Information AboutFuturama |
''Futurama'' is an American Animated Television Series created by Matt Groening (creator of '' The Simpsons '') and David X. Cohen (also a writer for ''The Simpsons''). Set in ''New'' New York City in the 31st Century , it was introduced on the Fox Network and received airplay between March 28 , 1999 , and August 10 , 2003 . The series begins with Philip J. Fry , a New York City Slacker and Pizza Delivery guy, who is Cryogenically Frozen on New Year's Eve , 1999 . He is defrosted one thousand years later on New Year's Eve, 2999 , and finds himself in ''New'' New York City. Fry thinks he has a chance at a new life, only to get himself permanently assigned a career as a delivery boy. Fry's attempt to escape from his now-mandatory job assignment results in him ending up at Planet Express, a small intergalactic Package Delivery company run by his distantly descended nephew, where he is hired. The series covers the adventures of Fry and his colleagues as they travel around the universe making deliveries on behalf of Planet Express. The futuristic time frame allowed the show's writers to be creative with their humor by introducing ideas and events from pulp science fiction of the mid 20th Century into the series. CHARACTERS AND PLOT ''Futurama'' centers around seven main characters who work for Planet Express, as well as several secondary characters. Characters , Professor Farnsworth , Bender , Amy , Hermes , Leela , and Fry .]]
See Also: List of recurring characters from Futurama List of recurring robot characters from Futurama Planet Express Planet Express is a delivery company held by Professor Farnsworth to fund his "research" and "inventions." The Professor often makes passing references to the brutal deaths of previous employees; the crew prior to Fry's arrival was said to have been devoured by a space Wasp (modified in a later episode to stung to death by a swarm of gigantic bees). The Planet Express ship is helmed by Leela, with Bender serving as cook and Fry as delivery boy. Amy, Farnsworth, Hermes, and Dr. Zoidberg accompany the crew as needed. Sometimes Scruffy the Janitor wanders on board also. The ship is equipped with an Autopilot and a shipboard Artificial Intelligence . In addition, the ship is armed with dual laser cannons and two torpedo launchers first featured in " Roswell That Ends Well " when the ship assaulted the army base in Roswell, New Mexico. Nearly every mission that the Professor assigns his crew is unusually dangerous. Relationships While '' The Simpsons '' was centered around a traditional American family, ''Futurama'' features mostly Bachelor s and young couples. Technologies such as cloning and extreme lengthening of life are commonplace, which has made the traditional nuclear family harder to sustain. New New York is a callous, anonymous Urban environment where it is difficult to form close relationships. The characters often claim not to care about their coworkers, but when push comes to shove it turns out they do have some affection for each other, even if they often express it in strange ways. For example, when Bender is cursed to murder his best friend, Fry becomes jealous when Bender tries to kill Leela instead of him. Some episodes involve the characters getting into (usually short-lived) sexual relationships with other characters. Friendships like the male bond between Fry and Bender, or Brannigan and Kif, also play an important role. Although it's mostly filled with light comedy, ''Futurama'' SETTING The setting is first and foremost a backdrop for humor, and the show is not above committing Continuity Error s if they serve to further the gags. The capabilities of many things vary according to what is most appropriate for the situation at hand. The visually (a method invented by Ron Popeil ), Television remains the primary means of entertainment, the Internet is still slow and filled with pornography (although it is experienced through virtual reality technology), problems such as Global Warming (although this was revealed to be canceled out by a Nuclear Winter , yet reappears later on due to greenhouse gases emitted by robots), inflexible Bureaucracy , and Substance Abuse are still pressing issues. This is probably due to human civilization being wiped out and replaced twice while Fry was in stasis, along with many other events including various enslavements of humanity and nuclear wars. Race issues in 3000 are now centered around relations among Human s, aliens, mutants, and robots. A common clash between the first two groups is alien Immigration plaguing Earth . Humans find it hard to treat aliens with respect because