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Details Emerge On Futurama's "Rebirth" (and Return)

Svippy writes "As revealed last summer, Futurama will be returning this year, and while there were conflicts about the cast of the show in the late summer of 2009, a deal was eventually secured. Last week, Comedy Central confirmed the airing of the first episode, 'Rebirth,' will be 24 June 2010. Several other details related to plot and production have surfaced over the months, and for those interested, a full article is available on the subject."

52 of 183 comments (clear)

  1. hmm by nomadic · · Score: 4, Insightful

    One of my favorite shows of all time, though most of the recent movies were kind of disappointing. The first one was good though.

    1. Re:hmm by maxume · · Score: 3, Insightful

      Hopefully most of the problems were related to the weird format (where they wanted to be able to air it in 1/2 hour time slots, but also sell the movies as standalone DVDs).

      --
      Nerd rage is the funniest rage.
    2. Re:hmm by antifoidulus · · Score: 5, Insightful

      All the movies suffered from the same basic flaw, not nearly enough Zoidberg.

    3. Re:hmm by Cryacin · · Score: 4, Funny

      Hurrawh!!! I'm useful!!!

      --
      Science advances one funeral at a time- Max Planck
    4. Re:hmm by blueg3 · · Score: 5, Funny

      Hooray! Now Zoidberg is the popular one!

    5. Re:hmm by mqduck · · Score: 2, Insightful

      Funny, I was more disappointed with the first than any of the others.

      Think back to how you felt when you first saw it. Sure, in retrospect, it had a hugely solid and downright impressive sci-fi plot, but it also got weighed down by all the fan service (which I kind of liked, but ultimately didn't). Ironically, I think the best parts of it were the musical numbers, which everyone crapped on at the time.

      Beast With a Billion Backs was great because of how bizarre it was, and how uncomfortable it made people (which is also the main reason so many dislike it). With Bender's Game, Futurama finally returned comfortably to form, but it was strictly Fantasy, not Sci-Fi, so I understand if it upset some fans. Into the Wild Green Yonder was Futurama in top form, with a solidly Sci-Fi (by Star Trek standards, at least) plot.

      Anyway, they all did have a problem. That problem is that they were feature-length films, which Futurama had never been before, which had to be designed to be chopped up into four episode-length bites each. The effect was rather jarring.

      --
      Property is theft.
    6. Re:hmm by rockNme2349 · · Score: 3, Funny

      I have no strong feelings one way or the other.

      --
      Sewage Treatment Facilities - "Our duty is clear."
    7. Re:hmm by z0idberg · · Score: 2, Funny

      Yeah, there were some contract disputes.
      What can I say?

    8. Re:hmm by 0100010001010011 · · Score: 2, Funny

      [scruffy]second[/scruffy]

  2. Good News! by kurth · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Good News Everyone!

    1. Re:Good News! by skine · · Score: 5, Insightful

      Good News Everyone!

      Doesn't that just mean that something bad is coming?

    2. Re:Good News! by Random+Destruction · · Score: 4, Informative

      he says everybody not everyone.

      Fail.

      --
      :x
    3. Re:Good News! by skine · · Score: 3, Informative

      he says everybody not everyone.

      I think you're thinking of Dr. Nick Riviera.

    4. Re:Good News! by skine · · Score: 3, Funny

      Slashdot is news for NERDS.

      I believe you mean the Hollywood Upstairs Medical College, as referenced in episode 3F05, entitled "King Sized Homer," specifically when the character 'Bart' suggests using milkshakes as toothpaste.

      Worst. Commenter. Ever.

    5. Re:Good News! by Tackhead · · Score: 5, Interesting

      he says everybody not everyone.

      Fail.

      Random Destruction, you are technically correct -- the best kind of correct! I hereby promote you to Slashdotter Grade 866026!

  3. Yay! by WrongSizeGlass · · Score: 4, Funny

    Dr Zoidberg: Yay! So I didn't lose my job!

