The long-awaited return of Futurama, a show that was canceled unceremoniously by Fox four years ago now. Personally, I can't say I desired new episodes. Sure, I loved the show, but it ended so perfectly. So many television shows stick around for far longer than they should. But I don't disdain the show's creators, who felt they had more to give us. So the verdict? Well, it's certainly not top-level Futurama. My biggest complaint is that there aren't enough laughs. Not that I didn't laugh at all, mind you, but there are long stretches where I wasn't laughing at all. It starts off slowly, but once the plot gets moving the jokes come more readily. There are several sequences that feel way too rushed, and the writers try desperately to shove every single Futurama character into the mix, like they were never going to be able to make another episode again (which they might have actually thought when they started writing this, but it's not true now). Did we really need Kwaanzabot? We didn't even really need Robot Santa. A lot of these side characters start to interfere with the movie's main plot line, which is pretty good. While the movie is something of a disappointment, at least it doesn't forebode awfulness in Futurama's future. It feels like a test run for the series' new beginning.
Review of Futurama: Bender's Big Score
Futurama: Bender's Big Score
(2007 Video)
Not great, but I'm sure they'll get better and better
2 December 2007