REVIEW: The Late Philip J. Fry

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REVIEW: The Late Philip J. Fry

Post by archonix » Sat Jul 31, 2010 11:02 am

I had a brief ramble about this in chat at some point but it's time I said more.

Plot synopsis: Fry, the Professor and Bender are trapped in a time machine that can only move forward until they can find a way to travel back in time again.

I loved this episode. I adored this episode. A good, simple main plot that tied into the secondary plot, a solid tale of adventure and loss and a very clever (if somewhat old-fashioned) twist at the end.
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All in all, a cracking yarn. Watching the quality rise from the first episode of this season to this current high point has been absolutely fascinating and very refreshing. The title was clever too.
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Re: REVIEW: The Late Philip J. Fry

Post by Gulliver63 » Sat Jul 31, 2010 2:02 pm

I agree...this is one that I waited for all season. I'm still chuckling about Farnsworth taking a shot at Hitler out the window...I wish my late father could have seen that one (I want to show my mother Harry Truman on Roswell, but how do I explain to her that Leela kicks the hell out of Harry Truman LOL). The scene with the futuristic ladies and their "fertility ceremony" was funny as well...wish I coulda been there for that one! :fry
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Re: REVIEW: The Late Philip J. Fry

Post by Meteorite » Sat Jul 31, 2010 3:19 pm

I really liked this episode. Nothing felt off about it, and the song in the middle was perfect. And I've been noticing this in recent episodes, but it's been good seeing the crew being grouped together with others, as opposed to the previously standard 'Fry, Leela, Bender and then the rest' separation.
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Re: REVIEW: The Late Philip J. Fry

Post by Stretch_Dude » Sat Jul 31, 2010 3:39 pm

Agreed. Absolutely fantastic episode, probably one of my new favorites.
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Re: REVIEW: The Late Philip J. Fry

Post by c_nordlander » Sat Jul 31, 2010 9:13 pm

I thought it was very good, though I might not love it as much as most people here. Enjoyable nonetheless.

Now this is what I mean about "feels like Futurama". The time-hopping was inspired and contained many lovely scenarios, and I love the steampunky design for the Professor's time machine. Bender was, once again, brilliant, and had most of the best lines of the episode. The animators must have had great fun, once more. Nicely emotional storyline, too.

However, the resolution felt like a cop-out to me. This has never been a particularly hard-science show, but
Spoiler
There were some great jokes, though I felt there could have been more. Leela kicking the TV and crying felt a bit silly, but she's had odd moments like that before on the show, so I guess it's in character. The filk of... that song, whatever it's called (I'm assuming it was a filk, though I've only ever heard the first few bars) was pretty excellent.
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First observation: Hedonismbot had a pretty big role in this one! (Not as big as in "The Devil's Hands are Idle Playthings", mind.) Also, he's getting married!

Second observation: To think all this could have been avoided if
Spoiler
And yes, the title is pretty awesome

EDIT: It's always nice seeing more of Cubert, as well. Especially the little glimpse of what he'll be like in his thirties, yay!
Last edited by c_nordlander on Sun Aug 01, 2010 12:59 pm, edited 2 times in total.
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Re: REVIEW: The Late Philip J. Fry

Post by Stretch_Dude » Sun Aug 01, 2010 4:26 am

Know what I just realized?
Spoiler
I memorized "Holy Grail" really well
I can recite it right now and have you ROTFLOL
- "Weird Al" Yankovic, "White and Nerdy"

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Re: REVIEW: The Late Philip J. Fry

Post by Kif White » Sun Aug 01, 2010 5:12 am

As others have said, fantastic episode. Up there with the very best of Futurama. Can't really add much else that hasn't been added already. I think my favourite joke was the Planet of the Apes, Planet of the Birds, etc. one, followed closely by Professor's second slip up with the lever. Definitely my favourite of the 6ACV## production line so far.
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Re: REVIEW: The Late Philip J. Fry

Post by Officer 1BDI » Sun Aug 01, 2010 6:25 am

I think I need to watch this episode again, because my first impression of the episode wasn't fantastic.

Don't get me wrong, I thought it was one of the best episodes of this season, but I'm not sharing the enthusiasm that a lot of other fans seem to have for this episode. The "minor" quibbles really got to me, I suppose:
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I thought the episode had a strong beginning, though, something I can't say for many of the episodes this year, and I generally enjoyed the story. The callbacks were awesome and there were some great jokes associated with the main plot:
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I definitely enjoyed the episode, and I'll be re-watching it soon, but for now it doesn't crack my top 5.

Regarding Dark Mage's spoiler:
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Re: REVIEW: The Late Philip J. Fry

Post by Meteorite » Sun Aug 01, 2010 8:11 am

Officer 1BDI wrote:
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Spoiler
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<gkscotty|drawing> most people play Pokemon games with GameFAQs or a Pokéwiki open
<gkscotty|drawing> you seem to have TVTRopes :P


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Re: REVIEW: The Late Philip J. Fry

Post by missy_misery » Sun Aug 01, 2010 10:42 am

Short version: Best. Episode. Ever.

Long version: this has everything I like in a Futurama ep and more. Period :)

Letter Grade: A+
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Re: REVIEW: The Late Philip J. Fry

Post by D.B. » Sun Aug 01, 2010 7:52 pm

I'll add my voice to the crowd of people who loved it. Dunno if it's the best episode ever, but it's got to be up there.
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Re: REVIEW: The Late Philip J. Fry

Post by Chug a Bug » Mon Aug 02, 2010 2:16 am

Archonix wrote:
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It's their Emmy shot: I'm not sure it's quite as good as Roswell that ends Well, but good luck anyway guys.

A+
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Re: REVIEW: The Late Philip J. Fry

Post by Gulliver63 » Mon Aug 02, 2010 3:55 am

That's a good point too...a time machine episode is something a lot of people can enjoy and relate to, even if they're not necessarily SF fans.
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Re: REVIEW: The Late Philip J. Fry

Post by Kif White » Mon Aug 02, 2010 6:06 am

Regarding Leela being angry I don't think it's so much that's she's generally an angry person so much as she's got a short fuse.

I also have to add that this episode had some amazing music. Not just the "In the Year 2525" parody, but some nice incidental music, particularly...
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Re: REVIEW: The Late Philip J. Fry

Post by Enhas » Wed Aug 04, 2010 12:23 am

And I still haven't seen any of it. You all don't know how lucky you are.

And to Graham: It's obvious that most of the show is just played for laughs, so trying to add philosophy into it just makes my head want to spin sometimes. Like how, you know, nearly the entire cast are clones since the start of the new season... I don't even want to get started there. :doh:

This is a show with heads in jars. Heads in jars of long dead people. So there's no point in thinking seriously about some things. :maggie:
CROWD: What do you want?
FRY: Fry's dog!
CROWD: When do you want it?
FRY: Fry's dog!
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