Futurama: Volume 5 Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		4.0
Video		4.5
Audio		4.0
Extras		3.0
Overall		4.0

Futurama: Volume 5 Blu-ray Movie Review

The cancellation—and resurrection—of yet another Fox franchise.

Reviewed by Casey Broadwater January 10, 2011

It’s happened so often that it’s almost a cliché by now: If a critically successfully show with a cult following airs on Fox, the network will inevitably tinker unnecessarily with the show’s timeslot, postpone episodes in favor of high-profile sporting events (or air them sporadically and/or out of order), and then give the series an ignominious death by cancellation, often mid-season. Arrested Development—perhaps the most brilliant network comedy show of the 2000s—was cut unceremoniously short way before its full potential was realized. Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles was terminated after its second season, and Joss Whedon’s Firefly got fired after only 14 episodes. (And don’t even get me started on the hasty abandonment of The Adventures of Brisco County Jr. I’m still angry.) I could probably list at least fifteen more examples. Lately, though, it seems that Fox has at least started to realize that low Nielsen rankings don’t always indicate unpopularity. As Family Guy proved, DVD sales and high ratings in syndication are sometimes enough to convince the network to give the people what they want—that is, more of their favorite, undeservedly axed shows.

Such is the case with Futurama, the Matt Groening-created show that aired for four seasons on Fox, got cut in 2003, and was then resurrected in 2008, in a partnership with Comedy Central, as a series of four feature-length straight-to-video movies (Bender’s Big Score, The Beast with a Billion Backs, Bender’s Game, and Into the Wild Green Yonder). Now, the show, in its original 24-minute form, is finally back—“by popular harassment,” claims a blurb on the Blu-ray box—for an all-new 13-episode half-season of 31st century mayhem.

So, was the wait worth it? Yes and no, but mostly yes. If you’ve never been fond of the show you probably won’t be swayed by the new episodes— there are no drastic changes to the structure or style—but longtime Futurama followers will be all over this release like the shine on Bender’s metal ass.

For those of you who have yet to experience Futurama’s bleakly comic take on Earth circa 3000 AD, the show follows the exploits of the employees at Planet Express, an interplanetary delivery service owned by 160-year-old mad scientist Hubert J. Farnsworth (Billy West). Main characters include developmentally arrested pizza boy Philip J. Fry (West, again), his one-eyed sewer-mutant off-and-on girlfriend Leela (Katey Sagal), Chinese PhD candidate Amy (Lauren Tom), by-the-book Jamaican accountant Hermes (Phil LeMarr), vaguely Jewish lobster-alien Dr. Zoidberg (West, once again, keeping busy), and Bender (John DiMaggio), a crass, cigar-chomping robot who likes to party hard.

The show takes place in a retro-futuristic and lightly dystopian New New York, where the social issues and cultural trends of today are often hyperbolized for satiric effect. Comparisons to The Simpsons are inevitable, especially because the art style of the two shows is so similar, but Futurama is definitely its own entity, with a deliciously geeky sci-fi bent—obviously—and a much more sardonic, scathing tone. From religion and politics to Apple, Banksy, and Susan Boyle, there’s nothing that Futurama shies from mercilessly skewering.

While this new season isn’t quite as well-written or consistently hilarious as the show’s initial four-year run—newcomers would do wise to start from the beginning—Futurama’s return is a welcome one, filled with the same black-as-coal humor, winking irony, and off-the-wall non sequiturs that fans have come to expect from the series. The appropriately titled “Rebirth” kickstarts the season off right, picking up where Into the Wild Green Yonder left off, as Professor Farnsworth resurrects the characters that died in what was supposed to have been the series’ finale. From here, it’s back to episodic hijinks as usual, with the Planet Express gang fending off cat invasions, aiding mutant revolts, switching bodies, and discovering Leonardo da Vinci’s secret inventions, amongst other wacky escapades. Most of the best episodes are those that spoof the hot-button topics of our current culture, like “Attack of the Killer App,” which takes on Apple fanboy-ism and the perils of obsessive social networking, “A Clockwork Origin,” which lampoons the evolution vs. intelligent design debate, and “Proposition Infinity,” in which Amy and Bender—now dating— lead a movement to end the ban on “robosexual” marriage, i.e. the union of a human and a robot.

