By Devin Meenan
Copyright slashfilm
How many seasons does the animated sci-fi sitcom “Futurama” have? That’s a matter of debate, because its four original (production) seasons from 20th Century Fox were cut up into five seasons for broadcast. So depending on who you ask, “Futurama” either has 10 or 13 seasons. What isn’t in contention is that “Futurama” is back for a new season on Hulu. So, now is a perfect time to dive into the series’ 170 episodes.
Developed by “The Simpsons” creator Matt Groening and “Simpsons” writer David X. Cohen, “Futurama” debuted in 1999 and was a show tied to the end of the millennium. On December 31, 199, pizza delivery boy Philip J. Fry (Billy West) accidentally falls into a cryogenic chamber and spends 1000 years asleep. He wakes up in 2999 A.D., once more on the cusp of a new millennium.
Fry finds work as a spaceship delivery boy at Planet Express, run by his distant (by many generations) nephew, Professor Hubert Farnsworth (West as well). His coworkers are his crush, purple-haired cyclops Leela (Katey Sagal), foul-mouthed “lovable rascal” robot Bender (John DiMaggio), incompetent Dr. Zoidberg (West again), bureaucrat Hermes Conrad (Phil LaMarr) and klutzy engineering student Amy Wong (Lauren Tom).
Strap in, because “Futurama” delivers hilarity at faster than light speeds. The writers take full advantage of wide open possibilities of the future for different kinds of episodes; relatively straightforward science-fiction, genre parodies, romance, social satire, and more.
If you want to find out if “Futurama” is for you before you commit, here are five essential episodes that show the best the series has to offer. Disclaimer: just to show how good this show is, one could easily take this same listicle premise and come up with five totally different episodes, because there are a lot of great “Futurama” episodes.
