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Original Futurama Cast Seals Deal With Fox

Svippy writes "As we discussed earlier, 20th Century Fox Television was attempting to recast Futurama. As it turns out, this was just part of a big negotiation ploy, and the original cast have now completed their deals to return with the show's new episodes. For those of you who did not follow the story, a chronology of the events and reactions from the cast members are available at Infosphere and Voice Actors in the News. Series creators Matt Groening and David X. Cohen said, 'We are thrilled to have our incredible cast back. The call has already gone out to the animators to put the mouths back on the characters.'"

94 comments

  1. Oblig. by JoshuaSpringfield · · Score: 5, Funny

    GOOD NEWS EVERYONE!

    1. Re:Oblig. by cardsinhand · · Score: 3, Funny

      I can't wait till I'm old enough to feel ways about stuff.

    2. Re:Oblig. by Rip+Dick · · Score: 1

      me neither

    3. Re:Oblig. by sys.stdout.write · · Score: 1

      Smithers, there's a rocket in my pocket!

      You don't have to tell me, sir.

      Did I do it right?

    4. Re:Oblig. by JustOK · · Score: 1

      Unsuccessful in a heroic and majestic manner

      --
      rewriting history since 2109
    5. Re:Oblig. by russlar · · Score: 2, Insightful

      Sweet llamas of the Bahamas!

      --
      Anybody want my mod points?
    6. Re:Oblig. by Krneki · · Score: 1

      Kiss my shiny metal ass

      --
      Love many, trust a few, do harm to none.
    7. Re:Oblig. by uberjack · · Score: 2, Insightful

      It's a good thing it's coming back, because I was about to build my own Futurama. With blackjack! And hookers!

    8. Re:Oblig. by Malaak · · Score: 1

      Aah, forget the blackjack...

  2. Historical Reference? by Tickenest · · Score: 2, Interesting

    "The call has already gone out to the animators to put the mouths back on the characters." An Eiffel Tower reference from WWII? The operators purportedly had the elevators working again 10 minutes after Paris was liberated. Very nice.

    --
    This is the NFL, which stands for "Not For Long" if you keep making those bulls*** calls.
    1. Re:Historical Reference? by maxume · · Score: 1

      Maybe you should explain how you think the two are related, I took it to mean that he would rather do the show without voices than with a different cast.

      --
      Nerd rage is the funniest rage.
    2. Re:Historical Reference? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Funny

      I think the parent means that when Nazi Germany took over Fox studios, the voice actors' mouths were taken to death camps. Or something

    3. Re:Historical Reference? by bunratty · · Score: 2, Funny

      It's a joke, son.

      --
      What a fool believes, he sees, no wise man has the power to reason away.
    4. Re:Historical Reference? by hedwards · · Score: 1

      Not particularly, the joke is that the characters were just not going to be able to speak. Or apparently eat, so I guess that means it would've been a short lived return.

      Of course having explained the joke, it's now ruined. In other news, why didn't somebody negate the goodnewseveryone tag? Strikes me as somebody that didn't really get the show trying to demonstrate knowledge.

    5. Re:Historical Reference? by modmans2ndcoming · · Score: 4, Informative

      Good News Everyone

      Phrase from Futurama

      Proper usage includes:

      "Good news everyone. You are all going to the planet sodomy to deliver some KY Jelly"

      After such statements, Dr. Zoidburg may sometimes be heard saying "Hurray!"

    6. Re:Historical Reference? by iluvcapra · · Score: 2, Interesting

      WTF...

      On a related note, what David isn't saying is that they have been actively auditoning and recasting actors to replace the original voice talent, so they were ready in any case.

      I recorded an actor friend do an audition for Fry and Kif, he was awesome! And he would have been a lot cheaper than Billy West, but alas, it was not to be.

