Matt Groening's second attempt to strike comedy gold after the enormous success of the Simpsons, Futurama was the program that somehow managed to avoid cancellation not once but twice: first from its original home of FOX in 2003 after having its timeslot and airing dates indifferently reshuffled by the network, and more recently by Comedy Central. It could not avoid the final decision to remove it from the air however, and after the final episode "Meanwhile" aired on September 4th, the show about future life in the 31st century was truly history, leaving six seasons and four direct-to-video movies behind as its legacy. Futurama was truly a show where anything you could imagine could happen, where the preserved head of Richard Nixon could have a conversation with a drunken, thieving, cynical robot, where an alien squid could be a member of an interstellar delivery service, where convenient suicide booths can be found on any city street, or where sewer-dwelling mutants could protest for (and receive) equal rights as surface dwellers. The story starts in 1999, where unremarkable pizza delivery boy Philip J. Fry accidentally cryogenically freezes himself on New Year's Eve and is thawed out a thousand years later, to a bizarre version of his hometown, New New York. His day-to-day life doesn't really change as much as you might think: he still has a delivery job (albeit for Planet Express), a roommate, stogie-smoking robot Bender B. Rodriguez, and friends, including Jamaican accountants, rich girls from Mars and his own future descendant). He still has an unrequited crush on a beautiful girl, though that beautiful girl is a one-eyed sewer mutant named Turanga Leela. The on-again, off-again quality of Fry and Leela's relationship was a thread that passed through the entire series, culminating in the final episode with Fry's marriage proposal (which she accepts). And in the end, the show proved the old adage that no matter how things change, they remain the same, with the bizarre setting taking a back seat to friendship and romance. That's what I think. What other series and characters that ended in 2013 will you miss? Leave your picks in the comments section below.
Hi there, What Culture-ers! I'm William Graff, a 40-year old freelance writer from the wilds of Capitol Hill in beautiful Denver, Colorado. I enjoy many things such as beer, Doctor Who, The Simpsons, record collecting, stand-up comedy, long aimless walks, and of course the Broncos, which is required by law if you live here. I appreciate all feedback for my writing, but I prefer cash and/or deleted Smiths singles in lieu of praise. Rock on!
