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Futurama Cancelled (Again)

eldavojohn writes "Bad news everybody. According to Entertainment Weekly, Futurama has been cancelled (again). The renewal of Futurama back onto television was met with great fanfare but sadly it appears that Futurama's luck has run out for a second time. The second half of season 7 will air from June 19th to September 4th and that will be it."

390 comments

  1. Good news everyone! by mpdolan37 · · Score: 5, Funny

    Wait. there will be no more 'Good news everyone!'

    --
    Facts are useless, they can be used to prove anything.
    1. Re:Good news everyone! by Mitreya · · Score: 5, Interesting
      So... how much Kickstarter money would they need to make another season...?

      Also, imagine how much money a guest voice role on Futurama could fetch!!

    2. Re:Good news everyone! by TWiTfan · · Score: 4, Insightful

      Please don't. And I say this as a huge Futurama fan from the beginning. The Comedy Central episodes were just fucking awful, even worse than those movies they did. You just can't go home again.

      --
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    3. Re:Good news everyone! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      nothing , as its obviously not as popluar as a fat arsed kardashian and hence being cancelled again.

    4. Re:Good news everyone! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Informative

      Once again, the sandwitch heavy portfolio pays off!

    5. Re:Good news everyone! by eln · · Score: 4, Interesting

      "Fucking awful" is a bit strong, but they definitely weren't up to par. I'm not surprised it was cancelled, and at this point I'd be much happier if they put the series to bed instead of continually trying to bring it back, as it will inevitably get worse every time they do.

    6. Re:Good news everyone! by freeze128 · · Score: 2, Interesting

      The episodes are roughly 1 million dollars each, so I would estimate about $26 Million for another season.

      How much you got?

    7. Re:Good news everyone! by Mitreya · · Score: 2

      The episodes are roughly 1 million dollars each, so I would estimate about $26 Million for another season.

      Do you have any actual knowledge or are you just making stuff up?

      I remember reading that FireFly episodes were $1M+/episode which was part of the problem, but being a space western with decent special effects, that made sense. Props and full-time actors are expensive. However, if a 22-minute animated series episode costs $1M, then I am sure some cutbacks can be made...

    8. Re:Good news everyone! by Dahamma · · Score: 2

      They were worse than the movies?? Ugh. Those movies are the reason I didn't bother watching the new episodes.

      Though at least this means it will never get as embarrassing as the Simpsons. Homer has jumped the shark so many times now the only plot point they haven't rehashed is Homer *literally* jumping a shark. And they almost did that one in a clip show a decade ago that was so bad many ironically reference it as the figurative shark-jumping moment as well.

    9. Re:Good news everyone! by maroberts · · Score: 2

      Hands up all those who read "Good News everyone!" in Professor Farnsworth's voice?!

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    10. Re:Good news everyone! by Darinbob · · Score: 1

      I agree here. I did like the movies myself (most of them). However the rebooted episodes just weren't up to the quality of the originals. Maybe there's some irrational emotional response there, such as nostalgia, where you ony remember the good bits and filter out the negative ones...

      Anyway, it doesn't hurt to cancel it. What does hurt is leaving something to go on too long.

    11. Re:Good news everyone! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      ...Props and full-time actors are expensive. However, if a 22-minute animated series episode costs $1M, then I am sure some cutbacks can be made...

      And when those cutbacks happen to be the greedy narcissistic voice actors demanding obscene amounts of money per episode to voice a fucking cartoon?

      Where do you think they're blowing a cool million per episode? It sure as hell ain't due to costs filming in exotic locations...

    12. Re:Good news everyone! by Capt.DrumkenBum · · Score: 2

      Next week on the Simpsons...

      --
      If I were God, wouldn't I protect my churches from acts of me?
    13. Re:Good news everyone! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Animation is no longer the realm of artisans and supercomputers. There is zero reason other than greed for a 22 minute animated show to cost anywhere near 1m per episode.

      If My Little Pony fans can make FanFic animated shorts like My Little Portal for free in their spare time with production quality nearly on par with the televised series then certainly cutbacks can be made to get per-episode costs to something low enough to kickstarter fund.

    14. Re:Good news everyone! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Funny

      How come The Simpsons manage to stay fresh and funny?

    15. Re:Good news everyone! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Informative

      They didn't. Though they did last longer than Futurama, the newer episodes are soul-crushingly bad.

    16. Re:Good news everyone! by zap1992 · · Score: 5, Insightful

      The Simpsons manage to stay fresh and funny? When did that start again?

      Granted I haven't watched the last few seasons, but I don't think that show has been funny in years.

    17. Re:Good news everyone! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      But enough people watch the Simpsons to keep it on the air.

    18. Re:Good news everyone! by amicusNYCL · · Score: 4, Informative

      certainly cutbacks can be made to get per-episode costs to something low enough to kickstarter fund.

      That's correct. The cutbacks would presumably be not having the original voice cast, writing team, or production crew. You would still need to purchase the rights from Fox, though. The syndication rights that Comedy Central bought from Fox are said to be the single most expensive acquisition for Comedy Central. They paid Fox $400k per episode just for syndication rights.

      --
      "Our two-party system is like a bowl of shit looking at itself in a mirror." - Lewis Black
    19. Re:Good news everyone! by omnichad · · Score: 4, Interesting

      I picked it up again from Season 20 when it went to HD. It's hit or miss, but pretty good overall. Definitely not the same show it was 20 years ago, but riffs on pop culture more often in the vein of Family Guy. And I'd still much rather watch The Simpsons than Family Guy.

    20. Re:Good news everyone! by The+Grim+Reefer · · Score: 1

      The episodes are roughly 1 million dollars each, so I would estimate about $26 Million for another season. How much you got?

      Wasn't STTNG $1 to $2 million per episode? I realize there's been some inflation since then, but for a 22 minute animated show to be close in cost is surprising, at least to me.

    21. Re:Good news everyone! by hierophanta · · Score: 2

      +1

    22. Re:Good news everyone! by ericloewe · · Score: 1

      It's easier to ask who didn't.

    23. Re:Good news everyone! by interval1066 · · Score: 0, Offtopic

      In Soviet Russia, the government controls corporations.

      While I have time to kill waiting for a train I'm ask you about that idiotic sig of yours. You've had it for years and I want an explanation. It bugs the hell out of me.

      1. Talking about "Soviet Russia" in the present tense makes you sound like a tard.
      2. It's an obvious statement, like saying red is a red color. We know how the Soviet system worked.
      3. It in fact didn't work, it failed spectacularly.

      I demand an explanation behind that sig.

      --
      Python: 'And then suddenly you have a language which says "we're all stuck with whatever the whiniest coder wants".'
    24. Re:Good news everyone! by Impy+the+Impiuos+Imp · · Score: 1

      Family Guy is starting to get preachy. It may be jumping the shark as we speak.

      --
      (-1: Post disagrees with my already-settled worldview) is not a valid mod option.
    25. Re:Good news everyone! by Koim-Do · · Score: 2

      Obviously, in Soviet Russia, that sig demands an explanation for you!

    26. Re:Good news everyone! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Maybe there's some irrational emotional response there, such as nostalgia, where you ony remember the good bits and filter out the negative ones...

      My vote goes to that. In my case, I missed almost all of the original airings (no big surprise, nobody else knew when it was on, either, which is why it was canceled the first time), and my threshold for buying DVD seasons of a TV show I didn't watch much are absurdly high. What this meant is that once it got picked back up by Comedy Central, I experienced a blend of old reruns and newer episodes at the same time, without a nostalgia filter affecting my appreciation of either.

      And apart from some of the weaker voice acting and character development in the really early episodes, I like both sets just fine. I know, I know, I'm a terrible nerd if I don't have vitriolic, absolutist opinions about every piece of entertainment that crosses my senses, but, well, I like both, so the haters can go fuck themselves.

      That said, however, I will also say that, given the series lasted seven seasons and four movies, that's a damn healthy run for nearly any show. Best to end it now, when only the hipster nerds are whining about how much better it was when it was new and underground and nobody heard of it.

    27. Re:Good news everyone! by ADRA · · Score: 1

      To each is own. I loved the new episodes and loathed the movies, so...

      --
      Bye!
    28. Re:Good news everyone! by HairyNevus · · Score: 4, Insightful

      Agreed. When they were brought back suddenly they became all about making modern-day topical jokes (about Lady Gaga, Twitter, etc.) and throwing the whole "it's the year 3001" bit out the window. Plus, after Leela banged Zap Brannigan, again, willfully...something was just lost. In the sexing-up of the characters was another huge detraction.

      All that to say, I bet if it had been brought back on Adult Swim, things would have been different.

      --
      You were critically hit for no damage. The bruise will look nice, and maybe the scars will make good party talk.
    29. Re:Good news everyone! by Reverand+Dave · · Score: 4, Interesting

      When Futurama first premiered in 2000, it was the most expensive cartoon on air to produce due to the quality and the mix of CG with hand drawn animation. That is part of the reason it was initially cancelled by Fox. It had more to do with the cost than the actual ratings. I don't think that is the case anymore, but still when you watch the opening sequence, realize that there are over 80 layers of animation in just that few second span.

      --
      I got here through a series of tubes
    30. Re:Good news everyone! by Opportunist · · Score: 1

      Simpsons has been preachy for a while now. Here is a pretty good summary of the problem.

      --
      We used to have a Bill of Rights. Now, with the rights gone, all we have left is the bill.
    31. Re:Good news everyone! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      They varied. "The Late Philip J. Fry" is as good as any of the first run. It's got to be in the top 5 episodes.

      As far as I'm concerned, even if some of the episodes "weren't up to par", a few of them are clearly better than that, and almost all of them are still several times better than what passes as average TV these days.

    32. Re:Good news everyone! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      If you really want to do that, check out, smgo.tv. It's a new site that tries to crowdfund new seasons of canceled shows and then make a deal with the producers for it to actually happen. They don't take a cut, but instead make their money via ads on streaming the new seasons (people who contribute are guaranteed ad-free streaming).

    33. Re:Good news everyone! by Haoie · · Score: 1

      I'm going to have to disagree. I thought they were quite good, not excellent but still fine examples of animated comedy.

      Especially Bender's Big Score.

      --
      If each mistake being made is a new one, then progress is being made.
    34. Re:Good news everyone! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I am not he but I'll take a shot. The Soviets were "Communists" (anyone who reads Marx and even Lenin's State and Revolution can tell you they weren't true Communists) and under them all means of production were property of the state. In a Capitalism, the means of production are owned by private individual entities, usually in the form of corporations. So he's just stating that under Soviet Russia, it was the other way around.

    35. Re:Good news everyone! by amicusNYCL · · Score: 4, Interesting

      I apologize for confusing you all of these years. Soviet Russia jokes are from the comedian Yakov Smirnoff, who used Soviet Russia jokes to contrast life under a Communist regime with life in the US. His punchlines were that things in Soviet Russia are opposite from the US. The implication behind my signature is that in the US corporations control the government.

      --
      "Our two-party system is like a bowl of shit looking at itself in a mirror." - Lewis Black
    36. Re:Good news everyone! by HairyNevus · · Score: 1

      True on this list of voice actor's net worth I see a lot of Futurama people. But, I also notice the people from Futurama have more of a portfolio of voice characters that would explain how they have so much money, and they're also trumped by people who only do less varied work. I'm undecided.

      --
      You were critically hit for no damage. The bruise will look nice, and maybe the scars will make good party talk.
    37. Re:Good news everyone! by hairyfeet · · Score: 1

      Compared to the first couple of seasons? Yeah they were pretty terrible. I didn't keep up with the show enough to know what was going on behind the scenes, did they lose their writers or was it a case of them just running out of gas?

      In any case if the quality is gonna keep falling like that maybe its better just to let it go rather than drag the Futurama name through the mud.

      --
      ACs don't waste your time replying, your posts are never seen by me.
    38. Re:Good news everyone! by realityimpaired · · Score: 0

      The Simpsons jumped the shark shortly after Saturday Night Live did, in the mid 90's....

    39. Re:Good news everyone! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      ...for the hungry investor.

    40. Re:Good news everyone! by teaserX · · Score: 1

      No mention of Smirnoff's catch phrase/joke? "In Soviet Russia the Party finds you"

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    41. Re:Good news everyone! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      The implication is that in the United States, corporations control the government; you stupid cow.

    42. Re:Good news everyone! by steelfood · · Score: 1

      Great. Thanks for making the joke unfunny.

      --
      "If a nation expects to be ignorant and free in a state of civilization, it expects what never was and never will be."
    43. Re:Good news everyone! by cant_get_a_good_nick · · Score: 1

      But enough people watch the Simpsons to keep it on the air.

      For this year....

      The Simpsons have been on so long that the economics have changed. When the voice actors asked for more cash, Fox realized they have so many episodes for syndication that it's more cost effective to say no and stop paying for new episodes, just start milking the syndication cash cow.

      Though not too surprising (a production company balking at any increase at all in production? Really?) I always thought that there are actually so few bodies doing the voices (they overlap characters so much) I thought they might keep going.

    44. Re:Good news everyone! by amicusNYCL · · Score: 2

      Like Grog6 said, my signature really isn't a joke, it's not supposed to be funny. And I'm shocked that my explanation of a Yakov Smirnoff joke got modded to +5 here on Slashdot. Next someone is going to wonder why Natalie Portman would be covered in hot grits.

      --
      "Our two-party system is like a bowl of shit looking at itself in a mirror." - Lewis Black
    45. Re:Good news everyone! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Nicely done.

    46. Re:Good news everyone! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I wonder why Natalie Portman would be covered in hot grits.

    47. Re:Good news everyone! by interval1066 · · Score: 1

      Way to blunt the obvious, thanks for the clarification though (wasn't my point). But... stupid cow...? Wtf? Your mommy gonna wash out your mouth with soap if she catches wind you've been using swears?

      --
      Python: 'And then suddenly you have a language which says "we're all stuck with whatever the whiniest coder wants".'
    48. Re: Good news everyone! by Gilmoure · · Score: 1

      Man! Now I hear the professors voice in my head.

      --
      I drank what? -- Socrates
    49. Re:Good news everyone! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      that idiotic sig of yours... bugs the hell out of me.

      I mostly solved that. One of the slashdot settings allows you to turn off sigs. Now I only have to learn about obnoxious sigs when some idiot writes a post about them.

