Futurama
Un article de Vev.
Modèle:Otheruses4 Modèle:Infobox Television Futurama is an Emmy Award-winning animated American sitcom created by Matt Groening, who also created The Simpsons, and developed by Groening and David X. Cohen for the Fox network. The series follows the adventures of a former New York City pizza delivery boy, Philip J. Fry, after he is accidentally cryonically frozen at midnight, January 1st, 2000, and is revived one thousand years in the future.
In the United States, the series aired from March 28, 1999 to August 10, 2003 on FOX before going out of production. The series was revived in 2007 as four straight-to-DVD films that will be split into a sixteen-episode fifth season. Comedy Central has entered into an agreement with 20th Century Fox Television to syndicate the existing episodes and air the films as new episodes in an episodic format.<ref name=RottenTomatoesMattGroenigClarifiesFuture> "Groening's Bargain to Yield Four Futurama Movies"
. Reuters (Jan 28 2007)
. Retrieved on 2007-09-01. </ref><ref name=reuters> Wallenstein, Andrew
(June 22 2006) . "Futurama" gets new life on Comedy Central . Reuters
. Retrieved on 2006-10-08. </ref>
The name "Futurama" comes from a pavilion at the 1939 New York World's Fair. Designed by Norman Bel Geddes, the Futurama pavilion depicted what he imagined the world to look like in 1959.<ref name="Strange Sounds">Modèle:Cite book</ref>
Sommaire |
Cast and characters
Modèle:See also Futurama is essentially a workplace sitcom whose plot typically revolves around the activities and adventures of the employees of the Planet Express delivery company.<ref name="locus">Cook, Lucius (April 26, 2004). Hey Sexy Mama, Wanna Kill All Humans?: Looking Backwards at Futurama, The Greatest SF Show You've Never Seen. Locus Online. Retrieved on January 27, 2007.</ref> Episodes invariably feature the central trio of Fry, Leela, and Bender, though storylines centered on the other main characters are common.
- Philip J. Fry (Billy West)
- Philip J. Fry was a pizza delivery boy who was cryonically frozen just after midnight on the early morning of New Year's Day, January 1, 2000, reawakening on New Year's Eve, 2999. He gets a job at Planet Express, a company owned by his closest living relative, Professor Hubert Farnsworth, where he works as a delivery boy. He is, through actions he takes in the episode "Roswell That Ends Well", his own grandfather.<ref name="locus" />
- Turanga Leela (Katey Sagal)
- Leela is the competent, one-eyed captain of the Planet Express Ship.<ref name="locus" /> Abandoned at birth, she grew up in an Orphanarium believing herself to be an alien from an unknown race. She later learns that she is a mutant from the sewers.<ref name="LeelasHomeworld"> "Leela's Homeworld".
Futurama.
Fox Network .
2002-02-17.
No. 12, season 4.
</ref>
- Bender Bending Rodríguez (John DiMaggio)
- Bender is a foul-mouthed, alcoholic, cigar-smoking, kleptomaniacal, misanthropic, egocentric, ill-tempered robot originally programmed to bend girders for suicide booths. He is Fry's best friend and roommate. He is the ship's chef (though his cooking is terrible) and primarily assists in delivering cargo from ship to planet.
- Professor Hubert J. Farnsworth a.k.a. The Professor (Billy West)
- Born April 9, 2841, Professor Hubert Farnsworth is Fry's distant nephew.<ref name="ACloneofMyOwn"> "A Clone of My Own".
Futurama.
Fox Network .
2000-04-09.
No. 10, season 2.
3 minutes in.
</ref> Farnsworth founded Planet Express to fund his mad scientist-esque experiments and inventions. He clones himself to create a successor, Cubert Farnsworth.
- Dr. John A. Zoidberg (Billy West)
- Zoidberg is a lobster-like alien from the planet Decapod 10, and is the neurotic and self-conscious staff doctor of Planet Express. His knowledge of human anatomy and physiology is woefully inadequate. Zoidberg is basically penniless, but constantly tries to portray himself as respected and rich.
- Amy Wong (Lauren Tom)
- Amy is an incredibly rich, spoiled, blunt-speaking and extremely accident-prone 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, prone to frequently cursing in Cantonese, and overuses 31st century slang. Her parents are Leo and Inez. Although initially portrayed as somewhat promiscuous, she eventually developed a relationship with Kif Kroker.
