As if Bender wasn't hilarious enough, the writers pull out the seemingly forgotten tv trope of the deserted island and strand him on it after a botched upgrade. Bender's desire to compete with Robot 1-X is the strong point of this particular episode, as it comes back to his core selfish desire of being the only cool robot on the Planet Express crew. It all plays out almost like a Twilight Zone episode, commenting on the danger of technology gone haywire and a man's, or in this case robot's, desire for infinite power. It's just the beginning in a long line of Futurama episodes that play classic sci-fi tropes with humor, something that the series always did well.
49. Mother's Day
In what is easily Mom's most dastardly scheme, she begins a hilarious robot rebellion that makes great use of her three creepy sons Walt, Larry and Igner. It's a textbook example of comedy animation, combining sight gags with straight up punchlines and some shining character moments. Bender's desire for approval from Mom, the disturbing love story between Farnsworth and Mom, humanity's survival instincts in the wake of a robot rebellion, it all just clicks in a great script. And let's not forget the priceless comrade greeting card voiced by Tara Strong that steals the show, an unexpected but hysterical addition to an already terrific episode.
