Futurama Wiki
Register
Futurama Wiki
m (manually specifying that this is an Episode)
(48 intermediate revisions by 21 users not shown)
Line 1: Line 1:
  +
{{Tab|Eps}}
'''Episode Number''': 1ACV05
 
  +
{{Infobox television episode
 
|title = Fear of a Bot Planet
  +
|image = [[File:FearsofaBotPlanet.png|250px]]
  +
|episode = 5
  +
|season = 1
  +
|prod_code = 1ACV05
  +
|airdate = 18 April, 1999
 
|director = [[Ashley Lenz]], [[Chris Sauve]], [[Edemer Santos]]
 
|writer = [[Evan Gore]], [[Heather Lombard]]
 
| subtitle = Featuring Gratuitous Alien Nudity
 
|storyboards = [[Albert Calleros]], [[Rodney Clouden]], [[Doug Gallery]]
  +
|preceded_by = "[[Love's Labours Lost in Space]]"
  +
|followed_by = "[[A Fishful of Dollars]]"
  +
}}
  +
{{Quote|Administer the test.|Robot #1}}<br />
  +
:''Which of the following would you most prefer?''
  +
:''A: A puppy,''<br />
  +
:''B: A pretty flower from your sweetie, or''<br />
  +
:''C: A large properly formatted data file?''
  +
:'''―Robot #2'''<br />
  +
{{Quote|Choose!|Robot #1}}
  +
'''Fear of a Bot Planet''' is the fifth episode of production [[:Category:Season One|Season One]] and the fifth [[Season 1 (broadcast)|broadcast]] episode of ''[[Futurama]]''. It originally aired in North America on April 18, 1999.
   
  +
== Plot ==
'''Title''': "Fear Of A Bot Planet"
 
  +
While attending a [[New New York Yankees]] [[blernsball]] game at [[Madison Cube Garden]], [[Fry]] is told by [[Leela]] that Blernsball is a "jazzed up" version of baseball. [[Bender]] is offended that humans won't let robots compete in the blernsball league. [[Hermes]] calls the crew to report back to the office for a delivery mission. The delivery is to [[Chapek 9]], a planet inhabited by human-hating robot separatists who kill humans on sight, so Bender is assigned the duty of performing the actual delivery. Bender claims that it is a robot-religious holiday, ''Robanukah'', and doesn't have to work. Despite his made-up holiday, Bender must go on the mission.
   
  +
Upon arriving at the planet, a resentful Bender is lowered to the surface using the ship's winch. Fry and Leela decide to throw a [[Robanukah]] party for Bender to show their appreciation. They receive a rushed message from Bender, who has been captured by the robot separatists when they found out he worked for humans. In order to avoid being killed on sight, Fry and Leela disguise themselves as robots, and infiltrate the robot society.
'''Original Airdate''': April 20, 1999
 
   
  +
After hiding out in a robot movie theater, Fry and Leela blend in with the crowd at the opening ceremonies of the daily human hunt. There they discover Bender is alive and playing the robots' prejudice for his own benefit, claiming he has killed a million billion humans on Earth.
'''Abstract''': While delivering a package to a planet inhabited by robots, where humans are killed instantly, Bender becomes intoxicated with the robot lifestyle and must choose between becoming a celebrity of sorts or saving his friends' lives.
 
   
  +
Fry and Leela reunite with Bender during the hunt in an abandoned robot porn shop, but he refuses their offer of rescue. Before Fry and Leela can leave, the other robots arrive and they are placed on trial for being human. After being sentenced to a life of tedious robot-type labor by [[Computer Judge]], they are dropped through a trap door, where they meet the five [[Robot Elders]]. The Robot Elders reveal that the trial was for entertainment, and command Bender to kill Fry and Leela with a device called ''The Ceremonial Killamagig'', but he refuses. The Robot Elders reveal that humans are just being used as a scapegoat to distract the population from the actual problems; lug nut shortages and the incompetent corrupt government of Robot Elders, and that many of the supposed powers humans have that robots fear are in fact made up. The Robot Elders decide to kill the three, citing that they know too much. Fry threatens to breathe fire on the robot elders, throwing them into a state of confusion on whether humans can do that or if that was something that they themselves made up. The crew escapes, and is pursued by a horde of robots. As the crew escapes on the winch, the robots stack on top of each other to capture the crew. Bender remembers that he never actually delivered the package, and puts it into the hands of the robot on top. The unbalanced tower and the package falls to the ground, and the robots are showered in much-needed lug nuts, and renounce their human-hating ways. The crew, now en route back to Earth, celebrate ''Robanukah'' with Bender.
'''Starring''': [[Fry]], [[Bender]], [[Leela]]
 
 
'''Also Starring''': [[Professor Farnsworth]], [[Hermes]], [[Dr. Zoidberg]], [[The Robot Elders]]
 
 
'''Special Guests''':
 
 
'''Intro Promotion''': Featuring Gratuitous Alien Nudity
 
 
'''Intro Cartoon''': Bugs Bunny & Porky Pigg
 
 
'''Co-Directed by''': [[Ashley Lenz]] & [[Chris Sauve]]
 
