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.