Futurama – back after a short absence

Matt Groening is by far best known for creating The Simpsons, one of the best – and most popular – animated TV shows of all time. He also created another TV show which is at least as good but not nearly as popular – at least not with the general public.

Futurama features pizza delivery boy and chronic ne’er-do-well Philip J. Fry who, on New Year’s Eve 1999, accidentially stumbles into a cryogenic freezer and is thawed again in the year 3000, where he gets a job as – a delivery boy, basically. Needless to say, the world has changed immensely in the last thousand years – or has it?

The characters are just as crazy and funny as Homer & Co.: Leela, the one-eyed amazon; Bender, the misanthropic, ego-centric robot; Hermes Conrad, possibly the only rastafarian accountant in the known universe; Zapp Brannigan, the starship captain with more testosterone than Shatner himself; and of course Dr Zoidberg, the incompetent but lovable lobster physician.

Just like The Simpsons, Groening uses the animated world of Futurama to comment on the real world. The satire and social commentary is just as poignant and the pop culture references are just as numerous – albeit more specifically aimed at a sci-fi audience, which might explain why the show never achieved the same broad popular appeal as its sister show. The Simpsons have celebrated their 20th anniversary as America’s – and the world’s – favourite dysfunctional family, and they are still going strong. Some might argue that they are past their prime, but every now and then they still churn out a really good episode.

The story of Futurama is – or, at least, used to be – somewhat shorter: the show proper only lasted four seasons and 72 episodes from 1999-2003, after which it was cancelled by Fox (who else?) due to low ratings. This was seven years ago and may seem like old news by now. However, in 2008-09 four straight-to-DVD films were produced and later aired as 16 half-hour episodes, comprising the official “fifth season” of the show on Comedy Central. These were generally well-recieved, mostly of high quality and definitely in the vein of the original show. The success of these movies/episodes prompted Fox do to something quite extraordinary: they decided to revive the show after a seven year hiatus.

Whereas British and other European TV shows regularly have longer gaps between seasons, it is practically unheard of in America. Remaking old shows or creating new shows within an existing franchise? Yes. All too often. Simply continuing an existing show as if it had never been off the air? – now that’s a different matter altogether. Fox have been known in the past to screw up several brilliant and promising shows, more than one of them in the science-fiction genre. What they are doing with Futurama is a first for them. Also, the show will only be produced by Fox (featuring all of the old cast and most of the old crew) but broadcast on Comedy Central. All in all, there is plenty of reason for us fans of the show to be hopeful that this is the beginning of a new era of greatness. I for one am eagerly awaiting the first of the new episodes, scheduled to air on 24 June.

Futurama (1999-?) Voices: Billy West, Katey Segal, John DiMaggio, Phil LaMarr, Lauren Tom, Maurice LaMarche, Tress MacNeille, Frank Welker. Created by Matt Groening. Rated TV-PG. Approx. runtime: 30 min incl. commercials.

Movie review: Percy Jackson & the Lightning Thief

Percy Jackson (Logan Lerman) is an unusual teenager with perhaps not so unusual teenage problems: He’s battling with ADHD and dyslexia. His stepfather is a disgusting creep and his real father left when he was a baby. One day, though, Percy finds out why: his father is actually the Greek god Poseidon (Kevin McKidd). As if that wasn’t enough, it turns out that all the gods and other creatures of Greek mythology are still alive and well – they just don’t meddle in human affairs as much as they used to.

One day, Percy is accused of stealing Zeus‘ (Sean Bean) famous lightning bolt on behalf of his father. He gets two weeks to give it back, or a new war between the gods will break out. Percy is completely innocent, so his best friend Grover (Brandon T. Jackson) – a satyr assigned to protect him without his knowing – takes him to what is basically a summer camp for demigods. Here he meets and trains with other children of human-god unions. However, Hades (Steve Coogan), the last of the ‘Big Three’ brother gods, also believing that Percy has the lightning bolt, kidnaps his mother and keeps her in the realm of the dead, demanding the bolt in return for her life. Along with Grover and Annabeth (Alexandra Daddario), a daughter of Athena, Percy now sets out to rescue his mother – and hopefully find the real lightning thief along the way.

Percy Jackson & the Olympians: The Lightning Thief is the tongue-breaking full title of this movie (at least in the US), based on a book by Rick Riordan. I haven’t read the book, so I’m unable to comment on the differences and what was left out, but I’m sure plenty of fans of the book will have plenty of strong opinions about that. Suffice to say that this is not a bad movie. The movie, like the book, is clearly YA, made for kids of about the same age as the main characters – apparently Percy is only 12 years old in the book, whereas the movie made him a high school student – which makes it at least a little bit less unrealistic for him to be doing sword fights and the like.