of their differences, as is seen with the Decapodians, who probably evolved from something resembling a lobster, and because of various invasions and/or obliterations of Earth's civilization in the past. A specific issue on Earth is the large population of super-intelligent/super-incompetent robots (homeless robots and orphan children robots, like Tinny Tim); they are generally lazy, greedy and/or surly (with few exceptions, such as the sycophantic super-efficient Robot 1-X ), and often unwilling to assist their human creators. Almost all robots are fueled by alcohol-based substances, leading to widespread environmental pollution. Robots are treated as independent beings - indeed only three times in the series are robots referred to as property (in " The Route Of All Evil " Cubert refers to Bender as "company property," in " Bendin' In The Wind ", when Bender is crippled, Farnsworth is told "You'll have to get a new one", and in '' The 30% Iron Chef '' the Professor shouts "That's my robot! I own him!"). In fact, over the years robots have developed their own culture, with publications, music, and religion (much of this seems to be similar to African American Culture in contemporary society). Despite this, ''Futurama's'' world also showcases numerous technological advantages that have been developed by the year 3000. Wheels used in transportation have been made obsolete by Hover technology, to the point that 31st century characters do not know what a wheel is. Among the robots, Spaceship s, and floating buildings, Professor Farnsworth introduced many memorable new inventions such as the Smell-o-scope and the What-if Machine. Less inspiring 31st century innovations include coin-operated suicide booths (said in the show to have been in business since 2008) Soylent Cola (the taste "varies from person to person") and other Soylent-based products, and Slurm, the highly addictive green ooze which is advertised at every opportunity on ''Futurama'', whether in conventional television ads, or on giant blimps flying past in the background. Large companies hold a massive amount of power in the year 3000, in particular Mom's Friendly Robot Company, which builds and controls every robot on earth. Advertising is everywhere, and people often buy products not knowing or caring what goes into them or who manufactures them - for example, the unrestrained human consumption of "Popplers" which turned out to be alien young. Some of the show's humor comes from passing references to historical events of the past thousand years. For example, in the time that has passed, formerly Endangered Owl s and Marmoset s have emerged as the primary urban pests, at the expense of Rat s and Pigeon s. Los Angeles has become a wasteland, with Fry mistaking it for a post-apocalyptic New New York in the year 4000 after believing he had been cryogenically frozen for a further 1000 years. Atlanta , after being moved to Sea , sinks due to overdevelopment and becomes a "lost city" (a parody of the story of Atlantis ); its residents evolve (with the help of Coca-Cola 's Caffeine ) into Mermaids . In another episode, Pamela Anderson mentions that she won an Academy Award for '' Baywatch : The Movie'', the first ever movie to be filmed entirely in slow-motion. The suicide booths are not the only sign of a devaluing of human life. Murder is discussed casually, as if there were little or no penalty for it ("Could you pick me up a license to kill?" "Sure. Bare hands or weapons?" "Hm. What does piano wire count as?"). Grievous bodily injuries are shrugged off or treated with a sort of mild uncaring, perhaps in reference to the highly advanced medical technology as well as the general disregard for the lives of others or oneself. This sort of indifference to death and pain may be partly a mockery of the reactionary trend of citing rising crime statistics as a symptom of human life losing its value, partly on account of the failure to take proper precautions or care of themselves because of the availability of medicines and operations, and partly callousness (such as Fry's happy declaration that his organ transplant came from a guy who liked to ride motorcycles). For a full list of events leading up to the current day in the show, see the Timeline Of ''Futurama'' LINGUISTICS poster in the background features "Alien Language 1," which reads "drink" when translated.]] Futurama's Universe also makes several bold predictions about the future of Linguistics . In " A Clone Of My Own " (and " Space Pilot 3000 "), it is implied that French is now a Dead Language , and that the official language spoken by the French will be English (in the French