Futurama Season 4 Update from David X. Cohen 176
Robotron2084 writes "Just goes to show that the best animated tv show around has some of the savviest producers around. Futurama producer/co-writer David X. Cohen posted this message on alt.tv.futurama recently. Interesting tidbits for futurama addicts to munch on while we await the season premiere on Dec. 9th. David talks about the prestigious awards they've received, upcoming guest appearances, and the banned christmas episode. I guess the fox executives were a bit scared of 'kwanzabot' at first, but they'll finally be airing a double-Xmas dose on Dec. 23rd!!"
Here's Google Groups' thread/copy... (Score:1, Redundant)
Oops! "Here" shouldn't be in the key words! (Score:1, Offtopic)
Decoding the Alien Alphabets (Score:4, Interesting)
I am still missing the discussions of the decoding the alien alphabets at The Futurama Outlet [futuramaoutlet.com] (content has been down for some time). Does anyone know of any other forums where this is being discussed? Is anyone even following me here?
Re:Decoding the Alien Alphabets (Score:3, Informative)
Bad timing (Score:4, Interesting)
Re:Bad timing (Score:1)
Re:Bad timing (Score:1)
Sure, they'll be studying (Score:3, Insightful)
Yeah right... Re:Bad timing (Score:2, Funny)
Thanks Futurama, I'm probably going to fail EECE 356 because of you!
Re:Bad timing (Score:3, Insightful)
Shows that are truly geared towards college students (Southpark for example) would be aired many times a week, at normal (10pm) an strange (12 and 2:30) timeslots. This is a tactic that I haven't seen show up elsewhere too much in the TV world. Finally, I feel like a network is working it's schedule around me, rather than vice-versa.
Re:Bad timing (Score:2)
Re:Bad timing (Score:2)
Re:Bad timing (Score:1)
Re:Bad timing (Score:2)
I'm sure that if I were in college now, Futurama would be the sort of show that we'd take breaks for. When I was in college the show was Monty Python. If the TV in the normal viewing location wasn't working, there would actually be roving bands of us knocking on the doors of dorm rooms that we knew had TVs and commandeering their room to watch the show. We made a lot of converts, too.
And it's not just for college-age folks. I suspect that mainly us old farts would get the humor in something like `Bachelor Chow' and dog food (``Makes it's own gravy!'' [cringe]). I have to explain some of the humor to my daughters because they're way too young to remember those ancient commercials, shows, etc., that Matt G. is poking fun at. I like taping the show so you can slow it down to see the jokes in the signs and billboards that you otherwise miss.
Glad to see that it's still in production. The Fox affiliate in Chicago has the annoying habit of pre-empting the show for just about anything.
Waiting for the Futurama Season 4 premiere. (Score:1)
Quote from Episode: Luck of the Fryish
Re:Waiting for the Futurama Season 4 premiere. (Score:1)
I am *still* puzzled over this weeks simpsons being bumped for Star Wars: Episode 1, sure its an OK movie, but bumping Simpsons for it? come on, surely someone could have thought out the scheduling a little better...
Re:Waiting for the Futurama Season 4 premiere. (Score:1)
Re:Waiting for the Futurama Season 4 premiere. (Score:1)
Re:Waiting for the Futurama Season 4 premiere. (Score:1)
Re:Waiting for the Futurama Season 4 premiere. (Score:1)
The way things are going, FOX could lose Simpsons, King of the Hill, Futurama, Family Guy, etc. I suppose if they put sports above all of those anyway, which they seem to, they won't care that much...
Btw, if sports are so important to FOX, why don't they leverage their FOX Sports network more? I find it hard to believe that the hardcore sports fans out there are all still watching OTA, heck, I find it hard to believe that even a reasonably sized minority of hardcore sports fans are still OTA.
To illustrate the insanity of FOX pre-emptions, last week a football game ended early. Instead of carrying on with regular scheduled programming (if the game had finished on time, it would have been King of the Hill), they decided that they'd fill the extra 10 minutes, and the next hour, by bringing in an unscheduled game, hence pre-empting King of the Hill. Pre-emption for a game that wasn't supposed to be aired anyway? How insane is that?
