# Worst Futurama episode (pre-cancellation only) **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [December 6, 2011, 6:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-futurama-episode-pre-cancellation-only/605283 "2011-12-06T18:47:27Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 19\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Jophiel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jophiel/32/66_2.png) [@Jophiel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jophiel)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2011, 6:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-futurama-episode-pre-cancellation-only/605283/41 "2011-12-08T18:31:13Z")
> [@hogarth](#): > > like the Flintstones meeting Hoagy Carmichael or the guy from American Dad meeting the lead singer of My Morning Jacket. Although there’s a difference – I can clearly remember some of the jokes from those Flintstones and American Dad episodes. I mean the _rhyming_ Becktionary! ---
**Author:** ![That\_Don\_Guy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/that_don_guy/32/538_2.png) [@That\_Don\_Guy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/That_Don_Guy)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2011, 7:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-futurama-episode-pre-cancellation-only/605283/42 "2011-12-08T19:31:52Z")
I don’t particularly like posting to best/worst threads, as I usually change my mind five minutes later, and there are a number of episodes on my “I wouldn’t mind too much if they disappeared from existence” list, but if I had to choose one right now, I’d go with: Teenage Mutant Leela’s Hurdles ---
**Author:** ![Tristan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tristan/32/18058_2.png) [@Tristan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tristan)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2011, 8:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-futurama-episode-pre-cancellation-only/605283/43 "2011-12-08T20:02:45Z")
I’m not a huge fan of the Beck episode, but I am on the Honking bandwagon. I hate that episode. And I could Lobstertainment as one of my favs. I love Zoidberg. “…and I am a doctor, with many surviving patients…” eta “Nephew! Get over here and give your Great Uncle a big fat meal…” ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2011, 9:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-futurama-episode-pre-cancellation-only/605283/44 "2011-12-08T21:34:41Z")
I just saw the one with the $300 tax rebate and while it’s an overall okay episode, it ends with a sour and unnecessarily hostile note, with a holographic Roseanne Barr calling the Futurama viewers idiots. It’s okay to mildly _mock_ the viewer, but don’t clumsily _insult_ the viewer. ---
**Author:** ![Darwins\_Finch](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/darwins_finch/32/20304_2.png) [@Darwins\_Finch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darwins_Finch)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2011, 9:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-futurama-episode-pre-cancellation-only/605283/45 "2011-12-08T21:57:16Z")
To me, the worst episode is “I Dated a Robot”. A show set 1000 years in the future shouldn’t try to be “topical”. ---
**Author:** ![teela\_brown](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/d9b06d/32.png) [@teela\_brown](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/teela_brown)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2011, 12:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-futurama-episode-pre-cancellation-only/605283/46 "2011-12-09T00:23:09Z")
> [@Tristan](#): > > I’m not a huge fan of the Beck episode, but I am on the Honking bandwagon. I hate that episode. > > And I could Lobstertainment as one of my favs. I love Zoidberg. > > “…and I am a doctor, with many surviving patients…” > > eta > > “Nephew! Get over here and give your Great Uncle a big fat meal…” Yeah, I’m surprised at the hate for Lobstertainment, too. Maybe it’s because I like old movies, Zoidberg and Calculon, but I like this episode a lot. However, I do dislike _The Honking_ and hate _A Pharoah To Remember_. And that cooking one, where Bender is trying to emulate a famous cook gone hobo, and something something. ---
**Author:** ![Sir\_T-Cups](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ed655f/32.png) [@Sir\_T-Cups](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sir_T-Cups)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2011, 12:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-futurama-episode-pre-cancellation-only/605283/47 "2011-12-09T00:34:55Z")
> [@Darwins\_Finch](#): > > To me, the worst episode is “I Dated a Robot”. A show set 1000 years in the future shouldn’t try to be “topical”. Yes add this one to my list as well. And whichever episode Cubert first appears in. ---
**Author:** ![Arkcon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/96bed5/32.png) [@Arkcon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Arkcon)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2011, 12:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-futurama-episode-pre-cancellation-only/605283/48 "2011-12-09T00:52:59Z")
> [@hogarth](#): > > -the one where Bender becomes a chef That’s probably the sourest one for me. Just bad, from act to act. Bender can’t cook, again. So he becomes a hobo. So he meets Wolfgang Puck, who I’d completely forgotten as a TV personality. So he kills Puck. So he goes on Iron Chef Japan … show is seen by me years after Iron Chef America debuts, I dunno if that was the way on first run. Bender cooks slime, clouding up Martha Stewart’s head jar. Bender beats Emeril in cooking. Because he used LSD as seasoning. The other hated ones in this thread I can suffer through. Lobstertainment is pretty bad – OK, very clever, the first holograms were played off giant discs, had no voice track, were in black and white, and used vaudeville era jokes. Cute, but not funny. Then Harold Zoid thinks talkies have bad acting in them and diects crappily. Still, the very end, with Calculon, and the awards ceremony, I think it starts to work. Jurassic Bark starts OK, giving you some back-story on Fry and his dog, but the ham-fisted way they show Bender jealous, just starts to sour it, even before the ultra-sappy ending. ---