version of ''Futurama'', German is substituted for French as the dead language). English itself has also evolved from today, but still remains comprehensible. These changes include the disuse of the word Christmas in favor of Xmas (with the ''X'' pronounced, as in "ex-mas") and the pronunciation of ''ask'' Metathesizing as "aks". Ironically, "aks" represents an earlier Saxon pronunciation of the word, with the modern "ask" an innovation, so the 31st century sees the word coming full circle. More likely, though, it is meant to reflect the change of language in reference to the modern slang mispronunciation of the word "ask". The show also often makes use of a pair of alien alphabets in background signage. The first is a simple one-to-one Addition code (officially an ancient alien language predating the universe). They often provide additional jokes for fans dedicated enough to decode the messages. GALACTIC POLITICS Numerous other Galaxies have been colonized or have made contact by the year 3000. Much of the Milky Way galaxy now operates under the Earth government's Sphere Of Influence , similar to America's influence on world politics today. Apparently, Earth is in the process of embarking on a long-term campaign to conquer and/or eliminate all other worlds/races not allied with it. This campaign is spearheaded by 25-star General Major Webelos Zapp Brannigan , a conceited, self-absorbed, trouserless individual who makes regular appearances throughout the series. Earth has a unified government called the United States Of Earth headed by a single President Of Earth . It seems that various sub-states may have Prime Minister s and similar leaders, much like the current American system of Governor s. This world government seems to be quite US-centric as Earth's capital is Washington, D.C. and the flag of Earth looks like the Flag Of The United States , but with an image of the Earth (with the U.S. visible) where the stars are today. Citizens of Earth are called Earthicans. The organization of political parties in ''Futurama'' is similar to the American two-party system with a number of Third Parties . The two main parties are the Tastycrats and the Fingerlicans, whose names sound similar to the current American parties, the Democrats and Republicans . Despite having been elected President Of The United States twice, the head of Richard Nixon is elected President of Earth by exploiting the fact that his old body is not being elected, and Earthican law only stipulates that no ''body'' can be elected more than twice. Nixon buys Bender's robotic body from a Pawn Shop to serve as his new body. After the Planet Express crew manages to retrieve it, Nixon's head is mounted on a gargantuan, weaponized cyborg body, helping to sway the robot vote. At times, Nixon's head is carried by the Secretary Of Transportation or the headless body of Spiro Agnew . Earth's national holiday appears to be "Freedom Day," which is traditionally celebrated by doing whatever one wants without regard to the consequences, as well as nude hot tubbing parties, and by dancing and chanting, "Freedom, freedom, freedom, oy!" Mars has been Terraformed to a great degree (it is now the home of many wealthy socialites), and is home to Mars University. The Western Hemisphere of the planet is currently owned by the Wongs, parents of Planet Express intern Amy Wong. Earth's , mistaking Ralph Kramden of '' The Honeymooners '' for a typical 20th century astronaut due to his common phrase, "One of these days, Alice. Bang! Zoom! Straight to the moon!" For a full list of planets in ''Futurama'', see the List Of Planets In ''Futurama'' . DOOP and intergalactic relations The Democratic Order Of Planets (DOOP) was founded in 2945 after the Second Galactic War (a parallel to the United Nations ' founding in 1945 after World War II ). This organization, described by Prof. Farnsworth and Hermes as being "similar to the United Nations... or like the ' Federation ' from your '' Star Trek '' program," includes Earth and many other worlds. Earth sometimes acts unilaterally without the aid of other DOOP members. The inhabitants of Omicron Persei VIII are frequently engaged in conflicts with DOOP. The DOOP symbol has Rotational Symmetry . Despite the existence of DOOP, interplanetary relations are poor, with constant wars and invasions, often poorly planned and fought for foolish and unnecessary reasons. The series featured a bitter conflict between Earth and Spheron 1, a planet inhabited by giant, bouncing balls. A victorious war with the Arachnid homeworld of Tarantulon VI resulted in a Silk surplus, which in turn led to a $300 Tax Refund from the