http://theinfosphere.org/api.php?action=feedcontributions&user=5.81.32.107&feedformat=atomThe Infosphere, the Futurama Wiki - User contributions [en]2024-03-19T13:55:12ZUser contributionsMediaWiki 1.36.3http://theinfosphere.org/index.php?title=A_Pharaoh_to_Remember&diff=145845A Pharaoh to Remember2014-08-24T15:02:57Z<p>5.81.32.107: /* Allusions */</p>
<hr />
<div>{{episode infobox 2<br />
|name=A Pharaoh to Remember<br />
|no=49<br />
|image=[[File:A Pharoh to Remember.png|225px]]<br />
|season=3<br />
|broadcast season=4<br />
|number=3ACV17<br />
|caption=Psst... big party at your house after the show!<br />
|first aired=10 March, [[2002]]<br />
|written by=Ron Weiner<br />
|directed by=Mark Ervin<br />
|title reference=''{{w|An Affair to Remember}}''<br />
|caption reference=<br />
|opening cartoon="Toys Will Be Toys"<br />
|sponsor=<br />
|broadcast number=S04E07<br />
|prev ep=A Leela of Her Own<br />
|next ep=Anthology of Interest II<br />
|broad prev=Where the Buggalo Roam<br />
|broad next=Godfellas<br />
}}<br />
[[Bender Bending Rodriguez|Bender]] is getting desperate for being remembered when he's gone, and a trip to [[Osiris 4]], where he becomes Pharaoh, seems to be just the satisfaction he needs.<br />
<br />
== The Story ==<br />
<br />
=== Act I: "This is the worst funeral ever." ===<br />
[[Bender Bending Rodriguez|Bender]] is outraged when he robs a swimming pool, an act which should land him on the nightly {{TV}} news, but no one realizes it was him, with witnesses mistakenly calling the {{cat|criminal}} {{human}}. He then makes a variety of attempts to become famous, only to be ignored or ridiculed by witnesses. He heads to work, depressed, where the rest of the [[Planet Express]] crew try to cheer him up by throwing him a funeral to show how he'll be remembered. He is highly disappointed by the group's efforts and becomes angered by their idiocy. This is especially true with Dr. [[Zoidberg]], who sings ''Danny Boy'', only to be hit in the head with Bender's martini glass. After the disappointing funeral, Bender storms off, outraged that no one will remember him when he dies. The next day, the crew has to deliver a giant sandstone block to the planet [[Osiris 4]]. After the block is signed for, they are taken as slaves of the [[Pharaoh Hamenthotep]].<br />
<br />
=== Act II: "Quit giving the slave drivers pointers." ===<br />
On the boat to the work site, Bender admires the Pharaohs' tombs and realizes that everyone would remember him if he could have a memorial like them. He begins to give the slave drivers pointers on how to make slaves work harder and faster to get the job done sooner. Hermenthotip arrives and is happy with the work of the slaves and just as he is about to free them he is crushed by his statue's nose and killed. It is announced the pharaoh's succesor will be determined the next day after consulting the [[Wall of Prophecy]]. The slaves all party in their quarters since only that night they're not slaves of anyone. Bender is upset by the death, but changes the Wall of Prophecy to make it look like he is supposed to be the Pharaoh's successor. After a short ceremony to determine the new Pharaoh looking at the wall everyone believes Bender to be the next pharaoh, so he is chosen, despite his crude drawing on the Wall of Prophecy.<br />
<br />
=== Act III: "Crawl pigs." ===<br />
Bender becomes a crueler pharaoh than Hamenthotep, and makes the slaves work hard to build a much larger statue (1 Billion cubits tall, or 284,000 miles) of him so he will be remembered for all eternity. Bender is unhappy with the statue because it is so big, people will probably remember the statue instead of him. He demands to have it torn down so that the slaves can start over and build a smaller statue. The slave drivers have had enough of Bender's orders and attack him, tying him up like a mummy and throwing him in his tomb, announcing that he suddenly died. He requests his loyal servants to be entombed with him, and [[Philip J. Fry|Fry]] and [[Turanga Leela|Leela]] are thrown in as well.<br />
<br />
=== Act IV: "Let's blow this tomb." ===<br />
Bender’s tomb turns out to have a working casino in it, along with an eternity's worth of liquor. Fry and Leela try some pomegranate schnapps and determine it is 100% alcohol. Leela wants to use the explosive alcohol to blow the tomb open and escape, but Bender refuses to allow her. Leela and Fry pretend to forget who Bender is, and he then reluctantly agrees. Moving all the liquor to one wall, Leela uses Bender's wrappings as a makeshift fuse and blow the tomb open. The explosion causes the rest of the statue to fall apart, saddening Bender. Leela tells him that he will still be remembered as a tyrannical ruler, even though there is no monument left. As they return home, Bender mentions that he will try to take over [[Earth]] next.<br />
<br />
== Additional Info ==<br />
=== Trivia ===<br />
*The non-human people of Osiris 4 are based on various Egyptian gods.<br />
*Fry says, "call it a hunch, but {{sw|I have a bad feeling about this|I have a bad feeling about this}}!". This is an oft-used phrase in ''[[Star Wars]]''.<br />
*A cubit is eighteen inches, which means one billion cubits is about 457,200 kilometers, about 36 times Earth's diameter, about 1/3 the diameter of the sun, or a little larger than the distance between the Earth and the [[Moon]].<br />
*Leela's sandals are shaped like her boots.<br />
<br />
=== Quotes ===<br />
{{q|<br />
<poem>'''Fry''': ''[After Bender having angrily throwen a beer bottle at the TV, breaking it.]'' [annoyed] Hey!? Now what am I supposed to watch and drink all day!?</poem><br />
<poem>'''Bender''': Danny Boy?! You're at my funeral, singing about some stiff named Danny Boy!? You really are a massive bonehead!<br />
'''Zoidberg''': I'm expressing my sorrow!<br />
'''Bender''': Get lost! I'd say don't quit your day job, but you're awful at that too!</poem><br />
<poem>'''Bender''': [furious] I hope you're all happy! You've succeeded in showing me life is worth living... by showing how bad my funeral will suck!</poem><br />
<poem>'''Amy''': ''[After Bender having throwen a bouquet and that lands in the Professor's lap.]'' I know whose funeral we'll be attending next.<br />
'''Professor''': [blushing] Oh, stop.</poem><br />
<poem>'''Fry''': Incredible. This place is just like the Ancient Egypt of my day.<br />
'''High Priest''': That is no coincidence. For our people visited your Egypt thousands of years ago.<br />
'''Fry''': I knew it! Insane theories, one; regular theories, a billion.<br />
'''High Priest''': We learned many things from the mighty Egyptians, such as pyramid-building, space travel and how to prepare our dead so as to scare {{w|Abbott and Costello}}.</poem><br />
<poem>'''High Priest''': Great Wall of Prophecy, reveal to us God's will that we may blindly obey.<br />
'''Priests''': Free us from thought and responsibility.<br />
'''High Priest''': We shall read things off you.<br />
'''Priests''': Then do them.<br />
'''High Priest''': Your words guide us.<br />
'''Priests''': We're dumb.</poem><br />
<poem>'''Farnsworth''': News, everyone! Today you're going to Osiris 4 to deliver this enormous sandstone block. ''[He points to a block the size of the ship sitting next to them.]''<br />
'''Fry''': I thought something looked different in here.</poem><br />
<poem>'''Leela''': This society is a bunch of idiots!'''</poem><br />
}}<br />
<br />
=== Allusions ===<br />
*An {{w|Elton John}} {{cat|look-alike}} sings many of John's songs during the funeral of the Pharaoh. <br />
*Abbott and Costello are inscribed into the wall. The purpose of the drawings was explained when the newly enslaved Leela and Fry are given a tour of the underground.<br />
*After becoming Pharaoh, Bender enters to address the slaves in the manner of {{w|Steve Martin}} in his famous "{{w|King Tut (song)|King Tut}}" routine.<br />
*Fry imitates Costello's scared reaction when he encounters mummy Bender. <br />
*The snakes beneath the desert are taken from ''{{w|Raiders of the Lost Ark}}''.<br />
*The "Bender Lives Large and Kicks Butt" picture turning into "Bender Licks Butt" after Sal blows the building up is a reference to the ''MAD'' magazine fold-in joke pages in which the punchline is given when the reader folds the picture down the middle to get another picture. Another example can be found on ''[[The Simpsons]]'' episode "Team Homer" where the question is "What higher power do televangelists worship?" and the answer when folded in is "The Almighty Dollar."<br />
<br />
=== Goofs ===<br />
*Before the building is destroyed Sal is wearing a green shirt. Then in the next scene he is wearing his usual white shirt.<br />
**During the same scene, the lower half of the building with the text is made slightly taller than in a previous shot.<br />
*Hamenthotep's organs that are lowered into his tomb included four eyes. However, Hamenthotep wasn't human, he just looked human. He might have had eyes somewhere other than his head.<br />
**Either that or Hamenthotep can remove his eyes and put new ones in or he kept the eyes as a status symbol.<br />
*Bender lifts the large stone nose off of Hamenthotep, however, in "[[Bendless Love]]", Bender states that "[he doesn't] know anything about lifting". He could have been sarcastic, so he seems more heroic by bending the unbendable girder.<br />
*The slave driver to whom Bender was giving pointers decides to take Bender's advice by counting to 1/2 instead of counting to three, but uses the fraction as a whole number instead (i.e., shouting 'One-half pull! One-half pull!') The proper command would have had the slave driver whipping twice for every command to pull.<br />
<br />
=== Continuity ===<br />
<br />
* {{e|1ACV02}}<br />
** When Bender leaves the office after destroying the regular TV, we see the big-screen TV on which the Professor previewed his Planet Express ad behind Fry.<br />
* {{e|1ACV07}}<br />
** At Bender's staged funeral, [[Amy Wong|Amy]] wears the dress she wore to Fry's coronation.<br />
** Also, the premise that one of Leela's subordinates should get in over his head by taking over another planet is reused.<br />
* {{e|2ACV11}}<br />
** The hapless Australian slave has only been granted a change of locale.<br />
* {{e|2ACV16}}<br />
** [[Scruffy]] mentions that he hasn't seen Bender before (cf. his reaction upon running into Leela for the first time).<br />
* {{e|2ACV18}}<br />
** Bender has volume control ''a la'' a stereo system<br />
<br />
=== Alien Language Sightings ===<br />
{{q|<br />
<poem>'''Time''': 14:30<br />
'''Location''': On the Wall of Prophecy<br />
'''Language''': [[Alien languages#AL1|AL1]]<br />
'''Translation''': Rock on! [[Eddie Rosas]]</poem><br />
}}<br />
<br />
=== Characters ===<br />
{{chars-begin}}<br />
*[[Dr. Amy Wong|Amy]]<br />
*[[Australian Guy]]<br />
*[[Bender Bending Rodriguez|Bender]]<br />
*[[Philip J. Fry|Fry]]<br />
*[[Hermes Conrad|Hermes]]<br />
*[[Turanga Leela|Leela]]<br />
*[[Linda]]<br />
*[[Morbo]]<br />
*'''Debut''': [[Osirian High Priest]]<br />
*'''Debut''': Pharaoh [[Hamenthotep]]<br />
*[[Professor Hubert J. Farnsworth|Prof. Farnsworth]]<br />
*[[Sal]]<br />
*[[Scruffy]]<br />
*[[Dr. John Zoidberg|Zoidberg]]<br />
*[[Preacherbot]]<br />
{{chars-end}}<br />
<br />
== Episode Credits ==<br />
{{credits-begin}}<br />
*Writer<br />
**[[Ron Weiner]]<br />
*Director<br />
**[[Mark Ervin]]<br />
*Voice Actors<br />
**[[Billy West]]<br />
**[[Katey Sagal]]<br />
**[[John DiMaggio]]<br />
**[[Tress MacNeille]]<br />
**[[Maurice LaMarche]]<br />
**[[David Herman]]<br />
**[[Phil LaMarr]]<br />
**[[Lauren Tom]]<br />
*DVD Commentary<br />
**[[Matt Groening]]<br />
**[[David X. Cohen]]<br />
**[[Rich Moore]]<br />
**[[Ron Weiner]]<br />
**[[John DiMaggio]]<br />
**[[Billy West]]<br />
{{credits-end}}<br />
<br />
{{navigation bottom<br />
|prev ep=A Leela of Her Own<br />
|next ep=Anthology of Interest II<br />
|broad prev=Where the Buggalo Roam<br />
