======================================================================== FUTURAMA CAPSULE [3ACV20] - Godfellas ======================================================================== Written by Ken Keeler Directed by Susie Dietter Originally aired 03/17/02 as episode number 08 in season 04 ======================================================================== > Synopsis ======================================================================== When Bender is accidentally swept away into a space vacuum, he becomes spiritually inclined and makes some devastating decisions. Meanwhile, Fry, Leela and Professor Farnsworth frantically search for Bender as he floats through space, and learns an important lesson from his journey. ======================================================================== > Title sequence ======================================================================== Opening theme promotion: PLEASE TURN OFF ALL CELL PHONES AND TRICORDERS Opening theme cartoon: unknown ======================================================================== > Voice Credits ======================================================================== + Starring - Billy West (Fry, Professor Farnsworth, Zoidberg) - Katey Sagal (Leela) - John DiMaggio (Bender) - Tress MacNeille + Guest Starring - Phil LaMarr - Lauren Tom (Amy) - David Herman + Also Starring - Maurice LaMarche (God) ======================================================================== > Did You Notice... ======================================================================== ... The skull on the space pirate flag had 3 sockets as the pirates have 3 eyes? {MW} ... Two of the three pirate captain's eyes are patched and he has 3 additional wooden legs? {MW} ... The Pioneer 10 plaque Bender engraves on his chest is made "prudes-proof"? {MW} ... Bender once held Fry dangling from the torch of the Liberty Statue? {MW} ... Swiss Army Knifes still exist? {MW} ... Coolio was a president? {OA} ... Bender has tear-inducing feelings? See comments for more on this. {MW} ... Bender takes the coin out of his back (or lower)? {MW} ... God is not all knowing? He has no clue where the earth is at first. {MW} ... Rolex either still exists or their watches have a really long life span? {MW} ... The First Amalgamated Church combines Buddhism, Christianity, Islam and Judaism? {OA} ... Helper has got eyebrows {CF} ... Bender is powered by nuclear energy? {JF} ======================================================================== > External references ======================================================================== + Also sprach Zarathustra (Music) - The piece by Richard Strauss with the drums also known from "2001" is named after Nietzsche's work which also includes the famous line "God is dead". This however was not an intended reference according to Ken Keeler. {MW} + Budweiser - Bender lets his little people brew "Lordweiser" {MW} + Die Blaue Donau (Music) - "The Blue Danube" in English. This piece by Johann Strauss is also used in "2001". {AH} + Goodfellas (Movie) - The title of the episode. {AH} + Men in Black (movie) - The zoom through the universe at the end of the episode is like that at the the end of the movie. {DS} + Microcosmic God (Short Story, 1940) - Scientist Kidder creates his own little race in an aquarium which thinks he's God in this story by Theodore Sturgeon. {AH} + Pioneer Spacecraft - The drawing Bender scratches into his chest is the drawing used on the Pioneer 10 and 11 spacecraft. http://spaceprojects.arc.nasa.gov/Space_Projects/pioneer/PN10&11.ht ml {AH} + Polonaise in C Minor (song) - by Chopin. The piano song played by Bender was actually performed by the episode's writer Ken Keeler himself according to an interview. {MW} + Star Trek - Opening promotion tells us to turn off our tricorders. {AH} + The Nine Billion Names of God - Written by Arthur C. Clarke. Tibetan monastery uses technology to search for God. They have worked for centuries to write out the nine billion combinations of their letters that could be God's name. Then they buy a computer and a printer and wrap it up in a few months. {AH} + The Simpsons - The Genesis Tub - Lisa becomes god of a little race. {AH} + Twilight Zone - The Little People - Peter wants to be god over a race of little people he found. {AH} ======================================================================== > Previous episode references ======================================================================== + [1ACV08] A Big Piece of Garbage - The smell-o-scope is used again. This time to search for Bender. {MW} + [1ACV12] When Aliens Attack - The Omicronian Leader Lrr tells Fry to quit asking if Bender is there. {MW} + [2ACV04] Xmas Story - Fry mentions the incident in this episode when Bender stole blood {J} + [2ACV05] Why Must I Be A Crustacean in Love? - Zoidberg's smell glands are overpowering Bender's mild odor. {h} + [2ACV08] Raging Bender - Bender was said to have a nose he never wears, now he has ears. {MW} + [2ACV16] Anthology of Interest 1 - Bender being a giant. Malachi is standing near Bender eyes. Bender says "hand over your wallet" to Malachi and asks for Fry's in AoI1. {h} + [2ACV18] The Honking - The fortune teller gypsy wants to sell Fry false hope this time {MW} + [3ACV11] Insane in the Mainframe - Bender has a Napoleon craze in this episode. In Godfellas a photo of him as Napoleon can be seen. {e} + [3ACV18] Anthology of Interest 2 - Fry uses an arcade video game to shoot at space ships {MW} + [3ACV19] Roswell that Ends Well - The only other time we've seen the ship use its torpedo tubes. {MN} - The pieces of Bender picked up by the army is radioactive, and now we learn that Bender has a pile of nuclear materials. {MN} ======================================================================== > Freeze frame fun ======================================================================== Malachi's wife's apron: Metal Lord is my Metal Shepherd The one commandment: GOD NEEDS BOOZE The coin Bender flips: Heads: Liberty - 2996 (picture of coolio) Tails: MC Pluribus Unum - Word! (picture of two-headed eagle) Fry and Leela buy in: Ed's Hiking Supplies & Spelunketeria Bender's Bible: The Bible - by Bender - with Malachi The Porno Theater: Ezekiel's Nasty House Sign on Bender's antenna: Do not disturb ======================================================================== > Animation, continuity, and other goofs ======================================================================== ... The Statue of Liberty keeps changing what it has in the hand. This time it's the torch again (on a photo). Usually it's a transportation tube {MW} ... The dropping bomb sound Bender makes can be heard before he even enters the atmosphere. {MW} ... Why does the sack of Swag Bender is holding on to wave? Usually there isn't any substance in the universe like air that could make the bag wave. {CF} ... Why is Malachi hanging "down" when Bender holds him even though there's no gravity? But even IF Bender affected him enough, he would have to "hang" in direction to bender, and not to the bottom of the camera's view angle when Bender turns around. {CF} ... One of Benders tears produces a river so big that he can put his own hand into it. {CF} ... The hole in Bender's head disappears later on {J} ... Bender is much too small an astronomical object to obtain an atmosphere. Yet he definitely has one even if the small people could survive without it, Atomic bombs only produces mushroom clouds in a multi-layered atmosphere. {MF} ... The Pioneer spacecraft diagram on Bender's chest also disappears. {AH} ... The coin Bender flips out doesn't float off into space. {h} ======================================================================== > Comments and other observations ======================================================================== ... It's just like Bender to only give the Shrimpkins a single coin for their wealth. {h} ... Explaining Bender's tear-inducing emotions: His problem with emotions is not that he doesn't have any, but that he's selfish. He just didn't care for Nibbler enough to mourn for his loss without the emotion chip. But Bender has expressed depression in previous episodes (ex. I, Roommate). And even Bender has his limits to his careless attitude towards others. The fact that he labored to build suicide machines for years had bothered him enough to attempt suicide. So Bender does have a conscience, though not one that is strict enough to consider Nibbler's well being. {P} ... The entire episode is what is known as a "parable", a religious fable. {JF} ... Writer Ken Keeler won the 55th Annual WGA Award for this episode even though he was pitted against no less than 3 Simpsons ones. {MW} ======================================================================== > Contributors ======================================================================== {AH} Alan Hamilton {CF} Cosmic F {DS} Daniela Schad {J} Joe25 {JF} Jonah Falcon {MF} Martin Fink {MN} Michael Nissen {MW} Marc Wichterich {OA} Ozan Ayyüce {P} Phoebe {e} edeltraut {h} haleys_comet Original Capsule Author: Can't get enough Futurama Document created on 06/29/2022 at 18:06:01 CET http://www.gotfuturama.com/Information/Capsules/3ACV20.txt