Rate & Review: The Silence of the Clamps

[HRH Sir Prince Charles]

JOHN FUCKING ZOIDBERG

[hughes]

Completely fucking brilliant, top 15 material. Some of the biggest laughs I've ever had from the show

[Oh, that's raspberry!]

Actually forgot to watch it but managed to catch the midnight showing, overall a very good episode. Two problems: First, Futurama shouldn't have to resort to bleeped out curses which makes it feel like another show entirely at least to me. I can't remember, but did it do that ever during the original run? I dunno maybe I'm just being too prudish but cursing like that is rarely if ever funny to me. Second, I suspected the hillbilly wasn't really Bender from the start so the ending felt really predictable. Aside from that solid episode that allowed Zoidberg and Bender the chance to shine. 4/5

[pocketfox]

The cursing might have bothered me more if it wasn't done so well. it just made perfect sense in each scene. Anyway, I really enjoyed this one, probably my favorite episode of the season. After 18 episodes, I'm really relieved that Futurama has survived its return to the airwaves intact, unlike Family Guy. 5/5

[Muskrat]

Pretty good, but it could've been funnier and a bit more focused (like most episodes lately, I suppose). Loved the throwbacks to the moon episode and ITWGY, but I found the Billy West gag kind of forced.

On the censorship, I thought it was fine, but I would prefer the DVD to be uncensored. However, I doubt that will happen as one of the DVD movies had profanity censored.

[Mira]

What was with all those bleep out f bombs? One time might have been ok, but it felt like there were a whole lot. Enough to feel out of place. Other than I liked it a lot. I had to pause the episode after Bender pulled out that frying pan of meatballs because I was laughing too hard at it. =D

[Semaj]

Pretty good. A step up from the last couple episodes.

4.0/5

[Gatorgod]

I loved this "Clamps" heavy episode! Calculon's fake/forced confession, and every now and then letting the underdog (Zoidberg) assert himself is pure joy!
Me likey! 5/5

[Postmaster]

I found all the bleeps appropriate until the last one, by that point it wasn't surprising and just had no impact.

That episode took some confusing plot turns, but it hung together pretty well in the end, although it is one where we just have to accept for some reason that the crew haven't met clamps before. It's not too much of a problem, but this selective continuity is kind of annoying.

It was alright, but is it just me that's never been a big fan of the robot mafia, they've always seemed like pretty boring stereotypes to me. Mafia stories are just starting to feel really old at this point.

[HMS pinafore]

That episode took some confusing plot turns, but it hung together pretty well in the end, although it is one where we just have to accept for some reason that the crew haven't met clamps before. It's not too much of a problem, but this selective continuity is kind of annoying.

I think only bender had interacted with the robotmafia at this point so it's not a error

[Snaked]

JOHN FUCKING ZOIDBERG

John Fucking Zoidberg Indeed.

4.5-5/5

[TriforceBun]

I thought it was alright. I never really saw the writers' appeal with Clamps; he's a pretty one-note character ("THE CLAMPS! THE CLAMPS!") that didn't really deserve his own episode, and he was kind of grating in this one anyway. The gags were generally pretty good, with a strange one here and there (umbilical cord baby, Billy West joke). The bleeping thing felt out-of-place, mafioso episode or not. It was kind of funny the first time Zoidberg did it during the showdown, but the other times just felt like tepid "shock value" that we've all seen a million times.

This is also the third episode in a row that features Bender "dying." He's the new Fry! In fact, there've been a lot of Bender episodes this season in general, most likely due to some production code shuffling (not unlike in S4). I wish they'd stop using this plot point, because they've already done it a bunch this season, and we know none of the main cast is actually going to die, so you're just left wondering, "Okay, how are they going to status quo this one?"

Despite my complaints, I did find the rest of the episode pretty entertaining and fun, with some good lines all-around. I enjoyed seeing Zoidberg really hold his own in battle. And the biggest laugh for me was actually Zoidberg angrily cutting the pizza at the end (awesome expressions). Cool that they worked in the moon farm again as well.

3.5 - 4/5

[Postmaster]

I knew there'd be some people complaining about the bleeped swearing.

Seriously why does it matter? It stands out because the show hasn't done it before and I'd hope they don't make a habit of it, but why would it bother people that much?

[Comicshow MolemanBob]

It was just a running gag throughout the episode, They'll never do the gag again (And if they do it'll be in a different context or format)

[TriforceBun]

I knew there'd be some people complaining about the bleeped swearing.

Seriously why does it matter? It stands out because the show hasn't done it before and I'd hope they don't make a habit of it, but why would it bother people that much?

I dunno if it really "bothers" people. I mean, it's just something in a cartoon they didn't like.

And I can't speak for everyone, but swearing for shock value hardly ever works for me. Moreso when you have characters that don't usually swear do it (like grannies, little kids, etc). It's just such an easy joke, and it's been done to death by countless Newgrounds videos, Family Guy episodes, and webcomics for the past decade or more.

Plus you said yourself you hope they don't make a habit of it.

