No More This Week in Futurama

It's exactly one month before Futurama returns to Comedy Central again with new episodes. But I've decided, with an upcoming busy work schedule, and an unfavorable feeling when I wrote the previous episode reviews that I won't continue the episode reviews for the remainder of the show's existence.

I'm fine reviewing Fringe and Doctor Who, because at least those shows generally have an overall narrative that I can discuss my thoughts and theories about (and sometimes bounce ideas of another reviewer like I do with Fringe). But when it comes to Futurama (and not the movies, cause I can at least treat those like movie reviews), I'm just judging the humor, and that honestly just gets annoying after awhile when I can't say anything about the story. Sure, the episode plot may have something to say, but overall, it doesn't matter. But really its a mix of that, and the fact that I have a lot of work to be doing on my own film this summer, so I figured I would cut the feature I liked the least.

Sorry if you were looking forward to those, however, I'll still be tweeting my thoughts on the new episodes over on @ViewFromHeaven with #Futurama.

This Week in Futurama - 11/21/10

Well well, looks like Futurama's sixth season wasn't done at just 12 episodes. Futurama is back, just this week, for a holiday special, which is kind of annoying since it's not even Thanksgiving yet. But alas, it's here, it aired, and now I'm going to review it...

Episode 13 - "The Futurama Holiday Spectacular"

This holiday special is very much in the vein of the "Tales of Interest" episodes, except there's no use of the What-If-Machine, instead opting for commercial breaks to take the place of actual transitions, so each short is still separate from the other.

In the first short, the Xmas one, Fry longs for a pine tree for the holiday instead of the traditional palm. But pine trees have been extinct for years, and so the Planet Expres crew finds a lab that may still have ancient seeds ... but they might be contaminated, and lets just say it doesn't turn out well for Earth ... or me, the viewer, because this was generally uninteresting and unfunny when compared to previous robot Santa episodes.

The next short is for Robonukkah, Bender's made-up holiday to get off of work. So no Hanukkah Zombie, as this is strictly for the fake holiday, even if most of the humor really is playing off the real holiday. Bender claims to need oil for 6 and a half weeks of fembot wrestling, but oil no longer exists on Earth so the crew plunges to the depths of the Earth to search for some... and die. Bwomp Bwommmmmp. The short was amusing, but nothing great.

The final short is for Kwanzaa, so I'm going to assume this is the first Kwanzaa special outside of like ... Rugrats. Everyone comes to Hermes' house for Kwanzaa, when they realize that they don't have actual beeswax candles for the kinara, and it turns out that all the bees are filled with parasites, so the crew must go to the giant space bees, and fight off parasite with the spirit of Kwanzaa. Still, nothing fantastic here, but this was definitely the best of the bunch.

Overall, the special was nothing fantastic but there were definitely laughs to be had. It's just annoying that they finally have another "Tales of Interest" type episode ... and all three shorts basically have the same exact set up, but just the holiday is different. And not that I'm an Al Gore hater or anything, but this episode was incredibly preachy about global warming etc, and Mr. Gore was in the special throughout. And well... sometimes enough's enough.

Overall Score: 7/10

And yet, Season 6 still isn't over, but for this year it is. New episodes will be back sometime next year, so look forward to more ho-hum reviews...

This Week in Futurama - 9/2/10

I may have just posted last week's review yesterday, but the season finale of Futurama's first regular season back since its cancellation is here, and it's time to write this review on time.

Episode 12 - "The Mutants Are Revolting"

Not only was this the first season finale for Futurama since their cancellation, but it's also the series 100th episode! And because of this, the crew must make their 100th delivery, which isn't as impressive... Anyways, the person they deliver to invites the crew to a fancy dinner to honor her late husband, and Fry accidentally outs that Leela is a mutant and gets her deported to the sewers... and eventually the crew gets tossed down there as well for knowingly housing a mutant.

Where as last week's episode was heavy on the jokes and gags and less on the story, this episode is almost the opposite, with most of the episode focusing on the Fry and Leela story (with some self-aware nods to how obnoxious mentioning the relationship has been) and less so on gag after gag. That's not to say this is a humorless episode, as there is still plenty of laughs, but they're less a abundant that last week, but in the end it works for the better. Sure the 100th episode could've been better, but this still wasn't that bad.