There are really no outright duds in this collection of episodes, but as a whole, Volume 5 is less compelling than previous seasons, mostly because it relies on a lot of old, been-done-before jokes and recycled twists. There’s also a lack of narrative continuity—especially in the relationship between Fry and Leela, which flip-flops too often between episodes—giving the season a slightly disjointed quality. Still, it’s Futurama…on television…again! If you’ve always loved the show, you’ll easily be able to forgive a few inconsistencies while the writing staff gets back into the swing of things. Here’s to hoping that the second set of 13 episodes—which will air on Comedy Central later this year—finds the series in top form. We wouldn’t want Futurama to get cancelled again, now would we?

Futurama: Volume 5 Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Yes, eye candy would be the operative phrase. Like The Simpsons or Family Guy, Futurama may not have the most complex animation, but the show looks fantastic on Blu-ray, with a 1080p/AVC-encoded presentation that's tighter, more colorful, and less prone to compression problems than Volume 5's DVD counterpart. In fact, aside from a few mild jaggies on what should otherwise be smooth straight lines, you'd be hard pressed to find any real problems here. Split between tradition cel animation and the occasional CGI shot, the show's visual palette is rich and eye- poppingly vibrant, with deep and distinct black outlines, and no evidence of color bleed, blotchy hues, banding, or other encode issues. Really, what more do you need to know? If you're still clinging to the notion that Blu-ray doesn't benefit simple animation, Futurama: Volume 5 may be the release that changes your mind.

Futurama: Volume 5 Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Futurama: Volume 5 features a DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 surround track that's fairly typical for an animated television program—that is, it's mostly dialogue driven, with occasional whiz-bang-pow sound effects but very little in the way of ambience or immersion. And that's fine. You'll hear laser blasts, explosions, and sundry other cross-channel sounds—and even some bumping LFE-heavy beats at an intergalactic nightclub—but the emphasis here is justifiably on making the jokes come through cleanly and clearly. To that end, this mix is a total success. The dialogue is nicely prioritized, the theme song and incidental music sound great, and it all comes together with no hisses, drop-outs, balancing issues, or other audio hiccups.

Futurama: Volume 5 Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Audio Commentaries: Each and every episode features a commentary track with Executive Producers Matt Groening and David X. Cohen, accompanied by a rotating assembly of directors, cast members, and producers. It shouldn't surprise you that, along with insight into how the show is created, there are also a lot of laughs here.
• Deleted Scenes (1080p, 10:19)
• Behind the Fungus: Makin' a Hit Song (1080p, 4:59): Futurama star Billy West hits the studio to record the 31st Century mega-hit "Shut Up and Love Me."
• Previously on Futurama (1080p, 1:21): The rarely-before scene "previously on Futurama…" openings of the Futurama films.
• The Adventures of Delivery-Boy Man (1080p, 7:14): An original "video comic book," scribbled and performed by Philip J. Fry. Available with optional commentary by Executive Producers Matt Groening and David X. Cohen and Co-Executive Producer Patric M. Verrone.
• Bend it like Bender (1080p, 2:42): Bender's first, best, and only music video.
• The Prisoner of Benda: Live Table Read (1080p, 35:10): Live and unrehearsed, the Futurama cast takes their first plunge into the script. Accompanied by early storyboard animatic footage.
• BD-Live Exclusive: Sneak Peak - Futurama Season 7 (720p, 2:09)

Futurama: Volume 5 Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

The second coming of Futurama—well, the third coming, actually—isn't perfect, but fans will find a lot to like in this collection of episodes. While some may knock Volume 5's environmentally friendly-but-flimsy cardboard packaging, the contents of the discs themselves are fantastic, with a colorful high definition image, lossless audio, and—in true Matt Groening form—a ton of special features, including an audio commentary for each episode. Recommended!