[HRH Sir Prince Charles]

I don't think the writer's like Clamps as much as fans do... there's a certain element in the Futurama fanbase who adore one note characters (similarly to how Family Guy fans loved Ollie Williams for some reason). The swearing... meh, it was funny to me.

I think I need to re-watch this... I found myself kind of drifting in and out last night and I think I owe the episode my full attention.

[Postmaster]

I dunno if it really "bothers" people. I mean, it's just something in a cartoon they didn't like.

And I can't speak for everyone, but swearing for shock value hardly ever works for me. Moreso when you have characters that don't usually swear do it (like grannies, little kids, etc). It's just such an easy joke, and it's been done to death by countless Newgrounds videos, Family Guy episodes, and webcomics for the past decade or more.

Plus you said yourself you hope they don't make a habit of it.

Because in the context of the episode it made sense, it was quite surprising especially in this show to see a character swearing violently and threateningly so it was effective in characterizing clamps. I thought Zoidberg's last use of it failed because it had been played out by that point. I hope they don't make a habit of it because bleeped swearing for humor in cartoons has been done, but it served a dramatic purpose in this episode and it's kind of appropriate that a mafia character would curse like that anyway.

I kind of get the impression that you just have an issue with swearing in TV in general.

[TriforceBun]

Fair point, although I don't really have an issue with swearing in shows and movies (otherwise I probably wouldn't watch so much South Park). It's just that when it's played for shock humor or is uncharacteristic of the show, I'm usually less thrilled by it. For me, I thought it was a bit too jarring for Futurama, although I can see the point that it helped characterize Clamps as a coarse and short-tempered addition to the PE crew.

[DotheBartman]

Zoidberg swearing was funny/awesome precisely because it's Zoidberg. It's out of character, but in a way that makes logical sense given the story and context; you could really see him blowing up like that, but at the same time it's unexpected. It's not just for (cheap) shock value like other shows would do. Plus, the swearing between the two characters (Zoidberg and Clamps) is built up and called-back to in a way that enhances the humor.

All in all, a good episode. Pretty funny, nothing remarkable I suppose but I still laughed a bunch. I also felt the structure and pacing were really good...I was glad that it didn't have the manic, out of the control or odd pacing that a couple episodes this year have had so far. It flowed very naturally and I was consistently interested, even if it wasn't one of the greatest stories in Futurama history or anything.

[Jims]

I didn't really care for this episode very much.

One of the bigger problems with the episode is that they've gone to the Robot Mafia well already, and they don't really do anything new with the characters. So the episode feels a bit redundant. The entire first act basically felt like the Robot Mafia subplot of the 4th movie. The writers obviously realized this so they threw in that reference with his wife. But being self-aware of recycling doesn't make the episode that much more fresh. It just makes it meta. And man cannot live on meta alone.

And the plot differences between this and "In The Wild Green Yonder" aren't really that interesting anyway. It's your typical mafia scenario with a witness relocation subplot. The same thing that's been seen on any police procedural show for years. The only thing that delineates this episode is the character of Clamps.

I like the character Clamps. In his previous episode appearances, he's been consistently funny in them. However, this episode kinda proves that he needs to be a minor character. There just isn't enough to his character, and the writers don't really want to expand him. The only thing they could come up with was the first name of "Francis", a somewhat amusing joke (I enjoyed the little eyeroll he did), but it was the only new thing we really learned about him. Now granted, he's a minor character so he's not going to be three-dimensional, but I wanted to see SOME kind of take on the character. Especially when this is his Day in the Limelight episode.

Instead they just trot him out to do his usual Joe Pesci shtick for 20 minutes and call it a night. Fun for the first act or so, tiring in the third.

I have to admit that the Zoidberg/Clamps rivalry is a clever one. At first glance, they don't seem to make sense as a rivalry, but there is actually an established logic behind it. It seems like a small thing to use as a rivalry point, but it makes sense. As a robot, Clamps' clamps are pretty much all that define him. So, when you have another character with giant claws for hands, the rivalry writes itself.

There were also some fun callback stuff with the moon people and it was nice to see the Crushinator again (and with a child!). The whole idea of them stumbling onto Bender BY COMPLETE ACCIDENT was pretty ridiculous, although this complaint is almost completely wiped away by the final reveal. It does strike me as being a bit too coincidental and convenient for plot purposes, however.

I mentioned it in the "Lrrrrreconcilable Differences" review, but it's worth repeating again. The show really, really, REALLY needs to stop fake-killing its characters. It's probably this show's most annoying, over-used plot device now. They've run the fake-out so many times that we're never, ever going to believe it is actually going to happen. The moment that "Bender" bleeds out (oils out?) you know 1) they're going to magically revive him ("Rebirth"), or 2) it's not Bender (Zoidberg's death in "Teenage Mutant Leela Hurdles"). There's no drama to this kind of moment. It's more of watching a magic trick and trying to figure out how it's going to be done.

So if you're going to do the same magic trick for the 10th or 20th time now, it better be an AMAZING TRICK.

This one? Wasn't.

2/5

(This is what I get for so enthusiastically voting 5/5 last week.)

[Oh, that's raspberry!]

Forgot to mention it in my review, but did anyone else get a Rex Banner vibe from the witness protection robot?