| ======================================================================== ============= THE FUTURAMA CHRONICLES ==== EPISODE CAPSULE ============= ======================================================================== Official Title: Mars University Episode Number: 1ACV11 (#11) First Airdate : Sunday, October 3rd, 1999 (8:30 PM) Written by : J. Stewart Burns Directed by : Bret Haaland ======================================================================== = Additional tidbits = Opening theme promotion : Transmitido en Martian en SAP Opening theme cartoon : "Pig in a Polka" {jk} 03-Oct-99 Nielsen ranking: 6.7 million viewers (#54 for the night) MPAA rating : TV-PG Length minus commercials : [21:20] ======================================================================== = Foxworld Synopsis = When Fry returns to college to prove he can be just as good of a dropout as he was in the Twentieth Century, Professor Farnsworth surprises him with a dorm roommate, a super-intelligent monkey. Meanwhile Bender, a legend of the robot fraternity Epsilon Rho Rho -- "ERR" -- leads a revenge of the robot nerds. ======================================================================== = Minutiae = - Fry eats what looks like an amoeba and drinks from a Slurm can. Bender drinks a bottle of LoBrau beer. - Fry went directly for Leela's protection after the box started yelping and moving. {trl} - You can see one of Mars' moons in the establishing shot. (Either Phobos or Deimos.) - Outside the frat house is a broken-down hovercar. - Inside: A ratty old couch and armchair, dartboard, guitar, fem-bot poster, "ERR" crest, LoBrau Beer ad, unfumigated moosehead, discarded magazines, pizza boxes & beer, MARS U flag. - As Bender is being flattered by his ERR buddies, Leela is returning from up a staircase. What was she doing up there? - In 20th-Century Coney Island, two of the prizes at a game booth are a Bart Simpson and Homer Simpson doll. - Did anybody notice Fry's killer short-long back at Coney Island? Then again, only I would find that funny ... =) {bt} [Did anybody think it looked like Archie Andrews' haircut, circa 1975? {jb}] - Robot House's midnight panty-raid takes place under the moonlight of another aspherical Martian moon. - As Bender and his buddies scan the womens' dorm, if you look closely, you can see one of the ladies drop her towel to the floor. She's facing the other way, though, and the 'camera' quickly deletes her from its field of vision. - Financial Aid Dorm Gag 1: Wooden sign with the name falls off and scares away a goat. - Tell me what's wrong with this line: "Pretty nice for a single. Two desks, two chairs, a couple of beds ... " - The contents of Guenter's suitcase are toiletries, a brush and an old-fashioned hairdryer. - When Professor Farnsworth explains the inner workings of Guenter's hat, Fry scratches his head like a monkey. - A character looking a little like Professor Frink (of The Simpsons) is biking past one of the college buildings. {jk} (This same biker appears when Farnsworth mentions Utah.) - Look at Dean Vernon's model shipis a 30th Century spacecraft with 16th Century sails! - It's funny that Guenter happened to ask Fry at the dining hall if he likes bananas. Guess what was on Fry's plate at the time! - At Parents' Weekend, Fry stuffs a bowlful of pigs-in-a-blanket in his mouth at once. - Financial Aid Dorm Gag 2: A brown piece of paper with the name falls off. - Financial Aid Dorm Gag 3: The name is written in chalk above the door. The goat is eating the paper sign. - A seagull flies below our heroes as they await Guenter's rescue from the waterfall. - Was Matt Groening standing in the crowd at the boat race? Coulda' sworn I saw his face for a split second ... {fp} ======================================================================== = Parallels to Science Fiction = ~ "Mars Attacks" (1997 Tim Burton movie) - The Martian depicted in the statue on MU's campus resembles the Martian creatures from this movie, and sports similar weaponry. ~ "The Martian Chronicles" (Ray Bradbury novel) - This was a science fiction novel from the early 50's that tells the tale of man conquering and inhabiting Mars. The idea of the planet being terra-formed with lush jungles was explored here, and it probably wasn't intentional, but the line "Not even if you were the last man on Mars!" parallels part of the novel. (I won't give the whole thing away ... I'd like a few people to read it.) It's also worth mentioning that one of the Martian colonies in the book is named "New New York." ======================================================================== = Other References = ~ "Archie" (cartoon) - Early-90s Fry's hair looks like 1970s Archie Andrews'. {jb} + "Animal House" (movie) [And I thought "Titanic" was overdoing it!] - Mars University Motto "Knowledge Bring Fear," from Faber College's "Knowledge Is Good." {ak} - Similar Statues, though Faber's was not on a horse. {ak} - Similar music at beginning. {ak} - The house is nearly identical, with the junked car, old metal drums, patio furniture, spool table, broken roof and hanging crest. {ak} - Fatbot is a direct take-off of Flounder. He wears the same beany as Flounder did in the beginning of Animal House. He uses the quotes "Oh boy, oh boy, oh boy!" and "This is gonna be great!" in the same voice. In the end scene, his freeze frame is identical with Flounder's. {ak} - The continuous track of "Louie, Louie," and the panty raid. {rc2} - Similar music during the night time scene. Bender shuffles his feet like Bluto. {ak} - John Belushi's character puts a ladder up to the window to peek in on the coeds clad only in their panties (and bras when it ran on TV). {bb} - The ladder stunt is done in Animal House, but is knocked over by, uh, a different kind of extention. {ak} - Snooty House is like the rival frat in Animal House, what with the snootyness and the pipe-smoking. Though that might also be a reference to P.C.U. {ak} - One of the frat guys name is named Meiderneyer, which is similar to Neidermeyer. {hl} - Dean Vernon is a takeoff Dean Wormer,who's first name is Vernon, and was played by John Vernon. He gives a similar list of Frat offenses. In Animal House, Wormer puts Delta on double secret probation. {ak} - Bender acts like John Belushi, crushing a beer keg on his head. {hl} - Song "Shout!" plays at