Simpsorama

"Simpsorama" is an episode of The Simpsons the story of which features the characters of Futurama. It aired on Fox, on 9 November 2014. goes back in time to 2014 to prevent the  from destroying the future.

The episode was announced on 20 July 2013, at, by Simpsons. It was written by Futurama-and- J. Stewart Burns. It was initially scheduled to be recorded in 2013, but it appears to have actually been recorded in.

Plot
The episode's features the Simpsons' couch transforming into Hedonismbot, prompting everyone to stand up in shock/disgust, except for, who receives a massage and is fed grapes.

Act I: "What do I look like, a narc?"
At, is showing the late 's class a time capsule that they intend to open a thousand years later and tells the students to each put something inside of the capsule. Bart, having obviously forgotten to bring something to put in it, puts a sandwich that he blows his nose on into it. At a ceremony, lowers the time capsule into the town square in front of  of. When they dig up the hole, they notice some green ooze pouring out and all eyes turn to. It begins to rain outside during this.

Later that night, at, the Simpsons hear a strange noise outside like something falling from the sky. then hears something glugging and belching downstairs. Homer and Bart decide to go to the basement and investigate. Homer decides to send down to see what's down there, but the dog runs away. He then tries the same thing with Bart, but this does not work either. Homer decides to set a trap, using Bart as bait. Down in the basement, Bart sees a shadowy figure opening up a can of. Homer whacks at the shadowy figure with a broom and reveals the shadowy figure to be, who reveals he is from the future. Homer decides to take this futuristic visitor to his "civic leaders".

At, Bender guzzles down several mugs of beer and "buys" several rounds for the patrons. Homer considers Bender his new friend, and Bender reveals that's the reason he's there..."for all you know". Bender then hangs out with the guys at, where Bender cheats a perfect game.

The next day, Bart and observe Homer and Bender sleeping on the couch and cannot help but pinpoint the similarities between the two. Lisa starts to doubt that Bender is actually from the future, since robotic technology is relatively advanced. So Lisa takes Bender to 's laboratory. Bender admits that he does not recall why he was sent to the present, so Frink unplugs and replugs Bender's mission protocol, causing Bender to reveal his mission is to terminate Homer Simpson.

Act II: "Come on, Bender! Stabbity-stabbity!"
Homer is upset that his new bowling buddy wants to kill him. Bender admits he cannot do it. Lisa assumes that it is due to 's, but Bender denies this, claiming he killed Asimov on the way. Suddenly, Bender's ass begins ringing and a hologram of appears asking if he killed Homer yet. Bender claims he did, but Leela shows that thousands of rabbit-shaped creatures have invaded New New York and are multiplying. Leela catches Bender's lie. also encourages Bender to kill Homer. Lisa asks why, and replies that the creatures have Homer's DNA. panics that they are grabbing all of the office supplies. Even speaks his only line. The professor elaborates that Bender was sent back to kill Homer before the creatures could evolve from him. So, the professor, Leela and Fry go into the past to kill Homer themselves. Leela attempts to shoot him with her ray-gun, but Bender bends it. Frink offers a team-up with the professor, who suggests Homer take the rest out so he can explain "freemium games".

While walking through Springfield, Homer, Fry, Leela and Bender pass by a Panucci's Pizza where is inexplicably waiting. When they get to the house, Homer introduces Marge to Fry and Leela. Marge and Leela attempt to exchange pleasantries while avoiding talking about the other one's tall blue hair and one eyeball respectively.

Back at the lab, Lisa asks the professor if he got to the present through a time machine, but the professor denies this. The professor explains they came through a portal which they equipped to Bender. He reveals that Bender, however, came here through a time machine. Just as Lisa is about to question this, the DNA sample the professors were working on completes.

When the professor, Frink and Lisa get to the house, the professor reveals that the DNA was only half of Homer's, with the other half belonging to Marge. Marge is relieved when the professor says they do not have to kill her, just one of her children. Bender's ass shows a hologram of Channel √2 News, where Morbo reports that the creatures started evolving. One of the rabbits eats and transforms into a lizard-like creature that resembles Bart. Frink wonders how Bart destroyed the future. Bart reveals, through a sepia-toned flashback, that when he put his sandwich in the time capsule, it touched 's lucky rabbit's foot and the toxic ooze in the hole touched the items in the time capsule mutating them into rabbit-like creatures with Bart's DNA. Lisa suggests they dig up the time capsule.

