Where No Fan Has Gone Before
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"Where No Fan Has Gone Before" is the eleventh episode in the fourth season of the American
animated television series An animated series is a set of Animation, animated works with a common series title, usually related to one another. These episodes should typically share the same main characters, some different secondary characters and a basic theme. Series can ...
''
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 21, 2002. Set in a
retro-futuristic Retrofuturism (adjective ''retrofuturistic'' or ''retrofuture'') is a movement in the creative arts showing the influence of depictions of the future produced in an earlier era. If futurism is sometimes called a "science" bent on anticipatin ...
31st century, the series follows the adventures of the employees of Planet Express, an interplanetary delivery company. In this episode, the Planet Express team and most of the main cast of ''
Star Trek: The Original Series ''Star Trek'' is an American science fiction television series created by Gene Roddenberry that follows the adventures of the starship and its crew. It later acquired the retronym of ''Star Trek: The Original Series'' (''TOS'') to distinguis ...
'' face a
court-martial A court-martial or court martial (plural ''courts-martial'' or ''courts martial'', as "martial" is a postpositive adjective) is a military court or a trial conducted in such a court. A court-martial is empowered to determine the guilt of memb ...
after visiting the forbidden planet Omega 3. An existing idea to feature the cast of ''Star Trek: The Original Series'' was scrapped and replaced with a new script written by
David A. Goodman David A. Goodman (born December 13, 1962) is an American writer, producer, and president of the Writers Guild of America West. He has been a writer for several television series, such as ''The Golden Girls'', his first job; ''Futurama'', where he ...
, after the newly hired writer was identified as the biggest ''Star Trek'' fan on the staff. All of the main cast of ''The Original Series'' agreed to appear, with the exception of
DeForest Kelley Jackson DeForest Kelley (January 20, 1920 – June 11, 1999), known to colleagues as "Dee", was an American actor, screenwriter, poet, and singer. He was known for his roles in Westerns and as Dr. Leonard "Bones" McCoy of the in the televisio ...
– who had died in 1999, although a character in his likeness did appear, without speaking – and
James Doohan James Montgomery Doohan (; March 3, 1920 – July 20, 2005) was a Canadian actor, author and soldier, best known for his role as Montgomery "Scotty" Scott in the television and film series ''Star Trek''. Doohan's characterization of the Scottish ...
, resulting in the creation of a new character called "Welshie". "Where No Fan Has Gone Before" was received positively by critics, with praise directed at the various ''Star Trek'' homages. The script was nominated for a
Nebula Award The Nebula Awards annually recognize the best works of science fiction or fantasy published in the United States. The awards are organized and awarded by the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America (SFWA), a nonprofit association of profe ...
, losing to '' The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers''.


Plot

Philip J. Fry Philip J. Fry, commonly known by his surname, is a fictional character and the protagonist of the animated series ''Futurama''. He is voiced by Billy West using a version of his own voice as he sounded when he was 25. He is a slacker delivery bo ...
learns that the ''
Star Trek ''Star Trek'' is an American science fiction media franchise created by Gene Roddenberry, which began with the eponymous 1960s television series and quickly became a worldwide pop-culture phenomenon. The franchise has expanded into vari ...
'' franchise has been forbidden since the series became a worldwide religion in the 2200s; all of its fans were killed during the Star Trek Wars and the "sacred" tapes of its 79 episodes and six movies were burned, with the remaining copies sent to the forbidden planet Omega 3. Outraged, Fry takes
Leonard Nimoy Leonard Simon Nimoy (; March 26, 1931 – February 27, 2015) was an American actor, famed for playing Spock in the ''Star Trek'' franchise for almost 50 years. This includes originating Spock in the original ''Star Trek'' series in 1966, then ...
's head from the Head Museum and convinces Bender and Leela to join him in a mission to recover the tapes. On Omega 3, they find several original sets from ''Star Trek'', and most of the original cast with new bodies and eternal youth. An
energy being An energy being or astral being is an alleged life form that is composed of energy rather than matter. They appear in myths/legends, paranormal/UFO accounts, and in various works of speculative fiction, also in some religions it's believed that ...
named Melllvar explains that he became a
Trekkie A Trekkie or Trekker is a fan of the '' Star Trek'' franchise, or of specific television series or films within that franchise. History Many early Trekkies were also fans of ''The Man from U.N.C.L.E.'' (1964–1968), another show with scienc ...
after watching the discarded tapes over and over again. Melllvar gives Nimoy a body, and orders the actors and the Planet Express crew to participate in a ''Star Trek'' convention until the end of time, killing Welshie, a
supporting character A supporting character is a character in a narrative that is not the focus of the primary storyline, but is important to the plot/protagonist, and appears or is mentioned in the story enough to be more than just a minor character or a cameo ap ...
, to ensure their obedience. While Melllvar forces the cast to perform his fan script, Bender, Leela and Fry escape in the ''Planet Express Ship''. Fry convinces the crew to attack Melllvar to save the actors, but Melllvar destroys the ship's engine as he drags it back to the planet. After seeing the Planet Express crew's attempt to defeat him, Melllvar wonders if they are more worthy of his adoration than the ''Star Trek'' cast, and decides to force them to battle to the death. After several minutes of fighting, Melllvar's mother appears and makes him come home for dinner. While he is gone, the two groups combine the engine of the cast's ship with the hull of the ''Planet Express Ship'' to escape. To lose enough weight to lift off, the cast jettison their bodies. Melllvar follows the crew into space in a
Klingon Bird of Prey In the ''Star Trek'' franchise, the Klingon, Klingon Empire makes use of several ship class, classes of starships. As the Klingons are portrayed as a warrior culture, driven by the pursuit of honor and glory, the Empire is shown to use warships alm ...
.
Zapp Brannigan 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 ...
boards the ''Planet Express Ship'' and holds a
court-martial A court-martial or court martial (plural ''courts-martial'' or ''courts martial'', as "martial" is a postpositive adjective) is a military court or a trial conducted in such a court. A court-martial is empowered to determine the guilt of memb ...
of the occupants for trespassing on Omega 3. Leela points out that while the court-martial is in progress, Melllvar is still chasing them. Fry convinces Melllvar that he cannot spend his life watching ''Star Trek'', and Melllvar agrees to end the chase, allowing the crew and cast to return to Earth.