Clever Nick Name, where are you? (Score:2)
Wil,
Maybe you should sign up for this. I am sure that you could have lots of fun on Futurama. Besides, it seems that you've been ignored in your quest to be on The Tick [slashdot.org], or anything with Bruce Campbell [slashdot.org] or at least to have your questions answered. It seems that Futurama has a guest star every other week or so, same with The Simpsons so your odds should be good.
Re:Clever Nick Name, where are you? (Score:1)
> in an episode that will likely be our season finale in May, all of the following: William Shatner, Leonard Nimoy, George Takei, Walter Koenig, and Nichelle Nichols
Is that the reality TV episode, where we vote them off the Enterprise one at a time?
Re:Clever Nick Name, where are you? (Score:3, Funny)
Moderators: read the parent and this again if you think this is offtopic.
-Legion
Re:Clever Nick Name, where are you? (Score:2)
Let's face it, people... (Score:5, Insightful)
Tough to swallow, I know. And this is coming from a guy with over a dozen Simpsons tapes. And I don't think anybody could argue against the fact that The Simpsons is probably the best animated show to ever hit the airwaves-- but even the die-hard fans realize deep down that the show today is a pale imitation of what it once was.
Most of the key creative minds behind the best seasons of The Simpsons-- seasons three to five or six, or so-- have moved on. I've read that even Matt Groening devotes most of his energy these days to Futurama, only keeping a vague guiding hand over his original creation and sitting in on script readings.
Futurama is marvelous. It's clever, consistently fresh, and it's got the spark and bite that The Simpsons has lost. The fact that there was a censored Christmas episode demonstrates a lot-- not that the show is any better for having material worthy of being censored, but simply that the writers are obviously trying to do something different from the norm.
Fox effectively screwed the show when they dumped it to the Sundays-at-7pm slot a few years ago. Most everybody I know who liked the show stopped watching, because it's just an inconvenient time. The ratings are probably abysmal, and Fox probably keeps the show on just to keep Groening happy-- but as long as it's out there somewhere, I'm happy, too. The DVDs should be marvelous.
Let's just hope they don't fall prey to the temptation to overuse celebrity guests like The Simpsons has; at least the Futurama writers tend to use their guests in ways that kinda sorta fit into the story, instead of bland and obvious ass-kissing. With the list that Cohen supplied, at least they're keeping some variety, but it's something worth a little bit of concern.
We all know how reflexive Simpsons fans are, because anybody reading Slashdot either is one or at least knows one. I'm hoping this isn't going to start any sort of flame-war or be seen as pissing on hallowed ground. I'll admit I'm wrong if anybody can describe a Simpsons show from the past three years to me that made them laugh half as hard as the classic, say, Homer Goes to College episode.
Re:Let's face it, people... (Score:4, Insightful)
Re:Invader Zim ROCKS! :) (Score:1)
doom, do do do doom, do DO DO DOOM, do do do, doom,
do doom
Feel free to experiment with your 'doom's and repeat as long as you can keep people in the general vicinity from causing you bodily harm.
Re:Let's face it, people... (Score:1)
What does everyone think about Family Guy?
In my opinion (I'm not trying to troll), it has replaced the Simpsons as the best cartoon in primetime TV. FOX has graced it with a dreadful timeslot as well (Thursdays at 8) and it seems that the time slot has caused the writers to revolt and push the decency envelope as much as possible (to which I am very happy). I hope FOX doesn't kill it.
Re:Let's face it, people... (Score:1)
The Family Guy (Score:5, Interesting)
Re:The Family Guy (Score:2, Informative)
Re:The Family Guy (Score:1)
Re:The Family Guy (Score:1)
Re:The Family Guy (Score:1)
Best line ever was from Petey the Pistol in the National Gun Association commercial while being held by the kid: "If you squeeze me, I make make bad people go away."
Re:The Family Guy (Score:1)
Re:The Family Guy & Simpsons are mutual ripoff (Score:2)
1st season family guy: peter griffin goes back to school as a greaser and shreds his hand when he tries to smack a jukebox into operation.
Last week's Simpsons: same thing.
Family Guy a few weeks ago: they husbands go to a lesbian bar and make crude jokes.
Simpsons: Homer searching for a new bar to hang out at stumbles into the She-She lounge, similar.
There are more occurances like this, but my feeble short-term memory can't keep them all inside my head.
