From The TV IV

Futurama (1999–2003, 2008) is Matt Groening's follow-up to the creation of The Simpsons in 1989. The series helped revitalize FOX's animated line-up, along with its contemporary Family Guy. Futurama was met with critical praise and a fanatical fan base because of its deeply layered storylines and occasionally esoteric sci-fi humor.

Futurama's ever increasing acclaim, however, didn't transfer to positive feelings among FOX executives, who thwarted the show at every turn. Episodes' airings were delayed, the showtime was often changed randomly and ultimately it was scheduled for the Sunday night "death slot," the 30 minutes of television which is most often pre-empted for football and baseball games.

While Futurama doesn't follow a long-term plot, the series revolves around the crew of Planet Express, a delivery company which transports packages across the universe in the year 3000. The core of this crew is Philip J. Fry (delivery boy), Turanga Leela (pilot), Bender (all purpose bending robot) and Professor Farnsworth (owner and eccentric inventor). Some plot devices used throughout the show's duration include Fry's relationship with Leela, Leela's history as an orphan, and Fry's attempts to reconnect with his lost past.

The show was ultimately cancelled in 2002, although the final episode wasn't aired until late 2003. Although there were four production seasons, there were so many episodes that had been pre-empted by sports that they were dumped into a fifth broadcast season. Even then, many of those episodes were left unaired, particularly on the East Coast where live sports continued to pre-empt the series. It was left in limbo until Adult Swim picked the show up for reruns. These reruns proved to be massively successful for the network, often breaking the 1 million viewer barrier. Despite this success, the network was outbid by Comedy Central, which purchased the broadcast rights for all 72 produced episodes.

In late 2005, after the very successful return of Family Guy to FOX, 20th Century Fox contacted Groening and asked him about whether or not he would be willing to resurrect Futurama as well on four direct-to-DVD movies. This was not so much announced, however, as it was a series of vague rumors which were confirmed by Billy West, who notoriously jumps the gun in these situations. The four direct-to-video movies will be cut into the 16 new episodes that will air on Comedy Central.

Contents 1 Cast 2 Seasons 3 Direct-to-Video Films 4 In-Depth 5 DVD Releases 6 External Sites

[edit] Cast

Actor	Character	Duration
Main Cast
Billy West	Philip J. Fry	1	2	3	4	5	6
	Prof. Hubert J. Farnsworth	1	2	3	4	5	6
	Dr. Zoidberg	1	2	3	4	5	6
	Zapp Brannigan	1	2	3	4	5	6
Katey Sagal	Turanga Leela	1	2	3	4	5	6
John Di Maggio	Bender	1	2	3	4	5	6
	Elzar	1	2	3	4	5	6
Tress MacNeille	Mom	1	2	3	4	5	6
	Hattie	1	2	3	4	5	6
Supporting/Recurring Cast
Maurice LaMarche	Lt. Kif Kroker	1	2	3	4	5	6
	Morbo	1	2	3	4	5	6
	Lrr	1	2	3	4	5	6
Phil LaMarr	Hermes Conrad	1	2	3	4	5	6
Lauren Tom	Amy Wong	1	2	3	4	5	6
Frank Welker	Nibbler	1	2	3	4	5	6
David Herman	Prof. Ogden Wernstrom	1	2	3	4	5	6

[edit] Seasons

Season	Premiere	Finale	#
FOX
Season One	March 28, 1999	May 18, 1999	9
Season Two	September 26, 1999	May 21, 2000	20
Season Three	November 5, 2000	May 13, 2001	15
Season Four	December 9, 2001	April 21, 2002	12
Season Five	November 10, 2002	August 10, 2003	16
Comedy Central
Season Six	March 23, 2008	—	16

[edit] Direct-to-Video Films

Title	Release Date
Bender's Big Score	November 27, 2007
The Beast with a Billion Backs	June 24, 2008
Bender's Game	2008
The Wild Green Yonder	2008

[edit] In-Depth

• At a Glance: Additional information about the series
• Characters: A listing of characters on the show

[edit] DVD Releases

Title	Release Date	#
Episode Collections
Volume 1	March 25, 2003	3	purchase
Volume 2	August 12, 2003	4	purchase
Volume 3	March 9, 2004	4	purchase
Volume 4	August 24, 2004	4	purchase
Special Collections
Monster Robot Maniac Fun Collection	August 23, 2005	1	purchase
Direct-To-Video
Bender's Big Score	November 27, 2007	1	purchase
The Beast with a Billion Backs	June 24, 2008	1	purchase
Bender's Game	2008	1
The Wild Green Yonder	2008	1

[edit] External Sites

• Can't Get Enough Futurama: Futurama News
• PEEL - The Futurama Message Board
• Futurama at the Internet Movie Database
• Futurama TV Listings, Episode Guide, Photos, Message Board, Cast and More at TVGuide.com