Can't get enough Futurama - Episode Reviews

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Episode Reviews

Short Summary

Near-Death Wish
First aired 08/15/12
Rank: 90/124
Reviews: 104
Rating: 77%

The Professor is deeply disturbed when his parents return from virtual retirement aboard the Near-Death Star.

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#1 by Randy

It was a nice episode. I didn't care for the Matrix jokes but I lol at the naked professor ones. I really liked the ending.

Randy gave 4 points

16.08.2012

#2 by Daniel Bosch

IMHO, the best episode of the new season by quite a margin.

Daniel Bosch gave 5 points

16.08.2012

#3 by SGB

Fur sure a great episode full of great humor, references, and plot-points. I really liked Bender in this one. "That's one crazy uncircumcised old man!" XD

9/10

SGB gave 5 points

16.08.2012

#4 by Jarvio

What a brilliant episode. Funny, intriguing, touching, and plenty of the professor. 10/10

Jarvio gave 5 points

16.08.2012

#5 by Tom_Apples

This episode seemed average, to me(I'm not trolling). Between some jokes in this episode and the mistakes.
Ok let's get started:

THE POSITIVES:

-The joke from the Proffesor's father
-Fry and Leela are possibly no longer "off again-on again"
-The Clippee Awards part(One's who were gone in the line of duty)
-Return of the Near Death Sphere

THE NEGATIVES:

-I can't tell if this is an exaggeration in the episode or just a plain mistake, when Fry said that he was their grandson to the Proffesor's parents, wasn't Fry his own Grandfather?
-Leela pissed off about the Matrix, she also got pissed off about TRON Legacy in "A Farewell to Arms". Which made me annoyed.
-Beginning felt rushed, ending also a bit rushed
-Leela didn't show any signs of her regular personality.

So I really should give this a 6/10. Not good, not bad.

Tom_Apples gave 3 points

16.08.2012

#6 by rok

Good job the writers of The Matrix!

rok gave 5 points

16.08.2012

#7 by Terrick

Loved it! Almost as good as luck of the Fryrish!

Terrick gave 5 points

16.08.2012

#8 by Olwood

A solid episode!

Olwood gave 5 points

16.08.2012

#9 by Beatle60

Best episode of the season so far, great jokes,references, and touching moments.

Beatle60 gave 5 points

16.08.2012

#10 by Mr Snrub

I loved:

The opening scene in the club. Delivery Boy of the Year is a wonderfully silly yet simple idea that gave some good laughs. I liked how Fry was going up against three dead people and still didn't look like he thought he'd win. For those wondering why Bender and Leela weren't there with him, it seemed to be a family only thing, as shown by Dwight/Hermes/LaBarbara and the other young Delivery Boys.
"Let's boldly go where we've gone before!"
More Fry/Leela/Bender trio interaction. While the long Matrix reference was kinda dumb, it felt like the equivalent of elevator small talk, and I like moments between them that seem a bit real. Also, the shot of them falling into the virtual reality was badass. (and 'it's 40% safe!' might be my favourite use of that catchphrase yet.)
Hermes and Bender are still friends! Hooray for consistency!
Fry spending time with his 'grandparents' were sweet, and it was good to see Fry be a bit childish again after his serious first 5 minutes (as much as Leela approved.)
I seem in the minority with this point, but I liked the idea that the Professor isn't actually senile, he was always insane. I don't know why, maybe it makes me more sympathetic towards him? The Brain-O poster made me nerd out a little bit as well.
The ending was sweet, and I think was sort of done as a one-last-time sort of thing. Farnsworth's parents won't be coming back. At least I don't think so.

Mr Snrub gave 5 points

16.08.2012

#11 by Bigsi

really nice episode

Bigsi gave 5 points

16.08.2012

#12 by sturdy

Best episode of the season so far!

sturdy gave 5 points

16.08.2012

#13 by The Futurama Critic

Really good episode, my god it was funny! And it also feels like an episode that has been needed to be done! It doesn't make to a 10/10, but it was still an amazing episode!

