Futurama Season 5
When I sit down to re-watch a series, it’s rare for me to start at the very beginning. Maybe I’ve been conditioned by too many bad early Star Trek seasons, but usually I find the first few episodes/seasons of any show a little slow. I prefer to jump into a series I’ve seen before when the characters are a bit more developed and the show has found its footing. Where that is exactly is totally subjective, and others may have different points of entry for series they re-watch. But as a general rule of thumb, I usually skip the first 2 seasons of shows like Buffy the Vampire Slayer, South Park, and pretty much all new Star Trek series.
Now that Futurama has ended…again…I’m going back for a series rewatch. Since I used to own the first four seasons on DVD, I decided to jump back into the series at Season 5*: after Fox cancelled the show but before Comedy Central revived it totally. Produced in 2008, Season 5 consists of 4 direct-to-DVD movies that were later chopped up into a 16-episode series run. While Comedy Central wasn’t sure they wanted to commit to a new series, they commissioned these movies to gauge fan interest. Much like Family Guy and Firefly, Futurama was cancelled during the Era of Questionable Fox Judgement: 2002-2003. Like those series, Futurama found a second wind by people with more sense than Fox’s executives. These four movies convinced Comedy Central there was enough fan interest for a new series.
Bender’s Big Score
The plot: Earth is attacked by scammer aliens, nudists who use a time-travel code found on Fry’s ass to steal historical artifacts. Meanwhile, newcomer Lars battles with Fry for Leela’s affections.
The good: Freed from the constraints of television censors, this first movie showed more skin (male, female and whatever Zoidberg is) than any previous episode. Cartoon butts abound!
The bad: A third of the way in, the writers introduce several parallel stories, similar to previous episodes “Jurassic Bark” and “Luck of the Fryish.” While the concurrent narrative worked in a 22-minute episode, here it felt labored somehow, like the main plot wasn’t strong enough.
The ugly: There’s a lot of cameos in this episode that served no real purpose other than to please the fans. While I liked the God system from Season 4, I didn’t need to see it again here.
The Beast with a Billion Backs
The plot: Fry isn’t happy about the direction his relationship is going with his new polyamorous girlfriend. When he tries to kill himself by traveling through a rift in space, he discovers an alien life form that’s also looking for love.
The good: The story here is more concise than Bender’s Big Score; there’s more than enough material on the theme of love to keep all the characters occupied in one place and time.
The bad: While I like the idea of Fry pursuing other relationships, his new girlfriend Colleen is introduced with no fanfare; it’s hard for me to develop attachment to a character who is there just to serve the plot.
The ugly: Not sure how I feel about the genderless pronouns invented for the episode. “Schlee”? “Schler”? Count me out.
Bender’s Game
The plot: When Professor Farnsworth tries to end Mom’s monopoly on dark matter, he inadvertently sends everyone to a Lord-of-the-Rings-esque parallel universe.
The good: Probably my favorite of the four movies, Bender’s Game has the most amusing jokes and sight gags.
The bad: I have never liked the character of Roberto; thankfully his time in this episode is brief. While most of the D&D counterparts were spot on, Roberto felt shoehorned in as the Mad King of Wipe Castle.
The sad: Although it heavily parodies Dungeons and Dragons, D&D’s creator, Gary Gygax, died before the movie was finished.
Into the Wild Green Yonder
The plot: Leela must team up with a group of eco-femennists to save a violet dwarf star system from being turned into the 18th hole of a mini golf course by Leo Wong. Fry also needs to save the star system, because according to the Legion of Mad Fellows, the system holds the key to life itself.
The good: At the time of production the creators weren’t sure Futurama would ever be back, so the movie is written like a series finale, which gave 2009 me more closure than Fox’s first canceling of the series.
The bad: The over-the-top misogyny is cringeworthy, even for an over-the-top science-fiction comedy series. The he-man attitudes of the male characters feel artificially done for this episode and don’t really jibe with their character development from previous seasons.
The ugly: Too much of this movie is exposition; I get that the best Futurama is cerebral as Star Trek, but more screen time than necessary is given over to the Legion of Mad Fellows explaining the salient plot points.
For people new to the series, Season 5 isn’t a good place to start. For those of us who have watched the Fox run a few more times than we care to count; however, Season 5 is a great place to get reacquainted with the characters and settle in to the Comedy Central years.
tl;drs
Quick summary: Futurama Season 5 was Comedy Central’s way of gauging interest in the series before commissioning new seasons. Four full-length movies were released direct to DVD and shown on TV as a single 16-episode season.
Too many writers? Nope. In a triumph for passion projects, many of the original Futurama writers (as well as the entire voice cast) returned for the new season.
Recommended if you like: Nerd humor not found on The Big Bang Theory.
Better than I expected? I must have seen Bender’s Game a dozen times, yet I still laugh at the hobbit joke.
Worse than I hoped? A few of the jokes seem dated now; especially the gender stuff from Into the Wild Green Yonder.
Verdict: Hitting more than it misses, Futurama Season 5 is a feather in Comedy Central’s cap and a model for anyone looking to revive a TV series.
Related Reading: Wiki article
*Note. For Neflix users, these episodes are labeled as Season 6 on US Netflix; I have no idea why.
