"Bendless Love" is the sixth episode in the

third Third or 3rd may refer to: Numbers * 3rd, the ordinal form of the cardinal number 3 * , a fraction of one third * Second#Sexagesimal divisions of calendar time and day, 1⁄60 of a ''second'', or 1⁄3600 of a ''minute'' Places * 3rd Street (d ...

season A season is a division of the year based on changes in weather, ecology, and the number of daylight hours in a given region. On Earth, seasons are the result of the axial parallelism of Earth's tilted orbit around the Sun. In temperate and pol ...

of the American animated television series ''

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 ...

'', and the 38th episode of the series overall. 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 February 11, 2001.

Plot

After crashing onto the streets of New New York, the crew discovers that the Planet Express ship's essential L-unit has been straightened. The crew plays a security tape from the night before, which shows Bender " sleep-bending".

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 ...

, whom Bender bent backward, sends Bender away to satisfy his psychological need for bending. The Professor annoys the rest of the crew with his uplifting personality and fascination of looking up at the sky now that he is bent backwards. Bender gets hired at a bending plant as a

scab worker A strikebreaker (sometimes called a scab, blackleg, or knobstick) is a person who works despite a strike. Strikebreakers are usually individuals who were not employed by the company before the trade union dispute but hired after or during the str ...

during a

strike Strike may refer to: People *Strike (surname) Physical confrontation or removal *Strike (attack), attack with an inanimate object or a part of the human body intended to cause harm *Airstrike, military strike by air forces on either a suspected ...

, and discovers that

Flexo Flexography (often abbreviated to flexo) is a form of printing process which utilizes a flexible relief plate. It is essentially a modern version of letterpress, evolved with high speed rotary functionality, which can be used for printing on a ...

, who was sent to prison in Bender's place in a previous episode, is also employed as a scab. Also working at the factory is a buxom blue-collar beauty of a fembot named Angleyne. Bender quickly develops an affection for Angleyne, and they begin dating. Their relationship goes well, until Bender discovers that Angleyne and Flexo are a divorced couple on friendly terms, and that they may still be affectionate. In an attempt to discover Angleyne's true feelings, Bender disguises himself as Flexo, and meets her at an orbital nightclub. While there, Bender flashes the wad of cash he has made as a strikebreaker, which angers the members of the Robot Mafia who are present. Bender (as Flexo) succeeds in seducing Angleyne, but when she discovers his identity, Bender rushes off to kill Flexo. Bender arrives at the bending plant where Flexo is working the night shift, and starts a fight. Meanwhile, in the crane control booth, the Robot Mafia moves an unbendable girder into position above Bender and Flexo. Because they do not know that Bender was disguised as Flexo, the Robot Mafia wants Flexo dead for Bender's monetary indiscretions. The girder is dropped on top of Flexo, crushing him. Angleyne confesses that she still loves Flexo, and Bender decides that her happiness is more important than his, and resolves to save Flexo by bending the unbendable girder. After a mighty struggle, he frees Flexo, earning Angleyne's appreciation, but not her love. Having satisfied his need for bending, Bender returns to his job at Planet Express.

Broadcast and reception

In its initial airing, the episode received a

Nielsen rating Nielsen Media Research (NMR) is an American firm that measures media audiences, including television, radio, theatre, films (via the AMC Theatres MAP program), and newspapers. Headquartered in New York City, it is best known for the Nielsen rati ...

of 4.6/8, placing it 79th among primetime shows for the week of February 5–11, 2001.

Awards

Actor

John DiMaggio John William DiMaggio (; born September 4, 1968) is an American actor. His various voice roles include Bender on ''Futurama'', Jake the Dog on ''Adventure Time'', Marcus Fenix in the '' Gears of War'' series, Dr. Drakken on '' Kim Possible'', ...

( Bender,

, Sal, Joey Mousepad,

Elzar This article lists the many characters of ''Futurama,'' an American Cartoon series, animated science fiction sitcom created by Matt Groening and developed by Groening and David X. Cohen for the Fox Broadcasting Company. The series follows the a ...

, others) won an

Annie Award The Annie Awards are accolades which the Los Angeles branch of the International Animated Film Association, ASIFA-Hollywood, has presented each year since 1972 to recognize excellence in animation shown in cinema and television. Originally desi ...

for "Outstanding individual achievement for voice acting by a male performer in an animated television production" for his performance as Bender in this episode.

Legacy

A pickaxe based on the Unbendable Girder seen in the episode was added to ''

Fortnite Battle Royale ''Fortnite Battle Royale'' is a free-to-play battle royale video game developed and published by Epic Games. It is a companion game to '' Fortnite: Save the World'', a cooperative survival game with construction elements. It was initially re ...

'' on July 26, 2023.https://primagames.com/news/fortnite-x-futurama-collab-is-live-bender-fry-and-leela-outfits-are-now-available

References

External links

* Bendless Love 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 ...

. * {{Futurama episodes, 3 Futurama (season 3) episodes 2001 American television episodes