou Jacobi,George Jessel,Phil Hartman,Leela,Nicole Sullivan,Bender Bending Rodríguez,Slim Pickens,Mom,Kif Kroker,Emmy Award,Outstanding Voice-over Performance,Orson Welles,Lrrreconcilable Ndndifferences,Amy Wong,Hermes Conrad,Philip Fry,Scruffy,Frank Welker,Kath Soucie,Danny Jacobs,Dawnn Lewis,Tom Kenny,Phil Hendrie,Dan Castellaneta,Coolio,Al Gore,Stephen Hawking,Rough Draft Studios,Storyboards,Animatic,Cgi,Spaceships,Explosions,Nebula,Snow,Frames Per Second,Artifacts,Poweranimator,Season 5,Bender's Big Score,Widescreen,Final Episode,Season 6,Fleischer,Walter Lantz,Low-resolution,Japanese,Anime,List Of Futurama Episodes,Cnn,Toronto Star,Newsday,Syndication,Cw,Affiliates,Wgn America,The Devil's Hands Are Idle Playthings,Into The Wild Green Yonder,Overclockwise,Season 7,List Of Characters In Futurama,Delivery Boy,Freeze,Turanga Leela,One-eyed,Planet Express Ship,Orphanarium,Alien,Leela's Homeworld,Turangalîla-symphonie,Olivier Messiaen,Foul-mouthed,Heavy-drinking,Kleptomaniacal,Robot,Mom's Friendly Robot Company,Roommate,Professor Hubert J. Farnsworth,Mad Scientist,Cubert Farnsworth,Dr. John A. Zoidberg,Lobster,Decapod 10,Physician,Intern, Executive producers | 3>
David X. Cohen and Matt Groening at the Futurama panel of Comic-Con 2009.
Matt Groening and David X. Cohen have served as executive producers and show runners during the show's entire run, and also function as creative consultants. Ken Keeler became an executive producer for Season 4 and subsequent seasons.
[edit] | Tags: Writing | 3>
The planning for each episode begins with a table meeting of writers, who discuss the plot ideas as a group. A single staff writer writes an outline and then produces a script. Once the first draft of a script is finished, the writers and executive producers call in the actors to do a table read.[12] After this script reading, the writers collaborate to rewrite the script as a group before eventually sending it to the animation team.[24] At this point the voice recording is also started and the script is out of the writers' hands.[22]
[edit] | Tags: Voice actors | 3>
See also: List of guest stars on Futurama
Futurama has eight main cast members. Billy West performs the voices of Philip J. Fry, Professor Farnsworth, Doctor Zoidberg, Zapp Brannigan and many other incidental characters. West auditioned for "just about every part", landing the roles of the Professor and Doctor Zoidberg.[25] Although West read for Fry, his friend Charlie Schlatter was given the role of Fry.[25] Due to a casting change, West was called back to audition again and was promptly awarded the role. West claims that the voice of Fry is deliberately modeled on his own, so as to make it difficult for another person to replicate the voice.[25] Doctor Zoidberg's voice is based on Lou Jacobi and George Jessel.[26] The character of Zapp Brannigan was originally created and intended to be performed by Phil Hartman.[25][26] Hartman insisted on auditioning for the role, and "just nailed it" according to Matt Groening. Due to Hartman's death, West was subsequently given the role. West states that his version of Zapp Brannigan is an imitation of Hartman and also "modeled after a couple of big dumb announcers I knew."[25][26]
Katey Sagal voices exclusively Leela, and is the only member of the main cast to voice only one character. The role of Leela was originally assigned to Nicole Sullivan.[25] In an interview in June 2010, Sagal remarked that she did not know that another person was to originally voice Leela until many years after the show first began; going on to state that she is still unaware who the original voice actor even is.[27]
John DiMaggio performs the voice of the robot Bender Bending Rodríguez and other, more minor, characters. Bender was the most difficult character to cast, as the show's creators had not decided what a robot should sound like.[28] DiMaggio originally auditioned for the role of Professor Farnsworth, using the voice he uses to perform Bender, and also auditioned for Bender using a different voice.[29] DiMaggio describes Bender's voice as a combination of a sloppy drunk, Slim Pickens and a character his college friend created named "Charlie the sausage-lover".[27]
Tress MacNeille voices Mom and various other characters. Maurice LaMarche voices Kif Kroker and several supporting characters. LaMarche won the Emmy Award for Outstanding Voice-Over Performance in 2011 for his performances as Lrrr and Orson Welles in the episode "Lrrreconcilable Ndndifferences".[30]. Lauren Tom voices Amy Wong, and Phil LaMarr voices Hermes Conrad. David Herman voices Scruffy and various supporting characters. During seasons 1-4, LaMarche is billed as supporting cast and Tom, LaMarr and Herman billed as guest stars, despite appearing in most episodes. LaMarche is promoted to main cast and Tom, LaMarr and Herman to supporting cast in Season 5, and promoted again to main cast in Season 6.