      --
      Don't blame me, I voted for Baltar.
    7. Re:Historical Reference? by iluvcapra · · Score: 1
      --
      Don't blame me, I voted for Baltar.
    8. Re:Historical Reference? by Thumper_SVX · · Score: 1

      Ya know, I think it would be awesome if in the first episode of the new series there was going to be a scene with all the characters without mouths for some oddball reason. Call it a quick "reference" for all the geeks who followed this story :)

    9. Re:Historical Reference? by porges · · Score: 2, Interesting

      According to Mark Evanier, who's been in animation for decades:

      If you're an aspiring cartoon voice actor who thinks "This is my break," think something else. They'll get thousands of submissions and it's unlikely that anyone with hiring capacity will ever listen to any of them. This is, like I said, not the way to really find a replacement. It's just a showy means of intimidating the actors and their agents...a way which costs the studio nothing. They don't even have to book time in a recording studio or have producers sit and listen to auditions. The whole idea is to be able to say to Billy West's agent, "Hey, we've got three thousand demos from guys who can imitate your boy's voice." But I know Billy's agent. He's been at this a long time and he knows how to not be intimidated and to arrive at a reasonable deal.

    10. Re:Historical Reference? by makomk · · Score: 1

      No, goodnewseveryone is definitely an appropriate tag. As in, "Good news everyone! I'm rehiring you all for half the pay" (which is very much the sort of thing the Professor would say).

    11. Re:Historical Reference? by nofx_3 · · Score: 1

      "Zoidberg", he's Jewish, not the name of a town.

      --
      Visualize Whirled Peas
    12. Re:Historical Reference? by iluvcapra · · Score: 1

      I agree that it was basically impossible for then to recast the roles, because of the fanboys, it was just Fox going thru the motions.

      --
      Don't blame me, I voted for Baltar.
    13. Re:Historical Reference? by cheftw · · Score: 1

      "Zoidberg", he's Jewish, not the name of a town.

      Well you obviously haven't seen the scripts for the next series!

      --
      Always back up, never back down. ---- Think you're cool 'cos your uid is prime? Take mine, modulo the one digit integers
  3. Bring back _The Simpsons_ !! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0, Funny

    This Futarama crap is crap. The Simpsons is what should come back. Phil Hartman especially. He must be holding out for 10 million at least. Also, I like The Who to continue to make guest appearences from time to time.

    1. Re:Bring back _The Simpsons_ !! by Rakarra · · Score: 1

      This Futarama crap is crap. The Simpsons is what should come back. Phil Hartman especially. He must be holding out for 10 million at least. Also, I like The Who to continue to make guest appearences from time to time.

      I'd love it if the Simpsons from the 80s and early 90s returned.

      Unfortunately all we get are the Simpsons from the late 90s and 2000s.

    2. Re:Bring back _The Simpsons_ !! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Torrent has all episodes... Seriously --people still watch a broadcast?

  4. That's a load off my toad... by ConceptJunkie · · Score: 4, Funny

    Although I knew the only real possibilities were the original cast returning or the show not being made.

    Even though we have the proverbial "500 channels", there's still as much a lack of good creative shows as ever, and Futurama fits that bill perfectly. Newt Minow's "vast wasteland" is alive and strong!

    Especially since the #1 show "American Politics" got a whole new set of writers but has still managed to get even dumber than ever... ludicrous plots, inane dialog, stories so far-fetched no one would ever believe them in real life...

    --
    You are in a maze of twisty little passages, all alike.
    1. Re:That's a load off my toad... by GreenTech11 · · Score: 2, Funny

      Especially since the #1 show "American Politics" got a whole new set of writers but has still managed to get even dumber than ever... ludicrous plots, inane dialog, stories so far-fetched no one would ever believe them in real life...

      You realise that was a live coverage of the election campaign? :p

      --
      Laughter is the best medicine, except if you have a broken rib.
    2. Re:That's a load off my toad... by scatter_gather · · Score: 3, Funny

      stories so far-fetched no one would ever believe them in real life...

      Oh come now, this last part is one of the main rules of writing sitcoms. Break it and folks will think you are writing a funny documentary.

    3. Re:That's a load off my toad... by e9th · · Score: 2, Interesting

      There's a lack of good creative shows because they draw small audiences. Very loyal audiences, but still small. Some examples that come to mind are Quantum Leap, Firefly, and Arrested Development.

    4. Re:That's a load off my toad... by hedwards · · Score: 1

      You mean the rule just after, leave out any and all jokes?

