Difference between revisions of "Ghost in the Machines"

	Season 6 episode; Broadcast season 8 episode
Ghost in the Machines
	; The crew mourns the passing of Bender, from the sneak peek released by Comedy Central.
No.	107
Production number	6ACV19
Written by	Patric M. Verrone
Directed by	Ray Claffey
Title caption	#1 most viewed show among viewbots
First air date	30 June, 2011
Broadcast number	S08E03
Title reference	The phrase "Ghost in the machine"
Special guest(s)	Dan Castellaneta
Additional
Commentary; (Transcript)	Transcript
	Storyboard Pictures
Season 6
← Season 5	Season 7 →

Revision as of 04:03, 1 July 2011

This article is about a future episode.

Content may change rapidly as the broadcast date draws near.

"Ghost in the Machines" is the one hundredth and seventh episode of Futurama, the nineteenth of the sixth production season and the third of the eighth broadcast season. After Bender dies, his disembodied software begins haunting the Planet Express crew.

Story

Fed up with the crew, Bender decides to kill himself using a suicide booth. ^[4] After he dies, his software takes on a ghostly existence.^[5]

Production

During May 2011, Countdown to Futurama released five items of promotional material for the episode: a promotional picture featuring the Robot Devil on 15 May, concept art of an Earthican pride float depicting Zapp Brannigan and the Nimbus on 16 May, a promotional picture featuring the Planet Express crew mourning for Bender as his ghost watches from above on 17 May, part of the storyboard showing Mayor Poopenmeyer give Fry the keys to the city on 18 May, and a promotional picture featuring Fry and Bender's ghost sleeping in their apartment on 19 May.

On 15 June, David X. Cohen revealed that Dan Castellaneta would be reprising his role as the Robot Devil.^[3] On 28 June, two days prior to the release of the episode, Comedy Central released a two-minute clip featuring Bender's death. On 29 June, the day before the airing, Bongo Comics released a picture of the Robot Devil in an outfit.

Before airing, several items released had the episode title "Ghosts in the Machines" (example), but most sources seem to use "Ghost in the Machines".

Image gallery

The first promotional picture.
Concept art of the Earthican pride float.
The second promotional picture.
Page 132 of the storyboard.
The third promotional picture.
A promotional picture released by Bongo Comics.

Additional Info

Allusions

The title is a parody of the phrase "Ghost in the machine".

The name and logo of DeadEx is an obvious reference to FedEx, a courier company. This was previously referenced in "Future Stock", when Planet Express changed name to PlanEx and with it adopted the same logo.
Zapp Brannigan holding up the Earth as the Earthican pride float is a reference to Atlas of Greek mythology, who according to the mythology supported the heavens in such a way.

Bender asks the Robot Devil if he's "a g-g-g-ghost?!" This is a reference to grown-ups' reaction to seeing Casper the Friendly Ghost in the cartoon series of the same name.

Continuity

Bender's mortality was the main theme of "Lethal Inspection".

Suicide booths have previously appeared in multiple episodes, first in the pilot. This is, however, the first time a suicide booth is seen to have feelings and being capable of decision-making.
The concept of robots turning into ghosts was previously seen in "The Honking".

Quotes

Mayor Poopenmeyer: [After giving Fry the keys to the city.] Care to say a few words, son?
Fry: Uh, heroes don't do drugs. Except for Drugman, I guess.

Hermes: Last time you went to the suicide booth, you ended up dating it for six months.
Leela: How is Lynn, by the way?
Bender: Living in Oregon with her crazy mother.

Bender: I thought you were in Oregon.
Lynn: My mom tried to commit suicide in me. I don't wanna talk about it.

Characters

(In alphabetic order)

Alien Language Sightings

Time:Currently Unknown
Location: Hypnotoad poster
Language: AL1
Translation: OBEY

References

^ Futurama - Episode Guide - MSN TV
^ Countdown to Futurama: Ghost Bender
^ ^a ^b "Well, Dan Castellaneta returns as the Robot Devil for an episode where Bender dies but his software keeps haunting the Planet Express, and he has to make a deal with the devil." — Cohen, David X.
Cohen, David X. (16 June 2024). Cohen Spills the Beans on Futurama's New Season. Retrieved on 16 June 2011.
^ Comedy Central Videos: The Death of Bender
^ Can't get enough Futurama: Episode Guide: 6 ACV

Futurama episodes/films

1ACV
(Season 1)

"Space Pilot 3000" • "The Series Has Landed" • "I, Roommate" • "Love's Labours Lost in Space" • "Fear of a Bot Planet" • "A Fishful of Dollars" • "My Three Suns" • "A Big Piece of Garbage" • "Hell Is Other Robots" • "A Flight to Remember" • "Mars University" • "When Aliens Attack" • "Fry and the Slurm Factory"

