OK so I'm a bit late to the party! What can I say, I've been busy buried in thesis writing (more of which, later). I LOVED futurama s1-4, but the TV movies aka s5 were a bit lacking to say the least, So it was with great surprise that I heard the series had been renewed for a 6th season.
For those who don't know, Futurama is made by the same people who make The Simpsons. Set a thousand years from now, it follows the exploits of Philip J Fry, a pizza delivery boy who was accidentally (although we know now on purpose) cryogenically frozen in the 20th century and defrosted in the 30th century, where he joined Delivery Express, a delivery company run by his great-great-million times great nephew (who is about 100 years older than Fry, if you can wrap your brain around it). Fry is in love with the one eyed captain, Leela and is best friends with the kleptomaniac alcoholic robot Bender. Although the show never reached anywhere near the success of Simpsons, it can definitely match it in the humour stakes
So how does s6 shape up? I have to say it's been a bit hit and miss.
6.1 Rebirth - The series returns with all the crew dead. Obviously someone needs to fix it. Quite amusing when we get duplicates. Not a bad start 7/10
6.2 In-A-Gadda-Da-Leela. A deathstar like thing is approaching Earth, and Zap Brannigan and Leela must go to fight it. OK getting Zap and Leela together was kinda contrived, Fry doesn't even object to his girlfriend going off with someone who's desperately interested in her. But the subsequent crash into the Garden of Eden is amusing, as is the 50s black and white serial depiction of Zap. The deathstar being a parody of Star Wars and of V'ger from Star Trek was pretty funny too. 7/10
6.3 Attack of the Killer App. People get EyePhones and turn into zombies, while Leela freaks out about a deformity. This was so horribly dated, taking jabs at Apple iPhones and Susan Boyle from X Factor/Pop Idol/Whatever Simon Cowell show. The vomiting/defecating goat was mildly amusing, but that was about it. Yet another plot from Mom? Meh 4/10
6.4 Proposition Infinity. Bender and Amy decide to hook up, which stirs up anti robosexuality hostility. Yawn. This was great with Fry and Lucy Liu a few seasons back. Amy and Bender together was just ridiculous. Again it felt dated as a jab against the US politics surrounding Proposition Eight and gay weddings. Another clunker 5/10
6.5 The Duh-Vinci Code. Fry discovers a secret document showing plans for an invention by Leonardo da Vinci. This triggers a search for the device, leading to the discovery that he built a spaceship to take him back home to his planet of alien super geniuses. The medieval robot got a laugh or two, but the rest of it was pretty mundane. 6/10
6.6 Lethal Inspection. After re enacting war games involving an invasion by Sith Lords, Bender discovers a fault in his mechanism, meaning if he dies he will not, as he supposed, download into a new body (very Battlestar Galactica). Freaking out, he recruits Hermes to find the bureaucrat who certified him as perfect to demand an explanation to his defect. The gags in this episode had me cracking up, possibly with relief that finally the show was going somewhere! The central bureaucrat office is entered by crossing a River Styx, and the offices are all linked together in a giant rubix cube assortment of cubicles. Following that, Bender and Hermes go off on all sorts of madcap adventures. The ending was prob predictable for most but I didn't see it and it actually invoked a little tear. Now THIS is what Futurama was like in s4 before they made the ridiculous decision to cancel! Hopefully it can sustain this and justify its resurrection. 9/10
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