Summary
Season 1 ofFuturamahas some rough edges that makes it harder to return. Debuting in 1999,Futuramaintroduced audiences to the world of the 31st century alongside Fry, a dopey New Yorker who was cryogenically frozen for a thousand years. At its height, the Emmy winning series proved to be hilarious, romantic, and shockingly thoughtful. Thebest episodes ofFuturamaare among the best entries in modern sci-fi comedy, and the show is currently enjoying its fourth iteration thanks to a revival on Hulu.
However, the first season of any show still has to figure things out, andFuturamais no different. The cast of characters don’t feel as defined in the earliest episodes, and the secret cosmic arcs have only been hinted at. Some of the show’s most fundamental character arcs aren’t introduced until dozens of episodes in, and many important elements of the show are still being figured out. Even the main characters don’t quite feel right yet. Here’s all the biggest ways returning toFuturamaseason 1can catch you by surprise.
How Old Fry Actually Is In Futurama Season 12
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10Fry Is A Bigger Jerk In Futurama Season 1
Fry Isn’t His Sweet Dopey Self Yet
Fry’s overtly jerkish behavior inFuturamaseason 1 highlights the ways the show has evolvedover the years and why it can be hard to go back to those early episodes. A large part of Fry’s appeal as a character stems from his well-meaning qualities. He’s dim-witted and accident-prone, but typically depicted as a sweet guy who means well (on an occasionally cosmic scale). Early episodes ofFuturamalacked that softer element of the characters, with episodes like “I, Roommate,” “A Fistful of Dollars,” and “My Three Suns” all centering their plots around Fry’s selfish actions and dismissive attitude.
Each of the episodes are resolved by Fry learning to be empathetic with others. Later episodes in the season steadily highlighted his more mental failings, but it wouldn’t be until the second season that his genuinely softer side would become more prevalent. Instead, theearly episodes ofFuturamafocus more heavily on Fry’s faults and flawsinstead of him stumbling into a new adventure or situation. It feel separate from the more innocent version of the character who’d eventually become more defenitive.
9Fry Doesn’t Care About His Family
Fry’s Past Connection Don’t Become Relevant Until The End Of Season 2
One of the most emotionally resonant storylines inFuturamais the tragic way Fry reckons with the loss of his entire family. Episodes like season 3’s “The Luck of the Fryish,” season 4’s “Jurassic Bark,” season 10’s “Game of Tones,” and season 12’s “Quids Game” explore the quiet pain Fry feels at having lost them all when he was frozen for a thousand years, and among the show’s best dramatic episodes. However, that element of the show is brushed aside with a punchline in the first episode, and doesn’t become a relevant element until much later.
This is one of the big ways thatthe Fry of season 1 comes across as a far harsher characterthan who he’d become in later episodes. His casual dismissal of never seeing his family, friends, or girlfriend again showcases a more self-centered and emotionally guarded character than the sweet natured dope he’d develop into. This would be justified in later seasons with the implication that Fry played up the negative aspects of his past to ease the irreparable separation he has from it, but it’s a really somber edge to the series.
8Leela & Fry Aren’t Love Interests In Season 1
The Seeds Of A Genuine Romance Wouldn’t Blossom For Multiple Seasons
One of the best underlying stories inFuturamais the surprisingly slow-burn romance between Fry and Leela. It took until the end of the first revival for the two to share a genuine kiss, and their romance has become a more important element of the show in later seasons.Despite this, their prospective romance barely a factor in season 1. “A Flight To Remember” laid the early seeds of a romantic connection between the two, but Fry wouldn’t confess his feelings openly until season 3.
This storyline is one of the most emotionally compelling arcs in the entire show, with the pair steadily growing as people and eventually establishing a rapport that would become central to many narratives. However, the early dynamic Fry and Leela was established more as unlikely friends, who each find their own short-lived romances elsewhere. Returning to season 1 andseeing Fry forming a staged romance with Leela with little emotional blowback can come as a surprise in retrospect.
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7Futurama Season 1 Doesn’t Flesh Out The Supporting Characters
Characterization Comes With Time
As with the first season of any show, the primary focus ofFuturamaseason 1 is fleshing out the central trio who drive much of the show. However, the series eventually turned supporting figures like Amy, Hermes, and Zoidberg into compelling and hilarious characters in their own right. This makes revisiting season 1 surprisingly underwhelming at times, asthose three in particular lack much of the depth they’d eventually get.
Zoidberg is reduced primarily to his role as a doctor, without any of the pathetic or love-lorn elements that make him memorable. The same goes for Amy and Hermes, who only had the unique elements of their backstories and personalities touched upon in episodes like “A Flight To Remember” teased before getting more distinct characterization in season 2. Scruffy the Janitor wouldn’t even speak until season 2. Given the unique touches that the performances and scripts give the characters in later seasons,season 1’s Planet Express support crew doesn’t feel complete.
6Futurama Season 1 Lacks Most Of The Best Minor Characters
Futurama’s Worldbuilding Wasn’t Done Yet
One of the things thatFuturamadoes well is expand the world of the 31st century. Minor characters like the Head of Richard M. Nixon, the Robot Mafia, or Hedoism Bot work great within the show as both living plot-device and silly side character who can deliver a couple good throwaway gags before eciting the plot. However,Futuramadidn’t introduce many of the show’s best minor gag characters until future seasons.