    50. Re:Good news everyone! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      sangwich

      -ftfy

    51. Re:Good news everyone! by nametaken · · Score: 1

      Nobody has to look too far to understand why the Simpsons is still on. They told us...

      http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tZwgu8_b0Vw

      If you want one that has stayed funny, I still think South Park is fantastic. I never really thought Family Guy was so great though, so I guess I'm a bit of an odd duck.

    52. Re:Good news everyone! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      You're dumb. Next time use google.

    53. Re:Good news everyone! by oursland · · Score: 1

      Ugh. This trope again. I watched them as they aired from 1999 on. They were very much about topical jokes about current events, with plenty of references to the 2000 Election, what if Al Gore won, Ally McBeal (Single Female Lawyer), Lucy Liu, Beastie Boys, and so forth. Just watching it is like going back to a microcosm of pop culture in the early 2000s. Only your perspective has changed; you see things in current events much differently than you see the current events of yesteryear.

    54. Re:Good news everyone! by GodfatherofSoul · · Score: 1

      I'd call that bad budgeting. Invader Zim had overall higher quality animation and also integrated computer graphics, but had to be far cheaper if it was Nickelodeon TV show.

      --
      I swear to God...I swear to God! That is NOT how you treat your human!
    55. Re:Good news everyone! by delt0r · · Score: 1

      The eyePhone episode is one of the best IMO. Do you remember the first season properly? What where you expecting? Seriously i think a lot of critics know what they think of the "new" stuff long before they see it.

      --
      If information wants to be free, why does my internet connection cost so much?
    56. Re:Good news everyone! by delt0r · · Score: 1

      Plus, after Leela banged Zap Brannigan, again, willfully...something was just lost.

      Did anyone here actually watch the first seasons? That was like the first time She did it. Zap and Amy? Same thing, especially since Amy sleeps with everything. The kind of jokes you are complaining about was what i watched for. From season 1. I re watch them quite regularly and the last season does not stand out as worse or better for that matter. But is well just futurama.

      Seriously a lot of people are complaining that the last season did/didn't do this or that. And none of these things are true of the previous seasons either.

      --
      If information wants to be free, why does my internet connection cost so much?
    57. Re:Good news everyone! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      How come The Simpsons manage to stay fresh and funny?

      They don't, it hasn't been good since like S12

    58. Re:Good news everyone! by rikkards · · Score: 1

      I find if Lisa has only a line or two (or less) the show is better. I have noticed the latest season has been better than other recent seasons albeit that is not a hard goal to beat.

    59. Re:Good news everyone! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      In that case you would crowd source money and use the internet to broadcast or provide episodes, the cartoon wasn't successful PERIOD.. If it wasn't for the morons at FOX (fuckin oxymoron's) hanging on to fill time slots the show would have been done in its first season. The Family guy is a crap show as well, that show doesn't make fun of anything, that hasn't already been mocked by hundreds of comedians. Again hanging on to it, because they want to fill a time slot, and they do not want another more uncensored channel to own it.

      No doubt there are nerds and geeks that for some reason have a cult following of terrible shows, and if they want to see more episodes crowd sourcing and providing episodes via the internet would be the way to go.

      How are reruns on another channel crappy? Because they had more ads? Welcome to the TV experience!!!

    60. Re:Good news everyone! by Karl+Cocknozzle · · Score: 1

      "Fucking awful" is a bit strong, but they definitely weren't up to par. I'm not surprised it was cancelled, and at this point I'd be much happier if they put the series to bed instead of continually trying to bring it back, as it will inevitably get worse every time they do.

      Not sure I can get on board with "awful" being "a bit strong." If anything, I'd say "fucking awful" is a generous review. It was obvious they weren't using the same writers, and the episodes had none of the charming self-deprecation/self-parody that made the originals so special and cute and fun. Leela and Frye being "on again/off again" felt lame and contrived--neither one of them is going to do any better. She's a one-eyed alien and he's a man-out-of-time pizza delivery guy.

      In fact, that's another problem: They changed Frye's character such that he wasn't really a "man out of element" pizza guy anymore and had become a standard bumbling loser boyfriend foil for Leela.

      --
      Who did what now?
    61. Re:Good news everyone! by Karl+Cocknozzle · · Score: 1

      They didn't. Though they did last longer than Futurama, the newer episodes are soul-crushingly bad.

      Well... They're certainly not good, that's for sure.

      But recent "Simpsons" are still far better than Comedy Central era Futurama... Mainly due to the fact that there wasn't a multi-year hiatus during which the entire writing staff moved on to other jobs. This is the main problem with Futurama at this point: The people who made the show funny and charming and cute are all gone, having made careers for themselves based on the funny/charming/cuteness of Futurama.

      The Simpsons have turned-over writers (shit, didn't Conan O'Brien write for that show at one point?) but never everybody all at once, and they never had a multi-year hiatus during which the writers that knew the show, even if they stuck around, had time to forget some of the details that made it funny.

      All things considered, though, what this says loudest is "FOR GOD'S SAKE, DON'T TAKE YOUR QUIRKY SHOWS TO FOX!" Even if they buy them they'll just ruin them by cancelling them prematurely, putting fans and staff on a roller-coaster for no-apparent-reason. At least they didn't ruin Family Guy. ...Yet...

      In hindsight, I sort of wish the ending to Futurama had been the last shot in "The Devils Hands are Idle Playthings," with Frye and Leela walking away together, happy.

      --
      Who did what now?
    62. Re:Good news everyone! by RivenAleem · · Score: 1

      I didn't like when it went HD. It suffered the same problem that many other shows do. It starts to look too realistic, and you can see if someone's make-up is done wrong.

    63. Re:Good news everyone! by Reverand+Dave · · Score: 1

      I'm not sure many would agree with you on the higher quality animation. While I love Zim I don't think that the animation was as smooth or intricate as that of Futurama. Also I misspoke when I said 2000 premiere, Futurama actually premiered in March 1999 while Zim premiered in March 2001. Futurama initially ran until 2003 where Zim was off and on until 2006. If you look at the advances in CG from 1999 to 2001 the difference is quite astounding. Even when you consider the advances in PC speeds from 1999 to 2001 you could see how a show like Futurama with intricate details in the fore and background would be far more expensive to produce where a show like Zim that often mono-color washes the background in favor of foreground color and detail. Both shows are brilliant, but Futurama has far superior production values, sorry.

      Futurama is the type of animation that Viacom execs would have turned their nose up at in favor of a show like Zim simple because of the cost. I could go on, but I think I've made my point.

      --
      I got here through a series of tubes
    64. Re:Good news everyone! by omnichad · · Score: 1

      It still looks like a drawing to me. The fuzziness of some of the outlines were starting to bug me on the HDTV before the switch. It's no worse than going to see something like The Lion King in the theater.

    65. Re:Good news everyone! by segwonk · · Score: 1


      I appreciate that you so polite in explaining your sig to the troll. I have seen you sig for years, and the meaning was plainly obvious to me once I had seen a few other "Soviet Russia" jokes. Kudos to you.

      --
      - ------ Go 'til ya know.
    66. Re:Good news everyone! by dosilegecko · · Score: 1

      I think his humor was lost on you...

    67. Re:Good news everyone! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Uhm... they don't. At all. Not even close.

    68. Re:Good news everyone! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      You mean the show that held a press blitz when they killed an irrelevant character? That kind of fresh? Like, DC Comics fresh?

    69. Re:Good news everyone! by Clock+Nova · · Score: 1

      Completely agree with you on that episode. "The Late Philip J. Fry" is perhaps one of the best episodes of the entire series. In fact, I think it holds up pretty dang well just as pure science fiction. Take out the comedic elements and it would make a short story to make Ellison proud. Or something like that. I really enjoyed it, is what I'm saying.

      --
      There they were, sitting in the van with all those dials, and the cat was dead. -V. Marchetti, CIA
    70. Re:Good news everyone! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      The latest episodes are lacking when compared to the earlier seasons, but they are still better than most other animated series.

    71. Re:Good news everyone! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I haven't watched the last decade of the Simpsons... Is that show STILL!! running? Honestly I haven't watched a single episode of Futurama Season 7 since I live in a cave and can't get good reception in there, and Mcdonalds doesn't like it when you sit there using their WiFi and don't order anything. Oh well, I will just have to wait till it comes out on Blu-Ray...

    72. Re:Good news everyone! by Culture20 · · Score: 1

      At least they didn't ruin Family Guy. ...Yet..

      Yes they did. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0oMTmtN7lHI
      And after being brought back on air due to DVD sales, they've been recycling jokes, and not as in-jokes like the chicken fight either; they're trying to pass off the same old jokes as new ones, just slightly tweaked. Then when they can't think of something funny, they show music videos for five minutes straight (it was funny once; three times is a cry for help) or resort to brutal cartoon violence.

    73. Re:Good news everyone! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      All that to say, I bet if it had been brought back on Adult Swim, things would have been different.

      It would've been cancelled after one season, instead. Then they'd play reruns for the next thousand years as an inside joke.

  2. No surprise, really. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Interesting

    The newer episodes just haven't had that same flare the older ones did.
    A couple of them even felt forced.
    Better end a series on a decent note than to drag it on forever (Simpsons, Family Guy, etc)

    1. Re:No surprise, really. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      Yeah, futurama's gone downhill each time it's been renewed. And most of the movies sucked - Bender's Game, I'm looking at you in particular.

    2. Re:No surprise, really. by Rotag_FU · · Score: 3, Insightful

      I agree with you regarding the "movies" that were really just 4 episodes with a loosely coordinated plot-line. That seemed to be more about making the economics of reviving the show work (i.e., direct to video sales plus delayed airings on CC). However, I thought they really fell flat on their face and were not engaging. It was obvious that the writers just couldn't make a 2 hour plot line broken up into 4 parts work.

      However, I thought the follow-up season on CC was actually pretty decent. I would not argue that they were the best the series had to offer, but they seemed like worthwhile inclusions, imho.

    3. Re:No surprise, really. by ackthpt · · Score: 3, Insightful

      The newer episodes just haven't had that same flare the older ones did.

      A couple of them even felt forced.

      Better end a series on a decent note than to drag it on forever (Simpsons, Family Guy, etc)

      Like Family Guy, IMHO, the jokes and themes were funny for a while, but wear thin in time. I can't even be bothered to see what's happening on the Simpsons, since I stopped watching it about ten years ago. Futurama has effectively flogged every dead horse the writers could find. Time to move on.

      --

      A feeling of having made the same mistake before: Deja Foobar
    4. Re:No surprise, really. by kannibal_klown · · Score: 4, Informative

      Agreed on all points.

      Bender's Big Score was OK in parts; I kind of dug it. I particularly liked how stuck-in-the-past Fry realized he was Lars and had the emotional bit.

      But after that, weak sauce.

    5. Re:No surprise, really. by evilRhino · · Score: 4, Insightful

      The new seasons are worth it just for the evolution episode.

    6. Re:No surprise, really. by ackthpt · · Score: 1

      I agree with you regarding the "movies" that were really just 4 episodes with a loosely coordinated plot-line. That seemed to be more about making the economics of reviving the show work (i.e., direct to video sales plus delayed airings on CC). However, I thought they really fell flat on their face and were not engaging. It was obvious that the writers just couldn't make a 2 hour plot line broken up into 4 parts work.

      However, I thought the follow-up season on CC was actually pretty decent. I would not argue that they were the best the series had to offer, but they seemed like worthwhile inclusions, imho.

      Oh, I'm certain they were excellent, but the problem is they became too familiar. You can only do Fry is an idiot, so many times and it ceases to be funny.

      --

      A feeling of having made the same mistake before: Deja Foobar
    7. Re:No surprise, really. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Lower quality content coupled with sporactic air dates and times equals will not watch even with a DVR.
       

    8. Re:No surprise, really. by sconeu · · Score: 4, Insightful

      The problem with the movies was that they all had a "MESSAGE" that was driven home with a sledgehammer (possible exception: Bender's Game).

      MESSAGE episodes are usually turn-offs. "Tonight, on a Very Special Futurama...."

      --
      General Relativity: Space-time tells matter where to go; Matter tells space-time what shape to be.
    9. Re:No surprise, really. by ShieldW0lf · · Score: 2, Insightful

      I loved Futurama when they were on Fox, but every episode I watched since they got picked up by CC felt like thinly veiled left-wing propaganda. I'd rather see them cancelled than carry on like this.

      --
      -1 Uncomfortable Truth
    10. Re:No surprise, really. by KClaisse · · Score: 5, Interesting

      Couldn't agree more with this sentiment. The old episodes felt very clever and smart with their jokes often playing on scientific themes to make the punchline. That's what I really enjoyed about the original Futurama. After their comeback it seemed like they had changed to appeal to a wider audience, making more generalized jokes and story lines. I found early on I could predict the outcome of most episodes, at first anyway. By the end of their comeback the episodes were so disjointed it felt like the entire plot twisted two or three times an episodes. In the end I'm not even the least bit surprised they were canceled again. Fans like me were hoping and expecting Futurama to come right back to the old smart funny ways but were instead greeted with another generic cartoon spewing generic jokes to a futuristic theme. Maybe it was a mistake to come back in the first place, maybe they had a good run and should have been left with the cult following it had. Now its just a flop for the general audiences. C'est la vie.

    11. Re:No surprise, really. by punkrockguy318 · · Score: 2

      Not a surprise at all. Comedy central needs that extra airtime for more tosh.o :P

    12. Re:No surprise, really. by synapse7 · · Score: 3, Informative

      The hipster one was pretty good also.

    13. Re:No surprise, really. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Interesting

      The big problem was reduced running time. Going from 21 minutes down to 18 really hurts storytelling.

    14. Re:No surprise, really. by TWiTfan · · Score: 1

      The Simpsons became a ghost ship a long time ago. The crew died, no one was at the helm, yet it kept sailing on--for no apparent reason and with no one particularly wanting it too. A like a ghost ship, it's a pretty hideous, decayed version of its former self--way more sad than noble now.

      --
      The cow says "Moo." The dog says "Woof." The Timothy says "Thanks, valued customer. We appreciate your input."
    15. Re:No surprise, really. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I loved Futurama when they were on Fox, but every episode I watched since they got picked up by CC felt like thinly veiled left-wing propaganda.

