The Exact Moment Futurama Lost Us
If Futurama had just stopped before the "movies", things would have been all the better.
When you think about long-running TV shows, even without narrowing it down to just the animated genre, your mind will immediately go to The Simpsons. Though Matt Groening's colossal show will go to at least season 34 before ending, his second show certainly hasn't been able to enjoy a similar run.
In the same vein as Family Guy, Futurama has suffered thanks to being canceled multiple times, and no matter what, that same magic from the first run has never been recaptured. Though there is still a loyal army of Futurama fans out there, no one can deny that the show is now a far cry from what it once was.
There are currently 140 episodes within Futurama's back catalogue, but no matter how many times you comb through it, there is always one point in which you can see exactly when things start to change. This is the release of the four 'movies' that now make up season six of the show.
After its initial run and cancellation, Futurama was revived with four straight-to-DVD movies that were essentially each four episodes strung together.
'Bender's Big Score', 'The Beast With A Billion Backs', 'Bender's Game', and 'Into The Wild Green Yonder' brought Futurama back to our screens, but let us down for a number of different reasons.
6. False Hope
It’s rare for any TV show to end well. Whether it has an unsatisfying conclusion like Game of Thrones, or outstays its welcome like The Simpsons, a perfect ending is often elusive even amongst the very best TV shows. Futurama however, was different.
At the conclusion of the show’s first run, fans were left wanting more, and so the news that it would be returning with four straight-to-DVD movies was met with a huge amount of excitement. Who could possibly object to seeing more of the Planet Express crew, right?
With Futurama returning once again in 2023, this particular revival has been met with a certain amount of skepticism after the show’s gradual decline and the initial reports that John DiMaggio wouldn’t be returning. This wasn’t the case the first time around, unfortunately.
Fans went into the release of the movies with high expectations and the false hope that they would be getting the same old Futurama as before. How wrong they were. Even though 'Bender’s Big Score' is arguably the best of the movies and the closest to old school Futurama, all four were still a huge let down.