Futurama
Plot summary
The series is about Philip J. Fry (Billy West), a lazy New York City pizza delivery boy, who froze himself by mistake on New Year's Eve, 1999. He wakes up one thousand years later on New Year's Eve, 2999, and finds himself in New New York City. Fry wants to get a new job, though in the end he is forced to be a delivery boy. Fry tries to escape from his job and afterwards goes to Planet Express, a small delivery company that goes around the galaxy owned by his distant nephew, where he becomes a delivery boy. The series then describes the adventures of Fry and the other workers as they go around the universe making deliveries.
Characters
- Philip J. Fry (Billy West) - a pizza delivery boy from the year 1999 who finds himself in the year 3000.
- Turanga Leela (Katey Sagal) – a cyclops (a creature with only one eye) who is one of Fry's friends. She is the pilot of Old Bessie and the captain of the crew. Fry falls in love with her. For a long time she does not love him back. Fry still tries to win her love many times. Finally they become boyfriend and girlfriend. Leela is brave and good at fighting. She also takes her job very seriously. That sometimes becomes a problem, because she does not give up a mission when it would be better. She has violet hair and wears a white tank top, black trousers and boots.
- Bender Bending Rodriguez (John DiMaggio) – a bending robot who is Fry's best friend. He is a kleptomanic. That means that he often steals things by accident or for fun. He drinks a lot of alcohol because that is his fuel. He also smokes cigars. Bender's last name is Rodriguez because he was built in Mexico. He dreams of killing all humans except Fry and becoming a famous country singer. His catchphrases are "Bite my shiny metal ass!" and "Let's go already!"
- Professor Hubert J. Farnsworth (Billy West) – an inventor and head of Planet Express. He is very old and wears thick eyeglasses, a lab coat and slippers. He is Fry's 30 times great grandnephew and his last living relative. The crew just calls him "The Professor". The Professor often invents dangerous things that the crew must get rid of. His catch phrase is "Good news everyone!" He says that before telling the crew their next mission. Usually that is not good news for the crew.
- Hermes Conrad (Phil LaMarr) - a bureaucrat from Jamaica. He does the paperwork for Planet Express and organizes everything. He is very fussy and strict about rules. Hermes is good at Limbo and likes hot food. He has a wife and a son. His son becomes friends with a clone of Professor Farnsworth.
- Dr. John Zoidberg (Billy West) – a crustacean-like creature from another planet. He is the doctor at Planet Express, although he does not know much about human health. He lives in the dumpster behind the Planet Express building. Dr. Zoidberg often does not know how to behave right because he is an alien. That is why the other Planet Express workers mock him. When he becomes very nervous, a comb unfolds on his head.
- Amy Wong (Lauren Tom) - a young woman from Mars. She assists the Professor in his experiments. Her parents are Chinese. She has black hair and wears pink jogging clothes.
- General Zapp Brannigan (Billy West) - the self-absorbed leader of earth's army. He is incompetent but thinks he is the greatest. Zapp has a crush on Leela and tries to take advantage of when she is in danger. She always harshly rejects him because he is so unbearable. His alien assistant Kif becomes Amy's boyfriend.
- Nibbler - a little black alien with pointy canine teeth. The crew saves him from a collapsing planet and he becomes Leela's pet. He can eat animals that are ten times bigger than himself with one bite. He poops dark matter that is used as the fuel for Old Bessie. Nibbler wears a diaper and a red cape. He is actually very intelligent and can speak, but does not show it. He staged the accident that brought Fry to the future so Fry could save the world from an attack of giant hovering brains.
Setting
The first episode begins in the year 2999 later 3000, a time where there are many technological advancements, as well as a place where 21st century problems are treated as everyday situations. In a jab at segregation, for example, the series depicts the human prejudice against mutants as being so great that the latter have been forced to live underground in the sewers. The characters' home on Earth is the city of New New York, built over the ruins of present-day New York City, referred to as "Old New York".
There is a fictional religion named Robotology in the television show. It is similar to United States black churches.
Networks
Old episodes are now seen on Adult Swim (a part of Cartoon Network) and Too Funny To Sleep (a part of TBS) in the United States, on Teletoon in Canada, on Channel 4 in the United Kingdom plus Sky One, Sky Two, Sky Three and TV6 in the UK and Republic of Ireland, on Fox8 and Network Ten in Australia, on Pro 7 in Germany and on Canal Fox in Latin America, including Colombia, Argentina, Mexico, etc.