It bothers me that the two are ripping each other off, but IMHO The Family Guy is much more crass, which is a good thing.
Re:Let's face it, people... (Score:2)
IMO, the best animated cartoon as made in the states currently is 'Samurai Jack', on Cartoon Network; it's created by Genny T. of Dexter's Lab and Powerpuff Girls fame, but his focus on this show is on the style and feel, and not the jokes. It is very visual, and the music in the background is very important; neither of the main characters speak much, and dialog is only subsidary to make the visual elements work well. If you haven't caught this yet, definitely set aside time to do so: it's on at least at Mondays at 9pm EST, with repeats on Saturaday and possibly Sunday.
Re:Let's face it, people... (Score:1)
Last night re-ran one of my favorites, "Trilogy of Error" Where it shows a day in the life of Bart, Lisa and Homer all intertwined. The whole show rolled along pretty good and the jokes were really funny. Plus you get the added benefit of feeling really superior by understanding the homages to lesser known films like "Run Lola Run".
Re:Let's face it, people... (Score:2)
That may be, but it's still one of the two best TV shows currently running (Buffy being the other).
Dinivin
Re:I beg to differ. (Score:1)
Futurama is really nothing like the Simpsons (other than being an animated show based on Groening's bizarre imagination). It's a parody of the office sit com, rather than the family sit com, and so has never really had "touchy feely" episodes. (Michael Jackson anyone?) The humor is a good deal denser than an average episode of the Simpsons (much more going on in the background) and it is much more geek-oriented. Come on, they had Gary Gigax on there!
King of the Hill needs to die a swift and painful death. It was funny for about 1.5 seasons, and now is just repetitive schlock. Southpark is truely the Simpsons of this time, it outlasted the initail hype and T-Shirt binge (which I'll admit turned me off to the show for years), and has continued to put out fantastic original content (did anyone else catch the Radiohead episode this summer, sweet Jesus)
Just thought I would get ready. . . (Score:3, Informative)
But if your a real die-hard, you can download a few MPEG episodes Here [palmy.net.nz] at around 220 meg per episode (also 56k'er versions available for the bandwidth impaired)
I for one like the snappy comebacks and the semi-adult humor. My personal favorite is Bender drinking and smoking cigars!
Newt-dog
Re:Just thought I would get ready. . . (Score:1)
You just trying to get that site slashdotted?!
Have you no mercy? The man is giving away episodes! Show some pity...
The backside of futurama (Score:2, Insightful)
the last three months?
"World" Series Baseball? - That's almost as sad as the choice of Hollywood action movies that are running months at my local cinema, blocking anything worth seeing.
Re:The backside of futurama (Score:2, Interesting)
This year's world series was the best ever played. With 39 Million viewers tuning in to watch game 7 (http://tv.zap2it.com/news/ratings/networks/01110
Re:The backside of futurama (Score:2)
Well of course, half of them were Yankee fans hoping to see 'their' team win, and the other half were Yankee-haters, hoping to see the arrogant bastards lose what they think they deserve every year just because they're the New York Fucking Yankees. I fall into the latter category (could you tell?), but I didn't watch Game 7.
What really chapped my ass was how the D'backs weren't even viewed as a match for them, like the Yankees should've been given the World Champions title after winning the ALCS. I distinctly remember one FOX promo's voiceover after the Arizona was leading the series 2-0: "NOW it's a Series!" Like the Yankees threw the first 2 games to make it a challenge for them to win it all. Dicks.
Back on topic, I, too, hated the World Series and continue to hate the football shit disrupting my viewing habits. I have workdays when I *need* to come home and see an hour of The Simpsons to unwind, and nothing inflamed me more than clicking on the TV at 6:30 only to find the stupid fucking World Series pregame show on.
I can only hope that when the time comes to renew these stupid TV contracts to carry sports, FOX gets outbid by someone whose shows I don't give a shit about. Maybe ABC, since they have killed all interest in 'Who Wants to be a Millionaire' by giving it Vanilla Ice-level overexposure. One headline The Onion never used: "ABC proposes eight-day week to allow more airings of 'Oprah', 'Millionaire'."
