Futurama (TV Series) Space Pilot 3000 (1999) User Reviews

It's hard to believe this was the pilot.

[garydiamond · 9/10 · 2 July 2008]

Yes, this is the one that kick-started the Futurama franchise. Looking back, now the show is halfway through it's fifth season, it is amazing how well it has aged. The characters are on-model, the voice acting is nearly spot on (the Professor's would later change) and most of all, the trademark Groening animation style and spoof-heavy humour are all in check.

Pilot episodes lay out the premise that forms the backbone of the show. Sometimes they suffer from a weak plot, trying too hard to throw the main characters together without giving you a feel for the world the show is set in. In "Space Pilot 3000" quite the opposite is true; great writing helps things flow naturally, setting up character quirks and catchphrases that become staple running gags of later episodes. In fact, Bender's first line is now his oft-used insult.

This outing is several notches above standard pilot fare, and stacks up to any other 'classic' episode of Futurama thus far. For those thinking about delving into the franchise, this tells you all you need to know. Great work!

The beginning of a great series

[Tweekums · 10/10 · 17 February 2012]

When Futurama first aired over ten years ago all I knew about it was that it was an animated science fiction comedy from 'the bloke who created The Simpsons'; liking Sci-fi and having enjoyed the Simpsons I thought this could be the series for me... after watching this pilot episode I realised I was right!

The story opens with pizza delivery boy Phillip J. Fry having a bad day; it is New Year's Eve 1999 and his girl friend has dumped him and his latest delivery turns out to be a prank call... he has been sent to a cryogenics research lab. Fed up he sits down and leans back on his chair; tumbles backward into a cryogenic freezing tube and ends up being frozen for a thousand years. When he awakens he realises that everybody he knew is long dead... a clear cause to rejoice. He is then taken to the Fate Assignment Officer; a purple-haired, one-eyed alien called Leela. She informs him that he has one living relative; a great, great, great... great nephew; an aged professor before telling him that his new job is to be a delivery boy. Fry thought he'd got away from that job so flees. As he escapes he tries to phone his nephew but accidentally finds himself in a suicide booth with a robot called Bender. Somehow they survive and eventually Leela catches up with them but instead of implanting a job-chip in Fry she removes her own and joins him on the run. Eventually they get new jobs with Fry's nephew, Professor Hubert Farnsworth, who runs a delivery service to fund his research... so Fry does indeed end up being a delivery boy!

This episode got the new series of to a fine start providing a full story in a mere twenty five minutes. The central characters for the series were introduced well; thankfully only the main characters were introduced in this episode so things weren't rushed. Science fiction fans should love it; especially if you like the original 'Star Trek' as it is referenced several times including a guest appearance from Leonard 'Spock' Nimoy who plays his own preserve head! The episode has plenty of good laughs including some that most viewers will only spot on repeat viewings... although I'm not sure how I didn't spot the joke about Leela's ID number, 1BDI (One Beady Eye), before though! For a lot of animated series it makes little difference what order you watch the episodes but with 'Futurama' one really needs to watch this first as it sets things up for the whole series.

Irresistible jokes, numerous cultural references, awesome 2.5D visuals, great dialogs, inspiring characters and zillions of refreshing ideas

[igoatabase · 10/10 · 24 July 2009]

10 years. It's what separates us from the date the pilot was first aired. It really feels like yesterday as I can't help myself thinking from time to time to Fry and his friends, Leela and Bender. The amazing thing is that it hasn't aged a frame. The jokes are irresistible and you really feel sorry for Fry at the beginning. All the cultural references also helped Futurama to become a cult phenomena as it managed to both innovate, by mixing 2D and 3D visuals for example, and reuse elements fans could relate to, like The Simpsons's design. Moreover it's not just entertainment because like in South Park there're some interesting dialogs and deep space reflexions about life and no life. Most viewers should also be able to relate to at least one character. Their personalities are both really different and quite similar making them complementary characters. For example even if Fry and Leela don't have the same story they understand each other. And when nobody would like Bender as a friend in real life, we all love "him" because he's just a robot after all. I also found the delivery boy recurring joke quite inspiring because in the end Fry understood that it's not necessarily what you do that matters but how you do it. Their attitude towards the chips was also really wise and I even think it's actually a reference to George Orwell's work. Never let anyone decides who you are. Be who you are. Last but not least one thing I enjoyed the most is the overwhelming creativity. There're so many original and twisted ideas that it's impossible to enumerate them all without forgetting many : Tube to slide around, city architecture, museum heads, opening title…

All these great elements contributed to make Space Pilot 3000 one of the best cartoon pilot ever directed. You also couldn't dream of a better episode to introduce viewers to Futurama. As many other episodes are also fantastic it would be really a shame not to watch it. If you have never seen Futurama then I strongly recommend you to start with its pilot. If you're already a fan and just reading this review to sharpen your wisdom then you know what to do.

Best pilot ever?

[hotmichail · 10/10 · 17 October 2021]

I was thinking about animated series, and series in general. What first episodes, or pilots, do I remeber? Well I will never forget the first episode of Futurama, for some reason. I guess the reason is because this is the best pilot to a show ever. It explane everything you need to know, for the whole series, in one lousy episode. Godd job!

