Average Rating: 
Rating: - Worth Waiting For!
At long last, the first season of Matt Groening's masterpiece, Futurama, is available in Region 1. If you're a fan of science fiction, you'll love it, and even if you're not, you'll still love it! Drawing on my experience with the European version which was released over a year ago, this box set has it all: deleted scenes, cast and crew interviews, alternate scenes...in other words, everything you'd expect of a top-notch DVD. Unlike The Simpsons, it didn't go through a breaking-in period. The first episode is as smooth and polished as the latest. One word of warning: "Tiny Toons" it ain't! If you're not comfortable with a thieving, foul-mouthed, cigar-smoking robot who runs on alcohol, or numerous sexual references, then you should think twice about getting this for your five-year-old. Otherwise, it's a complete joy being able to watch the adventures of Fry, Leela, Bender, and the rest uncut, uncensored, and commercial-free.
Rating: - Lived up to it's expectations
Obviously, with 'Futurama' being made by Matt Groening, the same creator of probably the most popular animated show in the world, 'The Simpsons', expectations were high for 'Futurama'. It had to be an instant hit, and I have to say it's not as popular as 'The Simpsons', but it is definitely worth watching, and the first season is definitely worth buying.1. Space Pilot 3000 A 25-year-old pizza delivery boy named Fry spends New Year's Eve 1999 lamenting his lame existence. That night, he accidentally freezes himself in a cryogenics lab and awakens at the dawn of the year 3,000! With the past 1,000 years behind him, Fry decides to make a fresh start. He tracks down his great-great-great-great (etc.) nephew, Professor Farnsworth, and gets a job with his intergalactic delivery service. With the help of his two new friends, a beautiful one-eyed alien named Leela and a degenerate robot named Bender, Fry prepares for the ride of his life in this bizarre new millennium. 2. Episode Two: The Series Has Landed When one of his first deliveries takes him to the moon, Fry can hardly contain his excitement. For the others, it's just a routine trip, but Fry is shocked to discover a giant lunar theme park! He convinces Leela to go exploring and search for the original moon-landing site, but their excursion soon becomes a matter of life or death! Meanwhile, Bender puts the moves on a moon-farmer's daughter and suffers the consequences! 3. I, Roommate Everyone is sick of Fry so he has to get his own apartment. He decides to become Bender's roommate. The only catch is that Bender's apartment has a volume of 2 cubic meters. Fry convinces Bender to look for a better place, they get a new apartment, only that Bender's antenna interferes with the TV reception (a thousand years and televisions still use plain antenna? some things never change). Fry prefers to stay in his apartment instead of going back to Bender's, but Leela convinces him to. When Fry asks where to put his stuff, Bender suggests the closet, which is big enough for Fry to live. 4. Love's Labors Lost in Space On a mission intended to save endangered animals on a collapsing planet, Leela and the crew run into legendary starship captain Zapp Brannigan. A self-proclaimed ladies man, Zapp sees Leela as a potential new conquest. When the captain refuses to aid the animal rescue, Leela and her crew try to leave Zapp's starship. But Zapp throws Fry and Bender in jail, and summons Leela to his "Lovenasium." They ultimately escape and arrive on the doomed planet, where Leela finally finds love - with a cute, and very useful, creature named Nibbler. 5. Fear of a Bot Planet At Madison Cube Garden watching a blernsball game, Bender complains about the poor treatment of robots. They're only there to clean up, polish the balls or water the fields. They never get any respect. Later, Bender must deliver a package to a planet inhabited by murderous robots that kill humans on sight. He discovers a robotopia - a land where the robot is king! However, when Leela and Fry are captured, Bender must choose between protecting his celebrity status or saving his friends. 6. A Fishful of Dollars A thousand years is a long time to save up money, and Fry's savings account has been racking up interest. When Fry discovers just how much - over 4 billion dollars - Fry goes a little overboard. After completely redecorating the apartment, splurging on expensive spa days and treating his friends to innumerable luxuries, Fry discovers the ultimate expense. Anchovies. This rare delicacy as been extinct for years, and Fry must battle the evil conglomerate known as Mom, plus Pamela Anderson Lee's head in a jar, to get them! 7. My Three Suns The crew visits an arid planet in the Galaxy of Terror distinctive for it's three suns and liquid alien inhabitants. Fry, after delivering a package under the scorching heat, quenches his thirst with a bottle of cool blue liquid. Fry soon finds out he drank the planet's royal leader and is named the new emporer. Fry abuses his newfound power, even appointing Bender second in command, until the aliens retaliate and the real battle for power begins. 8. A Big Piece of Garbage A big piece of garbage that was released a thousand years ago is now on the way to Earth to destroy it. After Fry, Leela and Bender fail on placing a bomb on it, the city has to build another big piece of garbage, yet that may be a problem since trash doesn't exist in year 3000. 9. Hell is Other Robots Bender becomes addicted to electricity, so his sins make him go to robot hell. Since he is condemned to live there for eternity, it's up to Fry and Leela to save him from Beelzebot, the robot devil.
Rating: - A Great Series Given No Chance To Thrive By FOX
First off thank God Cartoon Network managed to get the series and actually show it, unlike FOX who took every opportunity to stifle this funny and oftentimes smart show. It would pre-empt new episodes for every other show worste timeslots on Sunday nights (7PM). Because of this, I must have missed about half of the shows. All because Rupert Murdock thought I'd rather watch FOX Sports. Jerk.Having seen most of them now, I can only say my esteem for Matt Groening has increased threefold; once for having created something consistently funny like 'The Simpsons', twice for the more disturbing but funnier 'Life in Hell' strips (yes I read these first, but few probably know what these are), and thirdly for 'Futurama'. Every in-joke, every snide remark, every question you might have had about how the future might turn out if you were convinced it would be just as screwed-up as today...it's all here. Favorite character: latecomer Scruffy the Janitor. Favorite Episode: When Leela finds another Cyclops who turns out to be an imposter. Plus 'Married With Children' reference. Bonus! Now if only we could get them to bring back the series anew and show it back-to-back with 'Freakazoid' and 'Invader Zim'. What a lineup that would be...
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