I'm already posting again. Why? Because today my job entails sitting behind a lighting console and making sure the lights don't go out for 12 or 13 hours. So I thought I'd talk about Futurama.
I remember when Futurama premiered on Fox. It was pretty highly anticipated where I lived. In my high school we had televised announcements. The day after the premiere the opening sequence featuring the Planet Express spaceship flying through New New York was on the announcements. I watched the show a few times before deciding it was a disappointment that did not live up to its predecessor The Simpsons. At this point you should realize that in high school I was kind of an idiot.
I'm a totally different idiot now. I started watching Futurama on Adult Swim four years ago and I had trouble figuring out why I didn't like the show when it began. It dawned on me that the first season was spent getting used to the atmosphere of the show. I've noticed the same thing in most animated shows. It seems to take about one season for the voice actors to really get into their characters. Futurama was still funny its first season, but it didn't feel as natural and polished as the later seasons. And it is these later seasons that, in my opinion, Futurama became a better show than the Simpsons ever has been and here's why: When Futurama aimed for sentimentality, it actually worked.
Simpsons occasionally pulled of some moments that I have no better way of describing as sweet. Futurama on the other hand has a couple of episodes that almost leave me in tears. tears never actually leave my tear ducts because my Dad's the type of guy who doesn't let his emotions come through like that and that trait passed on to me through either genetics or emulation on my part. That said, I'll lay out my policy on crying for men and women: Be a man, ya wuss. Almost crying is okay though.
This post has rambled on long enough so I'll just list two episodes that really get me on the edge of crying and revealing to the world how much of a wuss I am. The ending of the episode "Jurassic Bark" which follows Fry's attempt to clone his fossilized dog. The show bounces back and forth between contemporary New York and New York 1,000 years in the future. The flashback sequences show us Fry's relationship with Seymour while in the future, Bender becomes jealous of Fry's attention to his soon to be reanimated pet. Spoiler alert I guess. In the end of the episode, Fry finds out his dog lived a full life after he was frozen and decides not to clone the dog supposing Seymour had forgotten him. After that, we are treated to a time lapse of Seymour waiting the rest of his life in front of the pizza place Fry worked hoping his owner will return. It's probably one of the saddest things ever.
Another episode that really gets me is "The Luck of the Fryrish" which follows Fry in an attempt to reclaim his septuple leaf clover. The clover always gave Fry good luck. The episode plays out like the "Jurassic Bark" episode. Fry searches for the clover in future New York while flashbacks detail the many lucky things that happened to him in the past whenever he had the clover on his person. The flashbacks also explore the relationship between Fry and his older brother, Yancy, and their continual sibling rivalry. Despite being the older sibling, Yancy was constantly copying Fry. In the future, Fry finds out that Yancy apparently stole Fry's clover and identity after Fry's disappearance. Fry sets out to find his brother's grave in order to reclaim his lucky clover. I won't rehearse the ending for this one, but I will say it is probably one of the most heartwarming things I've ever seen on television.
I remember when Futurama premiered on Fox. It was pretty highly anticipated where I lived. In my high school we had televised announcements. The day after the premiere the opening sequence featuring the Planet Express spaceship flying through New New York was on the announcements. I watched the show a few times before deciding it was a disappointment that did not live up to its predecessor The Simpsons. At this point you should realize that in high school I was kind of an idiot.
I'm a totally different idiot now. I started watching Futurama on Adult Swim four years ago and I had trouble figuring out why I didn't like the show when it began. It dawned on me that the first season was spent getting used to the atmosphere of the show. I've noticed the same thing in most animated shows. It seems to take about one season for the voice actors to really get into their characters. Futurama was still funny its first season, but it didn't feel as natural and polished as the later seasons. And it is these later seasons that, in my opinion, Futurama became a better show than the Simpsons ever has been and here's why: When Futurama aimed for sentimentality, it actually worked.
Simpsons occasionally pulled of some moments that I have no better way of describing as sweet. Futurama on the other hand has a couple of episodes that almost leave me in tears. tears never actually leave my tear ducts because my Dad's the type of guy who doesn't let his emotions come through like that and that trait passed on to me through either genetics or emulation on my part. That said, I'll lay out my policy on crying for men and women: Be a man, ya wuss. Almost crying is okay though.
This post has rambled on long enough so I'll just list two episodes that really get me on the edge of crying and revealing to the world how much of a wuss I am. The ending of the episode "Jurassic Bark" which follows Fry's attempt to clone his fossilized dog. The show bounces back and forth between contemporary New York and New York 1,000 years in the future. The flashback sequences show us Fry's relationship with Seymour while in the future, Bender becomes jealous of Fry's attention to his soon to be reanimated pet. Spoiler alert I guess. In the end of the episode, Fry finds out his dog lived a full life after he was frozen and decides not to clone the dog supposing Seymour had forgotten him. After that, we are treated to a time lapse of Seymour waiting the rest of his life in front of the pizza place Fry worked hoping his owner will return. It's probably one of the saddest things ever.
Another episode that really gets me is "The Luck of the Fryrish" which follows Fry in an attempt to reclaim his septuple leaf clover. The clover always gave Fry good luck. The episode plays out like the "Jurassic Bark" episode. Fry searches for the clover in future New York while flashbacks detail the many lucky things that happened to him in the past whenever he had the clover on his person. The flashbacks also explore the relationship between Fry and his older brother, Yancy, and their continual sibling rivalry. Despite being the older sibling, Yancy was constantly copying Fry. In the future, Fry finds out that Yancy apparently stole Fry's clover and identity after Fry's disappearance. Fry sets out to find his brother's grave in order to reclaim his lucky clover. I won't rehearse the ending for this one, but I will say it is probably one of the most heartwarming things I've ever seen on television.
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