Main cast members
Billy West
Katey Sagal
John DiMaggio
Tress MacNeille
Maurice LaMarche
Lauren Tom
Phil LaMarr
David Herman
Philip Fry, Professor Farnsworth, Doctor Zoidberg, Zapp Brannigan, various
Leela
Bender, various
Mom, various
Kif Kroker, various
Amy Wong, various
Hermes Conrad, various
Scruffy, various
In addition to the main cast: Frank Welker, who voices Nibbler; Kath Soucie; and Danny Jacobs voice supporting and minor characters. Like The Simpsons, many episodes of Futurama feature guest voices from a wide range of professions, including: actors, entertainers, bands, musicians, and scientists. Many guests stars voice supporting characters, although many voice themselves; usually as their own head preserved in a jar. Recurring guest stars include: Dawnn Lewis, Tom Kenny, Phil Hendrie, Dan Castellaneta, Coolio, Al Gore, and Stephen Hawking, among others.
[edit] | Tags: Animation | 3>
Computer-generated explosion in Futurama
Rough Draft Studios animates Futurama. The studio receives the completed script of an episode and storyboards it into over 100 drawings. It then creates a pencil-drawn animatic with 1000 frames. Rough Draft's sister studio in South Korea renders the 30,000-frame finished episode.[12]
In addition to traditional cartoon drawing, Rough Draft Studios often uses CGI for fast or complex shots, such as the movement of spaceships, explosions, nebula, and snow scenes. The opening sequence is entirely rendered in CGI. The CGI is rendered at 24 frames per second (as opposed to hand-drawn often done at 12 frames per second) and the lack of artifacts makes the animation appear very smooth and fluid. CGI characters look slightly different due to spatially "cheating" hand-drawn characters by drawing slightly out of proportion or off-perspective features to emphasize traits of the face or body, improving legibility of an expression. PowerAnimator is used to draw the comic-like CGI.[31]
The series began high-definition production in Season 5, with Bender's Big Score. The opening sequence was re-rendered and scaled to adapt to the show's transition to 16:9 widescreen format.
