# Futurama returns -- anticipation and the first two episodes \[edited title\] **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [June 23, 2010, 5:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/futurama-returns-anticipation-and-the-first-two-episodes-edited-title/544213 "2010-06-23T05:09:11Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 6
**Author:** ![MacTech](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c0e974/32.png) [@MacTech](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MacTech)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2010, 10:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/futurama-returns-anticipation-and-the-first-two-episodes-edited-title/544213/101 "2010-06-25T22:23:47Z")
Prof. F\> And thanks to my trusty SafetySphere™, I surblived with only tribial brain dablage… ---
**Author:** ![wolfman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/a8b319/32.png) [@wolfman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wolfman)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2010, 11:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/futurama-returns-anticipation-and-the-first-two-episodes-edited-title/544213/102 "2010-06-25T23:59:15Z")
I liked them both, but it was kind of weird. I guess I appreciated the movie format a lot more than I expected. They seemed kind of short and rushed, like they didn’t have time to fully do a story. ---
**Author:** ![cochrane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cochrane/32/10441_2.png) [@cochrane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cochrane)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2010, 12:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/futurama-returns-anticipation-and-the-first-two-episodes-edited-title/544213/103 "2010-06-26T00:23:15Z")
> [@MacTech](#): > > I also like that they carried over the we-renamed-Uranus-Urectum gag from “A Big Ball of Garbage” I thought that joke was kinda “meh.” I liked the original “Uranus-Urectum” joke better. In the original, the Professor didn’t even get upset at hearing Fry call the planet “Uranus,” he just clued him in on the new name. But in this episode, he presumably said “Uranus,” and everyone turned hostile, and Farnsworth slapped Fry. I did like the mention of “indecent” TV shows such as _The Pimpsons_ and _Assorama._ I liked the dialogue at the end of _Rebirth_ when Robo-Fry and Robo-Leela stripped off their outer human skins. Robo-Fry: _Hasta la vista_, weiner. Robo-Leela: I’ll be back. Amy (cluelessly): Why did their voices change? Also, hasn’t Nixon’s head been President for an awfully long time? He was first elected in 3000. Time apparently flows on the show the same as in real life, so, presumably it is now 3010 in the Futurama-verse. Haven’t there been any elections in the past 10 years? Does the Earth’s constitution even have term limits for the Presidency? ---
**Author:** ![Tapioca\_Dextrin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Tapioca\_Dextrin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tapioca_Dextrin)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2010, 12:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/futurama-returns-anticipation-and-the-first-two-episodes-edited-title/544213/104 "2010-06-26T00:23:22Z")
> [@pepperlandgirl](#): > > Is anybody else aroused and jealous and worried? About 90% of the time. Why do you ask? ---
**Author:** ![Darth\_Panda](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ee7513/32.png) [@Darth\_Panda](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darth_Panda)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2010, 8:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/futurama-returns-anticipation-and-the-first-two-episodes-edited-title/544213/105 "2010-06-26T08:35:23Z")
The second episode was iffy, but let’s no lose our sense of what’s truly important: The great taste of Charleston Chew! ---
**Author:** ![heathen\_earthling](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/13edae/32.png) [@heathen\_earthling](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/heathen_earthling)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2010, 9:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/futurama-returns-anticipation-and-the-first-two-episodes-edited-title/544213/106 "2010-06-26T09:09:15Z")
> [@cochrane](#): > > I liked the original “Uranus-Urectum” joke better. In the original, the Professor didn’t even get upset at hearing Fry call the planet “Uranus,” he just clued him in on the new name. But in this episode, he presumably said “Uranus,” and everyone turned hostile, and Farnsworth slapped Fry. I think you missed it. The “Urectum joke” is when said planet appears on the map of the solar system when Nixon is explaining the trajectory of the death sphere. I never got the impression that the censored planet was Urectum. ---
**Author:** ![cochrane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cochrane/32/10441_2.png) [@cochrane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cochrane)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2010, 10:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/futurama-returns-anticipation-and-the-first-two-episodes-edited-title/544213/107 "2010-06-26T10:05:33Z")
> [@heathen\_earthling](#): > > I think you missed it. The “Urectum joke” is when said planet appears on the map of the solar system when Nixon is explaining the trajectory of the death sphere. I never got the impression that the censored planet was Urectum. The “Urectum” joke is from the first-season episode, “A Big Piece of Garbage,” when the Professor was demonstrating his smelloscope. > [@](#): > > Fry: Oh, man, this is great… hey, as long as you don’t make me smell Uranus. > Leela: I don’t get it. > Farnsworth: I’m sorry, Fry, but astronomers renamed Uranus in 2620 to end that stupid joke once and for all. > Fry: Oh. What’s it called now? > Farnsworth: Urrectum. Here, let me locate it for you. I still thought the joke in the new episode was kind of “meh.” Whether it was Urectum or not, I just didn’t think it was very clever. ---