9/10

The Futurama Critic gave 5 points

16.08.2012

#14 by sandy amberg

Best Professor episode ever!

sandy amberg gave 5 points

16.08.2012

#15 by Encyclopediatrician.

Best so far from this season, along with Fun On a Bun. Everything worked, great, great episode.

Encyclopediatrician. gave 5 points

16.08.2012

#16 by 4LegsGood

This show topped the season thus far! Passes even "Six Million Dollar Mon" which I loved.

Nothing to complain about. The virtual world of Futurama - including the near death star virtual world, is practically untapped and offers lots and lots of possibilities. I hope they continue to explore it as it has so much potential.

The Professor's older brother bit was dead on hilarious, particularly becuase it was so obvious how it would turn out.

Oh oh oh, my only complaint is that they dumbed down the "Transformers blanket" joke by writing the word "Transformer" on the blanket. Still, that's a small critique, and understandable.

Absolutely fantastic episode!

David

4LegsGood gave 5 points

16.08.2012

#17 by BringerOfPie

Finally, an episode this season fully knocks it out of the park. Easily the best episode since "The Tip of the Zoidberg". It brought something new to the table, had both heart and humor, and had a really cozy ending. Heck, even the self-aware humor (which The Simpsons usually does way better) was on the ball. The story was simple compared to past episodes that reveal bits of a character's past, but this was a case of less being more.

BringerOfPie gave 5 points

16.08.2012

#18 by Flesheatingbull

Bad episode and the writers should feel bad. I feel like people rate these episodes high just becausr it's futurama, kind of like how most think every episode in ST: TOS was great, when many sucked just like Catspaw.

This episode was basly executed and was yet another episode with low quality sci fi.

Last season of The Simpsons was better than this season.

Flesheatingbull gave 1 point

16.08.2012

#19 by accident

Best episode of the season so far, and one of the best episodes ever!

accident gave 5 points

16.08.2012

#20 by Tom_Apples ¦

Finally I don't feel left out.

Tom_Apples ¦ gave 3 points

16.08.2012

#21 by Wishper

I thought it was an excellent episode. The plot moved well throughout the show. Though I was thrown off about Fry calling himself a grandson when he is older and most likely the grandfather of the Professor's Dad.

Wishper gave 4 points

16.08.2012

#22 by zach

great episode

zach gave 5 points

16.08.2012

#23 by lemming

A very touching story with some hilarious moments!

lemming gave 5 points

16.08.2012

#24 by Sure Win

Outstanding, the professor is one of my favorite characters, loved the naked jokes

Sure Win gave 5 points

16.08.2012

#25 by jayThomas

For Tom_Apples (and any others complaining about Fry passing himself off as their "grandson"), this was addressed head-on in the episode by Fry explaining who he was, confusing them, and then reverting to saying he was their grandson in order to make it easier for them to understand.

Without that, the episode could've been stuck on "confused old people" mode instead of having the heart and depth it did.

Seems a bit cheap to vote twice too, Tom.

jayThomas gave 5 points

16.08.2012

#26 by found growing

Very good!!

found growing gave 5 points

16.08.2012

#27 by GaytardedEpisode

It was another dumb rehash that stands up with the latter seasons of "The Simpsons" in terms of pure lazy writing and bad jokes.

0/5.

GaytardedEpisode gave 1 point

16.08.2012

#28 by hercules

such a funny episode

hercules gave 5 points

16.08.2012

#29 by falcan

Have to give it a 5, mainly because of the Oktoberfest one which I rated 1. This one represented what I really like about Futurama all the time - original, compact, *smart* (that's missing in lots of the eps lately) which means it doesn't insult your intelligence, Fry doesn't act like retarded for once, Zoidberg has his moment of importance :D, professor crawling, near-death star visit(quite epic), everything makes sense, is explained and is falling into place.