    1. Re:Yay! by slimjim8094 · · Score: 5, Funny

      Hermes: You lost your job 6 years ago you fat lobster!

      --
      I have developed a truly marvelous proof of this comment, which this signature is too narrow to contain.
    2. Re:Yay! by Jahava · · Score: 4, Funny

      This thread is bad and you should feel bad!

  4. I just got goosebumps by Reason58 · · Score: 4, Funny

    This post brought to you by Glagnar's Human Rinds.

  5. Futurama is best #2 by gad_zuki! · · Score: 4, Funny

    with Everyone Loves Hypnotoad at #1 of course.

    1. Re:Futurama is best #2 by TheRaven64 · · Score: 4, Funny
      --
      I am TheRaven on Soylent News
  6. Re:Good news everybody! by Fluffeh · · Score: 2, Funny

    *Bender voice* Uh oh. I'm boned. *end character voice*

    --
    Moved to http://soylentnews.org/. You are invited to join us too!
  7. Re:Good news everybody! by MobileTatsu-NJG · · Score: 5, Funny

    Good news, everyone! I've invented a device that lets you hear my voice in your head as you read this!

    --

    "I like to lick butts!" by MobileTatsu-NJG (#32700246) (Score:5, Informative)

  8. Tough contract negotiations by PPH · · Score: 4, Insightful

    No doubt, Comedy Central had to kiss some shiny metal ass.

    --
    Have gnu, will travel.
  9. In this being by arcite · · Score: 4, Funny
    In this being the post-millennial / post-9/11 age, the world has become too cynical, and frankly...depressing.

    Futurama's humor was meant for the waning years of the 90's when the world was scared of Y2K and still revered Star Trek and Twilight zone as pinnacle of science fiction. When one eyed purple aliens and rich asian chicks were still 'hot' - and not in a weird way. It was a time when a young man could still dream of being a delivery boy in space, and maybe, just maybe it was possible (the US was rich and had all those mars landers planting flags). A time when no man would envy another, and there would be sexbots for all. It was a simpler time. Futurama is dead to me now.

    Fox can bite my shiny metal ass.

    1. Re:In this being by Vellmont · · Score: 4, Funny


      Futurama's humor was meant for the waning years of the 90's when the world was scared of Y2K and still revered Star Trek and Twilight zone as pinnacle...
      A time when no man would envy another, and there would be sexbots for all. It was a simpler time. Futurama is dead to me now.

      Classic! Strangely enough, your post fell through a wormhole in the space-time continuum, and onto a much earlier Slashdot thread in 1999. It sparked a discussion about how the REAL golden age was actually in the waning says of the 1980s when the world was still scared of the Russians, people still thought Magnum PI was great television, and Ollie North was givin 'em hell, and 2400 baud modems were state of the art. (Simpler times as you say)

      If I find a post from 2020 that falls through the space-time continuum I'll let you know what the great things that exist today people are nostalgic for then.

      --
      AccountKiller
    2. Re:In this being by ConceptJunkie · · Score: 5, Funny

      by JonKatzTheSecond (63445274) on 20-03-18 22:01 (#815223905)

      By season 14, Futurama seemed to outlive itself. Its humor was meant for the early years of the 2010s when the world was scared of global warming and still revered "Heroes" and "Lost" as the pinnacle of science fiction. When three-eyed omnivores and impoverished Jewish space lobsters were still 'hot' - and not in a weird way. It was a time when an old man could still dream of leading an army of mutant gorillas to global conquest, and maybe, just maybe it was possible (the U.S. still wasn't frozen over and Joe Biden hadn't developed his mighty telekinetic powers). A time when Seattle wasn't a gaping canyon and the Grand Canyon wasn't filled with coffee cups and flannel shirts, and the President still hadn't solved the "War on Terror" with a game of "Quarters" and two-falls-out-of-three Jell-O Wrestling, only to lead to tyrannical world domination by the Mormons. It was a simpler time. Futurama is as dead to me now as electric cheese and skeet shooting using Senators.

