The Silence of the Clamps
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"The Silence of the Clamps" is the fourteenth episode of the sixth season of the
animated Animation is a method by which still figures are manipulated to appear as moving images. In traditional animation, images are drawn or painted by hand on transparent celluloid sheets to be photographed and exhibited on film. Today, most anim ...
sitcom A sitcom, a portmanteau of situation comedy, or situational comedy, is a genre of comedy centered on a fixed set of characters who mostly carry over from episode to episode. Sitcoms can be contrasted with sketch comedy, where a troupe may use ne ...
''
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 originally aired July 14, 2011 on
Comedy Central Comedy Central is an American basic cable channel owned by Paramount Global through its network division's MTV Entertainment Group unit, based in Manhattan. The channel is geared towards young adults aged 18–34 and carries comedy programming ...
. The episode was written by Eric Rogers and directed by Frank Marino. In the episode, Bender witnesses a brutal "clamping" committed by the Robot Mafia and is forced into
witness protection Witness protection is security provided to a threatened person providing testimonial evidence to the justice system, including defendants and other clients, before, during, and after a trial, usually by police. While a witness may only require p ...
after his identity is accidentally revealed. Meanwhile, Clamps, a member of the Robot Mafia, takes Bender's old job at Planet Express in an attempt to get information as to Bender's whereabouts. From May 22 to May 23, and again on June 17, as part of its "Countdown to ''Futurama''" event, Comedy Central Insider, Comedy Central's news outlet, released various preview materials for the episode, including storyboards, concept art and a preview video clip of the episode. "The Silence of the Clamps" received mixed reviews from critics, who praised the use of
Dr. 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 ...
's character, but criticized the choice of Clamps as its main focus.


Plot

While delivering an item for The Donbot's eldest daughter's wedding, Bender sneaks onto the mansion grounds to take part in the festivities. He secretly makes out with the Donbot's younger daughter Bella when he witnesses the Robot Mafia viciously beating
Calculon This article lists the many characters of '' Futurama,'' an American 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 adventures of a ...
for welching. Being the only witness of the attack, Bender is forced to testify in open court where he is recognized by Bella, who blurts out her decision to marry him, while Calculon is threatened by the Robot Mafia into testifying in favor of the Donbot's innocence. Now targeted by the Robot Mafia for ratting out the Donbot and for his affair with Bella, Bender is forced to go into witness relocation, leaving Planet Express to begin hiring for his replacement. Determined to hunt down Bender, the Donbot sends Robot Mafia member Clamps to apply for Planet Express under his real name, Francis, in order to befriend Fry and make him reveal Bender's location. However, he is unsuccessful and earns the resentment of
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 ...
, who fears that Clamps's masterful use of his clamp-like hands will overshadow the use of his own pincers, the only part of Zoidberg's job that he is tolerated for. The Planet Express crew makes a delivery to the Moon where they find a robot they believe to be Bender, who claims his name is
Billy West William Richard Werstine (born April 16, 1952), known professionally as Billy West, is an American voice actor. His voice roles include Bugs Bunny in the 1996 film ''Space Jam'' and several subsequent projects, the title characters of '' Doug'' ...
and does not seem to remember any of them, his memory seemingly erased as part of the witness relocation program. This does not stop Clamps from attempting to kill Billy, but he is stopped by Zoidberg, who uses his pincers to cut off his clamps. However, Bella arrives and shoots Billy to death, accusing him of cheating on her since he is shown to be married to the Crushinator. The crew returns to Earth to mourn Bender's apparent death at a pizzeria near the Planet Express building. There they find Bender working as a waiter, revealing himself to still be under witness protection there, and realize that Billy was a different robot. With the Robot Mafia believing Bender to be dead, Bender is free to continue working at Planet Express.


Production

The episode was written by Eric Rogers, and directed by Frank Marino. The episode serves as Rogers' first solo writing credit for the series; Rogers had previously co-written the
season two Season 2 may refer to: * ''Season 2'' (Infinite album) * ''2econd Season ''2econd Season'' is the second and most recent album by Atlanta-based rapper Unk. Release It was released on November 4, 2008. Guest Performers The album features gu ...
episode " Anthology of Interest", and is also a frequent writer for the series' accompanying comic book series. As a part of its "Countdown to ''Futurama''" event, Comedy Central Insider, Comedy Central's news outlet, released various preview materials for the episode. On May 22, concept art of the Crushinator, a returning character that originally debuted in the
season one Season One may refer to: Albums * ''Season One'' (Suburban Legends album), 2004 * ''Season One'' (All Sons & Daughters album), 2012 * ''Season One'' (Saukrates album), 2012 See also * * * Season 2 (disambiguation) * Season 4 (disambiguat ...
episode "
The Series Has Landed "The Series Has Landed", also known as "Episode Two: The Series Has Landed", is the second episode of the first season of ''Futurama''. It originally aired on the Fox network in the United States on April 4, 1999. The episode was written by Ken Kee ...
", was released; the next day,
storyboard A storyboard is a graphic organizer that consists of illustrations or images displayed in sequence for the purpose of pre-visualizing a motion picture, animation, motion graphic or interactive media sequence. The storyboarding process, i ...
s of a courtroom scene in the episode were released. On June 17, a preview clip from the episode was released.


