Rate/Review "The Prisoner of Benda"

[Dark Homer]

ha ha, I forgot about the nicolas cage running gag

[arii]

Hehe well that whole aspect doesn't have much continuity anyway. Example: Uncle Zoid and references to Zoidberg's mother.

actually they've been pretty good at maintaining continuity on that. Uncle = Zoidberg is not from his seed and there's a fair chance he never had kids. and we've never seen Zoidberg's mother, if you're referring to the Decapodian that chastised him for giving up on his dreams of being a comedian etc she said "your parents would be spinning in their graves" at one point; not to mention him referring to himself as "Norm and Sam and Sadie's boy", assuming that one of the last two would've been his nanny of sorts

so yeah

also the idea that they only die when they have sex in that particular mating ceremony makes no biological sense I'm sure. I'll just go with Leela/Farnsworth pounding Fry/Zoidberg and assuming that was enough for him. yup

(Also why are people caring enough about the Nic Cage thing to keep mentioning it? Like Futurama never brought up random celebrities before? Eesh.)

[Yosemine]

actually they've been pretty good at maintaining continuity on that. Uncle = Zoidberg is not from his seed and there's a fair chance he never had kids. and we've never seen Zoidberg's mother, if you're referring to the Decapodian that chastised him for giving up on his dreams of being a comedian etc she said "your parents would be spinning in their graves" at one point; not to mention him referring to himself as "Norm and Sam and Sadie's boy", assuming that one of the last two would've been his nanny of sorts

so yeah

also the idea that they only die when they have sex in that particular mating ceremony makes no biological sense I'm sure. I'll just go with Leela/Farnsworth pounding Fry/Zoidberg and assuming that was enough for him. yup

(Also why are people caring enough about the Nic Cage thing to keep mentioning it? Like Futurama never brought up random celebrities before? Eesh.)

True about the uncle thing. That was a major oversight. But I swear there was an episode where Zoidberg has a flashback as a kid and you hear his mother yelling. And I thought he stated that his parents pushed him to become a doctor. Not a big deal anyway.

Anyway, I said it was a nitpick. Not something that ruined the episode. If they referred to Nicolas Cage's head I wouldn't have cared.

[HRH Sir Prince Charles]

is it really gay if you're in someone else's body and you're getting it from a girl?

[Jerry P.]

I liked the episode, but I wish the characters’ voices hadn’t followed their minds. Just as it was great to see the mannerisms of the characters in different bodies, it would have been great to hear the same with the voices.

Failing that, I’d have liked them to at least point out that it makes no sense.

[D'ohmer]

I liked the episode, but I wish the characters’ voices hadn’t followed their minds. Just as it was great to see the mannerisms of the characters in different bodies, it would have been great to hear the same with the voices.

Failing that, I’d have liked them to at least point out that it makes no sense.

I have to agree with that. I think it would have made the episode better.

[Postmaster]

Having the characters voices stay the same would have been too confusing, it probably would have been too difficult to keep track.

[Charlie]

I gotta disagree with Jerry P and D'ohmer, Bender's voice coming out of Amy's body was hilarious.

[Dave Shutton]

great episode, my favorite part by far was the Scruffy/Wash-bucket scene

[gomez]

why is it called "the prisoner of benda"?

[Real Melvin]

it's a play on The Prisoner of Zenda, which is a Prince and the Pauper-y book that it looks like Bender's plot was based on

[Shaunbadia]

Like most have said already, it reminded me of "300 big boys".....but it was a hell of alot more fun to watch.

The Leela/Professor having sex with Fry/Zoidberg thing was funny. I mean, who would have possibly guessed that after all this time, they'd end up having sex like that?! Although I personally could have done without seeing those extra mouths on Zoidberg's neck.

Washbucket/Amy professing it's love for Scruffy was classic. Also liked the delivery of the line "Miss Wong".

Bender's plot was meh, as was the Professor's, although the line "That is not what I meant to give you for Big Bertha" was brilliant, as was the Asian guy getting his arm chopped off.

This episode was just silly fucked up fun!

5/5

And coming up at 11...DOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!

[LuxFixxins]

Yeah. I've watched this episode like, 5 times now. Just awesome.

For some reason, the WashBucket / Scruffy thing was awesome.

I'm glad someone else notice the delivery of "Miss Wong?"

Anyone else notice that Amy Body was used for two weird walk offs?

The first when she shuffles off screen as the professor and then when she shoots off screen as Wash Bucket after being rejected by scruffy.