- Hermes Conrad (Phil LaMarr)
- Hermes is the Jamaican accountant of Planet Express. A bureaucrat and proud of it, he is a stickler for regulation. Hermes is also a former champion in Olympic Limbo, a sport derived from the popular dance and similar to the track event of hurdling. He has a wife, LaBarbara, and a 12-year-old son, Dwight.
Setting
Futurama is set at the beginning of the 31st century, in a time filled with technological wonders. Various devices and architecture are similar to the Populuxe design. 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. In a jab at segregation, for example, the show depicts the human prejudice against mutants as being so great that the latter have been forced to live underground in the sewers. The characters' home on Earth is the city of New New York, built over the ruins of present-day New York City, referred to as "Old New York".
Numerous technological advances have been made by 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"), and has resulted in many political figures and celebrities being active; this became the writers' excuse to feature and poke fun at 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 the most prominent examples of this anomaly being Richard Nixon, who died in 1994. 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" chat rooms, though 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, as well as being 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)<ref name="MothersDay"> "Mother's Day".
Futurama.
Fox Network .
2000-05-14.
No. 14, season 2.
</ref> having been forgotten and replaced by hovering vehicles and a network of large, clear pneumatic transportation tubes.
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 being killed by space bees instead.<ref name="Verrone">Verrone, Patric M (2003), DVD commentary for "The Sting", Futurama. Original airdate June 1, 2003. No. 12, Season 4. 20th Century Fox.</ref> The world of tomorrow is used to highlight and lampoon issues of today and to parody the science fiction genre.<ref name="CohenSP3000">Modèle:Cite video</ref>
Society and culture
Earth is depicted as being multicultural to the extent that there are a wide range of human, robot, and extraterrestrial beings shown in the series who interact with the primary characters. In some ways the future is depicted as being more socially advanced than Fry's, and thus the audience's, reality. The future is often shown though to have many of the same types of problems, challenges, mistakes and prejudices of the past. Robots make up the largest "minority" in the series. They are often treated like second-class citizens,<ref name="MothersDay" /> while a few are depicted as wealthy members of the upper-class. Most robots are self-aware and have been granted freedom and free-will. However, at times of crisis, robots may have their free-will removed by having their "patriotism circuits" activated, forcing them to serve humans or to serve in the military in times of war.<ref> "When Aliens Attack".
Futurama.
Fox Network .
1999-11-07.
No. 12, season 1.
</ref> Many robots live in apartments specially constructed for robots, with rooms the size of a typical coat closet and closets the size of typical rooms.<ref name="XMasStory"> "I, Roommate".
Futurama.
Fox Network .
1999-04-06.
No. 4, season 2.
</ref> Sewer mutants are mutated humans who live in the sewers by law. They hold urban legend status and are regarded as fictional by some members of the public.
Religion is still a prominent part of society, although the dominant religions have altered. A merger between the major religious groups of the 20th century has resulted in the First Amalgamated Church,<ref name="Gospel">Modèle:Cite book</ref> while Vodou is now mainstream. New religions include Oprahism, Robotology, and the banned religion of Star Trek fandom. Religious figures in the series include Father Changstein-El-Gamal, the Robot Devil, Reverend Preacherbot and passing references to The Space Pope. While very few episodes focus exclusively on the religious changes in the Futurama universe they do cover a wide variety of subjects including predestination, prayer, the nature of salvation, and religious conversion.<ref name="Gospel" />
Earth has a unified government, headed by the President of Earth (from season 2 onwards being Richard Nixon's head). Earth's capital is Washington, D.C., and the flag of Earth is similar in design to the flag of the United States, with planet Earth displayed in place of the fifty stars.
The Democratic Order Of Planets (D.O.O.P.) is the fictional organization in the Futurama universe which has been compared to both the United Nations and to the United Federation of Planets of the Star Trek universe.<ref> "Love's Labours Lost in Space".
Futurama.
Fox Network .
1999-04-13.
No. 4, season 1.
</ref> Numerous other galaxies have been colonized or have made contact by the year 3000. Mars has been terraformed and is home to Mars University.
Linguistics
There are two alternative alphabets that appear often in the background, usually in the forms of graffiti, advertisements or warning labels. Nearly all messages using alternative scripts translate directly into English. The first alphabet comprises abstract characters and is referred to as Alienese,<ref name="LeelasHomeworld" /> a simple substitution cipher from the Latin alphabet.<ref name="AlienAlphabet1"> Omniglot
. Retrieved on 2006-06-13.
</ref> 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".<ref name="TheDaytheEarthStoodStupid"> "The Day the Earth Stood Stupid".
Futurama.
