REVIEW: "Neutopia" and "Benderama"

[Stretch_Dude]

"Neutopia:"

Spoiler

Not as bad as I feared. It was fairly one-sided at first, but it got better once the rock alien showed up. They stopped the "WIMMINS R BETTUR THAN MEN" stuff and started highlighting that both genders have their flaws...albeit through olllllld jokes. Still, the rock alien and the Hermes/LaBarbara stuff were great. The genderswap part was shorter than expected, and...I'm fine with that, really. That could've worn out its welcome real fast.

Sooo much wasted potential giving Zapp such a brief appearance.

"Benderama:"

Spoiler

Oh yeah, dat's my Futurama. Benders running amok, Patton Oswalt, drunk Earth, the Scary Door... Great, funny episode.

Line of the episode: "Robot! Experience this tragic irony for me!"

[Gulliver63]

"Benderama" was definately better than "Neutopia." "Benderama" defiantely had that feel of the better classic episodes, and moved along at a good pace.

Spoiler

And the part of the giant, who was working through counselling issues, was a hoot.

I agree that "Neutopia" was better than I expected...I still think Graham's Philippa and Lelan, as well as my Amos Wong were much better characters than the ones presented, but it was still interesting.

Spoiler

The rock creature brought two things to mind: there was a Star Trek character like that, and there is a Rush album cover that is very similar to him.

We had an in-law visiting, and her reaction to the gender-switched - my sister-in-law literally asked, "What in the world is this?"

I also like the fact in both episodes that Lauren Tom got more than just a few words for her character.

[c_nordlander]

I've only seen "Neutopia" so far.

It actually wasn't as bad as I'd expected. I could have lived without the "women like shopping and stupid non-violent TV shows" jokes, but I guess it was even crueller to men. I don't like that either. Lol, men don't like asking for directions. *I* don't like asking for directions. Kind of good otherwise. Don't see why they felt the need to explain the title. Lol, Hermes and LaBarbara had sex. It's funny because who gives a crap.

*Two* unnecessary fanservice scenes in one episode? Might have been funny if they'd done one with the men as well, but no, we're not going to see as much as a man take his shirt off. No idea why.

The ending was just short of a deus ex machina.

So yeah, not nearly the worst episode I've seen, but could have been even less offensive.

[missy_misery]

Neutopia:

Spoiler

Neutopia had so many wonderful ideas (PE as an airline, battle of the sexes, everyone with swapped or neutral genders) and mashed them into one big bland episode. Add cardboard jokes about gender, and you get crapola.

The only saving grace was most of the Hermes/LaBarbara stuff.

Benderama:

Spoiler

A sort of a stock-in-trade ep of Frama; but Bender was top-notch in this piece. The drunk gags were stereotypical, but most importantly they were FUNNY.

[sabrina_diamond]

I liked Benderama as it has the concept of Grey Goo, and nanobots, which has always been my favourite sci-fic topic, but I thought that the whole 'Bender was too lazy to work' thing was pretty disappointing, but the giant monster fight (which was reminscent of Anthology of Interest Giant Bender) was a nice recall to the past. The whole alcohol-water concept was brilliant and it was funny to see everyone in the world drunk. Although, I thought that if the tiny Benders still stayed on Earth (during the credits), wouldn't the tiny robots eat the food on Earth after while?

Also, the Benderama has my favourite Scary Door segment! "We now present this academic award of Science to... Your ROBOT!" Scientist: Why didn't I program my robot with 'Be careful what you wish for'??

(just saw Neutopia)
*tries to get the idea of a 'nude Professor Farnsworth posing' out with Brain Bleach, but I liked Le Barbara's male body*

[c_nordlander]

I just saw "Benderama", and I want to apologise for losing faith in this show. That was *awesome*. It could easily have been from one of the old seasons, even if it felt a bit shallow up to

Spoiler

the start of the nanotechnology plot.

The Scary Door episode is one of the best ones so far, looking predictable up to its laugh-out-loud ending. There were many hilarious jokes and sight gags (even if the second session of mocking the giant dragged a bit). And needless to say, the plot turned out to be the kind of witty science fiction stuff I watch Futurama for. Excellent resolution, even if I could kind of see it coming once

Spoiler

the giant knocked nano-hive-Bender out.

And yeah, like Sabrina I thought it was a nice callback to the kaiju fight between Giant Bender and Giant Zoidberg in the first AOI.

The effects were pretty. Did the show get a discount on molten metal textures or something? First the river of mercury in "Neutopia", and now this.

I thought Bender was a bit stupider than usual when Fry tricked him.

Also, Kif must have been really drunk to find Zapp's jokes funny. But then, he's a lot more sensitive to nicotine than humans, so he probably can't hold his liquor either.

Full marks.