Don't keep those as the last eps though - lately I'm getting the feeling that instead of looking forward to each ep like in the past I'm praying that "this time" it will be finally the smart Futurama. Today it was.

falcan gave 5 points

17.08.2012

#30 by DTP

While I still felt like there were pacing issues, it was certainly better than "Free Will Hunting" in that respect. The comedy felt pretty good in this one, my favorite jokes surrounding the Clippies. It was good to see some sci-fi, and I'm so glad that it was just Fry/Leela/Bender for a change (such a good dynamic).

Overall, it was one of the best this season with "Farewell to Arms" and "Fun on a Bun". Hope to see more like this.

DTP gave 4 points

17.08.2012

#31 by mike w.

Write loved it

mike w. gave 5 points

17.08.2012

#32 by jamie

I loved Fry this episode! He was so believable.

jamie gave 5 points

17.08.2012

#33 by Justin Perowe

really liked this one, thank you writers!

Justin Perowe gave 5 points

17.08.2012

#34 by Nitrou$

Simply amazing...had a great story and it was done really well!!! Now at least there's an option that the professor might still have a brother...if what bender was about to say is false!!!! lol.

Nitrou$ gave 5 points

17.08.2012

#35 by MNGentry

Very well done.

The Matrix jokes seem to be bothering some you all a bit too much...
It's just jokes.
(kinda like Jar Jar Abram's Star Trek reboot/prequel/alternate timeline thingy)

MNGentry gave 5 points

17.08.2012

#36 by inmatoor

Pretty dang good schtuff

inmatoor gave 5 points

17.08.2012

#37 by Lazy guy

First time I'm reviewing an episode but I thought this ons worth it. I thought this was a great episode it was a great story loved the jokes the professor was hilarious from the moment he appeared, Loved the references in this episode Fry seemed to be stupider than usual in this episode though I do however think he could of left the whole thing out of thinking of the professors parents as his grandparents considering he is his own grandfather and the professor is his nephew so that could of just been left unmentioned if you ask me. it was nice to get a bit more of a back story into the professors life an the ending was very touching really enjoyed this episode.

Lazy guy gave 5 points

17.08.2012

#38 by MynameisBort

This season have been painfully hit-or-miss, and unfortunately for the viewer, it was very miss.

What seemed like a good plot turned out to be a very poorly executed episode.

The callback to the original episode featuring the Near-Death Star fell flat and actually damaged the legacy of the original.

I won't waste my time drawling on and on, but I will say that Futurama is much better when it tries to be original Star Trek.

Try making more episodes like My Three Suns, A Pharaoh to Remember, Why Must I be Crustacian in Love?, The Farnsworth Parabox, Where No Fan Has Gone Before, ect.

MynameisBort gave 1 point

17.08.2012

#39 by Sweet Zombie Jesus

Even though the Wachowski brothers are not dead, they are still rolling over in their graves!

I would consider giving this episode a 0 if possible but luckily a few good one liners from Bender saved me from that (of course it's not possible, but now it's already been established that I'm mad.)

I am really questioning most Futurama fans this season as everyone is still very quick to give every episode a 5. We all like different things of course but in my opinion this year still only has one good episode (not a five either), and one more that passable.

I suppose one must continue to hope that things get better.

Sweet Zombie Jesus gave 1 point

17.08.2012

#40 by PoooPzilla

This show and this site should be canceled instantly.

This episode sucked, and so does this site.

Fuck Futurama, they totally wrecked it.

PoooPzilla gave 1 point

17.08.2012

#41 by Spoon Man

Here we go again with the lame, Family Guy-esque "jokes". This episode was uncomfortable to watch, to say the least.

Spoon Man gave 1 point

17.08.2012

#42 by asll

ahh man that was just great :)

asll gave 5 points

17.08.2012

#43 by Ael.

Love this. Was liek tutallyawesome.

