R&R: Futurama - Space Pilot 3000

[Green Man]

5/5Fantastic episode, probably the best pilot ever!

[D'ohmer]

A great introduction to a great series. It has a perfect build-up to Fry going into the future and it introduces the characters very well. It's also funny at times. 5/5

[Robot's_Best_Friend]

One of the best pilots ever. A amazing start to an amazing show. It gives a good introduction to the characters, has a good plot, some funny jokes, and it sets up the series very well.

[SIR oinks alot]

best pilot episode ever done by anyone.

5/5

[cinco]

In this very beginning, Bender appeared to me as a robot-version of Homer. How wrong I was!

But I have to say, this episode might've been one of the best premises an animated show was able to build during its pilot.
As a nice metaphor for going to live on your own, leaving your past behind and starting out a new life in a new city with your first job, this episode surely had a lot to offer in terms of recognizability. and that means a lot for a show that's set a thousand years into the future.

[lionelhutz123]

Perhaps I planned to watch this as of recently or I conveniently caught it. Nonetheless I'm glad I did, because Space Pilot 3000 is just one of my favorite episodes of futurama ever. It's quick and witty right off the bat and is consistent like that for the rest of the episode. Also, you sympathize and root for Fry very quickly. Whether it's the universe dealing him a crappy hand or his young adult innocence counteracting with it, his character felt original from the start. One particular scene that sticks with me always is when he runs out onto the street, only to look up and become astonished by the thriving futuristic city. It's animated beautifully and you really feel that overwhelming sense of surreal change. I genuinely felt joy when I first saw that scene and still do because it made it so promising for the series to be fun and inventive down the road. It's almost like you can't wait to dive headfirst into a tube and explore this strange world Matt Groening created. As if the simpsons universe wasn't enough.

More specifically about the episode, it contains many hilarious gags for me like Bender's casual suicide material or Fry getting foiled by the sliding doors. There must have been a good joke like every minute or so which is more than satisfying. I liked the introduction of the characters too. Leela is very down to earth and has a nice blend of being tough and considerate which I always find very likable. Even Bender, as dark as some of his material is, has a sense of being something more than just the established jerk. I love the irony of the end. It feeds into Fry's young adult innocence that I was talking about which I love so much. Altogether, just a great series premiere and definitely one of my favorites of any show, although I do like alot of series premieres. I have a soft spot for them, but only when they work and I'm grateful Futurama's did.

[Lolrus]

5/5. I actually have the opposite feelings as Joe. It feels too short, like there's an act missing or something. However, it's still an awesome episode.

[Jesse Pinkman]

haha, i was just about to check through this thread to see if it is where i posted that it felt too long. granted, i haven't seen it in a while, but something about the last few minutes seems to drag on for me. i can't explain it. i really do like the pilot, and i think it was a really great way to kick-off the series, but something about it drags a little near the end for me. then again, like i said, i haven't seen it in a while, so maybe if i watched it again it wouldn't feel that way to me

[Jims]

I hate to take a dump on lionelhutz123's positive review of the Futurama pilot, but I really don't think it's aged very well For me, it has too many problems that all TV pilots have. And because I love numbering things, I'll list them.

1. Too much exposition.

This is a pilot, so of course they're going to have a lot of exposition. That's the nature of pilots. It's their job to introduce us to the World of Tomorrow and establish the main character's backstories. But it doesn't necessarily make for great repeat viewings. They've revisited the sewer mutants in Old New York so many times by now (in better detail) that the explaining what it is just isn't that interesting to re-visit. Watching Fry fly through those tubes was definitely interesting the first time, but its novelty has worn off by now.

To some degree, the same thing happens with the characters' backstories. Leela kind of dumps out her whole aliens parents backstory. And, while it's a sad story, and necessary for the pilot episode, it still is essentially an exposition dump. Just kind of listen to it and wait for it to be over.

And I just hate hate hate hate hate that Bender's first line is his catchphrase, "Bite my shiny metal ass." Now that I'm writing about it, I'm not sure exactly why I hate it... Maybe it just reminds me again that I'm watching a pilot. Here's Bender and his wacky catchphrase! *audience applauds wildly*

2. The main plot isn't that interesting.

Aside from the exposition and backstory stuff, the episode is basically just Leela chasing Fry around over career chips. And career chips don't even really matter in the Futurama world, so I have trouble caring about that either. I can deal with all that exposition/backstory stuff if they put in an interesting storyline. Like, the fact that I know the answer to Leela's "alien parents" storyline doesn't make me not enjoy the episode "A Bicyclops Built For Two." Because Leela's backstory is basically what fuels that episode.

This episode, as mentioned before, is just full of tangential little backstory moments that don't have much to do with the career chip plot at all. And, as said before, the actual chase just isn't that interesting at all. The most action we get is Bender bending some grates... And once again, haven't we seen enough of that over the years?

3. I'm soooooo tired of 1999.

This one is more Futurama's fault because they're just obsessed with the 1999 stuff, and it's mostly "Bender's Big Score"s fault. We have seen that "I.C. Wiener" joke so many times now that it is pretty much devoid of meaning. I swear, I never want to see that 1999 cryogenics lab scene ever again.

I'm getting kinda tired of writing now, so I guess I'll say that my main beef is that the episode feels stale now. I acknowledge that it's not really the episode's fault because all these boring expository things are necessary. Still not the most exciting re-watch, though.

[bhartman36]

I don't think the problem is so much that the material itself is stale as that the series has gone back to that material a number of times before. If you count Bender's Big Score, they've done the lab scene at least two other times. They've also done the pizzeria scene more than once. The thing is, you have to put out of your mind the knowledge that you've seen those things before.

As for the exposition: That's unavoidable in a pilot. It's setting up the rest of the series.

I think the career chip issue is the most serious problem. Granted, I've kind of lost track over the years, but I haven't noticed too much reference to it since then, and I think Fry and others have been fired at times, so I'm not sure they adhere to the career chip premise as closely as they should.

[Jims]

I think I pointed this out to Ryan O once, but it's kind of ironic how the Futurama pilot is chock full of so much foreshadowing (the Nibbler shadow, Leela's backstory, the space wasps nest), but the main plot is about an almost completely incidental plot device (the career chips) in the grand scheme of things.

Obviously, Groening and Cohen's design for the show changed regarding those chips, but it's weird how that turned out.

[Blobulle]

The first and maybe the best episode of Futurama. 5/5

[Alex_Of_Darkness]

A good 5/5 for me ! This episode is probably in my top 3 !

[Bleedin' Gums Murphy]

5/5

[Bella Drape 'er]

A unique pilot - introducing only 3 of the main characters.

And although personally I don't think the real introduction to the series begins until I, Roommate.

It's still a fun little episode. 3/5

[Flexo]

Great way to start. 4/5

[Lionheart]

I was VERY disappointed when I first saw it, but it was probably because I thought the show