"Anthology of Interest I" is episode sixteen in season two of ''
Futurama
''Futurama'' is an American animated science fiction sitcom created by Matt Groening for the Fox Broadcasting Company. The series follows the adventures of the professional slacker Philip J. Fry, who is cryogenically preserved for 1000 years a ...
''. It originally aired on the
Fox network
The Fox Broadcasting Company, commonly known simply as Fox and stylized in all caps as FOX, is an American commercial broadcast television network owned by Fox Corporation and headquartered in New York City, with master control operations an ...
in the United States on May 21, 2000. This episode, as well as the later "
Anthology of Interest II
"Anthology of Interest II" is the 18th episode of ''Futurama''s Futurama (season 3), third season . It originally aired on the Fox Broadcasting Company, Fox network in the United States on January 6, 2002. This episode, as well as the earlier "Ant ...
", serves to showcase three "imaginary" stories, in a manner similar to the "
Treehouse of Horror
''Treehouse of Horror'' is an annual series of special Halloween-themed episodes of the animated sitcom ''The Simpsons'', with 33 anthology episodes between 1990 and 2022. Also known as ''The Simpsons Halloween Specials'', each episode typical ...
" episodes of
Matt Groening
Matthew Abram Groening ( ; born February 15, 1954) is an American cartoonist, writer, producer, and animator. He is the creator of the comic strip ''Life in Hell'' (1977–2012) and the television series ''The Simpsons'' (1989–present), ''Fut ...
's other animated series ''
The Simpsons
''The Simpsons'' is an American animated sitcom created by Matt Groening for the Fox Broadcasting Company. The series is a satirical depiction of American life, epitomized by the Simpson family, which consists of Homer, Marge, Bart, Lisa, ...
''.
The episode is noteworthy for featuring the addition of
Scruffy, the Janitor, to the staff of Planet Express, and as a recurring cast member, after his previous appearance as a stagehand during the
Beastie Boys
Beastie Boys were an American rap rock group from New York City, formed in 1978. The group was composed of Mike D, Michael "Mike D" Diamond (vocals, drums), Adam Yauch, Adam "MCA" Yauch (vocals, bass), and Ad-Rock, Adam "Ad-Rock" Horovitz (voca ...
concert in "
Hell Is Other Robots".
Plot
Professor Farnsworth
Professor Hubert J. Farnsworth, commonly referred to in-show as either Professor Farnsworth or simply Professor, is a fictional character in the American animated television series '' Futurama''. The mad scientist proprietor of the Planet Expres ...
shows the crew his new invention, the Fing-Longer, a glove with a long rod meant to be used as an extension of the index finger. He demonstrates it by activating the What-if machine, a device that allows the user to view a simulation of a hypothetical scenario after the user asks it a 'what-if' question.
Terror at 500 Feet
Bender offers to take the first turn and asks what would happen if he were 500 feet tall. The simulation begins with the giant Bender being built by hundreds of regular-sized bending units on some distant planet. He flies to
Earth
Earth is the third planet from the Sun and the only astronomical object known to harbor life. While large volumes of water can be found throughout the Solar System, only Earth sustains liquid surface water. About 71% of Earth's surfa ...
, where he meets
Fry, having recently arrived in the 31st century. Bender takes a liking to him and they become friends.
After Bender destroys nearly all of Central Park while playing with Fry, the military is sent to deal with him. The military is unable to damage Bender with their electric weapons, and Bender continues to wreak havoc upon New New York. To combat Bender, the Professor uses his enlarging-ray on
Zoidberg
Dr. John A. Zoidberg, often referred to only by his last name, is a fictional character from the animated series ''Futurama''. He is a Decapodian, a crustacean-like species of alien, who works as the staff doctor for ''Planet Express'', despite hi ...
, only to see him wreak havoc as well. Zoidberg is interrupted by Bender who is not pleased with Zoidberg destroying "his" city. The two fight, with their battle causing massive damage. Bender fills
Shea Stadium
Shea Stadium (), formally known as William A. Shea Municipal Stadium, was a multi-purpose stadium in Flushing Meadows–Corona Park, Queens, New York City.[Empire State Building
The Empire State Building is a 102-story Art Deco skyscraper in Midtown Manhattan, New York City. The building was designed by Shreve, Lamb & Harmon and built from 1930 to 1931. Its name is derived from "Empire State", the nickname of the st ...](_blank)
. A tearful Fry admonishes the citizens of New New York about the tragedy of Bender, whose final words lament his inability to fulfill his dream to kill all humans. Bender dies, and the scenario ends as the onlookers silently watch on.