For the final episode of Season 6, Futurama is completely reanimated in three different styles: the first segment of the episode features black-and-white Fleischer and Walter Lantz style animation, the second is drawn in the style of a low-resolution video game, and the final segment is in a style of Japanese anime.[32]
[edit] | Tags: Cancellation and revival | 3>
See also: List of Futurama episodes
Groening and Cohen wanted Futurama to be shown at 8:30pm on Sunday, following The Simpsons. The Fox network disagreed, opting instead to show two episodes in the Sunday night lineup before moving the show to a regular time slot on Tuesday.[33] Beginning with its second broadcast season Futurama was again placed in the 8:30 Sunday spot,[34] but by mid-season the show was moved again, this time to 7:00 p.m. on Sunday, its third position in under a year.[35]
Even by the fourth season Futurama was still being aired erratically.[36] This was parodied in the opening sequence of the last episode of Season 4 with a picture of Fry, Leela, and Bender captioned "See You On Some Other Channel." Due to being regularly pre-empted by sporting events, it became difficult to predict when new episodes would air. This erratic schedule resulted in Fox not airing several episodes that had been produced for seasons three and four, instead holding them over for a fifth broadcast season. Fox executives were also not supporters of the show.[37] Although Futurama was never officially cancelled, midway through the production of the fourth season, Fox decided to stop buying episodes of Futurama, letting it go out of production before the fall 2003 lineup.[38][39]
In 2005, Comedy Central acquired the syndication rights to Futurama.[40] During the negotiations, Comedy Central discussed the possibility of producing new episodes. In 2006, it was announced that four straight-to-DVD films would be produced, and later split into 16 episodes comprising a new season.[41] Since no new Futurama projects were in production at the time of release, the final movie release Into the Wild Green Yonder was designed to stand as the Futurama series finale. However, Groening had expressed a desire to continue the franchise in some form, including as a theatrical film.[42] In an interview with CNN, Groening said that "we have a great relationship with Comedy Central and we would love to do more episodes for them, but I don't know... We're having discussions and there is some enthusiasm but I can't tell if it's just me."[43]
In June, 2009, 20th Century Fox announced that Comedy Central had picked up the show for 26 new half-hour episodes that began airing on June 24, 2010.[44][45][46] The returning writing crew was smaller than the original crew.[47] It was originally announced that main voice actors West, DiMaggio, and Sagal would return as well, but on July 17, 2009, it was announced that a casting notice was posted to replace the entire cast when 20th Century Fox Television would not meet their salary demands.[48] The situation was later resolved, and the entire original voice-cast returned for the new episodes. The dispute had stopped the original actors from appearing on the Futurama panel for Comic-Con 2009, to the disappointment of fans.[49]
Near the end of a message from Maurice LaMarche sent to members of the "Save the Voices of Futurama" group on Facebook, LaMarche announced that the original cast would be returning for the new episodes.[50] The Toronto Star confirmed, announcing on their website that the original cast of Futurama signed contracts with Fox to return for 26 more episodes.[51] Similarly, an email sent to fans from Cohen and Groening reported that West, Sagal, DiMaggio, LaMarche, MacNeille, Tom, LaMarr, and Herman would all be returning for the revival.[52]
Cohen told Newsday in August 2009 that the reported 26-episode order means "[i]t will be up to 26. I can't guarantee it will be 26. But I think there's a pretty good chance it'll be exactly 26. Fox has been a little bit cagey about it, even internally. But nobody's too concerned. We're plunging ahead".[53] Two episodes were in the process of being voice-recorded at that time, with an additional "six scripts ... in the works, ranging in scale from 'it's a crazy idea that someone's grandmother thought of' to 'it's all on paper'.[53]
When Futurama aired June 24, 2010, on Comedy Central, it helped the network to its highest-rated night in 2010 and its highest-rated Thursday primetime in the network's history.[54] The show has since been renewed for a seventh season, consisting of at least 26 episodes, scheduled to air in 2012 and 2013.[5]
In July 2011, it was reported that the show has been picked up for syndication by both CW affiliates and WGN America. Broadcast of old episodes began in September 2011.[55] On September 19, 2011, WGN America began re-running Futurama, and now airs the series weeknights at 1:30a ET and 2a ET, and on Saturday nights at 3:30a ET.[56] Futurama has since doubled its viewership in syndication.[57]
In March 2011, it was announced that Futurama has been renewed for a seventh season, consisting of at least 26 episodes, scheduled to air in 2012 and 2013.[5][6] The first episode of season 7 is set to premier June 20, 2012 on Comedy Central.[58]
Due to the uncertain future of the series, there have been three designated series finales. "The Devil's Hands are Idle Playthings", Into the Wild Green Yonder and "Overclockwise" have all been written to serve as a final episode for the show.[59][60] Comedy Central does not have to make a decision on continuing the series beyond Season 7 until 2013.[61] Fox has announced that they may consider airing Futurama again if the show remains successful on Comedy Central.[62]
[edit] | Tags: Characters | 2>
Further information: List of characters in Futurama
Futurama is essentially a workplace sitcom, the plot of which revolves around the Planet Express interplanetary delivery company and its employees,[63] a small group that largely fails to conform to future society.[64] Episodes usually feature the central trio of Fry, Leela, and Bender, though storylines centered on the other main characters are common.