      --
      You are in a maze of twisty little passages, all alike.
    3. Re:In this being by glwtta · · Score: 3, Insightful

      I'll let you know what the great things that exist today people are nostalgic for then.

      I'm gonna go with "2D movies" and "the internet".

      --
      sic transit gloria mundi
    4. Re:In this being by dangitman · · Score: 4, Funny

      It was a time when a young man could still dream of being a delivery boy in space, and maybe, just maybe it was possible...

      Yes, in those days spirits were brave, the stakes were high, men were REAL men, women were REAL women, and small furry creatures from Alpha Centauri were REAL small furry creatures from Aplha Centauri.

      --
      ... and then they built the supercollider.
    5. Re:In this being by k_187 · · Score: 2, Funny

      Shinier than yours meatbag

      --
      11 was a racehorse
      12 was 12
      1111 Race
      12112
    6. Re:In this being by Inner_Child · · Score: 2, Interesting

      I had to reply because:

      1) Hitchhiker's Guide, awesome

      and

      2) Never before have I seen a post dovetail so nicely with the user's sig.

      --
      Today is red jello day - all workers must eat all of their red jello. Failure to comply will result in five demerits.
    7. Re:In this being by Tokerat · · Score: 4, Insightful

      In what world do you live where rich asian chicks aren't hot?

      --
      CAn'T CompreHend SARcaSm?
  10. Hey Everybody! by camperdave · · Score: 3, Insightful

    Hey folks, can we please stop linking to previous Slashdot stories? When I click on the link "Futurama will be returning this year", I want to read the actual press release, or article, or whatever. I don't want to read last year's Slashdot dupe.

    --
    When our name is on the back of your car, we're behind you all the way!
  11. All glory to the Hypnotoad by grapeape · · Score: 4, Funny

    Must watch return of Futurama...Must watch return of Futurama...Must watch return of Futurama...

  12. Next step, the amusement park! by RevWaldo · · Score: 2, Interesting

    "My great unfulfilled ambition - to do my own amusement park - is really why I am doing Futurama. I'm not kidding. If this show takes off, I'm going to do an amusement park." - Matt Groening, Wired 7.02

    That, and getting "Life In Hell" online. (For God's sake man! It's an intern, a scanner, and a Facebook page!)

    1. Re:Next step, the amusement park! by hibiki_r · · Score: 5, Funny

      With blackjack, and hookers!

    2. Re:Next step, the amusement park! by cmzzimt · · Score: 2, Funny

      In fact, forget the blackjack!

    3. Re:Next step, the amusement park! by Darth_brooks · · Score: 2, Funny

      ahh, screw the whole thing.

      --
      There are some people that if they don't know, you can't tell 'em.
  13. Re:Flame jacket on by scottrocket · · Score: 5, Interesting

    So, if someone had a brain slug & then faced Hypnotoad, what would happen?

  14. Rebirth? Hopefully this does not mean reboot. by kimvette · · Score: 3, Insightful

    The only franchise "Reboot" I've liked is Reboot iself.

    Futurama is perfection as designed; a good mix of classic cel and modern CGI animation, the perfect mix of fart jokes, puns, and science and math humor, as well as subtle story arcs (well, mainly the on-again off-again almost-romance between Fry and Leela, Fry's being the most important "person" in the Universe, and Nibbler's continual influence on keeping society going) that don't cause you to lose interest if you miss a few episodes, but add lot to the show.

    I hope the "rebirth" doesn't mean a Tim Burton or Lucas-style franchise reboot.

    --
    The Christian Right is Neither (Christian nor right). See: Matthew 23, Matthew 25, Ezekiel 16:48-50
  15. Re:Good news everybody! by chronosan · · Score: 2, Funny

    Dacia Sandero?