    5. Re:That's a load off my toad... by ConceptJunkie · · Score: 2, Interesting

      Hey, I like all those shows.

      The sad thing is that many of the most popular shows from the 70s were creative and intelligent (and funny, in the case of sitcoms):

      All in the Family, M*A*S*H, Mary Tyler Moore, The Bob Newhart Show... just to name a few. Adult shows written for adults without having to resort to crudity and shock value, well, OK, "All in the Family" did, but it was usually in the pursuit of Making A Point(TM), which it did very well. Sure, there was a lot of crap back then, as always, but it seems to me there is nothing comparable to those shows today.

      There are some good mainstream shows that I follow, "House M.D.", "24", "Fringe", well, the latter might not be too mainstream, but it hasn't been cancelled yet. "24" isn't always very intelligent, but it does suspense in a way that most similar shows can't even touch. There's more plot progression and resolution in a single episode of "24" than in a whole season of, say, "Heroes".

      --
      You are in a maze of twisty little passages, all alike.
    6. Re:That's a load off my toad... by maxume · · Score: 2, Insightful

      Don't forget the glorification of torture.

      --
      Nerd rage is the funniest rage.
    7. Re:That's a load off my toad... by TheoMurpse · · Score: 1

      I was about to ask the same question. How can you complain about the crudity of modern TV but then mention one of your favorite shows makes torture out to be a great act of heroism?

    8. Re:That's a load off my toad... by ConceptJunkie · · Score: 1

      I disagree. I don't think it glorifies torture. I think it shows a situation where Jack Bauer finds it to be lesser to two evils. I don't always agree with what Jack Bauer does. He's murdered people, not in self-defense, or trying to save the world. He's flat out murdered people more than once. He does horrible things sometimes. He's not a perfect hero (well, he's superhuman in what he can do, but he does morally questionable things all the time. Things I wouldn't do if I were him.). He's pushed by really evil people who do really horrible things. But he also agonizes over it. He is also willing to sacrifice his life over and over, but is eventually saved by a deus ex machina, only to perform another seeming suicide mission to save people's lives, or stop something else horrible, etc. He has also been willing, time and again to accept the consequences of the choices he's made. I don't watch the show to get off on bad guys being tortured. I'd be happy if they eased up on that aspect. On the other hand, if you are dealing with bad guys with no morality and no honor, how much will you handicap yourself to hold the high moral ground? When it comes down to you vs. them, where do you draw the line?

      The sad thing about the torture debate in the real world was that there is almost never a situation where things are as cut-and-dried as they are on "24", which is why people invoking Jack Bauer's name in defense of torture, under certain extreme circumstances, made me cringe. I don't support the death penalty for the same reason. It's impossible to be sure enough to justify using it, in almost every case. I think the government is perfectly justified to administer capital when necessary. I just think it's not necessary, at least these days. Similarly, if torture were to be used, it would have to be in situations so cut-and-dried you would have no doubt. That almost never happens. Given that Bush Administration only ever used waterboarding on 3 people, I guess they would agree. Also, can that be considered torture when we subject our on military and espionage agents to it? Something to ponder. I don't support the idea of waterboarding, but I don't jump on the bandwagon that painted Bush and his people as some sort of Dr. Caligula Marquis de Sade Mengele like the breathless left did.

      I enjoy "24" for the same reason I enjoy comic books. It's escapist adventure where even though the hero isn't always the paragon of morality, he's always right. No one is always right in real life. I can tell the difference.

      --
      You are in a maze of twisty little passages, all alike.
  5. Severely reduced pay all around! by davidwr · · Score: 5, Funny

    Fry- Can I come back at severely reduced pay?
    Hermes- Of course! In fact, severely reduced pay all around!

    Let's hope life didn't imitate art. These people are worth it. Heck, I'll even watch the commercials ... in my dreams.

    --
    Knowledge is how to play a game, intelligence is how to win, wisdom is knowing what game to play.
    1. Re:Severely reduced pay all around! by Norsefire · · Score: 5, Funny

      Heck, I'll even watch the commercials ... in my dreams.

      You're not a true fan, I'll record the commercials and watch them twice.

    2. Re:Severely reduced pay all around! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      You're not a true fan, I'll record the commercials and watch them twice.

