", "Exclusive Interview: Claudia Katz on Futurama the Movie: Bender's Big Score", "Futurama Animators Roll 20-Sided Die With Bender's Game", "Futurama cast members ink new deal with Fox", "Futurama Returning with Full Original Cast After All", Futurama – Series | Comedy Central Official Site | ComedyCentral.com, "WGN America Fall 2011 Schedule; MeTV Network Celebrates Lucille Ball's 100th Birthday With 100 Episodes of Lucy Series", "Exclusive Interview: 'FUTURAMA' CO-CREATOR DAVID X. COHEN BLOWS OUT THE 100TH EPISODE CANDLE AND TALKS ABOUT THE SEASON SIX FINALE", "Exclusive: Futurama Creator Spills on Special Last, Last Episode! [27] 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. (Printed in Canada)." 3.6k. When Comedy Central began negotiating for the rights to air Futurama reruns, Fox suggested that there was a possibility of also creating new episodes. The title caption says (in Alien Language 1): "The humans shall not defeat us.". [52] The codes often provide additional jokes for fans dedicated enough to decode the messages. 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. Self-aware robots are a common sight, and are the main cause of global warming due to the exhaust from their alcohol-powered systems. [64] 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'. 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. But nobody's too concerned. [99][100][101], The show received critical acclaim. For now. [137] It was animated in widescreen and was released on standard DVD on November 27, 2007, with a possible Blu-ray Disc release to follow. These are most often to Star Trek — many soundbites are used in homage[35] — but also include the reference to the origin of the word robot made in the name of the robot-dominated planet Chapek 9,[61] and the black rectangular monolith labeled "Out of Order" in orbit around Jupiter (a reference to Arthur C. Clarke's Space Odyssey series). [1][2], In June 2009, Comedy Central picked up the show for 26 new half-hour episodes, which began airing in 2010 and 2011. The series follows the adventures of slacker Philip J. Fry, who is cryogenically preserved for 1000 years and is revived in the 31st century. The series was envisioned by Groening in the mid-1990s while working on The Simpsons; he brought David X. Cohen aboard to develop storylines and characters to pitch the show to Fox. ", The opening sequence for Into the Wild Green Yonder is largely different from the others. New religions include Oprahism, Robotology, and the banned religion of Star Trek fandom. Live Streaming. Season 5 holds a rating of 100%, based on seven reviews, and an average score of 8.67/10. It took four to five weeks to fully animate the sequence, and it consists of over 80 levels of 3D animation composited together. [25] At this point the voice recording was also started and the script was out of the writers' hands. For the final episode of season 6, Futurama was completely reanimated in three different styles: the first segment of the episode features black-and-white Fleischer- and Walter Lantz-style animation, the second was drawn in the style of a low-resolution video game, and the final segment was in the style of Japanese anime.[34]. It was revived that year as four direct-to-video films, the last of which was released in early 2009. People widely regard Pierre Henry's 1967 Psyché Rock to be a great influence on the theme. For the episodes made from these films, the first of each four features the film's opening, while parts 2, 3 and 4 have the classic introductions' title caption and billboard crash with a recap in between. Futurama is essentially a workplace sitcom, the plot of which revolves around the Planet Express interplanetary delivery company and its employees,[35] a small group that largely fails to conform to future society. During that time, Futurama gave us a glimpse of what could be, what should be, and what we all better pray and hope won’t be. Futurama is an American adult animated science fiction sitcom created by Matt Groening that aired on Fox from March 28, 1999 to August 10, 2003 and on Comedy Central from March 23, 2008 to September 4, 2013. Futurama is set in New New York at the turn of the 31st century, in a time filled with technological wonders. [67], Groening and Cohen wanted Futurama to be shown at 8:30 pm on Sunday, following The Simpsons. Television is still a primary form of entertainment. FUTURAMA Thing of the Past?? Futuramais essentially a workplace sitcom, the plot of which revolves around the Planet Express interplanetary delivery company and its employees, a small group that largely fails to conform to future society. Series writer Patric M. Verrone stated, "we were easily the most overeducated cartoon writers in history". [144], Credited as "30th Century Fox Television. Philip J. Fry(Billy West) – Fry is a dimwitted, immature, slovenly, yet good-hearted and sentimental pizza delivery boy who falls into a cryogenic pod, causing it to activat… RELATED: Genie Family 2020 Is a Retro Anime Reboot Worth Watching In other Futurama -related news, John DiMaggio -- who voiced Bender -- revealed back in October that his favorite moment in the series occurred in Season 2, Episode 7 ("A Head in the Polls"). In June 2009, 20th Century Fox Television announced that Comedy Central had picked up the show for 26 new half-hour episodes that began airing on June 24, 2010. [27] Doctor Zoidberg's voice was based on Lou Jacobi and George Jessel. [8], Futurama received critical acclaim throughout its run and was nominated for 17 Annie Awards, winning seven, and 12 Emmy Awards, winning six. Futurama predicts the first half of 2020 June 23, 2020 10 This is an oddly prescient scene from Season 6 Episode 24 of Futurama, "Cold Warriors", … However, Groening had expressed a desire to continue the franchise in some form, including a theatrical film. Fox has been a little bit cagey about it, even