Philip J. Fry (Billy West)
Fry is a dim-witted, immature, slovenly, yet good-hearted pizza delivery boy who falls into a cryogenic pod, causing it to activate and freeze him just after midnight on January 1, 2000. He re-awakens on New Year's Eve, 2999, and gets a job as a cargo delivery boy at Planet Express, a company owned by his only living relative, Professor Hubert J. Farnsworth. Fry's love for Leela is a recurring theme throughout the series.
Turanga Leela (Katey Sagal)
Leela is the competent, one-eyed captain of the Planet Express Ship.[63] Abandoned as a baby, she grew up in the Cookieville Minimum Security Orphanarium believing herself to be an alien from another planet, but learns that she is actually a mutant from the sewers in the episode "Leela's Homeworld".[65] Prior to becoming the ship's captain, Leela worked as a career assignment officer at the cryogenics lab where she first met Fry. She is Fry's primary love interest. Her name is a reference to the Turangalîla-Symphonie by Olivier Messiaen.[66]
Bender Bending Rodríguez (John DiMaggio)
Bender is a foul-mouthed, heavy-drinking, cigar-smoking, kleptomaniacal, misanthropic, egocentric, ill-tempered robot manufactured by Mom's Friendly Robot Company. He was originally programmed to bend girders for suicide booths, and is later designated as assistant sales manager and cook, despite lacking a sense of taste. He is Fry's best friend and roommate.
Professor Hubert J. Farnsworth (Billy West)
Professor Hubert Farnsworth, also known simply as "the Professor," is Fry's distant nephew.[67] Farnsworth founded Planet Express Inc. to fund his work as a mad scientist. Although he is depicted as a brilliant scientist and inventor, at more than one-hundred and sixty years old he is extremely prone to age-related forgetfulness and fits of temper. In the episode "A Clone of My Own," the Professor clones himself to produce a successor, Cubert Farnsworth, whom he treats like a son.
Dr. John A. Zoidberg (Billy West)
Zoidberg is a lobster-like alien from the planet Decapod 10, and the neurotic staff physician of Planet Express. Although he claims to be an expert on humans, his knowledge of human anatomy and physiology is woefully inaccurate. Zoidberg's expertise seems to be with extra-terrestrial creatures. He is homeless, penniless, and—despite being depicted as Professor Farnsworth's long-time friend—held in contempt by everyone on the crew, except Fry.
Amy Wong (Lauren Tom)
Amy is an incredibly rich, blunt, spoiled, ditzy, and accident-prone long-term intern at Planet Express. She is an engineering student at Mars University and heiress to the western hemisphere of Mars. Born on Mars, she is ethnically Chinese and is prone to cursing in Cantonese and using 31st-century slang. Her parents are the wealthy ranchers Leo and Inez Wong. She is promiscuous in the beginning of the series and eventually enters a monogamous relationship with Kif Kroker. In the show's sixth season, she acquires her doctorate.
Hermes Conrad (Phil LaMarr)
Hermes is the Jamaican accountant of Planet Express. A 36th-level bureaucrat (demoted to level 37 during the series) and proud of it, he is a stickler for regulation and enamored of the tedium of paperwork and bureaucracy. Hermes is also a former champion in Olympic Limbo, a sport derived from the popular party activity. He gave up limbo after the 2980 Olympics when a young fan, imitating him, broke his back and died. Hermes has a wife, LaBarbara, and a 12-year-old son, Dwight.