Audio Commentary 11 minutes in.
</ref> They often provide additional jokes for fans dedicated enough to decode the messages.<ref name="CohenSP3000" /> 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 and the word ask with aks (pronounced axe). According to David X. Cohen it is a running joke in the series that the French language is extinct in the Futurama universe, much like Latin is in the present.<ref name="SpacePilot3000"> "Space Pilot 3000".
Futurama.
Fox Network .
1999-03-28.
No. 01, season 1.
Audio commentary 20 minutes in.
</ref> In the French dubbing of the show, German is used as the extinct language instead.
Hallmarks
Opening sequence
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, the word "Futurama" is displayed across the screen along with a humorous subtitle (such as "As Seen On TV", "Bender’s Humor by Microsoft Joke™" or "You Can't Prove It Won't Happen").<ref name="FlikrSlideshow"> 'Flickr Slideshow'
.</ref> The camera pans across transport tubes; in one such tube a man flies by reading a newspaper with the headline "Moon Pie Fight at Mars Bar." Later, 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, and even a short section of The Simpsons from a Tracy Ullman episode.<ref name="FlikrSlideshow" />
The Futurama theme song was written by Christopher Tyng, and is based on the song "Psyché Rock" by Pierre Henry.<ref> BBC-Music Profiles-Pierre Henry
. Retrieved on [[2007-10-09]].
</ref> Tyng discusses the instrumentation for the Futurama theme in the Season 2 DVD commentary for "The Problem With Popplers."<ref> 'Psyché Rock'
(2007-06-02)
. Retrieved on June 02 , 2007 . </ref>
Recurring jokes and catch phrases
Several recurring jokes are used throughout the series. The Professor always announces a dangerous mission or bad news with the phrase "Good news, everyone!" or a slight variation of the line. Bender will often tell someone to "Bite my shiny metal ass" or a variation depending on the current situation. The catchphrase itself is heavily parodied in the episode "War Is the H-Word". Whenever Scruffy the janitor is shown, none of the other Planet Express employees seem to know who he is, despite his claims of being a long-time employee and his repeated appearances in the show. The word underpants is almost always used in lieu of the word underwear due to Ken Keeler's belief that it is 20% funnier.<ref name="TheHonking"> "The Honking".
Futurama.
Fox Network .
Audio Commentary 1 minutes in.
</ref> Amy falls down or slips often throughout the series, and the same soundbite of her scream is used each time.<ref> "Fry and the Slurm Factory".
Futurama.
Fox Network .
1999-11-14.
No. 13, season 1.
Audio commentary 13 minutes in.
</ref> Whenever it is referenced, the state of New Jersey is regarded as a terrible place; in the episode "I, Roommate", Fry rejects an apparently perfect apartment when it is revealed that it is "technically in New Jersey". The series has owls replacing rats and pigeons as the vermin plaguing New New York. The 20th Century Fox logo at the end of each broadcast is altered to read "30th Century Fox", as it is set in the 31st century. The producers stated that they created the logo themselves when Fox refused to produce a new logo for them, but later were compensated for the amount paid because Fox decided that they liked it.<ref name="SpacePilot3000"/> The logo was referenced in the episode "That's Lobstertainment!", when a Los Angeles tour guide points out the movie studio in the shape of the logo; the studio's spotlights are used to blind pilots so FOX camera operators can film the resulting crashes.
Humor
Although the series utilized a wide range of styles of humor, including self-deprecation, black comedy, off-color humor, slapstick, and surreal humor, its primary source of comedy was its satirical depiction of everyday life in the future, and its parodical comparisons to the present.<ref name="locus" /> Matt Groening notes that from the show's conception, his goal was to take what was on the surface a goofy comedy and show that underneath were "legitimate literary science fiction concepts".<ref name="tvsquad">Keller, Joel (January 31, 2007). Matt Groening talks about Futurama's comeback. TV Squad. Retrieved February 1, 2007.</ref> 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 an Arabic numeral 2, a joke referencing the binary numeral system.<ref name="locus"/>
The series developed a cult following partially due to the large number of in-jokes, most of which were aimed at "nerds".<ref name="locus"/> In commentary on the DVD releases, David X. Cohen points out and sometimes explains his "nerdiest joke[s]".<ref name="ragingnerd"> "Raging Bender".
Futurama.
Fox Network .
2000-02-27.
No. 8, season 2.
