Rate/Review Futurama 4ACV16 "Three Hundred Big Boys"

[Ryan]

Tonight at 7 PM...another new FUTURAMA!! Anyways, this is the last one for three weeks (), and it returns with "Bender Should Not Be On Television" on July 13th.

The episode is about money...and Zapp...it could be a refreshing hilarity episode (without any Fry&Leela relation disturbance [I just want a break, thank god for upcoming Bender episodes, the thing has just been a little overload for me])...

[Matty]

I thought it was terrible. Coming in at my worst top 3

[Simpson Purist]

Uh-oh, I was planning on ending my Futurama "fast" with this episode (I didn't watch the last two Futurama eps b/c I was boycotting FOX and waiting for their eventual airing on Cartoon Network).

[Tomacco]

Originally posted by Simpson Purist
Uh-oh, I was planning on ending my Futurama "fast" with this episode (I didn't watch the last two Futurama eps b/c I was boycotting FOX and waiting for their eventual airing on Cartoon Network).

I don't wanna be a killjoy to your protest, but you do realize that the only person suffering there is you. First of all, Fox won't miss one person not watching the show. Secondly, I don't even think they really care much since they're cancelling the show anyways. Third, if Fox suffers at all from that, then Futurama does too, since they wanna see higher ratings too. If you're mad at Fox, then watch Futurama, and don't watch any of their other shows. Or download the Futurama episode off the net.

[Thrillhouse24]

its on in 10 more minutes ill be watching

[DotheBartman]

Plus Mr. Purist, as you yourself pointed out to me once, you need a Neilsen box for them to even care about your viewership. Just follow one of Tomacco's bit of advice. Neilsens aside, I'm going to take my Fox anger out by just not watching any of Fox's new shows (any good ones would get quickly canned anyway, so what's the point?) and only tuning into new Simpsons episodes in the fall (well, new Boston Public episodes too, since its a guilty pleasure, but since its JTSed already I may swear it off after the first few eps).

[Ryan]

Bad news, everyone, I've been hoping around sites...all of them declare this one of the worst episodes of Futurama EVER...and the worst part?? There's a GUEST STAR!! And who...Rossane Barr...oh, lord, WHY?...

[Simpson Purist]

I taped the episode, will watch with deflated expectations later. The disturbing part to this news is that it was written by Eric Kaplan, who has written some of the best Futurama eps ever (most recently: Jurassic Bark).

EDIT: I'd love to download the latest eps from KaZaa, but there's so much you can do with a 56K modem. Also, I'm still trying to download the "Weinstein" episode of Family Guy.

[Tomacco]

Welcome to Futurama's "22 Short Films About New New York".

This episode was...odd. At the end of act one, I had no idea what the focus of the episode was meant to be. Overall, there wasn't a genuinely intriguing storyline out of the bunch. Bender's and Fry's were comical, but Farnsworth, Zoidberg, Leela, and Hermes had pretty unexciting and pointless adventures. What was with Roseanne too? What a horribly out-of-nowhere guest, and why bother continuing the never-funny joke in the end credits? And finally, the ending..just weird. Some people are gonna applaud it as "brilliant direction" probably, but I just thought it was a little much. Too chaotic, basically.

That aside, I had a few chuckles, although at the moment I can't remember much when they were. I think act 2 gave me the most fun, because act 1 had me confused on where the episode was going, and act 3 just wasn't as fun, and seemed to include more Zoidberg, Hermes, and Farnsworth. I think I'll give this a 2.5 or a 3 out of 5. I liked how the span of jokes devoted to the whole cast, but a few of those vignettes could have been more exciting.

Looking at the poll..I wonder who might have voted 5/5? Hmmm..

[eddie]

Originally posted by Tomacco
Welcome to Futurama's "22 Short Films About New New York".

Really? I was going to compare it more to "Homer to the Max", by the fact that they were able to make an entire episode based on one very flimsy plot device. (But I understand what you mean comparing it to "22 Short Films...".)

