Rent Futurama: Series 5 (2003)

Futurama: Series 5 review by Mark McPherson - Cinema Paradiso

After four direct-to-video movies of moderate success, Futurama was eventually revived back from the dead. It would not, however, debut back on Fox, instead taking a deal of new episodes airing on Comedy Central. In what could be foreshadowing the downfall of the series, the very first joke the Planet Express crew makes is that they were able to survive the events of the previous film by taking an odd and comical center of the channel of a wormhole. A “Comedy Central channel” if you will, a punchline which Amy chimes in with “Wait, I get it!”

That being said, this first season of the Comedy Central era is mostly a solid return to form given the episodes present. The opening episode involving the crew being revived after a deadly explosion is quite unique in how it questions the nature of consciousness and what it means to be human amid a twisty story of robots clones. One thing to take note of is the rather dark and risque tone the characters are given, coming off more darkly humorous than previous seasons. Consider how the following episode features Leela and Zapp being forced to mate for the sake of a planet, a product less of their relationship and more of a shocking gag.

This aspect fluctuates, however, and there are some rather tender episodes strewn throughout. I particularly dug the episode where Bender faces the possibility that he’s not immortal with no backup copy, revealing a rather heartfelt side to the usually cold bureaucratic side of Hermes. A time-travel episode is present not just for showcasing some wild visions of the future but pose some far-out perceptions on the death and birth of the universe, all of this being divulged amid a story of how long Leela’s love for Fry can hold out over the decades of his absence.

There are a few episodes here that are just built primarily for topical humor. A slew of alien cats attempt to strip Earth of its magnetic core for the sake of some easy Internet cat jokes. Farnsworth invents a body-switching machine and the usual gags playout about as you’d expect. Farnsworth gets into argument with an ape over evolution. The invading alien Lrrr has a midlife crisis. The mutants of New New York demand equal rights. And everything gets capped off with an anthology episode with a holiday theme, centered around Xmas, Kwanzaa and Robanukah.

The return of Futurama has some mixed results. A few episodes are particularly moving and hilarious while others feel like their par for the course. All that being said, the characters don’t divulge too much from what made them great and the animation remains some of the most vibrant and detailed of any animated sitcom (if one considers Futurama as such). It’s a decent return to form for those who had hopes that the underrated Fox show would one day return.