  16. Re:Flame jacket on by Abstrackt · · Score: 5, Informative

    So, if someone had a brain slug & then faced Hypnotoad, what would happen?

    My theory is that the Hypnotoad would control the brain slug as well.

    --
    They say a little knowledge is a dangerous thing, but it's not one half so bad as a lot of ignorance. - Terry Pratchett
  17. Re:Flame jacket on by i_ate_god · · Score: 3, Funny

    Nibbler would eat both

    --
    I'm god, but it's a bit of a drag really...
  18. Re:Good news everybody! by dangitman · · Score: 5, Funny

    Good news, everyone! I've invented a device that lets you hear my voice in your head as you read this!

    That's weird. You sound exactly like Professor Farnsworth.

    --
    ... and then they built the supercollider.
  19. Fox Sunday/Friday victims of the early 2000s by LostCluster · · Score: 5, Informative

    Fox killed Futurama by bad scheduling. See, they put the show on various slots Sunday nights, but because of the variable length of NFL football game coverage, the Sunday night lineup was often damaged by running late, being joined in progress, not being shown to the whole nation, and other problems. The only rules were that The Simpsons must run untouched at as close to 8pm ET as possible.

    Furthermore, they killed several shows by putting them on Friday nights during the spring and summer... because not only is that a traditional slow night for TV viewing, but Fox-owned stations in New York (the biggest local TV area), Boston (4th biggest) and other markets showed local baseball games on most Fridays, causing new episodes of serial series to air in the late-late-night timeslots in those areas.

    Fox has fixed these problems by allowing Fox Sports to control the network up until 8pm ET on Sundays, filling the gap between the end of the games and the set signoff time with a postgame show called The OT when needed. West coast affiliates are left on their own until 8pm PT, and the entire nation sees the Sunday lineup from 8/7-to-10/9 as they should. Fox has also stopped buying local baseball packages for their owned stations and encouraged other affiliates to get out of the local sports broadcast business.

    Many geek favorites like Futurama and Sliders got caught up in this mess. It's nice to see that the producers of such shows have found other outlets that treat them better.

  20. Re:Flame jacket on by EdIII · · Score: 5, Interesting

    Only on Slashdot could you get modded informative about a theory concerning a fictitious character on an animated show :)

    My question for you though is could a brain slug control a Hypnotoad?

  21. Best Futurama Line... by drkim · · Score: 2, Informative

    "It's like a movie, with this happening in it!"
    -or-
    "I had the most wonderful dream! And YOU were in it!"

  22. Well, the cancelation by SmallFurryCreature · · Score: 2, Insightful

    This can only lead to Futurama being canceled again. I swear they are just playing with our emotions!

    I wonder how many episodes we will get now about the evils of file-sharing and even worse, free news sources from the lovely Fox network and its dark overlord.

    --

    MMO Quests are like orgasms:

    You may solo them, I prefer them in a group.

  23. Re:Flame jacket on by YourExperiment · · Score: 2, Interesting

    Only on Slashdot could you get modded informative about a theory concerning a fictitious character on an animated show :)

    Primarily because no other site has a moderation system which allows you to be modded informative.

    In answer to your question: yes, a brain slug could control a Hypnotoad, but what would happen when this slug/toad symbiote looked into a mirror?

  24. Re:High def! by fuzzix · · Score: 3, Informative

    It matters because standard def is 4:3 and high def is 16:9. The simpsons looks a lot better now that I don't need to stretch it to fit my screen.

    Maybe, but it's still not funny any more.

  25. Re:Good news everybody! by 0100010001010011 · · Score: 2, Funny

    Morgan Freeman?

  26. Re:Flame jacket on by Reason58 · · Score: 2, Interesting

    In answer to your question: yes, a brain slug could control a Hypnotoad, but what would happen when this slug/toad symbiote looked into a mirror?

    If the brain slug was already controlling Hypnotoad then it would not use his power to hypnotize himself when facing a mirror. Obviously.

    They teach this shit on Blues Clues.