~Philly
Re:The backside of futurama (Score:2)
Re:The backside of futurama (Score:1)
Also, I share your pain about King of the Hill. It's one of my favorite shows. I wish it wasn't used so often as a placeholder in the schedule....
Bah! (Score:2, Informative)
Anyone know if/when 7 plans to show Season 3 here?
Re:Bah! (Score:1)
Which doesn't help those of us without cable.
Hopefully it'll be on free-to-air in the new year.
Slashdot is powered by Fry and Bender (Score:5, Informative)
506 $ lynx -source -head http://slashdot.org | grep X-
X-Powered-By: Slash 2.003000
X-Bender: There's nothing wrong with murder, just as long as you let Bender whet his beak.
There's either a X-Fry or an X-Bender with a random quote each page.
Re:Slashdot is powered by Fry and Bender (Score:1)
X-Fry: Hardy Boys: too easy. Nancy Drew: too hard!
80% of the time, must be something wrong with their random number generator
Anyways, how do I add my own custom http headers in a easy way?
printf "X-foo: bar\nContent-type: text/html\n\n" would work offcourse, but how do I go ahead and do it if i want i in every request?
Re:Slashdot is powered by Fry and Bender (Score:2)
Re:Slashdot is powered by Fry and Bender (Score:1)
Hooray for wasting bandwidth with pointless HTTP headers!
Re:Copied from PHP (Score:1)
in the UK (Score:2)
I've probably only seen about 6 episodes ever because of this. I know I could tape it, but I'm not that organised, and anyway, I probably don't care enough to bother!
If it was on later, anywhere between 7:30 and midnight, it would get a bigger audience. Unfortunately, those hours are reserved for chick programming like Allie McBeal, Make over shows, and soaps!
I think it goes out first on Sky [sky.co.uk] or e4 [e4.com] at a better time but because I've got a posh old house I'm not allowed a minidish [sky.com] because I have an evil neighbour who puts in planning objections... bitch! And the Monkey signal [itv-digital.co.uk] is too weak on my street.
I really liked Futurama until... (Score:2, Interesting)
Re:I really liked Futurama until... (Score:1)
I don't think it was heavy-handed - I think it was hilariously funny. Sure, they portrayed us "computer geeks" in a manner similar to The Simpson's episode Homer Goes to College [snpp.com], but if I can't take some ribbing about my friends then I've lost my sense of perspective. And the portrayal of "nappster.com" in the Futurama Episode you're talking about I Dated a Robot [tktv.net] shows how those in the entertainment industry really do feel about the "threat" of file-sharing services. (Hint: Most of the real world doesn't recognize any particular right to share arbitrary streams of bytes.)
Re:I really liked Futurama until... (Score:1)
It's a little like one of the episodes (can't remember which) where the text at the start of the credits reads Coming soon to an illegal dvd near you
While they may not like their work being pirated, they know who their fans are. It's an in joke, not serious propaganda.
Re:I really liked Futurama until... (Score:1, Insightful)
Did you know there are massive, streaming, analog downloads of Futurama? Yeah, it's called live television! People download the show on their primitive analog streaming video receivers (known as Tele-Visions because the Visions of things come from great distances) and use their Analog Tele-Visions Recording Devices w/ Magnetic Tapes to retain the analog signal. These are called Video Casette Recorders! Amazing technology.
Can't Get Enough Futurama got shut down for redistributing FREE CONTENT. I'm tired of big media bitching that technology has passed them up. If they wanted to be ahead of the ball game they'd make Futurama downloadable from some high-bandwidth servers. Leave the commercials in! Get your own revenue from the ad-banners (however small it may be)! Futurama fans get good quality video. Fox gets revenue from advertising. Everyone is happy.
orb
Re:I really liked Futurama until... (Score:3, Insightful)
Heh heh, you didn't get the greatest meta-humour the show ever had. Do you remeber the 'Don't date robots!' propaganda when Fry had the idea to download a celebrity? The story of the whole episode is in the same style as the small clip, made up as a propaganda against file sharing. The space-pope-propaganda was obviously overdrawn in its ridiculousness while the whole episode was not. It is just a big, subtle piece of meta-humour, showing that the modern propaganda do not need to be as obviuous as one might think.