the end. {hl} - The ending with a parade is from Animal House, as is the cake- shaped float, and the freeze-frame and captions saying what happened to the characters in the future. {ak} ~ "Big Guy and Rusty" (cartoon) - This Fox Kids Saturday Morning cartoon features a talking monkey (voiced by Kathy Kinney of "The Drew Carey Show") that looks and sounds much like Guenter. {jb} ~ "Dilbert" (comic strip) - Like Fry, Dilbert must deal with a super-smart monkey called Zimbu at his office. Zimbu, like Guenter, appears to be smarter and more competent than Dilbert. {sam} + "Good Will Hunting" (movie) - I belive that the scene where Guenter gets the girl's number, holds it up against the window of the cafe and shouts "How do you like them bananas" is a parody, tibute or what ever to the film. {jr4} - Matt Damon get's the girl's phone number and holds it up to window and says "Do you like apples? I got her number, how do you like them apples!" {jl4} ~ "The Paper Chase" (70's movie/TV show) - The professor who teaches the 20th-Century history class is drawn, and voiced like, John Houseman. {dbc} ~ "Race for your life, Charlie Brown" (Peanuts movie) {jph} - Charlie Brown and the gang rafted down the river in competition with a team that cheated at every move. In the end, Snoopy won. {jb} ~ "School of Hard Knockers" (movie) - Dean Vernon sounded exactly like Dean Bitterman! {mm} + "Up the Creek" (movie) - Another forgettable 1980s frat movie in which the climactic event is a raft race in which every house cheats like mad. {dbc} ======================================================================== = Freeze Frame Fanaticism = >> Signs / Locations - MARS UNIVERSITY Knowledge Brings Fear - SOCRATES - VOS SAVANT - COGNITRON {da} (See "Final Thoughts / Comments.") - WONG library - FICTION NON-FICTION Disc One Disc Two - Notice of Failure to Graduate [ferris wheel] CICC - STUDENT REGISTRATION [A-L] [M-Y] [Z] - SNOOTY HOUSE - 20th CENTURY HISTORY TEST TODAY - MENTHOLYPTUS HALL - PARENTS RECEPTION - BIG FRATERNITY RAFT REGATTA >> At the carnival {jb} - The Ferris wheel has a very hard-to-read title, and this is my best guess: - MICKEY CASY HIWHEEL - SNAKE BOY - CONEY ISLAND COMMUNIITY COLLEGE - YOU MUST BE --O THIS TALL TO \| ENROLL | | >> Fry's classmates - ?HESS PEREIRA MANDEL KIDD - ?YTERSKI FRY GUENTER WONG - ?ATRIZIO GUTRICH DEMPSEY MINGO >> Chrissy's textbook & phone number - ENGLISH 101 - Chrissy 789-3629 (The people on <alt.tv.futurama> had something else to say about this ... see "Final Thoughts / Comments.") >> Farnsworth's lesson (again, very hard to read) {jb} TODAY'S LESSON: Wd or "WITTEN'S DOG" -------------- C \_ ................... P - /_/\ Wd Q . NEUTRON ENHANCED . \ \ \________/| . STEAMING HOT . \ /\ |-- . DARK MATTER . | ___\/__| -- ................... / / / | |\ \ -- |_|_| |_||_| - V C e^2+p -> (?) + v __ __ (Omega)y= (?) | / re \ < (Omega)2 Wd >^2 | "Superdupersquirmetric [+] | | -- | + ------------------ | Steaks Theory" |_\93er/ (z+1)^y __| >> The test {jb} Almost all of it is illegible, but there is one thing that can be seen on the last part of question 2: OJ Simpson steal? >> Snooty House's boat - S.S. Von Snoot ======================================================================== = Goofs = - Why would someone need to go to college if they already had permanent career chips installed? {zb} - Why did Fry already have some books with him when he came across Coney Island College? If he was a student at another school at the time, he'd have either dropped out or graduated from that one, which makes no sense. (This is assuming Fry would have no other reason to carry books with him -- which he wouldn't unless he was holding them for his girlfriend or something.) - Fry shouldn't be able to enroll if, by 31st-Century academic standards, he hasn't acheived a high-school diploma. - When Bender and the other ERRers got on the ladder, they were not on the top when it started going up, but they were at the top when it stopped. {ddg} [With a panty-raid ladder in the 30th century, only the rungs move. {jlm}] - Guenter's note paper disappears from his desk as he explains the television. - According to the Instructor's seating chart, there is someone sitting to Fry's right, but there isn't. (And there can't be, with only twelve people in the class and Amy not being the furthest seat to the left.) - The word is "dodectuple," not "dodecatuple." (That would be like saying "pentatuple" instead of "quintuple.") {ddg} - Although Guenter says that monkeys can't cry, one can distinctly see a tear in his eyes around the beginning of his lamentations to Fry and Leela. {sam} - How could Guenter have handed in a paper smeared with feces? We saw him at all the final moments before he ran away. - Robot House's boat magically reinflates itself. - While Bender water-skis behind his team's boat, in the close-up of Gearshift in the back of the boat, his rope disappears. ======================================================================== = Extended Goofs / Technical Nitpicks = >> There Will Come Complaints Jerry Cornelius: Well ... I was a little disappointed. Mars doesn't have has much gravitational pull as the Earth here and I didn't see anyone walking around with a lighter, bouncier step. Ruined everything for me. [Sarcasm -ed] Brent Allison: Perhaps, in the process of the terra-formation of Mars, an electomagnetic field was added to the planetary core. In the process, Mars Customs demands that all visitors, residents and illegal humans wear magnetic strips on the soles of their shoes. It's the only way I can think of to explain the tacky theme park on the moon as well. Dave Antonoff: Density? Aha! That's why they weren't bouncing around on Mars. Its density was increased so the gravitational pull would match that of Earth! ... so what's sarcasm? Mike Zaite: I'd say they inject Dark Matter into the core of the planet to increase it's gravitational field as part of its terra-forming. The moon probably just used Artificial Gravity. ======================================================================== = Reviews = Jason Barrera: This might actually be the tamest episode to date, garnering only a TV-PG (The Simpsons even gets a TV-PG-D usually). Nevertheless, it was great, if not the greatest. Fry and Guenter were hilarious in their petty rivalry, as was Farnsworth's