It’s only a coincidence that I posted my two cents about the latest Futurama DVD on David X Cohen’s birthday. Huh? David is the original show’s co-creator (he developed enough of it to share this credit with Groening in my opinion) and the writer behind the cancelled program’s key episodes. I took David’s birthday as an omen or reminder to get moving too.
Beast picks up a month after the last DVD which had ended on a “cliff hanger” for a comedy; Bender caused a rip in the fabric of the universe through his actions under Nudar’s control. Since nothing horrible has happened yet, everyone on Earth, namely New New Yorkers have grown rather blase over the tear. (Cue the joke poking fun at people taking a short break between their screams of terror.) Professor Farnsworth eventually decides to investigate with his smell-o-scope and when he gets a whiff of it, he summons Earth’s scientists to a conference hosted by the head of Dr. Stephen Hawking. There Farnsworth tries to make the case for an expedition to the edge of Bender’s handiwork.
I’ve probably spoiled enough of the premise by now but it quickly shifts over to being a Fry-centric story without much of Bender’s involvement. All during the crisis, Fry has started dating a sweet woman named Colleen (Brittany Murphy who most know as Luanne on King of the Hill). The show established long ago that Fry tends to have frequent lapses in judgment despite how much he pines for Leela. So just when matters gets serious, Fry discovers Colleen’s four other live-in boyfriends. Two of them were minor/incidental characters from the past which shows you my fanaticism if I recognized them pretty quickly. (See if you can identify them, one was pretty difficult yet he appeared in the first season.) Dejected, Fry jumps into the rift to overcome his depression only to discover another universe. The trailers let you know what follows.
The minor characters’ side stories involve Amy and Kif’s relationship; Farnsworth and Wernstrom’s ongoing rivalry; and Bender’s knack for aggravating Calcutron. If Kif’s around, his bumbling commander Captain Zapp Branigan has more screen time to make any potential disaster a catastrophe. Other recurring characters: Morbo, Amy’s parents, the Grand Midwife of Kif’s home world, Nixon’s head, Hedionismbot, Judge Whitey, Pazuzu and Scruffy. Dan Castellaneta returns briefly as the Robot Devil and comedian David Cross’s role is the surprise.
Is it funny? Yes, but its timing feels a tad off. As if this DVD contains more obvious break points for Comedy Central to divide it into four half-hour episodes; which is the deal the network has with the current syndication contract. It wasn’t enough to ruin it for me, it just seemed more noticeable. I could be imagining it. Casual viewers will find this story easier to follow; the plot is linear and doesn’t require much knowledge of the principal characters’ backstories. Beasts should satisfy the core fans like myself because a mediocre Futurama episode tends to be funnier, more clever and entertaining than the majority of dreck the networks claim is comedy.
The extra features are also scaled back on this DVD. A trailer for the next release Bender’s Game which was already on YouTube a week earlier, some deleted scenes which were amusing yet most slow down the movie and design notes on the 3-D techniques. Two remaining tidbits stand out to compensate. The first is a little show of the major voice actors doing their job in a studio with bloopers. It was nice to finally put a face to Tress MacNeille and Maurice LaMarche. The other probably took up the rest of the DVD’s space, it’s the entire “missing” episode from the video game one could only watch when it was completed. Actually, it’s all the cinematics joined together to flow like a 22-minute show. This extra bridges the pieces with some game-play sequences.
Now to wait another four to five months until either the 11th season of The Simpsons or the D&D-influenced Bender’s Game. Beast’s shortcomings are slight but I am satisfied that the direct-to-DVD distribution model works. I can only hope Fox agrees and will give the green light for more to be made, same with other studios regarding cancelled shows which have strong fan bases. This includes those I don’t like. I won’t watch any of Joss Whedon’s crap yet I don’t want friends who enjoy his stuff to suffer. I’m hoping JMS of Babylon 5 fame takes some lessons from Groening, Cohen and Company to revive his franchise, last year’s Lost Tales probably killed B5 permanently.