"guardians of good taste at the Fox Network" (Score:3, Funny)
Military Intelligence
Bureaucratic Efficiency
Microsoft Quality
George W. Bush's Oath of Office
Re:"guardians of good taste at the Fox Network" (Score:1)
Re:"guardians of good taste at the Fox Network" (Score:2, Insightful)
Re:"guardians of good taste at the Fox Network" (Score:2)
Re:"guardians of good taste at the Fox Network" (Score:1, Funny)
President Al Gore
Enterprise Linux
Re:"guardians of good taste at the Fox Network" (Score:2)
Thank god! (Score:3, Informative)
Bad schedules? TiVo is your friend (Score:1)
I've recently got a TiVo, and it's definitely improved the quality of my viewing. It's not perfect - has a really irritating tendency to miss the start or very end of longer programmes, but on the whole I find it works well.
Cheers,
Ian
Re:Bad schedules? TiVo is your friend (Score:1)
Suggestion to Slashdot: Interview with David Cohen (Score:5, Insightful)
Re:Suggestion to Slashdot: Interview with David Co (Score:1)
You seem to imply that Groening himself is not accessible or net-savvy. He's lurked on Usenet for a while now, and has even posted on occasion.
Then again, he DOES have an AOL account...
air time (Score:1)
But Malcom in the middle came and the lil' bastard bumbed futurama to the null-zone of tv schedules: It was moved to the football overtime slot (it played about 2 every 3 months...I hate football!) and now it moved again, and I have -no- idea when its on.
I think its a conspiracy to stop us from watching something good on tv...
But I was affraid it had been cancelled (they can't get good ratings when noboy knows when its on, can they?)...of course, it might have been cancelled HERE...local tv stations like to play evangelical specials and not play sci-fi.
Guess I'll have to wait for the DVDs
Step aside NERD!!! (Score:1)
Tick tick... (Score:2)
There have been 72 produced so far, so with any luck we might be getting a daily dose of great animation in a year or two!
Re:Tick tick... (Score:1)
Help Save FAMILY GUY! (Score:5, Interesting)
Help Save Family Guy [damnyouall.net] is a link I found skimming through Google. They'll print out your comments and mail hard copies to Fox directly.
Re:Help Save FAMILY GUY! (Score:1, Flamebait)
Dinivin
FOX Sucks and I haven't seen Futurama all year (Score:1)
futurama in canada ? (Score:1)
Re:futurama in canada ? (Score:1)
best TV show, ever. (Score:4, Funny)
Any show thats had Gary Gygax on it gets an immediate nerd rating. todays generation of geeks and nerds will look back on Futurama like yesterday geek look back on the Original ST.
I love the apartment numbering system in bender and fry's building. Not to mention the robot perspective of the world is pretty damn funny.
Any show with an anti-chrysler building has got to be good.
One of the principle characters is named after the inventor of Television, probably one of the first Technology geeks.
"that was in 2150, just before Jesus second coming" Farnsworth
I like it, definitely (Score:1)
Which episode was he in? I know there was that one scene at the veternarian's where there was the Rust Monster...
Fear of a Bot Planet was one of my favorite single episodes on tv, of any show, ever.
Woot (Score:2)
-Legion
Re:I like the show (Score:3, Offtopic)
Re:I like the show (Score:1, Funny)
And the show loves all of us. (Score:2)
Back on track:
I've heard it said that love makes the world go round.
After countless hours of research sitting in front of the TV, I've learned that CARTOONS MAKE THE WORLD GO ROUND. I know because I once saw a cartoon where a bunch of them where actually pushing the earth along its axis. Can you believe it? Love makes the world go round, and so do cartoons. Cartoons must be love. I suppose that means if I behave like a cartoon, I'm showing the love.
'Scuze me. I'm going to go spread the love, Bender style. Has anyone seen my liquor and my mallet?
Futurama is rising, Simspsons is declining (Score:5, Informative)
Not if you watch an episode or two from the last few seasons. I think it is pretty clear to all Simpsons fans that the last 3 or 4 seasons of The Simpsons show signs of aging. Compared to these recent seasons, Futurama is a far superior and funnier show. However, Futurama still does not surpass Simpsons during its height; i.e., seasons 4, 5, and 6 (maybe 3).
Then again, Futurama's very first season was about as funny as an above-average Simpsons season. So if it has a season 4 comparable to the Simpsons' season 4, we're in for a real treat.
