The acclaimed adult cartoon has been brought back from the dead – and not for the first time. It’s never going to recapture the brilliance of the original run, writes Louis Chilton, but the series’ stop-start history has made it a compelling record of changing cultural obsessions

I’ve just found this article about Futurama on The Independent, a UK newspaper. It comments on the changes in Futurama reflecting the changes in society in general.

  • some_guy@kbin.social
    19·
    1 year ago

    Before it was revived it was not a pop culture show at all.

    There’s nothing fascinating about it since the first revival.

    • Puzzle_Sluts_4Ever@lemmy.world
      22·
      1 year ago

      Just going off the titles and what I vaguely recall of the first season (time for a rewatch?!?!?!)

      • The pilot, Space Pilot 3000, is about y2k
      • I, Robot was about living with Bender and had a bunch of sitcom references, if memory serves
      • Fear of a Bot Planet is about racism, but in the “fun” way that only the 90s would try to do
      • I thought A Fishful of Dollars was one of the western episodes and was going to make jokes about spaghetti westerns, but I am glad I actually clicked the summary for that one. It is the anchovy episode where Fry buys a crapton of 20th century memorabilia. That is nothing BUT pop culture references
      • A Big Piece of Garbage is a reference to all the acknowledgmets that pollution is bad and we should reduce, reuse, and recycle. And now I am depressed again. Also, the plot is one giant reference to Ben Afleck’s Armageddon
      • Hell Is Other Robots: Introduces robot hell, robot Jessie Jackson, mockery of scientology, etc.
      • A Flight to Remember: Had to click again since I didn’t remember and knew there was no way it could be a joke about the Mandy Moore movie. This is a Titanic spoof
      • Mars University: Animal House/Revenge of the Nerds/all the 80s college movies before we acknowledged those movies were nothing but sexual assault. Oh the 90s
      • When Aliens Attack: Ally McBeal, removed
      • Fry and the Slurm Factory: Charlie and the Chocolate Factory parody, references to how messed up it was that Bud Light had an animal mascot, and even reference to the efforts to get people to drink less toxic waste soda

      So… I guess you consider the first revival to have been the first published episode?

    • hoodatninja@kbin.social
      3·
      1 year ago

      Meh I thought they found their sea legs pretty well after a few swings and misses in the first revived season (7?) and I liked where it landed. Some strong episodes I really enjoyed. But I get it’s not for everyone!