Ael. gave 5 points

17.08.2012

#44 by renegade

Best episode of the season so far

renegade gave 5 points

17.08.2012

#45 by Lamusiqe13

Finally, a really good Futurama episode. I haven't seen one I could give a 5 to since Decision 3012. The ending was really great, if a bit rushed, and it was great throughout. I loved finding out more about Farnsworth's past, and the Star Wars reference in the musical cue was AWESOME. Were there problems? Yes. The beginning was overly long and almost entirely inconsequential to the plot, and Leela was very out of character in this episode. But despite the problems, this was a very enjoyable episode, and I hope we get to see more like it soon.

Lamusiqe13 gave 5 points

17.08.2012

#46 by jamirekawaii

I liked the use of Fry this episode. The was important in the plot development, but he wasn't the focus.

jamirekawaii gave 5 points

18.08.2012

#47 by offset

this is just to offset the trolls giving the ep a score of 1

great in my opinion.

offset gave 5 points

18.08.2012

#48 by Troll Auditor

If the retard above me simply looked at the reviews given thus far, he'd realize that if there is any trolling being done, it's by folks giving it 5/5.

If you look at many of the reviewers, they have names like 'asll' and other random letters thrown together, usually with an even more random review.

I highly doubt that someone that has never liked Futurama would decide to search for a fansite to troll with it's reviews. Anyways, we all know that true trolls are to be found on message boards.

Anyways, this episode and this overall season is/was not good. It seems that the writers have nothing funny or interesting or original in the sci-fi department to really say. That's a shame, because this show used to be extremely awesome for sci-fi and high brow comedy fans.

1/5

Troll Auditor gave 1 point

18.08.2012

#49 by asll

(yes, that username is on purpose.)

I'm not sure you know what trolling is. It's not posting a simple comment. It's relentlessly hating on something for little or no reason. Which is happening alot this season.

asll gave 5 points

18.08.2012

#50 by Lee

Two points for the episode, up until the ending, which was too sweet not for me to bump it up a little. Pretty drawn out episode, with hardly any decent jokes and a messy storyline. Not one of my favourites this season.

Lee gave 3 points

18.08.2012

#51 by Blowhole

Really lousy episode and season.

Blowhole gave 1 point

18.08.2012

#52 by Stupidarama

I'm glad the ratings are so low b/c the show fucking sucks now, this episode was just plain awful.

And no Cubert... what a lazy episode all around.

How can people watch crap like this.. and to think "Family Gay" is still worse.

What a bunch of fucking rubes.

Death to all whom make this crapola!

Stupidarama gave 1 point

18.08.2012

#53 by Spamdrew

hmm...see's this episode goot away with it for a while, but now the trolling has begun. Shame, because I really loved this episode.

Spamdrew gave 5 points

18.08.2012

#54 by Vinnie

1/5.

The show seems to be going downhill. It's a shame, really.

Vinnie gave 1 point

18.08.2012

#55 by Mayday Boy

Excellent episode. It's a shame that the rating is being dragged down by idiots that don't even like the show. I loved it.

Mayday Boy gave 5 points

18.08.2012

#56 by Not Lobstertainment

Another highly disappointing episode. The plot had tons of potential, but the writing dragged it down immensely.

boourns!

Not Lobstertainment gave 1 point

18.08.2012

#57 by Dom

This deserves a better ranking! Seriously, people around here are idiots! This was a good episode, and I wasn't expecting it to be a classic, no matter how much it sounded like it was going to be one. I liked the ep though, and don't know why you guys come here and complain bull shit

Dom gave 5 points

18.08.2012

#58 by Lyra405

I thought it was good. Not great, but good.

Lyra405 gave 4 points

18.08.2012

#59 by politics

One of my favorite Professor related stories since futurama began.

politics gave 5 points

18.08.2012

#60 by Edweirdo

terrible. son, i am disappoint.

