Obsoletely Fabulous
Encyclopedia
"Obsoletely Fabulous" is the fourteenth episode of the fourth production season of Futurama
.
buys one to help out around the office, Bender decides to get a personality upgrade so he can be compatible with Robot 1-X. During his upgrade however, Bender changes his mind and leaps out the window.
Too scared to get the upgrade but unable to face the others without it, he bends a "Boating prohibited" sign into a boat and heads out to sea, only to wash up on an uncharted island. At first he is in desperate need of alcohol to recharge, and goes to great lengths to find an energy source for the blender he has brought to make "yam
Schnapps" to refuel himself.
Bender wakes one morning to find four outdated robots are living on the island and befriends them. After living with the outdated robots, Bender realizes he does not need technology anymore. He then orders his companions to "downgrade" his metal robotics with a wooden body. Bender leads his friends to New New York in a wooden submarine, where they wage war on technology. The band of five are surprisingly successful, but Bender reveals there is one more thing they need to destroy: Robot 1-X.
They head to Planet Express and, after destroying the power lines, Bender breaks into the hangar where he confronts his technologically-stricken former crew. Bender has his robotic friends throw large boulders at Robot 1-X, but they miss and hit the Planet Express ship, which falls and pins the crew down to the floor. A candle falls onto the leaking fuel from the ship, causing a ring of fire to form around the crew. Bender tries to reach for the extinguisher, but his wooden body is eaten by termites. Failing to save his friends himself, Bender orders Robot 1-X to save the crew. This allows Bender to seem like a hero and, when the plan succeeds, he accepts the new robot.
At the end of the episode, it is revealed that Bender's adventure was just a vision he was experiencing during the upgrade (which the robot that was next to Bender in line fears will happen to him). Amazed at how real the vision was, Bender begins wondering if life itself is just the product of his or someone else's imagination, but comes to the conclusion that "reality is what you make of it
," and marches off through a fantasy world with unicorns and a fairy that lights Bender's cigar for him.
John DiMaggio (the voice of Bender) did Bender's dialogue in the scene where he dances to "I'm Alright" before the crew had the song available . The music for the scene when the obsolete robots rampage the city was written by Christopher Tyng
and not licensed. The sound effect for Bender's arms falling off were meant to be temporary but it was kept because it was funnier than any of the later attempts at the sounds.
Futurama
Futurama is an American animated science fiction sitcom created by Matt Groening and developed by Groening and David X. Cohen for the Fox Broadcasting Company. The series follows the adventures of a late 20th-century New York City pizza delivery boy, Philip J...
.
Plot
At a robot expo, Mom's Friendly Robot Co. introduces a new, more advanced robot: Robot 1-X. Feeling unwanted after Professor FarnsworthProfessor Hubert Farnsworth
Professor Hubert J. Farnsworth, or simply The Professor, is a fictional character in the American animated television series Futurama. He is voiced by Billy West using a combination of impressions of Burgess Meredith and Frank Morgan. Farnsworth is the proprietor of the Planet Express delivery...
buys one to help out around the office, Bender decides to get a personality upgrade so he can be compatible with Robot 1-X. During his upgrade however, Bender changes his mind and leaps out the window.
Too scared to get the upgrade but unable to face the others without it, he bends a "Boating prohibited" sign into a boat and heads out to sea, only to wash up on an uncharted island. At first he is in desperate need of alcohol to recharge, and goes to great lengths to find an energy source for the blender he has brought to make "yam
Yam (vegetable)
Yam is the common name for some species in the genus Dioscorea . These are perennial herbaceous vines cultivated for the consumption of their starchy tubers in Africa, Asia, Latin America and Oceania...
Schnapps" to refuel himself.
Bender wakes one morning to find four outdated robots are living on the island and befriends them. After living with the outdated robots, Bender realizes he does not need technology anymore. He then orders his companions to "downgrade" his metal robotics with a wooden body. Bender leads his friends to New New York in a wooden submarine, where they wage war on technology. The band of five are surprisingly successful, but Bender reveals there is one more thing they need to destroy: Robot 1-X.
They head to Planet Express and, after destroying the power lines, Bender breaks into the hangar where he confronts his technologically-stricken former crew. Bender has his robotic friends throw large boulders at Robot 1-X, but they miss and hit the Planet Express ship, which falls and pins the crew down to the floor. A candle falls onto the leaking fuel from the ship, causing a ring of fire to form around the crew. Bender tries to reach for the extinguisher, but his wooden body is eaten by termites. Failing to save his friends himself, Bender orders Robot 1-X to save the crew. This allows Bender to seem like a hero and, when the plan succeeds, he accepts the new robot.
At the end of the episode, it is revealed that Bender's adventure was just a vision he was experiencing during the upgrade (which the robot that was next to Bender in line fears will happen to him). Amazed at how real the vision was, Bender begins wondering if life itself is just the product of his or someone else's imagination, but comes to the conclusion that "reality is what you make of it
Existentialism
Existentialism is a term applied to a school of 19th- and 20th-century philosophers who, despite profound doctrinal differences, shared the belief that philosophical thinking begins with the human subject—not merely the thinking subject, but the acting, feeling, living human individual...
," and marches off through a fantasy world with unicorns and a fairy that lights Bender's cigar for him.
Broadcast and reception
In its initial airing, the episode received a Nielsen rating of 2.8/6, placing it 86th among primetime shows for the week of July 21-27, 2003.Production notes
A scene during the robot upgrade was cut featuring Mom brainwashing the robots. There was also an extra scene at the convention cut. Those scenes, and others are available on the DVD with the special features.John DiMaggio (the voice of Bender) did Bender's dialogue in the scene where he dances to "I'm Alright" before the crew had the song available . The music for the scene when the obsolete robots rampage the city was written by Christopher Tyng
Christopher Tyng
Christopher Tyng is an American composer. He composed the music for several television series including Futurama, The O.C., The Job, The Baby-Sitters Club, Knight Rider, High Incident, and Rescue Me....
and not licensed. The sound effect for Bender's arms falling off were meant to be temporary but it was kept because it was funnier than any of the later attempts at the sounds.
Cultural references
- The robot Sinclair 2K based on Timex SinclairTimex SinclairTimex Sinclair was a joint venture between the British company Sinclair Research and Timex Corporation in an effort to gain an entry into the rapidly-growing early-1980s home computer market in the United States...
which had 2K of memory. His design was based on Robbie the Robot from Forbidden PlanetForbidden PlanetForbidden Planet is a 1956 science fiction film directed by Fred M. Wilcox, with a screenplay by Cyril Hume. It stars Leslie Nielsen, Walter Pidgeon, and Anne Francis. The characters and its setting have been compared to those in William Shakespeare's The Tempest, and its plot contains certain...
. - The female robot, Lisa was named after the Apple LisaApple LisaThe Apple Lisa—also known as the Lisa—is a :personal computer designed by Apple Computer, Inc. during the early 1980s....
. - The design for Robot I-X was initially inspired by the iMacIMacThe iMac is a range of all-in-one Macintosh desktop computers built by Apple. It has been the primary part of Apple's consumer desktop offerings since its introduction in 1998, and has evolved through five distinct forms....
.
External links
- Obsoletely Fabulous at The Infosphere.