      The reason it feels that way is that like most people, you are bad at recognizing propaganda.

    16. Re:No surprise, really. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I don't know if there are an /. 'rs out there that are also purveyors of Anime, but American cartoons have
      suffered from the Disney (TM) effect for as long as I can remember. That is, there is absolutely no character
      development or growth through their entire run. The last episode is essentially the same as the first.
      Now, some Anime suffers from this, but in general, a story is told; when it's done, the series is ended.
      How well the story is told drives its popularity, but American cartoons tell no story and (try to) never end.
      Really, Bart's about 40 by now, am I right? Still forever a kid stuck at exactly the same point in his life
      as when the 1st episode aired.

      Yup - time to move on.

    17. Re:No surprise, really. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      Exactly. There's only so many unique and funny episodes you can make while sticking to a motif like "but in the future". Futurama is a great series and I love it, but you pretty much have to have a show about nothing (I'm looking at you, Seinfeld) to stretch a series on for much longer.

    18. Re:No surprise, really. by Conspiracy_Of_Doves · · Score: 2

      Your reboot was bad and you should feel bad!

    19. Re:No surprise, really. by lightknight · · Score: 2

      Yes, but think of how much more money the networks made by selling ad space for those three minutes! That's like 3-5 commercials, possibly more.

      --
      I am John Hurt.
    20. Re:No surprise, really. by GerryGilmore · · Score: 1

      Absolutely one of the worst shows on television. How Tosh.0 stays on the air at all is beyond me. It's basically some supposedly hipster-ish dude making snarky comments about busted-my-nuts-doing-something-stupid videos. Blecch!

    21. Re:No surprise, really. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Those things have nothing to do with Disneyification or the Simpsons being a cartoon.

      The Simpsons is a sitcom which is why there is no character development. In the US the general thinking behind stitcoms is you need to be able to tune in any given week and know what to expect out of the show. They even mention this on Family Guy in reference to an episode of the Honeymooners where Ralph loses his job and doesn't get it back that episode. The next episode in the series just ignores this development and starts out with the normal Honeymooners backstory.

    22. Re:No surprise, really. by Aerokii · · Score: 3, Funny

      Ran your main character into the ground? Why not Zoidberg?

    23. Re:No surprise, really. by nabsltd · · Score: 4, Informative

      The big problem was reduced running time. Going from 21 minutes down to 18 really hurts storytelling.

      The first half of season 7 of Futurama averaged 21:20 per episode (sans commercials, including credits), with none less than 21 minutes.

    24. Re:No surprise, really. by trodofor · · Score: 2

      The first time I saw Benders Big Score I was very excited to have Futurama back, but was pretty disappointed after I watched it. HOWEVER, I have watched it several times since then and I feel that although a little dragged out, it was probably some of the best content the Futurama team has EVER put together. It has the 3 elements that make the show as awesome as it is:

      1. science references
      2. witty and sometimes ridiculous comedy
      3. heart-touching moments that can make a grown man cry.

      The story line is tricky (especially with the time-travel) in ways that only Futurama can do. I felt that the rest of the movies were bad, and led into an even worse re-birth of the show.

      I will always love Futurama, but it is definitley time to call it quits. The new episodes still have many of the traditional characteristics, but have been overall very disappointing. I will watch it to the last second, but know that it is best to lay it to rest.

    25. Re:No surprise, really. by jellomizer · · Score: 1

      Well going back to the originals they were good ones and bad ones. The problem is when they come back we have a time cut off so we can compare against.
      However a few sharks have been jumped, such as the Fry and Lilia Relationship. But the biggest problem I see is the big attempt to follow consistency across each episode, Sure it is nice to give homage, however it is limiting what they can do each episode.

      --
      If something is so important that you feel the need to post it on the internet... It probably isn't that important.
    26. Re:No surprise, really. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Happens in anime and manga as well.

      Thats why I avoid the long running shonen jump stuff like the plague. Gets boring.

      The longest series I can stomach now are either OVAs (legend of the galactic heroes was 180 episodes, but my god every single episode had something going on that directly applied to the overreaching plot) or 2 season shows (things go till things go bad and major plot coupon is used, then second season is ramping up to eleven and cleaning up every last plot issue, and if that can't be covered, there is always a movie).

      anything above 2 seasons is a royal pain, and shouldn't be done. American makers hate doing the 2 season rule, because they like having a single lineup, and milking it for all it's got.

    27. Re:No surprise, really. by Hentes · · Score: 1

      As much as I love Futurama I have to agree, it has ran its time.

    28. Re:No surprise, really. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Nonsense. Bender's Game was great. Except for that D&D bit in the middle. And the crap farm. ... okay yeah. It sucked.

    29. Re:No surprise, really. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I think what really hurt the storytelling is the fact that they kept telling the same story over and over again. They kept going back to the "Fry loves Leela" well and used Leela's persistent indecisiveness to draw out that plotline as long as possible. But the well went dry very quickly. There's only so many time I can see Fry get friendzoned before it's just flat out boring.

    30. Re:No surprise, really. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Insightful

      Reality does seem like left wing propaganda to some people.

    31. Re:No surprise, really. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      The old episodes felt very clever and smart with their jokes often playing on scientific themes to make the punchline.

      Yeah, not like this new stuff where they develop actual mathematical theorems and crap.

    32. Re:No surprise, really. by Impy+the+Impiuos+Imp · · Score: 1

      Same to you.

      --
      (-1: Post disagrees with my already-settled worldview) is not a valid mod option.
    33. Re:No surprise, really. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Not surprising. You think everything is thinly-veiled left-wing propaganda.

    34. Re:No surprise, really. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      Care to share a few examples?

    35. Re:No surprise, really. by Seumas · · Score: 1

      There are almost as many slashdotters out there who are anime hounds as there are slashdotters with self-diagnosed apsergers.

    36. Re:No surprise, really. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 4, Interesting

      That was the thing: the original run had left wing "propaganda" in it, too (global warming, garbage, oil tankers, Al Gore, vegetarianism, etc.) but they always turned those things on their head to make them funny. I never felt like they were beating me over the head with their message. Instead, it just felt like a natural part of the story. More recently, though, there was less funny and more message, which just isn't really that fun. If I want to be preached at, I'll just surf the web.

    37. Re:No surprise, really. by punkrockguy318 · · Score: 1

      Agreed. I really don't understand how Tosh gets so much airtime. I used to be a frequent Comedy Central viewer, but no matter when I tune to CC, without fail, Tosh.O is playing. With Futurama gone there is not much of an incentive to tune in outside of the Colbert Report and the Daily Show.

    38. Re:No surprise, really. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      "Like Family Guy, IMHO, the jokes and themes were funny for a while, but wear thin in time."

      Wait, when were Family Guy jokes and themes funny for a while? I must have missed that episode.

    39. Re:No surprise, really. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      and thinly-veiled racist jokes.

    40. Re:No surprise, really. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      sporactic air dates and times

      That was always a problem with Futurama. Actually, most any decent Fox show.

    41. Re:No surprise, really. by Chewbacon · · Score: 1

      Best part of the new episodes were referencing the Fox network as the Box network.

      --
      Chewbacon
      The Bible is like Wikipedia: written by a bunch of people and verifiable by questionable sources.
    42. Re:No surprise, really. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Also they started to adapt to Comedy Central's reliance on unfunny stereotype humor. The episode "Neutopia" springs to mind, with the cast suddenly behaving ias discredited male/female stereotypes. Better to be put to dignified rest than to adapt to the comedic stylings of a channel that brought us Mind of Mencia and Tosh.0.

    43. Re:No surprise, really. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I disagree. I think that episode is actually a good example of the not-so-subtle preachiness that undercuts what would otherwise be a humorous show.

    44. Re:No surprise, really. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Comedy Central expanded their demographics to the 13-16 immature tasteless-jokes-are-cool-and-edgy crowd, and it'll be a long time before they break away from that habit. It's hard to believe that this channel had MST3K as their flagship.

      If you want a taste of things to come in Comedy Central's future, just look at their sister Viacom network, MTV.

    45. Re:No surprise, really. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Politics or Time Travel.

      Every [adult] Cartoon ends up with either one or both themes. That's why they wear thin.

      Futurama, FG, etc..: time travel
      Simpsons, American Dad, etc..: current politics

      Heck even the kiddies shows do the same (DragonBallZ: time travel, same flights).

    46. Re:No surprise, really. by SuperKendall · · Score: 1

      Reality does seem like left wing propaganda to some people.

      And yet others cannot see a forest for the trees.

      Why would he suddenly start seeing something that was not there? If he was prone to imagining such things, why did he not see it earlier?

      Often the simplest explanation is the truest one. Do you find it so absurd that a mostly left-leaning writing staff would start to produce plot lines that were in leaning with their own ideological preferences?

      What is far more telling I think, is that you can detect nothing...

      --
      "There is more worth loving than we have strength to love." - Brian Jay Stanley
    47. Re:No surprise, really. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      AKA, at least 80% of any stand-up which Comedy Central airs. You've seen one of those, you've seen 'em all.

    48. Re:No surprise, really. by JonJ · · Score: 1

      If only The Big Bang Theory writers would get this.

      --
      -- Linux user #369862
    49. Re:No surprise, really. by ackthpt · · Score: 1

      Politics or Time Travel.

      Every [adult] Cartoon ends up with either one or both themes. That's why they wear thin.

      Futurama, FG, etc..: time travel
      Simpsons, American Dad, etc..: current politics

      Heck even the kiddies shows do the same (DragonBallZ: time travel, same flights).

      The Flintstones is an interesting old cartoon to examin for changes which lead to decline - Effectively an animated Honeymooners, the gags which could be done regarding the four main characters and pet(s) were taken as far as the writers imaginations could go - then the slowly painted them into corners by adding Pebbles and Bam Bam. Certain adventures and exploits were off limits to the public sensibilities of the time - you could suggest Fred & Wilma weren't married, via the old Failed to File Cert/Justice of the Peace was a fake ploys, but don't even suggest them as Single Parents in early 1960's Television.

      Futurama began painting characters into corners by exploring their background. Leela wasn't an exotic alien, but a humdrum mutant - boy, that left me underwhelmed. Might have seemed like a good idea at the time, but once she was defined there could be no more speculation. Same goes for many of the characters. The only one left which could be reinvented was Bender, which became tiresome as episodes around Bender became effectively Homer episodes. And Fry could only be an idiot only so many times. I think you need to leave a lot of mystery about characters, delving into it sparingly, with care taken to not limit a character by some boring bit of background.

      Anyway, it's had a good run. Time to wrap it up. Come up with something new.

      --

      A feeling of having made the same mistake before: Deja Foobar
    50. Re:No surprise, really. by KClaisse · · Score: 1

      Well I guess if you want to pull out very specific one-off examples that don't necessarily disprove my point about funny scientific themes (a new mathematical theorem made to explain the plot doesn't necessarily tickle my funny bone). I won't say I didn't laugh at all at the new episodes, there were certainly moments. I still feel it wasn't anywhere near the original. It maybe wasn't less funny but it was certainly different enough to not appeal to me like the original did.

    51. Re:No surprise, really. by Burning1 · · Score: 1

      I'll never forgive that movie for retconning Seymour.

    52. Re:No surprise, really. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      That's my main problem with the newer episodes. Too preachy, they should do away with the message and go back to just telling stories.

    53. Re:No surprise, really. by lord_mike · · Score: 1

      It stays on the air because it is cheap to make. It's the same reason why we are infested with reality TV everywhere else as well.

    54. Re:No surprise, really. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Ran your main character into the ground?

      Why not Zoidberg?

      I totally read that in Zoidberg's voice. Nicely done.

    55. Re:No surprise, really. by mattack2 · · Score: 1

      You can only do Fry is an idiot, so many times and it ceases to be funny.

      I agree with this in theory, but disagree with it in actual practice. The Charlie Sheen years of "Two and a Half Men" basically had a couple of jokes - Charlie is sleazy/boozy, Alan is cheap, kid is stupid, mother is uncaring⦠and successfully repeated them over and over.

      (..and now with Kutcher, several of the jokes are continuing plus a couple for his character.)

      I mean successfully as in funny, not just ratings success. It's very very lowbrow humor (but "Two Broke Girls" is amazingly even more lowbrow, yet still funny), but funny.

      BTW, "Big Bang Theory" is great too, and I watch many documentaries & science shows too.

    56. Re:No surprise, really. by I+don't+want+to+spen · · Score: 1
      I don't know, searching Futurama and Flare gave me this: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_Farewell_to_Arms_(Futurama) from last year.

      Or did you mean flair?

      --
      Don't go to a brothel if you want to buy broth
    57. Re:No surprise, really. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Amazing times we live in when global warming, garbage and oil tankers are considered 'left-wing propaganda.' And yet some people are surprised that Mitt lost the election...

    58. Re:No surprise, really. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      The newer episodes just haven't had that same flare the older ones did.

      Wait, the old episodes were directed by J. J. Abrams?

      (sorry, couldn't resist :) )

    59. Re:No surprise, really. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      how the fuck if vegetarianism left wing propoganda!?

      morons.

    60. Re:No surprise, really. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Maybe they showed it 'sped-up' on the GP's network?
      (Yes, they *do* do this sometimes).

  3. Well.. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Maybe if the revival hadn't sucked...

  4. What about Zoidberg by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    I'm Scruffy

    1. Re:What about Zoidberg by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      You have to follow it up with ", the janitor", much like Bender almost always says his name after saying "me".

  5. Kickstarter by F34nor · · Score: 3, Interesting

    Put you money where your mouth is.

    1. Re:Kickstarter by fustakrakich · · Score: 1

      Put you money where your mouth is.

      *Yippie-ki-yay!...*

      --
      “He’s not deformed, he’s just drunk!”
    2. Re:Kickstarter by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Don't be stupid. If it got enough views, it would be coming back for an eighth season.

    3. Re:Kickstarter by Mitreya · · Score: 1

      Put you money where your mouth is.

      They could probably pull in A LOT of money for rewards like:

      a. Minor character designed in one's likeness
      b. Small guest voice-role opportunity

    4. Re:Kickstarter by dgatwood · · Score: 4, Interesting

      Is it bad that I read that in Bruce Willis's voice, complete with the trailing expletive?