For some reason, that stuck out to me and makes this episode more memorable.

[Cash Kerouac]

5/5. The first episode where Futurama has been firing on all cylinders since the comeback, and maybe since the original run. I had to admit, I've had my doubts about the show this season, but the last few episodes have quieted them down pretty quickly, and this in particular was the perfect capstone.

Something about the episode that's been missed and that I really liked is how it was an episode with a point to make, but it did so without that point becoming the overwhelming focus of the episode. Don't get me wrong, I enjoyed Proposition Infinity and A Clockwork Origin, but at times the comedy took a backseat to the message. The scenes in Prisoner of Benda with the cannonbot were short, sweet, and succinct enough to give a little depth to this whole farce without the lesson overtaking the jokes in what was a fun, absurd, and above all else delightfully wacky episode.

And oh boy, the jokes. Wall-to-wall laughs. As folks have mentioned, the Washbucket/Scruffy encounter was an absolute highlight. Others include: the screw the audience gag with the unicycling tightrope bot, the new disgusting things about Zoidberg revealed through Fry (the underarm worms in particular), Zoidberg as Fry's interactions with the Emperor as Washbucket, "When I grow up, I want to be a diplomat." Not a single clunker in the entire arsenal of jokes.

What a perfect mix of sci-fi fun, absurd humor, and a legitimate point to make. This is why we love this show.

[Cartoonnetwork]

Ok, I'm pretty tired right now and maybe that affected my viewing. Also the excessive hype after reading all the reviews. But I didn't find it all that great.

It didn't remind me of "300 Big Boys" too much, so I am indifferent towards that comparison.

I guess I just didn't find some of the plots especially exciting, especially Fansworth's and Bender's. I liked Fry and Leela in Fansworth/Zoidberg bodies, though they could have done a little more with that. I don't mean, making it grosser, I mean trying to actually develop Fry and Leela's relationship a little more even if they were in the form of Zoidberg and the professor.

Amy-robot/Scruffy moment was nice and fun, but somehow it didn't seem all that hilarious to me. I found the episode a little too talkative and even a little hit and miss in the humor department...I was kinda more invested in "A clockwork origin" last week.

Don't get me wrong, it was still a pretty fun idea, and I liked the parts with Fry/Leela, and also Zoidberg in Fry's body quite a bit. And I also loved the animation of the bodies to fit the new personalities. But it was more a fun little episode, rather than a hilarious and extremely memorable masterpiece to me. I did find The Late Phillip J. Fry funnier, more interesting and more emotional in every way.

Ad yeah, I could always change my mind on rewatching, but I think it's more a
4/5 than a 5/5.

[NoOneFamous]

Wow, for the most part, they've really been on a roll. I take back all the complaints I had with the first few episodes!

The only lame joke = Nicolas Cage. I realize they've always had actors and people from our time on the show as heads, but unlike those, the two jokes just seemed thrown in, like they had to throw in a current reference to satisfy some Comedy Central quota. If that makes sense, I dunno.

5/5

[Granto]

my favourite episode of the season

everything else has been said though

4/5

[jet]

"Nicolas Cage found out the real treasure was his family"

Hilarious episode. 5/5

[Swartzweldian]

First new episode I've seen. Not as bad as I was afraid the show would be. Nothing spectacular or really memorable. Chuckled out loud a few times. A good 3/5. Look forward to seeing the other new ep's.

[Kamerica]

the nicholas cage gag in this one reminded me a lot of the "along came polly" gag in family guy

this was my favorite episode of the season, though

[jet]

The Nicolas Cage joke is completely harmless, I don't see what everyone's getting so bent out of shape for.

[Charlie]

The Nicolas Cage gags were honestly my favourite jokes of the episode. "I'm tired of paying $14 to see Nicolas Cage solve things" is just so true - with the exception of Kick-Ass I am so sick of the movies he is in, they just seem like he's playing the same character. Leela's callback with "Nicolas Cage then discovered the real treasure was him family... yes I'll hold" was brilliant, just another dig at how lifeless his performances are and the fact she's rambling on the phone to some stranger about him makes it even better.

I've posted in here already but I haven't done a proper review yet, so here goes. I loved most of this episode, and is the only one of the current season that I've already watched several times.

