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: Zombieland

Once in a while, it’s refreshing to watch a movie that doesn’t require you to think. A movie that doesn’t try to deliver a “serious” agenda in the guise of light-hearted comedy or actionpacked violence. A movie that just aims to entertain you. A movie that doesn’t need two and a half hours to do so.

Zombieland is such a movie. The feature film debut by director Ruben Fleischer is delightfully brainless (no pun intended). I’m not a fan of zombies and zombie movies in any way, but this movie is so unlike most other zombie movies that hardcore fans of the genre probably won’t like it, for the same reasons they didn’t like Shaun of the Dead.

I like it. Mainly because the actual zombie action is kept to a relative minimum and at the same time so over the top that it doesn’t gross you out. Basically this is a road movie with zombies. In fact it’s Natural Lampoon’s Vacation with zombies – you’ll understand when you see the ending.

The focus is on what appears to be the last four non-infected people left in a post-apocalyptic world full of zombies: a neurotic geeky teenager on the way home to his family (Jesse Eisenberg), a – seemingly – bad-ass road warrior with a sweet tooth (Woody Harrelson), and two sisters determined to make it on their own (Emma Stone and Abigail Breslin). They team up because they have nothing better to do, kill some zombies (always double tap!) and have some fun adventures along the way – and that’s pretty much it. But boy are those adventures fun!

Harrelson carries the movie with a wonderfully laconic performance as the tough guy who becomes a sort of father figure for the group. The highlight of the movie, however, is the surprise cameo of the year – which I will just leave as a surprise, hoping you haven’t already had it spoiled by someone else. Absolutely hilarious. The final showdown is visually very enjoyable as well.

Zombieland may not be much in the way of a horror movie, and it may be a so-so comedy, but it’s pretty much the perfect combination of the two. To quote one of the important rules of zombie survival: Enjoy the little things. This movie is one of those little things. Just turn off your brain (again, no pun intended) for an hour and a half, sit back, and enjoy…

Zombieland (2009) Starring Jesse Eisenberg, Woody Harrelson, Emma Stone, Abigail Breslin. Written by Rhett Reese, Paul Wernick. Directed by Ruben Fleischer. Rated R. 1 h 21 min.