Dial L for Leela
The Professor asks
Leela to ask a question. Leela refuses at first, but the rest of the crew teases her for not being impulsive. She asks what would happen if she were slightly more impulsive
In the simulation, Leela shows off a new pair of boots, bought on a wild impulse - according to her. However, the only difference is a green stripe down the side, which is of no interest to anyone. The Professor tells Leela that he has designated her as his sole heir due to her lack of impulsiveness. Leela then karate-kicks Farnsworth on an impulse, sending him into a pit housing his pet man-eating
anteaters
Anteater is a common name for the four extant mammal species of the suborder Vermilingua (meaning "worm tongue") commonly known for eating ants and termites. The individual species have other names in English and other languages. Together with ...
where he is devoured alive.
When Hermes discovers the Professor's fate, he shows Leela the Professor's video will, which shows Leela kicking him into the anteater pit. Leela bludgeons Hermes to death to cover up the first murder. Later, Bender walks in on Leela while she is getting rid of Hermes' body parts in the sink disposal. He is morally unconcerned, but takes the opportunity to
blackmail
Blackmail is an act of coercion using the threat of revealing or publicizing either substantially true or false information about a person or people unless certain demands are met. It is often damaging information, and it may be revealed to fa ...
Leela. She kills Bender by exposing him to the
radiation
In physics, radiation is the emission or transmission of energy in the form of waves or particles through space or through a material medium. This includes:
* ''electromagnetic radiation'', such as radio waves, microwaves, infrared, visi ...
from an open
microwave oven
A microwave oven (commonly referred to as a microwave) is an electric oven that heats and cooks food by exposing it to electromagnetic radiation in the microwave frequency range. This induces polar molecules in the food to rotate and produce t ...
and turns his body into a
toy car
A model car, or toy car, is a Physical model, miniature representation of an automobile. Other miniature motor vehicles, such as trucks, buses, or even ATVs, etc. are often included in this general category. Because many miniature vehicles were ...
. Realizing she went too far, Leela resolves to chew gum on the next murderous impulse. However, after Amy makes a derisive comment about her, Leela promptly murders her as well, not having any gum.
Zoidberg holds a meeting with the rest of the crew to determine the identity of the killer. Leela shuts off the lights, and kills the crew one by one with a sword until only Fry remains, who leaves the meeting out of boredom. The next morning, Fry notices Leela eating lobster (which is actually Zoidberg) and accepts her offer to have some with her. Fry then realizes that Leela was responsible for the murders, forcing Leela to "do something really impulsive":
have sex with Fry to keep him quiet.
The Un-Freeze of a Lifetime
Fry asks what would happen if he had not been frozen.
In this alternate history, Fry narrowly misses falling into the cryogenic tube, and is never frozen. A rift in the
space-time continuum
In physics, spacetime is a mathematical model that combines the three dimensions of space and one dimension of time into a single four-dimensional manifold. Spacetime diagrams can be used to visualize relativistic effects, such as why differ ...
appears, which shows the Planet Express crew in the future. The next day, while telling
Mr. Panucci, who dismisses his story, Fry is overheard by regular customer
Stephen Hawking who arranges for Fry to be
abducted on his way home from work. Fry is introduced to the "Vice Presidential Action Rangers", led by
Al Gore
Albert Arnold Gore Jr. (born March 31, 1948) is an American politician, businessman, and environmentalist who served as the 45th vice president of the United States from 1993 to 2001 under President Bill Clinton. Gore was the Democratic Part ...
, whose constitutional duty is to protect the space-time continuum. His group is filled out by Hawking,
Nichelle Nichols
Nichelle Nichols (, born Grace Dell Nichols; December 28, 1932 – July 30, 2022) was an American actress, singer, and dancer best known for her portrayal of Nyota Uhura in ''Star Trek'' and its film sequels. Nichols' portrayal of Uhura was gr ...
,
Gary Gygax
Ernest Gary Gygax ( ; July 27, 1938 – March 4, 2008) was an American game designer and author best known for co-creating the pioneering role-playing game ''Dungeons & Dragons'' (''D&D'') with Dave Arneson.
In the 1960s, Gygax created an ...