      Oh yeah? I'll record the commericals, watch them twice

      and then do it again in my dreams.

    3. Re:Severely reduced pay all around! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      You'd RECORD them? Fiend!

    4. Re:Severely reduced pay all around! by RichardJenkins · · Score: 1

      You're not a true fan, I'll record the commercials and watch them twice.

      You call yourself a fan? I watch the commercials over and over instead of watching the show.

    5. Re:Severely reduced pay all around! by crazyjimmy · · Score: 5, Funny

      I act out the commercials. In public. Naked.

      :)
      --Jimmy

    6. Re:Severely reduced pay all around! by FrostedWheat · · Score: 1

      Heck, I'll even watch the commercials ... in my dreams.

      This dream was brought to you by Slurm! It's Highly Addictive!

    7. Re:Severely reduced pay all around! by TheoMurpse · · Score: 1

      Freedom freedom freedom oy!

    8. Re:Severely reduced pay all around! by Hurricane78 · · Score: 1

      Been there. Done that.

      --
      Any sufficiently advanced intelligence is indistinguishable from stupidity.
    9. Re:Severely reduced pay all around! by nofx_3 · · Score: 1

      I'd watch the commercials, but I'm too busy watching season 4 of Everybody Loves Hypnotoad.
       
      All Glory to the Hypnotoad!

      --
      Visualize Whirled Peas
  6. More reality shows!! by Dachannien · · Score: 3, Funny

    Almost makes me want to head to the store right now and pick up some Torgo's Executive Powder.

  7. Some Change Could Be Good by Sponge+Bath · · Score: 1

    I always thought Seth McFarlane would be great as Nibbler.

    1. Re:Some Change Could Be Good by JoshuaSpringfield · · Score: 2, Insightful

      ZOIDBERG SEZ: Your idea is bad, and you should feel bad!

    2. Re:Some Change Could Be Good by sharkey · · Score: 1

      Quentin Tarantino would be a good fit too. Hearing Kif say, "Storing dead Nibblonians ain't my fucking business" would tickle me.

      --

      --
      "Outlook not so good." That magic 8-ball knows everything! I'll ask about Exchange Server next.
  8. Clagnars Human Rinds by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    I am going to run to the store and get some Clagnars Human Rinds

  9. Not only a negotiating ploy... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    but a viral ad campaign as well.

  10. I don't know about you. . . by kimvette · · Score: 1, Interesting

    I don't know about you, but I didn't see this one coming. I mean, Billy West, Katey Sagal, John Di Maggio, Dan Castellaneta, Phil Lamar, and everyone else on the cast are all expendable and anyone can do the voices they do.

    Okay, Leela _could_ be replaced, but would anyone buy Leela as Leela with any voice other than that of Peggy Bundy? Amy Wong can be replaced, but why would you want to? It would only serve as a distraction and land you in a JTS category. (for the record as an aside: if Fry and Leela do it, I don't think it'd be a JTS moment. I hope Fry+Leela eventually happens because that can open up whole new story lines to explore)

    I know, other hit animations have changed voice actors (Meg Griffin) without too much impact, but the magic of Futurama is like the beatles - the whole is greater than the sum of the parts. It's not just the great writing, it's not just the unique blend of 3D rendering and conventional 2D cel animation, and it's not just the individual character voices. It's the great chemistry throughout the entire team. It's a damn shame Futurama was ever cancelled in the first place (allegedly due to corporate politics) and I don't understand why it was harder to resurrect than Family Guy was. I mean, I know more people who like Futurama than Family Guy (I happen to enjoy both shows, but I wouldn't adjust my schedule around Family Guy like I did for Futurama).

    Family Guy offends a lot of people. I don't know anyone who is offended by Futurama. Non-geeks/non-engineers I know who watch Futurama watch it for the low-brow humor (it includes some LCD humor for the low-IQ segment of the population) and while they don't get the math and science jokes they love it nonetheless. Almost every well-educated person I know who has seen Futurama loves it: engineers, doctors, chemists, programmers, help desk workers, architects. The only person I know who hates it also hates The Simpsons, and it's for this reason: he is a graphic design artist, and detests the simplicity of the 2D animation. Unlike most fans, he doesn't see Groening's style as having its own unique charm, but sees it as a hack and as lack of talent/laziness. I happen to see genius in Groening's style; in that he lets the writing and quality of the team as a whole convey the story rather than producing poorly-written, poorly-acted eye candy. If you want eye candy, go see a Disney flick. You'll get dreadfully boring eye candy.

