A Head in the Polls

From The Infosphere, the Futurama Wiki

← Previous	Navigation in production order	Next →

Season 2 episode
A Head in the Polls
Nixon with Bender's body
No.	16
Production number	2ACV03
Written by	J. Stewart Burns
Directed by	Bret Haaland
Title caption	From the Makers of Futurama
First aired	12 December, 1999
Broadcast number	S02E07
Title reference	Being "ahead in the polls," indicating a likely election win
Opening cartoon	"Koko's Earth Control"
Special guest(s)	Claudia Schiffer
Additional
Commentary (Transcript) Transcript
Season 2
I Second that Emotion Brannigan, Begin Again A Head in the Polls Xmas Story Why Must I Be a Crustacean in Love? The Lesser of Two Evils Put Your Head on My Shoulder Raging Bender A Bicyclops Built for Two A Clone of My Own How Hermes Requisitioned His Groove Back The Deep South Bender Gets Made Mother's Day The Problem with Popplers Anthology of Interest I War Is the H-Word The Honking The Cryonic Woman ← Season 1 Season 3 →

"A Head in the Polls" is the sixteenth episode of Futurama, the third of the second production season and the seventh of the second broadcast season. It aired 12 December, 1999 on FOX. It guest stars Claudia Schiffer as herself in a jar. Richard Nixon announces his entry into the 3000 presidential election after obtaining Bender's body. Despite the attempt to get Nixon out of the race, Nixon wins the election.

Contents 1 The Story 1.1 Act I: "How are you going to live without a body?" 1.2 Act II: "I spent most of my teen years loving my body." 1.3 Act III: "You've got real charisma from the neck down." 2 Additional Info 2.1 Trivia 2.2 Quotes 2.3 Political Parties 2.4 Goofs 2.5 Alien Language Sightings 2.6 Characters 3 Episode Credits

[edit] The Story

This plot section needs updating. The following plot section requires a going-over, such as giving it more detail and description.

[edit] Act I: "How are you going to live without a body?"

Bender and Fry are on the couch at Planet Express watching "The Scary Door" when Leela runs in and changes the TV to the Presidential Debates of the year 3000. The candidates, Jack Johnson and John Jackson, are clones, with identical views on nearly every subject. Fry says he's not even registered to vote, so Leela makes him go register immediately. Fry meets representatives from all the political parties, and begins to become interested in politics. Back at Planet Express, they see a news report about a mining accident on Titan traps over 1000 robots and sends Titanium prices through the roof. Bender, whose body is 40% titanium, sells his body to a pawn shop.

[edit] Act II: "I spent most of my teen years loving my body."

Bender begins living it up with his new wealth. After speaking with the presidents' heads at the Head Museum, Bender realises he has made a mistake and tries to buy back his body. But when he gets to the pawn shop, his body has already been sold - to Richard Nixon's head. It unfolds that Nixon is using Bender's body to run for President of Earth on a technicality ("nobody can be elected more than twice").

[edit] Act III: "You've got real charisma from the neck down."

Nixon’s Head, thanks to his shiny new robot body, sweeps the robot voters in early polls in spite of his miserable performance in the debates. Bender and friends try to get Bender's body back from Nixon. When Nixon refuses to return it, they break into his hotel room at the Watergate Hotel to steal it back. They are successful, but Nixon just buys a new body, a bigger one, with heavy weapons, and slides into office on the robot vote anyway. The regular characters all lament that Nixon won by just one vote, and that they all forgot to cast their own votes (apart from Bender, who wasn't allowed to vote anyway due to his criminal record). The episode ends with Nixon rampaging through the streets of D.C. and making a himself a new entrance to the White House.

[edit] Additional Info

[edit] Trivia

• Among those on the shelf of the TV Stars section of the Head Museum is Katey Sagal, the voice of Leela.
• The title caption was used for an Adult Swim bumper, which promoted their final Futurama marathon (seeing as how they were moving to Comedy Central).
• Books in the library in The Scary Door episode include:
  • Antigravity's Rainbow (referencing Gravity's Rainbow)
  • Quantum Relativity for Dummies (For Dummies)
  • The Preppy Handbook
  • The Newer Testament (The New Testament)
  • The Red Dwarf of Courage (The Red Badge of Courage)
  • Robot Run (Rabbit, Run)
  • 2984 (Nineteen Eighty-Four)
• President Nixon sings a line of White Rabbit with his pawned electric guitar while on TV.

[edit] Quotes

Bender: Bodies are for hookers and fat people.

Nixon's head: Listen here, missy. Computers may be twice as fast as they were in 1973, but your average voter is as drunk and stupid as ever. The only thing that's different is me; I've become bitter, and let's face it, crazy over the years. And once I'm swept into office, I'll sell our children's organs to zoos for meat, and I'll go into people's houses at night and wreck up the place. Muahahaha!

Nixon's head: Hello Morbo, how's the family?
Morbo: Belligerent and numerous.
Nixon's head: Good man! Nixon's pro-war & pro-family. [Takes a baby from Bender's chest cavity, kisses it, then shoves it back in.]
Bender's head: Great, first he steals my body, now he's touchin' my stuff!

Morbo: All hail our gargantuan, cyborg president. May death come quickly to his enemies.

Nixon's head: [Playing Jefferson Airplane's "White Rabbit".] Re-mem-ber what the Dormouse said. Feed your heead! I'm meeting you half way, you stupid hippies!

Nixon's head: NIXON'S BACK!

[edit] Political Parties

Antisocialists Brain Slug Party Bull Space Moose Party Dudes for the Legalation of Hemp Fingerlicans Green Party

National Ray-Gun Association One Cell, One Vote People for the Ethical Treatment of Humans Rainbow Whigs Tastycrats Voter Apathy Party

[edit] Goofs

• Leela and Bender's Arms are overlapped incorrectly in one scene
• The White House is in Washington DC now but in "When Aliens Attack" it was destroyed on Monument Beach. However they could have built a new one.
• When Bender is on the roulette wheel the only numbers to remain in the same positions between the horizontal and birds eye shots are the 21 red and 33 black.
• Bender states he has a self destruct button yet in "Space Pilot 3000" he requires a suicide booth to kill himself.
  • However he may simply prefer the booth.

[edit] Alien Language Sightings

Time:08:36
Location: Sign next to Planet Express
Language: AL1
Translation: drink

[edit] Characters

(In alphabetic order)

[edit] Episode Credits