So, unless you can respect the fact that they did make an entire episode based on simple plot, there really wasn't much here. A few good laughs, an occasional big laugh, but the plot was just so...odd. I didn't find any of the stories all that exciting, but I enjoyed a lot of the inside references (anyone else notice the judge from "A Tale of Two Santas" or the kids and owner of the orphanarium?), and the hidden jokes ("We got your fish, right here!" ). But still, the episode was basically pointless. 3/5

[DotheBartman]

Hmm...you know, I've liked every episode previously....even "A Pharaoh to Remember", which I thought was the weakest episode until now, but was still enjoyable despite its flaws. But this....I really hate to, but I'm going to have to truly pan an episode for the first time.

First off, the plot really was just aimless. I was asking aloud in the second act "where are they going with this?". I guess we know now, but they didn't make it clear enough like with "22 Short Films", and the concept of showing a bunch of short stories just wasn't done as well or with as good a form as "22 Short Films" or probably some similar episodes from other shows. My feeling is that they should've done something politically satirical with the tax cut idea, but instead they decided to show each character doing "ker-azy" stuff. As Leela pointed out, each story was only mildly interesting.

The humor was pretty bad as well. There were moments of brilliance (Hermes first putting on the boots, Bender throwing away the diamond, anything with Fry's coffee (THANK YOU Billy West), etc), but overall it just wasn't very funny. Too many gags flopped and in many cases just didn't make sense. Roseanne? what? Why is the Professor suddenly going for some teenager? I don't really remember too many other flop gags (like with a bad Simpsons, its hard to even remember the jokes after the episode is done), but there were a lot, or at least a lot that didn't work.

Again, it pains me, but this is the first true flop in the series for me. C-/D+, and that's honestly probably a little generous.

And Tomacco, what played during the credits? As usual, all we got here was squeeze credits and more "Idol Junior" ads.

[Tomacco]

During the end credits, Roseanna appears again (just her floating blue image like the first time, over a black backdrop) and says:

"Futurama: noun..uhh.. I dunno, you just watched it, dummy. What are you asking me for? Hey, here's a fun definition for you - idiot: noun...you! Hahahah. This has been Roseanne. Your guide to the world of facts."

LAME!

[DotheBartman]

That is indeed lame. Apparently she played herself too, which seems pointless to me.

[ShadowBun]

Wow, I guess I'm the only one that liked it. Truthfully, I missed about a fourth of it here and there (family get-together), but what I saw was very entertaining. Maybe I'm just a fan of the tons of side-stories that the episode provided, but I found myself laughing a lot. I liked the premise and the use of many characters as well. Fry's countdown was possibly the best part, especially #100...that was comedy genius!

Just to clarify, I'm not a Futurama fanboy or anything...there are a few episodes that I'm not a big fan of (Mars University, A Leela of Her Own), but this one entertained me. Oh well.

[|RABiD|]

Ummm...ok that was weird. No story and hardly and laughs. What was with the whole Fry saving everyone at blazing speed after drinking 100 cups of coffee. Truly a dull Futurama episode. 2/5

[Ryan]

Okay................weird. I thought the same exact thing Tomacco did: "22 Short Films About New New York". It just reminded me of it.

Besides that, the episode felt fun, and was fun (I gave it a 3/5). But bad, too. Let me tell you the things that worked:

Fry and the Coffee: Great, great, GREAT! I loved the last one, did anyone noticed that when Fry went to take his last drink, you can hear his heart beating? Isn't that really what happens when you have that much caffine, if so, nice touch. But the "Clock Stoppers" thing was hilarious (BTW, it WAS a Clockstoppers parody, because if you've seen the movie [I unfortunely did], it's the same exact visuals). But, what happened to Fry after that. Oh, and another thing, there's a subtle touch: Who did Fry save first? Leela, who else?

Zoidberg's Rich!: It worked for me!

Kif and Amy's Watch Problem: Guess it was a way to fit one last Kif+Amy plot in to the series. I liked it because the beginning reminded me of Smithers' Bee Problem in the Simpsons' "22 Short Films About Springfield"

What didn't work? Why:

Bender's Cig: Ugh. Stupid and idiotic.

Dwight and Hermes' Stilts: See "Bender's Cig", and just a stupid gag that I'm sure everyone will forget.

Leela's Whale Ticket: Nothing about it was even remotely humurous. "I'm a whale biologist!" LAME.

