Bendless Love

Production Number: 3ACV06

Title Caption: TORN FROM TOMORROW'S HEADLINES

First Aired: February 11, 2001

Act I: Sabotage!
After a dramatic liftoff systems check, the Planet Express Ship crashes less than three seconds after takeoff. Leela files a lengthy report on the cause of the accident; sabotage is to blame for the accident. The L-Unit from the ship had been bent straight. Bender demonstrates what it should look like. The crew realizes that several other objects around the building have been mysteriously bent (or in the case of Zoidberg's slinky, unbent), including the Professor. Bender "fixes" him by bending him in the reverse direction. Amy realizes that Bender is a likely culprit for all the bent objects, and he denies it. Hermes reveals that he's got a huge archive of surveillance tapes. On one, it is revealed that Bender has been sleep-bending.

Act II: I've been bending since the day I was built!
Bender is shocked, but not surprised. After all, he was built to bend. He reveals that he was "born" four years ago, in the bad part of Tijuana. Leela infers that Bender hasn't been satisfying his need to bend, and the Professor demands he leave until he satisfies that need.

Robots are on strike outside Curvetti Bros. Bending Plant. The mob supports the union and the strike. Bender arrives and realizes that the strike may mean he won't be able to get a job. However, after learning that the company is hiring scabs at ten times the normal wage, he storms in and gets a job. Inside, he finds Flexo working there, as well as Angleyne, a female bending unit.

Act III: Lousy scabs!
Outside, the workers continue to picket, while Bender and Flexo bend girders, and Angleyne bends wire hangers inside. Bender makes a pass at Angleyne.

The PE crew are trying to fix the items that Bender ruined. Zoidberg tests his "fixed" slinky, which bursts into flames. Fry and the Professor are taking a walk, and the Professor is obnoxiously upbeat. Fry asks him why he's so cheerful, and the Professor postulates that it may be blood pooling in the back of his brain.

Bender goes into work and flirts with Angleyne. She says she's as strong as Bender, and he tells her to prove it, tossing her a girder. The struggles with it and is unable to bend it. Bender stands behind her and helps her bend it into the shape of a heart, and they kiss.

Bender takes Angleyne to the fair and "wins" her a giant stuffed animal, and a wallet for himself. He also takes her out on a rowboat, letting his arms do the rowing. During a race with Fry and the Professor, Bender puts a stick in the Professor's spokes and wins the race.

Later, at the conference table, the Professor tells how his new, bent posture is helping his personal life. Bender arrives with Bender-related news: He's in love with Angleyne, and takes his friends to Elzar's Fine Cuisine to celebrate. Bender tells the crew about Angleyne, but Fry spots her across the room having dinner with Flexo. In rage, Bender grabs a piece of bread and attempts to bend it. After a warning from Elzar that it's a week old, the bread snaps. Then Bender's arms fall off.

Act IV: It's time to kick some shiny metal ass!
Bender confronts Angleyne and Flexo, but Angleyne explains that Flexo and Angleyne are divorced, and having dinner because they want to remain friends.

Bender paces the lounge in the Planet Express building, worrying about the situation. Leela suggests he talk about his feelings with her, but Fry implies that might not be the manliest plan.

Bender then concocts a convoluted plan to catch Angleyne cheating on him with... him. He calls her to set up the meeting, and then goes to the Hip Joint. He orders them drinks, and pays with the money he earned scabbing. However, the Robot Mafia sees this and is almost infuriated. Bender insults himself in order to pull off the con, but it doesn't work immediately. He takes her out on the dancefloor, and pays the DJ to play his request. The Robot Mafia sees this and is one step closer to attacking him. While dancing, Bender's fake beard comes off, and although he is almost caught, he dips Angleyne to distract her. The robots in the club start dancing so furiously that their parts begin to fall off.

Act V: Kill Flexo!
After the place is cleared out, Bender continues his scam, and Angleyne starts falling for "Flexo" again. He escorts her out, and tips the valet. The Robot Mafia is now fed up, and plans to kill Flexo. Bender asks to go back to Angleyne's place, and after some reluctance, kisses "Flexo". During the kiss, the beard comes off again, sticking to Angleyne's face. She realizes the trick, and Bender explains his scam. She defends herself, but Bender is too dense to understand. Bender vows to kill Flexo.

Back at the Bending Plant, Bender assaults Flexo. The fight goes back and forth (after all, they are identical bending units), but the Robot Mafia is there planning to make their kill. Angleyne makes a last desperate plea for them to stop the fight, but Bender persists. The Robot Mafia then drops an unbendable girder on Flexo, who is crushed. Angleyne reveals her renewed love for Flexo, and in order to make Angleyne happy, Bender tries to free Flexo from under the girder. With incredible exertion, Bender bends the girder off of Flexo. Then Flexo and Angleyne have sex right there on the factory floor.

Bender returns to Planet Express, and is relieved to never have to bend again. However, the crew is sick of the Professor's attitude, and they ask Bender to fix the Professor. He bends the Professor, but instead of making him upright, he bends him even further out of alignment, making the Professor depressed.

Trivia

 * Allegedly, Jan Hooks smoked more than usual so she'd be hoarse enough for the role.
 * When Bender stands behind Angleyne and helps her bend the girder, it is a reference to the movie "Ghost".
 * This episode introduces the word "intragnizent".
 * It also introduces the phrase "Clamp clamp ka-bamp!"
 * This is the second time that Flexo has been mistaken for Bender at the end of an episode.
 * Apparently a fuzzy navel is the girliest drink served at the Hip Joint
 * John DiMaggio won an "Ani" award for this episode.
 * The scene where Bender helps Angleyne bend the girder is reminiscent of the movie "Ghost"&mdash;complete with the same music.
 * Fry is pruning a bonzai tree which resembles the Planet Express Ship.

Quotes

 * Fry: Wait! There on the screen! It's that guy you are!
 * Bender: This is quite a shock! On the other hand, it's not surprising in the least.

Inside References

 * In the surveillance tape, it is shown that owls live in holes in the wall, simlilar to mice. Owls in the future have replaced mice and rats as pests.
 * Flexo was introduced in The Lesser of Two Evils. At the end, he was taken to prison for Bender's crime. So this is the second time he's gotten into trouble based on mistaken identity.

Characters
(In alphabetical order)
 * Amy
 * Angleyne
 * Bender
 * Clamps
 * Donbot
 * Elzar
 * Flexo
 * Fry
 * Hermes
 * Joey Mousepad
 * Leela
 * Professor Farnsworth
 * Sal
 * Zoidberg

Episode Credits

 * Writer
 * Eric Horsted
 * Director
 * Swinton Scott
 * Voice Actors
 * Billy West
 * Katey Sagal
 * John DiMaggio
 * Tress MacNeille
 * Special Appearance
 * Jan Hooks
 * DVD Commentary
 * Swinton Scott
 * Eric Horsted
 * John DiMaggio
 * Billy West
 * Matt Groening
 * David X. Cohen