Futurama Review: Jamaican Toaster
In the previous review of "The Butterjunk Effect," I bemoaned that an episode focusing on the main Planet Express crew was quite lackluster.
This week's "The Six Million Dollar Mon" proves that Futurama can still be funny when the main cast takes center stage.
Hermes showed us why robotic implants are just trouble. Sure, it starts with the desire to launch a harpoon out of one's chest, but it always just goes quickly downhill. I mean, it always leads to becoming a giant dehumanizing death machine, without question. Great science-fiction like this does use the future to comment on the present, after all!
Hermes's enjoyment and tolerance of extremely spicy food is something I can relate to, though I would hope that my skin wouldn't cause robots to melt and to burn holes through people's bodies. Also, I hope that no one ever tries to eat my skin.
This was a standout episode for Zoidberg in particular: he's usually just a punching bag, but here he was an integral part of the story, providing plenty of hilarious moments. Getting to hear Billy West do Hermes's voice as Dr. Zoidberg was comical in its own right – I appreciate it when voice actors have to do that double-mimicking, especially in a case like this where a voice actor is mimicking another actor's character.
There was also a Venture Bros. reference in the robot graveyard scene, which makes me love this show just a little bit more.
The dialogue was on point tonight. I usually mark down notes on my iPad while watching, in order to collect Futurama quotes and to remember important moments, and tonight I was typing notes on a non-stop basis. I even appreciated the meta-reference that Amy made to Zoidberg singing in harmony with himself. Let me just say that I hate musicals, but I can enjoy a good number on this show. Probably because animated singing and dancing lobsters using the reassembled parts of a man's body is something I can accept more than live-action singing and dancing humans.
The best part of "The Six Million Dollar Mon" is it caused my worries about this season and its usage of characters to be assuaged, if even for just one week. This was a welcome return to form.
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April 4th, 2013 12:34 AM
"There was also a Venture Bros. reference in the robot graveyard scene, which makes me love this show just a little bit more."
I thought that too...but was incorrect.
Turns out that wasn't the same 'HELPER'...the Futurama gravestone was a reference to the robot who temporarily replaced Bender (and did I poor job of it)
"Helper is a robot who was meant to be a replacement for Bender. Unlike Bender, Helper is more cheerful, has eyebrows and is square-shaped rather than round. He makes noises of clashing metals even when standing still. Planet Express tried to make Fry his best friend after Bender disappeared in space but Fry quickly found him annoying due to his cheerfulness and how his personality is opposite to Bender's. In the June of 3011 he went to apply for a job at Planet Express and fill in Bender's position, but was clamped to death by Clamps. His tombstone is in the Robot Graveyard, where Helper is buried."
http://theinfosphere.org/Helper
July 31st, 2012 3:18 AM
I found this episode to be quite satisfying. Zoidberg is the the character you love to hate, and this episode proves it. The musical number was enjoyable and Amy's quip was definitely spot on.
Rank: Regular Character
July 26th, 2012 3:56 AM
I found it boring and predictable.