|broad next=Godfellas}}<br />
<br />
[[Category:A plots focusing on Bender]]<br />
[[Category:Media featuring funerals]]<br />
[[Category:Media featuring singing]]<br />
[[Category:Media wherein characters run away]]</div>5.81.32.107http://theinfosphere.org/index.php?title=Godfellas&diff=145817Godfellas2014-08-22T11:01:07Z<p>5.81.32.107: /* Act III: "Who would have known playing God could have such terrible consequences?" */</p>
<hr />
<div>{{episode infobox 2<br />
|name=Godfellas<br />
|no=52<br />
|image=[[File:Godfellas.jpg|225px]]<br />
|season=3<br />
|broadcast season=4<br />
|number=3ACV20<br />
|caption=Please turn off all cell phones and {{st|tricorder}}s<br />
|first aired=17 March, [[2002]]<br />
|written by=Ken Keeler<br />
|directed by=Susan Dietter<br />
|title reference=The Mafia <ref>See also ''[[Robot Mafia]]''.</ref> films ''{{w|Goodfellas}}'' and possibly ''{{w|The Godfather}}''<br />
|caption reference=Cinema announcement<br />
|opening cartoon=<br />
|sponsor=<br />
|broadcast number=S04E08<br />
|nomination={{w|Writers Guild of America Award|'''Writers Guild of America Award'''}}<br />Animation, 2003, [[Ken Keeler]]<br />
|prev ep=Roswell that Ends Well<br />
|next ep=Future Stock<br />
|broad prev=A Pharaoh to Remember<br />
|broad next=<br />
}}<br />
[[Bender Bending Rodriguez|Bender]] is lost drifting in space after a space battle, [[Philip J. Fry|Fry]] is determined to find him. Having played [[God]], Bender runs into [[Galactic Entity|a godlike entity]].<br />
<br />
== The Story ==<br />
=== Act I: "You know, pirates, but in space!" ===<br />
Just after the start to a new delivery, [[Planet Express Ship]] is attacked by [[Space Pirates]]. [[Bender Bending Rodriguez|Bender]] is trying to get some much-needed sleep and is disturbed by the impacting cannonballs, so he searches some peace and quiet in the #3 torpedo tube. Unfortunately, [[Turanga Leela|Leela]] then orders [[Fry]] to fire a torpedo from this tube to deal a fatal blow to the Space Pirates, but instead, Bender, having occupied tube #3 during the attack, is hurled into deep space, carrying a bag of pirate swag he grabbed when he was shot through the pirate ship. Leela attempts to rescue him, but since the ship was traveling at full speed when Bender was launched, they are unable to catch up to him. Meanwhile, Bender tries to find a way to spend all of eternity with 'barely any swag' and drifts through an asteroid field where he is bombarded and finds himself with a little asteroid embedded in his chest. This asteroid is inhabited by the [[Shrimpkins]], a race of tiny humanoids, who, upon emerging from the asteroid onto Bender's chest, recognize him as their god, addressed as "The Great Metal Lord."<br />
<br />
=== Act II: "Those peewees think I'm God, huh? Hard to blame them." ===<br />
Bender surveys his new worshipers, a race of humble farmers for the most part, and chooses one of the Shrimpkins, [[Malachi family|Malachi]], to be his prophet. He lays down his commandments, or rather his commandment: ''GOD NEEDS [[alcohol|BOOZE]]''. Meanwhile, the [[Planet Express]] crew has returned to [[New New York]] and begins a search for Bender by means of the [[Smell-O-Scope]]. Unfortunately, Bender's odor is not strong enough to be picked up over such a distance, especially since [[Dr. John Zoidberg|local sources]] overpower it. In the mean time, the Shrimpkins have constructed a distillery to obey their god's wish. This created several problems: many Shrimpkins were maimed in the building of the brewery, the fumes from the distillery processes has accounted for many deaths, and the liquor industry attracted organized crime. Bender is moved by his worshipers plight and sheds a tear, which causes a giant tidal wave. [[Malachi family|Malachi Jr.]] is engulfed in it, and Bender saves him. This causes everyone to pray for their own miracles, and Bender causes more and more problems as he is trying to fulfill their wishes: a village is crushed by a quarter (they wanted riches), a field is burned down by intense sunlight (the farmers prayed for sun), and in an attempt to extinguish the field by blowing on it, many Shrimpkins are swept into space. On [[Earth]], [[Philip J. Fry|Fry]] is desperately looking for a way to find Bender in deep space, and he finally manages to find the [[Monks of Dschubba]] who search for God in the depths of space by means of a giant radio telescope in the Himalaya. In deep space, the Shrimpkin society is growing, and infidels are rising up because from their position on Bender's back he cannot hear their prayers. Malachi begs Bender to do something about the infidels, as they plan war against the faithful, but Bender refuses because every time he interferes, he only makes things worse. Fry and Leela mount an expedition to the monastery of the monks of Dschubba, while on Bender's body, things seem to go well with him not interfering in the dealings of the Shrimpkins. This ends quickly when the unbelievers and the faithful exterminate each other in a holy nuclear war, powered by Bender's nuclear pile.<br />
<br />
=== Act III: "Who would have known playing God could have such terrible consequences?" ===<br />
The Shrimpkins and their world are destroyed, and Bender laments their extinction. As he drifts through space weeping, he notices a [[Galactic Entity|galaxy]] signalling in binary code, and he signals back. The Galaxy picks up contact with him, and it turns out that it may possibly be God. Meanwhile, Fry and Leela reach the monastery. They try to persuade the monks to let them use the telescope, which they learn acts as a strong transmitter, to search for Bender. The monks refuse, but as they are at a strict non-violence policy, Leela locks them in the laundry room and they use the telescope anyway. Bender and the Galaxy have a deep exchange about being God, and the Galaxy teaches Bender that being God is not easy at all, as he could plainly see during his time with the Shrimpkins. ''If you do too much, people depend on you, and if you do nothing, they lose hope'' explains the Galaxy. The right approach is a light touch, so that people won't even know you have done anything at all. Bender asks to be sent back to Earth, but the Galaxy cannot do this as he does not know where Earth is. Bender is equally helpless in finding Earth, so he settles into the realization that he will be spending eternity with the Galaxy. After 3 straight days of searching, Fry decides to give up. In his last futile turn of the telescope, it points toward the Galaxy and transmits Fry's last words as he walks away 'I wish I had Bender back'. The Galaxy receives this transmission, straps a parachute onto Bender's back and flings him in the direction of the message. Bender lands just in front of Fry and Leela, who are leaving the monastery, which Leela says is the "[[Lampshade Hanging|least likely thing that has ever happened.]]" Just then, they realize that they left the monks locked in the laundry room, and Fry wonders if they have to let them out. After all, their God might let them out...or at least give them more shoes to eat. Bender tells them that you can't count on God for anything, and that they will have to do it themselves if they want it done. The Galaxy chuckles and says to itself 'When you do things right, people won't be sure you've done anything at all.'<br />
<br />
== Reception ==<br />
In [[2008]], ''{{w|Empire (film magazine)|Empire}}'' placed ''Futurama'' 25th on their list of "The 50 Greatest {{TV}} Shows of All Time" and cited this episode as the show's best episode. The episode was also the #1 ranked episode in {{w|IGN}}'s list of [http://uk.ign.com/articles/2013/09/09/top-25-futurama-episodes?page=5 top 25 ''Futurama'' episodes].<br />
<br />
== Additional Info ==<br />
=== Trivia ===<br />
*It was originally scheduled to air 13 January, 2002.<br />
*It is among the few [[one-word titled media]].<br />
*Fry and Leela visit the "Monastery of {{w|Dschubba | Dschubba}}" (which is a star in the constellation of Scorpius) or possibly the "Monastery of Teshuvah" (which is the Hebrew word for "repentance" or "answer").<br />
*All of the nebulas are based on {{w|Hubble Space Telescope}} photos.<br />
*Series creator Matt Groening cites it as one of the best episodes of the series and was quoted as saying he planned to explore the idea of the "God" figure in a DVD movie, 19 months before ''[[Bender's Big Score]]'' was released. <br />
*''Deleted Scenes'': <br />
**The animatic contains a scene with a prince on an asteroid shooting at Bender <br />
**An early draft of this episode featured a story that had Bender land on [[Omicron Persei 8]] and solve [[Lrrr]] and [[Ndnd]]'s marriage problems. This story was later used in the fourth season episode, "[[Spanish Fry]]".<br />
**There was a scene removed from this episode and "[[The Honking]]" with Bender having a dream about being a rock star, which he selects from a drop down menu. <br />
*[[Coolio]], who guest starred in the early third season episode "[[A Tale of Two Santas]]", appears on the {{year|2996}} quarter. This was seen as a tribute to Coolio for being a great guest star.<br />
*Malachi is reading ''The Bible, by BENDER with Malachi''.<br />
*The Shrimpkin porno theatre is named ''Ezekiel's Nasty House''.<br />
*In this episode, Bender says that he only knows enough binary to ask where the bathroom is, even though it was established in "[[I, Roommate]]" that Bender doesn't know what a bathroom is and in "[[Fear of a Bot Planet]]", Leela tells Fry that robots don't have bathrooms. Given that those were early episodes in [[Season 1]], it is conceivable that by [[Season 3]] Fry explained to Bender what a bathroom is...but it still doesn't explain why he'd want or need to use one (It should be noted that, despite these lapses in continuity, Bender does use a bathroom in ''[[Bender's Big Score]]''). Throughout the series, Bender reads and speaks binary with ease, such as in the episode "[[Hell Is Other Robots]]".<br />
*The book "Toons That Teach", a text used by youth groups to teach teenagers about spirituality, recommends this episode in a lesson teaching about "Faith, God's Will, [and] Image of God".<br />
<br />
=== Quotes ===<br />
{{q|<br />
<poem>'''Fry''': You mean we can never catch up with him? Not even if we rub the engine with cheetah blood?!</poem><br />
<poem>'''Leela''': Fry! If I drop dead from exhaustion, make sure my body freezes in a dignified position! None of that "huddled over for warmth" crap.</poem><br />
<poem>'''Galactic Entity''': You were doing well, until everybody died.</poem><br />
<poem>'''Leela''': This is by a wide margin the least likely thing that has ever happened!</poem><br />
<poem>'''Fry''': You can't give up hope just because it's hopeless! You gotta hope even more and cover your ears and go "blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah!"</poem><br />
<poem>'''Bender''': Are you kidding? You can't count on God for ''jack''. He practically told me so himself.</poem><br />
<poem>'''Bender''': If even a pea-sized pebble were to whiz through my skull it could ''[Rock goes through his head.]'' Ow! Hurt slightly...</poem><br />
<poem>'''Galactic Entity''': Possible. I am user-friendly, my good chum.</poem><br />
<poem>'''Monk''': You see, the telescope is also a powerful transmitter.<br />
'''Leela''': Sort of like a giant karaoke machine?<br />
'''Monk''': Not really. Do you want to see our giant karaoke machine?<br />
'''Leela''': Not really.</poem><br />
<poem>'''Bender''': You're not gonna believe it. First I was God, then I met God.<br />
'''Fry''': We climbed a mountain and locked up some monks.</poem><br />
<poem>'''Leela''': Your order may be famous for your martial arts, but I have never met a holy man I couldn't clobber.</poem><br />
<poem>'''Malachi''': Smite someone who deserves it for once!</poem><br />
<poem>'''Bender''': Uh, when you're writin' the Bible, you might wanna omit that last miracle.</poem><br />