      Speaking of fun plots, they should have done one in which they unfreeze John McClane (voiced by Bruce Willis, of course). He falls for Leela, but keeps calling her Leeloo. Then he happens to be at a spaceport when they discover that an asteroid is heading towards earth, and the only way to stop it is to foil the terrorists who have taken the spaceport hostage so that he can steal a ship and mine the asteroid. Meanwhile, he is constantly being annoyed by Dr. Zoidberg who keeps talking in a high-pitched voice while wearing a light blond wig and a bizarre leopard-print suit.

      Spoiler: it ends with the Earth blowing up when the asteroid hits it.

      --

      Check out my sci-fi/humor trilogy at PatriotsBooks.

    5. Re:Kickstarter by AK+Marc · · Score: 2

      That's the problem with TV. It's not about users, but customers. The customers of the show are the advertisers. The users of the show would be willing to pay more for the show, but the customers aren't. So dead it goes.

    6. Re:Kickstarter by F34nor · · Score: 1

      Now that is a good idea.

    7. Re:Kickstarter by Seumas · · Score: 2

      No, it wouldn't. It's not a matter of viewership. It's a matter of production cost. Remember, the SciFi channel went through all this many times. They canceled great shows great ratings and the highest viewership of any other content on their network. Shows like First Wave, Farscape, and Eureka!. They replaced them with wrestling and a conman talking to dead people in an audience of desperate suckers and a bunch of idiots "hunting ghosts". Why? Because the production costs were too high for those shows. Producing a high quality show is too expensive. Networks would rather product things that are ridiculously cheap and still get a huge audience, like reality television, wrestling, etc.

    8. Re:Kickstarter by Seumas · · Score: 1

      That's the problem with every form of media. Magazines, radio, television, the internet, news papers. Even PBS and NPR (people who don't think those are beholden to advertisers, because they have advertisers are out of their mind as they have advertisements at the start of every show and, now days, every 15 minutes).

      I mean, even with things like Hulu you're not the customer. You're *paying* for the programming, but you're still getting ads. The advertisers are the customer and you're the product. It's very hard to find any content production these days where the consumer is also the customer, instead of the product. It's very unfortunate. There are plenty of places I'd even gladly pay for their content at, but they also still run ads, which means they get the benefit of me paying them, but I don't get the benefit of not being their product.

    9. Re:Kickstarter by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      That's how TV currently works, but it's not how it has to work. A season funded by crowdfunding could get additional revenue via ads, but it would already have the production costs pre-funded without ads. Also, if they don't think it's worth it to broadcast it, that's fine: the people who crowdfunded it can just watch it streaming.

      That said, the crowdfunding model might possibly work for producing new seasons of existing shows, but I don't see how it could easily fund new shows. I guess you could somehow scrounge up the money to produce a pilot and make a Kickstarter based on that? Seems iffy as a way of securing funding, especially for something like a TV season which costs millions of dollars. In the current model, the TV stations have an interest in new content being generated, so they support the infrastructure of developing ideas and pilots (they may do a poor job of it, but they do what they believe they can get ad money from). I suspect there is a solution here, but I'm not sure what it looks like.

    10. Re:Kickstarter by AK+Marc · · Score: 1
      I disagree. Consumer Reports is a magazine. It has no advertisements. It generates revenue solely through subscriptions. There are a number of others that have a higher subscription cost, presumably to push the "cost" back to the "user", which is generally a good thing. If Motor Trend gets 99% of its revenue from advertisements, then it has a fiscal responsibility to the advertisers, not the readers. You get correlations between "best of" and "dollar spent" and all that. I've heard it said that a number of media outlets lose money on distribution (the fees for subscriptions are less than the actual costs of printing and delivering), but they sell at a loss and make it up on volume (being more eyes makes for more ad revenue).

      I mean, even with things like Hulu you're not the customer. You're *paying* for the programming, but you're still getting ads.

      No, you are one of the customers. Go to a parking garage sometime. Note that many have reserved sections for monthly parking, and daily rates. The daily people get worse spots. Are they less of customers because the parking garage also has monthly rate customers? You can have multiple customers with contrary desires/requirements. That doesn't mean any particular customer is no longer actually a customer.

  6. 7 seasons and several movies... by Orleron · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Honestly not a bad run for any show. Can't see a reason to complain.

    1. Re:7 seasons and several movies... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Only 3 seasons were worth watching, then it became a sad parody of itself. But 3 seasons really is good compared to most shows that aren't original from episode 1.

    2. Re:7 seasons and several movies... by cnaumann · · Score: 1

      Oh, there are lots of reasons to complain. Airing only 13 new episodes a year? Taking two years to airs a 'season'? New episodes that never quite matched the quality of the originals?

      I have enjoyed it, but if it is done it is done.

    3. Re:7 seasons and several movies... by cervesaebraciator · · Score: 5, Funny

      Oh, there are lots of reasons to complain. Airing only 13 new episodes a year? Taking two years to airs a 'season'?

      So, I'm guessing you're not a Red Dwarf fan.

    4. Re:7 seasons and several movies... by Orleron · · Score: 1

      Then again that also describes every single series launched since Buffy and Angel ended.

    5. Re:7 seasons and several movies... by Macgrrl · · Score: 1

      13 episodes is a long season for British TV, quite a few shows did 6-8, and there's even a couple of excellent shows that do 3-4 (thinking Sherlock and Whitechapel).

      --
      Sara
      Designer, Gamer, Macgrrl in an XP World
    6. Re:7 seasons and several movies... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      the relative depression induced by the book makes the tv series worth any cost

    7. Re:7 seasons and several movies... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I agree. I enjoyed the new futurama episodes just as much as the old ones, with exception of the first 3 or 4 episodes which seemed like they were getting used to making episodes again, every show has this problem whenever they start a new season or come back from the dead. I just wish that seasons weren't 12 or 13 episodes per year as some shows are like. I like how Japanese anime typically is like, once the first 12 airs and it becomes a success they continue to make episodes almost indefinitely. When full metal alchemist: brotherhood, released they were making the episodes as they were releasing them, and the anime finished a month or so before the manga did. Unfortunately american sitcoms are very formulated and typically don't run from the previous episode. Fry should be in his 30's but he's still around 20. Stewie is still a baby and bart & lisa still are in 4th grade etc etc... Sure it would break their original formula but seeing characters age and seeing them graduate from school and doing other things is a great thing to liven up a series. Now if you'll excuse me, I'll wait for futurama to come back on the air like a dog.

    8. Re:7 seasons and several movies... by anerki · · Score: 1

      Those several moves are season 5. So just: 7 seasons.

      http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Futurama_episodes

      --
      Life is great! (as told by Lady Susan)
    9. Re:7 seasons and several movies... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      >> Airing only 13 new episodes a year?

      Like pretty much every show on pay cable.

  7. kajiggeru by kruach+aum · · Score: 1

    The list of things I have heard now contains everything.

  8. Well yeah, it sucked by rastoboy29 · · Score: 5, Funny

    Don't bring a show back unless you can do it at similar quality as before.  Family Guy is a great example of the right way to do it.  Futurama is the wrong, sad, terrible way.

    1. Re:Well yeah, it sucked by SpeZek · · Score: 4, Insightful

      Family Guy is a great example of the right way to do it.

      Mods, give this man +5 Funny.

    2. Re:Well yeah, it sucked by badbart · · Score: 5, Insightful

      If I had mod points, you'd get them. FG is a great example of how bad it can be.

    3. Re:Well yeah, it sucked by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      whats funny? details please

  9. We can make them change their minds yet... by UnCivil+Liberty · · Score: 4, Funny

    10 hours of Hypnotoad: http://bit.ly/13O13rl

    --
    Distributed proteome folding @ WorldCommunityGrid.org
    Team Slashdot - Members:#1 Run Time:#1 Points:#1 Results:#1
    1. Re:We can make them change their minds yet... by Zynder · · Score: 1

      All that bitly link did was link back to this /. post. Was that supposed to be the joke? If so, then I earn a WHOOSH (though I still don't get it). I fully expected to see this:
      https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8AOfbnGkuGc


      PS: bitly links are stupid. Just post a regular URL already. We aren't on twitter.

    2. Re:We can make them change their minds yet... by UnCivil+Liberty · · Score: 1

      Had intended to link to https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zHU2RlSCdxU (Hypnotoad 10 hours), must have had the bit.ly shortened URL in my clipboard from posting it on Twitter. Guessing /. blocks shortened links due to abuse which is why it redirects back here. FAIL on my part.

      --
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      Team Slashdot - Members:#1 Run Time:#1 Points:#1 Results:#1
    3. Re:We can make them change their minds yet... by UnCivil+Liberty · · Score: 1

      Correction: bit.ly link does go back to this article, originates from /. tweet to this article which I had copied and pasted, had wrong URL copied when I intended to paste Hypnotoad video link in here.

      --
      Distributed proteome folding @ WorldCommunityGrid.org
      Team Slashdot - Members:#1 Run Time:#1 Points:#1 Results:#1
  10. Time to petition? But this time... by N0Man74 · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Maybe folks can petition asking Netflix to pick it up?

    Or... we can just let the show die and make room for new ideas and shows. I loved Futurama, but it's OK for shows to end, even good shows. It's better to die out than to see a show that drag on way too long.

  11. Re:Time to petition? But this time... by MightyMartian · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Let the show die. The direct-to-video movies were by and large second rate, and the new season, while it had some high points, just didn't have the charm of the old seasons.

    --
    The world's burning. Moped Jesus spotted on I50. Details at 11.
  12. I'm OK with it. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

    While the older Futuramas, were great, quite frankly the new Fututramas sucked.

    Let it die already. Futurama has become like an old pitcher who can't admit to himself he can't get anyone out anymore.

    1. Re:I'm OK with it. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Futurama is like an old pitcher that can't-
      MULTIBALL!
      BLUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUURN!

  13. Put beavis and butthead in it's place that show ne by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Put beavis and butthead in it's place that show needs to come back.

  14. who's gonna pick this up and make $BIG MONIE$$$?!! by Thud457 · · Score: 5, Interesting

    Doesn't matter if they've been slipping. Throw in enough lame geek in-jokes and the fanbois will beat a golden path to your door.

    Right now, all the online content providers are looking to content creators to get brand lock-in.

    Who's gonna bring Futurama back from the dead again?
    Amazon?
    Hulu?
    Google?
    Netflix?

    It's inevitable.

    --

    the preceding comment is my own and in no way reflects the opinion of the Joint Chiefs of Staff

  15. Re:Good riddance to bad rubbish.. apk by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    How does this post last so long before hitting the "read the rest of this comment..."

  16. Good news everyone! It's the perfect time! by erroneus · · Score: 2

    It's the perfect time and subject for an experiment I have been considering. I think that broadcast networks are no longer needed or perhaps simply not quite so necessary. If Groening were to keep a team of enthusiast artists and the original voice actors, I would be willing to bet people would subscribe to Futurama online paying micro payments or simply not worry about that and they can sell ad space on their own streaming host server. The point being that the internet has enabled much. And publishing and continuing a favorite TV series is probably a good thing to try.

    It's too late for "Firefly" (or is it?) but maybe not for Futurama... and seriously, without network censors?? It'll be WAY better.

  17. Good news: by larry+bagina · · Score: 1

    Rumor has it the Cleveland Show was canceled.

    --
    Do you even lift?

    These aren't the 'roids you're looking for.

    1. Re:Good news: by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Praise Science!

  18. Re:Aim at the large demographics to do well. by SJHillman · · Score: 0

    By that logic, posting inane comments as Anonymous Coward is roughly the same as watching TV.

  19. Re:Time to petition? But this time... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Or... we can just let the show die and make room for new ideas and shows. I loved Futurama, but it's OK for shows to end, even good shows. It's better to die out than to see a show that drag on way too long.

    Compared to your average TV show, Futurama probably has a few more years until it is not worth continuing.

    Plus, I don't think any other show makes geek jokes that are not common knowledge (e.g., Klein bottle joke).

  20. Re:Good riddance to bad rubbish.. apk by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    How does this post last so long before hitting the "read the rest of this comment..."

    Because expecting a bug in slashcode to be fixed is even more laughable than the idea of getting the editors to, well, edit.

  21. Re:And nothing of value was lost by mark-t · · Score: 1

    At least I'm not afraid to post under my id.

  22. 6 Seasons should be enough for everybody [NT] by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    6 Seasons should be enough for everybody.

  23. Re:Put beavis and butthead in it's place that show by newcastlejon · · Score: 3, Interesting

    Put beavis and butthead in it's place that show needs to come back.

    It did back in 2011, but quietly died again shortly afterwards.

    --
    If God forks the Universe every time you roll a die, he'd better have a damned good memory.
  24. LOL by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    It would seem like *nobody* is saddened by this if the original article is anything to go by. Producers, actors, network and fans seems equally content at this point.

  25. Re:Time to petition? But this time... by amicusNYCL · · Score: 1

    Maybe folks can petition asking Netflix to pick it up?

    Why would Netflix pay Matt Groening and the rest of the production and acting staff to work on more episodes of a series which has been cancelled twice?

    --
    "Our two-party system is like a bowl of shit looking at itself in a mirror." - Lewis Black
  26. Final frontier by Sponge+Bath · · Score: 3, Funny

    Hollywood can grunt out a live action version. Hey, it worked for the Flintstones!

    1. Re:Final frontier by CanHasDIY · · Score: 2

      Hollywood can grunt out a live action version. Hey, it worked for the Flintstones!

      Quick! Mod this down into oblivion, before the Hollyweird trolls get any ideas!

      Now we just have to hope they don't read /. at -1...

      --
      An enigma, wrapped in a riddle, shrouded in bacon and cheese
    2. Re:Final frontier by omnichad · · Score: 1

      Imagine if they used the voice cast for the live action version. Not a single character could even be made to look like the person they portray except maybe Phil Lamarr and Katey Sagal. But even that wouldn't be easy.

    3. Re:Final frontier by roc97007 · · Score: 1

      Hollywood can grunt out a live action version. Hey, it worked for the Flintstones!

      Um, no, it definitely did not work for the Flintstones.

      --
      Oliver's law of assumed responsibility: If you're seen fixing it, you will be blamed for breaking it.
    4. Re:Final frontier by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      The only thing that "rocked" in the live action version was Sharon "Stone".