- As I previously mentioned, I found Bender's voice coming out of Amy's body to be hilarious. His/her pose when he's sitting with the emperor with legs spread and cigar hanging out of his mouth just cinched it for me, and for some reason vaguely reminded me of the first segment from Anthology of Interest II.
- The Professor doing his old man walk to exit off-screen once he's in Amy's body; similarly, little touches like Zoidberg in Fry's body using his hands as if they're claws, Wash Bucket in Amy's body walking all stiff and the dead, never-ending stare on her face.
- That entire scene with Wash Bucket and Scruffy seems kind of heartbreaking and pretty emotional, even if it is using a character we've never seen before (albeit in a regular's body), as well as a very, very minor character, it was still powerful. The way the entire scene was composed was real nice, and as random as it is you can feel Scruffy's heartache.
- I felt that once it got to Bender (in Nikolai's body) being chased by the cousin and lover that the episode did kind of lose steam, but the scenes with other characters during this part of the episode made up for it (like Zoidberg and Nikolai in Fry and Bender's apartment).

The writers like confusing us about what's going on with Fry and Leela, don't they? They had them together in Rebirth, slightly less together over the course of In-A-Gadda-Da-Leela, and since it seems to have gone back to just a friendship (with possibly the exception of The Late Philip J. Fry). I've always felt that the end of Into The Wild Green Yonder was totally unnecessary, and felt like nothing but a cheap way to try to upstage the end of Devil's Hands. If they were just going to drop it after a few episodes, which it seems like they definitely have, then they shouldn't have done it to begin with. The Futurama universe has a lot more integrity compared to other series; certain plot elements and themes are constantly revisited and really make the viewer think, so that the entire show can be strung together into some sort of really long story (kind of like Space Pilot 3000 being revisited during Season 4 with The Why of Fry, which in turn is also linked to The Day The Earth Stood Stupid and even Roswell That Ends Well). I just think that that if the writers were going to set up such a massive revelation at the end of ITWGY, they should have pursued the idea further with the series instead trying it briefly and then ditching it - it feels like a bit of a "screw you" to not only the fans, but also to how serious they were in regards to continuity in the first iteration of the show. Why do I rant about this in regards to this episode? Because I found the Fry and Leela subplot, where they're just constantly bitching about looks, to be one thing that was totally unneeded.

That aside, it's still a 4.75/5 (rounded to 5/5), just because the other parts are so awesome.

[Postmaster]

The Nicolas Cage joke is no worse than the Marisa Tomei joke and other 21st century actors they've joked about, but I just find it baffling that they feel the need to crowbar in these references. There's plenty of shows you can write for where you get to make weak digs at current celebrities, there's no real need for it in Futurama. Why even devote any air time to them? I guess if you work in L.A they'll be more of an unavoidable presence in your life but I really couldn't care less about Hollywood Actors. It would never occur to me to insert irrelevant jokes about them into something I was writing.

[Adam R]

finally watched the episode, really great. pretty funny all the way through, great plot, typical futurama, probably my favourite one too. the scene of them all switching back at the end? fantastic, best visual of the new series along with the universe ending.

[D DEBBS]

M-E-H...another Fry/Leela relationship ep.

BORR-RING!!!

[Kiyosuki]

This episode was just pure fun, I loved it. It had very little overall point to it, but it didn't need to. It kind of reminded me of the 300$ episode, it's just made to be totally off-the-wall fun but not in such a way to where it's just stupid and obnoxious.



Just stupid and obnoxious in a very hawt way.

[Alpha]

Couldn't find a framegrab, but Bender-as-Amy's cigar-chewing smile while talking to the Robo-Hungarian emperor was unbelievably hilarious. This episode is just stuffed with funny drawings. Zoidberg as Fry was especially great, even funnier since they share a voice actor. It really shows off the depth of Billy West's talent.

5/5 (gave it 4/5 initially, but a re-watch always seems to help.)

[hammster]

Just saw it for the first time and its great. Loved all the body switching and it was just 21 minutes of off the wall fun from beginning to end. Really funny, kinda disturbing (see Zoidberg and the Professor) but just amazing. It felt like typical Futurama to me. What decline? Second best of the season. 5/5.

EDIT: Just saw Jims made a similar 'decline' reference. But yeah he's right.

[TriforceBun]

M-E-H...another Fry/Leela relationship ep.

BORR-RING!!!

Let's get an in-depth review from you sometime, especially when you've got a dissenting opinion. Dig a little deeper!

[Mira]

The episode focused far more on Bender and the emperor than it did on Leela and fry. Not to mention it spent a decent amount of time on Amy's overeating story. Not really a Fry/ Leela relationship episode at all.