The Making of Futurama was a Sh*t Show (Part 1)

25 years ago, the creator of The Simpsons Unleashed took a brutally honest and unflinching look at the future, it was outrageous, mind-blowing, a little heartbreaking and all kinds of fun, shut up and get to the point stuff. Futurama is a mainstay of adult animation, so it's hard to believe. that 20th Century Fox executives never liked any of it, demanded changes throughout its inception, and then condemned it to a terrible schedule, confusing the producers as to why it had to become a shit

show

. In 1989, the Fox television network was a fledgling and floundering broadcast network with very few claims to fame.

The Simpsons changed all that, created by cartoonist Matt Graening with the help of producer James L Brooks and

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runner Sam Simon. The Simpsons, the subversion of family comedies, the self-aware metanis and its general hysteria. The variety of humor, from intellectual to slapstick, created an instant hit for Fox. The next decade belonged to Matt Gring's animated comedy Hello Kura Hello Leo Hello Excellent Millions tuned in every week and that rabid fan base spent billions on merchandising, is pushing the boundaries for time and direct social satire offended parents, religious leaders, and U.S. presidents by

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American families a lot more like The Waltons and a lot less like The Simpsons.

It won dozens of awards and was easily one of the best television shows ever made during its heyday. led to the rise of adult anime in the 1990s such as Beas and Butthead Family Guy on South Park and inspired many others from The Office to The Daily Show and, being animated, was also easily dubbed for foreign markets,

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that made it a global phenomenon. Simpsons Mania was everywhere while today is nowhere near the Behemoth it once was, it's hard not to overemphasize the influence the Simpsons have had on pop culture and really the world in general NE L to say that Fox would do any thing to get another Matt Graining show on the air and they bothered him.

For years, not long ago, the Fox network approached the producers of The Simpsons with a simple request: 35 new shows to fill some gaps in its programming. In 1995, Grainging began considering Earnest, driven by his apparent fear of robots. Graining wanted to combine comedy. With science fiction I'm going to do what I've always dreamed of, I'm going to write that comedy about the daring robot that stays in the same lane as The Simpsons. He imagined a future that was neither an optimistic utopia nor a Nightmare dystopia, but in which everything It's just as stupid and polarizing as it is today.

If I were registered to vote, I would send a message to these clowns by staying home on Election Day and dressing like a clown. You are not registered. No, you are not vaccinated either. I came up with the idea for Future Rama about a well-intentioned simpleton, Philip J. Fry, who accidentally becomes cryogenically frozen upon waking up in the year 3000 and is taken in by his extremely distant nephew, 160-year-old mad scientist Professor Farnworth. . This is an opportunity for Fry to test my experimental anti-pressure pill. I can't swallow it well, so good news, he is a suppository. About a year into the project, he decided that he needed help developing all of these concepts.

In 1997, he recruited David X Cohen. The X doesn't mean anything. By the way, he had to differentiate himself from another David Cohen to remain in the writers' guild. Cohen followed the usual path of comedy writers: he earned a bachelor's degree in physics at Harvard followed by a master's degree in computer science at Berkeley, which naturally earned him his first degree. He wrote for Vias and Butthead and that led to him joining The Simpsons in 93. They call this writing. If he vomited in a fountain pen and mailed it to The Monkey House, he'd get better scripts, but sir, at Harvard, at Harvard they take offense.

You came to the straight EG, Chief Cohen, wrote multiple episodes and segments and constructed probably the best sci-fi moment in the series' history. I have to go now my planet needs me. Wow, pooie came from another planet. I guess he was also responsible for throwing in overly complicated math jokes in the background, inadvertently creating a dedicated fan base primed for a nerdy sci-fi cartoon and then saying, you know, we want to make this look scientific, put some equations in the background, so that's where I thought, oh, instead of just doing It's silly. I might as well make some jokes that three of my friends from grad school will at least understand and no one else will care or talk about in the theater 20 years later, Graing saw Cohen as the perfect match to help him. develop the future Rama and Cohen knew that he had to say yes because no other offer in Hollywood could be more suitable for his skills and interests, since sci-fi comedies didn't really exist at the time and Cohen was mainly inspired by the productions low budget.

From old sci-fi television like Doctor Who and Loston Space, the two spent a year detailing every aspect of the future Rama, such as choosing which scientific concepts to parody and discussing how robots had integrated into society, while the grain already had teranga Leela zap Branigan and KF kroer with Cohen, who created the most sci-fi characters, such as the talking crustacean Dr. Zoidberg, look at me, I'm Dr. Zberg, the owner of the house, the pet Dark Matter, the pooping Nibbler , and the impulsive, selfish drinking robot, Bender, Bender, honey, we love you, shut up, baby, I know. Bender was deliberately meant to be Futurama's Homer Simpson, but this time Pearl's parents couldn't accuse him of being a bad role model because he's a fictional robot.