**Author:** ![bienville](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/4bbf92/32.png) [@bienville](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bienville)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2010, 11:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/futurama-returns-anticipation-and-the-first-two-episodes-edited-title/544213/108 "2010-06-26T11:03:42Z")
> [@cochrane](#): > > The “Urectum” joke is from the first-season episode, “A Big Piece of Garbage,” when the Professor was demonstrating his smelloscope. > > I still thought the joke in the new episode was kind of “meh.” Whether it was Urectum or not, I just didn’t think it was very clever. The Urectum joke that people are refering to in the new episode is that on the chart of the solar sytem, the seventh planet from the sun is labelled “Urectum”. That is the Urectum joke in the new episode, the only Urectum joke in the new episode. The joke of Fry whispering to the Professor the name of the destroyed planet, the planet so obscene that even the name must not be mentioned, this is not a Urectum joke. The joke here is that Fry said something so obscene that everyone was upset and the Professor was so offended he felt compelled to slap him, and yet we don’t know what he said. What is (supposed to be) funny about it is that it is left to our imagination, it’s upon the _not knowing_ what he said that the humor is founded. Not suggesting that you’re supposed to think it was a funny gag, just pointing out that the interpretation that Fry was saying “Uranus/Urectum” is off. Anyone notice that neither episode really had much of a B-story? Bender having to party / the crew trying to get Earth to repent were about as much B-story as we got. Personally, I think that the lack of a B-story is was made both episodes not as strong as the better Futurama episodes. Still, I liked them both well enough. The second episode seemed weaker to me, but having the V’giny = V’ger connection pointed out to me actually strengthens the episode as a whole. I just thought it was a “give it a silly name” kind of a joke. Having the joke be based on something makes it more valid in my eyes. ---
**Author:** ![Carnick](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/6a8cbe/32.png) [@Carnick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Carnick)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2010, 11:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/futurama-returns-anticipation-and-the-first-two-episodes-edited-title/544213/109 "2010-06-26T11:45:09Z")
This is why I didn’t want the show to return. It was one of the few shows that had a consistently good run. It had a nice long life, and went out gracefully. I really don’t want it to suffer the same fate as The Simpsons. ---
**Author:** ![twickster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ec9cab/32.png) [@twickster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/twickster)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2010, 12:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/futurama-returns-anticipation-and-the-first-two-episodes-edited-title/544213/110 "2010-06-26T12:02:09Z")
Since there were comments about the new episodes in the “oh goody, it’s coming back” thread _and_ someone started a new thread, I merged the two together. This may make a little of the continuity funky on posts since last evening, for which I apologize. **twickster** , Cafe Society moderator ---
**Author:** ![bienville](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/4bbf92/32.png) [@bienville](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bienville)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2010, 12:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/futurama-returns-anticipation-and-the-first-two-episodes-edited-title/544213/111 "2010-06-26T12:19:04Z")
> [@twickster](#): > > Since there were comments about the new episodes in the “oh goody, it’s coming back” thread _and_ someone started a new thread, I merged the two together. This may make a little of the continuity funky on posts since last evening, for which I apologize. > > **twickster** , Cafe Society moderator Hopefully you used a paradox-correcting merge code. ---
**Author:** ![GuanoLad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guanolad/32/42_2.png) [@GuanoLad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GuanoLad)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2010, 1:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/futurama-returns-anticipation-and-the-first-two-episodes-edited-title/544213/112 "2010-06-26T13:11:07Z")
I’ve always thought Futurama was uneven. I rarely agree on which episodes I like and what the majority seems to list as the best. Same with a lot of other shows. I even liked a couple of the extended DVD whatsits. I thought these two episodes were just fine, and I have no more problem with them than any of the others. Basically, they had good jokes in them that made me laugh. ---
**Author:** ![davidm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/davidm/32/225_2.png) [@davidm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/davidm)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2010, 3:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/futurama-returns-anticipation-and-the-first-two-episodes-edited-title/544213/113 "2010-06-26T15:15:55Z")
I saw them as more or less typical Futurama. Certainly not among the best episodes, but it’s always been somewhat uneven. Hopefully they’re be some standouts, time will tell. ---
**Author:** ![wolfman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/a8b319/32.png) [@wolfman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wolfman)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2010, 3:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/futurama-returns-anticipation-and-the-first-two-episodes-edited-title/544213/114 "2010-06-26T15:37:14Z")
> [@bienville](#): > > Hopefully you used a paradox-correcting merge code. My doomometer is in the shop, what does yours say about this thread. ---
