See, once upon a time, there was a great cartoon show on FOX. Actually, there were a couple cartoon shows on FOX: The Simpsons, King of the Hill, Family Guy, and Futurama (�IT JUST WON�T STAY DEAD!�) With the exception of Futurama, all of the other cartoon shows on FOX blew monkey goats (by which I mean they suck*).
In the case of Futurama and Family Guy, both were canceled by the fucking moronic assholes at FOX (which, by the way, stands for �Network Idiots�). However, thanks to the Miracle of The Modern Age, TV Shows on DVD, both shows were granted reprieves: Family Guy was brought back to television as a weekly series (I have no idea why, with the exception of the occasional brilliant parody of the best sci-fi movie series ever, that show blows monkey goats), while Futurama has been brought back as four straight-to-DVD movies, the first of which, Bender�s Big Score, was released today on DVD.
Long story short: Bender travels back in time on behalf of evil nudist aliens to rob Earth�s riches and kill Fry. There�s also a lot of small side plots � Hermes chops off his head, Leela has a romantic interest. Oh, yeah, there�s a lot of time-traveling parodoxical stuff (that really makes my head hurt, even though the Globetrotters work out the mathematical stuff.)
There�s an epic scope to this movie, particularly in the sense that a lot of major and minor characters from the show�s run return. All of the original cast returns (by which I mean the voice actors, of course!), and the opening sequence is slightly changed: every character is highlighted, and the monitor that the Planet Express crashes into is playing a scene from the series� first episode. The FOX executives are � deservedly!!! � well bashed for being, y�know, stupid. Kitten-class ships fly into combat, The Robot Devil plays a wedding, Fry has a tattoo of Bender on his ass, Amy and Leela have a naked scene (well, and so do Zoidberg, Farnsworth** and Fry), and the good guys team up with Evil Santa to defeat a fleet of gold-plated Death Stars.
Everything turns out okay, of course. Well, I mean � �okay� might not be the word. �We�re boned!� Bender says. Meanwhile, I did indeed start to tear up � just a tad � at the end. �Cuz I�m a sap.
I�m looking forward to getting to watch the commentary track. The commentaries on the episodes are one of the best features of the season sets � they really are, you should check �em out if you haven�t already.
Coming Next (probably in May): Futurama - The Beast With A Billion Backs
*Yes, even The Simpsons, which hasn�t been funny since, like, before I had double-digits in my age.
**And I�d been eating, too �
(Just as a side note, you would not imagine how disturbing it is to do a Google image search for FUTURAMA with the safe-mode turned off�)
posted
I was recently placed in the uncomfortable position of admitting that American Dad is now the best animated program on Fox. Family Guy is still funny, but has gotten so inbred and self-referential (AND has a lot of overly-long jokes that just aren't funny) that I don't mind when I see American Dad first. And yes, it's been years since I've really enjoyed The Simpsons, and King of the Hill doesn't really warrant existing IMO.
All that is about to change, as soon as I can stop in at the shop and pick up this DVD. I've read in some reviews that the new Futurama is also mostly fan-oriented and that not many new fans would be won if they started here... But I've also read that for the Futurama fan, this is a must-have of the highest order. Better still, I understand that this movie is very much a movie in pacing and length, unlike the Family Guy "movie" which was really just three separate episodes sticthed together with additional material (which, to their credit, they admitted to doing in a cut scene from a later episode).
Teh PW
Self Impossed Exile (This Space for rent)
Member # 1203
posted
That's nice, dear...
Now if you have any Bender skins for CS:source for me to forever replace the T L33t, then we'll take you back to your mother in Uguanda, Kentucky...
Maybe.
(I was hoping for a new season of F, not more DVD's, silly)
Registered: Jan 2004
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Daniel Butler
I'm a Singapore where is my boat
Member # 1689
posted
I would indeed know how disturbing it is to search for Futurama with the safe mode off. I would indeed. That's why I had to get artificial corneas. (I don't really have artificial corneas, btw.)
I disagree about Family Guy, although I have to say that each individual episode was a flip of the coin as to whether it was funny or not. I do agree that the Simpsons lost Teh Funny a long time ago and now just seems to be boring.
Now to the *point* - FUTURAMAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!!! God I love that show, and I didn't know the DVD was out already, I hope to God Blockbuster still has a copy, cuz I don't want to spend money to actually buy it but I will if I'm forced to.
And don't worry about being a sap - I teared up during a scene in Lord of the fraggin' Rings. Can anyone scream NERD? (V for Vendetta also makes me cry at the end...but I maintain with fierce determination that anyone who doesn't is a fascist.)
Edit: Oooh, dangling modifier. Sorry, I meant, "I maintain that anyone who doesn't cry at the end is a fascist." Sorry, everybody! < / Family Guy reference >
Registered: Jul 2005
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posted
Well this is good to know, though I don't think I'll buy. Maybe I'll rent it. Also didn't I hear at some point they would air these movies on teh TV.
Yeah about that safe search:
AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!
Registered: Feb 2005
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Da_bang80
A few sectors short of an Empire
Member # 528
posted
I found Family guy to be not bad, but the real long run on jokes really kill it, they're not bad in some episodes, but others, it makes me change the channel. The Simpsons doesn't even interest me anymore, and American Dad felt too much like Family Guy for me to ever enjoy it. So basically my points already been made for me. (thanks guys) I was just putting my own spin on it.
Futurama is just plain great. And I'm pleased that there will be some new stuff.
There's this other show that I really like, I'm embarrassed to admit to it because it's a "kids" show, but I like it anyways. (Hey, flying motorcycles are always #1 in my book) It's called Stormhawks, and I know I'm probably going to get laughed at for liking it. The show does have kind of a corny aspect to it that I will admit to, but I like the animation, kind of a 3d cell shaded thing. If you ever played Wind Waker you'll see what I mean. It's a welcome change from all the anime crap we get bombarded with, and it's got kind of a Star Wars-esque kind of feel to it.
So there, I've bared my soul, I await your jabs.
quote:Originally posted by Daniel Butler: [QB] (V for Vendetta also makes me cry at the end...but I maintain with fierce determination that anyone who doesn't is a fascist.)
Well, I guess I'm a fascist. A stoned fascist... Wow, you guys are in trouble...
-------------------- Grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change. The courage to change the things I cannot accept. And the wisdom to hide the bodies of all the people I had to kill today because they pissed me off.
In anycase, Gattaca almost made me cry. Once.
Registered: Feb 2005
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Daniel Butler
I'm a Singapore where is my boat
Member # 1689
posted
mmm...saw that...I must've been pretty young...*struggles to remember it* Designer babies? Somebody pretends to be genetically superior but he really isn't? Some guy in a wheelchair that helps him? That the one?
Registered: Jul 2005
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