Overall Score: 8/10

I may or may not do a season recap next week. For shows like Lost, Fringe and Doctor Who, which have season long story arcs with cliffhangers and such, it makes sense to recall everything that's happened to get an idea of where the series goes from there. But with Futurama, it's a comedy, and for the most part, each episode is completely separated from the rest, therefoe there really isn't that much to piece together and think about. So if there's no new TWi Futurama post next week, check back in November, when the holiday themed episode airs!

This Week in Futurama - 8/26/10

...or more like Last Week in Futurama since I some how forgot about this for an entire week whilst writing three long reviews and getting ready to move back into New York City this weekend, so, here goes:

Episode 11 - "Lrrreconcilable Ndndifferences"

This episode is kind of weird, because instead following one of the more 'important' characters from the Planet Express crew, the episode follows Lrrr, leader of the planet Omicron Persei 8, who has been kicked out of his home by his wife Ndnd and flees to Earth where he lands at ... Comic-Con, where he soon thinks to crash at Planet Express, whose crew went to the 'con to help Fry's comic book future.

Story-wise, the episode isn't exactly all there and is kind of moronic, but writing-wise the episode is pretty hilarious. There's tons of science-fiction and comic book references thanks to the whole Comic-Con setting, and it's great fun to kind of look around and try and spot all the subtle and well... extremely obvious references. There's a very self aware moment with Matt Groening and David X. Cohen are showing off their latest series that takes place in the year 4,000: Futurella, and it gets canceled in the midst of their panel, where Bender soon asks about a 2nd Simpsons Movie and gets shot. There's a whole convoluted plan using Orson Wells to get Lrrr and Ndnd back together and all and all the episode was definitely one of the funnier ones of the season, even if the story wasn't exactly all there.

Overall Score: 8/10

This Week in Futurama - 8/19/10

More like Last Week In... because I'm terrible and actually saw The Expendables last Thursday and forgot to watch the new episode on my DVR...

Episode 10 - "The Prisoner of Benda"

When the King of Robo-Hungary comes to New New York, Bender hatches a plan to steal his priceless crown using the Professor's latest invention, the body-switcher. But there's one catch about the switcher, the switchees can't switch back without 2 extra people, which causes a whole mess of problems when not every is in the same room.

There are a lot of great parts in this episode, Scruffy's almost tearful moment with his humanized wash-bucket, the gross-out love scene between Fry and Leela (in Zoidberg and the Professor's bodies mind you), any and all moments related to Robo-Hungary, and the entire end fight scene. This was just a really well thought, funny, and just overall great episode that really evoked the feeling of classic Futurama's best episodes. It's nice to see that at least this one rare time, there was two great episodes in a row, which almost makes up for the awfulness that was "That Darn Katz!".

Overall Score: 9.6/10

This Week in Futurama - 8/12/10

Oh yeah! Keeping these on time for once, here's another Futurama review.

Episode 9 - "A Clockwork Origin"

I was more then pissed off with the abysmal pile of unfunny trash that was last week's episode, so it was a surprise to no one this season that this week's episode was smart, funny, and just generally good (what with the good/bad pattern and all that).

After a heated debate about evolution, The Professor and most of his crew flee to a distant Earth-like planet where they discover that organic life forms aren't the only beings with the ability to evolve; yes, it's ROBOT EVOLUTION. There's also a sub-plot where Zoidberg becomes Q-bert's new father that has it's funny moments.

This episode was to the theory of evolution like "The Late Philip J. Fry" was to time-travel, but with a lot less heart and a bit more humor. Not that that's a bad thing, as I think this season and the 4 films forced a bit too much of Fry and Leela's romantic relationship on us without enough of anything else. Also, while I appreciate some references to the older seasons' episodes, there's some I'm not OK with; like someone digging up a fossilized dog and saying, "Oh no! It's another one of Fry's dogs!" which almost completely takes all the heart and emotion away from the episode "Jurassic Bark" which I still have a hard time watching because it's so emotionally jarring. But nit-picking aside, this was definitely an improvement over last week.

Overall Score: 9/10

This Week in Futurama - 8/5/10

So much for thinking the new Futurama ok/awful pattern was over, because after last week's great episode, this weeks was pretty awful.

Episode 8 - "That Darn Katz!"

Amy finally attempts to recieve her doctorate, but soon finds that here thesis idea is stolen by an intelligent race of cats. And Nibbler feels neglected, because the cats are taking everyone attention away from him. There's some "lol-catz" jokes along the way, but like "Attack of the Killer App" any of the jokes here are just way too late, and generally the episode just isn't funny regardless.