, and
Deep Blue
Deep Blue may refer to:
Film
* ''Deep Blues: A Musical Pilgrimage to the Crossroads'', a 1992 documentary film about Mississippi Delta blues music
* Deep Blue (2001 film), ''Deep Blue'' (2001 film), a film by Dwight H. Little
* Deep Blue (2003 ...
.
Fry explains what happened the previous night. They determine Fry was supposed to die and try to kill him. Another rift appears during the attempted murder, with Bender throwing a beer bottle at the Rangers. Nichols suggests that Fry be frozen in order to stabilize the space-time continuum. Gygax gives Fry his "+1
mace" for protection in the future. Fry suddenly smashes the tube with the mace, creating a paradox and causing the universe to collapse into a space-time rift. All that remains is Fry and the Rangers, floating in a featureless void. The scenario ends with them playing ''
Dungeons and Dragons
''Dungeons & Dragons'' (commonly abbreviated as ''D&D'' or ''DnD'') is a fantasy tabletop role-playing game (RPG) originally designed by Gary Gygax and Dave Arneson. The game was first published in 1974 by Tactical Studies Rules, Inc. (TSR). ...
'' for the next
quadrillion
Two naming scales for large numbers have been used in English and other European languages since the early modern era: the long and short scales. Most English variants use the short scale today, but the long scale remains dominant in many non-Eng ...
years.
Conclusion
After the end of Fry's scenario, the Professor curses the What-if machine for simulating scenarios even he found preposterous and dumps it into the trash. He judges the Fing-Longer to be a success and is congratulated by the crew. It is then shown that everything before was just a simulation by the What-if machine created when the Professor asked what would have happened if he ''had'' invented the Fing-Longer, leaving him to lament the unfulfilled possibilities.
Broadcast and reception
This episode guest starred
Nichelle Nichols
Nichelle Nichols (, born Grace Dell Nichols; December 28, 1932 – July 30, 2022) was an American actress, singer, and dancer best known for her portrayal of Nyota Uhura in ''Star Trek'' and its film sequels. Nichols' portrayal of Uhura was gr ...
and
Al Gore
Albert Arnold Gore Jr. (born March 31, 1948) is an American politician, businessman, and environmentalist who served as the 45th vice president of the United States from 1993 to 2001 under President Bill Clinton. Gore was the Democratic Part ...
, who would make later appearances in "
Where No Fan Has Gone Before
"Where No Fan Has Gone Before" is the eleventh episode in the fourth season of the American animated television series '' Futurama''. It originally aired on the Fox network in the United States on April 21, 2002. Set in a retro-futuristic 31st ...
" and "
Crimes of the Hot" respectively. Al Gore received some criticism for his appearance because parts of the show "conflicted starkly with the anti-violence, anti-smoking and family-values themes of Gore's campaign." Gore's spokesperson responded by stating that most viewers would recognize that the show was meant to be entertaining and that it would be taken in the right spirit.
This episode is one of four featured in the ''Monster Robot Maniac Fun Collection'' as one of Matt Groening's four favorite episodes of the series.
In 2006,
IGN.com ranked this episode as number thirteen on their list of the top 25 episodes of ''Futurama'', noting that although the plots of the three individual segments were not the best work of ''Futurama'', they were each considered to have "killer" comedy.
Zack Handlen of ''
The A.V. Club
''The A.V. Club'' is an American online newspaper and entertainment website featuring reviews, interviews, and other articles that examine films, music, television, books, games, and other elements of pop-culture media. ''The A.V. Club'' was cre ...
'' gave the episode a B, stating, "
is still feels like something of a wasted opportunity. If an episode is going to purposefully shirk its story responsibilities, it needs to offer something more that just the fact of its existence. Bender's 'What if I was 500 feet tall?' story has some good gags, and the fight with Zoidberg is fun (and disturbing), but finding out that he and Fry would still have been friends no matter their respective sizes isn't enough to justify the segment. I'm probably just being overly critical here, but the last segment at least demonstrated some ambition. On the whole, 'Anthology' plays out like a moderately engaging thought experiment; certainly not a complete waste, but nothing that justifies the existence of the experiment over another entry that played by the rules."
[Handlen, Zack ]
References
External links
*
*
Anthology of Interest I at
The Infosphere
''The'' () is a grammatical Article (grammar), article in English language, English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite ...
.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Anthology Of Interest I
Futurama (season 2) episodes
2000 American television episodes
Television episodes about time travel
Al Gore
Cultural depictions of Al Gore
Stephen Hawking
Cultural depictions of Stephen Hawking
Television episodes written by Ken Keeler