</ref> These jokes included mathematical jokes, such as "Loew's <math>\aleph_0</math>-plex" (aleph-null-plex) movie theater,<ref name="ragingnerd"/> as well as various forms of science humor. For example, Professor Farnsworth complains that judges of a quantum finish "changed the outcome by measuring it", a reference to the observer effect in quantum mechanics.<ref> "The Luck of the Fryish".
Futurama.
Fox Network .
2001-03-11.
No. 4, season 3.
</ref> Over its run, the series passed references to quantum chromodynamics (the appearance of Strong Force-brand glue),<ref> "The 30% Iron Chef".
Futurama.
Fox Network .
2002-04-14.
No. 22, season 3.
</ref> computer science (two large books in a closet labeled P and NP respectively),<ref> "Put Your Head on My Shoulders".
Futurama.
Fox Network .
2000-02-13.
No. 7, season 2.
</ref> electronics and genetics (a mention of Bender's "robo-, or RNA").<ref> "Teenage Mutant Leela's Hurdles".
Futurama.
Fox Network .
2003-03-30.
No. 9, season 4.
</ref> The show often featured subtle references to classic science fiction, most often Star Trek - many soundbites are used in the series as homage<ref name="locus"/> - but also others, such as the reference to the origin of the word robot made in the existence of a robot-dominated planet named Chapek 9,<ref> "Fear of a Bot Planet".
Futurama.
Fox Network .
1999-04-20.
No. 5, season 1.
</ref> or the black rectangular monolith labeled "Out of Order" in orbit around Jupiter (a reference to Stanley Kubrick's 2001: A Space Odyssey).<ref> "Put Your Head On My Shoulders".
Futurama.
Fox Network .
1999-04-20.
No. 10, season 2.
</ref>
Production
Matt Groening began thinking of Futurama in the mid-1990s. In 1997, he enlisted the help of David Cohen, then a Simpsons writer and producer, to assist in developing the show. The two then spent time researching science fiction books, television shows, and films of the past. By the time they pitched the series to Fox in April 1998, Groening and Cohen had composed many characters and story lines. During that first meeting, Fox ordered thirteen episodes. Shortly after, however, Groening and Fox executives argued over whether the network would have any creative input into the show.<ref name="Needham"> Needham , Alex
. " Nice Planet...We'll Take It! " , October 1999 . Retrieved on 2007-03-18 . </ref> With The Simpsons the network has no input.<ref name="Snierson"> Snierson , Dan . " Space Case " , Entertainment Weekly , 1999-03-26 . Retrieved on 2007-03-18 . </ref> 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.'"<ref name="Mr. Showbiz"> Groening Bites the Hand that Feeds . Mr. Showbiz (1999-04-08)
. Retrieved on 2007-03-18. </ref> After negotiations, he got the same independence with Futurama.
Production process
It takes six to nine months to make an episode of Futurama.<ref name="Saunders"> Saunders , Dusty
. " Fox's far-out Futurama looks like a hit " , Denver Rocky Mountain News , 1999-03-25 . Retrieved on 2007-03-18 . </ref><ref name="SciFiWeekly2" /> This long production time means many episodes are worked on simultaneously.<ref name="GroeningChat"> Online Chat with Matt Groening . TV Guide (1999-04-06)
. Retrieved on 2007-03-18. </ref>
Each episode begins with the writers discussing the story in a group. Then a single staff writer writes an outline and then a script. Once the first draft is finished, the writers and executive producers get together with the actors to do a table read.<ref name="Needham" /> After this script reading, the writers rewrite the script as a group before eventually sending it to animation.<ref name="DXC Interview"> David X Cohen interview with GotFuturama.com
. Retrieved on 2007-03-18.
</ref> At this point the voice recording is also started and the script is out of the writers' hands.<ref name="SciFiWeekly2" />
The animation in Futurama is done by Rough Draft Studios, which Groening insisted be used. Rough Draft receives the completed script and the first thing they do is storyboard it into over 100 drawings. Then they create a pencil-drawn animatic with 1000 frames. From there, Rough Draft's sister studio in Korea puts together the 30,000-frame finished episode. The show is also sometimes animated overseas by Tokyo Movie Shinsha.<ref name="Needham" />
CGI
In addition to traditional cartoon drawing, Rough Draft Studios often uses CGI for the fast or complex shots such as during the movement of spaceships, explosions, nebulae, and snow scenes among others. Most of the opening credits are rendered in CGI. The CGI is rendered at 24 fps (opposed to hand-drawn at 12 fps) 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.<ref name="Scott Vanzo"> Scott Vanzo of Rough Draft Studios e-mail response
. Retrieved on 2001-06-20.