The Simpsons and the Planet Express crew arrive in the town square to dig up the capsule, but forbids them from doing so, since it cannot be opened for another thousand years. Bender's ass then shows a hologram of who assumes the creatures got a hold of Scruffy, but Scruffy reveals they only got his mustache. Since Scruffy figures life is not worth living without his mustache, he shoots his own head off. They see in the hologram that the creatures have destroyed the portal, and Bender sucks the crew and the Simpsons to the year 3014. Marge does a head count and realizes they left behind. Bender decides to take Maggie to the race track since he knows the outcome of every single horse race in this time.

Act III: "If there's one thing I know how to do, it's manipulate Barts."
In the future, the Simpsons all hang out at the Planet Express headquarters. Homer kills all of the Bart creatures by strangling them. Marge is discouraged that they cannot go back to their own time. Marge notes that Homer works at a nuclear power plant. When asked if he is good at his job, Homer takes pride in the fact that he was named "Employee of the Month" for April Fools' Day. The professor suggests that Fry and Homer fix the portal while the rest pray. attempts to eat one of the creatures, but instead of pooping dark matter, he merely poops out another Bart creature. Lisa is surprised everyone has given up. The professor then proposes they shoot all the creatures into space. Lisa says she will round them up.

Back in Springfield, Bender bets on a horse named Bender's Bounty, even though he died during the race. When the horse starts to lose, Bender obliterates it in anger.

In New New York, Lisa tricks the Bart creatures into believing that Madison Cube Garden is full of bars and also annoys them by playing a saxo-holophonor showing images of things she likes such as unicorns and kitty s. Hermes locks all of the creatures into the cube and the Planet Express ship lifts the cube up and hurls it into space, to the excitement of the crew and Lisa, and to the discouragement of Bart.

Reconstruction begins in New New York and Fry and Homer successfully reactivate the portal, which sucks the Simpsons back to their present-day home. Marge is happy to be reunited with Maggie, and notices her diaper is full. Bender volunteers to change it, revealing the diaper is full of money he won at the races. Bender bids the Simpsons farewell and shuts himself off to be awakened a thousand years later. Homer drags the robot to the basement, but also pours him one more can of Duff.

Epilogue: "We're not done with the mash-up!"
Back in the year 3014, it is revealed that the creatures ended up on Omicron Persei 8. Lrrr and Ndnd are both annoyed that the creatures are destroying the planet, especially since "the Johnsons" are coming. "The Johnsons" turn out to be and. Ndnd runs away sobbing and Lrrr asks "the one of [them] that is female" to console her, as both Kang and Kodos comfort her. The episode ends with a Simpsonized-version of the Futurama opening sequence.

Production
Al Jean said of the episode:

"Futurama is such an easy fit. (...) It's really funny, and their show lends itself to any variety of plot lines. By having them on, we have a little freedom... The biggest thrill for me is that we don't have to adjust the animation style."

On 19 September 2013, John DiMaggio posted a picture of the episode's production script on his Twitter page, revealing the episode's title.

On 17, an interview with David X. Cohen revealed that the episode was being animated.

On 4 March, an interview with Jean revealed that the episode would air in the fall. At the time, the episode was expected to air in, as the finale. It was also revealed that Maurice LaMarche, who guest-stars on The Simpsons, would be in the episode.

On 21 May, Jean revealed through Twitter that the episode was "scheduled to be the first episode [to air] in ", suggesting an air date of 2 November.

On 1 June, Jean revealed through Twitter that, besides Bender, the episode would feature ",, , , , , Hypnotoad, and more".

On 20 July,  published an online article in which the episode's air date was first confirmed.

On 26 July, user "steelesaunders" uploaded a short clip of a reinvented Futurama opening sequence, shot at The Simpsons's 2014  panel.

On 4 September, Entertainment Weekly published an online article revealing the first official image of the episode and also provided more information on the episode's plot.

