DVD Release Date: March 9, 2004

Cast: Billy West, Katey Sagal, Lauren Tom

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By Dan Phelps

Futurama is probably one of the greatest animated series that never got the attention it deserved. Hounded by a terrible timeslot and constantly being pre-empted for football, the show always found itself sitting on the sidelines of the FOX lineup. Eventually, it was cancelled after only five seasons. Futurama came from the same creator as The Simpsons: Matt Groening. And all of the things that made The Simpsons funny in its early years are here, and I’ll be damned if its not as good, or better. But apparently not enough people thought so and Futurama disappeared into the past. And now it’s back – in DVD form. Boasting amazing results from the first two volumes, Futurama Volume Three is here for your viewing pleasure.

Volume Three of the Futurama sets is a spectacular one. It contains many of my favorite episodes of the entire series. But don’t like the name fool you. Volume Three does not mean season three. Instead, the set covers all but three episodes of the original third season (included in Volume 2), and most of the original season four. This doesn’t affect watching it however – as all the episodes stand individually. In fact, if I hadn’t told you that, you wouldn’t have had a clue, would you! Of course you can always look everything up in an episode guide, but like I said, it doesn’t matter here. There are 22 episodes spanning four discs, and no shortage of special features either. I’ll get into those shortly though.

If you haven’t seen Futurama before, you’re definitely missing out. And there’s still hope because even if you’ve missed every episode, and have no clue about the show it wouldn’t matter. You can hop into the flow and enjoy every episode without having to worry about catching up on past material. The only thing you’ll really need to know is that it takes place in the future!! If you could not tell that from the title, there is nothing I can do to help you. Oh, the series is animated too. But I’m willing to bet you knew that.

One December 31, 1999, Phillip J. Fry was delivering a pizza to a cryogenics lab. Little did he know it was a prank, as there was no one named I.C. Weiner present that ordered a pizza. Depressed and lonely, he sits down and eats the pizza as the New Year comes. Next thing he knows, it’s the year 2999 – that’s what you get for accidentally falling backwards into a cryogenic tube and being frozen for a thousand years. This is where the series picks up, far into the future when New York has become New New York, and the past is buried beneath the streets. Finding a job at a delivery company known as Planet Express he joins his only surviving relative Professor Hubert Farnsworth. Working along with him is a plethora of hysterical characters. Captaining the delivery ship is a female Cyclops named Leela. The rest of the crew includes a drunken robot named Bender, a Jamaican limbo champ and business man Hermes, rich and spoiled Amy Wong, and a looney lobster, Dr. Zoidberg. Don’t let his title fool you though, not only will he operate with claws, but his lack of human physiology is astounding. Some recurring characters that are definitely worth mentioning are Zap Brannigan, Captain of the Nimbus starship in the DOOP (think Star Trek’s Federation), and Kiff his first mate. Zap is probably the best character in the show actually. His blatant sexual drive and skimpy uniform send women running in all directions, and will have you rolling on the floor laughing. All in all, it’s a magnificent lineup that makes the show utterly hysterical.

Volume Three is great mix of comedy and touching episodes. While most lean toward the comedic side, Futurama has been known for its occasion soft side. Both are done exceptionally well. Probably the most important thing to mention about this set is that it includes the Emmy winning episode “Roswell That Ends Well.” If you listen to the commentaries you’ll hear that many episodes were submitted and considered for an Emmy, and finally, it paid off. Coincidentally it also happened to be one of my favorites. The crew of the Planet Express ship finds themselves transported back to Roswell, New Mexico in 1947. I don’t want to ruin it for you, so I’ll just say that polluting the timeline has never been so funny. Joining this fantastic episode are 21 others, all of which are worthy of your time to watch. Some others that stick out are: “Parasites Lost,” “The Day The Earth Stood Stupid,” “Insane In The Mainframe,” “The Route Of All Evil,” “Bendin’ In The Wind,” “A Pharaoh To Remember,” “Anthology Of Interest II” and “Future Stock.” A few more of my favorites are “Godfellas,” where Bender is launched into space and becomes God for a race of beings that land on his body from small meteorite impact, and “The Luck Of The Fryrish.” This is one of those touching episodes where Fry finds out his brother who was always trying to best him actually looked up to him more than he could imagine. Luckily for me, the very first episode on disc one is one of my top five Futurama favorites: “Amazon Women In The Mood.” This incredibly funny show finds Fry, Leela, Amy, Zap, and Kiff stranded on a strange planet inhabited by oversized jungle women. The women are governed by a Fem-puter voiced by none other than Bea Arthur! As I said, Futurama was a fantastic show on every level; it just never got the chance it should have.

Accompanying these 22 episodes is a great number of special features. Some are strong, while others could have just as easily been left out. Overall I think it’s a standard dose of extras, but some parts have a little more to offer than usual. Here’s the list in some more detail:

- Full Length Audio Commentaries: I’m usually iffy on commentaries, but these are top notch. Not only do commentaries accompany each of the 22 episodes, but also they are definitely worth listening to. I’ve said before I enjoy commentaries that give you insight behind the show, as well offer opinions from the people involved. These commentaries give you everything. Voicers Billy West, John DiMaggio, Lauren Tom, Frank Welker, and producers Matt Groening and David X. Cohen provide the viewer with a wonderful, and funny behind the scenes look at all the episodes. If you like commentaries, you’ll love these.
- Deleted Scenes: For 16 of the 22 episodes, you can take a look at all that was left on the cutting room floor. You’re probably wondering how an animated series could have deleted scenes – it’s because they are simply too long! Many of them are better left out, but there are some that will keep you in stitches. These aren’t a must watch, but I’m sure you will anyway.
- Storyboards: Not sure why they included this, because it is only for a single episode, “Parasites Lost.” I’m indifferent to this really. Watch it if you deem it necessary.
- How To Draw Characters: There was a similar feature on the King Of The Hill DVD sets, and they did it much better. This simply isn’t worthwhile. Instead of taking you through the steps and showing you the drawing process, there is merely a few step by step pictures pasted on the screen that are barely decipherable.
- Animatic for Anthology Of Interest II: Once again, I don’t see why they only included a feature for one episode, but this is a bit more entertaining than the storyboard. Give this a quick look to see the show in its pre-production phase, partially drawn and voiced.
- International clip: Using the language button on your DVD remote, watch an episode in French, Portuguese, Castilian Spanish, and Italian. Funny for about 3 minutes.
- 3D Models from Rough Draft: This was short, and quasi interesting. It shows how many of the models seen in the show are rendered and created. Such as the Mom Corp spaceship, the Titanic spaceship, and even the backgrounds on many shots. Like I said, short, by insightful.
- Still Gallery: Useless.

Futurama Volume Three exemplifies what a DVD box set should be. Not only does it house 22 episodes of a beautifully drawn, and animated series, it additionally boasts a better than average collection of extra features. Anyone could easily appreciate the genius behind this series. A perfect balance of humor, emotion, and stupidity scores the show in high esteem with many critics. When you’re watching, pay special attention to many of the backgrounds, especially in space. The animation, drawing, and computerized imagery are amazing. There are so many great aspects about Futurama, I don’t know how anyone could not love this show. If you do, I’m sure you’re already in line to pick up this collection. If you’re sitting at home debating, I’ll make the decision easy for you…go. Now. The four-disc set will look perfect in your collection.

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