</ref>
Broadcast
When it came to deciding when the show would air, Groening and Cohen wanted Futurama to be shown at 8:30 Sunday nights, following The Simpsons. The network disagreed, opting instead to show two episodes in the Sunday night lineup before moving the show to its regular time slot on Tuesday.<ref name="Radio Times"> Duncan , Andrew
. " Matt Groening Interview with Radio Times " , Radio Times , 1999-09-24 . Retrieved on 2007-03-18 . </ref> Beginning its second broadcast season Futurama was again placed in the 8:30 Sunday spot,<ref name="Villanueva"> Villanueva , Annabelle . " Fall TV Preview: Tricks and Treats " , Cinescape , September-October 1999 . Retrieved on 2007-03-18 . </ref> but by mid-season the show was moved again. This time Futurama began airing in the 7:00 p.m. Sunday timeslot, its third position in under a year.<ref name="Winer"> Winer , Adam . " Futurama Shock " , Entertainment Weekly , 1999-12-09 . Retrieved on 2007-03-18 . </ref>
Due to the 7:00 p.m. Sunday timeslot, the show was often pre-empted by sports and usually had a later than average season premiere. 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. By the beginning of the fourth broadcast season all the episodes to be aired that season had already been completed and writers were working at least a year in advance.<ref name="SciFiWeekly2"> "David X. Cohen boards the Planet Express to find meaning in Futurama"
. Sci Fi Weekly (December 17 2001)
. Retrieved on 2007-06-18. </ref>
Ratings
When Futurama debuted in the Fox Sunday night line-up 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.<ref name="Bauder"> Bauder , David
. " New animated show `Futurama' may be a score for Fox " , The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel , 1999-04-01 . Retrieved on 2007-03-17 . </ref> The following week, airing at the same time, Futurama drew 14.2 million viewers. The show was then moved to Tuesdays at 8:30 p.m. Futurama's first episode airing on Tuesday drew 8.85 million viewers.<ref name="DailyTV"> Groening's Gripe (April 1999)
. Retrieved on 2007-03-17. </ref> Though its ratings were well below The Simpsons, the first season of Futurama rated higher than competing animated series: King of the Hill, Family Guy, Dilbert, South Park and The PJs.<ref name="Sterngold"> Sterngold , James
. " Futurama: Bringing an Alien and a Robot to TV Life " , The New York Times , 1999-07-22 . Retrieved on 2007-03-17 . </ref>
When Futurama was effectively cancelled in 2003, it had averaged 6.4 million viewers for the first half of its fourth broadcast season.<ref name="MLMag"> Fox puts 'Futurama' order on hold
(2002-02-14)
. Retrieved on 2007-03-17. </ref>
Show status
By the fourth season, Futurama was being aired erratically.<ref name="FoxDropEpisodes"> UPDATE UPDATED!! FUTURAMA Thing of the Past?? Or What??
. Ain't It Cool News (February 12, 2002)
. Retrieved on 2006-06-14. </ref> Its time slot was regularly pre-empted by sports events, making it difficult to predict when new episodes would air. FOX also had not aired several episodes that had been produced for seasons three and four. Although Futurama was never officially canceled, midway through the production of the fourth season, Fox decided to let it go out of production and told the writers and animators to look for new jobs.<ref name="FoxStopProduction"> Silver screen Simpsons, Futurama facing finish?
. BBC News (January 19, 2002)
. Retrieved on 2006-06-14. </ref> Fox's decision to stop buying episodes of Futurama led Rough Draft Studios, the animation producers, to fire its animators.<ref name="FoxStopBuy"> FOX Says 'No' to 'Futurama'
. Zap2it (February 12, 2002)
. Retrieved on 2006-06-14. </ref> Futurama was not included in Fox's fall 2003 lineup.<ref name="FuturamaCancelled"> Remeber Me after my Death!