On 6 September, Jean confirmed through Twitter that the Futurama characters would retain their normal skin tones in the crossover instead of being coloured yellow like the characters in The Simpsons.

On 9 September, 's voice actor,, spoke about the interaction between Lisa and Bender during the crossover in an interview with Nuke the Fridge. She said: "Lisa just questions the validity of Bender being one of the most advanced robots that we have ever created. She's like, "Really? I don't think so." But that episode really focuses on Bender and Homer's friendship and relationship, and the similarities, a dubious distinction if I do say so."

On 26 September, David X. Cohen, Al Jean, and British author discussed Singh's   at the London, where a clip of Bender and Homer playing "tether boy" was shown. 27 September, Singh tweeted a photo of them watching the aforementioned clip.

Trivia

 * This episode highlights The Simpsons 25th anniversary (17 December 2014) and Futuramas 15th (28 March 2014).
 * A crossover episode for The Simpsons and Family Guy, titled "", was announced two days before this episode was.
 * The writer of the episode, J. Stewart Burns, has written for both shows. Other people who have written for both shows include Bill Odenkirk, Brian Kelley, Dan Vebber, David X. Cohen, Eric Kaplan, Jeff Westbrook, Josh Weinstein, Ken Keeler, and Patric M. Verrone. Burns also wrote the Futurama video game.
 * This is the first time in 11 years that the main Futurama cast was on Fox.
 * This is the second speaking appearance of a Futurama character in a piece of Simpsons media. John DiMaggio voiced Bender in the episode "". DiMaggio also voiced Bender in , and Billy West voiced Zoidberg.
 * "Simpsorama" is also the name of of  published in 1996.
 * In bed, Homer reads a book titled How to Read a Book in Bed. A book titled  was published in 1940.
 * After says that he thinks that Bender and the jukebox "had a thing goin'", the jukebox plays American soul  's song "".
 * Bart says that it's "like the guy who designed Bender just took a drawing of Dad and stuck an antenna on it".
 * After Fry, Bender, Homer, and Leela pass by and Panucci's Pizza, the song "", which previously played in "Jurassic Bark", plays.
 * This is the first time Scruffy is seen without his mustache.
 * confirms that he is an atheist, having previously prayed to Atheismo in Bender's Game. (However, in "Fry Am the Egg Man", he refers to the rest of the crew as "you non-Catholics".)
 * Lisa plays a saxophone version of a holophonor.
 * When New New York is being repaired at the end of the episode, a sign is placed that reads "New New New York".
 * Ndnd refers to and  as "the Johnsons".
 * David X. Cohen has a "special thanks" credit.
 * The 30th Century Fox logo appears in the end credits instead of the 20th Century Fox one.
 * The shot of one of the promotional pictures for the episode is not used.
 * Despite being the central character of the series, Fry has only four lines in this episode. Hermes, Zoidberg, Amy, and Scruffy each have only one line, with the bulk of dialogue belonging to Bender, the professor, and Leela.

Sightings in the mash-up opening

 * The Statue of Liberty is replaced with the, but in the style of Morbo's species.
 * - "With cocaine again!"
 * has become "The Android's Penthouse".
 * Duff Holo Beer - "All the rage but none of the calories"
 * A flying version of Blinky the
 * Re-elect Quimby-Head
 * FFI - Freeze Frame Industries
 * Milhouse of Ill Repute
 * Kang and Kodos' 6-tentacle massage
 * Frinkatorium
 * Prof. Frink's Carbon Dating Service
 * World HQ
 * "" in Alienese
 * Park 'n' Dent
 * "CONGRATULATIONS YOU'RE A NERD" in Alienese
 * Moe's Unfriendly Bar - "No humans or robots"
 * Moe's Unfriendly Bar - "No humans or robots"

Allusions

 * Click here to see cultural mentions made in this episode.