general senility. The only thing it lacked was the irony present in a lot of the best episodes of "The Simpsons" -- the nerds of Robot House ask Bender to teach them how to be cool without a trace of irony in that cliched message. The new musical score that Christopher Tyng seems to have adopted worked well for a change of pace. (A-) Haynes Lee: This had two subplots in it and Guenter was a bit weak. It should have been more of the Robot Frat. (B-) Patrick McGovern: _That sucked_. Every single Futurama was gold up until this tragedy. Fry's plot sucked, the characterization was way off, but that was nothing compared to the "Animal House" parody. Why, Matt, why?! All it amounted to was a bunch of boring, lame, immature jokes with coincidence wrapped around it. After a good opener, it looks like Futurama has finally hit a bump. I don't think it will be commonplace, but it still sucked. (D) Yours Truly: I agree this may have been one of the corniest Futurama episodes to date, but let's not go nuts ... it still did a great job at tying some standard story with some heavy science fiction ideas. Bender's plot was funny, but I wish he'd have some more interaction with the crew itself this season. Guenter's story was an interesting idea, but was full of holes and pathos that didn't quite make sense, and became preachy near the end. All the elements of a fine episode were there, but the final product was quirky and didn't really work well. (C+) Average Grade: [27/4=6.75] (C+) ======================================================================== = Final Thoughts / Comments = >> Trivial Title Sequence Minutiae Jason Barrera: The opening music seemed to be gleaned from a different portion from the same piece of music by Christopher Tyng, and then spliced down to fit into the opening sequence. >> No transmitido en HTML en SAP According to Brian Tivol, the abbreviation 'SAP' stands for: Second Audio Programming. It strikes me as being very useless, but apparently, when they were revamping the broadcast signal to include something like stereo sound, they wound up with extra room for this feature. Newer TVs have the option to listen to the SAP track instead of the normal sound track. Many syndicated TV shows let you switch to hear the show in Spanish -- but that's not what the "S" in "SAP" stands for. Many PBS shows use the SAP to have a narrator describe the scene for any blind audience members. A vast majority of the shows don't use it at all, and leave the SAP as a copy of the normal soundtrack. Anyone actually check to see what the SAP for that episode actually was? Nicolás Di Candia: SAP is very useful in non-English speaking countries, where the shows are (usually) broadcast in the local language, and the SAP hosts the original versions. In the case of Futurama (and also The Simpsons) it's the only way to watch the show without the _awful_ Spanish dubbing. There's an episode of Friends that parodies the dubbed versions / SAP. It's "The One With Two Parts," from the first season, and its tag features the characters speaking dubbed Spanish. It was also parodied in "Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me." BTW, Martian in Spanish is "marciano." >> Knowledge brings fear ... especially in the form of lengthy capsules Adam King: Mars University's motto "Knowledge Bring Fear" is from Faber College's [of "Animal House"] "Knowledge Is Good." The Mars University motto brings to mind the entrance to a WWII German concentration camp (Dachau) that's been depicted in old art and photography. The sign over the entrance gate was written in a similar style and spelled the German phrase "Arbeit Macht Frei," which means "Work Brings Freedom." You can read more about it here: <http://www.charm.net/~rbennett/TheDachauGate.html>. >> You mean you've never been? Rick Carlson: The line about the 20th Century having no clue that Mars had a University is an inside joke to the internet community at large. Mars University has it's own internet address domain reserved. Click on the following link to get the full story: <http://oac3.hsc.uth.tmc.edu/staff/snewton/tcp-tutorial/sec7.html> I've been on the 'net for years, being a Unix programmer for almost 17 years now. I was expecting a reference, and I was not disappointed. One of the sources is: "Details about Internet addresses: subnets and broadcasting" Copyright (C) 1987, Charles L. Hedrick. Anyone may reproduce this document, in whole or in part, provided that: (1) any copy or republication of the entire document must show Rutgers University as the source, and must include this notice; and (2) any other use of this material must reference this manual and Rutgers University, and the fact that the material is copyright by Charles Hedrick and is used by permission. Because 0 and 255 are used for unknown and broadcast addresses, normal hosts should never be given addresses containing 0 or 255. Addresses should never begin with 0, 127, or any number above 223. Addresses violating these rules are sometimes referred to as "Martians", because of rumors that the Central University of Mars is using network 225. >> The boorish manners of an Earthling Steven Aaron Monroe: Mars University was founded in 2636, exactly 1000 years after Harvard University was founded (1636), further suggesting a similarity between the two universities (i.e., both are very old and very prestigious schools, and were both founded (presumably) in a colony early after its permanent settlement). >> SOCRATES - VON SAVANT - COGNITRON Jonathan S. Haas: Presumably everyone knows who Socrates was. "Vos Savant" is a reference to Marilyn Vos Savant, the world's alleged (and self-described) smartest human. She writes a column for some publication or other, and has made several errors in it. Those errors have been pounced on by people annoyed at the smarminess inherent in calling yourself the world's smartest human. "Cognitron", I'm guessing, refers to a robot or other thinking machine that lived sometime between 2000 and 2999. Matt O'Connell: I remember seeing this video tape in computer-science class in high school a few years back ... they had this computer that, instead of doing the 1's and 0's thing, worked via the recognition of patterns ... the government wanted to use it for finding snipers in crowds or some such. I believe it was called a cognitron ... >> "Heavy