Professor and The Teen: This...by FAR...is the WORSE thing on Futurama EVER. Every friggin' time they focused on Professor and that teenager I rolled my eyes and thought, "C'mon! I thought you have brains when writing these things!" Oh my god, a teen and the Professor? They didn't even think that up. And she turns out to be actually fat??? Oh...I know! This is what happened: All through the years, Mike Scully was begging to get a peek at them making Futurama. But Matt said no, knowing that Mike would sabatoge it. But, since Mike got out of the Executive Producer area of the Simpsons, Matt and David let him in. Mike snuck around...until he found the script for "Three Hundred Big Boys" (cue dramatic music)! Mike stole it and screwed around with it...end of STORY.

Hahaha, anyways, in all, I liked the 22 Short Films-esque like of the story, and I found most of it fun and humorous, so I don't find it to be the worst, just a little weak. An average 3/5...

[okayagain]

Although it didn't really have a point, I enjoyed it. It was sort of a change of pace from the other Futurama, a bit zany, but it showed the cast just living their lives--just with the plot of them each getting $300.

I didn't like Fry's story very much, though. It was predictable, except for the ending, THAT came out of nowhere. Basically I expected him to freak out more and more with more cups and...that's exactly what he did. The other's were okay: I enjoyed Zoidberg's and Bender's the most, I wished Hermes had a bigger story, and the puking whale I could've done without.

Anyway, they were alright enough for me to give it an average score if 3/5. I also enjoyed a lot of the character cameos (orphans, Mom, Morbo).

[chris]

What can I say? It was fun to watch, and although it had a few clunker gags, I smiled the whole way through.

Yes: The Roseanne appearance was totally pointless and unfunny, a la guests in season 10+ episodes of The Simpsons. Hermes's misadventures with the bamboo shoes weren't particularly good. And unfortunately, the intake of too many cups of coffee was much funnier when done in Beavis and Butt-head's "Buttniks" (although that was cappuccino, technically); the 100th cup and its result was great, however.

But overall, I think it was a nice little breath of air after all the semi-serious episodes of late. 4/5.

[DotheBartman]

Originally posted by Homerpalooza

Yes: The Roseanne appearance was totally pointless and unfunny, a la guests in season 10+ episodes of The Simpsons.

Exactly. I hate guests in The Simpsons, so why should I like them in Futurama (aside from the luxury of seeing them as being decapitaded, which we didn't get the pleasure of this time)? Both shows should just not have self played guest stars.

[Channel Surfer]

Originally posted by Tomacco
Welcome to Futurama's "22 Short Films About New New York".

That's a fair assessment, though it had the numerous tie-ins of "Trilogy of Error" (though told conventionally).

Anyway, while I'm generally opposed to this style of reviewing, I think the best way to review this episode is with a good/bad list. With the individual stories, it was practically made for it.

The Good Segments:

• Fry's coffee binge, and it climaxing with the "Clock Stoppers" parody. Best of the segments.
• Bender's cigar. Wanting to blow it in a bunch of snooty rich people's faces was classic Bender.
• Zoidberg's adventure. Not brilliant, but generally lighthearted enough.

The Bad Segments:

• Kif and Amy. There isn't much to say about it. I remember the devil tattoo getting annoying after awhile, and Kif's imprisonment due to the barf on his body wasn't exactly great either.
• Leela and the whale. Sticking rotten fish into her bathing suit and predictably getting it eaten off was about all I remember.
• Hermes and the stilts. Basically one long joke, and not even that funny to begin with.
• The young looking professor. Eh, a very dull Cinderella styled story. The resolution with the teen being fat wasn't great either.

More bad segments then good, but the novelty of the premise (and how the stories tied in to one another) do help it a bit. But the segments are as strong as the ones in "22 Short Films About Springfield", and the tie ins not as clever as "Trilogy of Error". Still an interesting adventure, but I expect more.

Grade: C

[Simpson Purist]

6.5/10

A meh episode at best. I wouldn't call it a 22 Short Films retread though, it's more like A Flight to Remember. The difference is that the former had more focus and charm. The only good stories were Fry's and Zoidberg's. The Clockstoppers parody had me rolling on the floor, and Zoidberg never fails to crack me up. Farnsworth's story grossed me out, big time (not to mention it was bit of a retread from Teenage Mutant Leela's Hurdles). Roseanne's appearance was rather pointless (why couldn't her head be