Zapp Brannigan (Billy West)
Zapp Brannigan is the incompetent, extraordinarily vain captain of the DOOP starship Nimbus. He is a satirical pastiche of Captain Kirk and William Shatner. Although Leela thoroughly detests him, Brannigan—a self-deluded lady's man—pursues her relentlessly, often at great personal risk. Brannigan was dishonorably dismissed from the DOOP in Brannigan Begin Again but was reinstated in the same episode. He was originally going to be voiced by Phil Hartman, but Hartman died before production could begin.
Kif Kroker (Maurice LaMarche)
Zapp Brannigan's 4th Lieutenant and long-suffering personal assistant, Kif is a member of the amphibious species that inhabits the planet Amphibios 9. Although extremely timid, he eventually works up the courage to date Amy. Kif is often shown sighing in disgust at the nonsensical rantings of his commanding officer.
Mom (Tress MacNeille)
Mom is the malevolent, foul-mouthed, cruel, and narcissistic owner of MomCorp, the thirtieth century's largest shipping and manufacturing company, with a monopoly on robots. In public, she maintains the image of a sweet, kindly old woman by speaking in stereotypically antiquated statements and wearing a mechanical fat suit. She occasionally launches insidious plans for world domination and corporate takeover. She has a romantic history with the Professor which left her bitter and resentful. She has three bumbling sons, Walt, Larry, and Igner (modeled after the Three Stooges), who do her bidding despite frequent abuse, and often infuriate her with their incompetence. In Bender's Game, it is revealed that Igner's father is Professor Farnsworth.
Nibbler (Frank Welker)
Nibbler is Leela's pet Nibblonian, whom she rescued from an imploding planet and adopted early in the series. Despite his deceptively cute exterior, Nibbler is actually a highly intelligent super-being whose race is responsible for maintaining order in the universe. He is revealed in "The Why of Fry" to have been directly responsible for Fry's cryogenic freezing. While the size of an average house cat, his race is capable of devouring much larger animals. He defecates dark matter, which until Bender's Game is used as fuel for space cruisers in the series.
[edit] | Tags: Setting | 2>
Fry's first glimpse of New New York City
Futurama is set in New New York at the turn of the 31st century, in a time filled with technological wonders. The city of New New York has been built over the ruins of present-day New York City, referred to as "Old New York." Various devices and architecture are similar to the Populuxe style. Global warming, inflexible bureaucracy, and substance abuse are a few of the subjects given a 31st-century exaggeration in a world where the problems have become both more extreme and more common. Just as New York has become a more extreme version of itself in the future, other Earth locations are given the same treatment; Los Angeles, for example, is depicted as a smog-filled apocalyptic wasteland.
Numerous technological advances have been made between the present day and the 31st century. The ability to keep heads alive in jars was invented by Ron Popeil (who has a guest cameo in "A Big Piece of Garbage"), which has resulted in many historical figures and current celebrities being present, including Groening himself; this became the writers' device to feature and poke fun at contemporary celebrities in the show. Curiously, several of the preserved heads shown are those of people who were already dead well before the advent of this technology; one of the most prominent examples of this anomaly is frequent Earth president Richard Nixon, who died in 1994. The heads also appear to be in the age that the individual was most famous and not the older age in which they died. The Internet, while being fully immersive and encompassing all senses — even featuring its own digital world (similar to Tron or The Matrix) — is slow and largely consists of pornography, pop-up ads, and "filthy" (or Filthy Filthy) chat rooms. Some of it is edited to include educational material ostensibly for youth. Television is still a primary form of entertainment. Self-aware robots are a common sight, and are the main cause of global warming thanks to their alcohol-powered systems. The wheel is obsolete (no one but Fry even seems to recognize the design),[68] having been forgotten and replaced by hover cars and a network of large, clear pneumatic transportation tubes.
