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Futurama fans .. about the serious episodes.

T

TheVrolok

Lifer
I never considered myself a huge Futurama fan, but I catch it on TV from time to time. On an Amazon deal, I picked up seasons 1-4 and I'm hammering through 'em. Most of the show is the standard non-sense comedy, but what's up with the few episodes that take a heavy dramatic turn?

For example, the episode about
Fry's lucky clover, or the one that ends with Fry's dog waiting for him on the street for his entire life
, etc. It seems like some of these episodes stray so far from comedy into drama that they really feel almost awkward and just don't seem to fit. Is there anything to 'em? Anyone else notice it? GA?
 
I can only watch the more dramatic ones on occasion, versus others I've watched a ton of times.

Nothing is necessarily supposed to "make sense" as an episode any more than the other episodes. There is nothing particularly Right or Wrong about a single episode.

But really, it's like any "live" sitcom. You have your ones that are pure humor and nothing else, and you have the ones that have a lot of humorous moments but overall have more of a character-development/dramatic approach.

It's the writers way of turning down the WTF dial and focusing on the characters and typically their origins.

The dog one was by far the saddest one. Most likely because I, quite simply, love dogs. Best damn non-primate species family to ever grace the Earth. 🙂
 
I don't think I could watch that episode again. I don't know if they could've found a better (worse?) song to go along with the end...I am reminding of this xkcd.

As for the drama/comedy switches...they don't bother me and I've never really thought about it before. I would say the simpsons is somewhat similar. There are many episodes that are silly, some that are serious, and a few that are delightfully zany (the most recent comes to mind). Granted, Futurama seems to take drama further, but I think it still works.
 
Well to be fair the "serious" episodes still have a ton of jokes. I think they make a nice change from the regular episodes. It's like that episode of The Shield that's set in the past, before The Barn opens, or the episode of House that describes three historic cases. These "different" episodes break the show up and give you a chance to see the characters in different ways. I really like them.

The clover episode is one of my favourites, also the one about bee nectar is in a similar vein (and has a really great story/twist).
 
GodlessAstronomer said:
Well to be fair the "serious" episodes still have a ton of jokes. I think they make a nice change from the regular episodes. It's like that episode of The Shield that's set in the past, before The Barn opens, or the episode of House that describes three historic cases. These "different" episodes break the show up and give you a chance to see the characters in different ways. I really like them.

The clover episode is one of my favourites, also the one about bee nectar is in a similar vein (and has a really great story/twist).
Click to expand...

I'm not sure I remember the bee nectar ep.. remember which season that is?
 
Good comedy has to have more than just set ups and punchlines. The more you care about the characters the more fun you have overall.
Drama helps you care about the characters.
 
TheVrolok said:
Ah, that would explain it, I have re-watched season 4 since buying the DVDs. Is the alternate universe in a box s4 as well? Don't recall re-watching that one either and I seem to remember really enjoying it.
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I forget, it's been a while since I saw season 4 myself. But that's one of my favourite episodes too 🙂 The commentary on that episode is interesting as well.
 
oh man, the one with the dog kills me 🙁 same with the narwhal episode, and the clover episode... i think i was drunk one time and watched the dog episode and cried at the end 🙁
 
Joemonkey said:
oh man, the one with the dog kills me 🙁 same with the narwhal episode, and the clover episode... i think i was drunk one time and watched the dog episode and cried at the end 🙁
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I'm pretty sure I got misty eyed the first time I saw the dog ep. Half of me was just shocked that Futurama "went there" and half of me was just devastated.
 
The semi-serious episodes and love story between Fry and Leela are what make the show better than other animated shows like Family Guy.

Futurama was never random funny, it was just funny and well written. It's weird how "real" Fry seemed at times, even though he was ridiculously stupid. Very good voice acting by Billy West (he's good in everything...even the red M&M, lol) and by the rest of the cast.

I dedicate this post to Slurms McKenzie. May he live on forever by our memories.

047_slurm-mckenzie.gif
 
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Sometimes they take it too far with the 'seriousness', but most of the time the drama and comedy is balanced well. Both fry's dog and the devils hands episodes were fairly serious but also had me laughing enough.
 
TheVrolok said:
I'm pretty sure I got misty eyed the first time I saw the dog ep. Half of me was just shocked that Futurama "went there" and half of me was just devastated.
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Yup. That is one of my favourite episodes. Damn, it almost makes me tear up just thinking about it.
 
This is one of the reasons I love Futurama. When they want to do a serious episode they can really really pull it off.

The Devil's Hands are Idle Playthings is a good one, too, it gives some closure to Fry/Leela as it was the last episode (when the show was canceled).

I liked the first movie, too, but the second one annoyed me because it basically dropped all the character development that was in the first movie.
 
the one about the dog is fucking sad. i hate when its on.

has anyone seen these on blu-ray? i really want to see how the quality is one day, i like the animation a lot on the show.
 
wow, i didn't know everyone else felt shitty when the dog episode was on, too.

this is like when i first found out that i wasn't the only person who wiped standing up.
 
gorcorps said:
luck of the fryish and jurassic bark
Click to expand...

i just watched both again. jurassic bark hits me harder than luck of the fryish...

but notice how both were about his past. writers often do that so you have more of a connection with the character, even if it is a comedy.
 
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