<poem>'''Galactic Entity''': When you do things right, people won't be sure you've done anything at all.</poem><br />
|2}}<br />
<br />
=== Continuity ===<br />
*{{e|1ACV08}}<br />
**The Smell-O-Scope is first used. In this episode, it is used to search for Bender.<br />
*{{e|2ACV04}}<br />
**Bender steals blood. In this episode, Fry mentions this incident.<br />
*{{e|2ACV05}}<br />
**Zoidberg's stink gland is first used. In this episode, it overpowers Bender's mild odor.<br />
*{{e|2ACV19}}<br />
**Zoidberg openly enthuses when he is finally noticed.<br />
*{{e|3ACV11}}<br />
**Bender is first seen dressed up as {{head|Napoleon}}.<br />
*{{e|3ACV17}}<br />
**Bender attains supreme power over the [[Osirians]] (as a godly king). In this episode, he becomes a second civilization's god.<br />
*{{e|3ACV19}}<br />
**The ship's torpedo tubes are first used. In this episode, they are used to destroy the [[Space Pirates]]' ship.<br />
**The pieces of Bender picked up by the [[United States Army|Army]] are radioactive. In this episode, we learn that Bender has a nuclear pile.<br />
*{{e|7ACV03}}<br />
**Bender is again seen dressed up as Napoleon.<br />
<br />
=== Allusions ===<br />
[[File:Benders Pioneer Plaque.jpg|thumb|Bender's customized Pioneer Plaque]]<br />
*When Fry shoots down the first pirate ship, he does it through a fancy version of the game Quickdraw.<br />
*An observatory located in a monastery is also a reference to {{w|The Nine Billion Names of God}} by Arthur C. Clarke. For the complete story, go [http://gpu.sourceforge.net/9billion.php here].<br />
*The zoom through the universe at the end of the episode is like that at the end of the movie "{{w|Men in Black (film)|Men in Black}}".<br />
*This episode is similar to a segment of the Simpsons episode {{w|Treehouse of Horror VII}} in which Lisa become god of a tiny race.<br />
*The show's opening tagline says to "Turn off tricorders", {{w|Tricorder|tricorders}} are from Star Trek <br />
*[[Billy West]] states on the audio commentary that the voice of "God" was based off the opening announcer from {{w|The Outer Limits|''The Outer Limits''}}.<br />
*The astronomically long distance backwards pan as the Space "God" Entity becomes aware of Fry's plea to have Bender back is similar to one in the movie {{w|Contact (film)|Contact}} and the short 1968 film {{w|Cosmic Zoom}} by Eva Szasz. <br />
*When Bender says "Ask not for whom the bone bones, it bones for thee," he is referencing {{w|John Donne}}: "never send to know for whom the bell tolls; it tolls for thee,"<br />
*This episode explores themes similar to "The Seventh Sally" by Stanislaw Lem.<br />
*Malachi is the name of a real Biblical prophet, and the name means "My messenger."<br />
*An asteroid collides with Bender, and immediately afterward, the Shrimpkin civilization appears on his metal casing. This references the theory, known as {{w|Panspermia}}, that life can spread across vast distances of space by "hitching a ride" on space debris.<br />
*The Sherpa’s name is Namgyal, the given name of {{w|Tenzing Norgay}}, one of the first people to climb Mount Everest. <br />
*Bender is floating in space to {{w|Richard Strauss}}' ''{{w|Also sprach Zarathustra (Richard Strauss)|Also sprach Zarathustra}}'' and {{w|Johann Strauss II}}' ''{{w|The Blue Danube}}''. This is a reference to the film ''[[2001: A Space Odyssey]]''.<br />
*Bender attempts to play Chopin's {{w|Polonaises Op. 40 (Chopin)|Polonaise in C minor}} on his piano.<br />
*Much of the plot is similar to Theodore Sturgeon's 1940 short story {{w|Microcosmic God}} and {{w|The Twilight Zone}} episode {{w|The Little People}}.<br />
*The tiny creatures in Alan Dean Foster's short story, {{w|Gift of a Useless Man}}, depend on the main character in a way similar to the Shrimpkins building their civilization on Bender.<br />
*The God Entity appears almost identical to the God Entity portrayed in Stanislaw Lem's "Voyages of Professor Tarantoga" screenplay.<br />
*God thinking in binary and the remains of a computerised space probe that collided with God references the {{w|Star Trek: The Motion Picture|first Star Trek movie}}, in which a massive and powerful, albeit emotionally immature alien intelligence, was found to be human technology that had been found, modified with extremely advanced technology, and sent back. {{w|Star Trek V: The Final Frontier}} has the concept of a being godlike in power that is nonetheless not God as humans conceive of it, i.e. not the creator of the universe, nor in fact good.<br />
*The symbols that Bender carves into himself are similar to those on the {{w|Pioneer plaque}}, except with Bender shown threatening the Human figures. He then remarks, "There! Now when I'm found in a million years people will know what the score was."<br />
*The beer brewed by the Shrimpkins for their god Bender is ''Lordweiser'', a reference to {{w|Budweiser}} and to the Metal Lord, a.k.a. Bender.<br />
* The title of this episode is a reference to Goodfellas although it isn't a large factor in the plot.<br />
*The way the [[God Entity]] speaks is similar to the way the angels speak in {{w|It's A Wonderful Life}}.<br />
*The [[God Entity]]'s teachings on being a good ruler are very similar in meaning to the ''{{w|Tao Te Ching}}'''s teachings, particularly chapter 17: "When the Master governs, the people are hardly aware that he exists ... when his work is done, the people say 'Amazing: we did it all by ourselves!'"<br />
<br />
=== Goofs ===<br />
*The Statue of Liberty keeps changing what it has in the hand. This time it's the torch again (on a photo). Usually it's a transportation tube.<br />
**Maybe there are multiple Statues of Liberty, which would explain this goof in all of the episodes.<br />
*The torpedo Bender removes from the tube has a propeller, which would not accomplish anything in space. Even if it isn't necessary for propulsion, it would be easier to just not build a propeller.<br />
*Leela's explanation of why they can never catch up to Bender is flawed. There is no "top speed" for a self-propelled spacecraft; it could keep accelerating forever, and assuming Bender is going at a constant speed, the ship would eventually catch up to him. Even if the ship ran out of fuel, it could make a note of Bender's trajectory and go fuel up and eventually catch up.<br />
**Plus, Bender should have been significantly slowed by going through both sides of the pirate ship, and from picking up extra mass in the form of swag.<br />
**By the time Leela was done talking, Bender was out of sight and they had no way of finding him.<br />
***They could still record his trajectory. He was on a straight path for a fair period of time. Also, he often demonstrates his ability to connect to the Internet, and could email them his coordinates.<br />
****He didn't even know which way Earth was. How could he possibly know his co-ordinates?<br />
*The dropping bomb sound Bender makes can be heard before he even enters the atmosphere.<br />
*Why does the sack of Swag Bender is holding on to wave? Usually there isn't any substance in the universe like air that could make the bag wave.<br />
*Why is Malachi hanging "down" when Bender holds him even though there's no gravity? But even ''if'' Bender affected him enough, he would have to "hang" in direction to Bender, and not to the bottom of the camera's view angle when Bender turns around.<br />
*One of Benders tears produces a river so big that he can put his own hand into it.<br />
*The hole in Bender's head disappears later on.<br />
*The Rolex Bender was wearing disappears when he puts the swag bag into his chest cavity.<br />
*When Fry and Leela reach the monastery, the bridge connecting it is attached to the ice. Later, when it is moving searching for God, it is now attached to the end of the satellite.<br />
*Bender says that he only knows enough binary to ask if he can use the bathroom, yet in [[The Honking|2ACV18]] he is able to understand the number "666" written in binary.<br />
**Bender may be able to recognize binary, but not speak it, similar to how a human may understand a word but may have trouble pronouncing it. He may also only know how to translate binary to numbers.<br />
*After Bender falls through the atmosphere and back to earth, Bender and his parachute pack (and straps) are red hot, yet the backpack and straps do not catch on fire.<br />
*When Bender lands in the snow after falling back to Earth, the strings from his parachute are attached to straps (which are attached to the backpack). The next shot, the strings are attached directly to the backpack. Next shot, and from there on, the strings are attached to the straps again.<br />
<br />
=== Appearances ===<br />
{{chars}}<br />
<br />
==== Characters ====<br />
{{chars-begin|note=no}}<br />
*[[Dr. Amy Wong|Amy]]<br />
*[[Bender Bending Rodriguez|Bender]]<br />
*'''Debut''': [[Father Changstein El-Gamal]]<br />
*[[Professor Hubert J. Farnsworth|Professor Farnsworth]]<br />
*[[Philip J. Fry|Fry]]<br />
*'''Debut''': [[Galactic Entity|God]]<br />
*[[Gypsy]]<br />
*'''Debut''': [[Helper]]<br />
*[[Hermes Conrad|Hermes]]<br />
*[[Horrible Gelatinous Blob]] {{small|(voice only)}}<br />
*[[Turanga Leela|Leela]]<br />
*'''Debut''': [[Malachi family|Malachi]]<br />
*'''Debut''': [[Malachi family|Mrs. Malachi]]<br />
*'''Debut''': [[Malachi family|Malachi Jr.]]<br />
*'''Debut''': [[Monks of Dschubba]]<br />
*'''Debut''': [[Namgyal]] {{small|(sherpa)}}<br />
*'''Debut''': [[Space Pirates]]<br />
*[[Dr. John A. Zoidberg|Zoidberg]]<br />
{{chars-end}}<br />
<br />
==== Places ====<br />
{{list expansion}}<br />
<!-- {{chars-begin|note=no}} --><br />
*'''Debut''': [[Ed's Hiking Supplies & Spelunketeria]]<br />
<!-- {{chars-end}} --><br />
<br />
== Episode Credits ==<br />
{{credits-begin}}<br />
*Writer<br />
**[[Ken Keeler]]<br />
*Director<br />
**[[Susan Dietter]]<br />
*Voice Actors<br />
**[[Billy West]]<br />
**[[Katey Sagal]]<br />
**[[John DiMaggio]]<br />
**[[Tress MacNeille]]<br />
**[[Maurice LaMarche]]<br />
**[[Phil LaMarr]]<br />
**[[Lauren Tom]]<br />
**[[David Herman]]<br />
*DVD Commentary<br />
**[[Matt Groening]]<br />
**[[David X. Cohen]]<br />
**[[Ken Keeler]]<br />
**[[Susan Dietter]]<br />
**[[John DiMaggio]]<br />
**[[Billy West]]<br />
{{credits-end}}<br />
<br />
== Notes ==<br />
{{reflist}}<br />
<br />
{{navigation bottom<br />
|prev ep=Roswell that Ends Well<br />
|next ep=Future Stock<br />
|broad prev=A Pharaoh to Remember<br />
|broad next=}}<br />
<br />
[[Category:A plots focusing on Bender]]<br />
[[Category:B plots focusing on Fry]]<br />
[[Category:One-word titled media]]</div>5.81.32.107http://theinfosphere.org/index.php?title=Godfellas&diff=145816Godfellas2014-08-22T10:58:13Z<p>5.81.32.107: /* Act III: "Who would have known playing God could have such terrible consequences?" */</p>
<hr />
<div>{{episode infobox 2<br />
|name=Godfellas<br />
|no=52<br />
|image=[[File:Godfellas.jpg|225px]]<br />
|season=3<br />
|broadcast season=4<br />
|number=3ACV20<br />
|caption=Please turn off all cell phones and {{st|tricorder}}s<br />
|first aired=17 March, [[2002]]<br />
|written by=Ken Keeler<br />
|directed by=Susan Dietter<br />
|title reference=The Mafia <ref>See also ''[[Robot Mafia]]''.</ref> films ''{{w|Goodfellas}}'' and possibly ''{{w|The Godfather}}''<br />
|caption reference=Cinema announcement<br />
|opening cartoon=<br />
|sponsor=<br />
|broadcast number=S04E08<br />
|nomination={{w|Writers Guild of America Award|'''Writers Guild of America Award'''}}<br />Animation, 2003, [[Ken Keeler]]<br />
|prev ep=Roswell that Ends Well<br />
|next ep=Future Stock<br />
|broad prev=A Pharaoh to Remember<br />
|broad next=<br />
}}<br />
[[Bender Bending Rodriguez|Bender]] is lost drifting in space after a space battle, [[Philip J. Fry|Fry]] is determined to find him. Having played [[God]], Bender runs into [[Galactic Entity|a godlike entity]].<br />
<br />
== The Story ==<br />
=== Act I: "You know, pirates, but in space!" ===<br />