. Can't Get Enough Futurama (May 15, 2003)
. Retrieved on 2006-06-12. Modèle:Sic</ref>
In January 2003, Cartoon Network began airing Futurama episodes as the centerpiece to the expansion of their Adult Swim cartoon block.<ref> Adult Swim
. Cartoon Network Pressroom
. Retrieved on 2007-05-19. </ref> In October 2005, Comedy Central picked up the exclusive cable syndication rights to air FuturamaModèle:'s 72-episode run at the start of 2008, following the expiration of Cartoon Network's contract. It was cited as the largest and most expensive acquisition in the network's history.<ref name=variety> Dempsey, John
(October 27 2005) . "Futurama" in Comedy Central's future via big deal . Variety
. Retrieved on 2005-10-27. </ref>
Future and DVD movies
Modèle:Future film When Comedy Central began negotiating for the rights to air Futurama reruns, FOX suggested that there was a possibility of also creating new episodes. Negotiations were already being made with the possibility of creating two or three straight-to-DVD films. When Comedy Central committed to sixteen new episodes, it was decided that four films would be produced.<ref name="Katz">Modèle:Cite interview</ref> On April 26, 2006, Groening noted in an interview that co-creator David X. Cohen and numerous writers from the original series would be returning to work on the movies.<ref name="DVDMovieAnnounced"> Matt Groening
. Retrieved on 2006-06-14.
</ref> All the original voice actors still take part in the series. In February 2007, Groening explained the format of the new stories: "[The crew is] writing them as movies and then we're going to chop them up, reconfigure them, write new material and try to make them work as separate episodes."<ref> Staff Writer
(February 26, 2007) . Rhymes with Raining . Crave Online
. Retrieved on 2007-03-25. </ref>
The first movie, Futurama: Bender's Big Score, is written by Ken Keeler and Cohen, and includes return appearances by the Nibblonians, Seymour, Barbados Slim, Robot Santa, the "God" space entity, Al Gore, and Zapp Brannigan.<ref name="AIC-BendersBigScore"> Ain't It Cool News: "Ben Sinister Has Read The New FUTURAMA 'Movie'!!"
. Retrieved on 2006-09-18.
</ref> It was animated in widescreen and was released on standard DVD on November 27, 2007, with a high-definition DVD to follow.<ref name="TVBlogger"> Comic-Con: The 'Futurama' is Clear'
. tvblogger.org
. Retrieved on 2007-07-29. </ref> The film is 20th Century Fox's first carbon neutral release; the carbon impact was actively reduced for the production, manufacturing and distribution phases, and carbon offsets were used where necessary.<ref name="2Snaps"> “Futurama” Feature Length Movie DVD Specs
(2007-11-14)
. Retrieved on 2007-11-19. </ref>
According to Rich Moore the titles of the other three movies are Futurama: The Beast with a Billion Backs, Futurama: Bender's Game, and Futurama: The Wild Green Yonder.<ref>Vo, Alex (July 30 2007). Comic-Con Premieres New Futurama Footage; Plus, We Interview Futurama's Rich Moore. Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved on August 1 2007</ref>
References to Futurama in popular culture
Futurama is referenced numerous times in Groening's first series The Simpsons. Squeaky Voiced Teen is once seen attempting suicide, jumping off a cliff screaming "Why did they cancel Futurama?".<ref> "Fraudcast News".
The Simpsons. Fox Network . 2004-05-23. No. 22, season 15. </ref><ref name="NYT"> Robert Levine
(2004-05-23) . TELEVISION: THE EPISODE; The Season Finale That Isn't a Season Finale
. Retrieved on 2007-09-18. </ref> Bender has also had numerous cameos,<ref> "Missionary: Impossible".
The Simpsons.
Fox Network .
2000-02-20.
No. 15, season 11.
</ref><ref> "Bart vs. Lisa vs. The Third Grade".
The Simpsons.
Fox Network .
2002-11-17.
No. 4, season 14.
</ref> the most notable in an episode named in reference to Futurama.<ref> "Future-Drama".
The Simpsons.
Fox Network .
2005-04-17.
No. 15, season 16.
</ref> Fry has also appeared in The Simpsons, during a couch gag.<ref> "HOMЯ".
The Simpsons.
Fox Network .
2001-01-07.
No. 9, season 12.
</ref>
In An Inconvenient Truth, Al Gore uses a scene from the episode "Crimes of the Hot" during his initial explanation of global warming.<ref name="ireland"> YOU GO, GORE
. The Irish Times (September 15 2006)
. Retrieved on 2007-06-24. </ref> The Futurama cast and crew also made an animated promo titled "A Terrifying Message From Al Gore", featuring Gore and Bender. Al Gore is a recurring guest star in Futurama, his daughter Kristin Gore Cusack being a regular writer and story editor, and he has said that Futurama is his favorite show. The promo is included on the DVD release of Futurama: Bender's Big Score.<ref name="UGO"> Tarnoff , Brooke
. Futurama : Bender's Big Score Review
. Retrieved on 2007-11-16. </ref>
In an episode of The PJs, Fry's face can be seen on a milk carton as a missing person, referencing Fry's disappearance by being cryonically frozen. This was an act of reciprocation for an advertisement of The PJs etched into a manhole cover in the Futurama episode "I Second That Emotion".<ref name="ISecondThatEmotion"> "I Second That Emotion".