head of Richard Nixon, the ruling President of Earth. There is also at least one rogue colony of robots that kills humans on sight (this being Chapek 9, a reference to Karel Capek who coined the term ''robot''). A planet named Arrakis exists, a tip-of-the-hat to Frank Herbert 's '' Dune '' novels. The universe ends at one point after Dog Doo 7. At the edge of the universe, one can witness an alternate Cowboy universe. It is unknown if it's possible to travel between these universes freely. Beginning shortly after the Big Bang , an eternal war has been waged across space between the Nibblonians ( Nibbler 's race) and the Brainspawn (evil floating giant brains with Telekinetic and Telepathic powers). The war recently made its final end (apparently) when the Nibblonians used Fry to sneak a 'Quantum Interface Bomb' into the Brainspawn's InfoSphere that, once activated, banished them into a pocket dimensional prison. Religion Religion has changed quite a bit since the year 2000. Christianity , Judaism , Islam , Hinduism , and Buddhism have all merged into one Amalgamated Church. There is some form of Space Catholicism, led by the Reptilian Space Pope (''Crocodylus pontifex'') and based upon a platform of discouraging love between robots and humans (featured in " I Dated A Robot ", an episode wherein Fry breaks the robot-human love taboo by dating a robot version of Lucy Liu ). Oprahism and Voodoo are now mainstream religions ( Waltermercadoism is also mentioned in the Latin America n version.). Some of today's holidays still exist, but with slightly different mascots. Christmas , now Xmas (pronounced "Ex-miss"), is celebrated with the fear of a giant robotic Santa Claus , who is located on Neptune . He was originally created and programmed by Mom's Friendly Robot Company to judge people, whether naughty or nice, and distribute presents accordingly, but his standards were set so high that he invariably deems everybody naughty (except for Dr. Zoidberg), and attempts to punish them on Christmas Eve with an excruciating death if they are caught outdoors after sun-down. Hanukkah is now represented by the Hanukkah Zombie and Kwanzaa by Kwanzaabot. Robot religions exist as well, with the most popular being the quasi-Christian religion of Robotology , which has its Hell located in an abandoned New Jersey Amusement Park , presided over by the crafty Robot Devil. Robot Jews exist as well, although all we know about them is that they hold functions to celebrate a robot becoming a " Bot Mitzvah ". They believe that Robot Jesus was built and that he was a very well programmed robot, but he was not their Messiah , and they do not permit Decapodian s to attend their functions (presumably because shellfish aren't Kosher , although ironic since the Decapodians are a parody of Jewish stereotypes). Over the years, as life began to imitate '' is in the series " Commander Riker 's Island", and San Francisco's Fisherman's Wharf is likewise known as "Fisherman's Worf ". Gender and sexual norms In many regards, the series takes a "Playboy feminism" view on gender and sexual norms, not unlike the '' Star Trek '' television franchise. While the series never address the legal or ethical status of Birth Control or Abortion , the seedy world of adult Pornography and aphrodisiacs are shown in " Spanish Fry ", with an item, seen only briefly in the background of the alien porn shop that could be a Dildo , although it is only cryptically referenced on episodes DVD audio commentary. There also does not appear to be much in the way of organized political or religious Sexism or Homophobia in the future except a degree of male (human and robot) bravado. In the episode titled " A Taste Of Freedom ", the warhero lawyer unsuccessfully defending Dr. Zoidberg before the Earth Supreme Court for flag desecration is able to persuade the court to declare that the law banning Polygamy is unconstitutional, and quips about how he cannot wait to tell his wives and his husband- booing from the gallery seems to indicate that polygamy and/or homosexuality continue to be relatively unpopular. However, in " Future Stock ", Fry casually refers to the "lesbian coven" across the street from Planet Express. In " Kif Gets Knocked Up A Notch " the male alien Kif becomes pregnant, and in " Three Hundred Big Boys " Hermes Conrad 's son quips about how he wishes he had two mothers. A few secondary characters in the series were established as or suspected of being gay; the Neptunian toy makers in " A Tale Of Two Santas ", were confirmed as being gay on the episodes DVD audio commentary. There has been some speculation as to the sexuality of both Hedonism