Also, when the hell was Nibbler allowed to talk in front of EVERYONE and not just Lela and Fry? And when the hell was that just ok with everyone without any sort of WTF mention? If anything bothered me most about this episode, it was the lame and lack of jokes, it was this sudden acceptance that Nibbler can just talk when he pleases to whoever he pleases, thus throwing away years of the show's unwritten rules. And while the Bender/Hermes combo actually worked in "Lethal Inspection" the pairing of Amy and Nibbler is just awful and has zero chemistry. Screw this episode!

Overall Score: 4/10

This Week in Futurama - 7/29/10

A day late, sorry for still not writing everything else...

Episode 7 - "The Late Philip J. Fry"

The general pattern of this season has been good episode/bad episode/good/awful/ok/awful/ok; so when last week's episode was decent my hopes were pretty low for this week's new episode... but I was proven wrong.

This week's episode begins when Fry arrives late for work, and then soon realizes that he's actually late for lunch with Leela on her birthday. They instead make plans for dinner, and Fry promises to actually make it on time... that is until the Professor drags him and Bender into his one-way time machine and accidentally travels to the year 10,000 instead of 1 minute into the future, thus leaving behind Leela and everyone else in the universe. What happens after was both really cool and hilarious, we see Fry, the Professor, and Bender travel to random years in the future and see what becomes of Earth and the Universe, but we also get to see what becomes of the Planet Express crew in their absence.

Overall I really liked this episode, like, more than a lot of the classic Futurama episodes, because it not only had a lot of heart but also had a lot of really great imagery with just enough humor. It definitely ranks up there with other time based episodes such as "Roswell That Ends Well," "Luck of the Fryrish" and "Jurassic Bark," and is definitely the best of the season so far. With a lot of dirt and fool's gold this season, I'm glad that there's at least one gem to remember. I only wish my DVR didn't cut the episode short and make me wait until the episode replayed; because this review would've been up sooner.

Overall Score: 9.5/10

VFH Seal of Approval would've happened, but I don't like rewarding shows for doing what they should've done all along.

This Week in Futurama - 7/22/10

A day late, but it's here, sorry for the lack of updates.

Episode 6 - "Lethal Inspection"

After a war reenactment, Bender decides to gloat about how physically superior he is to his fleshy human (and decapodian) co-workers, and claims superiority over them in the name of Inspector #5, the person that approved him in the factory. That is until he springs an oil leak and starts dealing with the thoughts of his own mortality. So, he sets out on a quest to find this Inspector #5, and it leads him and Hermes to the Central Bureaucracy and then on an episode-long adventure.

The most awkward part of this whole episode is that it stars the unlikely duo of Bender and Hermes. Even in Hermes-centric episodes he doesn't appear that much. So to have this awkward pairing of him and Bender was bizarre yet surprisingly fresh. In fact, I wasn't even sure what to think of this entire episode... until the ending.

And to continue on that though, perhaps the best, but out of nowhere, part of the episode was the ending reveal that Hermes was Inspector #5 all along (which I guessed right away, just saying). Because it wasn't just a reveal, but it was a whole montage of Hermes' early bureaucratic life as an employee of Mom; it was very echo-y of the ending sequence of "Leela's Homeworld" from Season 4, and an unexpected return to the emotional tugging that Futurama used to have. An unexpected surprise of an episode, and definitely the better of the season so far, but still not in the show's overall top ranks.

Overall Score: 7.8/10

This Week in Futurama - 7/15/10

I'm starting to regret making this feature, but enough of that, here's this, and sorry for the delay but I was held up with a piece of artwork last night and had to record the episode instead of seeing it live as I normally would.

7/15/10: Episode 5 - "The Duh-Vinci Code"

I think there's a pattern here with new Futurama, every other week it's been good, bad, good... so guess what this week's episode is? In its defense, "The Duh-Vinci Code" isn't as awful as "Attack of the Killer App," but it's still nowhere near as good as this season two decent episodes so far, and even mediocre episodes from the original run.

So what happens? The Professor goes on about his favorite artist and inventor, Leonard Da Vinci, and it soon leads him and his staff on an exploration from "ancient texts" a.k.a. The Da Vinci Code. Which brings them to Italy, where they uncover Da Vinci's greatest inventions, and then Fry and the Professor are transported to the planet Vinci, where Leonardo is from, and is apparently the stupidest of its inhabitants... go figure.

