I went in pretty skeptical, but I have to say, it’s good enough for me to feel comfortable saying it’s actually more Futurama. There’s a small hump to get over with the voice actors having aged, but unless you’re an existing hardcore fan who’s listening for it, I think Hermes is the only that sounds noticeably different, but I can get used to it.
I also feel like it’s strangely anachronistic in referencing modern day trends and technology. Futurama began in a time before streaming and all of that existed, so hearing it reference these things sticks out like a sore thumb, but it’s not like Futurama didn’t already reference real life subjects outside of Sci Fi, it’s just something I’ll get used to as the novelty wears off and it settles in with the rest of the show in my mind.
Overall, not earth shatteringly good, but I enjoyed it, and I’ll absolutely be on the hook to keep going as more episodes are released.
The Humor bot bit about non-binary computers really for me. It was fast, odd and kind of strange. It was the best joke of the episode
I’m with you on your analysis. It wasn’t mindblowingly good, but it was certainly good enough to not feel like a band past its prime trying to cash in on one last payday. I do think that Billy West (Fry)‘s voice has aged some as well, but I got used to it after a minute or two and it was fine.
I think when you’re coming back from cancelation…AGAIN, and especially after so long, it’s not like a pilot, but it requires more exposition than a regular season opener. So it was good enough on its own merit, and I’m grading it on a curve as it’s the first episode in a decade and has to do a bit more storytelling drudgery than your average show.
I have to disagree with your point about the references to modern technology sticking out like a sore thumb. I binge the whole show at least once a year and there are countless jokes throughout the series poking fun at technology that was relevant at air date. The first one that comes to mind is Amy’s comically small cell phone (which was a flip phone) that she couldn’t carry around because the wireless charger was the size of a toaster.
Another that I can quickly think of is the way they portray the internet, and the direct references to websites like Napster. They even resorted to making jokes based off of internet memes that have LONG since died off. For example, the entire conflict between Fry and Leela in the episode with the MomCorp eyePhone is based on the popularity of Susan Boyle’s performance on Britain’s Got Talent from who knows what year.
If references to modern tech are off-putting to you, you haven’t payed any attention in older episodes.
Fry definitely sounds different, Hermes I didn’t notice.
Honestly though, it’s not something that matters or bothers me especially with the actual context of the episode. The same timejoke for Benders beer being flat is why Fry’s voice aged, for reasons! lol
I genuinely laughed at the episode a handful of times… I’ve got no complaints so far.
Except for the fact that Fry told me to binge no less than 10 episodes, and they only released one.
I know I’m in the minority here, but this is one of my least favorite episodes (be gentle). I thought the events were moving too fast and they had a quota to fit a certain amount of jokes per scene.
This is of course a cartoon and so I don’t expect every character’s reaction to make sense, but a lot of the decision-making was so silly even for Futurama. Leela’s decision to make episodes of that show indefinitely was so stupid that it felt like another character should have been the one making driving that decision. Bender is a character I could see coming up with that plan, but Leela should be better than that.
I don’t know. I guess it just wasn’t my thing
I liked the episode!
But I was going into it with expectations that it was going to be kind of mid like the first season of Disenchanted. I was very pleasantly surprised that there was like a legitimate plot line, even though it was kind of silly. It seem like the same level of incredulous shenanigans that Futurama has always gotten itself into.