    5. Re:Final frontier by sageres · · Score: 1

      Katey Sagal is still quite hot. Futurama changed her image so much: she is no longer Peggy Bundy, she IS Leela!

  27. Re:Good riddance to bad rubbish.. apk by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    He isolates the bit of Slashdot source code that limits post lengths and he blocks it with his HOST file.

  28. another futurama? by nimbius · · Score: 1

    but its been cancelled?
    why not zoidberg??

    --
    Good people go to bed earlier.
    1. Re:another futurama? by Thud457 · · Score: 2
      wait, Futurama hasn't even completed the standard phases of sitcomage:
      • wedding
      • cute kid
      • inexplicable actor replacement
      • jumping the shark - in Futurama's case Fry literally has to jump the space-shark

      Then Zoidberg, Scruffy and Zapp Brannigan all get short-lived spin-off series.

      --

      the preceding comment is my own and in no way reflects the opinion of the Joint Chiefs of Staff

    2. Re:another futurama? by MickyTheIdiot · · Score: 1

      You forgot Ted McGinley

    3. Re:another futurama? by Darth_brooks · · Score: 4, Interesting

      Cute Kid: Hubert (who was added explicitly as the annoying 'cute' kid.)

      Wedding: That's the last episode, according to the rag sheets

      Inexplicable actor replacement: WELSHIE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! (ok, granted, it was a guest star, and was done only because James Doohan politely declined to do the Star Trek episode)

      So other than that you've got Jumping the Shark, which most folks would call the movies. I'd fine with the show either way. It had a nice run, even if the comedy central episodes didn't quite have that mind blowing awesomeness (which, who knows, maybe after a few years in reruns they'll develop.)

      --
      There are some people that if they don't know, you can't tell 'em.
    4. Re:another futurama? by Jason+Levine · · Score: 1

      They didn't jump sharks, but they did jump gators on the moon in the second episode. Does that count?

      --
      My sci-fi novel, Ghost Thief, is now available from Amazon.com.
    5. Re:another futurama? by BetterThanCaesar · · Score: 1

      They've had at lest three weddings that I can think of, although the only one that ended with the couple actually being wedded was Amy and Kif's. (Yes, Fonfun Ru counts!)

      --
      "Stop failing the Turing test!" -- Dilbert
    6. Re:another futurama? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Then Zoidberg, Scruffy and Zapp Brannigan all get short-lived spin-off series.

      Almost. Futurama is set in the future, so they'd get prequels. Hint: Dilbert.

  29. Crap this how I learned my science by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    I was look forward to solutions to Schroeder's Cat , faster than light travel, earths great environmental hero, global hot dogs, string ball theory solved, and a show on Avatars. Sniff....

    1. Re:Crap this how I learned my science by ldobehardcore · · Score: 1

      FTL was already resolved within the first run of the show. Cubert pointed out that nothing can go faster than light, the professor replied "that's why scientists increased the speed of light". Also, it would seem that ships run on Alcubier warp drives (at least the planet express ship seems to, in that the engines don't move the ship, but instead move the universe around the ship.)

      --
      Hectice, baby, Mercator says hello to you
    2. Re:Crap this how I learned my science by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Too bad it didn't teach you grammar.

  30. Re:Futuramma was good, except for the Transphobia by Sponge+Bath · · Score: 1

    Futuramm had a heartbreaking amount of Transphibia in it.

    4/20 was last Saturday dude!

  31. Re:Aim at the large demographics to do well. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    No, it's much worse to post comments on /.

  32. Re:Futuramma was good, except for the Transphobia by TheSpoom · · Score: 1

    That's a hell of a claim. Care to cite examples?

    --
    It's better to vote for what you want and not get it than to vote for what you don't want and get it.
    - E. Debs
  33. Stale by Tvingo · · Score: 1

    All these shows (Futurama, Simpsons, Family Guy, South Park) are all stale. Just not funny or edgy anymore. Just kind of blah... I can't be bothered to watch any of them at this point.

    --
    Nothing i have to say is worth saying.
    1. Re:Stale by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      yes what we need is more cowbell (thats honey booboo for you)

    2. Re:Stale by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I disagree that South Park isn't stale. They remain current by covering current events. They seem to have more misses than they used to however. Rest? Yea very stale.

    3. Re:Stale by Seumas · · Score: 1

      I can't remember the last time I saw an episode of South Park (or Futurama, The Simpsons, Family Guy, etc). I have to say that it was probably the Human CentiPad episode, maybe? And even then, it was only because someone alerted me to it -- and it had been years prior to that since I watched an episode, either.

      The thing is, all this stuff is still more than good enough to find an audience. It's just that the audience they're aiming for doesn't watch much live television and, many, have even move don from DVRs and cable subscriptions. They're airing a program on a medium whose primary demographic is aging gray-hairs that still miss Murder, She Wrote.

    4. Re:Stale by asm2750 · · Score: 1

      I stopped watching South Park after Season 11. I just don't find it amusing anymore.
      The same goes with The Simpsons, and Family Guy. American Dad isn't too bad, but I don't watch it regularly. Futurama was ok when it returned but, even some shows shouldn't be running for decades.

  34. Re:Futuramma was good, except for the Transphobia by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Nut jobs out of the woodwork! Hurr durr oppression of my defective peoples.

  35. Re:Futuramma was good, except for the Transphobia by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    It's a humor show. Some topics are -- and always will be -- reserved for humor. A short list of minorities that Futurama made fun of are transsexuals, zoophiles, technophiles, alcoholics, hedonists, and rural hicks. All of those people are marginalized enough that they are only discussed in public by comedians as the brunt of a joke. That's just the way it is.

    If you belong to one of those minorities you have no choice but to get used to it. It's not just Futurama, it's all public media, everywhere. The quest for acceptance is noble but it will be generations before the world can talk about some topics without either laughter or nausea.

  36. [citation needed] by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    BWUH?!

  37. Re:Time to petition? But this time... by Threni · · Score: 2

    To make money, one would assume.

  38. Re:Futuramma was good, except for the Transphobia by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    This thread is about Futurama. Who cares if Futuramm (whatever that is) has "Transphibia" (whatever that is).

  39. Re:Futuramma was good, except for the Transphobia by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Fork my dongle.

  40. Re:Good news everyone! It's the perfect time! by TWiTfan · · Score: 1

    Groening had nothing to do with Futurama, other than lending his name to it. I don't even think he was the showrunner on the Simpsons after the first season. If you listen to the commentary tracks on either series, you'll probably understand why (while everyone else talks about the writing and satire that made those series great, all he talks about is the animation, as if people were tuning into the Simpsons for the animation quality).

    --
    The cow says "Moo." The dog says "Woof." The Timothy says "Thanks, valued customer. We appreciate your input."
  41. not necessarily the end by roc97007 · · Score: 3, Interesting

    TFA (maybe not this FA, but some FA I read this morning before I saw it on Slashdot) says that Groening is looking for another home for the show as "we still have more stories to tell". I know I know, they always say that, but all I'm saying is, Groening reportedly has not made the decision to irrevocably end the show. So it's not exactly like the browncoat thing, where sad overweight acne-encrusted fans in poorly made costumes plead with... I'm sorry, did I say that out loud?

    --
    Oliver's law of assumed responsibility: If you're seen fixing it, you will be blamed for breaking it.
    1. Re:not necessarily the end by neminem · · Score: 1

      Hey! I object to that remark! I totally don't have a costume, well-made or otherwise. :p

  42. Re:Futuramma was good, except for the Transphobia by oobayly · · Score: 1

    It teaches people that transsexual and transgendered people are dishonest and sexual deviants.

    I never saw it teaching any such thing, in fact in the cases of transgender that I remember the bigoted characters tended to be shown in a bad light, or others highlighted how they were wrong.

    You don't see too many people complaining about the fact that Fry had the piss taken out of him constantly for being stupid. Why, because apparently it's ok to make fun of somebody who was born stupid, but not somebody who was born in the body of the opposite sex.

    It's a comedy, and Futurama took the piss out of all walks of life.

  43. Re:Good news everyone! It's the perfect time! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Groening had nothing to do with Futurama, other than lending his name to it.

    Bullshit.
    Citation- behind the scenes commentary from any of the DVD box sets.

  44. Re:Time to petition? But this time... by Zontar_Thing_From_Ve · · Score: 1

    The problem is Futurama is a lot better than other animated shows that Fox pays every year to bring back or start from scratch.

    Does anybody in America actually think Bob's Burgers is good other than apparently Fox and the series creators?

    Fox made a big deal out of Allen Gregory but I could tell from the trailer that it would be a big fail. What was it? A big fail.

    Napoleon Dynamite was actually good and outdrew Bob's Burgers but Fox could not give up quickly enough on it and kept Bob's Burgers instead.

    Just today I read The Cleveland Show described as a show so bad that its star isn't even missed on the show he left. The best I can say about it is that now it's merely so-so instead of being awful as it was when it started.

    Every now and then I will watch a new episode of American Dad and it's never funny any more. Even Family Guy is hit or miss. Sometimes it's great. Sometimes it's not even a little bit funny.

  45. Bender. Case closed. by grimJester · · Score: 1

    In Bend Her, Bender was transsexual. Bender is dishonest and a sexual deviant. QED.

    1. Re:Bender. Case closed. by TheSpoom · · Score: 1

      One bad instance is a statement that the entire group is bad? You live in a very strange universe.

      --
      It's better to vote for what you want and not get it than to vote for what you don't want and get it.
      - E. Debs
    2. Re:Bender. Case closed. by RabidReindeer · · Score: 1

      In Bend Her, Bender was transsexual. Bender is dishonest and a sexual deviant. QED.

      Whereas non-transsexual Bender is into Religion. With blackjack. And hookers.

      And Amy still hasn't figured out why she's always short of cash.

    3. Re:Bender. Case closed. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Bender was a dishonest sexual deviant before the professor changed his robogender so that's not a valid example.

      Also, in the gender-swapping episode "Neutopia", none of the gender-swapped characters turn any more dishonest nor any more sexually devious than they already were. Additionally, in "The Butterjunk Effect", when Leela and Amy start using the steriod-like substance "nectar" and begin exhibiting typically masculine behavior, they also are not treated like sexual deviants and are not seen as dishonest. The same is also true for the inhabitants of Amazonia in "Amazon Women in the Mood". In fact, these butch women are shown to be voices of reason. We are not taught to hate any of these characters.

    4. Re:Bender. Case closed. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      So trans people cannot be dishonest sexual deviants? Everyone has equal rights to depravity, unless you're prejudiced and withhold it from them.

  46. Good news everyone! by Chas · · Score: 1

    GAH!

    --


    Chas - The one, the only.
    THANK GOD!!!
  47. Producing Credit: Bender B. Rodriguez by CanHasDIY · · Score: 5, Funny

    Fine, I'll go make my own TV show! With blackjack! and hookers!

    In fact, forget the TV show!

    --
    An enigma, wrapped in a riddle, shrouded in bacon and cheese
    1. Re:Producing Credit: Bender B. Rodriguez by Brett+Buck · · Score: 3, Insightful

      And the blackjack

    2. Re:Producing Credit: Bender B. Rodriguez by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      Eh screw the whole thing.

    3. Re:Producing Credit: Bender B. Rodriguez by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Ah forget the whole thing.

    4. Re:Producing Credit: Bender B. Rodriguez by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Ahh, screw the whole thing!

  48. This may be good news. by briancox2 · · Score: 1

    For cult favorite cartoon TV shows, being cancelled by a network seems to have a correlation with the longevity of the show. And with the decreasing importance of TV channels, there are plenty of additional avenues for the producers of the show to pursue.

    --
    We should learn what we need to know about issues, before we decide what we need to feel about them.
  49. Re:Futuramma was good, except for the Transphobia by CanHasDIY · · Score: 2

    Futuram[a]... teaches people to dislike, hate, PEOPLE who are transgendered and transsexual.

    Ah, so you're one of those people who looks to fictional works such as cartoons for education. Noted.

    FWIW, that says a hell of a lot more about you than it does the creators of Futurama.

    --
    An enigma, wrapped in a riddle, shrouded in bacon and cheese
  50. Re:Good riddance to bad rubbish.. apk by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Alexander Peter Kowalski is unemployed and unemployable.

    Alexander Peter Kowalski's low intelligence, extreme narcissism, and histrionic personality make him unsuited for anything but menial labor.

    Alexander Peter Kowalski will now prove the above statements to be correct.

  51. Re:Futuramma was good, except for the Transphobia by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Futuramm had a heartbreaking amount of Transphibia in it. It teaches people to dislike, hate, PEOPLE who are transgendered and transsexual. It teaches people that transsexual and transgendered people are dishonest and sexual deviants.

    Explain this 'teaching of hate' you proclaim. Some examples perhaps? B/c I don't see that in the show, so either you're getting a message out of it that you WANT to see in it, or I'm missing something. I don't generally get into shows with hate speech or anti-thispersonisdifferent messages.

    Everyone on that show is a sexual deviant by today's standards... I think you're exaggerating a perceived issue to help you have a point you don't actually have.

  52. Re:Put beavis and butthead in it's place that show by CanHasDIY · · Score: 1

    For good reason - did you ever make the mistake of watching any of the new episodes? It was like Tosh.0, but somehow even less humorous.

    --
    An enigma, wrapped in a riddle, shrouded in bacon and cheese
  53. Jeremiah Cornelius: Grow up by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    You're embarassing yourself Jeremiah Cornelius http://slashdot.org/comments.pl?sid=3581857&cid=43276741 since you posted that using your registered username by mistake (instead of your usual anonymous coward submissions by the 100's the past 2-3 months now on slashdot) giving away it's you spamming this forums almost constantly, just as you have in the post I just replied to.

    1. Re:Jeremiah Cornelius: Grow up by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Hello Paul.

      p.s. What do you make of this?

    2. Re:Jeremiah Cornelius: Grow up by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      FortyTwoTenfold lists Jeremiah Cornelius as "friend" in his account = he's a sockpuppet/alternate registered 'luser' account that JC uses is what. This is obvious.

    3. Re:Jeremiah Cornelius: Grow up by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      It's only "obvious" because you want it to be true. Actual evidence is sorely lacking.

    4. Re:Jeremiah Cornelius: Grow up by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Wrong: It's obvious Jeremiah Cornelius is a spammer + uses sockpuppet fake accounts.