Edweirdo gave 1 point

18.08.2012

#61 by Rich

Best episode of the season by far. Funny, touching, and made references to past places/events in meaningful ways. I'm surprised this just got average reviews from everyone else

Rich gave 5 points

18.08.2012

#62 by miguel

Apart from Zapp Dingbat, the funniest episode this season. What's with the hate?

miguel gave 5 points

18.08.2012

#63 by themoirae

So what did Bender do to the professor's rodeo clown brother after all?

themoirae gave 4 points

19.08.2012

#64 by FUCKTHISSHOW

Goddamn this site and show sucks balls now!!!!!!

Fuck em and feed em fish heads!!!

Fransworth has family now, whoopie dooo.

But Cuberts dead now, I guess.

Fuck this shit, I'm done.

FUCKTHISSHOW gave 1 point

19.08.2012

#65 by ratchet

Wow. You won't be missed. I, on the other hand, like this episode very much. The pacing was good, the story was sweet, it was really funny and they characters seemed true to themselves.

ratchet gave 5 points

19.08.2012

#66 by PeelersNightmare

If anyone thinks this episode deserves an overall rating above a 75, then their opinion is stupid.

PeelersNightmare gave 1 point

19.08.2012

#67 by Toddk

I thought the episode was good, Although I would expect the professor's parents to look much much older. On the positive side they did look like him. Loved the professor's cape on the catwalk and his sneaking around the office. This is the 3rd time that I cried during an episode, reason being that anyone who had a rotten childhood and blaming the parents struck a cord in me. I also have never seen such negativity about this season in general, Even though I didn't like all the shows from last year, I wouldnt even dream of coming off so negative on this message board.

Toddk gave 4 points

19.08.2012

#68 by Mansell

A great all-around episode, I love the pairing of fry and the professor, so I was always going to like it.

Mansell gave 5 points

19.08.2012

#69 by turkinaa

Slightly softer episode with some dry humor in it. Good episode and it is nice that they try to expand a bit on Fry's family and reuse places from seasons past. Overall good episode, but not great.

turkinaa gave 4 points

19.08.2012

#70 by Justice

To "PeelersNightmare" - shut up. Who are you to say who's opinion is stupid.

IN MY OPINION people are being far too cynical. This WAS a good episode. And I don't understand the negativity.

Justice gave 5 points

19.08.2012

#71 by Retrofreak

I like it. Not the best, but I had lots of fun.
Why are so much agressive haters here now? If you want to get rid of your rude feelings, dont comment futurama episodes... better change to sponge bob or something else.

Retrofreak gave 4 points

19.08.2012

#72 by What the fuck!!!

This was the worst episode I've seen in a long time!

FOR SHAME!

What the fuck!!! gave 1 point

20.08.2012

#73 by lowki

One of my favourite episodes of the new run!

lowki gave 5 points

20.08.2012

#74 by Michal79

For me the worse episode ever.
Not funny at all and with strange and not believable characters behavior.

Michal79 gave 1 point

20.08.2012

#75 by percy

Not sure if people are 1 spamming or what, but this is one of my favorite episodes ever. Funny, sweet, had good pacing and everyone seemed in character.

percy gave 5 points

20.08.2012

#76 by Tom

I really liked this episode!

Tom gave 5 points

21.08.2012

#77 by Ian

Another sweet addition to an enjoyable season.

Ian gave 5 points

21.08.2012

#78 by Cedced

Loved it. It is the first episode of this season that I enjoyed like an old-time classic Futurama episode.

Cedced gave 5 points

21.08.2012

#79 by knowsfords

One guy is definitely spamming with rating 1... this was a good solid episode and doesn't deserve to be under 80%

knowsfords gave 4 points

22.08.2012

#80 by Anonymobot

The best all season: callbacks that extended the Futurama universe but still made sense, characterizations that fit but were new, new characters, people acting in character, funny without being crazy, and the stuff about the Matrix was great.

Anonymobot gave 5 points

23.08.2012

#81 by Captain Yesterday

Not sure about the others above, but this 1 rating is not a spam. I could ask many of those here how they can rate this episode as a 5 as so much of it was just plain off.