internally. [72] Although Futurama was never officially canceled, 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. Although rats still exist, sometimes rats act like pigeons, though pigeons still exist, as well. 2. [113] A Comedy Central teaser trailer announced the return of Futurama March 23, 2008,[114] which was Bender's Big Score divided into four episodes followed by the other three movies. [93][94] The episode "Meanwhile" currently stands as the show's official series finale. West states that his version of Zapp Brannigan was an imitation of Hartman and also "modeled after a couple of big dumb announcers I knew". [83] 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. In addition to the main cast, Frank Welker voiced Nibbler and Kath Soucie voiced Cubert and several supporting and minor characters. Futurama, conversely, stems from Jewish-American humor, and not just in the obvious archetype of Dr. Zoidberg. Sagal also mentioned during the same interview that Groening told her at Comic-Con that "we'll find a place" and "don't worry, it's not going to end". In 2008 Comedy Central began airing episodes. Several episodes begin with a cold opening before the opening sequence, although these scenes do not always correspond with the episode's plot. Recurring guest stars included Dawnn Lewis (as Hermes' wife LaBarbara), Tom Kenny, Dan Castellaneta (as the Robot Devil), Al Gore, and George Takei, among others. IsItBullshit: One time the intro of Futurama said "All time travel to the year 2020 is strictly prohibited" Bullshit. Some of it is edited to include educational material ostensibly for youth. [22], When Futurama debuted in the Fox Sunday night lineup at 8:30 p.m. between The Simpsons and The X-Files on March 28, 1999, it managed 19 million viewers, tying for 11th overall in that week's Nielsen ratings. The business passed through generations of the Roberts family and, in 1958, was renamed “Futurama”. For example, in the show the word Christmas has been replaced with Xmas (pronounced "ex-mas"), and the word ask with aks (pronounced axe). The theme has been noted for its similarities to Pierre Henry's 1967 Psyché Rock.[48]. Once the first draft of a script was finished, the writers and executive producers called in the actors for a table read. Due to the uncertain future of the series, there have been four designated series finales. However, the game was subsequently canceled on the GameCube and Game Boy Advance in North America and Europe. From vaudeville to the Catskills to Woody Allen, it's that distinctly rueful humor built to ward away everything from despair to petty annoyance — the 'You gotta do what you gotta do' philosophy that helps the 'Futurama' characters cope in a mega-corporate world where the little guy is essentially powerless. Bender was the most difficult character to cast, as the show's creators had not decided what a robot should sound like. [71] Due to being regularly pre-empted by sporting events, it became difficult to predict when new episodes would air. Other than a different running order and presentation, the stories are the same in all versions. After this sequence, the opening resumes as normal with the ship exiting the cartoon and breaking the screen as usual. The opening sequence starts with the Planet Express ship flying, as it passes the letters of Futurama appearing in the middle of the screen and a caption that differs in each episode. 5. [109], When Futurama was effectively canceled in 2003, it had averaged 6.4 million viewers for the first half of its fourth broadcast season.[110]. Nearly all messages using alternative scripts transliterate directly into English. : Looking Backwards at, "Groening's New World, 1,000 Years From Springfield", "Futurama Chronicles > Media Articles > 3.26.99 LA Weekly", Matt Groening talks about Futurama's comeback, "'Futurama' finds a new future on Comedy Central", "Animated People: Diego Molano, Creator of Cartoon Network's 'Victor and Valentino, "TBS Superstation Picks Up FUTURAMA and THE FAMILY GUY for Summer Run; Popular Animated Series To Air Weekday Afternoons", "Matt Groening Interview with Radio Times", "UPDATE UPDATED!! Submissions must directly include Futurama content. Futurama is an American adult animated science fiction sitcom created by Matt Groening and developed by Groening and David X. Cohen for the Fox Broadcasting Company.It is in New New York City during the 31st century.The shows were first shown on Fox Network on March 28, 1999, until August 10, 2003.. Season 6 has an approval rating of 100%, based on 16 reviews, and the average rating is 8.31/10. No advertisement of products and places to buy them unless approved by moderator prior to posting. [80][81][82] The returning writing crew was smaller than the original crew. 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. ", Learn how and when to remove this template message, drum break originating from "Amen, Brother", LGBTQ representation in adult animation#Futurama, "Comedy Central's 'South Park,' 'Lil' Bush,' More to Return in March", "Things Are Looking Good for Another Season of Futurama", "COMEDY CENTRAL® RENEWS "FUTURAMA" FOR 26 NEW EPISODES", "TV Guide Magazine's 60 Greatest Cartoons of All Time", "Fox's far-out Futurama looks like a hit", "David X. Cohen boards the Planet Express to find meaning in Futurama", "David X Cohen interview with GotFuturama.com", "Scott Vanzo of Rough Draft Studios e-mail response", "Hey, Sexy Mama, Wanna Kill All Humans? October saw a flurry of activity on the restaurant-opening front. The Futurama theme was created by Christopher Tyng. ℵ Negotiations were already underway with the possibility of creating two or three straight-to-DVD films. When Fry opens the box, the cat jumps out and attacks him. It also allowed the writers and animators to get ahead of the broadcast schedule so that episodes intended for one season were not aired until the following season.