Environmentally, common animals still remain, alongside mutated, cross-bred (sometimes with humans) and extraterrestrial animals. Ironically, Spotted Owls are often shown to have replaced rats as common household pests. Although rats still exist, sometimes rats act like pigeons. Pigeons still exist, as well. Pine trees, anchovies and poodles have been extinct for 800 years. Earth still suffers the effects of greenhouse gases, although in one episode Leela states that its effects have been counteracted by nuclear winter. In another episode, the effects of global warming have been somewhat mitigated by the dropping of a giant ice cube into the ocean, and later by pushing Earth farther away from the sun.
Futurama's setting is a backdrop, and the writers are not above committing continuity errors if they serve to further the gags. For example, while the pilot episode implies that the previous Planet Express crew was killed by a space wasp, the later episode "The Sting" is based on the crew having been killed by space bees instead.[69] The "world of tomorrow" setting is used to highlight and lampoon issues of today and to parody the science fiction genre.[70]
[edit] | Tags: Themes | 2>
Earth is depicted as being multicultural to the extent that a wide range of human, robot, and extraterrestrial beings interact with the primary characters. In some ways the future is depicted as being more socially advanced than Fry's, and therefore the audience's, reality. However, it is often shown to have many of the same types of problems, challenges, mistakes, and prejudices as the present.
Robots make up the largest "minority". Most robots are self-aware and have been granted freedom and self-determination, but while a few are depicted as wealthy members of the upper class, they are often treated as second-class citizens.[68] Likewise, robot–human relationships (termed "robosexual") are stigmatized,[71] and robot–human marriages are initially depicted as illegal.[72] Sewer mutants are mutated humans who must live in the sewers by law. They are initially depicted as holding urban legend status and regarded as fictional by most members of the public. This was contradicted by later episodes that depict Earth society as having enforced laws regarding mutants. However, since the conclusion of Season Six, mutants have been granted full status as citizens and are therefore granted the same rights to surface use as normal humans.
Religion is still a prominent part of society, although the dominant religions have evolved. A merging of the major religious groups of the 20th century has resulted in the First Amalgamated Church,[73] while Voodoo is now mainstream. New religions include Oprahism, Robotology, and the banned religion of Star Trek fandom. Religious figures include Father Changstein-El-Gamal, the Robot Devil, Reverend Preacherbot, and passing references to the Space Pope, who appears to be a large crocodile-like creature. While very few episodes focus exclusively on religion within the Futurama universe, they do cover a wide variety of subjects including predestination, prayer, the nature of salvation, and religious conversion.[73]
Earthican flag, "Ol' Freebie"
Earth has a unified government headed by the President of Earth. Richard Nixon's head is elected to the position in Season Two, and holds the office in subsequent episodes. Earth's capital is Washington, D.C., and the flag of Earth is similar in design to the flag of the United States, with the western hemisphere displayed in place of the fifty stars. The show is set mostly in the former United States, and other parts of the world are rarely shown. Citizens of Earth are referred to as "Earthicans," and English is shown to be the primary language of almost every sentient species.
The Democratic Order of Planets (D.O.O.P.) has been compared to both the United Nations and the United Federation of Planets of the Star Trek universe.[74] Numerous other galaxies have been colonized or have made contact by the year 3000. Mars has been terraformed and is home to Mars University, Mars Vegas, and tribes similar to Native Americans, though they departed upon learning that the "worthless bead" they traded their land for (the Martian surface) was actually a giant diamond worth a fortune, deciding to buy another planet and act like it is sacred.
A derivative of baseball, called blernsball, is played, and the New New York Mets, a laughingstock of the league, still play in Shea Stadium. A New New York Yankees team also exists.