Re:Futurama is rising, Simspsons is declining (Score:1, Informative)
Funny, Season 12 had the highest ratings since Season 6...There goes that theory.
P.S. My favorite season was definitely 4
Re:Futurama is rising, Simspsons is declining (Score:2, Insightful)
Someone in this thread mentioned X-Files being bad and being milked, but I actually like the new character which took the place of Scully's partner (I forget the new one's name all the time). It brings some fresh air in the series (which was dying, really). Of course this is personal meaning
Re:people are also stupid (Score:3, Funny)
troll? (Score:2)
Moderators be damned I think the Simpsons have just been boring recently. Unfortunately, I don't think Futurama is that funny. Cool and on topic, but not very funny. And I don't like the drawing. Does anyone like the drawing? The Simpsons had a cool frantic dishevelled look to go with the mile a minute jokes and hurried dialogue. Futurama looks well, wierd. Nowadays, if I do watch it, I often start nodding in agreement and end up looking at my watch.
P.S. Anyone with metamod points -- how about starting a "Crusade for Boorish Dignity" -- let's look back over those Linux Rulez! posts to see if they were really that insightful.
Re:Futurama is rising, Simspsons is declining (Score:2, Funny)
Until the show becomes unprofitable - Troy Maclure.
Re:Futurama is rising, Simspsons is declining (Score:2)
I'd have to say that there are one or two episodes each season that I don't find funny (the recent one where Moe changes his bar to a post-modern bar is one that comes to mind), but I still think the Simpsons is as funny (or funnier) than when it started. The writing has changed somewhat, since they hire a new writer every few seasons (anyone remember 89-91 when Conan O'Brian used to write for them?)
What I'm surprised about is that Futurama has lasted so long. Don't get me wrong, I love the show, but it targets a smaller audience - namely, the technology/sci-fi savvy. The Simpsons has survived so long because the show targets a wider audience. As kids, we found it funny because we could relate to Bart. As we've grown up, he show has changed its focus to Homer, and now that we've all got jobs, we can better relate to him. After all, Homer is a big slob who's family doesn't respect him, he hates his job, and loves beer. My parents (who are almost 50) watch the Simpsons and find it just as funny as I do, but I don't think they feel the same about Futurama.
Of course, the crappy timeslot Fox had it running in last season didn't help either. What genius schedules a show for 7pm, expecting a football game to end on time, and then comes in to the show IN THE MIDDLE of the NEW episode. Fscking genius scheduling.
Re:Futurama is rising, Simspsons is declining (Score:1)
A useful observation, and I'm sorry to see it marked down as flamebait <RANT>I suppose it's because of the negative opinion of Futurama. Note: This is Slashdot. Negative opinions are not tolerated in general. If you can be long-winded about it, you'll get mega-ratings even if (or especially if) you don't make any real sense. Please conform or confuse.. it's your only real hope of getting along here.</RANT>
Another episode came to mind when I saw this same episode. The one where Moe turns his bar into a family restaurant. Perhaps this recycled crap is the result of a cut-n-paste session with old episodes. Or perhaps earlier generations of Simpsons writers have left Mad Libs for the current team. Either way, I find it grimly amusing when 'worst episode ever' is mocked by the exact people who make it apply week after week. Gallows humor from the writing team, I guess. It seems they'd rather take potshots at the rabid fanbase they used to have instead of making the show watchable again.
Re:Hello? (Score:1)
I had to work tonight and wasn't able to catch the Family Guy, but you'd be damn sure to find me watching it as soon as I get off work. Heck, I don't even have a Tivo.
Re:Hello? (Score:1)
It just happens that they show Simpsons right after Futurama. I tape & watch Futurama (only show I tape these days), and when the Simpsons start, I just turn off the television.
The Simpsons should die already.
Re:Kwanzabot? (Score:1)
Kwanza is an African American holiday celebrated from December 26 to January 1. (It's not a religious holiday or meant to replace Xmas or anything, a mistake many people make.)
If you want more info, check out: infoplease.com [infoplease.com]
Re:Kwanzabot? (Score:1)
Re:Kwanzabot? (Score:1, Offtopic)
Re:Kwanzabot? (Score:1)