Just after the start to a new delivery, [[Planet Express Ship]] is attacked by [[Space Pirates]]. [[Bender Bending Rodriguez|Bender]] is trying to get some much-needed sleep and is disturbed by the impacting cannonballs, so he searches some peace and quiet in the #3 torpedo tube. Unfortunately, [[Turanga Leela|Leela]] then orders [[Fry]] to fire a torpedo from this tube to deal a fatal blow to the Space Pirates, but instead, Bender, having occupied tube #3 during the attack, is hurled into deep space, carrying a bag of pirate swag he grabbed when he was shot through the pirate ship. Leela attempts to rescue him, but since the ship was traveling at full speed when Bender was launched, they are unable to catch up to him. Meanwhile, Bender tries to find a way to spend all of eternity with 'barely any swag' and drifts through an asteroid field where he is bombarded and finds himself with a little asteroid embedded in his chest. This asteroid is inhabited by the [[Shrimpkins]], a race of tiny humanoids, who, upon emerging from the asteroid onto Bender's chest, recognize him as their god, addressed as "The Great Metal Lord."<br />
<br />
=== Act II: "Those peewees think I'm God, huh? Hard to blame them." ===<br />
Bender surveys his new worshipers, a race of humble farmers for the most part, and chooses one of the Shrimpkins, [[Malachi family|Malachi]], to be his prophet. He lays down his commandments, or rather his commandment: ''GOD NEEDS [[alcohol|BOOZE]]''. Meanwhile, the [[Planet Express]] crew has returned to [[New New York]] and begins a search for Bender by means of the [[Smell-O-Scope]]. Unfortunately, Bender's odor is not strong enough to be picked up over such a distance, especially since [[Dr. John Zoidberg|local sources]] overpower it. In the mean time, the Shrimpkins have constructed a distillery to obey their god's wish. This created several problems: many Shrimpkins were maimed in the building of the brewery, the fumes from the distillery processes has accounted for many deaths, and the liquor industry attracted organized crime. Bender is moved by his worshipers plight and sheds a tear, which causes a giant tidal wave. [[Malachi family|Malachi Jr.]] is engulfed in it, and Bender saves him. This causes everyone to pray for their own miracles, and Bender causes more and more problems as he is trying to fulfill their wishes: a village is crushed by a quarter (they wanted riches), a field is burned down by intense sunlight (the farmers prayed for sun), and in an attempt to extinguish the field by blowing on it, many Shrimpkins are swept into space. On [[Earth]], [[Philip J. Fry|Fry]] is desperately looking for a way to find Bender in deep space, and he finally manages to find the [[Monks of Dschubba]] who search for God in the depths of space by means of a giant radio telescope in the Himalaya. In deep space, the Shrimpkin society is growing, and infidels are rising up because from their position on Bender's back he cannot hear their prayers. Malachi begs Bender to do something about the infidels, as they plan war against the faithful, but Bender refuses because every time he interferes, he only makes things worse. Fry and Leela mount an expedition to the monastery of the monks of Dschubba, while on Bender's body, things seem to go well with him not interfering in the dealings of the Shrimpkins. This ends quickly when the unbelievers and the faithful exterminate each other in a holy nuclear war, powered by Bender's nuclear pile.<br />
<br />
=== Act III: "Who would have known playing God could have such terrible consequences?" ===<br />
The Shrimpkins and their world are destroyed, and Bender laments their extinction. As he drifts through space weeping, he notices a [[Galactic Entity|galaxy]] signalling in binary code, and he signals back. The Galaxy picks up contact with him, and it turns out that it may possibly be God. Meanwhile, Fry and Leela reach the monastery. They try to persuade the monks to let them use the telescope, which they learn acts as a strong transmitter, to search for Bender. The monks refuse, but as they are at a strict non-violence policy, Leela locks them in the laundry room and they use the telescope anyway. Bender and the Galaxy have a deep exchange about being God, and the Galaxy teaches Bender that being God is not easy at all, as he could plainly see during his time with the Shrimpkins. ''If you do too much, people depend on you, and if you do nothing, they lose hope'' explains the Galaxy. The right approach is a light touch, so that people won't even know you have done anything at all. Bender asks to be sent back to Earth, but the Galaxy cannot do this as he does not know where Earth is. Bender is equally helpless in finding Earth, so he settles into the realization that he will be spending eternity with the Galaxy. After 3 straight days of searching, Fry decides to give up. In his last futile turn of the telescope, it points toward the Galaxy and transmits Fry's last words as he walks away 'I wish I had Bender back'. The Galaxy receives this transmission, straps a parachute onto Bender's back and flings him in the direction of the message. Bender lands just in front of Fry and Leela, who are leaving the monastery, which Leela says is the [[Lampshade Hanging|"least likely thing that has ever happened.]]' Just then, they realize that they left the monks locked in the laundry room, and Fry wonders if they have to let them out. After all, their God might let them out...or at least give them more shoes to eat. Bender tells them that you can't count on God for anything, and that they will have to do it themselves if they want it done. The Galaxy chuckles and says to itself 'When you do things right, people won't be sure you've done anything at all.'<br />
<br />
== Reception ==<br />
In [[2008]], ''{{w|Empire (film magazine)|Empire}}'' placed ''Futurama'' 25th on their list of "The 50 Greatest {{TV}} Shows of All Time" and cited this episode as the show's best episode. The episode was also the #1 ranked episode in {{w|IGN}}'s list of [http://uk.ign.com/articles/2013/09/09/top-25-futurama-episodes?page=5 top 25 ''Futurama'' episodes].<br />
<br />
== Additional Info ==<br />
=== Trivia ===<br />
*It was originally scheduled to air 13 January, 2002.<br />
*It is among the few [[one-word titled media]].<br />
*Fry and Leela visit the "Monastery of {{w|Dschubba | Dschubba}}" (which is a star in the constellation of Scorpius) or possibly the "Monastery of Teshuvah" (which is the Hebrew word for "repentance" or "answer").<br />
*All of the nebulas are based on {{w|Hubble Space Telescope}} photos.<br />
*Series creator Matt Groening cites it as one of the best episodes of the series and was quoted as saying he planned to explore the idea of the "God" figure in a DVD movie, 19 months before ''[[Bender's Big Score]]'' was released. <br />
*''Deleted Scenes'': <br />
**The animatic contains a scene with a prince on an asteroid shooting at Bender <br />
**An early draft of this episode featured a story that had Bender land on [[Omicron Persei 8]] and solve [[Lrrr]] and [[Ndnd]]'s marriage problems. This story was later used in the fourth season episode, "[[Spanish Fry]]".<br />
**There was a scene removed from this episode and "[[The Honking]]" with Bender having a dream about being a rock star, which he selects from a drop down menu. <br />
*[[Coolio]], who guest starred in the early third season episode "[[A Tale of Two Santas]]", appears on the {{year|2996}} quarter. This was seen as a tribute to Coolio for being a great guest star.<br />
*Malachi is reading ''The Bible, by BENDER with Malachi''.<br />
*The Shrimpkin porno theatre is named ''Ezekiel's Nasty House''.<br />
*In this episode, Bender says that he only knows enough binary to ask where the bathroom is, even though it was established in "[[I, Roommate]]" that Bender doesn't know what a bathroom is and in "[[Fear of a Bot Planet]]", Leela tells Fry that robots don't have bathrooms. Given that those were early episodes in [[Season 1]], it is conceivable that by [[Season 3]] Fry explained to Bender what a bathroom is...but it still doesn't explain why he'd want or need to use one (It should be noted that, despite these lapses in continuity, Bender does use a bathroom in ''[[Bender's Big Score]]''). Throughout the series, Bender reads and speaks binary with ease, such as in the episode "[[Hell Is Other Robots]]".<br />
*The book "Toons That Teach", a text used by youth groups to teach teenagers about spirituality, recommends this episode in a lesson teaching about "Faith, God's Will, [and] Image of God".<br />
<br />
=== Quotes ===<br />
{{q|<br />
<poem>'''Fry''': You mean we can never catch up with him? Not even if we rub the engine with cheetah blood?!</poem><br />
<poem>'''Leela''': Fry! If I drop dead from exhaustion, make sure my body freezes in a dignified position! None of that "huddled over for warmth" crap.</poem><br />
<poem>'''Galactic Entity''': You were doing well, until everybody died.</poem><br />
<poem>'''Leela''': This is by a wide margin the least likely thing that has ever happened!</poem><br />
<poem>'''Fry''': You can't give up hope just because it's hopeless! You gotta hope even more and cover your ears and go "blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah!"</poem><br />
<poem>'''Bender''': Are you kidding? You can't count on God for ''jack''. He practically told me so himself.</poem><br />
<poem>'''Bender''': If even a pea-sized pebble were to whiz through my skull it could ''[Rock goes through his head.]'' Ow! Hurt slightly...</poem><br />
<poem>'''Galactic Entity''': Possible. I am user-friendly, my good chum.</poem><br />
<poem>'''Monk''': You see, the telescope is also a powerful transmitter.<br />
'''Leela''': Sort of like a giant karaoke machine?<br />
'''Monk''': Not really. Do you want to see our giant karaoke machine?<br />
'''Leela''': Not really.</poem><br />
<poem>'''Bender''': You're not gonna believe it. First I was God, then I met God.<br />
'''Fry''': We climbed a mountain and locked up some monks.</poem><br />
<poem>'''Leela''': Your order may be famous for your martial arts, but I have never met a holy man I couldn't clobber.</poem><br />
<poem>'''Malachi''': Smite someone who deserves it for once!</poem><br />
<poem>'''Bender''': Uh, when you're writin' the Bible, you might wanna omit that last miracle.</poem><br />
<poem>'''Galactic Entity''': When you do things right, people won't be sure you've done anything at all.</poem><br />
|2}}<br />
<br />
=== Continuity ===<br />
*{{e|1ACV08}}<br />
**The Smell-O-Scope is first used. In this episode, it is used to search for Bender.<br />
*{{e|2ACV04}}<br />
**Bender steals blood. In this episode, Fry mentions this incident.<br />
*{{e|2ACV05}}<br />
**Zoidberg's stink gland is first used. In this episode, it overpowers Bender's mild odor.<br />
*{{e|2ACV19}}<br />
**Zoidberg openly enthuses when he is finally noticed.<br />
*{{e|3ACV11}}<br />
**Bender is first seen dressed up as {{head|Napoleon}}.<br />
*{{e|3ACV17}}<br />
**Bender attains supreme power over the [[Osirians]] (as a godly king). In this episode, he becomes a second civilization's god.<br />
*{{e|3ACV19}}<br />
**The ship's torpedo tubes are first used. In this episode, they are used to destroy the [[Space Pirates]]' ship.<br />
**The pieces of Bender picked up by the [[United States Army|Army]] are radioactive. In this episode, we learn that Bender has a nuclear pile.<br />
*{{e|7ACV03}}<br />
**Bender is again seen dressed up as Napoleon.<br />
<br />
=== Allusions ===<br />
[[File:Benders Pioneer Plaque.jpg|thumb|Bender's customized Pioneer Plaque]]<br />
*When Fry shoots down the first pirate ship, he does it through a fancy version of the game Quickdraw.<br />
*An observatory located in a monastery is also a reference to {{w|The Nine Billion Names of God}} by Arthur C. Clarke. For the complete story, go [http://gpu.sourceforge.net/9billion.php here].<br />