Bot and The Robot Devil due to their flamboyant mannerisms. While not gay, Bender cross-dressed in one episode for a professional wrestling career and temporarily had a sex change operation in order to compete in the female Olympics. Bender doesn't want anyone to think him and Fry are "robosexuals" in the first episode, so he tells Fry to say that he is Bender's debugger. A deleted scene, available on DVD , established that two of the Amazonian women in " Amazon Women In The Mood " are Lesbians . In " The Birdbot Of Ice-Catraz ", the police robot URL and his human partner Smitty embrace, and thus allow Bender to escape. In the episode " Spanish Fry ", Dr. Zoidberg invites Bender to join him and Hermes for "a little 'just friends' Spooning ." There is also a recurring human character, who is usually used simply as an extra, who speaks and acts in a stereotypically gay fashion. (For example, he is seen as the neighbour in " I, Roommate " who exclaims with a lisp "The TV'th back!" Though not named in the series, in DVD commentaries he is referred to as "Randy.") In terms of gender, while some measure of male bravado Sexism does seems to still exist in the future, and women are not allowed in the earth's armed forces, there does not seem to be much wide-spread sex discrimination on earth. As was the case with Sexual Orientation certain worlds may have been more or less committed to the value of equality between the sexes. Aside from the parody of male chauvinism and "women-hating men" in the episode titled, " Amazon Women In The Mood ", Zapp Brannigan's sexism and general stupidity was a running gag throughout the series. PRODUCTION ''Futurama'' takes its name from a General Motors Exhibit at the 1939 New York World's Fair which depicted future technologies. Also demonstrated at that World's Fair was Philo Farnsworth 's Vacuum Tube Television ; Professor Farnsworth is named after him. Actors lending their voices to the series include Billy West , Katey Sagal , John DiMaggio , Maurice LaMarche , Lauren Tom , Phil LaMarr , and Tress MacNeille . Phil Hartman was cast as a voice actor on the series, but he was murdered before production began. Some believe Billy West performs the character of Zapp Brannigan in a Hartman-ish voice as a tribute to him (hence why Zapp looks so much like Hartman's ''Simpsons'' character, Troy McClure ), but the DVD commentary reveals that West's version of Zapp's voice is actually unchanged from the way he did it originally in auditions. The character Philip J. Fry's first name was originally going to be Curtis. It was changed to Philip as a way to remember Hartman. Celebrities who have lent their voices to the show include Dick Clark , Beck , Donovan , Al Gore , Stephen Hawking , The Beastie Boys , Sigourney Weaver , Lucy Liu , Pamela Anderson , Bob Barker , John Goodman (as Robot Santa), and the ''Star Trek'' cast, in " Where No Fan Has Gone Before ". This episode did not include a speaking role for the character of Dr. McCoy, DeForest Kelley , by that time deceased, or James Doohan , who refused to appear. Doohan's ''Star Trek'' character, Scotty, is mentioned in the episode by the other cast members as having been replaced by a character named "Welshie" for reunion specials in the 21st Century and apparently also due to the fact Scotty had trouble yodelling; in true ''Star Trek'' fashion, Welshie is killed by an alien force, as was the long-spoofed custom to kill the "Red-shirt" crew members. The theme and incidental music for the show were Composed by Christopher Tyng . The original theme song for the show was to be the 1960s Electronic Music recording "Psyche Rock" by Pierre Henry , but the inability to license the track for the show led Tyng to compose a theme strongly reminiscent of it. Three Remix es of the theme song were produced and used as the main theme in three different episodes. Another remix of sorts, heard over the closing credits of the episode " Hell Is Other Robots ", featured the Beastie Boys (guest-starring in the episode) giving Shout Out s to main ''Futurama'' characters set to one of the versions of the theme.) This show is also one of the few animated series to use fully orchestrated original music in almost every episode. Many of the spacecraft and backgrounds appearing in ''Futurama'' were made using 3D Computer Graphics . The scenes were first painted by hand and then implemented in 3D. This way, camera movements provided a perfect geometry of the environment and characters (for example, at the beginning of the series when the camera flies around the Planet Express building). While ''Futurama'' ended after its fifth broadcast