Futurama.
Fox Network .
Audio Commentary 13 minutes in.
"They reciprocated, actually, by putting Fry on the side of a milk carton in The PJs as a lost person."</ref>
The Slurm logo, a popular beverage in Futurama, can be seen on a vending machine being thrown by Young Avengers' Hulkling.<ref>Young Avengers Special #1</ref>
The Planet Express Ship appears in the Dark Horse Comics miniseries Outer Orbit, and the theme from Futurama was heard in the background of a scene on the moon in The Adventures of Pluto Nash. Also, in Alan Moore's "Top Ten" (issue 11), a discolored Fry, Leela, and Bender can be seen in the background of one of the frames.<ref> Nevins, Jess
(2001-10-29) . Notes to Top Ten #11
.</ref>
In the Family Guy movie Stewie Griffin: The Untold Story, Stewie snaps a reporter's neck after being asked what he thought about Futurama being cancelled.
In the Journeyman episode Emily, an episode of Futurama is seen playing on a TV set as a signifier of the time period.<ref> "Emily".
Journeyman.
NBC .
2007-11-09.
No. 9, season 1.
</ref>
Bender was also visible in the background in the Mos Eisley cantina in the Family Guy episode Blue Harvest.
In The Simpsons Game, Matt Groening sketches Bender and Dr. Zoidberg, which summons them to attack the player.
Awards
| Wins<ref name="FuturamaAwards"> Awards for "Futurama" (1999)
| Nominations<ref name="FuturamaAwards"/> | |
|---|---|---|
Annie Awards:
Writers Guild of America Award:
| Annie Awards:
| Emmy Awards:
Writers Guild of America Award:
|
DVD releases
Full season releases
| DVD Name | Ep # | Release dates | Additional Features | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Region 1 | Region 2 | Region 4 | |||
| Volume 1 | 13 | March 25 2003 | January 28 2002 | November 27 2002 | This three disc boxset includes the 13 episodes from production season 1. Bonus features include commentary on every episode, Animatics for "Space Pilot 3000", Deleted scenes, Script/storyboard for "Space Pilot 3000", Featurette, Interactive still gallery (stills & video) and easter eggs. |
| Volume 2 | 19 | August 12 2003 | November 11 2002 | May 13 2003 | This four disc boxset includes the 19 episodes from production season 2. Bonus features include commentary on every episode, deleted scenes, easter eggs, still gallery/concept art, alien alphabet. |
| Volume 3 | 22 | March 9 2004 | June 2 2003 | September 24 2003 | This four disc boxset includes the 22 episodes from production season 3. Bonus features include commentary on every episode, deleted scenes, animatics, still gallery/character art, 3D models from rough draft sequences, easter eggs. |
| Volume 4 | 18 | August 24 2004 | November 24 2003 | November 24 2003 | This four disc boxset includes the 18 episodes from production season 4. Bonus features include commentary on every episode, deleted scenes from 16 episodes, storyboard, character art and "How To Draw" galleries, animatics, 3-D Models, pencil tests, easter eggs. |
- Note: The box sets in Region 2 and 4 are marketed as "Season" rather than "Volume".
- Note: Each of the box sets represent one of the four production seasons of the series. However, Fox spread out the series over 5 television seasons, often airing the series out of production order. Of note: after the production of Futurama was originally canceled, Fox aired the 16 previously unaired episodes, all from production seasons three and four, as a "season 5", running sporadically between November 2002 and August 2003. The box sets restore the episodes to production order.
Compilation release
| DVD Name | Ep # | Release dates | Additional Features | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Region 1 | Region 2 | Region 4 | |||
| Monster Robot Maniac Fun Collection | 4 | August 23 2005 | May 30 2005 | August 22 2005 | Contains four episodes, one from each previously released season: "Hell Is Other Robots", "Anthology of Interest I", "Roswell That Ends Well" and "The Sting". New bonus features include an animatic for "Hell Is Other Robots" with commentary, special introductions and an easter egg. |
Films
| DVD Name | Release dates | Additional Features | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Region 1 | Region 2 | Region 4 | ||
| Bender's Big Score | November 27 2007 | April 2008 | March 5, 2008 | Contains an all new feature length direct-to-DVD movie. Bonus features include complete commentary, full-length episode of Everybody Loves Hypno-Toad, Futurama math lecture, and promo for An Inconvenient Truth starring Bender and Al Gore.<ref>Futurama: Bender's Big Score. FoxStore.com. Retrieved on August 6 2007.</ref> |
Futurama in other media
Comic books
First started in November 2000, Futurama Comics is a comic book series published by Bongo Comics based in the Futurama universe.<ref name="comics"> Groening lanches 'Futurama Comics'
(2000-11-19)
.</ref> While originally published only in the US, a UK, German and Australian version of the series is also available.<ref>Press release (2002-09-25) Do you want Fry with that? Titan Publishing. Retrieved from gotfuturama on 2007-03-04</ref> Other than a different running order and presentation, the stories are the same in all versions.