This season has been the worst by far for me and this is the third 1 I've given. I could get into piles of things I didn't like about this episode but I just feel I need to... it spoke for itself.

Oh my various gods I hope tonights episode is better.

Captain Yesterday gave 1 point

23.08.2012

#82 by Zoos

Don't know why some ppl r giving it such a low score...I thought the episode was great and played an important part in the development of the professors past.
Had some funny moments, but it was more of a serious episode. Kind of like luck of the fryish.
Overall this episode was an easy 5.

Zoos gave 5 points

23.08.2012

#83 by lotus

Best professor episode yet, and oh my god the animation was breathtaking in this one.

lotus gave 5 points

23.08.2012

#84 by Niniogorila

This episode was amazig. It should have 80%....

Niniogorila gave 5 points

23.08.2012

#85 by K

Classic

K gave 5 points

24.08.2012

#86 by Scaretale

This was a good episode, in part funny, in part sweet, but also at times confusing and bizarre. 4 seems like an appropriate rating.

Scaretale gave 4 points

24.08.2012

#87 by lionsault

This was such a swet story! For me, almost (almost) as good as Luck of the Fryrish.

lionsault gave 5 points

24.08.2012

#88 by Betty Boop

A beauty!

Betty Boop gave 5 points

25.08.2012

#89 by Xmen

I laughed from start to finish.

Xmen gave 5 points

26.08.2012

#90 by renbutler

The ending was cute, but the episode wasn't very funny. I can appreciate throwbacks to the old Futurama, but it seems like it's been almost overkill recently. It almost seems like they're recycling plots and settings instead of including new and interesting twists on old stories.

renbutler gave 3 points

26.08.2012

#91 by trysoft

There have been two callbacks to other planets this season. Two. Anyways, this is my favorite episode this season. Bar none.

trysoft gave 5 points

27.08.2012

#92 by TheGreatRevealo

Terrific, enjoyable episode. Great VO work all around.

TheGreatRevealo gave 4 points

27.08.2012

#93 by Dumb

This one was hacky.

Fuck this episode to hell!!

I guess I'll go watch "Yo Leela Leela" instead.

AS IT'S BETTER!!!

ZING!!

AND IT'S GARBAGE< ZING ZIMNG!!!

Dumb gave 1 point

30.08.2012

#94 by Ishkabibble

Not getting the hate for this one.

This one had plenty of good humor and honest schmaltz that is often missing from the newer episodes--and this sort of episode definitely warrants those sort of sentimental moments.

Ishkabibble gave 5 points

30.08.2012

#95 by justin

I usually hate Farnsworth, but this episode was brilliant!

justin gave 5 points

30.08.2012

#96 by terrance

My favorite use of Fry this season. I liked how the episode started off being about him, but he took a step back as it went on and it transitioned smoothly.

terrance gave 5 points

16.09.2012

#97 by Sidney

Don't really get the mediocre score, this was one of my favorite episodes ever.

Sidney gave 5 points

19.09.2012

#98 by landon

This deserves to be right up there with some of the best episodes ever.

landon gave 5 points

27.09.2012

#99 by David

Not great, but just to know the professors parents... and how crazy he was... sweating his pants... well worth the time. Just not great or awesome, but this season hasn't been anything to write home about.

David gave 3 points

02.10.2012

#100 by Pandorita

I liked it, i wasn't epic but still very good. I think it deserves a rating over 80%.

Pandorita gave 4 points

04.01.2013

#101 by GOD 2

Damn good meat.. ermm, I mean, episode!

GOD 2 gave 5 points

19.04.2013

#102 by Tama

I loved this episode. Really sweet but funny, too.

Tama gave 5 points

15.10.2013

#103 by Tobz

Fantastic episode, learned about Farnsworth'a family, some great jokes and emotion thrown in for good measure.

Tobz gave 5 points

24.02.2015

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