Metal" char at Mars U. ... sort of Michael Morbius: At the end of the "Z" line at the registrar's office, there's a guy with a purple head, a white shirt, an orange down vest and brown boots who reminded me of Harold Ramis's character in "Heavy Metal" (the alien that did huge lines of "nyborg" and then said he knew how to drive stoned). >> Mathematics of Quantum Neutrino Fields for Dummies Steven Aaron Monroe: The professor mentions the "mathematics of quantum neutrino fields." Although he made it up, it seems (to me, at least) to be a possible subject which studies how neutrinos are released from particles. It doesn't sound very interesting, though. Professor Farnsworth mentioned the "taste" of an electron. Although it would be easy to dismiss this as a ridiculous joke, we should remember that physicists have applied some interesting qualities and names to quarks, the subatomic particles that create hadrons (i.e., protons, neutrons, mesons, etc.), including "flavor," "color," "charmed quarks," "strange quarks," etc. It is possible that "taste" could be some new aspect of subatomic particles that we have not yet discovered. (NOTE: in this case, "taste" is not meant in the normal sense) I'd like to make a comment: any scientific inconsistencies that can be found in "Futurama" may be rationalized and explained by two ideas: 1. Most of the scientific explanations come from Farnsworth. Any mistakes can be blamed on his senility. 2. Matt Groening has artistic license and can bend the laws of physics, chemistry, biology and reality in general to make a point (or a joke). >> To ERR is robot Haynes Lee: The Greek capital "rho" (equivalent to "R") actually looks like the letter "P" in our Roman alphabet. The frat letters should be "EPP," but this is less funny. Daniel B. Case: I also like that Robot House's letters —- Epsilon Rho Rho -— spell out "ERR," as in "error." Brian Tivol: As long as we've had the "What does a capital rho really look like?" discussion elsewhere in the group, I don't mind saying that the sixth "digit" [of Chrissy's phone number] is a lowercase lambda. [Fen Phen recognizes it as "the Greek letter used in Half- Life."] Although people may say the number looks like none of the 10 digits we're used to, and therefore must be something more obscure, like a lambada, I still maintain that it's a hastily drawn "2." Who has the nerve to actually ask a producer? <g> >> Do you think you could be a little _less_ evil than that? Ceci M.: In "Mars University," I think you see another side of Professor Farnsworth. It seems like he's not the "absent-minded professor" type anymore -- especially with the way he treated Guenter during the show. He seemed more like a villain. What does everyone else think about this change? Jason Barrera: Farnsworth has always been sort of a stereotype of the "mad scientist"-types in sci-fi cinema. He's always been something of a sadist, especially with sending OFC on some dangerous mission every week. Baron Calamity: From the first episode we knew that [he] has a habit of going through crew members. We are talking about a society that doesn't value life much. So he is probably as good natured as anyone can be. He at least he gave them a _job_. Mike Zaite: Am I the only one who thought Leela and Fry seemed badly portrayed in this episode? Was it written by a new writer or something? [No, it wasn't. -ed] They sort of seemed to be there just to take up space and to bounce a few jokes off of. Anyone's thought's on this? Jason Barrera: I thought so too -- this episode had a lot less substance and depth to the characters than last week's. Ceci M.: Maybe the reason why is that it was supposed to introduce another aspect of the year 3000 we haven't seen. In past episodes, life on Mars has been talked about between certain characters. And of course, Mars University has always been evoked from time to time throughout the show. But we haven't seen what these places were like until this week's episode. So, I tend to see it as another way to set up future plotlines to add to the panorama of Futurama's world within the program. So, the main characters might figure into the plot ... but not in the conventional way we're used to seeing them. >> "Can't talk -- thinking about Amy." Don Del Grande: According to the end, Fry dropped out and went back to his job -- but what about Amy? Did she drop out as well? Maybe the university gave her a degree in exchange for yet another Wong contribution? Benjamin Robinson: To borrow the term used be the computer-standards committees, Amy's behavior is not defined. That is, she might have dropped out, she might have graduated magna cum laude, or something else might have happened [*]. Whatever it was, the writers didn't feel it was important or funny enough to show. Personally, I think Amy will be a MU student for some time. She's an engineering intern, after all, and this gives her an excuse to be on the PX crew. It also explains why she might be _absent_ from a mission, like the one to Vergon 6: we can just assume she had a class that day. [*] "Up to and including World War III." >> Last, and probably least ... Adam King: A little aside, if a statue of a person is on a horse with both feet up, he died in a war, if one foot, he died from wounds gotten in a war, and all feet down, he died of something else. Jason Barrera: The Macintosh-ish computer in the robot "panty raid" is outdated even by today's standards. No wonder it keeps crashing. (Naughty, naughty computer!) Mike Zaite: I thought that was wrong. I always thought it was a comedy convention that talking monkeys speak in a British accent. Or is that just for Chimpanzees? Jason Barrera: Both the 10/3/1999 episodes of "The Simpsons" and "Futurama" had instances of characters being subjected to electric shocks. Matt Groening must think they're funny. Joe Klemm: Lite-Brite is a toy created by Hasbro. Kids make pictures and signs by placing colored pegs in a screen. To make the toy even neater, you can plug [it in and] turn on a light that makes the pegs light up. Bender and his buddies sure have their work cut out for them if they expect to take a road trip to Tiajuana from Mars. Don Del Grande: They never show Kappa Kappa Wong sorority. ======================================================================== = Fun Stuff = >> References to Previous Episodes - [1ACV01] Fry reduced to screaming at the push of a button (Probulator cf., Classroom) - [1ACV03] Fry: "Booooring!" cf., Amy: "Booooring!" - [1ACV03] Fry eats an amoeba (?) - [1ACV03] Fry is roommates with a non-human - [1ACV04] Creature with a ferocious appetite (Nibbler cf., Fat-Bot) - [1ACV10] Leo and Inez first appear - [1ACV10] Bender operates underwater >> Fan-made Alternate Titles for this Episode "I, Primate" "Mechanical House" {hl} "The Ape in the Hat" ======================================================================== = Voice Credits = >> Starring Billy West ........................ Farnsworth, Fry, Gearshift, Carny Operator, Instructor, Leo Katey Sagal ................................................... Leela John DiMaggio ................... Bender, Oily, Carny Professor, Chet >> Guest Starring Tress MacNielle ............................. Guenter, Intercom voice Dave Herman ....................... Fat-Bot, Meiderneyer, Dean Vernon Lauren Tom ............................................. Amy, Chrissy = Quotes and Scene Summaries = % Daytime in the Planet Express office, with Leela, Fry and Bender at % the table. Professor Farnsworth enters, handling a large, wooden % crate. Prof.: Good news, everyone! You've got a very special delivery today. Fry: Who's it going to? Prof.: Me. Bender: [proudly] Well ... another job well-done. Prof.: No, I need it shipped to my office at Mars University. It's a little experiment that may well win me the nobel prize. Leela: In what field? Prof.: I don't care. They all pay the same. Fry: [inspects it] Is it dangerous? Prof.: Oh, my, no. % The box shakes violently to life, while whatever is inside grunts and % growls and rumbles. Fry scrambles behind Leela for protection, and % Professor Farnsworth shoots a tranquilizer dart through one of the % crate's air-holes. He turns back to the others: "Off we go." % End of Act One (0:37) % Next stop: Mars. Mars University. With the ship landed safely behind % them, Fry, Bender, Leela and Farnsworth wander the campus grounds. Fry: Very impressive. Back in the 20th Century we had no idea there was a university on Mars. Prof.: Well, in those days Mars was just a dreary, uninhabitable wasteland, much like Utah. But unlike Utah it was eventually made livable when the University was founded in 2636. Leela: They planted traditional college foliage. Ivy ... trees ... hemp ... soon the whole planet was terra-formed! Fry: Does that mean it's safe to breathe the air? Prof.: Of course! % At that moment, Fry's breathing becomes awkward and strained, and he % stops to take a few hoarse gasps. Afterwards, Farnsworth shows them % "Wong Library," which has the largest collection of literature in the % known universe. (As seen through a window, its cavernous interior % houses nothing but two compact discs, labelled 'Fiction' and 'Non % Fiction.') As Fry inspects the library, Bender recognizes a run-down % frat house. Bender: Hey, look, there's a chapter of my old robot fraternity, Epsilon Rho Rho. Leela: _You_ went to college? Bender: Of course. I'm a bender ... I went to Bending college. I majored in 'bending.' Fry: What was your minor? Bender: Robo-American studies. % They knock on the door to the house and it's answered by a scrawny- % looking robot. He asks if they're here to fumigate the moose-head, % but Bender explains that he's an Epsilon from way-back. After the two % exchange a rigorous secret handshake, Bender returns his partner's % finger, and the crew is let inside. To Bender's dismay, though, the % other members are at a table playing chess. Bender: Uh-oh! Nerds. Gearshift: [same robot] Allow me to introduce myself. I'm Gearshift, chapter president. This is Oily, and this here is Fat-Bot. Bender: You're all losers. My name's Bender. [they all gasp] Oily: Bender from 'Bending State' Bender?! Wow, you're a legend around here! Fat-Bot: I heard that in one single night you drank a whole keg, streaked across campus and crammed 58 humans into a phone booth! Bender: [modest] Yeah, well, a lot of 'em were children ... anyway, I should get going. Gearshift: No, Bender, wait! We're the lamest frat on campus. Even Hillel has better parties than us. Please, you've gotta stay and teach us how to be cool. Bender: [thinks] Well, okay. ... but I'll need _ten_ kegs of beer, a continuous tape of Louie-Louie and a regulation two-story panty-raid ladder. Fat-Bot: Oh boy, oh boy, oh boy! % Later, Fry, Leela and Farnsworth are walking further into the scenic % campus grounds. Fry says the atmosphere makes him reminisce about his % old college days ... we flash back to a 20th-Century Coney Island, % where Fry is a few years younger, carrying a walkman and a some % schoolbooks, and runs into a booth labelled "Coney Island Community % College." (The man at the booth wears a gown and mortarboard and % gestures for his audience to come and learn physics.) Fry shrugs and % enters the booth, and we flash back to the present. Fry: Good old Coney Island College! Go Whitefish! Leela: Don't take this the wrong way, Fry, but you don't seem like the 'educated' type. Fry: Oh, yeah? [he unfolds a piece of paper from his pocket] Read it and weep -- I'm a certified college drop-out! Leela: Please, everyone knows 20th-Century colleges were basically expensive day-care centers. Prof.: That's true. By current academic standards, you're merely a high-school drop-out. Fry: What?! That's not fair. I deserve the same respect any other college drop-out gets. By God, I'm gonna enroll here at Mars University and drop out all over again. Leela: You won't last two weeks. Fry: Aww, thanks for believing in me. % At the enrollment lobby, two lines are formed behind the signs "A-L" % and "M-Y" ... and another one at "Z," populated by aliens. Fry is % greeted by Amy, who has been at the University this whole time. Amy: Yo, classmate, what'cha taking? Fry: Oh, I don't know ... [to Farnsworth] Hey, Professor, what're you teaching this semester? Prof.: The same thing I teach every semester ... the Mathematics of Quantum Neutrino Fields. I made up the title so that no student would dare take it. Fry: [writing in his notebook] "Mathematics of wanton-burrido meals." I'll be there! Prof.: Please, Fry, I don't know how to teach ... I'm a professor! Fry: See you in class! Prof.: [frustrated] Oh ... % Nighttime. As the