The Lesser Of Two Evils
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The Lesser Of Two Evils Written by Eric Horsted
Directed by Chris Sauve
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Production code: 2ACV06 Original Airdate: 20-Feb-2000
TV Guide synopsis:
When the tiara for the Miss Universe pageant is stolen,
all eyes turn to the robot hired to guard it, who looks
suspiciously like Bender; Bob Barker guest voices
Title Sequence
Opening theme promotion:
The Show That Watches Back
Opening theme cartoon:
Felix the Cat, from the 1920s
Did You Notice...
... the 3 card monty robot?
... Bender reads Pentiumhouse magazine? Does this mean he goes
for the old-fashioned type?
... Bender and Flexo seem to be programmed to fight exactly the
same way?
... the Miss Universe audience is all humanoid, though most
of the contestants exhibit, shall we say, non-humanoid
types of beauty?
... the human and robot cop duo take time away from their duties
on Earth to make an arrest on [[[name of planet]]]?
Adam Foster:
... one of the possible Miss Universe candidates looks like a
three-eyed Abe Simpson, wrapped in a white towel?
Joe Klemm:
... the dinosaur skeleton in the 20th Century gas pump?
... the PM99 license plate?
Voice Credits
- Starring
- Billy West (Fry, Dr. Zoidberg, Prof. Farnsworth)
- Katey Sagal (Leela)
- John DiMaggio (Bender, Flexo )
- Special Guest Voice
- Bob Barker
- Also Starring
- Maurice LaMarche (Albert Einstein)
- Phil LaMarr (Hermes)
- Lauren Tom (Amy)
Movie (and other) References
+ Cops (TV Series)
- Cop Department
+ Star Trek (TV Series) "Mirror, Mirror" Episode
- The evil Spock has a goatee
(Actually, many TV shows have used goateed evil twins.)
+ Electric Ladyland
- Title of a Jimi Hendrix album
+ The Price is Right (TV Game Show)
- Bob Barker's remark: "You're closest without going over."
+ The Simpsons
- [7F13] Zoidberg's "It's funny because it's poisonous"
echoes Homer's "It's funny 'cause it's true."
- [4F02] Bart has an evil twin.
Previous Episode References
- [1ACV01] et al Smitty and URL, the cop duo, awww yeahhh.
- [1ACV02] The Crushinator appears.
- [1ACV03] Calculon appears.
- [1ACV06] Bender wears his green turtleneck sweater from
Alien Overlord & Taylor.
- [1ACV07] Florp, the comedian from Trisol, appears.
Freeze Frame Fun
- Past-O-Rama: Located on the former site of Brooklyn
- Past-O-Rama / It's Da Boom!
- 47th Street Butter Churns
- Star Wars 9 -- Yoda's Bar Mitzvah
- Iowa Bagel Co.
- Ancient and mysterious tablet:
1 HOUR PARKING
9 A.M TO 6 P.M
MONDAY THRU SATURDAY
----------------------
ALTERNATE SIDE
OF THE STREET PARKING
TUESDAY, THURSDAY
[[[???]]]
LEASH LAW ENFORCED
BY RADAR
----------------------
NO PARKING
ANYTIME
- XLIInd St. subway station:
- Ad: Learn Spanglish
- Ad: [With Tentacle] [[[alien alphabet]]]
- 42nd St. subway lines: "U" Anarchy Symbol, and Smiley Face
- Treasures of the Holy Tomb
- Electric Ladyland / Laptop Dances
- Signs at landing pad:
Welcome To the Miss Universe Pageant
Contestants May Not Exceed 50% Implant
- Tonight: MISS UNIVERSE PAGEANT
Tomorrow: MISS PARALLEL UNIVERSE PAGEANT
- Contestants on the Stage:
- Miss Arrakis
- [[[4 More I Can't Read]]]
- Miss Vega 4 (Purple Gelatinous Blob)
- [[[Another I Can't Read]]]
- Miss Heaven
- Miss Methane Planet (Palatina Smogmire)
- Miss Earth's Moon (The Crushinator)
- A creature with a trumpet for a nose
- A gangsta rappin' jellyfish creature
- Woman from the Amazon planet
- Judges: Florp, Calculon, and Zapp Brannigan
- Trumpet woman's scores: Florp, 8; Calculon, 9; Zapp, Room 715
Animation, Continuity, and Other Goofs
[None]
Reviews
Eric Sansoni: The running gag of 20th century historical flubs,
from mammoth hunts to "Gerald Ford's automocar," reaches new
heights in this episode's great intro sequence. I was less
impressed with the new Flexo character, who seems to cross
Rodney Dangerfield and Bart's "evil" twin from The Simpsons,
but overall seems too similar to Bender. There would be
more tension, and the ending would be more surprising, if we
really had the sense he was the "evil" Bender. Some of the
humor sags a little, but Bob Barker's hilarious cameo goes
down as one of the all-time great celebrity guest appearances.