**Author:** ![Smapti](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smapti/32/17938_2.png) [@Smapti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smapti)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2011, 1:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-futurama-episode-pre-cancellation-only/605283/49 "2011-12-09T01:08:32Z")
At this point it might be easier to list the episodes that AREN’T the worst one. ---
**Author:** ![Jophiel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jophiel/32/66_2.png) [@Jophiel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jophiel)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2011, 2:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-futurama-episode-pre-cancellation-only/605283/50 "2011-12-09T02:31:59Z")
> [@teela\_brown](#): > > Yeah, I’m surprised at the hate for Lobstertainment, too. […] > > However, I do dislike _The Honking_ and hate _A Pharoah To Remember_. That’s okay, I have nothing against _Pharaoh_. “Pharaoh has departed to the realms of the damned… The damned good looking! … … … …pharaoh commanded that I tell that joke at his funeral.” ---
**Author:** ![Arkcon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/96bed5/32.png) [@Arkcon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Arkcon)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2011, 2:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-futurama-episode-pre-cancellation-only/605283/51 "2011-12-09T02:36:17Z")
I also didn’t hate Freedom Day. Yes, its simultaneously tasteless that Zoidberg eats the Earth Flag, yet poignant with the comparison you make in your head with burning the US flag. But the Decapod Occupation Palace, and its destruction was a cool ending. ---
**Author:** ![Max\_Torque](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e9bcb4/32.png) [@Max\_Torque](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Max_Torque)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2011, 2:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-futurama-episode-pre-cancellation-only/605283/52 "2011-12-09T14:38:03Z")
> [@Arkcon](#): > > I also didn’t hate Freedom Day. Yes, its simultaneously tasteless that Zoidberg eats the Earth Flag, yet poignant with the comparison you make in your head with burning the US flag. But the Decapod Occupation Palace, and its destruction was a cool ending. And the Pain Monster. “See you April 15th, folks!” ---
**Author:** ![hogarth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hogarth/32/1773_2.png) [@hogarth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hogarth)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2011, 2:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-futurama-episode-pre-cancellation-only/605283/53 "2011-12-09T14:41:58Z")
> [@Max\_Torque](#): > > And the Pain Monster. “See you April 15th, folks!” And the awesome Decapodian spy with his human disguise. ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2011, 6:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-futurama-episode-pre-cancellation-only/605283/54 "2011-12-09T18:37:50Z")
> [@hogarth](#): > > And the awesome Decapodian spy with his human disguise. Well, with a name like “Hugh Mann”, how could you _not_ trust him? ---
**Author:** ![cmkeller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cmkeller/32/118_2.png) [@cmkeller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cmkeller)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2011, 7:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-futurama-episode-pre-cancellation-only/605283/55 "2011-12-09T19:42:30Z")
And I love the Waterfall family. “You name a body part and a planet, and I’ve taken a bullet in it, on it!” ---
**Author:** ![Feyrat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/fbc32d/32.png) [@Feyrat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Feyrat)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2011, 11:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-futurama-episode-pre-cancellation-only/605283/56 "2011-12-09T23:21:34Z")
I vote “That’s Lobstertainment” because it’s just lackluster overall. However, the blatant trans/homophobia in “Bend Her” and “Raging Bender” make me extremely uncomfortable. And I can’t watch “Jurassic Bark” because I don’t like crying at cartoons 😛 ---
**Author:** ![Spice\_Weasel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spice_weasel/32/5435_2.png) [@Spice\_Weasel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spice_Weasel)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2011, 11:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-futurama-episode-pre-cancellation-only/605283/57 "2011-12-09T23:49:39Z")
> [@friedo](#): > > I’ll vote for _The Honking_ as well. Although I did like that the town in robot Transylvania was named Thermostadt. Was that the same episode that had the robot family portrait hanging on the wall in the background? I noticed the title under the picture said ‘‘Commodore LXIV.’’ 😃 ---
**Author:** ![TBG](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/c89c15/32.png) [@TBG](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TBG)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2011, 12:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-futurama-episode-pre-cancellation-only/605283/58 "2011-12-10T00:18:08Z")
I thought the DTV movies were mostly sub par, but it occurs to me those aren’t pre-cancellation. Hrmph… ---
**Author:** ![Face\_Intentionally\_Left\_Blank](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/face_intentionally_left_blank/32/288_2.png) [@Face\_Intentionally\_Left\_Blank](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Face_Intentionally_Left_Blank)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2011, 1:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-futurama-episode-pre-cancellation-only/605283/59 "2011-12-10T01:20:50Z")
> [@hogarth](#): > > I didn’t think “Jurassic Bark” was hilarious (which is bad). I didn’t find it particularly heart-rending either (which I don’t really care about one way or the other). > > Some of my least favourites: > -Jurassic Bark > -That’s Lobstertainment > -the one where Bender joins Beck on tour > -the one where Bender joins the Mafia > -the one where Bender becomes a chef > -the one where Bender goes to the island of obsolete robots > -the “human horn” episode Basically, for me, any episode that is Bender-centric. I like him best as seasoning, not the main course. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-futurama-episode-pre-cancellation-only/605283.md?page=2)