  54. Re:Thats fucking it!!! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

    unfortunately my cable doesn't carry FUCK TV

  55. Oh you and your sentimentality. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Futurama is brilliant, especially when pitted against the.brain dead "Ow my balls" class of reality of television.

    The new seasons had excellent character growth and development. While the original series was great, it was childish and down right infantile at times, the movies were awkward like the teenage years, and the two new seasons were the beginning of a quality adult audience show. It is one of the ONLY animated shows on television at the moment that caters specifically to the 18-25 demographic, and it's smart too. Take the mathematical proof they created for the show. When was the last time any television show created a tangible real world theorem?

    It seems the operators of the Panama Wormhole, Earth's Comedy Central channel for shipping, are making the same fateful mistake as the idiots at the Box Network.

    1. Re:Oh you and your sentimentality. by MrHanky · · Score: 5, Insightful

      True. The Late Philip J Fry is easily one of the best episodes of the entire series. Of comedic science fiction, in fact.

    2. Re:Oh you and your sentimentality. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Hurr durr virginity.

    3. Re:Oh you and your sentimentality. by cyfer2000 · · Score: 2

      I love that episode, almost made me cry, maybe I am just a strange nerd.

      --
      There is a spark in every single flame bait point.
    4. Re:Oh you and your sentimentality. by azcoyote · · Score: 2

      Agreed--"The Late Philip J Fry" is one of the best, if not the best.
      IMHO the new episodes are a mixed bag, some excellent, others just lame. The best part is that the 'romance' between Fry and Leela has finally matured out of the annoying "Doug"-esque episodes of season 4 to something less pathetic and more humorous ("A Farewell to Arms," for example). There's also better use of sci-fi and science references and parodies, but there's also some episodes that try too hard to be relevant or political and just reduce the overall quality of the series.

      --
      Incipiamus, fratres, servire Domino Deo, quia hucusque vix vel parum in nullo profecimus.
    5. Re:Oh you and your sentimentality. by HairyNevus · · Score: 1

      The problem is those moments were few and far between. I'm not saying the guy needs to do more mathematical proofs, but the show had a lot of content that was kind of "Ow my balls" class. An example that come to mind is Amy showing up dressed in bondage gear...basically just for the purposes of portraying a scantily-clad woman for a few seconds.

      --
      You were critically hit for no damage. The bruise will look nice, and maybe the scars will make good party talk.
    6. Re: Oh you and your sentimentality. by root_42 · · Score: 3, Interesting

      This, this, a thousand times this! "The Late Philip J. Fry" is my favorite Futurama episode. So witty and full of good jokes and quotable lines. ("Just slow it down, I'll shoot Hitler out the window.")

      But I must concur, the quality of the episodes varies in the last two seasons. I hope there'll be new, excitong shows around the corner.

      --
      [--- PGP key and more on http://www.root42.de ---]
    7. Re:Oh you and your sentimentality. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      The Late Philip J Fry and Jurassic Bark are probably the two episodes of any tv show that had the greatest emotional impact on me.

    8. Re:Oh you and your sentimentality. by MetalliQaZ · · Score: 1

      Easily one of my top 3 favorite Futurama episodes!

      --
      "Here Lies Philip J. Fry, named for his uncle, to carry on his spirit"
    9. Re:Oh you and your sentimentality. by Spinalcold · · Score: 1

      Phil Plait agree with you on that

    10. Re:Oh you and your sentimentality. by able1234au · · Score: 1

      I loved Jurassic Bark. That was the best episode they ever did.

    11. Re:Oh you and your sentimentality. by delt0r · · Score: 1

      An example that come to mind is Amy showing up dressed in bondage gear...basically just for the purposes of portraying a scantily-clad woman for a few seconds.

      You seem to be implying that there is something wrong with that?

      Its also kind of the running gag/thing with Amy from the day she started working with the planet express.

      --
      If information wants to be free, why does my internet connection cost so much?
    12. Re:Oh you and your sentimentality. by cammoblammo · · Score: 1

      When we bought the DVD set I watched Jurassic Bark once and swore never again. No show has ever reduced me to a blubbering mess that quickly (although the opening scene of Pixar's 'UP' is a pretty close second.)

      In fact, a small, brown unloved mongrel who looked just like Seymour owes his life to my family seeing that episode.

      --

      Cogito, ergo sig.

    13. Re:Oh you and your sentimentality. by StoneyMahoney · · Score: 1

      You are not alone.

    14. Re:Oh you and your sentimentality. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Yes, probably the best episode. It's giving a true sense of wonder!

    15. Re:Oh you and your sentimentality. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Definitely my favorite episode of the whole series. I've watched it four or five times now.

    16. Re:Oh you and your sentimentality. by Clock+Nova · · Score: 1

      I'm so glad that others feel this way.

      --
      There they were, sitting in the van with all those dials, and the cat was dead. -V. Marchetti, CIA
    17. Re:Oh you and your sentimentality. by Clock+Nova · · Score: 1

      The end of the episode actually does make me cry a little. Saddest damn thing I've ever seen in a cartoon.

      --
      There they were, sitting in the van with all those dials, and the cat was dead. -V. Marchetti, CIA
    18. Re:Oh you and your sentimentality. by JBaustian · · Score: 1

      Jurassic Bark, which did make me cry.

  56. Futurama Production Math? by rabtech · · Score: 2

    If the rumors are to be believed, Futurama cost $1.3 million per episode to produce back in 2003 during the original run. We know Comedy Central gave them a smaller budget this time around, so let's just assume a million per episode.

    So let us say we all want to fund a season of Futurama (putting our money where our mouth is):

    16 episode season x $1,000,000 = $16,000,000.

    Now assume the average audience is 2 million. Some would be willing to pay, some would not. But assume the lost TV viewers are made up for with the DVD buyers (who are worth a lot more). That works out to around $8/person to fund a season.

    If I had the option, I would gladly pay $8-$10 per season.

    For reference, AMC's Mad Men cost between $2-2.5 million per episode. In the first season, it didn't even break a million viewers. The second season had 2 million, same as Futurama.

    I don't believe the economics are at the root of the cancellation; it's probably an executive trying to make their mark by shaking up programming and cancelling Futurama makes way for his/her pet project - one they can take credit for launching.

    --
    Natural != (nontoxic || beneficial)
    1. Re:Futurama Production Math? by Guspaz · · Score: 2

      Netflix is willing to spend $100 million on 26 episodes of things like House of Cards, an average of about $3.85 million each. It's not inconceivable that they might be willing to spend $1 million an episode on Futurama.

    2. Re:Futurama Production Math? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I think I was already paying $30/season at iTunes; so yeah, I'm in.

    3. Re:Futurama Production Math? by Seumas · · Score: 1

      Wow. No way. That's almost four months of Netflix. There is no television show I would pay $30/season for. Not even if it was The Wire.

    4. Re:Futurama Production Math? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      ~(natural(x) => nontoxic(x) ^ beneficial(x))

    5. Re:Futurama Production Math? by MickyTheIdiot · · Score: 2

      This exact thing happened to MST3K *twice*.

      New numbnuts execs come into the channel and delete the cult show because they don't understand the appeal and want to make their mark.

      It was felt by MST3K fans that it was canceled in favor of the The Daily Show. Not the current decent version of the Daily Show, but the shitty Craig Kilborn version of the Daily Show.

    6. Re:Futurama Production Math? by Richy_T · · Score: 1

      1.3 mil in *2013*. That's like 3.6 bajillion dollars in today's money after inflation.

    7. Re:Futurama Production Math? by Kjella · · Score: 1

      Now assume the average audience is 2 million. Some would be willing to pay, some would not.

      You make it sounds like there's two options so they'd be split down the middle. If I think of every TV show which is so reasonably okay I could care to watch an episode, there's only a few favorite series I'd care enough to save. A lot of it is just decent enough to pass the time because I wanted to zone out and there wasn't anything better on. So my estimate for the number of people who'd care to participate in any kind of rescue attempt is maybe 10-20% of the viewers. And then you're starting to hit a place on the price/demand curve where the "casual" fans who'd pay $10 aren't big enough and the blood fans that'd pay $100 aren't many enough. But by all means if you think it's doable then find out exactly how much they'd want before when and put it up as a Kickstarter and we'll see,

      --
      Live today, because you never know what tomorrow brings
    8. Re:Futurama Production Math? by briancox2 · · Score: 1

      They could also try making fewer episodes per season. Making episodes more rare may get more return on their dollar of investment. And also increase quality.

      Much like the BBC model on many shows, viewers are SURE to tune into those few episodes when there are only 5-6.

      --
      We should learn what we need to know about issues, before we decide what we need to feel about them.
    9. Re:Futurama Production Math? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I'd pay $20 for a new season without hesitation.

  57. Jeremiah Cornelius: Grow up by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    You're embarassing yourself Jeremiah Cornelius http://slashdot.org/comments.pl?sid=3581857&cid=43276741 since you posted that using your registered username by mistake (instead of your usual anonymous coward submissions by the 100's the past 2-3 months now on slashdot) giving away it's you spamming this forums almost constantly, just as you have in the post I just replied to.

  58. I don't want by EliSowash · · Score: 1

    to live on this planet anymore :(

  59. Re:Time to petition? But this time... by D1G1T · · Score: 1

    I like Bob's Burgers. Simpsons, Family Guy, American Dad, Futurama have all been too tired to watch for at least 2 seasons. Let them die in peace.

  60. Re:Time to petition? But this time... by smooth+wombat · · Score: 1

    Every now and then I will watch a new episode of American Dad and it's never funny any more.

    Then you missed "The Missing Kink" episode. That one was definitely hilarious (to me at least) with Francine enjoying Stan spanking her and then Stan going overboard on the kink.

    Hell, even the kinky principal and the hot tub guy were in the episode, and their expressions as Stan acted out his kink (apparently many known to mankind) were fantastic.

    While AD has its issues, it's not as bad as The Cleveland Show.

    And yes, Bob's Burgers is good, though not in the way most people think. Especially with the same actor playing Bob and Archer.

    --
    We will bankrupt ourselves in the vain search for absolute security. -- Dwight D. Eisenhower
  61. Re:Good riddance to bad rubbish.. apk by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Well, get an account so you don't have to worry about anyone impersonating you!

  62. Why would Netflix pick it up? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Netflix is doing great with well written, well produced original series. Bringing back Futurama would only appeal to the fans of Futurama. The result would be fewer viewers than original series like House of Cards, which brought me back as a Netflix subscriber. New Futurama episodes is not compelling as it is a known quantity.

    1. Re:Why would Netflix pick it up? by Seumas · · Score: 1

      I don't think Netflix or Amazon or Hulu can last long doing these "original series", though. The SciFi channel had to cancel Farscape because even though it was their best-performing show that constantly won awards and was one of the best programs on television, it cost too much to make. It's better for them to have a smaller audience and smaller budget than quality and a bigger audience. Same goes for the program "Eureka!" that they recently canceled. Decent show. Great reputation. Lots of awards. Lots of viewers. But production cost too much, so they canceled it.

      These streaming companies can not afford several million dollars per episode. Especially when they're not charging anything additional for it. Long term, I don't see how they could even afford a million an episode. Maybe if they start to increase their subscription fee, they could (frankly, I'd be fine doubling the $8/mo I pay to Netflix - it's worth it). The problem, then, is that you will not have all your content in one place. So you'll have to pay a big subscription to Netflix to get their back catalog plus their custom programming. Then another to Hulu. Then your Prime subscription to Amazon. Then another at some other place. By the end of it, you'll be paying more than you did for a full-blown cable subscription and you'll have to go through 10 different places to get it.

    2. Re:Why would Netflix pick it up? by N0Man74 · · Score: 1

      Netflix is doing great with well written, well produced original series.

      Original? Like the House of Cards series that you referenced, which is a remake of a 90's BBC series? That's not a criticism, the Netflix version did a good job of Localizing it to America and modernizing, and it was well produced, but it isn't entirely original.

      Bringing back Futurama would only appeal to the fans of Futurama.

      Like the upcoming release of Arrested Development on Netflix?

      I'm actually ok with letting the series die, and appreciating the show for what it was, but I think Netflix is probably an even better fit than Comedy Central. However, it does have a strong geek, and many of these geeks are more likely to consume most (or even all) of their TV show media through streaming.

  63. Re:Thats fucking it!!! by drummerboybac · · Score: 1

    You need to look on the PPV channels then. It may cost you 14.99 per 90 minutes, but its there all right.

  64. Re:Time to petition? But this time... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Bob's Burgers is great. It isn't the usual "see what sticks" Fox nonsense; it's a Loren Bouchard jam. From Dr. Katz, to Home Movies, to Saddle Rash, the man can do no wrong. It has better characters and more thoughtful writing overall, than any of Seth McFarlane's dreck.

  65. too bad by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Are all of you frustrated movie critics or what? Some of you think the Simpsons got worse over time? I don't get it. I'm still a big fan of Futurama, so long as they never ever do a musical number again.

    1. Re:too bad by Guspaz · · Score: 1

      Some of the most memorable parts of Futurama were the musical numbers, particularly in the Christmas episodes...

  66. Re:Time to petition? But this time... by flitty · · Score: 1

    My wife and I are some of the few people out there who love Bob's Burgers. But, then again, I was a big Home Movies fan as well, which always had more cult status than actual success. When Bob's Burgers is "on", it's funnier than nearly any other show out there.

    I mean, a science fair project that is a musical between Thomas Edison and the elephant he electrocuted... How is that not hilarious?

    --
    Whether or not there is some sort of god, I'm not supposed to say/god is a word and the argument ends there-Smog
  67. Re:Futuramma was good, except for the Transphobia by Aardpig · · Score: 1

    Die, CIS SCUM!

    --
    Tubal-Cain smokes the white owl.
  68. Re:Futuramma was good, except for the Transphobia by jones_supa · · Score: 1

    If you belong to one of those minorities you have no choice but to get used to it.

    Or just take it with a healthy dose of self-irony and laugh along...

  69. Re:Time to petition? But this time... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Having an IQ above 90 helps find it not hilarious. 'Hur dur science' does not make intelligent programming.

  70. Re:Time to petition? But this time... by wonkey_monkey · · Score: 1

    Does anybody in America actually think Bob's Burgers is good other than apparently Fox and the series creators?