campus sleeps, Bender sneaks out from behind a % building next to the ladies' dorm and gestures for his buddies to % follow. Some upbeat music accompanies their tip-toing across the % field, and they gather around a ladder reaching for the top window. % They climb onto the ladder, its motor starts to lift them upwards, and % they chuckle with anticipation. Through the window, they see half a % dozen girls clad in either lingerie or towels, but they look past all % that to an old-fashioned Macintosh computer that's sitting on a desk % in the corner. % The girl sitting at the computer looks frustrated, hits the computer % twice (prompting Bender to remark "someone's been a bad computer"), % and then yanks the front casing off. The boys all hoot and holler % from outside the window, until Bender's eyes zoom out uncontrollably, % pushing against the glass, and knocking all three backwards through % the roof of a small building below them. The occupants of a nearby % dorm labelled "Snooty House" rush out to see the commotion. (Two of % them are named Chet and Meiderneyer.) Chet: I say! You've damaged our servants' quarters ... and our servants. Meiderneyer: This time Robot House has gone too far! Bender: Cheeze it! % The four robots scramble away. Meanwhile, Fry and Leela are in the % Financial Aid Dorm, inspecting Fry's new living quarters for the first % time. Fry: [grunts approvingly] Pretty nice for a single. Two desks, two chairs, a couple 'a beds. [someone knocks on the door] A woodpecker ... Leela: I think that's probably your roommate. Fry: Oh, right. [answers the door] Come on in, roomie! % Nobody's there. ... that's what Fry thinks until he looks at the % floor and sees a monkey wearing a black hat and carrying a suitcase. % The monkey yells "I call top bunk!" in a high, smarmy voice, then % climbs over Fry's face and pounces onto his bed. Fry spits in disgust % while the monkey sighs in satisfaction. % End of Act Two (5:25) % Back at the Financial Aid Dorm, Fry, Leela and the monkey are exactly % where we left them. The monkey, sitting on his top bunk, is beginning % to unpack his suitcase. Fry: My roommate's a _monkey_? Monkey: Brilliant deduction. You're a credit to your species. [Farnsworth enters with his wooden crate] Prof.: Ah! Fry, I see you've met Guenter. Fry: You _know_ each other? Prof.: Guenter was my experiment. He was the top-secret contents of this stinking crate. Guenter: I'd rather live in a crate than share a room with this dork. Leela: So what makes Guenter talk? Fry: [fanciful] Is he genetically engineered? Prof.: Oh, please. That's preposterous science fiction mumbo jumbo. Guenter's intelligence actually lies in his electronium hat, which harnesses the power of sunspots to produce cognitive radiation. [Fry scratches his head in confusion] Guenter: You're wasting your breath, Professor. He'll never understand a word of it. Fry: [grasping at Guenter] I understood the word "hat." Prof.: Please, stop bickering. I arranged that you two be roommates for a reason ... so I'd only have to remember one phone number. Now shake hands and make up. [they do so] Fry: [to Guenter] You want a banana? Guenter: I don't eat bananas. I prefer banana-flavored energy bars made from tofu. Fry: [glares] I don't like you. % The next morning, Fry, Guenter and Amy have their first class % together. The subject is 20th Century History, tought by a cranky, % middle-aged man, who writes the class' title on the board (which % converts his handwriting to text at the push of a button) and then % takes to the podium. Fry: [chuckles] This is going to be a cakewalk. Instructor: Welcome to the history of the 20th Century. Look to your left, then to your right, then in nine other directions. One of the 12 of you will not pass this class. Amy: [yawns] Boo-ring. Let's hear about Walter Mondale already. Instructor: Be forewarned ... the only sure way to get an "A" in this class is to have lived in the 20th Century. % Fry makes a "swish" motion with his hands, which irritates the % Instructor ... he searches for Fry's name on a row of buttons in front % of him. He pushes the button, and Fry receives a jolt of electricity. Instructor: You were saying, Mr. Fry? Fry: I'm from the 20th Century. Go ahead ... ask me anything. Instructor: Very well. What device invented in the 20th Century allowed people to view broadcast programs in their own homes? Fry: Oh, I know this. Whad do you call it? ... Lite Brite! [Fry receives another jolt -- Guenter raises his hand] Guenter: [scoffing chuckle] I believe the answer is the television. Instructor: Very good, Mr. Guenter. Amy: Wow. Smart _and_ cute. % Inside Mentholyptus Hall, Dean Vernon is concentrating on building a % model ship. Vernon: What I love about being Dean of Students is the peace and quiet and the respect I recieve. [his intercom buzzes] Now, what's all this about? Voice: Dean Vernon, the students from Robot House are here. Vernon: [vengeful -- to himself] Robot House ... [Bender, Gearshift, Oily and Fat-Bot enter] Bender: Hey, Dean. Nice looking model. Vernon: You keep away from it! You robots are a disgrace to this university. Whenever a fire alarm is pulled it's Robot House. Whenever the campus liquor store is looted, Robot House. Whenever a human corpse is desecrated ... Bender: Now, I can explain that. Vernon: That's enough out of you. From this day forth Robot House is under dodeca-tuple secret probation. Bender: No fair! Fat-Bot: My mom is going to kill me. Vernon: Now, if you'll excuse me I have to get back to the one thing that's kept me sane these past eight years. My model ship. % ... but the ship is gone! Bender and his buddies yell at Fat-Bot to % quit eating it, but it's too late. He excuses himself: "When I get % nervous, I get hungry." Dean Vernon scowls, Bender yells at them to % cheeze it, and as they scramble out the front door of the building, % you can hear Dean Vernon's cries of "Robot House!" echo through the % campus. Meanwhile, Fry is in a restaurant booth across from a young % girl (who seems to not enjoy his company). Fry: So, Chrissy, we seem to be hitting it off. If you're not doing anything later might I escort you to a kegger? Chrissy: Not even if you were the last man on Mars. % Chrissy slams her book closed and gets up to leave the restaurant. % When Fry recovers from his few moments