*The zoom through the universe at the end of the episode is like that at the end of the movie "{{w|Men in Black (film)|Men in Black}}".<br />
*This episode is similar to a segment of the Simpsons episode {{w|Treehouse of Horror VII}} in which Lisa become god of a tiny race.<br />
*The show's opening tagline says to "Turn off tricorders", {{w|Tricorder|tricorders}} are from Star Trek <br />
*[[Billy West]] states on the audio commentary that the voice of "God" was based off the opening announcer from {{w|The Outer Limits|''The Outer Limits''}}.<br />
*The astronomically long distance backwards pan as the Space "God" Entity becomes aware of Fry's plea to have Bender back is similar to one in the movie {{w|Contact (film)|Contact}} and the short 1968 film {{w|Cosmic Zoom}} by Eva Szasz. <br />
*When Bender says "Ask not for whom the bone bones, it bones for thee," he is referencing {{w|John Donne}}: "never send to know for whom the bell tolls; it tolls for thee,"<br />
*This episode explores themes similar to "The Seventh Sally" by Stanislaw Lem.<br />
*Malachi is the name of a real Biblical prophet, and the name means "My messenger."<br />
*An asteroid collides with Bender, and immediately afterward, the Shrimpkin civilization appears on his metal casing. This references the theory, known as {{w|Panspermia}}, that life can spread across vast distances of space by "hitching a ride" on space debris.<br />
*The Sherpa’s name is Namgyal, the given name of {{w|Tenzing Norgay}}, one of the first people to climb Mount Everest. <br />
*Bender is floating in space to {{w|Richard Strauss}}' ''{{w|Also sprach Zarathustra (Richard Strauss)|Also sprach Zarathustra}}'' and {{w|Johann Strauss II}}' ''{{w|The Blue Danube}}''. This is a reference to the film ''[[2001: A Space Odyssey]]''.<br />
*Bender attempts to play Chopin's {{w|Polonaises Op. 40 (Chopin)|Polonaise in C minor}} on his piano.<br />
*Much of the plot is similar to Theodore Sturgeon's 1940 short story {{w|Microcosmic God}} and {{w|The Twilight Zone}} episode {{w|The Little People}}.<br />
*The tiny creatures in Alan Dean Foster's short story, {{w|Gift of a Useless Man}}, depend on the main character in a way similar to the Shrimpkins building their civilization on Bender.<br />
*The God Entity appears almost identical to the God Entity portrayed in Stanislaw Lem's "Voyages of Professor Tarantoga" screenplay.<br />
*God thinking in binary and the remains of a computerised space probe that collided with God references the {{w|Star Trek: The Motion Picture|first Star Trek movie}}, in which a massive and powerful, albeit emotionally immature alien intelligence, was found to be human technology that had been found, modified with extremely advanced technology, and sent back. {{w|Star Trek V: The Final Frontier}} has the concept of a being godlike in power that is nonetheless not God as humans conceive of it, i.e. not the creator of the universe, nor in fact good.<br />
*The symbols that Bender carves into himself are similar to those on the {{w|Pioneer plaque}}, except with Bender shown threatening the Human figures. He then remarks, "There! Now when I'm found in a million years people will know what the score was."<br />
*The beer brewed by the Shrimpkins for their god Bender is ''Lordweiser'', a reference to {{w|Budweiser}} and to the Metal Lord, a.k.a. Bender.<br />
* The title of this episode is a reference to Goodfellas although it isn't a large factor in the plot.<br />
*The way the [[God Entity]] speaks is similar to the way the angels speak in {{w|It's A Wonderful Life}}.<br />
*The [[God Entity]]'s teachings on being a good ruler are very similar in meaning to the ''{{w|Tao Te Ching}}'''s teachings, particularly chapter 17: "When the Master governs, the people are hardly aware that he exists ... when his work is done, the people say 'Amazing: we did it all by ourselves!'"<br />
<br />
=== Goofs ===<br />
*The Statue of Liberty keeps changing what it has in the hand. This time it's the torch again (on a photo). Usually it's a transportation tube.<br />
**Maybe there are multiple Statues of Liberty, which would explain this goof in all of the episodes.<br />
*The torpedo Bender removes from the tube has a propeller, which would not accomplish anything in space. Even if it isn't necessary for propulsion, it would be easier to just not build a propeller.<br />
*Leela's explanation of why they can never catch up to Bender is flawed. There is no "top speed" for a self-propelled spacecraft; it could keep accelerating forever, and assuming Bender is going at a constant speed, the ship would eventually catch up to him. Even if the ship ran out of fuel, it could make a note of Bender's trajectory and go fuel up and eventually catch up.<br />
**Plus, Bender should have been significantly slowed by going through both sides of the pirate ship, and from picking up extra mass in the form of swag.<br />
**By the time Leela was done talking, Bender was out of sight and they had no way of finding him.<br />
***They could still record his trajectory. He was on a straight path for a fair period of time. Also, he often demonstrates his ability to connect to the Internet, and could email them his coordinates.<br />
****He didn't even know which way Earth was. How could he possibly know his co-ordinates?<br />
*The dropping bomb sound Bender makes can be heard before he even enters the atmosphere.<br />
*Why does the sack of Swag Bender is holding on to wave? Usually there isn't any substance in the universe like air that could make the bag wave.<br />
*Why is Malachi hanging "down" when Bender holds him even though there's no gravity? But even ''if'' Bender affected him enough, he would have to "hang" in direction to Bender, and not to the bottom of the camera's view angle when Bender turns around.<br />
*One of Benders tears produces a river so big that he can put his own hand into it.<br />
*The hole in Bender's head disappears later on.<br />
*The Rolex Bender was wearing disappears when he puts the swag bag into his chest cavity.<br />
*When Fry and Leela reach the monastery, the bridge connecting it is attached to the ice. Later, when it is moving searching for God, it is now attached to the end of the satellite.<br />
*Bender says that he only knows enough binary to ask if he can use the bathroom, yet in [[The Honking|2ACV18]] he is able to understand the number "666" written in binary.<br />
**Bender may be able to recognize binary, but not speak it, similar to how a human may understand a word but may have trouble pronouncing it. He may also only know how to translate binary to numbers.<br />
*After Bender falls through the atmosphere and back to earth, Bender and his parachute pack (and straps) are red hot, yet the backpack and straps do not catch on fire.<br />
*When Bender lands in the snow after falling back to Earth, the strings from his parachute are attached to straps (which are attached to the backpack). The next shot, the strings are attached directly to the backpack. Next shot, and from there on, the strings are attached to the straps again.<br />
<br />
=== Appearances ===<br />
{{chars}}<br />
<br />
==== Characters ====<br />
{{chars-begin|note=no}}<br />
*[[Dr. Amy Wong|Amy]]<br />
*[[Bender Bending Rodriguez|Bender]]<br />
*'''Debut''': [[Father Changstein El-Gamal]]<br />
*[[Professor Hubert J. Farnsworth|Professor Farnsworth]]<br />
*[[Philip J. Fry|Fry]]<br />
*'''Debut''': [[Galactic Entity|God]]<br />
*[[Gypsy]]<br />
*'''Debut''': [[Helper]]<br />
*[[Hermes Conrad|Hermes]]<br />
*[[Horrible Gelatinous Blob]] {{small|(voice only)}}<br />
*[[Turanga Leela|Leela]]<br />
*'''Debut''': [[Malachi family|Malachi]]<br />
*'''Debut''': [[Malachi family|Mrs. Malachi]]<br />
*'''Debut''': [[Malachi family|Malachi Jr.]]<br />
*'''Debut''': [[Monks of Dschubba]]<br />
*'''Debut''': [[Namgyal]] {{small|(sherpa)}}<br />
*'''Debut''': [[Space Pirates]]<br />
*[[Dr. John A. Zoidberg|Zoidberg]]<br />
{{chars-end}}<br />
<br />
==== Places ====<br />
{{list expansion}}<br />
<!-- {{chars-begin|note=no}} --><br />
*'''Debut''': [[Ed's Hiking Supplies & Spelunketeria]]<br />
<!-- {{chars-end}} --><br />
<br />
== Episode Credits ==<br />
{{credits-begin}}<br />
*Writer<br />
**[[Ken Keeler]]<br />
*Director<br />
**[[Susan Dietter]]<br />
*Voice Actors<br />
**[[Billy West]]<br />
**[[Katey Sagal]]<br />
**[[John DiMaggio]]<br />
**[[Tress MacNeille]]<br />
**[[Maurice LaMarche]]<br />
**[[Phil LaMarr]]<br />
**[[Lauren Tom]]<br />
**[[David Herman]]<br />
*DVD Commentary<br />
**[[Matt Groening]]<br />
**[[David X. Cohen]]<br />
**[[Ken Keeler]]<br />
**[[Susan Dietter]]<br />
**[[John DiMaggio]]<br />
**[[Billy West]]<br />
{{credits-end}}<br />
<br />
== Notes ==<br />
{{reflist}}<br />
<br />
{{navigation bottom<br />
|prev ep=Roswell that Ends Well<br />
|next ep=Future Stock<br />
|broad prev=A Pharaoh to Remember<br />
|broad next=}}<br />
<br />
[[Category:A plots focusing on Bender]]<br />
[[Category:B plots focusing on Fry]]<br />
[[Category:One-word titled media]]</div>5.81.32.107http://theinfosphere.org/index.php?title=Godfellas&diff=145815Godfellas2014-08-22T10:53:37Z<p>5.81.32.107: /* Act III: "Who would have known playing God could have such terrible consequences?" */</p>
<hr />
<div>{{episode infobox 2<br />
|name=Godfellas<br />
|no=52<br />
|image=[[File:Godfellas.jpg|225px]]<br />
|season=3<br />
|broadcast season=4<br />
|number=3ACV20<br />
|caption=Please turn off all cell phones and {{st|tricorder}}s<br />
|first aired=17 March, [[2002]]<br />
|written by=Ken Keeler<br />
|directed by=Susan Dietter<br />
|title reference=The Mafia <ref>See also ''[[Robot Mafia]]''.</ref> films ''{{w|Goodfellas}}'' and possibly ''{{w|The Godfather}}''<br />
|caption reference=Cinema announcement<br />
|opening cartoon=<br />
|sponsor=<br />
|broadcast number=S04E08<br />
|nomination={{w|Writers Guild of America Award|'''Writers Guild of America Award'''}}<br />Animation, 2003, [[Ken Keeler]]<br />
|prev ep=Roswell that Ends Well<br />
|next ep=Future Stock<br />
|broad prev=A Pharaoh to Remember<br />
|broad next=<br />
}}<br />
[[Bender Bending Rodriguez|Bender]] is lost drifting in space after a space battle, [[Philip J. Fry|Fry]] is determined to find him. Having played [[God]], Bender runs into [[Galactic Entity|a godlike entity]].<br />
<br />
== The Story ==<br />
=== Act I: "You know, pirates, but in space!" ===<br />
Just after the start to a new delivery, [[Planet Express Ship]] is attacked by [[Space Pirates]]. [[Bender Bending Rodriguez|Bender]] is trying to get some much-needed sleep and is disturbed by the impacting cannonballs, so he searches some peace and quiet in the #3 torpedo tube. Unfortunately, [[Turanga Leela|Leela]] then orders [[Fry]] to fire a torpedo from this tube to deal a fatal blow to the Space Pirates, but instead, Bender, having occupied tube #3 during the attack, is hurled into deep space, carrying a bag of pirate swag he grabbed when he was shot through the pirate ship. Leela attempts to rescue him, but since the ship was traveling at full speed when Bender was launched, they are unable to catch up to him. Meanwhile, Bender tries to find a way to spend all of eternity with 'barely any swag' and drifts through an asteroid field where he is bombarded and finds himself with a little asteroid embedded in his chest. This asteroid is inhabited by the [[Shrimpkins]], a race of tiny humanoids, who, upon emerging from the asteroid onto Bender's chest, recognize him as their god, addressed as "The Great Metal Lord."<br />
<br />
=== Act II: "Those peewees think I'm God, huh? Hard to blame them." ===<br />