Production

William Shatner ''(pictured left)'' and Leonard Nimoy ''(pictured right)'' recorded their voice work for this episode together. The writer for this episode, David A. Goodman, said that making this episode was a "dream come true" for many members of the crew including himself. At the time he was hired onto the staff, they were already talking about creating a ''Star Trek''-centric episode. The initial idea was to have a giant Kirk and Spock fighting over
New York-New York Hotel and Casino New York-New York Hotel and Casino is a casino hotel on the Las Vegas Strip in Paradise, Nevada, United States. It is owned by Vici Properties and operated by MGM Resorts International, and is designed to evoke New York City in its architectur ...
. Executive producer
David X. Cohen David Samuel Cohen (born July 13, 1966), better known as David X. Cohen, is an American television writer. He began working on ''Beavis and Butt-Head'', has written for ''The Simpsons'', and served as the head writer, showrunner and executive pro ...
assigned the writing task to Goodman, as they agreed he was the biggest ''Trek'' fan of the group. They agreed to drop the story idea with the giant characters and gave him two weeks to write the script. The deadline was complicated as Goodman had to spend the first week on
jury duty Jury duty or jury service is service as a juror in a legal proceeding. Juror selection process The prosecutor and defense can dismiss potential jurors for various reasons, which can vary from one state to another, and they can have a specific ...
, and then broke his ankle. Despite this, he described "Where No Fan Has Gone Before" as the most fun he has ever had writing a script. left, upAfter working on ''Futurama'', including this episode, David A. Goodman wrote for ''Star Trek: Enterprise''. Series creator
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 ...
stated that while he is a fan of the ''Star Trek'' franchise, he has never seen an episode of ''The Original Series'' in its entirety, but has seen '' Star Trek: The Motion Picture''. Director Pat Shinagawa said that there was a certain amount of jealousy among the crew that she got to work on the episode. All of the living members of the original ''Star Trek'' cast agreed to appear in the episode with the exception of
James Doohan James Montgomery Doohan (; March 3, 1920 – July 20, 2005) was a Canadian actor, author and soldier, best known for his role as Montgomery "Scotty" Scott in the television and film series ''Star Trek''. Doohan's characterization of the Scottish ...
, whose agent replied, "No way." Because of this, the episode's working title was jokingly named "We got everybody but Scotty" and so Scotty was replaced with "Welshie".
DeForest Kelley Jackson DeForest Kelley (January 20, 1920 – June 11, 1999), known to colleagues as "Dee", was an American actor, screenwriter, poet, and singer. He was known for his roles in Westerns and as Dr. Leonard "Bones" McCoy of the in the televisio ...
was physically portrayed but had no lines due to his death in 1999. William Shatner and Leonard Nimoy recorded their lines together, which was unusual as actors usually record solo. Goodman later joined the writing staff of ''Star Trek: Enterprise''. Several designs for the energy being were considered for this episode; however, the final version was decided upon due to a desire to keep the design simple. Shinagawa noted that even so, the final design for Melllvar is more sophisticated than some energy beings featured in the original series.