    --
    The Christian Right is Neither (Christian nor right). See: Matthew 23, Matthew 25, Ezekiel 16:48-50
    1. Re:I don't know about you. . . by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      It looks like assholes with mod points didn't read past the first paragraph.

    2. Re:I don't know about you. . . by mwvdlee · · Score: 1

      Almost every well-educated person I know who has seen Futurama loves it: engineers, doctors, chemists, programmers, help desk workers, architects.

      Let me guess; your job is "help desk worker"?

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  11. Hmmmm by __aahurc460 · · Score: 5, Insightful

    This show was never all that gre-ALL GLORY TO THE HYPNOTOAD!

    1. Re:Hmmmm by Vexor · · Score: 3, Interesting

      You know there's a full length episode of Hypnotoad on the movie DVDs. Believe it was Bender's Big Score.

      --
      ~Vexed and loving it!
  12. Settled through rocking Xtortion. by WGFCrafty · · Score: 1

    Blackmail is such an ugly word. I prefer "extortion." The "X" makes it sound cool.

  13. Matt Groening by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    So ah, if he wants his last name to be pronounced like "Greyning" then why does he spell it so that it looks like it should be pronounced "Growning?" Seriously, by what rule of English grammar does "Groe" sound exactly like "Grey"??

    It really seems to serve no other purpose than for someone to pronounce it the way it's written, that way some smug know-it-all can correct them by indicating it's not pronounced the way it's written and implying that's the fault of the person pronouncing it.

    1. Re:Matt Groening by JWyner · · Score: 5, Informative

      So ah, if he wants his last name to be pronounced like "Greyning" then why does he spell it so that it looks like it should be pronounced "Growning?" Seriously, by what rule of English grammar does "Groe" sound exactly like "Grey"??.

      From the same english rule that allows for words like Phoenix (unless you pronounce this Fow-nix). Words where oe is pronounced as "ee" are from the "ioticized omicron" spelling in Greek, ÎÎ, which was originally pronounced like "oy", but is often simplified into just an "ee" sound or similar.

      --
      "Owning a computer is like having your very own TV -- with a built in radio!" - Ed Helms
    2. Re:Matt Groening by GigaplexNZ · · Score: 2, Insightful

      So ah, if he wants his last name to be pronounced like "Greyning" then why does he spell it so that it looks like it should be pronounced "Growning?"

      Why does he spell his last name correctly as it appears on his birth certificate? I don't know why anyone would ever consider doing that.

    3. Re:Matt Groening by Speare · · Score: 1

      A mention of Checkov actor, Walter Koenig, is appropriate here.

      --
      [ .sig file not found ]
    4. Re:Matt Groening by drsquare · · Score: 4, Insightful

      Seriously, by what rule of English grammar does "Groe" sound exactly like "Grey"??

      What does English grammar have to do with a German name?

    5. Re:Matt Groening by Martin+P.+Hellwig · · Score: 1

      I would say because the A in ASCII thought that nobody should ever need the o umlaut (even this bloody site gets confused over Ã), Germans on the other hand who like to comply to any given ridiculous standard (insert Godwin here) responded by thinking oe is close enough.

      --
      If consumed, best digested with added seasoning to own preference.
    6. Re:Matt Groening by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      It doesn't matter anymore. You've been eaten by a groe.

    7. Re:Matt Groening by TeknoHog · · Score: 1

      Seconded. I believe the original spelling of this name has been 'Gröning', though even modern Germans sometimes use 'oe' for the o-umlaut. Similarly, 'Koenig' is originally 'König'.

      Of course, many families seem to adapt the pronunciation and/or spelling of their names to the local language.