The nods to The Price is Right and animal rights are perfect,
and Bob is a great sport to lampoon his pleasant TV image by
acting like a jerk here. (B)
Comments and Other Observations
Bender's serial number, 2716057 = 952 cubed + (-951) cubed
Flexo's serial number, 3370318 = 119 cubed + 119 cubed {ddg}
Bender is also Son #1729 (according to his Xmas card in
[2ACV04]), which is again the sum of two cubes. In fact,
1729 is the smallest number that can be expressed as the
sum of two cubes in two ways (1 cubed + 12 cubed and
9 cubed + 10 cubed). {jd}
In the Miss Parallel Universe Pageant, do they have the same
contestants, only dressed in cowboy hats? [3ACV15] {jd}
Quotes and Scene Summary
Opening advert: Futurama is brought to you by ... Arachno Spores.
The fatal spore with the funny name.!
Bender, Fry, and Leela are watching Cop Department on the tube.
Human Cop: And while you're at it, unblur your face!
Suspect: Aww, man!
The face of the suspect, a caterpillar creature, comes into focus.
Leela: Hey Bender, I thought you said you were in this episode.
Bender: Naah, this week I'm on Caught On Tape III, 'cause of
what I did in the coffeepot.
[Fry spits out his coffee]
-- Damn good coffee! And hot! "The Lesser of Two Evils"
TV Ad: Is today's hectic lifestyle making you tense and impatient?
Bender: Shut up and get to the point!
The ad is for Past-O-Rama, a wildly inaccurate reconstruction of
old New York in the year 2000. Leela suggests a visit.
Fry: If I ever want to go back to the year 2000, I'll just freeze
myself again.
-- Unclear on the concept, "The Lesser of Two Evils"
They visit anyway, and enjoy a 20th Century mugging.
Bender heads for a suicide booth.
Fry: Uh, sorry Bender, that's just a phone booth.
Bender: Oh ...
Leela: What were they used for?
Fry: In New York? Bathrooms.
Leela: Oh. I'll be out in a sec.
They visit they XLIInd St. subway station, and then look at the
Treasures of the Holy Tomb.
Leela: The burial chamber of the 20th Century's greatest spiritual
leader: Al Sharpton.
Bender: Ooh ... now this guy had taste!
Leela: It says he was mummified in ceremonial vestments.
Fry: We sometimes called it a jogging suit.
They watch a holographic display.
Narrator: The traffic jams of old New York were a public forum for
the free interchange of opinion.
Driver 1: Move it, crap-for-brains!
Driver 2: Bug off!
Driver 3: Get on, bastard-man!
-- Shaddap, alla yez! "The Lesser of Two Evils"
They come upon an ancient automocar.
Fry: Hey, my girlfriend had one of those! Actually, it wasn't
hers, it was her dad's. And actually, she wasn't my
girlfriend, she just lived next door and never closed
her curtains.
Leela: Fry, remember when I told you about always ending
your stories a sentence earlier?
A fellow in a knave outfit thinks Fry is a fellow employee in silly
20th Century garb, and hands him the keys to the automocar.
Knave: Here. Move this rustbucket up behind St. Koch's Cathedral.
Leela: Did you drive much in the 20th Century, Fry?
Fry: Nope. Noone in New York drove. There was too much traffic.
-- It's all the bridge and tunnel crowd, "The Lesser of Two Evils"
Fry starts the engine.
Fry: Nice! Listen to that baby purr!
Bender: There's a baby in there, huh?
-- Better check the baby oil, "The Lesser of Two Evils"
The car runs out of control, knocking the legs off of a whole leg
of Rockettebots, until it finally crashes into something.
Bender: Ohhh ... I think I got whiplash.
Leela: You can't have whiplash. You don't have a neck.
Bender: I meant ass whiplash.
-- Opening up a can of whup-lash, "The Lesser of Two Evils"
The car was stopped by hitting a Bender Unit robot, who's also
suffering from ass whiplash. They take him to the Professor in hopes
of having him repaired.