**Author:** ![bienville](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/4bbf92/32.png) [@bienville](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bienville)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2010, 4:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/futurama-returns-anticipation-and-the-first-two-episodes-edited-title/544213/115 "2010-06-26T16:29:48Z")
I’m getting a reading of over 40 megafonzies! Oh, wait. This isn’t my Doomometer. ---
**Author:** ![cochrane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cochrane/32/10441_2.png) [@cochrane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cochrane)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2010, 7:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/futurama-returns-anticipation-and-the-first-two-episodes-edited-title/544213/116 "2010-06-26T19:32:49Z")
> [@bienville](#): > > The Urectum joke that people are refering to in the new episode is that on the chart of the solar sytem, the seventh planet from the sun is labelled “Urectum”. > > That is the Urectum joke in the new episode, the only Urectum joke in the new episode. > The joke of Fry whispering to the Professor the name of the destroyed planet, the planet so obscene that even the name must not be mentioned, this is not a Urectum joke. > > The joke here is that Fry said something so obscene that everyone was upset and the Professor was so offended he felt compelled to slap him, and yet we don’t know what he said. What is (supposed to be) funny about it is that it is left to our imagination, it’s upon the _not knowing_ what he said that the humor is founded. > > Not suggesting that you’re supposed to think it was a funny gag, just pointing out that the interpretation that Fry was saying “Uranus/Urectum” is off. I missed where the star chart said “Urectum.” So, I admit to being confused and not realizing that those were two different jokes. I withdraw my objection, then. ---
**Author:** ![TBG](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/c89c15/32.png) [@TBG](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TBG)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2010, 7:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/futurama-returns-anticipation-and-the-first-two-episodes-edited-title/544213/117 "2010-06-26T19:57:34Z")
> [@muldoonthief](#): > > I think you need to move your closing “comic book guy” tag to the end of the final paragraph. A wizard moved it. > [@Carnick](#): > > This is why I didn’t want the show to return. It was one of the few shows that had a consistently good run. It had a nice long life, and went out gracefully. I really don’t want it to suffer the same fate as The Simpsons. Still, it beats the pants off Family Guy’s return. ---
**Author:** ![cochrane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cochrane/32/10441_2.png) [@cochrane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cochrane)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2010, 9:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/futurama-returns-anticipation-and-the-first-two-episodes-edited-title/544213/118 "2010-06-26T21:59:41Z")
> [@Carnick](#): > > This is why I didn’t want the show to return. It was one of the few shows that had a consistently good run. It had a nice long life, and went out gracefully. I really don’t want it to suffer the same fate as The Simpsons. I don’t see the Simpsons’ fate as a bad one. The last couple of seasons since the movie have definitely seen a consistent increase in quality. Episodes have generally gotten good reviews here on the Dope, and the consensus here seems to be that there have been very few genuinely bad episodes. If Futurama can keep par with the last couple of seasons of the Simpsons, then we’re in for quite a few good episodes. ---
**Author:** ![Lobot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/ce7236/32.png) [@Lobot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lobot)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2010, 10:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/futurama-returns-anticipation-and-the-first-two-episodes-edited-title/544213/119 "2010-06-26T22:28:59Z")
What troubles me the most about the second episode is that there’s a fundamental shift where rather than the gags being in the service of the story, the story was merely a framework to hang gags from. Furthermore, the geek humour was mere riffing without any real point underneath it all. And yes, ho ho ho, the Garden of Eden myth implies incest between Adam and Eve’s children. What 12 year old hasn’t already figured that out? At the very _least_, _Rebirth_ had the great “Studio 1[sup]2[/sup]2[sup]1[/sup]3[sup]3[/sup]” gag. David X. Cohen is a true geek and very smart guy. Are the new writers coming from non-geek backgrounds? What will become of our P and NP gags? ---
**Author:** ![bienville](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/4bbf92/32.png) [@bienville](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bienville)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2010, 3:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/futurama-returns-anticipation-and-the-first-two-episodes-edited-title/544213/120 "2010-06-27T03:05:20Z")
> [@Lobot](#): > > _Rebirth_ had the great “Studio 1[sup]2[/sup]2[sup]1[/sup]3[sup]3[/sup]” gag. David X. Cohen is a true geek and very smart guy. I saw this, recognized that it must be a joke, but must admit I need help with this one. Can’t even figure out how to search it. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/futurama-returns-anticipation-and-the-first-two-episodes-edited-title/544213.md?page=5) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/futurama-returns-anticipation-and-the-first-two-episodes-edited-title/544213.md?page=7)