season, there were actually only four production seasons. Due to numerous preemptions and other schedule shuffles, Fox had enough new Episode s backlogged for another full year of shows. These delays account for the difference in Fox's broadcast season number and production season number. The production season forms the basis for the DVD and video sets. The 72nd and final episode, called " The Devil's Hands Are Idle Playthings ", aired in the USA on August 10 , 2003 . With this episode, the fifth television season (fourth production season) and the whole series ended. The episode was not a true Series Finale however, and though many plot issues were resolved in the last season, the final episode was in no way a clear "conclusion" to the series. The last line of dialogue (recorded months after the episode was taped, and after the show's cancellation), aptly enough, was "Please don't stop playing, Fry - I want to hear how it ends." Since Futurama's cancellation, Matt Groening's ''The Simpsons'' series has made several references to ''Futurama'':
Similarly, ''Futurama'' references ''The Simpsons''. In an early episode of ''Futurama'', the crew are sent to destroy a huge ball of garbage in space by placing a bomb on it. Bender finds a Bart Simpson doll which says "Eat my shorts" when its string is pulled. Bender eats the shorts, then says "mmmm... shorts" imitating the popular mannerism used by Homer. Groening revealed in the DVD audio commentary for this episode that he intended ''The Simpsons'' to be a television show in the ''Futurama'' universe, and conversely ''Futurama'' was a television show in ''The Simpsons'' universe, which is somewhat confirmed in the ''Simpsons'' episode in which he guest stars. There is also a reference to ''Futurama'' in . Stewie, when walking down the Red Carpet to the premiere, is stopped by various reporters asking questions. The last reporter asks "Stewie, do you know if Fox has any plans to bring back ''Futurama''?" Stewie then asks "What magazine are you from?" and the reporter replies '' Entertainment Weekly ''. Stewie then angrily snaps the reporter's neck, killing him. It should be noted that ''Entertainment Weekly'' disparaged ''Family Guy'' early in production, leading to the show's animosity towards the magazine. POST-PRODUCTION PRESENCE Syndicated broadcasts ''Futurama'' now appears in Syndication on many networks. They are as follows:
Non-broadcast production In the USA (DVD Region 1), the first season of ''Futurama'' was released on DVD on March 25 , 2003; the second season on August 12 , 2003; the third season on March 9 , 2004 ; and the fourth (and final) on August 24 , 2004. In Europe (DVD Region 2), the first and second seasons were both released in 2002 ; the third season was released on June 2 , 2003; and the fourth on November 24th , 2003. The DVDs were released in Europe first as a test to see if they would sell, and sales were very good on both sides of the Atlantic. Despite the different release dates, the content of the DVDs are identical for both regions. Unique Development Studios released a Video Game titled '' Futurama '' for the Xbox and PlayStation 2 consoles in August 2003. Critical reviews raised the issue of poor play control and graphic quality, but noted that the game possessed an excellent storyline and voice acting. Due to an extremely small production run, the video game is quite scarce and generally sells for more than most games that are just being released. Matt Groening 's Bongo Comics group is still producing a spin-off series of ''Futurama'' Comic Book s. These are currently the only new stories featuring the ''Futurama'' characters. There are two sets of comics available, the US series and UK series. The US series was first published in 2000 and so far consists of 24 issues plus 2 2-part Crossovers with '' The Simpsons ''. The comics are A5 -size and now published 4 times a year. The UK series was first published in 2002 and so far consists of 30 issues, incorporating the ''Simpsons'' crossovers. The comics are of a larger size in the UK, and although the stories are exactly the same as the US comics, they are published in a different order, with some stories published in two parts. See Futurama Comics for more details. SEASON DETAILS AND REFERENCES See Also: List of Futurama episodes There were four production seasons, but the FOX network broadcast most episodes out of order, and split them into five seasons. The DVD releases are based on the original sequence of episodes. DVD releases
