DVD REVIEW

Futurama - Volume 2  (1999-2000)

Rating: NR

Distributor: Fox Home Entertainment

Release Date: August 12, 2003
Review posted: August 14, 2003

Spoilers: Minor

Reviewed by Dennis Landmann

Phillip Fry is a 25-year-old pizza delivery boy whose life is going nowhere. When he accidentally freezes himself on December 31, 1999, he wakes up 1,000 years in the future and has a chance to make a fresh start. He goes to work for the Planet Express Corporation, a futuristic delivery service that transports packages to all five quadrants of the universe. His companions include the delivery ship's captain, Leela, a beautiful one-eyed female alien who kicks some serious butt, and Bender, a robot with very human flaws. Thanks to the IMDB.

Matt Groening can’t go wrong. The Simpsons is still going strong on the Fox network after some fourteen years. His latest creation is Futurama, an animated show very much in the veins of The Simpsons. The catch is it takes place in the year 3000 and encompasses a greater environment, including oddly-named planets in the galaxy and weird/funny-looking aliens. Instead of a family, like the Simpsons, Futurama follows several characters (more on them later) working for an intergalactic Express service.

Sadly the show didn’t exist as long as The Simpsons and was cancelled in May 2002. However, Fox realized the DVD market is a great place to promote and generate more income from TV shows. March 2003 saw the release of Futurama: Volume 1 and sales were apparently so good that Fox decided to release Volume 2 on DVD this August.

Futurama is about on the same level as The Simpsons in terms of wittiness. The jokes and pop culture references are present in both these animated shows. Speaking of animation, Futurama switches from general 2-D to occasional 3-D animation, which looks really great. Creator Matt Groening and Co-Developer David X. Cohen create another solid, witty, and hilarious show, although considering their experience on The Simpsons it is okay to admit that some aspects of Futurama are more advanced.

However, it’s hard to say whether Futurama is better, because The Simpsons is essentially about family life, and it deals with much more dramatic and real-life themes. Although I feel Futurama manages to be funny on a more consistent basis, especially in terms of outrageous pop culture references and crazy jokes. Also, this show is never too offensive, and when it is it’s all in good fun. However, one is reminded of the controversial second Christmas episode (A Tale of Two Santas) which Fox pulled from its original airdate only to air it at a later date and timeslot. On a side note, Fox’s Family Guy, created by Seth McFarlane, is probably the most offensive animated show I can think of right now, and I think it’s funnier than The Simpsons and Futurama.

Now, the characters of Futurama are all pretty cool and likeable, all in their own ways, of course. The good thing about these characters is that none of them seem forced to take center stage. First up is Fry (voiced by Billy West), the typical guy from the late 90s. One who is never too smart, but never too dumb, either. Next is Bender (voiced by John DiMaggio), the wise-cracking, all-knowing, cigar-smoking, alcohol-drinking, sarcastic bending robot serving as Fry’s best friend. Man, Bender is a classic character, not to mention the funniest of any animation TV show. Leela (voiced by Katey Sagal) is a female pilot for Planet Express Corporation, and also the object of Fry’s secret affection. What would Futurama be without its resident genius Professor? I’m not exactly sure, but Billy West voices yet another character, Professor Hubert Farnsworth, the oldest member of the Corporation, but the most intelligent. Additional characters are Dr. Zoidberg, Amy Wong, and Hermes Conrad, among others.

Futurama: Volume 2 includes all 19 episodes from the second season. Most episodes are pretty funny and just great, while only a few are a little less that. However, no one episode is weak or unfunny. They’re all pretty damn good. Probably one of the funniest moments in the early episodes is a new rendering of Midnight Cowboy in Brannigan, Begin Again. In the episode, Zap Brannigan (Billy West) and his assistant are court-martialed for blowing up the DOOP (Democratic Order of Planets) headquarters. They find themselves unemployed and walk the streets, at which point "Everybody’s Talkin'" plays over a few hilarious (spoofed) scenes. This is not all as other episodes include even more funny moments.

For example, Richard Nixon uses Bender’s torso to stage a political comeback in A Head in the Polls, a hilarious episode. John Goodman (The Big Lebowski) voices Santa Claus in Xmas Story; another hilarious episode where Fry finds out Santa Claus is an evil, eight-foot robot, while Bender volunteers at a shelter for homeless robots (yes, they really exist, hehe). Other funny moments occur in The Lesser of Two Evils, where Bender meets his twin (Flexo), Raging Bender, where Bender turns pro-robot wrestling, Bender Gets Made, with Bender joining the Robot Mafia (they also exist, hehe), and many more. There’s no end to the hilarity. So at this point it’s safe to say Futurama is one hilarious show, and it’s great to have these second season episodes available for home viewing.

Additional fun snippets of Futurama include parodies of the “transmitted in SAP” type of show disclaimers when the title Futurama appears in the beginning (examples are "As Seen on TV" or "This Episode Has Been Modified To Fit Your Primitive Screen”), the show being sponsored by futuristic sponsor advertisements (“Glagnar's Human Rinds”), and the production company logo shown after the end credits which reads “30th Century Fox.” Also, during the intro sequence there is always something different playing on the screen before the spaceship crashes into it. These little fun things before and after the end credits remind of Bart’s various chalkboard writings and the varying methods of the family sitting down on the couch in The Simpsons.

It’s a great show! Anyway, below is a list of all 19 second-season episodes.

Disc 1:
I Second That Emotion
Brannigan, Begin Again
A Head in the Polls
Xmas Story
Why Must I Be a Crustacean in Love?

Disc 2:
Put Your Head on My Shoulder
Lesser of Two Evils
Raging Bender
A Bicyclops Built for Two
A Clone of My Own

Disc 3:
How Hermes Requisitioned His Groove Back
The Deep South
Bender Gets Made
My Problem With Popplers
Mother's Day

Disc 4:
Anthology of Interest I
War is the H-Word
The Honking
The Cryonic Woman

>>Continued on Page 2 (Video, Audio, Extras, Overall).

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