Fry: How's that robot I ran over?
Prof.: We did all we could.
Fry: You mean he's ...
Prof.: ... good as new? Yes!
This Bender Unit's name is Flexo, and he looks just like Bender,
except he's got a snazzy goatee.
Bender: Hey, brobot, what's your serial number?
Flexo: 3370318.
Bender: No way! Mine's 2716057!
[Bender and Flexo laugh. Fry starts to, and then ...]
Fry: I don't get it.
Bender: We're both expressible as the sum of two cubes!
-- Only squares dig that stuff, "The Lesser of Two Evils"
Bender and Flexo drag Fry out to "Electric Ladyland."
Handbillbot: Hey-ya, check it out here, six beautiful devices,
they know what you like and they'll do it to within
a tolerance of one micron ...
Fry: I don't like this place. It's 120 degrees and there's
very little oxygen.
Bender: Shut up and hoot.
[a Crushinator-sized fembot rolls onto the stage]
Bender: Hubba hubba, she is built! ... in Mexico, I believe.
Flexo: And that ain't silicon! It's tungsten, and plenty
of it!
Fry: Uh, yeah. Look at that exhaust fan!
[the robots recoil in disgust]
Bender: Pervert.
Fembot: Thanks, moderate spender. Please select erotic transaction.
Flexo selects a very painful lap dance for Fry. Wearing a neck
brace back at Planet Express, Fry complains about Flexo's antics.
Flexo walks by and, as a joke, sprays him with chlorine gas.
Zoidberg: It's funny because it's poisonous.
Professor Farnsworth calls his employees into his bedroom.
Prof.: Everyone, get in bed with me. I have something to show you.
Feast your eyes ... on this!
Leela: It's beautiful!
Amy: And huge!
Fry: Can I touch it?
The Professor explains that it's a single atom of jumbonium, to be
awarded, on a tiara, to the upcoming Miss Universe.
Amy: When I was a little girl on Mars, I dreamed of being Miss
Universe.
Leela: That's kind of pathetic.
Amy: Oh come on, Leela, deep down all girls want to be Miss
Universe.
Leela: Not me.
Amy: Really? Maybe it's just cute girls.
Space banditos have been working in that sector, so Leela puts the
atom in a safe.
Leela: You'll each take eight-hour shifts guarding the safe.
First Bender, then Flexo, then Fry.
Fry: Wait, hold on, I don't like the sound of that. Let's
just go alphabetically.
Leela: Okay. First Bender, then Flexo, then Fry.
Fry: Wait, let's go by rank.
Leela: Okay. First Bender, then Flexo, then Fry.
Fry: Flexo outranks me?
Flexo: That's "Flexo outranks me, sir!"
Fry voices his concerns about Flexo to Bender, who thinks Fry is
jumping to conclusions because of Flexo's beard.
Fry: I'm not prejudiced!
Bender: Aw, save it for the cross-burning, Adolf.
Fry shows up at the start of Flexo's shift.
Fry: I saw you looking at the atom.
Flexo: So? I look at lots of atoms.
After staying up for all of Flexo's shift, Fry sleeps through his
own. He wakes up when the ship lands, to find the jumbonium atom
missing.
Leela: My God! Did you hear maracas?
Fry: No.
Leela: Then it wasn't space banditos.
-- Elementary, my dear bot, son, "The Lesser of Two Evils"
They search the ship for Flexo
Fry: Aha! Uh, searching ... hmm ...
Leela: Fry, why are you looking for Flexo in my underpants drawer?
Fry: I didn't find him here ten minutes ago, so I thought it was
time to check again.
Bob Barker is not happy that the atom is missing.
Bob Barker: I may be against the fur industry, but that won't
stop me from skinning you alive. As long as noone
wears the skin.
Leela: Well, gentlemen, it appears we're boned.
Guess who stole the atom?
Fry: You mean Bender is the evil Bender? I'm shocked, shocked!
Well, not that shocked.
Fry: How can I live my life if I can't tell good from evil?
Bender: Ahh, they're both fine choices. Whatever floats your boat.
Fry: Well, you guys may both be losers, but I just made out
with that radiator woman from the radiator planet.
Leela: Fry, that's a radiator.
-- Yeah, but she was hot! "The Lesser of Two Evils"
Contributors
Capsule authored by Jym Dyer.
{ddg} Don Del Grande
{jd} Jym Dyer
{af} Adam Foster
{jk} Joe Klemm
{es} Eric Sansoni