CREDITS GAGS Opening credits At the start of each episode, just as the ''Futurama'' logo appears on the screen, a caption appears on the bottom of the screen, different in every episode. Some captions include "Coming Soon to an Illegal DVD ", "Dancing Space Potatoes? You Bet!", "Condemned by the Space Pope ", "Krafted With Wuv (By Monsters)". "Available in DoubleVision when drunk" and "Hey, TiVo ! Suggest this!". Occasionally, a joke advertisement is displayed as well. The first season also sometimes featured Cold Openings , which were often short gags or sequences (such as Bender using a Car Wash -like "Botwash"). A Planet Express Ship then flies through the text, and around a futuristic city. During the final shot of the opening credits, a ", the billboard shows the ''Futurama'' billboard inside of it, implying a visual infinite regression. The opening ends with the ship crashing into the billboard and becoming stuck (in " The Problem With Popplers " Leela flies into a billboard to which Fry exclaims "Leela! That's the second billboard you've crashed into this week."). The opening theme pays homage to the 1967 piece "Psyché Rock" from the album ''Messe pour le temps présent'', a collaboration between a rock band and Pierre Henry , one of the founders of Musique Concrète and electronic music as a genre. Closing credits: "30th Century Fox" "30th Century Fox" is a variation of the " 20th Century Fox " Closing Logo listed in the End Credits . Fox initially rejected the idea of show creator Matt Groening, who sponsored the design of the logo by himself. Later, it became popular, and Fox repaid the difference . The episode " That's Lobstertainment! " (season 3) reveals that 30th Century Fox is a television and film studio within the ''Futurama'' universe. The studio building is shaped like the logo. The spotlights surrounding it are used to blind pilots, so that the resulting plane crashes can be filmed. POSSIBLE REVIVAL Even though there were no official words on the revival of the show, Fox's revival of '' Family Guy '' sparked rumors and hope of a revival of ''Futurama''. On May 22 , 2005, the Can't Get Enough ''Futurama'' website carried the following unofficial post, attributed to Billy West's discussion board : Well, I spoke to David X. Cohen and he said that they did have talks with the top guys at FOX and they were extremely impressed with the sales of the ''Futurama'' DVDs. The idea was to make a ''Futurama'' movie right to DVD and then a 2nd and a 3rd [... In July 2005, Billy West seemed to have confirmed a "straight to DVD" ''Futurama'' movie on a video blog . Several months later, reported that there have been negotiations to bring back ''Futurama'' as a television show, though only a 'limited' amount of episodes may be produced {Link without Title} . On movies will begin production in July or August 2006. On February 16 it was mentioned on the British television program '' This Morning '' by presenter Paul Ross that ''Futurama'' would return, with episodes premiering later this year in the US and next year in the UK. On March 18 , 2006, Billy West wrote on his message board that ''Futurama'' would return in 26 episodes for television and that the plan for four ''Futurama'' DVD movies, which he previously wrote about, is either delayed or dropped. And the other good news is that they're doing 26 new episodes of ''Futurama'' for TV and we're hammering out the deal now. The original plan was to have the DVDs first but that's no longer the case. On the next day he retracted his earlier statement with a post on his message board . I'm sorry I gave inaccurate info on the cartoon. I was told on one end that the TV show was a go but DXC enlightened me (with a hammer) that this was not the case. I think there is a Futurama project as in DVD's but I appearently had bad info. But I do live to give good Futurama news to people. So I must've died or something. On . Referring to the rumoured Futurama movies, Groening remarked: We're going to do four of them, straight to DVD. And as we speak, I'm exchanging e-mails and ideas with David X. Cohen and Ken Keeler, both of whom worked on the show from the very beginning. Right now we're trying to figure out whether to do a giant epic, or separate crazy movies, or what. But I wager that Bender will be featured prominently. There has been no official word from Fox about a return of ''Futurama'' As Of 2006 . There are two Petitions for the show's return, one with 11,120 names and another with over 150,000 [http://www.gotfuturama.com/Futurama/News/1034148818,98018,/ . Such petitions rarely have any effect on network decisions and the numbers are often artificially inflated but they do demonstrate the strong fan reaction to the show's cancellation. SEE ALSO
EXTERNAL LINKS
|
|
|