Opening sequence



The opening sequence starts with the Planet Express ship flying, as it passes the letters of Futurama appearing in the middle of the screen and a caption that differs in each episode. The ship flies through the title into New New York, and the camera shows different parts of the city, with a lot of hovercars, buildings, people in the Tube Transport System, and advertisments, until it comes to a large screen on top of a building, which shows a real-life cartoon that also differs in each episode. After the cartoon, it shows the credits, and the Planet Express ship then crashes into the screen. See this for a list of alien language sightings in the opening sequence.

Usage
Some episodes (especially in Season 1, Season 2, and Season 6) have short chapters called the cold opening before the opening sequence. This could for example be a sponsor, a recap (in Season 5 and the Season 6 premiere) or a shorter joke. In Season 6, most of the episodes so far have had the opening sequence abbreviated, eliminating some of the parts showing the flight of the Planet Express ship as well as the opening cartoon.

Opening Theme
In some episodes the traditional theme is different and sometimes has the cast singing. The accompanying music makes use of the rarely used and. The music, like with much of the show, is composed by Christopher Tyng. People widely regard 's 1967 Psyché Rock to be of great influence for the theme, this tune can be heard on YouTube.

Characters Seen in the Tube System
Throughout New New York, the tube system is seen with characters of the show, some primary and some secondary.
 * Amy
 * Dr. Zoidberg
 * Hermes
 * Kif
 * Zapp
 * Scruffy
 * Smitty

Products displayed
Some ads are seen through New New York.
 * Bachelor Chow
 * Mom's Old-Fashioned Robot Oil
 * DEF-CON Owl Traps
 * Slurm
 * Liquid Wisdom (seen on taxi)
 * Mass Hypnosis Hour
 * Flesh-o-pod Dating Service
 * Robot Wash

Episodes where the tune is slightly different
In some episodes, the opening theme is different
 * "Mars University"
 * "Bender Should Not Be Allowed on Television"
 * "Spanish Fry"

Movies
In the movies of Futurama, the opening sequence is a bit different from the show normal episodes, and differs in each movie. For the episodes made from these films, the first of each four features the film's opening, while parts 2, 3 and 4 have the classic introductions' title caption and billboard crash with a recap in between.

Bender's Big Score
In Bender's Big Score, the opening sequence was largely changed, while it did have the same graphics in the background, it also had introductions of each of the main characters to an alternative music of the normal theme, which had been created for the Futurama game. And since it was a film, there was no information about who created the show on the beginning monitor, instead just the film's name. The title caption says "It just won't stay dead!"

The Beast With A Billion Backs
The opening sequence for The Beast with a Billion Backs is much like that of the series. However, instead of the Planet Express Ship crashing into the giant screen, it goes through into it, starting a short 1920s style cartoon, strongly parodying "Steamboat Willie". After this sequence, the opening resumes as normal with the ship exiting the cartoon, breaking the screen as usual. The title caption says "The proud result of prison labour".

Bender's Game
The opening sequence for Bender's Game is identical to the regular sequence, but like the sequence for The Beast With A Billion Backs, the Planet Express Ship goes through the giant screen into a parody of "Yellow Submarine." When the title appears, it shows Bender thumping his chest like Donkey Kong, and the Ship crashes out of the screen, with a bunch of flowers. The title caption says "The flames on your television are not part of the show."

Into the Wild Green Yonder
The opening sequence for Into the Wild Green Yonder is largely different from the others, The main difference is that it takes place in Mars Vegas and Seth MacFarlane sings a completely different song to the normal opening sequence. The title caption says (in Alien Language 1) "The humans shall not defeat us".

Characters featured

 * 21st Century Girl
 * Amy
 * Bender
 * Blek and his wife
 * Horrible Gelatinous Blob
 * Hattie
 * Hedonism Bot
 * Hermes
 * Leela
 * Hubert J. Farnsworth
 * Fry
 * Dr. Zoidberg

Trivia

 * None of the characters seen in the tube system appear in the pilot episode except for Smitty.
 * The guy that comes before Amy used to have a hook for a hand until during the opening of Bender's Big Score, he doesn't have a hook anymore. Instead, it is replaced with a real hand.

Appearances

 * All Episodes

Goofs

 * In Bender's Game, Zoidberg is shown in the tube transport system. However, when inside the screen, he is shown looking out the window in the yellow Planet Express ship.
 * Then again, it is impossible to be part of the screen.