A pretty good start

[gizmomogwai · 8/10 · 23 January 2009]

Futurama begins with Space Pilot 3000, aired in 1999, about a 25-year-old pizza delivery boy named Fry who on December 31, 1999 is accidentally frozen- and is then revived on December 31, 2999. The beginning of this episode establishes that Fry is a loser, with a kid telling Fry that he is one. Indeed, he has a bad job, and his girlfriend unceremoniously dumps him and throws his stuff out. Then he finds himself one thousand years in the future. He realizes his parents, co-workers and girlfriend are long gone- and he cheers.

Fry sees himself as getting a new start, and that positive view on the situation reflects his positive personality (as Leela says in the third episode, "Love your optimism, Fry.") as well as the show's general positive outlook- if the human race actually lasts another 1000 years, and if the world is in as good shape as it is in Futurama, I'd be surprised and proud of my species. The future is a wonder world, brought to life by top-quality animation.

But then there's the negative spin on this marvel- an oppressive law that forces everyone into a certain career that one can't refuse. When Fry is told he is to be a delivery boy once more- and forever- he refuses and escapes, being chased by Leela whose job it is to get Fry started on his career. But Fry, and a robot named Bender, eventually convince Leela to reject her job too, and the three find new work with a relative of Fry, as a space delivery crew. Poor Fry is stuck with the job once again- but this time the fool is happy. As is common for television, things that are true in pilots aren't always true in the series. I don't think Futurama ever touched on the concept of forced careers again, and in one later episode a cop talks about why he wanted to be a police officer (to fight dining and dashing) whereas in the Pilot he states he had no choice. Still, this episode provides an interesting suggestion of how the future can be good in some ways and bad in others.

From a comedic point of view this episode is good (but not the best). It has a few laughs, particularly regarding the "suicide booths" (another thing about the future that's bad). Structurally, this episode is fairly straightforward, with things moving chronologically (note later episodes like Jurassic Bark liked to jump back and forth in time), and with nothing really surreal like in the later episode The Sting. But the story concept is fantastic enough that nothing more surreal is necessary- the show's potential would have to be realized later. A good start for the series.

The One Where Fry Goes Into The Future...

[taylorkingston · 10/10 · 19 October 2014]

I think this episode was a great way to start off the show. It is just so funny.

In this episode, we meet Fry, a young delivery man, who just got dumped by his girlfriend. He is delivering pizzas on New Year's Eve, 1999. He gets called to a cryogenic lab, but no one is there. So he decides to eat the pizza and drink the beers himself. He accidentally falls into a cryogenic tube, and is frozen solid. We see Fry frozen, and the outside world changing through the years. Aliens destroy Earth a couple of times, and we re-build, then get destroyed and re-build again. We end up in the year 2999, a thousand years in the future. Fry wakes up, and is so confused but excited. He is taken to where frozen people get jobs. He meets one-eyed alien, Leela, and is assigned the job of a delivery man. He doesn't accept and he runs away. He meets suicidal robot, Bender, and they hang out, and then run from Leela. Fry finds his only living relative, Professor Hubert Farnsworth, who is his great, great, about ten more greats, grandson. The Professor runs a space delivery service, and Fry chooses to join his crew. Luckily, the Professor has the job assignment chips from his previous crew. Fry becomes a delivery boy once again. But a space one, so it's so much cooler. Leela finds him and decides to quit her job and become the pilot for the ship. Bender also joins the crew.

Overall, I give this episode a 10 out of 10.

This is just so darn loveable!

[EyeAmDb · 10/10 · 10 August 2019]

In this pilot episode, tired and fed-up New Yorker, Fry, accidently time warps into the year, 2999. He quickly comes to terms with what has been left behind and is excited for a fresh start in life. Fry's journey is entertaining from start to finish.

The characters of Bender and Leela provide diversity to what will become the remainder of the main characters. It is reassuring to see this new and very likeable trio of Bender, Fry, and Leela arise, as Fry realises that he is not alone in this new world. The episode ends with the newly appointed 'space crew' skyrocketing into space with its incredible theme music, "Don don, don don, don don...".

If it had been my first time watching upon my last watch, I would've hoped for, although not relied on, the rest of the series being as great as this episode. Everything the viewer would want to happen, happens, although in a way that is surprising and unpredictable. Very few TV shows, let alone animated sitcoms, have come close to producing a pilot so funny, refreshing, and intriguing as Futurama's 'Space Pilot 3000'.

Begin as you mean to go on.

[zacpetch · 8/10 · 1 December 2014]

Futurama is one of best shows out there. Originally running for four seasons on Fox, before a fifth was released by popular demand followed by two more on Comedy Central. This is the beginning of something that would last for 140 episodes and then one Simpsons crossover and the episode makes no secret of the ambitions that Groening had for this.

We begin in 1999 on New Year's Eve and meet an unfortunate Pizza Delivery-Boy who has just fallen for the classic I.C Weiner prank call. This is Philip J. Fry and he's about to have the strangest day of his life.