      --
      Escher was the first MC and Giger invented the HR department.
    8. Re:Matt Groening by oh_bugger · · Score: 1

      what a jerk

      --
      Go home and shave your giant head of smell with your bad self
    9. Re:Matt Groening by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Then his name would be pronounced "Gerning".

    10. Re:Matt Groening by drewness · · Score: 2, Interesting

      A mention of Checkov actor, Walter Koenig, is appropriate here.

      And also of House Minority Leader John Boehner. Or Wayne Newton's song Danke Shoen.

      It seems to be American English standard for German names that have an o-umlaut or oe (which is the same thing; the umlaut started out as a small e laying on it's side on top of another vowel) to pronounce it like "ay", instead of like the German sound English lacks or even "ur", which is more like how I think most English speakers hear o-umlaut.

      p.s. Curse /. and their lack of support for non-ascii characters.

    11. Re:Matt Groening by TheoMurpse · · Score: 2, Interesting

      That's a very odd explanation, considering "Groening" is a German surname. Here, it is technically "gr" + o-with-umlaut + "ning," where the o-with-umlaut is pronounced like an "eh" sound in your mouth while your lips are shaped like you're making an "oh" sound. However, to make things easier for the Alemanophobes in the audience, we alter it to English phonetics (the o-with-umlaut does not exist in English).

      My surname has the exact same sound in it.

    12. Re:Matt Groening by TheoMurpse · · Score: 3, Informative

      Technically, "oe" came before "o-with-umlaut." It was "oe," then it became "o-with-e-on-top." Because of the way an "e" looked at this point in German orthography, it became "o-with-two-parallel-vertical-lines-on-top," which became "o-with-umlaut." This is the same way we got a- and u-with-umlaut. You can see this in old script for "schoen" at Wikipedia: (schoen, scho-with-e-aboven, scho-with-umlautn).

    13. Re:Matt Groening by TheoMurpse · · Score: 1

      That is incorrect. The "r" comes before, not after the vowel you're trying to approximate. You could say it would be "better" to transliterate it into English as "Gerning." However, Germans prefer instead to keep the spelling that they traditionally used, I'd imagine. Take note that the umlauted a/o/u are all predated by ae/oe/ue.

    14. Re:Matt Groening by Michael+Wardle · · Score: 1

      "ee" isn't similar to "ay", and Groening appears to be a German surname, not a Greek one.

    15. Re:Matt Groening by YourExperiment · · Score: 1

      Because of the way an "e" looked at this point in German orthography

      Interesting stuff, thanks for the explanation and the link.

      I'm curious, however. On the Wikipedia page you link to, the "way an 'e' looked at this point in German orthography" seems to be "exactly like an 'n' looks". Am I missing some subtle difference? If not, how did they tell the difference between the two? :)

    16. Re:Matt Groening by TeknoHog · · Score: 1

      I think the GP AC is trying to say that the pronunciation of 'ö' in Germanic languages is approximately like 'er' in English. So a possible transliteration could be 'Grerning', but nobody seems to use that logic in practice.

      --
      Escher was the first MC and Giger invented the HR department.
    17. Re:Matt Groening by TheoMurpse · · Score: 1

      I believe there have been jokes about lowercase e, u, and n in German looking the same. Here is a depiction of the lowercase alphabet of one old German font.

    18. Re:Matt Groening by cheftw · · Score: 1

      I found the best way to get an English speaker to make the sound is to stand on a snail. The "ugh" sound they make is a pretty good approximation.

      --
      Always back up, never back down. ---- Think you're cool 'cos your uid is prime? Take mine, modulo the one digit integers
    19. Re:Matt Groening by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Or you can just go by how that person wants their name said out of respect. Like nyc's Houston St. is pronounced House-ten because the man it is named after pronounced it that way. W.E.B. Du Bois also comes to mind.

  14. Re:Good news indeed by ivan256 · · Score: 4, Insightful

    No offense to the voice actors... They're great, of course...

    But I'd rather have the original writers back. Any word on them?

  15. i can see the future already by gracesdad · · Score: 2, Funny

    And you thought Family Guy bashes Fox in their episodes?

    1. Re:i can see the future already by Rick+Genter · · Score: 1

      Have you seen the recent Futurama DVDs? As in the opening scene of Bender's Big Score?