Cultural references

The title is a reference to the 1991 film '' The Silence of the Lambs''. The wedding scenes in the episode's first act were inspired by the 1972
crime film Crime films, in the broadest sense, is a film genre inspired by and analogous to the crime fiction literary genre. Films of this genre generally involve various aspects of crime and its detection. Stylistically, the genre may overlap and combine ...
''
The Godfather ''The Godfather'' is a 1972 American crime film directed by Francis Ford Coppola, who co-wrote the screenplay with Mario Puzo, based on Puzo's best-selling 1969 novel of the same title. The film stars Marlon Brando, Al Pacino, James Caan, ...
''; the Donbot's mansion is modelled after the mansion from the film's 1974 sequel, ''
The Godfather Part II ''The Godfather Part II'' is a 1974 American epic crime film produced and directed by Francis Ford Coppola. The film is partially based on the 1969 novel ''The Godfather'' by Mario Puzo, who co-wrote the screenplay with Coppola. ''Part II'' s ...
''.Commentary for "The Silence of the Clamps", in ''Futurama: Volume 6'' VD 20th Century Fox (2011). The 1979 song "
Clampdown "Clampdown" is a song by the English rock band the Clash from their 1979 album ''London Calling''. The song began as an instrumental track called "Working and Waiting". It is sometimes called "Working for the Clampdown" which is the main lyric ...
" by English punk rock band
The Clash The Clash were an English rock band formed in London in 1976 who were key players in the original wave of British punk rock. Billed as "The Only Band That Matters", they also contributed to the and new wave movements that emerged in the wa ...
is played over a montage of Clamps and Fry spending time together. The robot that the Planet Express crew meet on the Moon, Billy West, is named after the voice actor of the same name,
Billy West William Richard Werstine (born April 16, 1952), known professionally as Billy West, is an American voice actor. His voice roles include Bugs Bunny in the 1996 film ''Space Jam'' and several subsequent projects, the title characters of '' Doug'' ...
, who voices various ''Futurama'' characters, including primary characters Fry, Dr. Zoidberg and The Professor. The ''Futurama'' staff were amused by this reference.


Reception

In its original U.S. broadcast, "The Silence of the Clamps" scored a 0.7 share among adults 18-49 and 1.406 million viewers, down about 150,000 viewers from the previous week's episode "
Law and Oracle "Law and Oracle" is the sixteenth episode of the sixth season of the animated sitcom, '' Futurama'', originally broadcast on July 7, 2011, on Comedy Central. In the episode, Fry leaves his job as a delivery boy at Planet Express and applies for ...
". The episode received mixed reviews from critics. Zach 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 ...
wrote: "...this is more like everybody goofing off, and I enjoy watching that a lot more." He described the episode as "weirdly put together, ..messy and occasionally half-assed", but that he nonetheless laughed throughout, praising scenes such as Zoidberg and Clamps' showdown. He noted that he felt the episode was an improvement over the week's previous episode "
Law and Oracle "Law and Oracle" is the sixteenth episode of the sixth season of the animated sitcom, '' Futurama'', originally broadcast on July 7, 2011, on Comedy Central. In the episode, Fry leaves his job as a delivery boy at Planet Express and applies for ...
", giving the episode an overall B+ rating. Robert Canning of
IGN ''IGN'' (formerly ''Imagine Games Network'') is an American video game and entertainment media website operated by IGN Entertainment Inc., a subsidiary of Ziff Davis, Inc. The company's headquarters is located in San Francisco's SoMa distri ...
was more critical of the episode, describing it as the "first clunker of the summer" and writing: "...there were still a few laugh-out-loud bits in the half hour, but as ''Futurama'' episodes go, twas just a little too straightforwardly bland." He criticized the episode for what he felt was a rehash of plot elements, such as a character leaving Planet Express, similarly explored in the episode "
Ghost in the Machines "Ghost in the Machines" is the nineteenth episode of the sixth season of the animated sitcom '' Futurama'', and originally aired June 30, 2011, on Comedy Central. The episode was written by Patric M. Verrone and directed by Ray Claffey. America ...
" by Fry, as well as not having much "hilariously memorable moments." Praise was given, however, to Zoidberg's character. Giving the episode a 7/10 rating, he concluded his review of the episode by describing it as "simply too unremarkable." Sean Gandert of '' Paste'' described the episode as "forgettable", writing: "I think the main problem I ended up having with this episode is that aside from locations being on the moon and characters being robots, which have no real effect, this is a story that could have been done in any sit-com." He also criticized the episode for focusing on Clamps, who he describes as "probably the least interesting character in its universe" and a "one-joke character". He did praise some elements of the episode, such as its individual jokes, Bender's performance, and references to older elements of the show such as the Space Pope and the Family Bros. pizza parlor. In spite of these, however, Gandert, giving the episode a 6.6/10 rating, felt that "the foundation was weak, making for the first forgettable episode this season."
Maurice LaMarche Maurice LaMarche (born March 30, 1958) is a Canadian voice actor, comedian, and impressionist. He has voiced the Brain in '' Animaniacs'' as well as its spin-off '' Pinky and the Brain'', Big Bob in ''Hey Arnold!'' (1996–2004), and a variety of ...
, who regularly voices Kif Kroker, Clamps, Donbot, Calculon, Morbo, The Hyperchicken, Hedonismbot and The Crushinator, won his second consecutive Emmy for outstanding voice-over performance for this episode. Eric Rogers was nominated for a Writers Guild of America Award for Outstanding Writing in Animation at the 64th Writers Guild of America Awards for his script to this episode.


References


External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Silence Of The Clamps, The Futurama (season 6) episodes 2011 American television episodes Fiction set on the Moon Television episodes about witness protection