"The 30% Iron Chef" is the 22nd episode and final episode in

season three 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 ''

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 April 14, 2002. Bender aspires to be a cook for the Planet Express crew, but the meals he produces are awful. One day, Bender overhears the crew complaining about one of his meals and is overcome by feelings of worthlessness and self-pity.

Plot

Bender aspires to be a cook for the Planet Express crew, but the meals he produces are awful. One day, Bender overhears the crew complaining about one of his meals and is overcome by feelings of worthlessness and self-pity. After running away, Bender asks

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 ...

to teach him how to cook, but Elzar refuses. Bender then becomes a hobo and travels to the "biggest hobo joint in the universe". There he meets Helmut Spargel, a legendary cook who lost his TV show when a young, upcoming Elzar replaced him. Spargel trains Bender how to cook in order to get revenge on Elzar. As a final test, Spargel challenges Bender to cook an edible meal. Spargel tries the food and tells Bender that it is "acceptable". As a result of eating the food, his stomach explodes, and he dies. With his dying breath, Spargel reveals the secret to perfect cooking: a vial of unknown liquid ("the essence of pure flavour") to use whenever he needs to spice up a food. To avenge Spargel, Bender challenges Elzar to a cook-off on the TV show "Iron Cook" (a parody of ''

Iron Chef is a Japanese television cooking show produced by Fuji Television. The series, which premiered on October 10, 1993, was a stylized cook-off featuring guest chefs challenging one of the show's resident "Iron Chefs" in a timed cooking battle bui ...

''). The main ingredient used in this cook-off is

Soylent Green ''Soylent Green'' is a 1973 American Environmental film, ecological dystopian thriller film directed by Richard Fleischer, and starring Charlton Heston, Leigh Taylor-Young, and Edward G. Robinson in his final film role. It is loosely based on t ...

. Bender prepares terrible looking food, but applies the liquid that Spargel gave him and wins. As the loser, Elzar is forced to wash the dishes. When the Professor examines the liquid in the bottle Spargel gave Bender, it turns out the liquid is ordinary water. Fry says that all Spargel gave Bender was confidence, before the Professor adds that the water was laced with trace amounts of

LSD Lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD), also known colloquially as acid, is a potent psychedelic drug. Effects typically include intensified thoughts, emotions, and sensory perception. At sufficiently high dosages LSD manifests primarily mental, vi ...

. Bender then proposes a meal for his co-workers, who are unsure, but joyfully accept when Bender adds that the meal will include plenty of "confidence". Meanwhile,

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 ...

accidentally destroys a scale replica of the universe's largest bottle that

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 ...

has just made. He frames Fry for the damage and the Professor demands that Fry pay $10 for the material cost. Zoidberg is riddled with guilt as Fry is easily persuaded to make the payment, not having the wherewithal to defend himself. During the contest, Fry is unable to pay for a commemorative turkey baster, having given the Professor his last $10. Zoidberg's guilt becomes unbearable, and he publicly apologizes for framing Fry before trying to commit ''

seppuku , sometimes referred to as hara-kiri (, , a native Japanese kun reading), is a form of Japanese ritual suicide by disembowelment. It was originally reserved for samurai in their code of honour but was also practised by other Japanese people ...

'' using the Chairman's ceremonial ''

Wakizashi The is one of the traditionally made Japanese swords (''nihontō'') worn by the samurai in feudal Japan. History and use The production of swords in Japan is divided into specific time periods:

''. Instead, his hard shell damages the $5000 sword, and he quickly accuses Fry before running away.

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 3.0/6, placing it 90th among primetime shows for the week of April 8–15, 2002. ''

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.

References

External links

The 30% Iron Chef "The 30% Iron Chef" is the 22nd episode and final episode in season three of '' Futurama''. It originally aired on the Fox network in the United States on April 14, 2002. Bender aspires to be a cook for the Planet Express crew, but the meals he pro ...

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:30 percent Iron Chef, The Futurama (season 3) episodes 2002 American television episodes Iron Chef fr:Le Chef de fer à 30%