The problem here, much like in "Attack of the Killer App," is that all the jokes here are either irrelevant or just not funny. Hell, Da Vinci Code jokes would have been irrelevant in any of the direct-to-DVD films, so why the hell are they making this now? I'm sure fans of the books would find this episode amusing, as really it's to the Da Vinci Code as "Where No Fan has Gone Before" was to Star Trek. But that's the key thing, Futurama thrives on science-fiction related humor, so an episode about Star Trek works really well. But what's the show's connection with the Da Vinci Code? Why are you making the jokes in 2010? It just doesn't seem to make sense honestly...

To me, it really just seems like this was a script written back at the height of the book's and film's popularity, and was shelved when there was no production going on, and it obviously wouldn't have fit into any of the four films. But with material so dated, I think this one should have been left on the shelf.

Overall Score: 6.8/10

This Week in Futurama - 7/8/10

After an abysmal episode last week (I wasn't alone, I read other reviews too, you know..) can Futurama return to its old hilarious? Or was last week a sign of what's to come for the rest of this season?

Episode 4 - "Proposition Infinity"

First things first, this episode is definitely better than last week's, just to get that out of the way. When Kif gets upset with Amy's obsession for bad boys, the separate and she leaves him for.... Bender! "But I thought Bender hated when Fry had a 'robo-sexual' relationship back in that one episode?" Yeah, well, don't tell me, this is what happened.

Anyways, without saying much, the jokes are memorable and actually funny this week, and George Takei even shows up, which is always awesome, because just before that happened there was another Star Trek reference... And as I complained with last week's stupid-tech humor, this week returned to the inside-joke nerd humor that I've always loved from the show, so I'm glad to see that last week's piss-poor episode was just a seemingly one-time case. I don't really have much to say else wise, but I definitely enjoyed this one, and would gladly watch it on repeat like have with the old episodes for years.

Overall Score: 8.5/10

This Week in Futurama - 7/1/10

I'm still iffy on the feature, as it's not only the first This Week In feature that focuses on an animated show, but a comedy, and not a story based science fiction program like all of our other TWi features. But I'll stick with it for now.

Episode 3 - "Attack of the Killer App"

This week, unlike the last two episodes, is Futurama's first desperate attempt to seem hip. We're onto a good start right? Yeah, let's just get on with it. So, MomCorp is releasing the new eyePhone (Get it? It's like an iPhone, but FOR YOUR EYE! So hilarious...) and everyone just has to have it despite all of its flaws, see how relevant this is? Ok, but get this... Mom also has a new service called Twitcher that lets you record your life and send it to people (this is comedy gold now, cause Twitter jokes are the next big thing) and now Fry and Bender are going to have a competition to see who can reach 1,000,000 followers first, and then Mom will release a virus or something.

But, how does one get to 1,000,000 followers? By posting trashy/gross videos! And what level does Fry steep to? Recording footage of Leela's singing ass-boil, Susan; Susan Boil... GET IT?! This is just funny stuff now. And, yeah, I'm done.

As an animator myself, I understand that the writing and animating process takes a lot of time and you end writing things long before they air and you risk writing about what is relevant then not being relevant by the time the episode actually airs... and this is a moment like that. Apple and Twitter jokes have really just become so cliche they hurt now, and even when they were somewhat new (I'm looking at you Conan O'Brien's Twitter Tracker segment from The Tonight Show) they still weren't very funny. Throw in a Susan Boyle joke (and have it voiced by the screechy Craig Ferguson) and what you have is an annoying cliche mess, that just tries too hard with one lame joke after the other.

I actually enjoyed the films and previous two episodes more than I thought I would, but this attempt at trying to be relevant was too awful to bear. It's almost like... the writers tried to reach out to the Comedy Central crowd that "thinks" they know what geeky humor is by talking about popular web services and cell phones, and not the Star Trek loving, D&D playing, actual nerds that look to Futurama for a taste of humor that we get and wouldn't see elsewhere. Less of this please.

Overall Score: 6/10

This Week in Futurama - 6/24/10

It's back! And to celebrate I'm doing a surprise This Week In feature... a surprise if you don't actually follow our Twitter. But, despite having to work till midnight, I managed to watch the new episodes, thanks to my DVR. So, despite it being 2 AM, it's time to write this...

