Why Must I Be a Crustacean in Love?

"Why Must I Be a Crustacean in Love?" is the eighteenth episode of Futurama, the fifth of the second production season and the ninth of the second broadcast sesaon. It aired on 6 February, 2000 on FOX. It's mating time for Dr. Zoidberg's species, and they travel to Decapod 10 for him to join in the frenzy. On Decapod 10, Zoidberg finds himself in a battle with Fry for the affection of Edna.

Act I: "Just 19 hours until the mating frenzy!"
Amy and Leela persuade the rest of the crew to come to the gym, as they have been getting lazy and out of shape lately; Zoidberg agrees enthusiastically, as he says he has had too much energy lately. At the gym, he begins acting strangely (for example, insisting on bench pressing hundreds of pounds of weight), and when it seems he may become violent, the crew is forced to restrain him. The Professor examines Zoidberg, and determines that he is feeling the effects of the fact that it is mating season for his species. To help him, the crew must take him to his home planet of Decapod 10, so that he can participate in the mating frenzy. Fry, Leela and Bender set off with him in the Planet Express Ship.

Act II: "You're right, my stink gland is weak!"
After arriving on Decapod 10, Zoidberg sets up an erotic display on the beach and attempts to attract a mate. After a long day of rejection, Zoidberg is ready to give up. He then encounters Edna, a female he went to high school with. After she rejects him as well, Fry offers to help win her over by teaching him how to fake love. He tells Zoidberg what to say outside Edna's apartment, and then while they are out to dinner. However, Edna is reluctant, and when Leela reveals to Edna that Fry has been instructing Zoidberg, she falls in love with Fry, invites him over to her apartment, and attempts to seduce him. Fry is horrified and attempts to escape from her, but Zoidberg catches them together and assumes the worst. Edna confirms his suspicions by announcing that she intends to mate with Fry at the frenzy, and Zoidberg responds by challenging Fry to the traditional duel of Claw-Plach.

Act III: "How will I ever get rid of my male jelly now?"
Fry and Zoidberg begin their battle to the death in the recent and sacred tradition of Claw-Plach. The winner will mate with Edna. Fry, armed with a giant nutcracker, doesn't want to fight, but holds his own against Zoidberg, who is armed with his own claws. Just when Fry has Zoidberg at his mercy, he decides not to kill him. He starts to make a moving speech about friendship, but is interrupted when Zoidberg cuts his arm off. Fry, now willing to fight to the death, retaliates by beating Zoidberg with his own severed arm. The fight suddenly stops when they realize that the other Decapodians have left to perform the mating frenzy. Zoidberg is devastated to see that Edna has chosen to mate with the Decapodian leader (who is supposed to remain celibate), and misses out on the frenzy altogether. However, it is revealed that Decapodians die after mating, and so Zoidberg's life has been spared by his failure to secure a mate. He apologizes to Fry for attempting to kill him, and the two make amends. On the way home, Zoidberg tries to reattach Fry's severed arm, but messes it up and leaves Fry with two left arms. In his effort to fix things, he then cuts off Fry's legs and, implicitly, his head.

Reception
This episode was subject to censorship by and.

Trivia

 * This is the first episode where Zoidberg is the main character.
 * A still of Zoidberg, in the scene when he's explaining Claw-Plach to the crew, is infamous on the Internet as part of the "Why Not Zoidberg?" meme.

Allusions

 * The window scene where Fry coaches Zoidberg is a reference to a similar scene from "Cyrano De Bergerac".
 * The story is based on the Star Trek episode "Amok Time", which is about the Vulcan mating time "Pon Farr". Some elements of the plot (namely Edna falling in love with Fry as he attempts to woo her for Zoidberg) also strongly resemble William Shakespeare's , although the writers have never acknowledged this as an influence.
 * The Decapodian Anthem is the distinctive fight music written by George Fried for "Amok Time", and the Decapodian Emperor's accent is likely a reference to the accent of the Vulcan officiant in that episode.
 * Robo-Rooter is a reference to which is a plumbing company.
 * Dr. Zoidberg marks Fry's T-shirt with a Z, referencing Zorro.
 * The title "Why Must I be a Crustacean in Love?" may be a reference to the song "A Teenager In Love" also called "Why Must I be a Teenager in Love?"
 * The top weapon in the weapon case is a Vulcan Lirpa, yet another reference to "Amok Time".

Goofs

 * In Fry asks Professor Farnsworth if the monkey can talk because of genetic engineering, and the Professor replies that genetic engineering is "preposterous science-fiction mumbo-jumbo." But when Fry is inside the women's steam room, Amy makes the comment to Leela: "Psst, look what life was like before genetic engineering."
 * It is possible that genetic engineering in the future is limited, and can enhance existing physical features of an animal, but cannot drastically change their brain functions, or the Professor simply forgot that genetic engineering exsisted.
 * Leela's nose vanishes when Zoidberg forces her to sniff his stink gland.

Continiuty

 * This is the second episode where a Decapodian other than Zoidberg appears, the first being "A Fishful of Dollars".

Broadcast on BBC Two and time change
This was the first episode of Season 2 to be aired by BBC Two on 15 April, 2002, but they changed the time it was broadcast from Tuesdays at 8:30pm to Thursdays at 10:00pm, which was the reason why many people tuned in on Tuesdays because they forgot it was on Thursdays then.

Characters



 * Amy
 * Debut: Pool Babies
 * Bender
 * Debut: Decapodian Emperor
 * Debut: Edna
 * Fry
 * Hermes
 * Leela
 * Larry
 * Debut: Nautilus
 * Debut: Pregnant Pool Women
 * Prof. Farnsworth
 * Randy
 * Debut: Seagulls
 * Debut: Six-Legged Alien
 * Debut: Vinny
 * Zoidberg

Episode Credits

 * Writer
 * Eric Kaplan
 * Director
 * Brian Sheesley
 * Voice Actors
 * Billy West
 * Katey Sagal
 * John DiMaggio
 * Tress MacNeille
 * Lauren Tom
 * Phil LaMarr
 * David Herman