DVD REVIEW

Futurama - Volume 2  (1999-2000)

>>Continued from Page 1 (Synopsis, Critique).

20th Century Fox presents Futurama in standard 1.33:1 fullscreen format. This is pretty strong video transfer from Fox, especially because the print image looks very clean. The image is crisp and well balanced. Also, colors are defined very nicely and accommodatingly bright. The animation looks even more fantastic in this transfer. Comparisons between the show on TV and this transfer indicate the DVD picture clearly carries the upper hand. Overall, this video presentation is clean, crisp, and bright, presenting Futurama in the best possible way.

20th Century Fox presents Futurama in English Dolby Surround Sound. This audio presentation is perfectly fine for a show like this, making good use of dialog scenes and other sources of audio, such as the many sound effects—sometimes directly mimicking those of Star Trek, like the sound of doors opening. The front speakers do pretty decent job of bringing the audio into the room. Again, this audio presentation is perfectly fine considering the material.

You can also choose to view the episodes in French and Spanish Dolby Surround Sound.

Commentary on All Episodes – First, let’s identify some of the people here. Participants for all commentaries are Executive Producers Matt Groening and David X. Cohen, and Supervising Producer Rich Moore. Joining them are Writers and Directors of the episodes, plus some of the voice talents, namely John DiMaggio (Bender) and Billy West (Fry and the Professor), as well as Producer Bill Odenkirk, Editor Paul D. Calder, Composer Christopher Tyng, and Director of Computer Graphics Scott Vanzo. [Sorry if I’m forgetting anyone.] Be advised, however, not everybody participates in each episode. Now that they’re out of the way, I’m happy to report that many of these tracks, if not all of them, are spontaneous, funny, and great to listen to. Discussions vary in topics, and sometimes there’s just genuine chatter going on, but overall these commentaries are very good. Since there are at least six participants for each track there is hardly any moments of silence. On a side note, it appears some, if not most of these commentary tracks were recorded back in 2002.

Deleted Scenes – Most of the episodes needed to be cut for time so here we are treated to at least one deleted scene for almost every episode. These scenes are usually small and don’t add a whole lot to the respective episodes, but they’re cool to watch, and most of them carry a joke or two. No commentaries are necessary for these scenes, since the reason for cutting these is obvious.

Rounding out the extras are Storyboards for A Bicyclops Built for Two, Animatics for Why Must I Be A Crustacean in Love, 40-second International Clips (one clip serves all four languages; French, Italian, Spanish, and Portuguese), a Conceptual Art Still Gallery with about 37 stills, four Sponsor Clips (you know, the alien advertisements that present the show), and an Alien Alphabet (a still picture with a translation). Although let’s not forget the fun Easter Eggs available on each of the four discs. These extras are fun to go through once or twice, and overall are pretty damn fine extras. On a side note, each episode gets its own menu. Also, the special features can only be accessed through one of the episode menus and not directly from the main menu.

You can select to view the episodes with optional English, French, and Spanish subtitles. The DVD’s menus are interactive, but not animated. Each episode runs approximately 22 and-a-half minutes and is organized into 5 chapters.

Futurama is hilarious, genuine, up-to-date with pop culture references, and never too offensive. All 19 episodes are a hoot to watch, especially with a (technically) fourth audio option for each one being a commentary. The video looks fantastic and the audio quality is fine considering the material. The extras are pretty big, especially the commentaries are a great listen, and the deleted scenes are great to have, too. When all said and done, Futurama: Volume 2 is highly recommended. Fans and newbies of the show should definitely pick up this 4-disc DVD set.

RATINGS SUMMARY

VERDICT: HIGHLY RECOMMENDED

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