Try these kids at home is a television sensation. Bender is a bad role model for Earth. The kids, that's crazy, also created a robot called Pocket Pal that appeared periodically to explain the future to fry, but they scrapped the idea thinking that not explaining the madness of the year 3000 was much more fun. In the end, the two men had a huge portfolio representing 2. After years of work, in April 1998 they were ready to pitch Futurama to Fox and Cohen spent 2 hours describing a host of characters, locations, themes and plots to the viewers. anxious executives and ended by saying what I've done to the American family with the The Simpsons, let's do science fiction with the future Rollin, they jumped in and ordered 13 episodes on the spot and then that was when the honeymoon was over, at the moment when who ordered it, were completely scared and afraid that the program would be too dark. and petty and thought they had made a huge mistake and that the only way to address their anxiety was to try to drive me as crazy as possible with their frustrations when James L.

Brooks brought the Simpsons to Fox, they were so desperate for content. They made a deal with Brooks and understood that they would never interfere creatively with the series, but in the years since Fox's execubots had become increasingly corporate and excessively meddlesome in all their other shows, the executive Alpha programmed to like them. the things I had seen before. Hello, beta executive scheduled to roll the dice to determine the fall schedule. More reality shows. He soon realized how spoiled he was on The Simpsons. He spent countless meetings with Fox constantly telling them no because they wanted to change every aspect of the series.

They questioned the aliens who had Italian. accentuates futuristic products with identifiable brands prostitutes who are coin-operated robots and didn't understand why the plots kept happening outside of Earth why it's not smart it's unexpected but that's not why people watch television smart things make the people feel stupid and unexpected things make them feel Scared, FOX also didn't approve of him selecting a Draft Studios to handle the animation even though the company was founded by Simpsons veterans and called The Experience the worst of its career. He already resented the idea that Fox thought The Simpsons' success was a product of his own efforts, and he wasn't afraid to arrogantly point to his yellow family as proof of what happens when creatives are left alone again. .

The Simpsons built the network and made them billions. Initially, Diagnosis Murder's Charlie Schlatter wasn't safe from the mindless manipulation and Mad TV's Nicole Sullivan got Leela, but soon after Fox abruptly fired them both for no reason given the

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of the story I remember being a such a shameful word. actors is that Charlie called Nicole and said my agent just called me and I got fired and then Nicole waits for a second. I'm receiving a call. Oh, anyone worth their salt has been fired at some point like me and you. Yeah, it is like that, but sometimes it doesn't fit right or whatever, um, or some executives feel like they need to pee on their show, they were caught off guard and Cohen had to go with his Runner UPS, uh, uh, uh, well, him since Billy West was. already cast as the professor and only auditioned for fry, he was given the role, while Leela came in for Katie Seagal, who had just finished Married with Children, a curious fact that Fox publicly canceled before tragically telling the cast and crew that they also lost to Phil Hartman.

Zap Branagan's role specifically for him after his unexpected death. Billy West also took on the role, modeling his performance after Hartman. If you look at another woman, I'll be all over Leela like a fly on a very seductive dung heap as The Simpsons mostly moved away from day-to-day operations and became more of a consultant; she attended the table reads when the actors read a new script together for the first time. She would occasionally come into the writer's room and give notes throughout the process. David Cohen was always intended to be the showrunner of the series from day one, filling the writer's room with Simpsons alumni, almost all of whom had degrees in science or mathematics, three of whom had PhDs, making them perfect for making the most of sci-fi, let's say nerdy nerd at the time.

Making a single episode of Futurama or The Simpsons took about 9 months after the writing was finished and the actors had recorded their lines. American animators would draw approximately a thousand keyframes for each episode. The writers would take notes. Changes were made and then animatic was sent to the South Korean studio, where they animated everything between 20 and 25,000 frames, but unlike The Simpsons, Futurama was digitally colored, in fact the series used a wide range of computer techniques for the final product, from the simple 3D effects the Planet Express sends to the hidden lip-sync alterations to the dialogue replacement when the pilot was finished.

Fox was infuriated to find out it wasn't for them and kind of like The Simpsons, meaning they were literally expecting a family of five in the slot you see on TV audiences. They don't want anything original, they want to see the same thing they've seen thousands of times before in a last-ditch effort by Stitch to address the studio's concerns and Coen deliberately produced the third episode. Roommate, the network was really scared by the show. with the suicide booths and the lobster creatures and Bender being so antisocial and again this was our show was about toning it down this script was written specifically to his specifications and his reaction David, worst episode ever, even Compelled by All notes asked Fox still didn't like the show.

He finally put his foot down, saying that he would no longer listen to his complaints and that they produced the series as independently as The Simpsons. Futurama debuted on Sunday, March 28, 1999. 19 Mill Earthin tuned in even surpassing their Critics of The Simpsons were lukewarm about the new series, thinking it wasn't as sharp as The Simpsons, but its originality and inventiveness showed great promise. . Gring wanted Futurama to air on The Rain Sweet Spot at 8:30 p.m. on Sunday nights between the powerhouses of The Simpsons at 8 and xfiles at 9 Fox only let it air there for two episodes before moving it to their lower-rated animation on Tuesday nights alongside King Of The Hill Family Guy and the PCs due to technical difficulties. now we bring you eight animated shows in a row Futurama lost almost 50% of its audience with the grain change.

