Matt Groening Talks About Futurama's Comeback

Joel Keller writes "When I was at the Television Critics Association press tour earlier last month, I briefly talked to Matt Groening about Futurama's comeback. I posted the interview to TV Squad a couple of days ago. The man behind the Simpsons and Futurama talks about the latter's comeback, the fun of doing sci-fi in a comedy format, and a few words about the first episode to air on Comedy Central."

Why, Fry, Why?

[tomcode]

Is there a single Sci-fi movie, book, or TV series they DIDN'T lampoon in the first four seasons? The Fry-Leela love story ran its complete arc. Every character did everything people do in their 20s. Even the hottie trust fund chick is spoken for. Did I miss something?

In the name of most slashdot:ers ...

[Anonymous Coward]

Whiiipii Ka'yeeeee .... Let the cyclope dump the puny earthling, bender kill all humans, the doctor invent a dark-hole (NOTE: note a "black" one, just a really dark one :-)), the limbo-dancer break his back in the sake of sillyness, and the aristrocrat:ish marsian merry the slimy alien ...

Whiipii Ka'yeee ... ze'R Baaakk !!! :-)

..Now, all fan's of the show, let's break-dance like bender ... till the werecar runs us over :-)

... man I've missed this show, IMHO it was better then he's 1st creation :-) (though, It's only my humble opinion)

Re:It Died Because It Was Boring

[odasnac]

it died because:

  it wasn't given a consistent timeslot
  it was constantly preempted by sporting events
  it was NEVER promoted by fox
fox is stupid

i don't need to cite sources, as all of these are fairly well established (or i'm lazy)

Re:Why, Fry, Why?

[DamnStupidElf]

Is there a single Sci-fi movie, book, or TV series they DIDN'T lampoon in the first four seasons? The Fry-Leela love story ran its complete arc. Every character did everything people do in their 20s. Even the hottie trust fund chick is spoken for. Did I miss something?

Is there anything Futurama can't lampoon? As long as the characters keep their clichés funny and not annoying, they can time travel or visit alternate universes or just old new york to lampoon whatever they want. It's a funny and scathing social commentary like any of the great satirists have done, but with animated characters to do it because exposition doesn't work quite so well on TV as it does in books.

Re:Cast/Writers

[Anonymous Coward]

Good thing it was for something that made a difference like a cartoon show instead of something dull and drab like privacy rights or DRM.

Re:All I ask

[dbIII]

I haven't seen a lot of Family Guy, but I saw it as "joke on the horizon flashing it's lights wildly - joke arrives but you already know what it is - joke stays for an extra agonising minute as the character sings the second verse of the song the initially funny reference was to so that everyone will catch the pop reference". To me it seemed as pointless as "Man In The Moon" which seemed to be about how funny racist jokes are if you pretend it's about a country that doesn't exist - there's something in some brands of US humor I don't get. Simpsons, Futurama, Marx Bros, Chaplin and most of Mel Brooks is the stuff I can see as funny.

Re:Why, Fry, Why?

[ArcherB]

They better bring that "Walking on Sunshine" dog back. The ending of that episode broke my heart!

Re:The most important question

[Poppler]

Does Matt Groening even work on The Simpsons anymore? It's had a "design by committee" feel to it for years.

Re:All I ask

[Anonymous Coward]

...joke stays for an extra agonising minute...

That is the joke. They don't leave it hanging out there so "everyone will catch it", they let it fester in all it's painful glory; then when you can't stand it any more they push a little farther, then move on. Lather, rinse, repeat.

Both Futurama and Family Guy have fantastic subtleties that can often come in unexpected packaging - it's up to the viewer to catch on and appreciate them.

Family Guy's 50/50

[ChromeAeonium]

Family Guy, I think, could be a lot better than it is if only the writers would grow up. They really do have some funny stuff, but the problem is every other joke is a sex joke that can only possible entertain prepubescent boys and idiots. Sex jokes are like deep fried foods: in moderation, they're not necessarily bad, but overused, they can ruin the show. If the writers would just quit watering it down with the same crap idiots have been giggling about since junior high, the show would have a much higher quality.

Re:All I ask

[dangitman]

You're all wrong. The funniest joke is when Stewie imitates William Shatner singing "Rocket Man" like he did in that 1978 clip [youtube.com]. With the multiple Shatners and the cigarette-smoking.

And I'm going to be ... high ... as a kite by then.
I'm a... Rocket Man... Rock-it man.

To have Stewie covering Shatner was the Best. Homage. Ever.

Re:Both

[pipingguy]

It was too smartish for the perceived audience?

Re:All I ask

[drsquare]

The problem is, that was only funny the first time they did it, not the next fifty. I'm convinced that they only made Family Guy series 4+ because they were told to, rather than because they had any ideas.

Similarly, the Simpsons has outstayed its welcome by around a decade. I don't think Futurama should come back, there's a lot to be said for ending a show when it's still good.

Re:Guaranteed to suck...

[Chaos Motor]

Wow. You are completely wrong. Some of the best episodes were in the last season.