Futurama/Where the Buggalo Roam

Where the Buggalo Roam
Season 4, Episode 6
Airdate	March 3, 2002
Production Number	3ACV10
Written by	J. Stewert Burns
Directed by	Pat Shinagawa
← 4x05 Leela's Homeworld	4x07 → A Pharaoh to Remember
Futurama — Season Four

Where the Buggalo Roam is the sixth episode of the fourth season of Futurama, and the forty-ninth episode overall. The Planet Express crew (as well as Kif and Zapp) go to Mars to visit Amy's parents on Mars Day, but the native population aren't too happy about it. When they steal all of the Wong Buggalo, it's up to Kif to prove himself to Amy's parents that he's a real man.

Guest Stars: Phil LaMarr (Hermes), Lauren Tom (Amy, Inez Wong)

Plot Overview

The episode opens with Amy and her friends landing on the Wong Ranch on Mars where they're preparing for the Mars Day celebration. The first act is mainly the Wongs touring the crew around their ranch and Zoidberg being a complete nuisance, leading up to the Mars Day celebrations. Kif and Zapp arrive at the party, any Amy introduces Kiff to her parents and friends. None of them are entirely impressed. But the party is cut short by a sand storm, resulting in the kidnapping of all of the Wong buggalo. Kif vows to find and return the buggalo.

Kif, Fry, Leela and Bender set out in search of the Buggalo. In order to lure the wranglers out of hiding, they use Amy's pet buggalo, Betsy, as bait at the top of Olympus Mons. They discover that the rustlers had hidden the bugallo in a crater at the top of the mountain, but when they eject them from the crater the rustlers return and kidnap Amy.

The Wongs, disappointed again with Kif for allowing the natives to kidnap their daughter bring in Zapp Brannigan to rescue her. To gain access to the reservation on Mars, they enter through the great stone face of Mars. The natives attempt to trade Amy for their land, but when they discover that Kif can fly buggalo, they offer a truce upon the smoking of the peace pipe. When Kif insults the natives by coughing while smoking, they attempt to crush Kiff with a gigantic diamond (the bead that they traded their land for). They decide to let them all go and use the diamond to buy another planet. Back at the ranch, Amy's parents ignore her claims that it was Kif who saved her and pin the credit on Zapp.

Notes

Alien Language Sightings

• No alien letters make an appearance in this episode.

Referbacks

• 1x02 - The Series Has Landed: The buggalo first appeared in the second episode.
• 2x02 - Mars University: Mars University makes a reappearance when the natives create their continental sand storm.

Trivia

The Show

• Opening Caption: Crafted With Luv (by monsters)
• Mrs. Wong's Hat: The leaf on Mrs. Wong's hat may or may not be a marijuana leaf. The comment is made during the commentary but no one denies it.

Behind the Scenes

• Fun With Censorship: The censor objected to the use of the Camel Joe alien because it could be argued that he promotes smoking. "Kids love him" was taken at face value, rather than as a satirical comment.
• Tuvan Throat Singing: The way that they made the sound of the tornado is by having both John Di Maggio and Billy West perform Tuvan throat singing. John does the low part, while Billy does the higher part. No additional digital editing is required.
• The Native Chief: The voice that Billy West uses for the Mars natives' chief is based off of his gardener.

Allusions and References

• Home On The Range: The title of the episode is a reference to a lyric from the folk song Home on the Range, specifically the line "Where the Buffalo Roam."
• Giant: The Wongs' house is based on a similar house from the movie Giant.
• Public Service Announcement: The native Martian shedding a tear when Zapp throws a can of Slurm on the ground is a reference to the public service announcement in which a Native American cries over littering.

Memorable Moments

• The Mars Day celebrations.
• The native martians destorying things with their sand tornado.
• Zoidberg getting tossed out of the Wong Ranch.

Quotes

• Leela: OK, my turn to tell a ghost story. Once, there was this woman driving-
  Fry: Hook on the hand!
  Kif: OK, I've got one. This family-
  Fry: Man in the attic!
  Leela: Fine, Mr Know-It-All-About-Something-Finally, you tell a story!
  Fry: With pleasure. Once, not far from here, four people set out on a cattle drive-
  Bender: Robot gets bored and kills Fry with a hammer! Sorry go on.

• Prof. Farnsworth: This mission is incredibly dangerous. Someone's sure to be killed. Fry, Leela, Bender-
  Bender: Damn you, old man!

• Zapp: Don't be such a chicken, Kif. Teenagers all smoke and they seem pretty on the ball.

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