Even the few important minor characters who do debut in season 1, like Sal, Morbo, Mom, or Lrrr,lack many of the distinct subtle qualities that will come to define them in later episodes. It speaks toFuturama’s worldbuilding that it eventually turned those small-time characters into memorable fixtures, but the setting was still being established in season 1 and understandably was missing some of the more memorable elements that fleshed it out over the years.
5Futurama Season 1’s Pop Culture & Societal References Are Dated
Fry Is From 1999, And It Really Shows In Season 1
Futuramadebuted in 1999, in a pop culture landscape that feels very divorced from the modern world of entertainment, politcs, and technology. As such,it can be odd returning to the earliest episodes ofFuturamaand seeing how many direct references the show used to make directly to the culture of 1999. Episodes like “When Aliens Attack” pokes direct fun at shows likeAlly McBeal, while “A Flight to Remember” and “A Big Piece Of Garbage” are direct riffs on films likeTitanicandArmeggedon.
It’s a credit to the series that it still found ways to infuse those broad dated parodies with enough unique elementsto make it stand on its own — something season 12Futuramaepisodes can still have trouble with. However, other episodes directly reference technology of the time, including allusions to the early internet and VHS tapes. It all makes the topical references ofFuturama’s first season feel more dated than some of the later parodies of the series.
4Nibbler Sets Off Way Too Many Galactic Events
Nibbler Is A Cosmic Figure In The World OfFuturama, But Completely Hidden In Season 1
Nibbler is introduced in “Love’s Labors Lost in Space” as a wild alien life-form that Leela saves from the DOOP’s erradication of the planet. However, later episodes revealed that Nibbler was actually a member of an ancient race responsible for the protection of the universe. The pilot even secretly teases that Nibbler was responsible for Fry being frozen and sent to the future. However, returning to season 1 underscores how important Nibbler becomes andhow minor of a role he seemed to have early on.
Nibbler’s later roles end up setting the stage for some of the show’s biggest cosmic eventslike the conflict with the Brain Spawn, fleshing out the larger lore of the universe. This makes his minor role in the early seasons all the more surprising in retrospect. The truth that Nibbler is responsible for Fry being frozen also adds a sadder layer to his rescue by Planet Express, as they have no idea how crucial he was in arranging their eventual meeting in the first place.
Futurama Season 12 Finally Pays Off A 24-Year-Old Professor Farnsworth Story
Since Futurama began in 1999, certain stories have been left unvisited as the show has surged onward, but season 12 just delivered a huge wink.
3Bender’s First Love Interest Is Far More Tragic Than His Later Romances
The Duchess Is One Of Bender’s Saddest Early Plotlines
Across the course ofFuturama, Bender has been given a number of love interests ranging from fellow robots, talking vending machines, and the head of Lucy Liu. In almost all of these relationships, Bender’s comically self-centered perspective is a major source of comedy, even when some of those romances (like the one with Angelyne in season 3’s “Bendless Love”) take more bittersweet turns. Still, they’re far more silly thanthe ultimately tragic romance between Bender and the Duchessin season 1’s “A Flight to Remember.”
Bender’s relationship with her is a direct parody ofTitanic, but takes an unexpectedly somber turn in the ending when the Duchess sacrifices her life so Bender and the others can escape the black hole destroying the ship. Bender is so heartbroken in the moment that he almost lets go and joins her in the abyss.In retrospect, it’s surprising and almost a little touching to see Bender so emotionally invested in someone else, and adds a more somber layer to his later, more short-lived romances.
2Zapp Brannigan’s Backstory Is Even More Horrifying Rewatching Season 1
Zapp Brannigan Is Kind Of A Monster Even In His First Apperance
Introduced in “Love’s Labors Lost in Space,“the unforgivable Zapp Branniganis quickly established as a jokey take on the space captain archetype like Kirk in Star Trek. However,the episode also sets up the idea that Zapp’s rise in the ranks is because of his comically dark willingness to sacrifice human life for a cause. The episode jokingly reveals he overcame a legion of murder bots by throwing soldiers at it until they were broken by the effort. It’s a sudden dark gag, and a harsh indicator of how the 31st century opperates.
The reality is that hundreds died in the process when alternative solutions could have been found.This quietly paints a dark picture ofFuturama’s world that becomes more pronounced in later seasons, highlighting the ways lives are considered expendable in that universe. Zapp’s role as an established military leader is already a dark joke in season 1, but in the ensuing twenty-five years it’s only become more harrowing to consider.
1Futurama Gets Way Better After Season 1
FuturamaDoesn’t Feel Complete In The First Dozen Episodes
Returning to season 1 ofFuturamahighlights just how good the show eventually became, and how it built upon the early success to become a far more engaging series. While season 1 is a solid enough introduction to the world of the 31st century,few of the episodes stand up to the heights the show would reach in later seasons. It’s all a solid bedrock, but the specific characterization, deeper lore, and darkly wacky tone that cemented the show within the hearts of fans was still being developed.
It makes sense, as few shows peak with their first season.Season 1 is a good introduction, but none of the episodes are contenders for the single best in the series. This makes any return to season 1 feel like a teaser for better stories to come. Fry, Leela, and Bender are there, but the writing and performances that made them fan favorites haven’t crystallized yet. While season 1 ofFuturamaisn’t bad, it’s nowhere near the best the show will become, which is a harsh truth of returning to the show’s earliest episodes.
Futurama
Cast
Futurama is an animated science fiction series that follows Philip J. Fry, a pizza delivery boy from late-20th-century New York City. He is accidentally cryogenically frozen for a thousand years and becomes an employee at Planet Express, a delivery service in the retro-futuristic 31st century.