Episode 1 - "Rebirth"
The season premiere opens, surprisingly, right where Into the Wild Green Yonder left off, with the Planet Express crew heading to what could only be certain doom, and Fry and Leela finally falling in love. Despite some hate I've heard regarding that film, I actually liked it, and found it's ending to be semi-fullfilling, having watch the original seasons numerous times, and then investing my money to buy the DVD films the days the each released.

So, as one of many people that did buy and watch the DVD films, it's good to see the writers treating those as a canon fifth season, and continuing this new sixth season from there, instead of shafting everyone and going from where Season 4 ended, seven years ago.

Continuing on from where I started, the episode is really just it's titled, a rebirth. Where everyone on the planet express ship basically dies, except for their heads, and are all reborn... except for Leela. Saddened, Fry goes to Build-A-Bot and creates a new Leela to love... until the original Leela finally awakens, and then it's just plot twists ahoy!

All in all, this feels pretty much like the Futurama I know and love, almost more so than the direct-to-DVD films. Despite the cable TV budget, less strict censorship, and just time gap from when the voice actors last portrayed the characters, everything felt as it should, which is great to see. Was it the best episode ever? No. But was it a good way to start? Sure.
Overall Score: 8.5/10

Episode 2 -"In-A-Gadda-Da-Leela"
Unlike Lost, Futurama's season premiere isn't just one big double episode. While both "Rebirth" and this episode aired the same night, this one should just feel like a bonus, because for the most part its story doesn't carry over from the previous episode, which may be weird for the people that watched the direct-to-DVD films in the cut-up versions that Comedy Central played. Why? Because unlike the four film, Futurama generally doesn't have a continuous story-arc like those films did, usually the show had been like any other animated sitcom, with a new thing happening each week, so the return to form may take some adjusting for some.

Anyways, this episode focuses on Zapp Branigan and Leela, and the threat of an evil space probe, named "V-GINY" (yeah, I get the Star Trek: The Motion Picture joke) and is divided up with homages to low-grade black and white serials, which turn out to be Zapp's hilarious dreams. Under the threat of V-GINY, Zapp and Leela are sent out to destroy the probe, but are ultimately marooned on a barren planet, in a sort of Garden of Eden... sort of...

All in all, this episode was definitely funny, and it's great to see more of Zapp... being Zapp. Not to mention, at least in this episode, I noticed a lot more risque material that surely would have never passed on Fox, but can now thanks to being on Comedy Central. Whether or not this freedom from censorship will lessen the charm and humor of the show in the long run remains to be seen. But for now, I like what I see,
Overall Score: 8/10

Next week will just be one episode, which airs Thursday night at 10 PM EST. See you then! Hopefully I don't have to work late again...

This Week in Futurama

Surprise feature! Plus, it's been getting quiet around here so I figured, why not? Not to mention I've already reviewed the four direct-to-DVD films, so I may as well continue.

This feature will consist of just myself, reviewing each week's new episode of the recently returned animated series, now on Comedy Central. For canon's sake, I'll link my old reviews of the DVD films here as well.

Direct-to-DVD Films
Movie 1 - Bender's Big Score
Movie 2 - The Beast with a Billion Backs
Movie 3 - Bender's Game
Movie 4 - Into the Wild Green Yonder

Season 6
6/24/10: Episodes 1 & 2 - "Rebirth" & "In-A-Gadda-Da-Leela"
7/1/10: Episode 3 - "Attack of the Killer App"
7/8/10: Episode 4 - "Proposition Infinity"
7/15/10: Episode 5 - "The Duh-Vinci Code"
7/22/10: Episode 6 - "Lethal Inspection"
7/29/10: Episode 7 - "The Late Philip J. Fry"
8/5/10: Episode 8 - "That Darn Katz!"
8/12/10: Episode 9 - "A Clockwork Origin"
8/19/10: Episode 10 - "The Prisoner of Benda"
8/26/10: Episode 11 - "Lrrreconcilable Ndndifferences"
9/2/10: Episode 12 - "The Mutants Are Revolting"
11/21/10: Episode 13 - "The Futurama Holiday Spectacular"

5/23/11: Status Update - Feature Canceled

Futurama returns in 2010!

Sure, the four direct-to-DVD movies were nice, but there was a rumor going around that Comedy Central ordered new episodes of the once canceled show from Matt Groening and David X. Cohen. Because they were rumors, I refrained from reporting anything until I had some official word...

