Futurama: Volume 1

The opening season (premiered in 1999) sees nerdy pizza delivery boy Fry transferred to the 31st century in a cryogenic mishap. There, he meets the beautiful, one-eyed Leela (voiced by Married with Children's Katey Sagal) and the incorrigible alcoholic robot Bender. The three of them join Fry's great (great, great, etc.) nephew Professor Farnsworth and work in his intergalactic delivery service. Hyper-real yet strangely recognizable situations ensue--Fry discovers he's a billionaire thanks to 1,000 years' accrued interest, Leela must fend off the attentions of Captain Kirk-like Lothario Zapp Brannigan, and Fry accidentally drinks the ruler of a strange planet of liquid beings. --David Stubbs

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Futurama, c'est un peu Les Simpson dans l'espace, avec un robot en lieu et place d'Homer. Pas étonnant puisque les deux séries ont un seul et même père, le génial et... quelque peu perturbé Matt Groening. Ici, le jeune Fry, livreur de pizza de son état, est propulsé au 3e millénaire à la suite d'un malencontreux accident de cryogénisation. Après une seconde et demie de profond désespoir, il entrevoit avec bonheur une vie nouvelle et se retrouve.. livreur chez Planetexpress, sous les ordres de Leela, femme cyclope mais gentille quand même. Ajoutons à cela Bender, robot alcoolique, Pamela Anderson dans un bocal, le retour du Titanic, une bonne dose d'humour décalé, et l'on retrouve tout l'esprit qui a fait le succès des Simpson sans jamais avoir l'impression d'en voir une resucée. Une nouvelle réussite incontestable de Matt Groening, qui se fend ici pour chaque épisode d'un commentaire audio, accompagné du producteur et des réalisateurs de la série. Un bonus appréciable, tout comme les story-boards et scènes inédites présents sur ces DVD. --Pierre Boeldieu

Space Pilot 3000- After being cryogenically frozen, Fry is transported to the year 3000 where he meets the cyclops Leela, the robot Bender, and gets a job at Planet Express. 5/5

The Series Has Landed- After delivering a package to the moon, Fry, Leela, Bender, and Amy visit an amusement park on the moon where Bender is chased by a farmer for romancing one of his daughters, and Fry and Leela find the original lunar landing site.4/5

I, Roommate- For being such a slob, Fry is forced to move in with Bender, but since Bender's house is too small, Fry and Bender move into a new house, but Fry eventually moves into Bender's closet. 5/5

Love's Labours Lost In Space- After being picked up by the legendary Zapp Braniggan, Leela realizes what a moron he is, but ends up sleeping with him. 3/5

Fear of A Bot Planet- After making a delivery to a planet ruled by human hating robots, Bender becomes their leader, forcing Fry and Leela to pretend their humans to to rescue Bender.5/5

A Fishful of Dollars- Fry becomes rich due to the money in his account that his been getting higher over the years, and uses it to buy a can of unopened anchovies, the only anchovies left in the galaxy. 5/5

My Three Suns- After delivering a package to a planet with three suns, Fry drinks the leader of the country, and becomes the new leader. 4/5

A Big Piece of Garbage- The Planet Express crew must destroy a big piece of garbage launched into space in the 20th century. 4/5

Hell Is Other Robots- Benders joins the Temple of Robotology, but after he sins, he is forced to go to robot hell.5/5

A Flight to Remember- The Planet Express crew is invited to go on a space cruise ship, where Fry alternately dates Leela and Amy, and Bender finds love. 2/5

Mars University- Fry goes to college to prove to the professor that he could flunk out, but his roommate is a super intelligent monkey. 5/5

When Aliens Attack- After Fry spills some beer on a transmitor in the 20th century, he knocks a show off the air, which the Omicronians thouroughly enjoy, so they threaten to destroy Earth until they see the show. 5/5

Fry & The Slurm Factory- Fry and the Planet Express crew win a free tour of a soft drink factory. 5/5

See this show now.


Even Better Than The Simpsons   May 11, 2004
Keith Doyle (Panama City, FL United States)
That title may be biased since I'm a science fiction fan. The Simpsons is great. But Futurama tickles a funny bone in me that only a crazy, fantasy-based, anything-goes series can. Futurama takes a hilarious spin on the extreme evolution of modern society. The result is a show whose content and events seem unlikely yet convincingly plausible. It's all held together by interesting stories and competent visuals. There's very little to find fault here. Most important, the show is funny! Perhaps there's a generous portion of lowbrow humor that prevails through the series but I can forgive that. Futurama's overall quality more than makes up for it.

The use of subtle computer animation in many scenes is a surprising but welcome treat. It cleverly reflects the show's futuristic theme. If any cartoon should pioneer such an animation style it's this one.

My favorite episode in volume one: Fear Of A Bot Planet.


Good show, but no where near as good as "The Simpsons"...   May 2, 2004
A few years ago, I first saw Futurama appear on FOX in 1999 or so. I was quite impressed with the awesome compter graphic visuals and the smooth silky animation. However, there is very LITTLE humor in the show itself. While Fry & Bender are one of my favorite characters (even though they're both complete morons), everything else also flows so nicely with the futuristic atmosphere that is so original (and sometimes even hilariously clever!) It's superbly entertaining and a fun program to watch, but compared to Matt Groening's original classic series, "The Simpsons", there just isn't enough laughs here! Don't get me wrong, it is a pretty good and refreshing show, but it's nowhere (repeat!) NOWHERE as good as "The Simpsons" or even "Family Guy". If you're a diehard Matt Groening fan though, I say go for it!