      --
      Don't underestimate the power of The Source
    2. Re:i can see the future already by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Informative

      The Simpsons has been doing it a lot longer and a lot harsher than Family Guy.

  16. Re:Good news indeed by Svippy · · Score: 4, Informative

    Yes.

    Ken Keeler, Eric Kaplan, David X. Cohen (obviously), Patric M. Verrone, among others are confirmed back. I probably forgot some.

    Just to give you an idea on what these writers did, I am going to highlight one episode for each, respectively; "The Devil's Hands Are Idle Playthings", "Jurassic Bark", "The Why of Fry" and "The Sting".

    They already did reveal some of the content for the coming production season at the Comic-Con panel. In case you want to see if they are still on the edge.

    --
    Clicked pie.
  17. Billy West doesn't get enough work by entrancer · · Score: 1

    Did California use stimulus $$ on "Full Utilization of Continuing Kharacters?" (Sorry, bad spellr)

  18. Good to hear... by KingAlanI · · Score: 1

    ...Never got around to watching much Futurama, but glad to hear that they're presumably not trying a recycle-just-the-name thing.

    For some reason, the idea of post-crash Lynyrd Skynyrd comes to mind here. (Maybe someone who's further into that type of music could enlighten me on that particular example?)

    --
    I listen to both RIAA and non-RIAA stuff if I like the music, tangential business/politics nonwithstanding.
  19. Um, you... You don't get it. by kklein · · Score: 3, Informative

    So much ignorance in your post as to make my head linguist head spin, but this is the sentence I'm picking:

    Seriously, by what rule of English grammar does "Groe" sound exactly like "Grey"??

    Um, none, for a few reasons:

    1) This is what "grammar" means. Clausal structure, etc.

    2) The word you're actually looking for is orthography .

    3) Finally, and this is a big one, English orthography wouldn't apply to a German name. One of the reasons spelling is so difficult in English is that it is a loanword slut. It hangs around at the linguistic docks, taking any wayfaring word spelled in roman characters home. It is the reason we have one of the largest vocabularies on the planet, but also the reason why spelling is difficult. I'll take it, though. It beats the socks off of the Academie francaise, which exists to keep foreign words out of French in favor of made-up French equivalents that no one uses. It also beats the Japanese system of ghettoization by the use of a different character set for foreign words. And it is simpler than the daunting task ahead of Chinese speakers, who have to find characters which have a similar sound, and whose meaning at least has something to do with the word in question. Overall, English's flexibility and open nature is a key to its strength.

    So there's that.

  20. How? by davidwr · · Score: 1

    How do you record those commercials that appear in your dreams?

    --
    Knowledge is how to play a game, intelligence is how to win, wisdom is knowing what game to play.
  21. It's not the whole cast yet by LandruBek · · Score: 3, Interesting

    IMO, unless they get Dave Herman back, it's not the whole cast. That guy is awesome. His regular voices like Roberto, Mayor Poopenmeyer and Dr. Wernstrom are all hilarious, but also he's got range: he can produce amazingly different voices for all those one-time characters he does, whom you don't really remember, like Leela's martial arts sensei Fnog.

    Also it's silly to focus just on the voice acting cast. I don't know their names, but I know it takes a huge crew of talented artists and writers to make the magic happen, and I hope all those talented people come back. It would be bad to cut back on the visual and writing talent to pay for the voice talent. The last thing any of us want is 26 half-baked, mediocre episodes. Better the show should end at five good seasons.

    --
    $META_SIG_JOKE
  22. Typo in submission by CSMatt · · Score: 1

    The correct name of the studio is "30th Century Fox."

  23. Simpsons voce cast for latin america by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    You know what sucks hardly, we at latin america could not get back our original voices for NONE of the simpsons, after 15 years of hearing them, we were given a crappy new cast just because the original team asked to get increased payment, and some credits at the end of the show.

  24. Re:Good news indeed by fodder69 · · Score: 1

    But the The Why of Fry was the only good one on that list. I refuse to watch Jurassic Bark since I didn't think it was funny that Fry incinerates his loyal dog. The other two are part of Futurama's slide in space opera drama between Fry and Leela.