Due to the fact that the world of Fry's time was destroyed, much of the knowledge of history before then was lost. In the 31st century, facts gathered by archaeologists are portrayed as grossly inaccurate. For example, in "The Lesser of Two Evils", the theme park "Past-O-Rama" presents a history in which 20th-century car factories had "primitive robot" assembly lines in which cars were not assembled by giant robotic welding arms, but by robots dressed like stereotypical cavemen. Another example comes from "The Series Has Landed", in which knowledge of the Moon Landing has been lost for centuries. As a result, archaeologists came to the conclusion that the idea to go to the moon came from the infamous quote from The Honeymooners.
[edit] | Tags: Opening sequence | 3>
Much like the opening sequence in The Simpsons with its chalkboard, sax solo, and couch gags, Futurama has a distinctive opening sequence featuring minor gags. As the show begins, blue lights fill the screen and the Planet Express ship flies across the screen with the title of the show being spelled out in its wake. Underneath the title is a joke caption such as "Painstakingly drawn in front of a live studio audience." or "When you see the robot: DRINK!"[75] After flying through downtown New New York and past various recurring characters, the Planet Express ship crashes into a large screen showing a short clip from a classic cartoon. These have included clips from Looney Tunes shorts, cartoons produced by Max Fleischer, a short of The Simpsons from a Tracey Ullman episode,[76] and the show's own opening sequence in "The Devil's Hands Are Idle Playthings". Most episodes in Season 6 use an abridged opening sequence, omitting the brief clip of a classic cartoon. Several episodes begin with a cold opening before the opening sequence, although these scenes do not always correspond with the episode's plot. The opening sequence has been lampooned several times within the show, in episodes including "That's Lobstertainment!", "The Problem with Popplers", as "Future-roma" in "The Duh-Vinci Code" and as "Futurella" in "Lrrreconcilable Ndndifferences".
Series director Scott Vanzo has remarked on the difficulty of animating the sequence. It took four to five weeks to fully animate the sequence, and it consists of over 80 levels of 3D animation composited together.[77] It takes approximately one hour to render a single frame, and each second of the sequence consists of around 30 frames.[78]
Bender's Big Score has an extended opening sequence, introducing each of the main characters. In The Beast with a Billion Backs and Bender's Game the ship passes through the screen's glass and temporarily becomes part of the environment depicted therein—a pastiche of Disney's Steamboat Willie and Yellow Submarine respectively—before crashing through the screen glass on the way out. In Into the Wild Green Yonder, a completely different opening sequence involves a trip through a futuristic version of Las Vegas located on Mars. The theme tune is sung by Seth MacFarlane and is different from the standard theme tune. The end of the film incorporates a unique variation of the opening sequence; as the Planet Express ship enters a wormhole, it converts into a pattern of lights similar to the lights that appear in the opening sequence.
The Futurama theme was created by Christopher Tyng. The theme is played on the tubular bells but is occasionally remixed for use in specific episodes, including a version by the Beastie Boys used for the episode "Hell Is Other Robots", in which they guest starred.[75] The theme also samples a drum break originating from "Amen, Brother" by American soul group The Winstons; however, the drum break is replaced in Season 6. A remixed rendition of the theme is used in Season 5, which features altered instruments and a lower pitch. Season 6 also uses this remix, but it has been reduced again in pitch and tempo. The theme has been noted for its similarities to Pierre Henry's Psyché Rock (1967).[79]
It was originally intended for the Futurama theme to be remixed in every episode.[80] This was first trialled in the opening sequence for "Mars University", however it was realized upon broadcast that the sound did not transmit well through most television sets and the idea was subsequently abandoned.[81] Despite this, beatbox renditions of the theme performed by Billy West and John DiMaggio are used for the episodes "Bender Should Not Be Allowed on Television" and "Spanish Fry".
[edit] | Tags: Language | 3>
Alien Language 1 and its equivalent Latin characters
There are three alternative alphabets that appear often in the background of episodes, usually in the forms of graffiti, advertisements, or warning labels. Nearly all messages using alternative scripts transliterate directly into English. The first alphabet consists of abstract characters and is referred to as Alienese,[65] a simple substitution cipher from the Latin alphabet.[82] The second alphabet uses a more complex modular addition code, where the "next letter is given by the summation of all previous letters plus the current letter."[83] The codes often provide additional jokes for fans dedicated enough to decode the messages.[70] The third language sometimes used is Hebrew. Aside from these alphabets, most of the displayed wording on the show uses the Latin alphabet.
