Law and Oracle

"Law and Oracle" is the one hundredth and fourth episode of Futurama, the sixteenth of the sixth production season and the fourth of the eighth broadcast season.

Story
Fed up with his go-nowhere job, Fry joins the police force.

Production
During May and June 2011, Countdown to Futurama released three items of promotional material for the episode: concept art of the police station's future crimes division on 20 May, part of the storyboard showing Fry be pranked by Ipgee, Terry and Lou on 21 May, and a video clip showing Fry and URL in a chase in Circuit City on 16 June.

Trivia

 * This marks the first time that several character names are mentioned on the show, including Smitty, URL, and Hattie MacDoogal, the latter whose last name is confirmed.

Allusions

 * The title of the episode is a parody of the long-running legal drama television series .
 * The concept of trying people for crimes committed in the future was a major plot point of the 2004 film .


 * The opening scene is a direct reference to the opening scene of "Space Pilot 3000".
 * The SoundEffects 5000 is a direct parody of Sgt. Larvelle Jones from the Police Academy films. The sign in front of the police academy also states that they are not affiliated with Police Academy IV.


 * Circuit City is a reference to the American retailer of the same name,.
 * A light cycle chase scene in the episode, featuring Fry and URL in Circuit City, is an obvious reference to the 1982 science-fiction movie ' and its sequel, '.
 * After Fry is named "Executive Delivery Boy", Hermes whispers to Leela that "executive" is a meaningless title that helps people with low self esteem feel better about themselves. This is a fourth-wall break that mocks the numerous "Executive Producer" and "Co-Executive Producer" credits on the show, including a direct jab at Matt Groening and David X. Cohen whose "Executive Producer" credits appear right after Hermes finished talking.

Continuity

 * The beginning of the episode is a reenactment of "Space Pilot 3000", with Zoidberg in the role of the boy who calls Fry a loser and Leela replacing Mr. Panucci with Fry once again delivering a pizza to a prank name at Applied Cryogenics.


 * The episode includes the first time Dandy Jim is seen alone, after only having been seen with his hobo friend Gus before.

Characters

 * Debut: Bert O'Mannahan
 * Dandy Jim
 * Debut: D. Frosted Wang (mention)
 * Debut: Gretsky
 * Fry
 * Hedonismbot
 * Ipji
 * Lou
 * Debut: Chief O'Mannahan
 * Debut: Pickles
 * Roberto
 * Debut: Erwin Schrödinger
 * Scruffy
 * Smitty
 * Debut: Sound Effects 5000
 * Terry
 * URL