Well, according to Entertainment Weekly, it is official now, as according to a representative from 20th Century Fox, Comedy Central has ordered 26 new episodes of Futurama for a 2010 air date. With 13 episodes being a standard season, I assume this will make up a sixth and seventh season for the show, as the four DVD films are considered the fifth season .

Interestingly enough, EW makes mention of previously canceled Fox show, Family Guy, getting a revival. I'd like to remind you that it was Cartoon Network's Adult Swim block that brought both of these shows back to television, and why they're so popular now; and I think it's a damn shame that they're always excluded from the renewal reports. Seriously, in a few years, watch Fox renew Adult Swim's most recent acquisition, King of the Hill, and I'll be here with a post saying I told you so.

None the less, new Futurama is still a great thing to hear, and should stand as a sign of hope to other series canceled before their time... but Sit Down, Shut Up, that can stay off the air forever, thank you.

Futurama: Into the Wild Green Yonder review

After 72 episodes, and three direct-to-DVD films, Futurama comes to it's second finale, does it go out with a bang or get lost in space?

Into the Wild Green Yonder opens up in dazzling Mars Vegas, which is soon blown up in order to build a new Mars Vegas, thus upsetting some "Green" activists. Soon after, Lela gets a leech attached to her, while Fry's brain gets a necklace embedded into it, causing him to hear people's thoughts. And once New Vegas opens, Bender falls in love with The Donbot's wife, causing him a load of potential trouble. As confusing as it may sound, it was nice to have aspects of the plot to be revealed early, as I feel the last two Futurama films suffered from poor storytelling.

Early on in the film, Lela uses the f-word (a first for the show), but sadly it's bleeped out. I say sadly, because for a direct-to-DVD release, there's no excuse for censorship, at least in my mind. As for the rest of the film, it's not without its usual pop culture and science fiction references, but I wouldn't expect anything less from the series. None the less, it all comes down to the usual story of only Fry being able to save the universe, a little dry, but it works for the film in the end.

Extras on the disc include: audio commentary, a storyboard animatic, deleted scenes, "how to draw" lessons, 3D models, and a Futurama "making of" featurette, which covers the steps of how the show is made, though in a very tongue in cheek manner, but while it may not be factual, its worth plenty of laughs. Also included are a short with Penn Jillette (of Penn & Teller), another short with Matt Groening and David X. Cohen going into space via a Zero G flight, a "Bender's Movie-Theater Etiquette" short, and lastly a "Zapp Brannigan's Guide to Making Love to a Woman" short. There's also an interesting easter-egg of Billy West as Zapp Brannigan muttering nonsense about something that happened outside the recording studio, and another easter-egg of Bender, animated on toilet paper.

Yes, quite the amount of extras, sure they're hit and miss, but you're here for the movie. While Futurama: Into the Wild Green Yonder is available on both Blu-ray and DVD, I can't say there's a big desire to see this in HD, so the choice is yours. If anything, I will say this is definitely my favorite of the 4 direct-to-DVD films. And for the ending, without giving away any spoilers, I will say that fans will be pleased, and if this truly is the for the series that would be just fine.

Overall Score: 9/10

Futurama: Bender's Game review

After the slight disappointment that was The Beast with a Billion Backs, can the third of the four direct-to-DVD Futurama films bring the series back up? Actually, yeah, it can.

As stated, Futurama: Bender's Game is the third of the planned four direct-to-DVD films of the series. Unlike the previous film, this one didn't seem to directly follow any events, so in a way it works as a stand alone film, and wont require you to watch Bender's Big Score or The Beast with a Billion Backs; which is a plus for casual fans. Oddly enough though, despite having this casual set up, the humor of the film is targeted towards hardcore nerds, which basically would exclude almost all casual fans. In fact the bulk of the film is based on Dungeons and Dragons, with a hint of Lord of the Rings. And if that wasn't enough nerd factor for you, there are references with LEGOs, Star Wars, a Star Trek gag with George Takei that made me chuckle a bit, even the title is a reference to Orson Scott Card's Ender's Game. It's a total nerdgasm.