    Yes. Do you always assume that anyone who differs with you over sense of humour must be in a minority?

    Fox made a big deal out of Allen Gregory but I could tell from the trailer that it would be a big fail. What was it? A big fail.

    Oh, so you're the guy who's opinions always exactly mirror the public at large? Oh, no, wait, you can't be, because that guy would be too busy banging models on his private tropical island rolling on a bed stuffed with the rest of the billions of dollars he's made.

    Every now and then I will watch a new episode of American Dad and it's never funny any more [in my opinion]. Even Family Guy is hit or miss [in my opinion]. Sometimes it's great [in my opinion]. Sometimes it's not even a little bit funny [in my opinion].

    FTFY.

    --
    systemd is Roko's Basilisk.
  71. Re:Time to petition? But this time... by Raenex · · Score: 1

    Every now and then I will watch a new episode of American Dad and it's never funny any more.

    I never found it funny in the first place. Couldn't stand the kid, and even worse, didn't like the Dad character. I liked the alien character, and the wife was ok, but not enough to put up with the rest.

  72. Souls crushed, while you wait! by Pharmakeus+Ubik · · Score: 5, Informative

    Apparently those of us viewing it at my house have souls made of sterner stuff. Maybe it just seems enjoyable compared to Seth McFarlane's triple parade of misogyny, but I get more laughs per 22 minutes out of the Simpsons current season than most of what's on television.

    1. Re:Souls crushed, while you wait! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Insightful

      Funnier than Family Guy and The Cleveland Show? Setting the bar pretty low, aren't we?

    2. Re:Souls crushed, while you wait! by Opportunist · · Score: 3, Insightful

      You have to admit, though, that the competition ain't that stiff to begin with...

      --
      We used to have a Bill of Rights. Now, with the rights gone, all we have left is the bill.
    3. Re:Souls crushed, while you wait! by hairyfeet · · Score: 5, Insightful

      That is easy to explain, the constant bashing of your skull with reality shit like Honey Boo Boo has left you brain damaged so that even half ass jokes are funny.

      But if you compare the first couple of season of both shows to recent episodes there really is no comparison as it was MUCH funnier and written better in those first seasons than it is now. You are simply so horribly pummeled by the reality dreck that honestly anything actually written and having a punchline will seem like the best of Richard Pryor compared to the white trash fights and farting that is considered humor today.

      Personally I'm waiting for "Ass:The Movie" or "Oww my balls" to air because it feels like we have just about dumbed down that damned far.

      --
      ACs don't waste your time replying, your posts are never seen by me.
    4. Re:Souls crushed, while you wait! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Informative

      http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flatulence_humor

      Although it is likely that flatulence humor has long been considered funny in cultures that consider the public passing of gas impolite, such jokes are rarely recorded. Two important early texts are the 5th century BC plays The Knights and The Clouds, both by Aristophanes, which contain numerous "fart" jokes.

      Fart jokes are ancient. People have been laughing at them for millenia.

    5. Re: Souls crushed, while you wait! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      +1

      In fact the oldest known joke from circa 1900BC is "Something which has never occurred since time immemorial; a young woman did not fart in her husband's lap" - a fart joke. I suspect it's lost something in translation though.

    6. Re: Souls crushed, while you wait! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Though, ironically, farts are never lost in translation.

    7. Re:Souls crushed, while you wait! by gmhowell · · Score: 1

      Personally I'm waiting for "Ass:The Movie" or "Oww my balls" to air because it feels like we have just about dumbed down that damned far.

      Hasn't Johnny Knoxville made three of these?

      --
      Jesus was all right but his disciples were thick and ordinary. -John Lennon
    8. Re:Souls crushed, while you wait! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Yes, and that's exactly what he said.

    9. Re:Souls crushed, while you wait! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Yeah! How dare he have his own opinions on things.

    10. Re:Souls crushed, while you wait! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      What the hell? The first season of simpsons is just plain bad. The good stuff is seasons 2-4.

    11. Re:Souls crushed, while you wait! by Maury+Markowitz · · Score: 1

      "But if you compare the first couple of season of both shows to recent episodes there really is no comparison as it was MUCH funnier and written better in those first seasons than it is now"

      Proof in pudding; a few smart one-liners from the originals:

      "French!?"
      "First one, then the other"
      "Que?"
      "These balls are making me testy"

      If you're ever looking for a demonstration that the original writers are smarter than you, consider the last few seconds of Parabox.

    12. Re:Souls crushed, while you wait! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Until recently, I hadn't watched television since early 2005. Any television, not even the news. It just got so bad that I switched the TV off and never switched it back on again except to watch DVDs.

      Then I was at a friend's house a couple weeks ago and their TV was on. His kids piled in, saying it was time for the Simpsons, and I thought, "Oh wow, the Simpsons, I used to love that show!"

      Only it was not the Simpsons as I remember it. This was season 37 or something. Well, shit, talk about a memory besmirched.

      And yet everyone else seemed to be enjoying this new utterly unfunny piece of shit Simpsons. But then again, the people in that room watched fucking everything on TV, no matter what, so the bar isn't very high.

    13. Re:Souls crushed, while you wait! by mitzoe · · Score: 1

      At the risk of bringing up South Park, I'd probably pay money for a feature-length "Asses of Fire."

    14. Re:Souls crushed, while you wait! by hairyfeet · · Score: 1

      You know who I blame? Michael Bay, the man that I honestly believe is trying to "punk" the planet and is sitting in his office dejected that nobody caught him or called him out on it. I mean how could anybody look at Skids and Mudflap, which are right out of 1940s blackface comedy, and not realize Bay is trying to see how far he can go before he gets called out on it?

      I have a feeling he is sitting there going "God damn it! I give them 3D ass, giant robo-nuts, and an hour of Shia Lebeef and the "bad joke parents" and everybody thinks I'm fucking serious? Fuck it next movie will have TWO HOURS of wacky parents and a character called "hong fong ching chong" and I will swear its a serious film...surely to God somebody will call me out on it next time!"

      This is why I actually feel a little sorry for Bay, I think sarcasm just drips from his pen but his audience is so damned STUPID that they don't get the joke, man that HAS to hurt.

      --
      ACs don't waste your time replying, your posts are never seen by me.
    15. Re:Souls crushed, while you wait! by hairyfeet · · Score: 1

      But you see to pull something like that off you have to be smart enough to add a layer of sarcasm and self parody to make something like that work.

      Now prepare to be depressed...the * Movie franchise, Epic, Date, etc has made nearly half a BILLION dollars so far. If you have ever watched one you know that they can be used by the CIA for torturing prisoners, it is actually painful to sit through.

      But that is sadly the world we now find ourselves in, a world where the "non jokes" of the * Movies are considered comedy gold. you watch the latest Simpsons and Futurama its damned near that bad, all the jokes are just bottom of the barrel toilet humor or the level of an SNL skit, just pathetic.

      --
      ACs don't waste your time replying, your posts are never seen by me.
    16. Re:Souls crushed, while you wait! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Personally I'm waiting for "Ass:The Movie" or "Oww my balls" to air because it feels like we have just about dumbed down that damned far.

      TV is dying. History repeats itself, and you're witnessing the end. Just think about the radio comedies, black and white movies, comic books and other entertainment which went stale and failed to connect to new audiences.

      Congratulations, you're old. Time to give up finding new entertainment. Buy some moth balls and put your Futurama T-shirts in storage for your grandchildren (not that they'll want them).

      Future generations will watch shows on their phones, streamed over the internet.

    17. Re:Souls crushed, while you wait! by Bing+Tsher+E · · Score: 2

      I'm not old enough to remember when Family Guy was funny. And I was born in 1959.

    18. Re:Souls crushed, while you wait! by hesiod · · Score: 1

      Personally I'm waiting for[...] "Oww my balls" to air

      That was an act on "America's Got 'Talent' " a few seasons ago. It even went through a few rounds. No $#!@. I haven't watched since.

  73. Re:Time to petition? But this time... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    I thought it was obvious that what he was saying was his opinion by virtue of him having said it. You didn't fix anything for him, you just showed what a jackass you are.

  74. Re:Time to petition? But this time... by roc97007 · · Score: 1

    Maybe folks can petition asking Netflix to pick it up?

    Or... we can just let the show die and make room for new ideas and shows. I loved Futurama, but it's OK for shows to end, even good shows. It's better to die out than to see a show that drag on way too long.

    It's the "new ideas" part that's the stickler.

    --
    Oliver's law of assumed responsibility: If you're seen fixing it, you will be blamed for breaking it.
  75. Re:who's gonna pick this up and make $BIG MONIE$$$ by l0ungeb0y · · Score: 1

    Considering the fact that Netflix seems adept at making polished original productions -- I'd go with Amazon.
    Have you seen the "Pilots" for their original programs? God awful.

  76. Forget the networks anyway. by bobjr94 · · Score: 1

    Amazon, Itunes or someone trying to become a content provider should buy the series. That's where things are headed.

  77. Approach Netflix or even Dish by WindBourne · · Score: 1

    Seriously, Netflix is funding series, and Dish is about to.

    --
    I prefer the "u" in honour as it seems to be missing these days.
  78. Again? by Seumas · · Score: 1

    I thought it was canceled a long time ago. I know Family Guy came back, but I thought Futurama just came back for a few episodes and vanished again?

    This is a failure on their part, then, frankly. I don't watch South Park often (maybe I binge on it every few years, to catch up), but I know that it's still on. More, I know that I can watch current episodes on Hulu (ugh) and that I can watch all episodes (delayed by a few weeks or something?) on South Park's own website.

    Short of watching live television (which I don't even have and haven't for many years, like many fellow geeks), I wouldn't have a clue how to get Futurama. I mean, other than torrents, I guess. Actually, the same goes for The Simpsons, except I do know they're still going, apparently.

    There's a world of geeks out there to keep your show going. You just are doing a shitty job at delivering it to them. They're not 90 year old grandmothers sitting by the television all day and night.

  79. Re:Time to petition? But this time... by antdude · · Score: 1

    Or have Amazon do it so I don't have to subscribe!

    --
    Ant(Dude) @ Quality Foraged Links (AQFL.net) & The Ant Farm (antfarm.ma.cx / antfarm.home.dhs.org).
  80. Sign The Petition To Bring Futurama Back! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

    http://www.ipetitions.com/petition/we-want-more-future-episodes-of-futurama-in-the/

  81. WHY?!?!?!? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Especially with the same actor playing Bob and Archer.

    Why did you tell me that? Now I wont be able to hear one without thinking of the other.

    1. Re:WHY?!?!?!? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      How could you not? H. Jon Benjamin has a pretty distinctive voice. Whether it be Carl of Family Guy, Coach McGuirk or The Master of Dr. Orpheus, his voice fits with every cartoon character he plays even though he sounds exactly the same. It doesn't fit with his actual face, though. I guess that's why Has a Van was canceled.

  82. Finally by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Thank you. It was getting old. Time to let go and face new things!

  83. Better dead.... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    ...than an undead, that is beginning to rot and smell.

    RIP futurama

    And now, for something completely different from the makers of futurama (hopefully...)

  84. Re:who's gonna pick this up and make $BIG MONIE$$$ by jfengel · · Score: 1

    I suspect, however, that the fanbois are the ones most likely to decide that it's faster/better/cheaper to download it than to watch it on some mechanism that creates revenue. ("I'd make a donation, but I don't want them tracking me.") To judge from comments around here, there are some who seem to take tremendous pride in it. I bet we're just not a very attractive market, despite being a fairly wealthy demographic.

    Of the suggestions you make, the only one with a "let's do it and figure out how to monetize it later" attitude is Google, so perhaps they're the most likely, though they don't seem to be into content creation.

  85. Re:Aim at the large demographics to do well. by Seumas · · Score: 1

    Right, it's exactly like passively starting at a glowing box for 8 hours after getting home from work.

  86. You will not be missed by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Do not care. First 2 seasons were awesome, the dumb movies and everything after just ran it into the ground.

  87. Wonderful by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Great, more room for crappy shows and lousy actors (Once Upon a Time anyone?)!

  88. Re:Time to petition? But this time... by xeoron · · Score: 1

    Maybe for some more films

  89. Re:Put beavis and butthead in it's place that show by Hatta · · Score: 2

    Did you like B&B in the 90s? It's the same damn show. And FWIW, I hate Tosh.

    --
    Give me Classic Slashdot or give me death!
  90. Re:Time to petition? But this time... by Richy_T · · Score: 1

    I would suggest a show set in an, um, pizza delivery store with an idiot named Sly, an unrequited love interest called Lisa and a zany, nihilistic, cynical, wise-cracking robot called "Fender"

  91. spot on! by Thud457 · · Score: 1

    perfect impersonation of an aspie nerd Futurama fan!

    --

    the preceding comment is my own and in no way reflects the opinion of the Joint Chiefs of Staff

  92. Re:Put beavis and butthead in it's place that show by CanHasDIY · · Score: 2

    Did you like B&B in the 90s? It's the same damn show.

    I did when it was original and new... of course, I was a lot younger back then, too, so I presume the fact that I liked the show then had a lot to do with my maturity level at the time (low. Really low.) The Sega and SNES games were pretty good, though. Fun at least.

    And FWIW, I hate Tosh.

    Ditto. Since when did "mouthy douchebag who thinks he's funny" become the norm for comedians? I miss Bill Hicks...

    --
    An enigma, wrapped in a riddle, shrouded in bacon and cheese
  93. eh by luther349 · · Score: 1

    to be honest comedy central sessions where not all that good only a couple eps where even wroth watching.

  94. Re:Time to petition? But this time... by roc97007 · · Score: 1

    I would suggest a show set in an, um, pizza delivery store with an idiot named Sly, an unrequited love interest called Lisa and a zany, nihilistic, cynical, wise-cracking robot called "Fender"

    Too derivative. Make it a zany, nihilistic, cynical, wise-cracking handyman named Iskander and you have a deal.

    --
    Oliver's law of assumed responsibility: If you're seen fixing it, you will be blamed for breaking it.
  95. thanks for the LOLZ! by Thud457 · · Score: 1

    Futuramm had a heartbreaking amount of Transphibia in it.

    Freakin' quote of the day.

    Q: is a -phibia like both a -phobia and a -phila? You're both repulsed and enamored of the object? Someone please submit that one to the OED committee!