Much like the TV series, each comic (bar the US episode #20, see below) has a caption at the top of the cover. For example: "Made In The USA! (Printed in Canada)". Some of the UK and Australian comics have different captions on the top of their comics (for example, the Australian version of #20 says "A 21st Century Comic Book" across the cover, while the US version does not have a caption on that issue). All series contain a letters page, artwork from readers and previews of other Bongo Comics coming up.
The Futurama comics may not be canonical per se, and while they do draw from the Futurama universe, the events portrayed within them do not necessarily have any effect upon the continuity of the show.
Toys, games and figurines
While relatively uncommon, several action and tin figurines of various characters and items from the show have been made and are being sold by various hobby/online stores. When the show was initially licensed plans were made with Rocket USA to produce wind-up, walking tin figurines of both Bender and Nibbler with packaging artwork done by the original artists for the series.<ref name="PushingTin"> Janulewicz, Tom
(2000-02-29) . Pushing Tin: Space Toys With Golden-Age Style
.</ref> The Bender toys included a cigar and bottle of "Olde Fortran Malt Liquor" and featured moving eyes, antenna and a functioning compartment door; it received an "A" rating from Sci Fi Weekly.<ref name="ToyReview"> Huxter, Sean
(2001-03-05) . Bender: Matt Groening's Futurama inspires a nostalgia for the inventive toys of future past
.</ref> A can of Slurm cola actually contains a deck of cards featuring the Planet Express crew as the face cards. A two deck pack of cards was also released.
I-Men released two packs of 2.5 inch high figures: Fry and Calculon; Zoidberg and Morbo; Professor Farnsworth and URL; Robot Devil and Bender; Leela and Roberto. Each figure comes with a corresponding collectable coin that can also double as a figure stand.
The collectible releases include a set of bendable action figures, including Lieutenant Kif Kroker, Turanga Leela, and Bender. There have also been a few figures released by Moore Action Collectibles, including Fry, Turanga Leela, Bender, and the Planet Express Ship. In late 2006, Rocket USA brought out a limited edition 'super' heavyweight die cast Bender. Another special edition Bender figure was released at the San Diego Comic Con (SDCC) in 2006; the figure was called "Glorious Golden Bender".
Toynami has recently announced new Futurama figures. The first series of the Toynami figues will be separated into 3 "waves". First wave released in summer 2007.<ref name="Toynami Figurines"> Futurama SDCC Exclusive and Toy news
. Retrieved on 2006-09-05.
</ref> Each figure will also come with pieces to assemble the Robot Devil. A video game was produced and promoted in DVD sets.
Video game
On September 15 2000, Unique Development Studios acquired the license to develop a Futurama video game for the next generation consoles and handheld systems. Fox Interactive signed on to publish the game.<ref name="VideoGame1"> Futurama Finds a Developer
. Retrieved on 2006-07-25.
</ref> Sierra Entertainment later became the game's publisher, and it was released on August 14, 2003.<ref name="VideoGame2"> Sierra to bring Futurama game to the US
. Retrieved on 2006-07-25.
</ref> Versions are available for the PS2 and Xbox, both of which use cel-shading technology, however, the game was subsequently canceled on the Nintendo GameCube and Game Boy Advance in North America and Europe.<ref name="VideoGame3"> Futurama Info — Futurama Information — Futurama Release Date
. Retrieved on 2006-07-25.
</ref>
References
External links
Modèle:Portal Modèle:Wikiquotepar
- Futurama opening gags at Flickr
- The Infosphere — a Futurama wiki.
- Futurama Revival at Simpsons Zip
- The Planet Express Employee Lounge Futurama message board.
- Futurama at the Internet Movie Database
- [Futurama Catégorie Arts/Animation/Cartoons/Titles/F/Futurama/] de l’annuaire dmoz.
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