He called the move a historic mistake and assumed it was retaliation from Fox because he didn't listen to his notes for the rest of the show. The year the Graining wasn't nice, when he spoke to the press, he became enraged that Fox was no longer encouraging original series, which were permanently operating in damage control mode for their past failures and, frankly, clearly had no idea. of what they were doing. The Graining was willing to take everything. blame him if the series flopped, but it had to be on his terms overall, although he was optimistic that the quality of the show would increase viewership regardless of itstime slot, and sure enough, by the end of its first season, viewership was steadily increasing.

At the beginning of the second season, Fox put Futurama back on that Prime Sunday at 8:30 p.m. room for only four episodes, that's all, but now there will be plenty of time to discuss the objections to him when and if he returns, whether they were really punishing him for his lack of control or perhaps furious because he kept dragging his name around. the mud gave the slot to his new series Malcolm in the Middle and brought forward Futurama an hour and a half earlier, at 700 p.m. on Sundays was considered a death sentence on Fox as it often competed with sports ball games and post-game talk shows, if the games went over any series stuck in that time slot simply wouldn't air that day and The episode would be shelved because Futurama's four seasons of episodes aired inconsistently into five seasons of broadcast television and were completely out of order, which normally wouldn't be a problem for most comedies like The Simpsons. but Futurama leaned into its continuity, especially with its romance between Fry and Leela and The ever-evolving mythology about Fry's importance in the universe when it airs Futurama is placed in that airing order, not chronological, on Sunday at 700 p.m. is where Futurama remained for the rest of its run.

Fox basically forgot the show existed even when it won the Emmy for Outstanding Animated Program for Roswell, that ends well. Fox never bothered to call Graening or Cohen to congratulate them, hey, don't cut that. I need that to talk and Fox couldn't be mad at the show for offending anyone because all the controversies they feared would arise never came to be, even though Nixon's heirs asked them to stop making fun of him in our darkest moment as we can. bear. upright with proud, pushed breasts anyone who laughs is a communist everything I saw was dwindling viewership thanks to that erratic schedule sometimes it meant only one new episode a month and that made building an audience almost impossible.

The glorious ratings slowly cratered and lasted for 72 episodes. Fox technically never canceled Futurama, they just didn't order another season, but really what's the difference, another classic sci-fi show canceled before its time for fans, it was a bitter result because the series was really flourishing creatively and critically, maybe The first season wasn't as strong as some expected, but critics and butchers alike agree that the show only got better in Season 5 or the latter half of Season 4, depending on how you look at it. Futurama was firing on all cylinders and is widely considered to this day to be the best show it has ever had.

This was the result of two decisions made by David Cohen: the first was to fully embrace their sci-fi roots, as they were able to explore crazy concepts like no other television series in history. We noticed that fans responded very well to the episodes that had more sci-fi in them and you'll see that we went from more serious sci-fi stories as we went along and what surprised me a lot, I think a lot of them ended up being our funniest episodes too and that's all. What we didn't know we could do at first was just make a story that was a true sci-fi story but was also a good comedy story or a good heartwarming story; the second was to make the audience cry.

Graining always had the idea that the show could tackle heavier themes as long as Cohen made sure the characters reacted to their crazy circumstances in relatable, sympathetic ways. During season three, the writers tested the waters with the episode's luck. from the frish, where an angry fry believes his brother yansy stole his name from his luck and dreams only to discover that yansy had actually named his son after the younger brother he lost. I'll call you philli J fry in honor of my little brother who I miss every day. I love you Phillip. I'll Always Be The episode was so well-received that it gave Cohen the confidence to take things even further, culminating in perhaps the most infamous and devastating episode of the future branch, Jurassic Park, where the audience discovers that Fry's dog passed the rest of his life waiting patiently for Fry to return.

This intensity put Futurama in a league of its own above all other animated comedies of its time, even The Simpsons, and it has never been given the credit it deserves for paving the way for other adult animations to dig a little deeper and tug on those heartstrings. Writer Ken Keeler was given the unenviable task of writing the finale The Devil's Hands Are the Things of Idols broadcast on August 10, 2003 Conan Graing consciously did not want the episode to have a sense of finality, so Keeler focused on the emotional core of the series, Fry's unrequited love for Leela, a man who writes. an opera about a woman, oh sah, how deliciously ab and instead of them finally coming together or saying goodbye, it just ended the future drama on a positive note, please don't stop playing fry.

I want to hear how it ends, pissing off Cohen and the rest. They had stories they wanted to tell and they always held out hope that the future Rama could return, but one thing would have to change. Yes, I see good news for everyone. Those stupid idiots who canceled us were fired for incompetence.