Bender surveys his new worshipers, a race of humble farmers for the most part, and chooses one of the Shrimpkins, [[Malachi family|Malachi]], to be his prophet. He lays down his commandments, or rather his commandment: ''GOD NEEDS [[alcohol|BOOZE]]''. Meanwhile, the [[Planet Express]] crew has returned to [[New New York]] and begins a search for Bender by means of the [[Smell-O-Scope]]. Unfortunately, Bender's odor is not strong enough to be picked up over such a distance, especially since [[Dr. John Zoidberg|local sources]] overpower it. In the mean time, the Shrimpkins have constructed a distillery to obey their god's wish. This created several problems: many Shrimpkins were maimed in the building of the brewery, the fumes from the distillery processes has accounted for many deaths, and the liquor industry attracted organized crime. Bender is moved by his worshipers plight and sheds a tear, which causes a giant tidal wave. [[Malachi family|Malachi Jr.]] is engulfed in it, and Bender saves him. This causes everyone to pray for their own miracles, and Bender causes more and more problems as he is trying to fulfill their wishes: a village is crushed by a quarter (they wanted riches), a field is burned down by intense sunlight (the farmers prayed for sun), and in an attempt to extinguish the field by blowing on it, many Shrimpkins are swept into space. On [[Earth]], [[Philip J. Fry|Fry]] is desperately looking for a way to find Bender in deep space, and he finally manages to find the [[Monks of Dschubba]] who search for God in the depths of space by means of a giant radio telescope in the Himalaya. In deep space, the Shrimpkin society is growing, and infidels are rising up because from their position on Bender's back he cannot hear their prayers. Malachi begs Bender to do something about the infidels, as they plan war against the faithful, but Bender refuses because every time he interferes, he only makes things worse. Fry and Leela mount an expedition to the monastery of the monks of Dschubba, while on Bender's body, things seem to go well with him not interfering in the dealings of the Shrimpkins. This ends quickly when the unbelievers and the faithful exterminate each other in a holy nuclear war, powered by Bender's nuclear pile.<br />
<br />
=== Act III: "Who would have known playing God could have such terrible consequences?" ===<br />
The Shrimpkins and their world are destroyed, and Bender laments their extinction. As he drifts through space weeping, he notices a [[Galactic Entity|galaxy]] signalling in binary code, and he signals back. The Galaxy picks up contact with him, and it turns out that it may possibly be God. Meanwhile, Fry and Leela reach the monastery. They try to persuade the monks to let them use the telescope, which they learn acts as a strong transmitter, to search for Bender. The monks refuse, but as they are at a strict non-violence policy, Leela locks them in the laundry room and they use the telescope anyway. Bender and the Galaxy have a deep exchange about being God, and the Galaxy teaches Bender that being God is not easy at all, as he could plainly see during his time with the Shrimpkins. ''If you do too much, people depend on you, and if you do nothing, they lose hope'' explains the Galaxy. The right approach is a light touch, so that people won't even know you have done anything at all. Bender asks to be sent back to Earth, but the Galaxy cannot do this as he does not know where Earth is. Bender is equally helpless in finding Earth, so he settles into the realization that he will be spending eternity with the Galaxy. After 3 straight days of searching, Fry decides to give up. In his last futile turn of the telescope, it points toward the Galaxy and transmits Fry's last words as he walks away 'I wish I had Bender back'. The Galaxy receives this transmission, straps a parachute onto Bender's back and flings him in the direction of the message. Bender lands just in front of Fry and Leela, who are leaving the monastery, which Leela says is the [["least likely thing that has ever happened.]]' Just then, they realize that they left the monks locked in the laundry room, and Fry wonders if they have to let them out. After all, their God might let them out...or at least give them more shoes to eat. Bender tells them that you can't count on God for anything, and that they will have to do it themselves if they want it done. The Galaxy chuckles and says to itself 'When you do things right, people won't be sure you've done anything at all.'<br />
<br />
== Reception ==<br />
In [[2008]], ''{{w|Empire (film magazine)|Empire}}'' placed ''Futurama'' 25th on their list of "The 50 Greatest {{TV}} Shows of All Time" and cited this episode as the show's best episode. The episode was also the #1 ranked episode in {{w|IGN}}'s list of [http://uk.ign.com/articles/2013/09/09/top-25-futurama-episodes?page=5 top 25 ''Futurama'' episodes].<br />
<br />
== Additional Info ==<br />
=== Trivia ===<br />
*It was originally scheduled to air 13 January, 2002.<br />
*It is among the few [[one-word titled media]].<br />
*Fry and Leela visit the "Monastery of {{w|Dschubba | Dschubba}}" (which is a star in the constellation of Scorpius) or possibly the "Monastery of Teshuvah" (which is the Hebrew word for "repentance" or "answer").<br />
*All of the nebulas are based on {{w|Hubble Space Telescope}} photos.<br />
*Series creator Matt Groening cites it as one of the best episodes of the series and was quoted as saying he planned to explore the idea of the "God" figure in a DVD movie, 19 months before ''[[Bender's Big Score]]'' was released. <br />
*''Deleted Scenes'': <br />
**The animatic contains a scene with a prince on an asteroid shooting at Bender <br />
**An early draft of this episode featured a story that had Bender land on [[Omicron Persei 8]] and solve [[Lrrr]] and [[Ndnd]]'s marriage problems. This story was later used in the fourth season episode, "[[Spanish Fry]]".<br />
**There was a scene removed from this episode and "[[The Honking]]" with Bender having a dream about being a rock star, which he selects from a drop down menu. <br />
*[[Coolio]], who guest starred in the early third season episode "[[A Tale of Two Santas]]", appears on the {{year|2996}} quarter. This was seen as a tribute to Coolio for being a great guest star.<br />
*Malachi is reading ''The Bible, by BENDER with Malachi''.<br />
*The Shrimpkin porno theatre is named ''Ezekiel's Nasty House''.<br />
*In this episode, Bender says that he only knows enough binary to ask where the bathroom is, even though it was established in "[[I, Roommate]]" that Bender doesn't know what a bathroom is and in "[[Fear of a Bot Planet]]", Leela tells Fry that robots don't have bathrooms. Given that those were early episodes in [[Season 1]], it is conceivable that by [[Season 3]] Fry explained to Bender what a bathroom is...but it still doesn't explain why he'd want or need to use one (It should be noted that, despite these lapses in continuity, Bender does use a bathroom in ''[[Bender's Big Score]]''). Throughout the series, Bender reads and speaks binary with ease, such as in the episode "[[Hell Is Other Robots]]".<br />
*The book "Toons That Teach", a text used by youth groups to teach teenagers about spirituality, recommends this episode in a lesson teaching about "Faith, God's Will, [and] Image of God".<br />
<br />
=== Quotes ===<br />
{{q|<br />
<poem>'''Fry''': You mean we can never catch up with him? Not even if we rub the engine with cheetah blood?!</poem><br />
<poem>'''Leela''': Fry! If I drop dead from exhaustion, make sure my body freezes in a dignified position! None of that "huddled over for warmth" crap.</poem><br />
<poem>'''Galactic Entity''': You were doing well, until everybody died.</poem><br />
<poem>'''Leela''': This is by a wide margin the least likely thing that has ever happened!</poem><br />
<poem>'''Fry''': You can't give up hope just because it's hopeless! You gotta hope even more and cover your ears and go "blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah!"</poem><br />
<poem>'''Bender''': Are you kidding? You can't count on God for ''jack''. He practically told me so himself.</poem><br />
<poem>'''Bender''': If even a pea-sized pebble were to whiz through my skull it could ''[Rock goes through his head.]'' Ow! Hurt slightly...</poem><br />
<poem>'''Galactic Entity''': Possible. I am user-friendly, my good chum.</poem><br />
<poem>'''Monk''': You see, the telescope is also a powerful transmitter.<br />
'''Leela''': Sort of like a giant karaoke machine?<br />
'''Monk''': Not really. Do you want to see our giant karaoke machine?<br />
'''Leela''': Not really.</poem><br />
<poem>'''Bender''': You're not gonna believe it. First I was God, then I met God.<br />
'''Fry''': We climbed a mountain and locked up some monks.</poem><br />
<poem>'''Leela''': Your order may be famous for your martial arts, but I have never met a holy man I couldn't clobber.</poem><br />
<poem>'''Malachi''': Smite someone who deserves it for once!</poem><br />
<poem>'''Bender''': Uh, when you're writin' the Bible, you might wanna omit that last miracle.</poem><br />
<poem>'''Galactic Entity''': When you do things right, people won't be sure you've done anything at all.</poem><br />
|2}}<br />
<br />
=== Continuity ===<br />
*{{e|1ACV08}}<br />
**The Smell-O-Scope is first used. In this episode, it is used to search for Bender.<br />
*{{e|2ACV04}}<br />
**Bender steals blood. In this episode, Fry mentions this incident.<br />
*{{e|2ACV05}}<br />
**Zoidberg's stink gland is first used. In this episode, it overpowers Bender's mild odor.<br />
*{{e|2ACV19}}<br />
**Zoidberg openly enthuses when he is finally noticed.<br />
*{{e|3ACV11}}<br />
**Bender is first seen dressed up as {{head|Napoleon}}.<br />
*{{e|3ACV17}}<br />
**Bender attains supreme power over the [[Osirians]] (as a godly king). In this episode, he becomes a second civilization's god.<br />
*{{e|3ACV19}}<br />
**The ship's torpedo tubes are first used. In this episode, they are used to destroy the [[Space Pirates]]' ship.<br />
**The pieces of Bender picked up by the [[United States Army|Army]] are radioactive. In this episode, we learn that Bender has a nuclear pile.<br />
*{{e|7ACV03}}<br />
**Bender is again seen dressed up as Napoleon.<br />
<br />
=== Allusions ===<br />
[[File:Benders Pioneer Plaque.jpg|thumb|Bender's customized Pioneer Plaque]]<br />
*When Fry shoots down the first pirate ship, he does it through a fancy version of the game Quickdraw.<br />
*An observatory located in a monastery is also a reference to {{w|The Nine Billion Names of God}} by Arthur C. Clarke. For the complete story, go [http://gpu.sourceforge.net/9billion.php here].<br />
*The zoom through the universe at the end of the episode is like that at the end of the movie "{{w|Men in Black (film)|Men in Black}}".<br />
*This episode is similar to a segment of the Simpsons episode {{w|Treehouse of Horror VII}} in which Lisa become god of a tiny race.<br />
*The show's opening tagline says to "Turn off tricorders", {{w|Tricorder|tricorders}} are from Star Trek <br />
*[[Billy West]] states on the audio commentary that the voice of "God" was based off the opening announcer from {{w|The Outer Limits|''The Outer Limits''}}.<br />
*The astronomically long distance backwards pan as the Space "God" Entity becomes aware of Fry's plea to have Bender back is similar to one in the movie {{w|Contact (film)|Contact}} and the short 1968 film {{w|Cosmic Zoom}} by Eva Szasz. <br />
*When Bender says "Ask not for whom the bone bones, it bones for thee," he is referencing {{w|John Donne}}: "never send to know for whom the bell tolls; it tolls for thee,"<br />
*This episode explores themes similar to "The Seventh Sally" by Stanislaw Lem.<br />
*Malachi is the name of a real Biblical prophet, and the name means "My messenger."<br />
*An asteroid collides with Bender, and immediately afterward, the Shrimpkin civilization appears on his metal casing. This references the theory, known as {{w|Panspermia}}, that life can spread across vast distances of space by "hitching a ride" on space debris.<br />
*The Sherpa’s name is Namgyal, the given name of {{w|Tenzing Norgay}}, one of the first people to climb Mount Everest. <br />