2ACV
(Season 2)

"I Second that Emotion" • "Brannigan, Begin Again" • "A Head in the Polls" • "Xmas Story" • "Why Must I Be a Crustacean in Love?" • "The Lesser of Two Evils" • "Put Your Head on My Shoulders" • "Raging Bender" • "A Bicyclops Built for Two" • "A Clone of My Own" • "How Hermes Requisitioned His Groove Back" • "The Deep South" • "Bender Gets Made" • "Mother's Day" • "The Problem with Popplers" • "Anthology of Interest I" • "War Is the H-Word" • "The Honking" • "The Cryonic Woman"

3ACV
(Season 3)

"Amazon Women in the Mood" • "Parasites Lost" • "A Tale of Two Santas" • "The Luck of the Fryrish" • "The Birdbot of Ice-Catraz" • "Bendless Love" • "The Day the Earth Stood Stupid" • "That's Lobstertainment!" • "The Cyber House Rules" • "Where the Buggalo Roam" • "Insane in the Mainframe" • "The Route of All Evil" • "Bendin' in the Wind" • "Time Keeps on Slippin'" • "I Dated a Robot" • "A Leela of Her Own" • "A Pharaoh to Remember" • "Anthology of Interest II" • "Roswell that Ends Well" • "Godfellas" • "Future Stock" • "The 30% Iron Chef"

4ACV
(Season 4)

"Kif Gets Knocked Up a Notch" • "Leela's Homeworld" • "Love and Rocket" • "Less than Hero" • "A Taste of Freedom" • "Bender Should Not Be Allowed on Television" • "Jurassic Bark" • "Crimes of the Hot" • "Teenage Mutant Leela's Hurdles" • "The Why of Fry" • "Where No Fan Has Gone Before" • "The Sting" • "Bend Her" • "Obsoletely Fabulous" • "The Farnsworth Parabox" • "Three Hundred Big Boys" • "Spanish Fry" • "The Devil's Hands Are Idle Playthings"

5ACV
(Season 5)

Bender's Big Score	The Beast with a Billion Backs	Bender's Game	Into the Wild Green Yonder
Part 1 • Part 2 • Part 3 • Part 4	Part 1 • Part 2 • Part 3 • Part 4	Part 1 • Part 2 • Part 3 • Part 4	Part 1 • Part 2 • Part 3 • Part 4

6ACV
(Season 6)

"Rebirth" • "In-A-Gadda-Da-Leela" • "Attack of the Killer App" • "Proposition Infinity" • "The Duh-Vinci Code" • "Lethal Inspection" • "The Late Philip J. Fry" • "That Darn Katz!" • "A Clockwork Origin" • "The Prisoner of Benda" • "Lrrreconcilable Ndndifferences" • "The Mutants Are Revolting" • "The Futurama Holiday Spectacular" • "The Silence of the Clamps" • "Möbius Dick" • "Law and Oracle" • "Benderama" • "The Tip of the Zoidberg" • "Ghost in the Machines" • "Neutopia" • "Yo Leela Leela" • "Fry Am the Egg Man" • "All the Presidents' Heads" • "Cold Warriors" • "Overclockwise" • "Reincarnation"

7ACV
(Season 7)

"The Bots and the Bees" • "A Farewell to Arms" • "Decision 3012" • "The Thief of Baghead" • "Zapp Dingbat" • "The Butterjunk Effect" • "The Six Million Dollar Mon" • "Fun on a Bun" • "Free Will Hunting" • "Near-Death Wish" • "31st Century Fox" • "Viva Mars Vegas" • "Naturama" • "Forty Percent Leadbelly" • "2-D Blacktop" • "T.: The Terrestrial" • "Fry and Leela's Big Fling" • "The Inhuman Torch" • "Saturday Morning Fun Pit" • "Calculon 2.0" • "Assie Come Home" • "Leela and the Genestalk" • "Game of Tones" • "Murder on the Planet Express" • "Stench and Stenchibility" • "Meanwhile"

8ACV
(Season 8)

"The Impossible Stream" • "Children of a Lesser Bog" • "How the West Was 1010001" • "Parasites Regained" • "Related to Items You've Viewed" • "I Know What You Did Next Xmas" • "Rage Against the Vaccine" • "Zapp Gets Cancelled" • "The Prince and the Product" • "All the Way Down"

Specials

Everybody Loves Hypnotoad: "Amazon Adventure" • "The Lost Adventure" • "Simpsorama"

S01E
(Broadcast season 1)

"Space Pilot 3000" • "The Series Has Landed" • "I, Roommate" • "Love's Labours Lost in Space" • "Fear of a Bot Planet" • "A Fishful of Dollars" • "My Three Suns" • "A Big Piece of Garbage" • "Hell Is Other Robots"

