The Triumphant Return of Futurama

[vystral]

Finally, one of the smartest shows on television is back (hence my 'hypnotoad' avatar). Well, it's not really a show anymore...yet. I'd like to write a review of the new DVD "Bender's Big Score" on this forum, but I'll have to watch the feature again.

Any Futurama fans here?

[Sheridan Passell]

Yup, big follower. Be interested to hear your take on it. Word on the vine is that unless the viewer is already a fan, they won't get most of it.

[Dr. Zoidberg]

My brother has watched it, he said it starts off well but it fades and isn't as good as it used to be.

I'll check it out sometime later this week.

[Tiger]

Futurama is fantastic.

For me, it is the only animated show that came along and knocked The Simpsons off the throne. 
Many had tried, and failed, but Futurama was something special.

I will have to check out the new stuff soon.

[vystral]

...Word on the vine is that unless the viewer is already a fan, they won't get most of it.

Yup I can see that. There are tons of references to the previous episodes. Not that new viewers couldn't follow the story, but they wouldn't fully appreciate it.

[dalmatianjaws]

Never got in to Futurama, but the few episodes I saw were pure gold. It's one for Blockbuster Online.

The word on the street Stateside is that the movie is "aiight" but I haven't seen it.

[Kryptik]

Futurama is fantastic.

For me, it is the only animated show that came along and knocked The Simpsons off the throne. 
Many had tried, and failed, but Futurama was something special.

I will have to check out the new stuff soon.

Oh yes, Futurama is just as great as Family Guy, The Simpsons but not as great as South Park. I haven't watched Futurama recently so I would have to say that The Simpsons is the best.

[Tiger]

I am not a fan of Family Guy, to me it has always seemed like a poor man's The Simpsons.

However, Futurama and South Park make for an interesting comparison. 

If it came down to artwork alone then Futurama would win hands down.

Once you take the art out of the equation it comes down to a straight up story versus character debate.

Futurama is heavily character based while South Park, which took the pop culture lead from The Simpsons and then devotes a large portion of their show to pop culture, is very story driven.

To take two of my favourite South Park episodes as an example, the World of Warcraft and Guitar Hero episodes, pop culture is very clearly high on the agenda.

I love both Futurama and South Park, but the problem that faces Futurama is thinking up entertaining episodes, whereas Matt and Trey work heavily in the realm of satire and all they need to do is switch on their TV to have a ton of good topics to write about.

[vystral]

The thing about South Park is Matt and Trey will spend an entire half an hour leading up to one punchline. Sometimes the whole episode is worth it, other times it isn't.

Futurama never had such a long lead for a joke. I don't think any cartoon has really ever done what South Park does.