*Bender is floating in space to {{w|Richard Strauss}}' ''{{w|Also sprach Zarathustra (Richard Strauss)|Also sprach Zarathustra}}'' and {{w|Johann Strauss II}}' ''{{w|The Blue Danube}}''. This is a reference to the film ''[[2001: A Space Odyssey]]''.<br />
*Bender attempts to play Chopin's {{w|Polonaises Op. 40 (Chopin)|Polonaise in C minor}} on his piano.<br />
*Much of the plot is similar to Theodore Sturgeon's 1940 short story {{w|Microcosmic God}} and {{w|The Twilight Zone}} episode {{w|The Little People}}.<br />
*The tiny creatures in Alan Dean Foster's short story, {{w|Gift of a Useless Man}}, depend on the main character in a way similar to the Shrimpkins building their civilization on Bender.<br />
*The God Entity appears almost identical to the God Entity portrayed in Stanislaw Lem's "Voyages of Professor Tarantoga" screenplay.<br />
*God thinking in binary and the remains of a computerised space probe that collided with God references the {{w|Star Trek: The Motion Picture|first Star Trek movie}}, in which a massive and powerful, albeit emotionally immature alien intelligence, was found to be human technology that had been found, modified with extremely advanced technology, and sent back. {{w|Star Trek V: The Final Frontier}} has the concept of a being godlike in power that is nonetheless not God as humans conceive of it, i.e. not the creator of the universe, nor in fact good.<br />
*The symbols that Bender carves into himself are similar to those on the {{w|Pioneer plaque}}, except with Bender shown threatening the Human figures. He then remarks, "There! Now when I'm found in a million years people will know what the score was."<br />
*The beer brewed by the Shrimpkins for their god Bender is ''Lordweiser'', a reference to {{w|Budweiser}} and to the Metal Lord, a.k.a. Bender.<br />
* The title of this episode is a reference to Goodfellas although it isn't a large factor in the plot.<br />
*The way the [[God Entity]] speaks is similar to the way the angels speak in {{w|It's A Wonderful Life}}.<br />
*The [[God Entity]]'s teachings on being a good ruler are very similar in meaning to the ''{{w|Tao Te Ching}}'''s teachings, particularly chapter 17: "When the Master governs, the people are hardly aware that he exists ... when his work is done, the people say 'Amazing: we did it all by ourselves!'"<br />
<br />
=== Goofs ===<br />
*The Statue of Liberty keeps changing what it has in the hand. This time it's the torch again (on a photo). Usually it's a transportation tube.<br />
**Maybe there are multiple Statues of Liberty, which would explain this goof in all of the episodes.<br />
*The torpedo Bender removes from the tube has a propeller, which would not accomplish anything in space. Even if it isn't necessary for propulsion, it would be easier to just not build a propeller.<br />
*Leela's explanation of why they can never catch up to Bender is flawed. There is no "top speed" for a self-propelled spacecraft; it could keep accelerating forever, and assuming Bender is going at a constant speed, the ship would eventually catch up to him. Even if the ship ran out of fuel, it could make a note of Bender's trajectory and go fuel up and eventually catch up.<br />
**Plus, Bender should have been significantly slowed by going through both sides of the pirate ship, and from picking up extra mass in the form of swag.<br />
**By the time Leela was done talking, Bender was out of sight and they had no way of finding him.<br />
***They could still record his trajectory. He was on a straight path for a fair period of time. Also, he often demonstrates his ability to connect to the Internet, and could email them his coordinates.<br />
****He didn't even know which way Earth was. How could he possibly know his co-ordinates?<br />
*The dropping bomb sound Bender makes can be heard before he even enters the atmosphere.<br />
*Why does the sack of Swag Bender is holding on to wave? Usually there isn't any substance in the universe like air that could make the bag wave.<br />
*Why is Malachi hanging "down" when Bender holds him even though there's no gravity? But even ''if'' Bender affected him enough, he would have to "hang" in direction to Bender, and not to the bottom of the camera's view angle when Bender turns around.<br />
*One of Benders tears produces a river so big that he can put his own hand into it.<br />
*The hole in Bender's head disappears later on.<br />
*The Rolex Bender was wearing disappears when he puts the swag bag into his chest cavity.<br />
*When Fry and Leela reach the monastery, the bridge connecting it is attached to the ice. Later, when it is moving searching for God, it is now attached to the end of the satellite.<br />
*Bender says that he only knows enough binary to ask if he can use the bathroom, yet in [[The Honking|2ACV18]] he is able to understand the number "666" written in binary.<br />
**Bender may be able to recognize binary, but not speak it, similar to how a human may understand a word but may have trouble pronouncing it. He may also only know how to translate binary to numbers.<br />
*After Bender falls through the atmosphere and back to earth, Bender and his parachute pack (and straps) are red hot, yet the backpack and straps do not catch on fire.<br />
*When Bender lands in the snow after falling back to Earth, the strings from his parachute are attached to straps (which are attached to the backpack). The next shot, the strings are attached directly to the backpack. Next shot, and from there on, the strings are attached to the straps again.<br />
<br />
=== Appearances ===<br />
{{chars}}<br />
<br />
==== Characters ====<br />
{{chars-begin|note=no}}<br />
*[[Dr. Amy Wong|Amy]]<br />
*[[Bender Bending Rodriguez|Bender]]<br />
*'''Debut''': [[Father Changstein El-Gamal]]<br />
*[[Professor Hubert J. Farnsworth|Professor Farnsworth]]<br />
*[[Philip J. Fry|Fry]]<br />
*'''Debut''': [[Galactic Entity|God]]<br />
*[[Gypsy]]<br />
*'''Debut''': [[Helper]]<br />
*[[Hermes Conrad|Hermes]]<br />
*[[Horrible Gelatinous Blob]] {{small|(voice only)}}<br />
*[[Turanga Leela|Leela]]<br />
*'''Debut''': [[Malachi family|Malachi]]<br />
*'''Debut''': [[Malachi family|Mrs. Malachi]]<br />
*'''Debut''': [[Malachi family|Malachi Jr.]]<br />
*'''Debut''': [[Monks of Dschubba]]<br />
*'''Debut''': [[Namgyal]] {{small|(sherpa)}}<br />
*'''Debut''': [[Space Pirates]]<br />
*[[Dr. John A. Zoidberg|Zoidberg]]<br />
{{chars-end}}<br />
<br />
==== Places ====<br />
{{list expansion}}<br />
<!-- {{chars-begin|note=no}} --><br />
*'''Debut''': [[Ed's Hiking Supplies & Spelunketeria]]<br />
<!-- {{chars-end}} --><br />
<br />
== Episode Credits ==<br />
{{credits-begin}}<br />
*Writer<br />
**[[Ken Keeler]]<br />
*Director<br />
**[[Susan Dietter]]<br />
*Voice Actors<br />
**[[Billy West]]<br />
**[[Katey Sagal]]<br />
**[[John DiMaggio]]<br />
**[[Tress MacNeille]]<br />
**[[Maurice LaMarche]]<br />
**[[Phil LaMarr]]<br />
**[[Lauren Tom]]<br />
**[[David Herman]]<br />
*DVD Commentary<br />
**[[Matt Groening]]<br />
**[[David X. Cohen]]<br />
**[[Ken Keeler]]<br />
**[[Susan Dietter]]<br />
**[[John DiMaggio]]<br />
**[[Billy West]]<br />
{{credits-end}}<br />
<br />
== Notes ==<br />
{{reflist}}<br />
<br />
{{navigation bottom<br />
|prev ep=Roswell that Ends Well<br />
|next ep=Future Stock<br />
|broad prev=A Pharaoh to Remember<br />
|broad next=}}<br />
<br />
[[Category:A plots focusing on Bender]]<br />
[[Category:B plots focusing on Fry]]<br />
[[Category:One-word titled media]]</div>5.81.32.107http://theinfosphere.org/index.php?title=Viva_Mars_Vegas&diff=145814Viva Mars Vegas2014-08-22T10:47:52Z<p>5.81.32.107: /* Goofs */</p>
<hr />
<div>{{episode infobox 2<br />
|name=Viva Mars Vegas<br />
|image=[[File:Tumblr m949npFiOW1qz8x31o2 1280.jpg|225px]]<br />
|image text=[[Zoidberg]] handing money to some [[Martians]].<br />
|season=7<br />
|broadcast season=9<br />
|no=126<br />
|written by=Josh Weinstein<br />
|directed by=Frank Marino<br />
|title reference=The [[1964]] [[Elvis Presley]] film ''{{w|Viva Las Vegas}}''<br />
|opening cartoon=''[[Futurama]]'' - "[[Reincarnation]]" ([[2011]])<br />
|caption=Made By Hand (and Tentacle)<br />
|first aired=22 August, [[2012]]<br />
|number=7ACV12<br />
|broadcast number=S09E11<br />
|prev ep=31st Century Fox<br />
|next ep=Naturama<br />
|broad prev=Near-Death Wish<br />
|broad next=31st Century Fox<br />
}}<br />
The {{Planet Express|crew}} stages a [[Wong Hotel & Casino|casino]] heist to recover stolen property from the [[Robot Mafia]].<br />
<br />
== Plot ==<br />
=== Act I: "Category Five Sucker Now Arriving." ===<br />
The [[Robot Mafia]] steals some money from a delivery company. Meanwhile, [[Planet Express Crew|the crew]] decides to go to a casino in [[Mars Vegas]]. [[Zoidberg]] is excited to go, but [[Amy]] tells him not to come because of his poor money managing skills. Dejected, he goes back to his dumpster. Meanwhile, the Robot Mafia is being chased by [[New New York Police Department|the police]], so they decide to dump their money in Zoidberg's dumpster, where Zoidberg takes it. Zoidberg goes to Mars Vegas, and after a few risky bets, he loses all of the money. When he gets back to the dumpster, he finds it occupied by the Robot Mafia wanting their money back. <br />
<br />
=== Act II: "Mr. Wong, we have a mafia proposal for you. Your casino...give it to us." ===<br />
After Zoidberg tells them that he lost all of the money to the casino, they try to kill them, but Zoidberg escapes by triggering his ink defense, which covers him in ink. He goes to the [[Planet Express headquarters|Planet Express building]], where [[Professor Farnsworth]] accidentally uses a ink remover to make all the ink on Zoidberg invisible. This makes Zoidberg invisible as well, and then the Robot Mafia break into the PE bulding and look for Zoidberg. Because Zoidberg is invisible, he cannot be found by them. The mafia decide to get their money back by taking over the casino. In the process, they take away all of [[Leo Wong|Leo]] and [[Inez Wong|Inez Wong's]] property, including their mansion, which reduces them to living in the area they set aside for their employees. However, Amy comes up with a plan to get the money back, with a little help from Zoidberg. <br />
<br />
=== Act III: "He STINKS like the inside of a Tauntaun." ===<br />
Using a smelly shrimp cart to hide Zoidberg's stench, the crew goes upstairs to the area with the safe. [[Leela]], Amy, and [[Fry]], who are pushing the cart, pretend to have a broken wheel so that they have a reason to stay up there, while Professor Farnsworth, [[Hermes]], and [[Bender]] distract [[Donbot]] to keep him from closing the safe door prematurely. Meanwhile, Zoidberg gets into the safe and eats all of the money, except a few bills he coughs up, making it just as invisible as he is. He also eats a black box. However, after eating all of this, he becomes too heavy to move, so the Professor, Hermes, and Farnsworth have to carry him out until they can get him on the shrimp cart. They had intended to escape through the roof, but Zoidberg's weight made the elevator fall to the first floor, forcing them to escape through the main lobby. Zoidberg starts coughing up money as they go. Despite this, they almost make it to the exit, until a blind guard, [[Blind Joe]] catches them. He tries to force them to give him the money, but Amy tries to make a deal with him. Because the guard is a [[Native Martian]], he doesn't like making deals with [[Wong Family|the Wong Family]]. Amy says that this is because he doesn't know about the original deal, which only gave the Wong family the right to occupy the land for 100 years before they gave the land back to the Native Martians. Because of this, the Native Martians own the casino, and they kick the Robot Mafia out. Fortunately for the Wong family, the Native Martians give back the Wong's mansion and [[Wong Island|their other casino]]. Professor Farnsworth tells Zoidberg that he'll become visible again as soon as he takes a bath, and he goes with Amy to the other casino.<br />
<br />
== Production ==<br />
<br />