Cultural references

This episode contains many story elements based on episodes of ''Star Trek''. In the DVD audio commentary, Goodman noted his pride in having included a large number of quotations from ''The Original Series'', particularly those items which he claims "the people on the internet" had not found on their own. He noted that in "Shatner's Log", based on ''Star Trek''s "Captain's log", the line "The impossible has happened" quotes the opening log in "
Where No Man Has Gone Before "Where No Man Has Gone Before" is the third episode of the first season of the American science fiction television series, ''Star Trek''. Written by Samuel A. Peeples and directed by James Goldstone, it first aired on September 22, 1966. In t ...
".


Broadcast and reception

Although the episode was not the last episode produced for season four, it was used as the season finale for the fourth broadcast season, being broadcast on April 21, 2002, on Fox in the United States. The episode was subsequently nominated for a
Nebula Award The Nebula Awards annually recognize the best works of science fiction or fantasy published in the United States. The awards are organized and awarded by the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America (SFWA), a nonprofit association of profe ...
in 2004 for best script, but lost to the film '' The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers'' (2002). Prior to the broadcast, Dusty Saunders previewed the episode for ''
Rocky Mountain News The ''Rocky Mountain News'' (nicknamed the ''Rocky'') was a daily newspaper published in Denver, Colorado, United States, from April 23, 1859, until February 27, 2009. It was owned by the E. W. Scripps Company from 1926 until its closing. As ...
'', calling ''Futurama'' "under-appreciated" and that this episode had "Lots of fun and fantasy at the expense of the noted sci-fi series." Zack Handlen, while writing for ''
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 an 'A' grade. He said that the storyline could have been seen as "pretty mean-spirited if there wasn't such a clear thread of ''Trek'' love running through the episode". He felt that having the framing device set during the event rather than afterwards as "delightful", and that the ''Star Trek'' references were both "relevant to the story and funny in their own right". Andy Wilson reviewed the episode for BigShinyRobot, calling it the "greatest animated homage to ''Trek'' ever" and "one of the best episodes of ''Futurama''".
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 ...
ranked the episode in tenth place in their list of the top 25 episodes of the series in 2006, calling it "ultimate fan service episode", but "one that any sci-fi fan, Trekker or otherwise, can still enjoy". The popularity of this episode combined with the large volume of ''Star Trek'' references has made this episode a
touchstone Touchstone may refer to: * Touchstone (assaying tool), a stone used to identify precious metals * Touchstone (metaphor), a means of assaying relative merits of a concept Entertainment * ''Touchstone'' (album), a 1982 album by Chick Corea * T ...
among
Trekkie A Trekkie or Trekker is a fan of the '' Star Trek'' franchise, or of specific television series or films within that franchise. History Many early Trekkies were also fans of ''The Man from U.N.C.L.E.'' (1964–1968), another show with scienc ...
s according to Chris Baker at
Wired.com ''Wired'' (stylized as ''WIRED'') is a monthly American magazine, published in print and online editions, that focuses on how emerging technologies affect culture, the economy, and politics. Owned by Condé Nast, it is headquartered in San Fran ...
. This episode, along with "
Teenage Mutant Leela's Hurdles "Teenage Mutant Leela's Hurdles" is the ninth episode in the fourth production season of the American animated television series '' Futurama''. It first aired on the Fox network in the United States on March 30, 2003. The episode was directed by ...
", was the great moments of the fourth season by David Hofstede in his book ''5000 Episodes and No Commercials: The Ultimate Guide to TV Shows on DVD''. "Where No Fan Has Gone Before" was included in the Volume 4 release on
DVD The DVD (common abbreviation for Digital Video Disc or Digital Versatile Disc) is a digital optical disc data storage format. It was invented and developed in 1995 and first released on November 1, 1996, in Japan. The medium can store any kin ...
, including several deleted scenes, which was first released on August 24, 2004, in the United States.


See also

*
The Squire of Gothos "The Squire of Gothos" is the 17th episode of the first season of the American science-fiction television series, ''Star Trek''. Written by Paul Schneider, and directed by Don McDougall, it first aired on January 12, 1967. In the episode, the ...


References

Notes Bibliography *


External links

* * {{Futurama episodes, 4 2002 American television episodes Futurama (season 4) episodes Star Trek: The Original Series Works about Star Trek Parodies of Star Trek Cultural depictions of Leonard Nimoy