of shock, he looks out the % window and sees Chrissy writing on a napkin, then handing it to % Guenter. She backs away shyly, giggling, and Guenter turns to Fry % through the window. "Hey, you like bananas? [slams her napkin % against the window] I got her number. How do you like _them_ % bananas?" Guenter walks off, and Fry stammers with anger. He later % enters a classroom where Professor Farnsworth is at the chalkboard % lecturing to rows of empty seats about electrons. Prof.: And therefore, by process of elimination, the electron must taste like grape-ade. [he sees Fry coming in the door] Fry: Sorry. I overslept. Prof.: Till 5:00 PM? Fry: It's that obnoxious monkey. He kept me up all night with his constant thinking. Just thinking and thinking. He's trying to make me look like an idiot. Prof.: Don't be jealous. Without his special hat Guenter might be no more intelligent than you. Fry: Oh! I hate that rodent. Prof.: Fry, that monkey is my most important experiment. If you two don't stop fighting I'll have you both neutered. Fry: [chuckles] That'll show 'im. % It's Parents' Weekend, according to the sign in the Dean's elegantly % decorated den, complete with a live classical orchestra and % refreshments. As groups mingle, Amy is introducing her parents to the % Dean himself. Amy: Dean Vernon, I'd like you to meet my parents, Leo and Inez. Vernon: Ah, Mr. and Mrs. Wong. I'm so glad we can admit Amy in exchange for your generous contribution. Leo: How much more for Phi Beta Kappa? Vernon: How much you got? [Guenter approaches Fry by the punch bowl] Guenter: Sorry I'm late. I was off at a study session ... with Chrissy. [Fry glares at him] Prof.: Oh, I'm glad you made it, Guenter. Because in honor of parents' weekend I have a special surprise for you. % Farnsworth pulls the sheets off of a cage containing two wild, hooting % monkeys. Guenter recognizes them as his parents, and is immediately % humiliated by them. Fry, on the other hand, appreciates the animals % by throwing some bananas to them and then letting them out of their % cage. They cause a ruckus, turning over food-bowls and flinging [a % substance] at people. As Fry badgers him to join his parents in % swinging from the chandelier, Guenter merely runs off with his face in % his hands. Meanwhile, Bender and his buddies are watching the party % wind down from the side wall, and Bender suggests they take a road % trip to Tiajuana to get Fat-Bot some action. Fat-Bot, nervous, % devours a large portrait of the Dean that was hanging over the % fireplace. The Dean yells once more: "Roboot Hooouuse!" Later, Fry % and Leela are entering Fry's apartment. Leela: What you did to Guenter was cruel. At the risk of sounding like an after-school special, I think we learned who the _real_ animal was today. Fry: You mean peer pressure? % Fry opens the door, and in the darkened room, we see Guenter's % sillhouette pointing something at them. Fry thinks it's a gun, but % Leela turns on the lights, and we see it's ony a banana. It's one of % many banana peels that are strewn around him on the floor. Guenter: Leave me alone. Fry: Hey, what's going on? I thought you didn't like bananas. Guenter: Of course I do. I try so hard to fit in but seeing my parents act like that made me realize I'm just a primitive beast. [sobs] Fry: Hey, hey, cheer up. Not everyone turns out like their parents. I mean, look at me. My folks were honest, hard- working people. [snorts] Leela: Besides, Guenter, you're not like other monkeys. You've got the hat. Guenter: So what? I mean, sure, it looks cool and it makes me smart but it doesn't make me happy. [sobs] Leela: That's so sad. I didn't even known monkeys could cry. Guenter: That can't! It's all the hat. [cries louder] Fry: Look, Guenter, if you're so miserable here maybe you should just go back to the jungle. Guenter: [dreamy] The jungle? ... but I couldn't do that to the Professor. I'm his prize experiment ... and he's like a father to me. Leela: But he's not your father. That guy in the punch bowl was your father. % Fry happens to be drinking a glass of punch at that moment, and spits % it out in shock. The next day, the chalkboard in their 20th Century % history class reads "TEST TODAY!" Professor Farnsworth keeps the % Instructor company at the head of the room. Guenter is having trouble % concentrating on the test, and is constantly looking out the window at % the edge of the lush jungle that sits right next to the campus. After % the distraction becomes so intense that Guenter has trouble breathing, % he hits the breaking point and rips the hat off his head, scrambles % across the room and crashes through the window, disappearing into the % woods. Professor Farnsworth laments. Prof.: Oh, I always feared he might run off like this. Why ... why ... _WHY_ didn't I break his legs? % End of Act Three (8:26) % Farnsworth, Leela and Fry are gathered in Fry's dorm room that % afternoon. Farnsworth laments over a photograph of him and Guenter % enjoying a ride at Splash Mountain (or a similar ride). Prof.: [sad] Oh, poor Guenter. Leela: So he just ran away in the middle of the exam? Prof.: I'm afraid so. All he handed in was a paper smeared with feces. He tied with Fry. Fry: I guess he realized I was right when I told him to go back to the jungle. Prof.: You _what_?! After I spent months slaving over a hot monkey brain? Fry: Hey, don't blame me. You tried to force Guenter to be a human but he's an animal. He belongs in the wild ... or in the circus on one of those tiny tricycles. Now, _that's_ entertainment. Prof.: But Guenter's obviously better off being intelligent. Tell him, Leela. Leela: Uh-uh, I'm staying out of this. Now, here's my opinion ... what we should do is ... [Leela whispers to the others, but we can't hear her] Prof.: What?! Leela: I said ... we'll go to the jungle and let Guenter decide once and for all. Prof.: What!? % The sign over the river says "Big Fraternity Raft Regatta." Robot % House and Snooty House are among the contestants, the latter sporting % a classy yacht-like boat and the former sitting in a flabby inflatable % raft with a motor attached. Dean Vernon takes the microphone. Vernon: You all know the rules. Whichever house wins the regatta becomes head of the greek council and, should that house currently be on any type of multiple-secret probation, it will