On 29 February 2012, [[CGEF]] revealed the episode's title, its writer to be [[Josh Weinstein]] and its director to be [[Frank Marino]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.gotfuturama.com/Information/EpisodeGuide/7ACV/|title=Episode Guide: 7 ACV|date=2012-02-29|site=[[CGEF]]|accessdate=2012-02-29}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.peelified.com/index.php?topic=22731.msg1299002#msg1299002|title="Futurama: Futurama News (pre-season 7)"|site=[[PEEL]]|author="Just Fan"|date=2012-02-29|accessdate=2012-02-29}}</ref> On 10 July, {{w|MSN TV}} updated their ''Futurama'' episode guide, revealing the episode's plot and air date.<ref name="MSN">{{cite web | url=http://tv.msn.com/tv/series-episodes/futurama/?ipp=40 | title=Futurama - Episode Guide | site={{w|MSN TV}} | accessdate=2012-07-12}}</ref> The same day, {{w|Zap2it}} released a TV listing of ''Futurama'' which showed the same information about the episode, with slight variation from the plot published by MSN.<ref name="zap2it">{{cite web|url=http://tvlistings.zap2it.com/tv/futurama-viva-mars-vegas-naturama/EP003034830137|title=Futurama : ''Viva Mars Vegas; Naturama''|site={{w|Zap2It}}|accessdate=10 July, 2012}}</ref><br />
<br />
On 12 July, following the broadcast of the episode "[[Zapp Dingbat]]", the public were given the opportunity to participate in a live chat with the ''Futurama'' cast and crew. Several clips of "Viva Mars Vegas" during the live stream.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.peelified.com/index.php?topic=23178.msg1326287#msg1326287 |title="Newsarama! (Futurama News Thread)" (page 1) |site=PEEL |author="Tastes Like Fry" |date=2012-07-12 |accessdate=2012-07-13}}</ref><br />
<br />
== Additional information ==<br />
<br />
=== Trivia ===<br />
<br />
[[Image:Title Caption Episode 0712.png|thumb|right|The opening caption of the live recreation of the [[opening sequence]].]]<br />
<br />
*Both this episode, which was originally planned to be the second-to-last episode of the ninth broadcast season, and "[[Stench and Stenchibility]]", which is the second-to-last episode of the [[broadcast season 10|tenth broadcast season]], [[:Category:A plots focusing on Zoidberg|have Zoidberg as the main character]].<br />
*When the vault scans the Donbot's finger, it identifies him as Don "Smith".<br />
*The title sequence for this episode is a live-action recreation, which was also used to promote the [[Season 7|new season]] through ads on [[Comedy Central]]. It is also the second major alternate one-off title sequence since ''[[Into the Wild Green Yonder]]''.<br />
*Zoidberg reads a newspaper called "The Daily Bum Blanket".<br />
*This is the second episode (in production order) of season 7 to be aired out of order, as the broadcast order of both this episode and "[[31st Century Fox]]" were swapped.<br />
**It is confirmed in {{commentary|7ACV11|1}} that this swap was requested by Comedy Central as they wanted to advertise [[Patrick Stewart]] being in the season finale (which they subsequently did not).<br />
*The Professor says that he is a young internet billionaire, in reference to {{w|Mark Zuckerberg}}, who created [[Facebook]] while in college.<br />
*Arriving at the parking lot of the casino, Planet Express Ship crushes what appears to be Mars {{w|Curiosity rover}}, although it appears larger than the real life robot compared to the size of the ship.<br />
<br />
=== Allusions ===<br />
*The episode's title is a reference to the [[1964]] [[Elvis Presley]] film ''{{w|Viva Las Vegas}}''.<br />
*The song played through the montage of Zoidberg spending his cash and sung by Zoidberg himself at the end of the episode is a parody of the song {{w|Big Spender}} from 1966 musical {{w|Sweet Charity}}.<br />
*The [[Binks Armored Express]] truck at the beginning of the episode is a reference to the ''[[Star Wars]]'' character {{sw|Jar Jar Binks}} from ''{{w|Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace|Episode I: The Phantom Menace}}'', and the {{w|Brink's|Brink's}} armored trucks. The truck is also piloted by two aliens that bear a striking resemblance to the {{sw|Gungan}}s, Jar Jar's species, and they also speak like him. <br />
*The Donbot refers to the stolen money as "De Niros", a play on "denaro", which is Italian for "money", and {{w|Robert De Niro}} whom the Donbot is based upon. Of De Niro's various films is {{w|Casino (film)| Casino}} which involves mob connections in Vegas.<br />
*The Professor says "Dude, where's my ship?", in reference to the 2000 stoner comedy film ''{{w|Dude, Where's My Car?}}''<br />
*The ball that the croupier uses in the roulette game flaps its "wings" and flies around the roulette wheel, making it very similar to a {{w|Golden Snitch}} from ''[[Harry Potter]]''. It does not behave this way during the final spin that results in Zoidberg losing, though.<br />
*The plot of an orchestrated casino heist has been the subject of many films including {{w|Ocean's Eleven}}.<br />
*The deal made by [[Sir Reginald Wong]] with the Native Martians was supposed to last as long as the deal the deal the British made with the Chinese to gain control of Hong Kong.<br />
*[[Wong Island]] is a parody of the [[Las Vegas]] hotel and casino {{w|Treasure Island Hotel and Casino|Treasure Island}}. Its name may also be a reference to [[Old New York|New York]]'s {{w|Long Island}}.<br />
*Fry's {{cat|tattoo}} after the weekend in Vegas is a reference to the [[2011]] film ''{{w|The Hangover Part II}}''.<br />
<br />
=== Continuity ===<br />
*[[Sir Reginald Wong]] is mentioned again.<br />
<br />
=== Goofs ===<br />
*[[Mars]] is blown out of orbit in "[[A Farewell to Arms]]", but reappears in perfect condition in this episode [[loose ends|without explanation]].<br />
*Native Martians are seen here, but they all left Mars in "[[Where the Buggalo Roam]]".<br />
**That doesn't mean some few would not return possibly out of a sense of attachment to their ancestral lands.<br />
*Zoidberg spends a lot of money before he gets to the table, so he couldn't have had eight million left. Because of this, he shouldn't have been able to buy eight chips, each worth a million dollars.<br />
**At the beginning of the episode Donbot said "It's over eight million bucks". So Zoidberg could only spend the "over" part.<br />
*If the Wongs had two casinos, then why not just go there when the mafia take their first casino and their house? Furthermore, if this is New Mars Vegas as in ''[[Into the Wild Green Yonder]]'', wouldn't the Wong family have many business holdings over the entire planet?<br />
**It might have been possible that most of the building were damage during the "A Farewell to Arms" incident with only those two casino being operational at the time.<br />
*None of the mafia, or the native Martians seemed to question, why the old shrimp carriers, and all those people turned up (the crew in disguise) in the money counting room, despite the fact its supposed to be the most secure area.<br />
**This may have been done intentionally as a joke.<br />
*The deal between the native Martians and the Wongs here is different to the deal mentioned in "Where the Buggalo Roam".<br />
**The deal only involved paying for the land, there was no mention of whether Sir Reginald was purchasing or leasing it. Thus his compassionate intentions to give back the land must have been a lost detail that only Amy was familiar with.<br />
**Amy also might have told Blind Joe something that he'd want to hear to make him side with her family.<br />
*Zoidberg doesn't eat the two 100 dollar bills that fall out of his mouth.<br />
*The ink on Zoidberg's mouth is wiped off, exposing it. When Amy escorts Zoidberg to [[Wong Island]], the ink on Zoidberg's mouth has returned, as the pink of his skin would have been able to see from the back of him.<br />
**It's possible that it doesn't show because the ink on the back of his head covers it, which would be why we can't see inside of him.<br />
*The Professor says that the ink will wash off when Zoidberg takes a bath. But in the bath scene, the ink doesn't wash off.<br />
**He might just have been sitting on the edge of the tub, or the toilet.<br />
*As a robot, Bender doesn't possess a scent, so how could [[Blind Joe]] smell, he was stealing money?<br />
**Bender would have a strong scent of alcohol and tobacco.<br />
**In "[[Godfellas]]", the Professor notes that Bender does have an odor, however mild.<br />
**In "[[Hell is Other Robots]]", Bender is said to smell of "vodka and motor oil."<br />
*Why didn't the ink come off on the money or Amy when Zoidberg touched them?<br />
**The ink would have dried by then.<br />
*When Zoidberg places his third bet on 34 red, he pushes all the chips away to his left onto 34 on the roulette board, but while the wheel is spinning the chips are right in front of him again. His sardinie has also filled back up after he loses, although it could be a refilling glass like the ones seen in "[[That Darn Katz!]]".<br />
*Zoidberg's eyes weren't covered with ink, neither was the inside of his mouth. So, while he is invisible, you should have been able to see his eyes and see his tongue when he speaks.<br />
**His mouth is usually covered by his tentacles.<br />
<br />
=== Quotes ===<br />
<!-- Bot comment: This or these quote(s)'s syntax are unsane. Please fix them. --><br />
{{q|<br />
<poem>'''Zoidberg''': Look out, penny slots, I've got a system! It's to put all my money in you! ''[He laughs to himself.]''</poem><br />
<poem>'''Zoidberg''': ''[He sighs then puts his claws together and begins to pray.]'' God, it's Zoidberg. I hate to bother you, but- ''[A huge bag full of money lands directly in front of him, he looks inside.]'' Okay, okay, I'll shut up!</poem><br />
<poem>'''Joey Mousepad''': ''[He bangs on the door.]'' It's no use, Zoidberg! We're like 85% sure you're in there!</poem><br />
<poem>'''Professor''': My God! He was so saturated with ink that his entire body structure was polarized!<br />
'''Zoidberg''': You mean I'm invisible?<br />
'''Professor''': No, no, no, not in any sense of the word. But essentially, yes, entirely.</poem><br />
<poem>''[As Zoidberg risks the $8 million on a single game of roulette.]''<br />
'''Amy''': Zoidberg, what are you doing?<br />
'''Zoidberg''': I don't know. I think it's called "roulette".</poem><br />
}}<br />
<br />
=== Appearances ===<br />
{{chars}}<br />
<br />
==== Characters ====<br />
{{chars-begin|note=no}}<br />
*[[21st Century Girl]]<br />
*[[Amy]]<br />
*[[Bender]]<br />
*'''Debut''': [[Blind Joe]]<br />
*[[Clamps]]<br />
*[[Donbot]]<br />
*[[Farnsworth]]<br />
*[[Fry]]<br />
*[[Hermes]]<br />
*[[Hypnotoad]]<br />
*[[Inez Wong]]<br />
*[[Joey Mousepad]]<br />
*[[Leela]]<br />
*[[Leo Wong]]<br />
*[[Masked Unit]] <small>(cameo)</small><br />
*[[Michelle]] <small>(cameo)</small><br />
*[[Morbo]] <small>(cameo)</small><br />
*[[Petunia]]<br />
*[[Randy]]<br />
*[[Sir Reginald Wong]] {{miso}}<br />
*[[Smitty]]<br />
*[[URL]]<br />
*[[Zoidberg]]<br />
{{chars-end}}<br />
<br />
==== Places ====<br />
{{chars-begin|note=no}}<br />
*[[Family Bros. Pizza]]<br />
*[[Mars]]<br />
*[[Mars Vegas]]<br />
*Nigeria {{misato}}<br />
*'''Debut''': Planet Express chart room<br />
*[[Planet Express conference room]]<br />
*[[Planet Express employee lounge]]<br />
*[[Planet Express hangar]]<br />
*[[Planet Express headquarters]]<br />
*[[Planet Express lab]]<br />
*'''Debut''': [[Texas]] {{miso}}<br />
*[[Wong Hotel & Casino]]<br />
*'''Debut''': [[Wong Island]]<br />
*[[Wong Ranch]]<br />
*Zoidberg's dumpster<br />
{{chars-end}}<br />
<br />
== References ==<br />
{{reflist}}<br />
<br />
{{navigation bottom<br />
|prev ep=31st Century Fox<br />
|next ep=Naturama<br />
|broad prev=Near-Death Wish<br />
|broad next=31st Century Fox<br />
}}<br />
<br />
[[Category:A plots focusing on Amy]]<br />
[[Category:A plots focusing on Zoidberg]]<br />
[[Category:Media featuring singing]]<br />
[[Category:Media wherein characters run away]]</div>5.81.32.107