Fry gets cryogenically frozen by mistake and wakes up on the eve of the year 3000 AD in the city of New New York where he believes he's in for a fresh start on to be assigned, by Leela, a life as a... delivery-boy.

This is hard to accept for Fry, naturally, and his initial excitement turns to horror as he runs away. He meets Bender but Leela is chasing after both of them. They are forced to run through the big city.

It comes to an emotional conclusion when he and Bender come to the ruins of his version of the city and he sees just what has become of everything he ever knew. This series was never one to avoid the emotions of the characters and, though it will be surpassed later in say "Luck of the Fryrish" and "Jurassic Bark", this is just as good an example of the hard-hitting dramatic moments that few other animations can achieve. And to try something like that in the pilot... Wow.

The episode introduces us to several recurring characters - Fry, Leela, Bender, Farnsworth & Nixon's Head - and doesn't waste any time setting the scene for all subsequent episodes of the show. There are some pieces left that the next episode has to pick up (introducing Hermes, Amy and Zoidberg for one) but all the foundations are laid here.

To watch this episode is to see a good way of making a TV pilot. It just plays out like a regular episode but still manages to feel like the start of something. Those who stick with it to the end will know that there are so many better episodes of this show - like the final final episode, "Meanwhile" - but as pilots go this is one of the best.

Despite lacking the charm of future episodes this is still one of the highlights of Groening's impressive CV. Worth watching.

One of my favorite pilots ever made.

[reidyq · 9/10 · 20 December 2021]

(Ranking every Futurama episode #1)This is not the best pilot, but when I think of the best ANIMATED pilot, I think of this episode. This episode, while I didn't like it nearly as much at first, is one of my favorites from Futurama. You might be wondering why I didn't like it as much at first, and that is because I hadn't adapted to this shows sense of humor yet, I thought it was funny, but I didn't think it was hilarious like I do now. This pilot is very good at introducing characters, I liked the pilots in Groening's other shows, but they were a lot slower at making you 100% know the characters, while this episodes writing is so good that you know the 3 main characters personalities just by listening to them for 2 minutes. Leela's characters isn't introduced as well as Bender and Fry, but that is barely a flaw. This episode is a very funny episode, and it has some jokes that most people who watch it will like. I recommend this episode so much and if you are new you will love what comes next even more.

A solid start to the series

[FlaydenHynn · 8/10 · 25 May 2021]

A really great pilot episode to what is just as good as The Simpsons and one of my favorite shows, the humor feels very familiar when compared with The Simpsons but has a different tone. The episode as a whole feels a little basic compared to some episodes I remember from later seasons but is still great as a pilot episode. The world building was really subtle and thankfully wasn't all shoved in your face a bunch at the start of the series,

The characters meeting and interactions are really enjoyable and I can't wait to see how the rest of the crew come together. I forgot just how much I loved Bender and the Professor, but how could you not love the whole main cast so far. There were a lot of classic scenes such as the suicide booth and fry initially getting frozen (I. C. Weiner), the Matt Groening easter egg was a nice touch also!

8/10 - Really enjoyable as an introduction but feels a bit lacking compared to later episodes from memory.

Futurama: The First

[shumar-2 · 5 June 2009]

I think this first episode is a good starting point to the whole series. In it it explains how fry got into the past and puts together the main characters and their reasons for interaction. It also has a few hidden features in it. Like theirs a scene were Fry and Bender run into a head museum and one of the heads is the head of Matt Groening the creator of the show and The Simpsons. It also has like said in the main menu a few errors in it; were the bars Bender bends off mysteriously appear again then vanish. It was they shows first episodes they still were working out the kinks so give them a little slack. So in general its a good starting base to a great animated comedy in my opinion.

Alright! I'm a delivery boy!

[injury-65447 · 9/10 · 2 June 2020]

Does a great job of introducing the series. We are thrown into the wacky world of the year 3000 without much preamble at all - which is good. We get thrown right in just like Fry does.

It seems the year 3000 is just like the year 2000 but with crazy space stuff. Nobody has trouble communicating with Fry or can spot him on sight as being not from that time. The logic of the show in regards to the progression of future technology is decidedly haphazard and random - they will just chuck in what they need when they need it for an episode.

Proves that there are lots of jokes to be made with potentially endless imagination. I remembered pretty much every line even though I haven't seen it since I was young.

We get a sense for the kind of insane things that will be introduced in the series : various aliens, charismatic robots, bizarre inventions (suicide booth), sewer monsters, talking heads in jars that eat fish food. We see that the show doesn't really care about making logical sense but will rely on odd things and wacky jokes to work.

Leela is introduced as Fry's complicated love interest and we see the beginnings of that. I like the 1BDI joke.

Bender is introduced as Fry's only friend and we get a good idea about his sassiness and anger issues.

Farnsworth is introduced as the absentminded old professor.

Fry as a protagonist is introduced as being of clearly lower intelligence. He's pretty much a blank slate as a main character. He just exists because we need a character to react to the craziness of the future. So I would predict future episodes will succeed or fail based on giving him something interesting to react to. This opener definitely had no shortage of ideas!