The Cover

Naturally, since it comes from the creators of The Simpsons, I can't help but to compare it to that show. The animation is a lot cleaner and yes, a little more futuristic. They manage to integrate computer animation into the show that gives it a fresh look very deserving of its futuristic status.

The second season of Futurama showcases writing that's as good as The Simpsons and there's no doubt in my mind that it's just as funny. But while The Simpsons focuses more on family life and children, Futurama concerns a group of mostly single adults running an interplanetary delivery service. Naturally, there's a lot more jokes based on sex and relationships. Heck, everyone gets some in Futurama. Bender gets probed by the Proberator and even the professor plays slap and tickle with an old flame. these jokes and situations feel even smarter and more sharply pointed than dreck like Friends.

Everyone's favorite characters are even funnier in the second season, as they finally hit their comedic stride. And although Leela, Frye and the Professor all have their really funny moments, my favorite character is the lobster-esque Dr. Zoidberg. His voice can best be described as an old Jewish man with a mouthful of marbles. He's confused about humans, he screams without provocation and he's poor. Dr. Zoidberg's standalone episode, in which he attempts to mate despite his hideous appearance, stands as one of the funniest episodes of the second season (plus there's some pretty funny Star Trek references.)

The second season of Futurama is just as good as the first, if not better. It's a science fiction comedy that manages to pay homage to all the shows, movies, and books that have gone before it, but still bring fresh ideas and humor to a long stagnate genre. Besides, robot sex is just plain funny.

TV Grade: A

Video: 4.5 out of 5
I love the animation on Futurama. The colors are bright and lacking of noise and the computer generated sequences look really clean. It looks plain futuristic.
Full Screen 1.33:1

Bender in... "The Honking"

Audio: 4 out of 5
Even though it's just TV audio, the DVD folks have done some great stuff with the audio. It's loud and clear and features a lot of nice panning effects.
English (2.0), French (2.0), Spanish (2.0)

Extras: 4 out of 5
As usual for Groening produced faire, there's commentary on each episode with various actors, writers, and artists. Most importantly, we finally, we get to hear Billy West do some commentary on a disc. He's a funny guy. Each episode usually contains some deleted scenes and some even contain storyboards and animatics (pencil drawn, rough animation). The last disc contains a gallery of second season character drawings and some promotional spots (both fake and real). All in all, some pretty good stuff for a TV show. I'm still waiting for a featurette on how they create the computer animation though - it looks almost hand drawn.

Overall: 4.5 out of 5
There's no reason that you wouldn't enjoy Futurama. That is, unless you're a humorless prick. If so, you can bite my shiny, metal ass.

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