    --

    the preceding comment is my own and in no way reflects the opinion of the Joint Chiefs of Staff

  96. Re:Good news everyone! It's the perfect time! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

    >It's too late for "Firefly" (or is it?)

    It will never be too late for a Firefly resurrection!

  97. mod parent up by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    That was the thing: the original run had left wing "propaganda" in it, too (global warming, garbage, oil tankers, Al Gore, vegetarianism, etc.) but they always turned those things on their head to make them funny. I never felt like they were beating me over the head with their message. Instead, it just felt like a natural part of the story. More recently, though, there was less funny and more message, which just isn't really that fun. If I want to be preached at, I'll just surf the web.

    This exactly. Wish I had mod points. While many of the new episodes were clever, several of them were beating-head-with-baseball-bat left political views. To the point of practically right out saying "if you're a republican you're an idiot".

  98. BAD news everyone! by Grog6 · · Score: 1

    It wasn't a joke. That's supposed to be the joke.

    Corporations own our government, who see us(We the People!) as useful widgets, until we get in the way.

    Blocking Ads really pisses them off...

    Now go be a nice Consumer/Breeder.
    .

    --
    Truth isn't Truth - Guliani
  99. Re:Put beavis and butthead in it's place that show by newcastlejon · · Score: 1

    For good reason - did you ever make the mistake of watching any of the new episodes?

    Not twice. Instead I just started re-watching old King of the Hill, starting with King of the Ant Hill.

    --
    If God forks the Universe every time you roll a die, he'd better have a damned good memory.
  100. Re:Time to petition? But this time... by Kenshin · · Score: 1

    Bob's Burgers is great, but it's a bit different than what people expect in a "cartoon". It's a situation comedy based heavily on dialogue, much of it improvised. In fact, the show would probably work equally as well audio-only.

    --

    Does it make you happy you're so strange?

  101. Just a way to break contract... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    This is just the the typical Hollywood way to break a contract... You cancel the show and a while after resurrect it under a new deal.
    All that matter in a real cancellation is does it have the ratings to justify the spot ? If not, then goodbye... Otherwise, it's just good old Hollywood accounting.

  102. Good. by Culture20 · · Score: 1

    "The Devil's Hands Are Idle Playthings" is the rightful end to the series. Fry and Leela are on the right path, and the rest is left to the imagination of the viewers.

  103. *UCK YOU FOX! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    BASTARDS! They can kiss my shiny metal ass.

  104. Re:Put beavis and butthead in it's place that show by Hatta · · Score: 1

    so I presume the fact that I liked the show then had a lot to do with my maturity level at the time (low. Really low.)

    I'm sorry to hear this has changed.

    Ditto. Since when did "mouthy douchebag who thinks he's funny" become the norm for comedians? I miss Bill Hicks...

    At least we've got Louis CK. He can do it all. Sophomoric humor ("you don't have to be smart to laugh at farts, but you have to be stupid not to.") and philosophical (Everything's amazing and nobodys happy). That reminds me, I need to watch the new special.

    --
    Give me Classic Slashdot or give me death!
  105. Re:Futuramma was good, except for the Transphobia by BrendaEM · · Score: 1

    Those people who are not transgendered/transsexual do not understand!

    --
    https://www.youtube.com/c/BrendaEM
  106. Re:Put beavis and butthead in it's place that show by chromas · · Score: 1

    The main problem with B&B (both then and now) is MTV using it as a wrapper for shitty music videos and Skanks On a Plane or whatever.

  107. What seasons 5&6 wasn't character development by Burning1 · · Score: 2

    I don't really think the newer seasons developed the characters... I think they tended to continue the Federalization that had started to set in through season 4 of the original run.

    IMO, establishing facts about a character, revealing the back-story of a character, or establishing a relationship between characters is not the same as character development... This is something that the later writers need to understand.

    Here's an example of strong character development:

    In parasites lost, Fry becomes something of an ideal man thanks to the efforts of a worm he picks up from a truck-stop egg salad sandwich. His strength, intelligence, and artistic ability make him attractive to Lela. For one of the first times in the Series, Fry and Leela become close romantically. But ultimately, Fry gives up all of his new-found strength, because Fry wanted the relationship to be based on who he was in and of himself, rather than how he was perceived by Leela. Fry's character is further developed when he starts to practice the Holophoner in order to become the person Leela respected.

    This episode was a huge character defining moment for Fry. This episode did not have a significant impact on Futurama continuity. What it did was to truly help us understand fry as a person in a way that Lars never really could. It developed Fry in a way that his season 5 & 6 relationship with Leela didn't.

    I think Fry somewhat devolved as a character during the comedy central run of Futurama. His sincerity is still there, but it seems like a part of his core personality. His stupidity becomes a much more predominant characteristic. He started to feel like a young, orange haired Homer Simpson.

    For what it's worth, I think The Late Phillip J. Fry and the Prisoner of Benda were gems from the later seasons. There was some good stuff in seasons 5 & 6, and some bad stuff in Seasons 1-4, but on average I was kind of disappointed by seasons 5&6. I haven't been following Futurama nearly as closely as I once did.

    "In the year twenty-five twenty-five twenty-five
    The backwards time machine still won't have arrived
    In all the world, there's only one technology
    A rusty sword for practicing proctology"

  108. Flanterization by Burning1 · · Score: 1

    In Fact, TVTropes has an entire section of Flanderization dedicated to Futurama.

    http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Flanderization/WesternAnimation

    (Sorry in advance for your lost productivity.)

    1. Re:Flanterization by mattack2 · · Score: 1

      The message you're responding to talked of *Federalization*, not *Flanderization*.

    2. Re:Flanterization by Burning1 · · Score: 1

      Both of them are my posts. I meant Flanderization. I guess my writing just sucked today. :)

  109. Need to be on comedy central not Mtv by Joe_Dragon · · Score: 1

    Need to be on comedy central not Mtv

  110. Bender's hilarious antics.. by SwampChicken · · Score: 1

    ..is the only reason I watch Futurama.

  111. Absolutely! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    I loved especially when they decide to sit back and watch the universe end.

  112. Why does not Futurama by nu1x · · Score: 1

    Why does not Futurama make a kickstarter fucking page.

    --
    I have nothing to lose but my bindings.
  113. Meh... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    just send Archer into space (again).

  114. Re:Futuramma was good, except for the Transphobia by kimvette · · Score: 1

    > Explain this 'teaching of hate' you proclaim. Some examples perhaps? B/c I don't see that in the show, so either you're getting a message out of it that you WANT to see in it, or I'm missing something.

    Don't mind Brenda. The trans "community" is rife with a vocal minority of knee-jerk reactionists who feign offense at every possible turn, and alienate potential allies/advocates by flaming them into oblivion for simple mis-use of terms, let alone making jokes. That's why the LGBT "community" is an epic fail at being an actual community.

    --
    The Christian Right is Neither (Christian nor right). See: Matthew 23, Matthew 25, Ezekiel 16:48-50
  115. Re:who's gonna pick this up and make $BIG MONIE$$$ by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Well, I guess CN's [Adault Swim] can have another crack at the property....
    A bump said they were bummed about CC getting the rights over [AS], but who knows.
    I don't really see any new ground they could cover. Especially when some douche is trying to steer it towards propaganda...

  116. Re:Time to petition? But this time... by Atzanteol · · Score: 1

    Man, how you can talk about how good American Dad is and not mention Roger is beyond me. He's 90% of the reason to watch the show.

    Off to get some pecan sandies...

    --
    "Ignorance more frequently begets confidence than does knowledge"

    - Charles Darwin
  117. Re:Put beavis and butthead in it's place that show by Bitsy+Boffin · · Score: 1

    Disagree, B&B was junk. Now, Daria, that is a show I could get behind a come-back of.

    --
    NZ Electronics Enthusiasts: Check out my Trade Me Listings
  118. everyone? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    You can count me out of that. I never could watch that show.

  119. It came back ...wrong by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Like others I was happy when they brought it back from the grave.

    But gradually i realized something was wrong, very wrong.
    Perhaps it was the dead lifeless stare, perhaps the rancid smell.
    Or perhaps thing that are dead should just be left where they are.

    This time make sure to chop off the head, and burn it.

  120. Re:Time to petition? But this time... by yahwotqa · · Score: 1

    Sometimes I think they're producing crap on purpose, and that "cultural sabotage" depicted in Rand's Fountainhead is already happening in America. Even the outcome seems to be the same as in the book - control of the masses brainwashed by "culture".

    (Cue replies ridiculing me for being a Randian nut.)

  121. Re:What seasons 5&6 wasn't character developme by delt0r · · Score: 1

    I don't really think the newer seasons developed the characters...

    Seriously? Well you know its Futurama right, not some other crap TV show that is "deep character development" rubbish, which is really just code for everyone ends up sleeping with everyone eventually. I think you need to change channels.

    --
    If information wants to be free, why does my internet connection cost so much?
  122. Re:who's gonna pick this up and make $BIG MONIE$$$ by cryptoluddite · · Score: 1

    Futurama has a cast of likable characters, great voice actors, is a cartoon, and it is set in the future in space so any story you can think of can be told. The problem with the Simpsons is the setting; once you explore every possibly lame alleyway and monorail, and every two-bit character in Springfield what's left? Shelbyville? Who cares?

    That you can tell any story and are only limited by the writer's imagination is what made Star Trek, Dr. Who, and others such great programs. But even those had the problem of being live action, where you can only tell stories that can be filmed or CG'd. Futurama on the other hand has everything going for it and it shouldn't, and can't be allowed to die just due to some corporate politics.

  123. This time around I care not so much by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    This time around I care not so much. Recent Futurama didn't rock like the first 5 seasons and while I love and respect them so much for raising the standard, others have since surpassed it. It's time to go.

  124. One comeback, retire at the top, like Black Caviar by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    I knew I could fit a horse analogy in there somewhere.

  125. Re:What seasons 5&6 wasn't character developme by Burning1 · · Score: 1

    ...

    I don't think you actually read what I wrote.

    Also, season 5+ seemed to have a lot of everyone sleeping with everyone else. Amy and Bender, for example? Zap and Leela hooking up, Again?

  126. Will not be missed by Maury+Markowitz · · Score: 1

    I watched some of the new seasons when they appeared on NetFlix. I made it through a few episodes before I gave up. Everything that made the originals funny was missing.

  127. Fart jokes are genetically funny. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Show me a child who, first time they fart in the bath who DOES NOT LAUGH.

    Doesn't happen.

    Fart jokes are funny, it's something genetic or inherent to the fabric of the universe.

  128. They didn't have the money to hire all the writers by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    So they had to get them in for one-off works and a lot of the comedy was honed by long to-and-fro-ing between a lot of writers which is why the later series are a little less good on average, but still with several good moments.

  129. Re:Time to petition? But this time... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    You know, the rest of us realize when in conversation that the statements made by others all come with [in my opinion] attached by default. Maybe you should take social lessons, or read a book on socializing, something.

  130. Slashdot ruined Futurama for me. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    I had never seen the "resurrected" futurama seasons until I read this story on Slashdot today. Naturally being curious I watched a couple of episodes from season 7 and now I am drunk and unhappy. The "resurrected" show has upped the agitprop/humour ratio to a level that is simply unacceptable to me. The series "evolved" from a brilliantly surrealistic satire of our complex and contradictory world into an ideological jackhammer on a level with Captain Planet. And just for the record, I actually agree with the general outlook of the writers, but they let their desire to push an agenda overwhelm their desire to do their jobs, and thus ruined one of the better sci fi franchises.
    To get back to your collective fault, if not for you people being so damned good at keeping up with all things "middle aged nerd", I would never have been prompted to see this slaughter of innocents. Now I will be compelled to watch the rest of the "resurrected seasons" but it will be for the same reason that I visited my grandma in the nursing home. Futurama will never be the same for me and you people are the reason why.

    SO respectfully, I hope you get crabs. En masse.

    P.S. Posting AC bc I dont have an account, just a longtime reader.

  131. time to bring back King of the Hill by JBaustian · · Score: 1

    fiendishly clever, but totally laid back

  132. Re:Time to petition? But this time... by fahrbot-bot · · Score: 1

    And yes, Bob's Burgers is good, though not in the way most people think. Especially with the same actor playing Bob and Archer.

    Or both at the same time. See Season 4, Episode 1, "Fugue and Riffs" - from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Archer_episodes :

    Archer has amnesia, brought about by the trauma of watching his mother get married, and believes he is now a fry cook at a burger joint. When he inexplicably stops a KGB attempt on his life, he flees to a spa, where ISIS tries to bring back his memories.

    Note: This episode features a crossover with FOX's animated show, Bob's Burgers, which also features H. Jon Benjamin. The setting and characters of Bob's Burgers were portrayed using the animation style from Archer.

    Interview with Benjamin about that episode is here:
    http://www.indiewire.com/article/television/h-jon-benjamin-on-archers-crossover-with-bobs-burgers

    --
    It must have been something you assimilated. . . .
  133. Re:Good news everyone! It's the perfect time! by fahrbot-bot · · Score: 1

    It's too late for "Firefly" (or is it?)

    Well... After watching Serenity I'd say it's too late for Book and Wash.

    --
    It must have been something you assimilated. . . .
  134. thank god by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    it will not be missed

  135. Good news everyone! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Did anyone else read that news clip in Farnsworth's voice? lol

  136. Re:Time to petition? But this time... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Home Movies was awesome. Not many people know about it, and Bob's burgers is ok, Family Guy is funny, now. It was horrible trash for the first 3 seasons, everything else McFarland has touched turns to poop.

    I think Futurama is still great, it has not run it's full course. It's on the other side of the hill but I think it had 2 more good seasons (although the picture of Sean makes me re-think that position, so 2010 Simpsons). I wish it could have gone 2 more seasons and then died, there were way too many funny moments in the last season to say it's time to put it to bed.

    It just makes me angry to think they will air 3 McFarland shows 2 of which are completely UN-watchable and the completely bland Simpsons (it has become the Family Circus of prime time cartoons), yet Futurama struggles. I know jokes are pretty specific to an audience but somehow Big Bang is working and it's even more narrow (possibly Penny should join Futurama).

  137. Hello, Paul. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    You fail it, Paul. Your skill is not enough.