 
'''Assistant Director''': [[Edemer Santos]]
 
 
'''Written by''': [[Evan Gore]] & [[Heather Lombard]]
 
 
'''Storyboarded by''': [[Albert Calleros]], [[Rodney Clouden]], [[Doug Gallery]]
 
 
== References Explained ==
 
 
* The title comes from the album ''Fear of a Black Planet'' by Public Enemy
 
* The robot-populated planet of Chapek 9 is named after Karel Čapek, a Czech writer who coined the term "robot"
 
* When Fry and Leela are initially discovered, the discovering robot cries the shriek from the movie Invasion of the Body Snatchers, and later heard the well-known phrase "Intruder alert!" from the 1980 video game Berzerk about humans fighting robots.
 
* The horn that sounded the hunt for humans was the sound an Apple Macintosh makes when it is turned on.
 
* The construction robots Fry and Leela talk to build with Tetris blocks. When the lines are full, a robot panics, and then these pieces disappear.
 
* The movie posters at the robot movie theater are:
 
** Barbot Streisand in ''Yentltron'' (a parody of Barbra Streisand and ''Yentl'')
 
** ''Buff Bot the Human Slayer'' (a parody of ''Buffy the Vampire Slayer'') This may also be a reference to the use of "buffbots" in multiplayer online games. These alternate characters, or "bots", give (usually magical) performance enhancements, or "buffs" to the main character, or group.
 
** ''I Was a Teenage Human'' (a parody of ''I Was a Teenage Werewolf'')
 
** ''It Came From Planet Earth'' (a parody of ''It Came From Outer Space'')
 
* A billboard on Chapek 9 parodies the Got Milk? advertising campaign with a sign reading "Got Milk? Then you're a human and must be killed"
 
 
== External Links ==
 
[http://www.futurama-madhouse.com.ar/scripts/1acv05.shtml Episode Transcript]
 
   
  +
{{EpisodeListBroadcastOrder}}
  +
{{EpisodeListProductionOrder}}
  +
[[Category:Season One]]
 
[[Category:Episodes]]
 
[[Category:Episodes]]

Revision as of 18:47, 21 December 2013

Episode
References
Appearances
Transcript
Goofs
Gallery

"Administer the test."
Robot #1
Which of the following would you most prefer?
A: A puppy,
B: A pretty flower from your sweetie, or
C: A large properly formatted data file?
―Robot #2
"Choose!"
Robot #1

Fear of a Bot Planet is the fifth episode of production Season One and the fifth broadcast episode of Futurama. It originally aired in North America on April 18, 1999.

Plot

While attending a New New York Yankees blernsball game at Madison Cube Garden, Fry is told by Leela that Blernsball is a "jazzed up" version of baseball. Bender is offended that humans won't let robots compete in the blernsball league. Hermes calls the crew to report back to the office for a delivery mission. The delivery is to Chapek 9, a planet inhabited by human-hating robot separatists who kill humans on sight, so Bender is assigned the duty of performing the actual delivery. Bender claims that it is a robot-religious holiday, Robanukah, and doesn't have to work. Despite his made-up holiday, Bender must go on the mission.

Upon arriving at the planet, a resentful Bender is lowered to the surface using the ship's winch. Fry and Leela decide to throw a Robanukah party for Bender to show their appreciation. They receive a rushed message from Bender, who has been captured by the robot separatists when they found out he worked for humans. In order to avoid being killed on sight, Fry and Leela disguise themselves as robots, and infiltrate the robot society.

After hiding out in a robot movie theater, Fry and Leela blend in with the crowd at the opening ceremonies of the daily human hunt. There they discover Bender is alive and playing the robots' prejudice for his own benefit, claiming he has killed a million billion humans on Earth.

Fry and Leela reunite with Bender during the hunt in an abandoned robot porn shop, but he refuses their offer of rescue. Before Fry and Leela can leave, the other robots arrive and they are placed on trial for being human. After being sentenced to a life of tedious robot-type labor by Computer Judge, they are dropped through a trap door, where they meet the five Robot Elders. The Robot Elders reveal that the trial was for entertainment, and command Bender to kill Fry and Leela with a device called The Ceremonial Killamagig, but he refuses. The Robot Elders reveal that humans are just being used as a scapegoat to distract the population from the actual problems; lug nut shortages and the incompetent corrupt government of Robot Elders, and that many of the supposed powers humans have that robots fear are in fact made up. The Robot Elders decide to kill the three, citing that they know too much. Fry threatens to breathe fire on the robot elders, throwing them into a state of confusion on whether humans can do that or if that was something that they themselves made up. The crew escapes, and is pursued by a horde of robots. As the crew escapes on the winch, the robots stack on top of each other to capture the crew. Bender remembers that he never actually delivered the package, and puts it into the hands of the robot on top. The unbalanced tower and the package falls to the ground, and the robots are showered in much-needed lug nuts, and renounce their human-hating ways. The crew, now en route back to Earth, celebrate Robanukah with Bender.