A lot of Futurama episodes are great because they combined incredible comedy writing with some sort of human tale we all relate to, but "Insane in the Mainframe" is just 22 minutes of zany Bender and Fry fun. Throwing them together inside an insane asylum after falling in line with Bender's friend Roberto is a great play on One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, as well. It's always a treat when the show lets the robots of the 31st century shine, as their subversion of human pop culture as we know it can lead to some clever word play. The HAL Institute serves as a nice shout out to 2001: A Space Odyssey's robot antagonist and you've gotta love Nurse Ratchet, all of it works together in a brilliant way.
15. Fear Of A Bot Planet
This Invasion of the Body Snatchers-themed episode is exactly why Futurama has been adored by so many over the years, as it skillfully weaves sharp humor with self-aware pop culture references. After Fry and Leela come to believe that Bender has been taken captive on a hostile robot planet, the two dress up in painfully bad robot costumes to save him. The time spent on the robot planet of Chapek 9 is able to set up a large amount of gags in a very short time, and there isn't a single one that falls flat. It also more or less kicks off the mystery of Leela's origin, as the robots identity her as human during the climax. It's a subtle start to one of Futurama's most emotional story arcs.
