Futurama Lives On

I see that 4 years ago, I was writing about how Futurama had been cancelled and even the Futurama comic book had come to an end.  I thought that was the end of the road.  However, somehow the fates aligned, and the show was brought back from the void.

I'm pretty sure somewhere in the blog, I mentioned that Hulu had renewed Futurama (and there was some kerfuffle about the voice actor for Bender holding out for more money, though I don't think he actually got it...).  I have a 3 month trial subscription to Disney+ which is how Canadians watch the show.  I have managed to watch the first "new" season and am two episodes in to the second.  I'll give a few thoughts below.  I am not getting through them quite as quickly as I thought, and I imagine I'll get stung with paying at least one more month for Disney+, though I am definitely going to cancel, unlike a few other things that I seem to forget, like Crave which I never watch.*  (I did, however, cancel Amazon Prime in time...)

I have been poking around the internet, trying to find out if these will ever come out on DVD.  Hulu doesn't seem to be too interested in bringing things out on DVD, so that doesn't bode well, though it is possible that Groening put in a clause that said the new seasons will eventually come out on DVD.  Pretty hard to say.  I don't think there is a lot of buzz around Futurama, and some of the fans or former fans on Reddit have indicated they thought it was past its sell date.  Nonetheless, I just read that Hulu has renewed for two more seasons.  I will have to see if I can hold out until either both seasons are released by the end 2026 or renew for just a month at a time when each season hits.

Here are some random thoughts on the first season - some SPOILERS ahead

SPOILER WARNING

S11 E01 · The Impossible Stream - the main story about Fry binge-watching was kind of dopey but the craziness around bringing Calculon out of retirement to film new episodes of All My Circuits was ok

S11 E02 · Children of a Lesser Bog - I generally find stories about Amy and her terrible parents pretty funny.  I do wonder if the chronology was off in terms of how old the children were supposed to be.  The part about almost all the DNA coming from Leela was an interesting twist.

S11 E03 · How the West Was 1010001 - this was not particularly good and stories featuring Hermes usually don't hit the mark

S11 E04 · Parasites Regained - this should have been better (and the worms were always an amusing species) but the ending just didn't work

S11 E05 · Related to Items You've Viewed - pretty decent, including the gag about the entire solar system now being inside a Momazon fulfillment center

S11 E06 · I Know What You Did Next Xmas - also pretty solid episode.  (I should probably queue up all the Xmas episodes over the next couple of days...)

S11 E07 · Rage Against the Vaccine - terrible, definitely the worst of the season

S11 E08 · Zapp Gets Canceled - pretty good

S11 E09 · The Prince and the Product - I didn't think the episodes of the various toy stories were too compelling

S11 E10 · All the Way Down - I thought this was quite good and a bit thought-provoking (if the universe was just a simulation being run by someone in the "real" universe).  Probably the episode closest to classic Futurama.

I've only gotten to the first two in Season 12:

S12 E01 · The One Amigo - the NFT subplot was incomprehensible (which itself was sort of the point), though the heist itself was clever.  Also, Bender connecting with his Mexican roots was not bad.

S12 E02 · Quids Game - this was actually quite good with the right mix of humor and melancholy and seeing a bit more of Fry's parents usually is a winning combination.

I'll try to get to The Temp tonight, which looks promising as well.

I think they may have regained their mojo about midway into Season 11 (with the terrible misfire of the Covid-inspired episode Rage Against the Vaccine).  But there's no question I have so much affection for the characters that I will keep watching as long as they keep pumping them out.  Now if only they'll put out more product, especially a shiny new DVD set, that I can buy.  

Too bad it is clearly not going to be something I can buy (for myself) this Xmas.

* One of the more annoying things that happened recently is our cable box gave out and had to be replaced.  They didn't tell us that this meant everything that was stored in PVR would be wiped out.  Now, I probably was not actually going to watch some of that, including Season 1 of The Handmaid's Tale (just too f**ing depressing these days) and this show about a Toronto library that wasn't as good as I hoped.  But I really had planned on watching the final Venture Bros. season finale.  It will probably be shown again on Comedy Central or Cartoon Network or somewhere, but it means I need to spend the extra effort to track it down, which I am loathe to do.