But how's this all fall into place? Well movie starts off with a trippy Beatles' Yellow Submarine-esque opening reel, but that's unimportant. The actual film starts of with Q-bert and Dwight playing Dungeons and Dragons with friends when Bender walks in, and shortly realizes he lacks an imagination. There's also a parallel storyline in which there's a dark matter crisis (much like our real world oil/financial crisis) and Professor Farnsworth wants to destroy Mom's monopoly of the industry. Eventually Bender finds that he's overly addicted to D&D, and after a strange mix of mindwaves and dark matter, the Planet Express crew is transported into a fantasy world, where everyone takes on a mythical persona. I can't explain it well, or without spoiling, but hopefully you get the point.

While the move as a whole was decent, and definitely a step up from last time, I still have my complaints. For one, the fantasy world that the movie introduces doesn't actually show up until later in the film, and almost feels like a lost opportunity. The fantasy designs are a great diversion from the futuristic setting we're used to, and its nice to see how the designs mix between "centuries", but seeing just a smidgen of it seemed like a waste. Also, I found the movie to end quite abruptly, with the story wrapping up really quick in what seemed like just a way to fit it into a 2 hour time slot. I understand there are budgets and what not, but if that was the reason for wrapping it all up so quickly, then A) shame on Fox for poor funding or B) shame on the storyboarders and writers for poor judgment of time.

Lasty are the special features; I have the DVD edition so I can't speak for the Blu-ray edition. You have the standard commentary, animatics, a Dungeons and Dragons featurette, deleted scenes and more. One feature I found neat was a character mash-up where you chose two characters and then saw a weird morph of them; nothing special, but some gave me a laugh. Also on the DVD is a trailer for the next film, Into the Wild Green Yonder.

So to reiterate, I enjoyed the movie, a lot more than the previous one. I enjoyed the fantasy take on the series, as well as the plethora of nerdy references. But it just seemed lacking, whether it was the late introduction of the fantasy world, or it was the film coming to such a quick, stale ending, it just felt like it need a little more of a push. As a Futurama movie, this is a good chance for someone to just get into it, while disregarding the events of the first two films; but the choice humor and references may not be for everyone.

Overall score - 8.7/10

Futurama: The Beast with a Billion Backs

I just picked the DVD up this morning, and viewed it as well as most of the extras so I figured I'd give my impressions. Futurama: The Beast with a Billion Backs is the second direct to DVD Futurama film; and continues directly after the first film, Bender's Big Score. And like the previous movie, this too comes in a "carbon neutral" case, though this case lacks a window or shiny plastic so its actually much sturdier. But how's the movie hold up?

To me the funniest part was actually the opening sequence, which plays on the traditional sequence in warped way. The movie it self has its moments, but it doesn't seem to hold itself together as much as Bender's Big Score did. There are alot of useless parts to the story, and the main focus of the film, David Cross' Yivo character, never really seems to get that much attention. Not to say the movie is bad, if you're a fan you will certainly enjoy this, but it doesn't seem to do the series as much justice as it could have. But that's just my thoughts.

Also on the disc is Futurama: The Lost Episode, which is actually made up of in-game cutscenes and gameplay footage from the Futurama video game released on Playstation 2 a few years back. For what it's worth its not all that bad, anbd clocks up to the length ofa normal episode. Other features include commentary for both the movie and the Lost Episode; Storyboards, Deleted Scenes (storyboard, animatic, full color); a David Cross featrurette; Cast Blooper Reel; 3-D Models; A Brief History of Deathball; anda trailer for the next film, Bender's Game.

If you're a Futurama fan, you'll definitely need to pick this up, as you're probably one that requires all released footage of the show. But if your a casual fan, see if you can rent this or wait for Comedy Central to air it (and maybe botch it up while they're at it). After seeing the Bender's Game trailer though, I think the next film is going to be much more fan oriented, as it's clearly targeted to the nerd crowd.

Overall Score - 7.5/10

Futurama: The Beast With A Billion Backs trailer

First trailer for the next direct to DVD Futurama movie, The Beast With A Billion Backs. The movie will release June 24th!

Futurama + Hellboy = Awsome!

So, Free Comic Book Day was a week or so ago, but I didn't get the chance to read any of my comics until yesterday. One of the freebies i received was a Dark Horse Comics Hellboy sampler. I never was super into Hellboy, but then again i barely read any of the comics, so i figured it'd be a good time to see what I've been missing... and what do i find on the inside cover?

(click to enlarge)

So, for my first foray into Hellboy i can say i was pleasantly surprised. Is a full comic crossover too much to ask?