Several English expressions have evolved since the present day. For example, the word Christmas has been replaced with Xmas (pronounced "ex-mas"), and the word ask with aks (pronounced axe). According to David X. Cohen it is a running joke that the French language is extinct in the Futurama universe (though the culture remains alive), much like Latin is in the present.[84] In the French dubbing of the show, German is used as the extinct language instead.
[edit] | Tags: Humor | 3>
Futurama's original spoof closing logo for "30th Century Fox".
Although the series uses a wide range of styles of humor, including self-deprecation, black comedy, off-color humor, slapstick, and surreal humor, its primary source of comedy is its satirical depiction of everyday life in the future and its parodical comparisons to the present.[63] Matt Groening notes that, from the show's conception, his goal was to make what was, on the surface, a goofy comedy that would have underlying "legitimate literary science fiction concepts."[85] The series contrasted "low culture" and "high culture" comedy; for example, Bender's catchphrase is the insult "Bite my shiny metal ass" while his most terrifying nightmare is a vision of the number 2, a joke referencing the binary numeral system (Fry assures him, "there's no such thing as two.").[63]
The series developed a cult following partially due to the large number of in-jokes it contains, most of which are aimed at "nerds."[63] In commentary on the DVD releases, David X. Cohen points out and sometimes explains his "nerdiest joke[s]."[86] These included mathematical jokes — such as "Loew's -plex" (aleph-null-plex) movie theater,[86] — as well as various forms of science humor — for example, Professor Farnsworth, at a racetrack, complains about the use of a quantum finish to decide the winner "No fair! You changed the outcome by measuring it," a reference to the observer effect in quantum mechanics.[87] In the season six episode "Law and Oracle", Fry and the robot peace officer URL track down a traffic violator who turns out to be Erwin Schrödinger, the 20th century quantum physicist. On the front seat of the car is a box, and when questioned about the contents, Schrödinger replies "A cat, some poison, and a Caesium atom." Fry asks if the cat is alive or dead, and Schrodinger answers "It's a superposition of both states until you open the box and collapse the wave function." The run is a reference to the Schrödinger's cat thought experiment of quantum mechanics. The series makes passing references to quantum chromodynamics (the appearance of Strong Force-brand glue),[88] computer science (two separate books in a closet labeled P and NP respectively, referring to the possibility that P and NP-complete problem classes are distinct),[89] electronics (an X-ray — or more accurately, an "F-ray" — of Bender's head reveals a 6502 microprocessor),[90] and genetics (a mention of Bender's "robo- or R-NA").[91] The show often features subtle references to classic science fiction. These are most often to Star Trek — many soundbites are used in homage[63] — but also include the reference to the origin of the word robot made in the name of the robot-dominated planet Chapek 9,[92] and the black rectangular monolith labeled "Out of Order" in orbit around Jupiter (a reference to Arthur C. Clarke's Space Odyssey series).[93] Bender and Fry sometimes watch a television show called The Scary Door, a humorous pastiche of The Twilight Zone.[94]
Journalist/critic Frank Lovece in Newsday contrasted the humor tradition of Groening's two series, finding that, "The Simpsons echoes the strains of American-Irish vaudeville humor — the beer-soaked, sneaking-in-late-while-the-wife's-asleep comedy of Harrigan and Hart, McNulty and Murray, the Four Cohans (which, yes, included George M.) and countless others: knockabout yet sentimental, and ultimately about the bonds of blood family. Futurama, conversely, stems from Jewish-American humor, and not just in the obvious archetype of Dr. Zoidberg. From vaudeville to the Catskills to | Tags: Sitcom,Animation,Websites related to: Crash Racing Crash Racing |