Because of the younger target audience the movie does spend some time introducing the various gods and other mythological creatures and explaining their properties, but it is done in a fairly subtle way and doesn’t interfere too much with the telling of the story – which follows the standard quest formula with no big surprises. That being said, the movie does a good job doing what it sets out to do. If it can create an interest in the subject matter among teenagers – more power to it. Also, the rich imagery of Greek mythology does lend itself well to film, and the CGI monsters are just plain eye candy on a big screen. The on-screen chemistry between the three young leads is a big plus, but some of the ‘grown-ups’ are worth watching as well – especially Coogan and Dawson as the unhappily married First Couple of the Underworld. The big names like Brosnan and Bean are really just phoning it in, though.

If you like the classic myths – and have just an ounce of inner child left – you should be able to enjoy this movie for what it is. For a more ‘adult’ treatment of the source material, wait for the upcoming remake of the classic Clash of the Titans – I’m certainly looking forward to that one. Oh, and stay tuned for an extra little scene inserted during the end credits.

Percy Jackson & the Olympians: the Lightning Thief (2010) Starring Logan Lerman, Brandon T. Jackson, Alexandra Daddario, Jake Abel, Sean Bean, Pierce Brosnan, Steve Coogan, Rosario Dawson, Kevin McKidd, Uma Thurman. Written by Craig Titley. Directed by Chris Columbus. Rated PG. 1 h 58 min.

Defying Gravity – another promising sci fi show cut short

Ok, not really a movie but a tv show – bear with me.

Anyone familiar with American tv will know how the system works: A tv show creator will pitch an idea to a network. If the network likes the idea, they will order a pilot episode. If the pilot is succesful enough, they will go ahead and produce more episodes. If the ratings aren’t good enough, the show will get canceled – sometimes mid-season.

From the point of view of the network executives, this approach makes perfect sense. Why waste more time and money than necessary on a project that apparently doesn’t appeal to the viewers? Better to just pull out in time and cut your losses.

There are, however, several flaws to the typical network model. First of all, most shows take a while to get going. You can’t expect instant success; you have to give the show a chance to find its stride and the viewers a chance to warm up to it. An example is Star Trek: The Next Generation. The first couple of seasons were horrible and cheesy, even by a late 80s standard, but the network gave it a chance and it just kept getting better and better.

Secondly, the business strategies of the big networks are hopelessly antiquated. Decisions are based almost solely on ratings – most of which only take into account the original first airing of an episode, watched ‘live’. Content streamed or downloaded legally, from iTunes or from the network’s own website, doesn’t figure anywhere. Neither do DVD sales. Neither do episodes that are taped and watched later. Not even reruns! Networks simply are not up to date with the viewing habits of the 21st century.

Of the major American networks, FOX probably has the worst reputation when it comes to not giving tv shows the chance they deserve – especially among sci fi fans. Firefly is often used as an example. The show only lasted 14 episodes and yet it has a massive cult following today, seven years later. I’ve never been much of a Joss Whedon fan (except for Angel and some of Buffy), but even I have to recognize that the viewers were there – unlike the network’s patience. Other, more recent examples include New Amsterdam (8 episodes, also on FOX), a show which definitely deserved more, the remake of Bionic Woman (9 episodes on NBC), a slow starter but still with potential – and now Defying Gravity – and this was on Canadian TV, not American!

The show takes place 40 years into the future and tells the story of a multinational scientific space mission, scheduled to visit six of the planets in the solar system in six years. As the mission progresses, however, the crew slowly realizes that not everything is as it seems, and that perhaps mission control hasn’t been completely open wth them about the actual goal of the mission.

CTV, the national Canadian TV network, originally ordered a 13 episode first season, which was then sold to American network ABC – who never aired the last two episodes! Some shows at least get a chance to wrap up the story line, albeit hurriedly, after they get canceled. Not so with Defying Gravity. The plot is simply too complex, even if the writers had been warned well in advance. The show therefore ends very abruptly and on a very annoying and unsatisfying cliffhanger. If you choose to watch the show anyway, do so at your own peril! I’m still going to recommend it, though. The basic idea is solid, the writing is more than solid, and the acting is damn near brilliant – plus it’ really refreshing to see a cast consisting of all unfamiliar faces. Probably because the show is Canadian and not American, it has a much more British feel to it – it’s not afraid to take up issues that American producers would never trust their audience to be able to cope with.

If you do decide to go ahead and watch the show anyway – and it is worth the frustration of the unresolved plot threads – show creator James Parriott did reveal some of what his show bible contained and how the show would have progressed. Read the interview here – but not until after you’ve watched all 13 episodes…

Defying Gravity (2009) Starring Ron Livingston, Malik Yoba, Andrew Airlie, Paula Garcés, Florentine Lahme, Karen LeBlanc, Eyal Podell, Dylan Taylor, Christina Cox, Laura Harris. Created by James D. Parriott. Rated 14+ (Canada). Approx. runtime: 43 min excl. commercials.