 * The episode's plot is inspired by the 1984 film . It also seems to be based on that of the Star Trek episode "", the writer of which,, was credited for the synopsis by Al Jean after the episode's announcement.
 * Coincidentally, Ellison guest-starred in the season-25 episode of The Simpsons "", which aired in the same year as this episode aired.
 * Moe refers to Bender as a "blade rummy", possibly a reference to the 1982 film Blade Runner.
 * Bongo from Matt Groening's  writes "CROSSOVERS ARE HELL" on a wall.
 * Homer says he owes Clash of Candies $20,000. This is most like a reference to the apps ' and '.
 * When the characters are sucked back into the future, a 3014 calendar featuring a photo of the professor with long hair and in a swimsuit can be seen. The photo resembles American 's iconic 1976 poster.
 * This poster was previously referenced in "Neutopia" (also written by J. Stewart Burns) and in "Overclockwise".
 * The  is a reference to the, in Manhattan, and , an electric- manufacturer.
 * A billboard can be seen that reads "The eBook of Mormon", a reference to the musical .
 * Lisa lures the Bart creatures to Madison Cube Garden by claiming that there are Butterfinger bars inside. This is a reference to the Simpsons once being the spokescharacters for the candy bar in the past with the slogan "nobody better lay a finger on my Butterfinger".
 * Madison Cube Garden hits an FXXX, a reference to Fox's channels FX and.



Continuity

 * An apocalypse previously took place in "A Farewell to Arms".
 * Bender was previously seen with one eye in "Rebirth".

Goofs

 * WIllie's mouth doesn't move when he says, "There!"
 * Bender's slot, which opens, is visible at.
 * It's possible that Bender did not have it in previous episodes.
 * When Hermes says "the s are stealing our office supplies", his glasses are off-model.
 * Panucci's Pizza is shown in Springfield when it is actually located in New York.
 * Bart says his birthday is 23 February, even though it was previously established to be 1 April.
 * In the end credits, Simpsons guest star is credited for singing "(You Make Me Feel Like) A Natural Woman" and "I Will Wait for You". However, her vocals are only heard in the former. The latter is heard instrumentally.

Characters

 * (in picture)
 * Debut: Atomic Energy Commission employee
 * Debut: Bart Simpson creatures
 * Debut: Bender's Bounty
 * Bongo
 * (in picture)
 * Hedonismbot
 * The Hypnotoad
 * (as )
 * Jesus
 * and
 * Lrrr
 * Morbo
 * Ndnd
 * Scruffy
 * Seymour Asses
 * (in picture)
 * Hedonismbot
 * The Hypnotoad
 * (as )
 * Jesus
 * and
 * Lrrr
 * Morbo
 * Ndnd
 * Scruffy
 * Seymour Asses
 * and
 * Lrrr
 * Morbo
 * Ndnd
 * Scruffy
 * Seymour Asses
 * Lrrr
 * Morbo
 * Ndnd
 * Scruffy
 * Seymour Asses
 * Lrrr
 * Morbo
 * Ndnd
 * Scruffy
 * Seymour Asses
 * Morbo
 * Ndnd
 * Scruffy
 * Seymour Asses
 * Ndnd
 * Scruffy
 * Seymour Asses
 * Scruffy
 * Seymour Asses
 * Scruffy
 * Seymour Asses
 * Scruffy
 * Seymour Asses
 * Scruffy
 * Seymour Asses
 * Seymour Asses
 * Seymour Asses

Places

 * 's
 * Madison Cube Garden
 * Moon (seen only)
 * New New York
 * Omicron Persei 8
 * Omicronian castle
 * Panucci's Pizza
 * Planet Express headquarters
 * Planet Express ship
 * The Tesla Building
 * Panucci's Pizza
 * Planet Express headquarters
 * Planet Express ship
 * The Tesla Building
 * The Tesla Building
 * The Tesla Building
 * The Tesla Building

Miscellaneous

 * "Bite my shiny metal ass"
 * Channel √2 News
 * English language
 * Everybody Loves Hypnotoad
 * Debut: FXXX
 * "Good news, everyone"
 * Debut: How to Read a Book in Bed
 * "Kill all humans"
 * "Meatbag"
 * Morbo's species (as )
 * "Oh, Lord"
 * Debut: Springfield time capsule
 * Statue of Liberty's head
 * Tube Transport System
 * Xmas
 * "Meatbag"
 * Morbo's species (as )
 * "Oh, Lord"
 * Debut: Springfield time capsule
 * Statue of Liberty's head
 * Tube Transport System
 * Xmas
 * Tube Transport System
 * Xmas
 * Xmas