S02E
(Broadcast season 2)

"A Flight to Remember" • "Mars University" • "When Aliens Attack" • "Fry and the Slurm Factory" • "I Second that Emotion" • "Brannigan, Begin Again" • "A Head in the Polls" • "Xmas Story" • "Why Must I Be a Crustacean in Love?" • "Put Your Head on My Shoulders" • "The Lesser of Two Evils" • "Raging Bender" • "A Bicyclops Built for Two" • "How Hermes Requisitioned His Groove Back" • "A Clone of My Own" • "The Deep South" • "Bender Gets Made" • "The Problem with Popplers" • "Mother's Day" • "Anthology of Interest I"

S03E
(Broadcast season 3)

"The Honking" • "War Is the H-Word" • "The Cryonic Woman" • "Parasites Lost" • "Amazon Women in the Mood" • "Bendless Love" • "The Day the Earth Stood Stupid" • "That's Lobstertainment!" • "The Birdbot of Ice-Catraz" • "The Luck of the Fryrish" • "The Cyber House Rules" • "Insane in the Mainframe" • "Bendin' in the Wind" • "Time Keeps on Slippin'" • "I Dated a Robot"

S04E
(Broadcast season 4)

"Roswell that Ends Well" • "A Tale of Two Santas" • "Anthology of Interest II" • "Love and Rocket" • "Leela's Homeworld" • "Where the Buggalo Roam" • "A Pharaoh to Remember" • "Godfellas" • "Future Stock" • "A Leela of Her Own" • "The 30% Iron Chef" • "Where No Fan Has Gone Before"

S05E
(Broadcast season 5)

"Crimes of the Hot" • "Jurassic Bark" • "The Route of All Evil" • "A Taste of Freedom" • "Kif Gets Knocked Up a Notch" • "Less than Hero" • "Teenage Mutant Leela's Hurdles" • "The Why of Fry" • "The Sting" • "The Farnsworth Parabox" • "Three Hundred Big Boys" • "Spanish Fry" • "Bend Her" • "Obsoletely Fabulous" • "Bender Should Not Be Allowed on Television" • "The Devil's Hands Are Idle Playthings"

S06E
(Broadcast season 6)

"Bender's Big Score Part 1" • "Bender's Big Score Part 2" • "Bender's Big Score Part 3" • "Bender's Big Score Part 4" • "The Beast with a Billion Backs Part 1" • "The Beast with a Billion Backs Part 2" • "The Beast with a Billion Backs Part 3" • "The Beast with a Billion Backs Part 4" • "Bender's Game Part 1" • "Bender's Game Part 2" • "Bender's Game Part 3" • "Bender's Game Part 4" • "Into the Wild Green Yonder Part 1" • "Into the Wild Green Yonder Part 2" • "Into the Wild Green Yonder Part 3" • "Into the Wild Green Yonder Part 4"

S07E
(Broadcast season 7)

"Rebirth" • "In-A-Gadda-Da-Leela" • "Attack of the Killer App" • "Proposition Infinity" • "The Duh-Vinci Code" • "Lethal Inspection" • "The Late Philip J. Fry" • "That Darn Katz!" • "A Clockwork Origin" • "The Prisoner of Benda" • "Lrrreconcilable Ndndifferences" • "The Mutants Are Revolting" • "The Futurama Holiday Spectacular"

S08E
(Broadcast season 8)

"Neutopia" • "Benderama" • "Ghost in the Machines" • "Law and Oracle" • "The Silence of the Clamps" • "Yo Leela Leela" • "All the Presidents' Heads" • "Möbius Dick" • "Fry Am the Egg Man" • "The Tip of the Zoidberg" • "Cold Warriors" • "Overclockwise" • "Reincarnation"

S09E
(Broadcast season 9)

"The Bots and the Bees" • "A Farewell to Arms" • "Decision 3012" • "The Thief of Baghead" • "Zapp Dingbat" • "The Butterjunk Effect" • "The Six Million Dollar Mon" • "Fun on a Bun" • "Free Will Hunting" • "Near-Death Wish" • "31st Century Fox" • "Viva Mars Vegas" • "Naturama"

S10E
(Broadcast season 10)

"Forty Percent Leadbelly" • "2-D Blacktop" • "T.: The Terrestrial" • "Fry and Leela's Big Fling" • "The Inhuman Torch" • "Saturday Morning Fun Pit" • "Calculon 2.0" • "Assie Come Home" • "Leela and the Genestalk" • "Game of Tones" • "Murder on the Planet Express" • "Stench and Stenchibility" • "Meanwhile"

S11E
(Broadcast Season 11)