be lifted and I will be forced to serve as grand marshall of a parade honoring them. [Snooty House pulls up next to Robot House] Chet: I _say_, Robot House ... your watercraft is as ill- designed as you yourselves. Meiderneyer: Good one, Chet! [they laugh] % Bender takes no heed of their insults ... he shows them up by lifting % an entire beer keg that was sitting in their raft, ripping the top % off, drinking the contents in one gulp and flattening the empty keg % against his forehead. Dean Vernon announces the start of the race % with a gunshot (that goes clear through the side of ERR's raft), and % the race begins. Not too far away, the crew is hiking through the % jungle searching for Guenter. Fry: Wow, the jungles on Mars look just like the jungles on Earth. Prof.: Jungles on _Earth_?! [belly-laugh] Leela: I see some movement up there. I think it's him. Prof.: Stand back! % Farnsworth throws a grenade-like device into the branches of a tree, % and it explodes in a cloud of blue smoke. A few snakes, some birds % and a tiger fall on their backs to the forest floor. The Professor % says they'll be fine once the tranquilizer wears off, and as the crew % move on, an elephant falls out of the tree and lands on all of the % unconscious animals. % Fry spots Guenter sitting on a rock by the riverbed. Leela explains % her plan in detail: "Professor, you'll offer Guenter the hat, and Fry, % you'll offer him the banana. We'll let him decide whether he wants to % be intelligent or just a mindless animal." She takes out a second % banana for Fry because he ate the first one, and the plan is put into % action. Farnsworth and Fry stand on opposite sides of the confused % monkey, each hyping theirs as the best choice, when Bender and his % buddies come flying down the river in their raft. Gearshift: Hey, Bender, are you sure this is a shortcut? Bender: Not as sure as I was an hour ago! % The raft grazes against the edge of the river, and knocks everyone % except Guenter into the water. It steers ahead, finds itself staring % straight into a waterfall, and falls off ... conveniently putting them % right near the finish line. As Snooty House is crawling towards the % end, the robots emerge from underwater at the last second and steal % the glory. Dean Vernon is outraged and the Snooty House yacht % capsizes in shock. % Back at the waterfall, Farnsworth manages to grab hold of a floating % log and secure it to a pointy rock that juts out the edge of the % water, on which the other two grab a hold. A piece of the log falls % away under the pressure, though, proving they're not quite safe yet. % On the riverbed, a mindless Guenter is sniffing at the hat and the % banana, which were both left on the ground. Farnsworth yells at him % in vain to put on the hat and save them ... the monkey tries a number % of solutions, including wearing it on his knee or his butt, and % wearing the banana on his head and chewing on the hat. ("Stupid % monkey," complains the Professor.) % Guenter finally manages to get it on his head, and yells "Eureeka!", % then after some quick calculations, ties a vine to another log, loops % the vine over a tree limb overhanging the waterfall, and lets the crew % climb up. The three of them find themselves sitting safely on the % limb with the vine tied around, and Guenter hanging below them, % supported only by the log swinging from the vine, with the river far % below him. The vine starts to tear in the middle. Leela: Hurry, Guenter! Climb up the vine! You can still save yourself. [Guenter doesn't budge, though] Guenter: [melodramatic] Why bother? I've got nothing to live for. I was miserable as a genius, and as a monkey I was so dumb I tried to wear a hat on my butt. [Fry chuckles] There's just no place for me in this world ... [cheers up] Although, on the other hand ... [the vine breaks -- he falls away] Prof.: Oh, that poor, sweet monkey. Well, let's go gather him up. There's no sense letting him go to waste. [he licks his lips!] % At the bottom of the waterfall, they find Guenter alive, and only % slightly dazed. Fry: Guenter! You're alive! Guenter: I guess the hat must have broke my fall. [Farnsworth inspects it] Prof.: It seems to be working at only half-capacity. But I can fix it. Guenter: No, wait! I like it like this. I actually feel sort of ... happy. Prof.: But what about your superintelligence? Guenter: When I had that, there was too much pressure to use it. All I want out of life is to be a monkey of moderate intelligence who wears a suit. That's why I've decided to transfer to business school! Prof.: Noooo!! % Well, Robot House is getting the parade it fought for. Dean Vernon % marches in front, Bender and the rest wave to the crowd from atop a % pink float, and Bender announces "Big party at Robot House!" The song % "Shout!" blasts out of nowhere, hordes of students pour into the % street to dance, including Fry, Leela, Guenter and the Professor, and % the camera freezes on each of the stars with an epilogue appearing in % captions. Here's what they said ... % Fry dropped out successfully and returned to his dead-end delivery % job. % Guenter got his MBA and became president of the Fox network. % Fat-Bot caught a computer virus in Tiajuana and had to be rebooted. % Leela went on one date with Dean Vernon, but he never called again. % His job done, Bender stole everything of value from Robot House and % ran off. % Thus ends Act Four (6:52) ======================================================================== = Contributers = {ak} Adam King {jl4} Jeff Lester {bb} Bronco Bob {jlm} Jesse Leon McCann {bt} Baykent Tukeli {jph} John P. Hayes {da} David Antonoff {jr4} Jonathan Reed {dbc} Daniel B. Case {mm} Michael Morbius {ddg} Don Del Grande {rc2} Robert Castillo {fp} Fen Phen {sam} Steven Aaron Monroe {hl} Haynes Lee {trl} Team Rocket Leela {jb} Jason Barrera {zb} Zapp Brannigan {jk} Joe Klemm ======================================================================== Futurama and its characters are the ===== First uploaded: 01-Nov-1999 properties 30th Century Fox. Lawyers ===== Revision B : 05-Dec-1999 Bring Fear. By Jordan "MU" Eisenberg. ===== E-mail me: <jedraw@aol.com>
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futurama appartient à la fox et Matt Groening en est le créateur... le site officiel de Futurama se trouve ici : |