Difference between revisions of "I, Roommate"
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==The Story== | ==The Story== | ||
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===Act I: "Somebody's been leaving food around...and it's attracting owls!"=== | ===Act I: "Somebody's been leaving food around...and it's attracting owls!"=== | ||
[[Hermes Conrad|Hermes]] complains about [[Philip J. Fry|Fry]] living in the [[Planet Express]] Headquarters. Everyone agrees, so Fry has to find a new place to live. Bender invites him to stay in his apartment, which turns out to be a tiny space only a couple of feet on a side. Since this doesn't work well for Fry, Leela takes Fry and Bender apartment hunting. They finally find a nice rent-controlled place that belonged to a friend of the [[Professor Hubert J. Farnsworth|Professor]]. | [[Hermes Conrad|Hermes]] complains about [[Philip J. Fry|Fry]] living in the [[Planet Express]] Headquarters. Everyone agrees, so Fry has to find a new place to live. Bender invites him to stay in his apartment, which turns out to be a tiny space only a couple of feet on a side. Since this doesn't work well for Fry, Leela takes Fry and Bender apartment hunting. They finally find a nice rent-controlled place that belonged to a friend of the [[Professor Hubert J. Farnsworth|Professor]]. | ||
Revision as of 04:34, 15 August 2009
| ← Previous | Navigation in production order | Next → |
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| Season 1 episode | |||||
| I, Roommate | |||||
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| No. | 3 | ||||
| Production number | 1ACV03 | ||||
| Written by | [[Eric Horsted]][[Category:Episodes written by Eric Horsted|I, Roommate]] | ||||
| Directed by | [[Bret Haaland]][[Category:Episodes directed by Bret Haaland|I, Roommate]] | ||||
| Title caption | As seen on TV | ||||
| Title caption reference | Stickers on products | ||||
| First air date | 6 April, 1999 | ||||
| Broadcast number | S01E03 | ||||
| Title reference | The novel; I, Robot. | ||||
| Opening cartoon | Baby Bottleneck | ||||
| Additional | |||||
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| Season 1 | |||||
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"I, Roommate" is the third episode of Futurama and of the first season. It aired 6 April, 1999 on FOX. Fry and Bender move in together as roommates, and they are established as close friends
The Story
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Act I: "Somebody's been leaving food around...and it's attracting owls!"
Hermes complains about Fry living in the Planet Express Headquarters. Everyone agrees, so Fry has to find a new place to live. Bender invites him to stay in his apartment, which turns out to be a tiny space only a couple of feet on a side. Since this doesn't work well for Fry, Leela takes Fry and Bender apartment hunting. They finally find a nice rent-controlled place that belonged to a friend of the Professor.
Act II: "Fry, of all the friends I've had...you're the first."
Bender and Fry get settled in at their new apartment, but a problem arises - Bender's antenna interferes with the entire buildings' TV reception. Fry doesn't want to give up the apartment, so Bender is forced to move out. He can't move back in with Fry unless he cuts off his antenna, so Bender moves back into his old place, becomes very depressed, and stops drinking.
Act III: "Bender, you're blind stinking sober!"
Staggering around in a staggering stupor of sobriety, Bender shows up at Fry's apartment and cuts off his antenna. Fry feels guilty, and they find and reattach Bender's antenna and move back into Bender's apartment. Bender reveals there is a "closet", which is actually an entire apartment.
Production
After having shown some initial scripts to Fox, the company asked the writers for a more down to Earth episode. The idea of "I, Roommate" was to satisfy this need.[1] The script, written by Eric Horsted, tried to distant itself from things that had scared the Fox people off, such as suicide booths, lobster creatures and Bender being anti-social.[1] Unfortunately, their reaction to the script was "worst episode ever".[2]
As a result of the initial criticism, the show runners decided from thereon, they wanted to do the show they wanted.[1] The story line itself was developed to establish Fry's living arrangements as well as the relationship between him and Bender, and obviously a method to get people to care for Bender, despite being anti-social.[2]
Matt Groening, as it will not be too unusual, had not seen the The Odd Couple, that the episode slightly parodies, especially during its montage.[2] Originally though, the music over the montage was a more just an interlude.[4] The episode also includes several sequences where the viewer gets a chance to figure it out before it is explicit say,[2] as well as a slow thinker, because apparently, everybody likes those.[1]
"I, Roommate" was a challenging episode to draw for the animators, especially several scenes involving the Planet Express ship were drawn before the 3D model was done and the animators had little go on, when it came to close ups of the ship.[4] Especially a scene like the Food-o-Mat, with the rotating food was hard to do.[3]
Reception
"I, Roommate" aired on 6 April, 1999. And it was the first Futurama episode that would air in its regular spot on Fox's Tuesday line up in a block of four sitcoms, previously, it had aired during its Sunday line up, between The Simpsons and X-Files. As expected, the moving of Futurama hurt its ratings.[5]
Additional Info
Trivia
- Hermes' line "We'll bill ya for the couch" was added after the animation was complete, and his mouth doesn't move when the line is heard.
- This episode was named #7 on TV.com's list of Top 10 Futurama Episodes.
Allusions
- Bender bending the clock and putting it on the edge of the table is a reference to Salvador Dalí's painting, The Persistence of Memory.
- Fry hitting the TV and going "Aaaay" when it turns on is a reference to Fonzie, who used to do the same thing with a jukebox (and making the same two-thumbs-up gesture).
- Bender and Fry's "Moving In" montage is a reference to "The Odd Couple."
- The Unique Architecture apartment bears a striking similarity to M. C. Escher's Relativity. Fry quips that they don't want to pay for a dimension that they are not going to use, after which Bender falls through the stairs violating normal laws of gravity.
Quotes
Leela: Look at that 5 o'clock rust! You've been up all night not drinking, haven't you?
Bender: [dreaming] Kill all humans... must kill all humans... kill all humans...
Fry: Bender wake up!
Bender: [wakes up; yawns] I was having the most wonderful dream. I think you were in it.
Fry: Where's your bathroom?
Bender: Bath-what?
Fry: Bathroom.
Bender: What-room?
Fry: Bathroom!
Bender: What-what?
Bender: [dreaming] Hey, sexy mama. Wanna kill all humans?
Bender: I'm trying to watch my input. I need plenty of wholesome, nutritious alcohol. The chemical energy keeps my fuel cells charged.
Fry: What are the cigars for?
Bender: They make me look cool.
Bender: Not enough room? My place is two cubic meters, and we only take up 1.5 cubic meters. We've got room for a whole 'nother two thirds of a person!
Bender: [thoughts; on phone] Wow, that lady has a huge ass!
Bender: Those could be anyone's thoughts, fat-ass.
Human Friend: [on TV] You're my best friend. I'm sorry I treated you so badly.
Calculon: [on TV] Apology accepted. After all, you're only human. [They hug.]
Leela: You guys could learn a lesson from those two.
Fry: She's right.
Bender: You're my best friend, Fry, I'm sorry I treated you so badly.
Fry: Apology accepted. After all, you're only human. [They hug.]
Leela: Wait a minute! You did it all backwards. Fry's the one who should be... Oh, never mind!
Goofs
- After Bender returns to his own apartment (time index 16:34), he casts a shadow on the back wall of his apartment, even though the light is in front of him (i.e. both the light and the shadow are in front of him).
- Although in the next shot the bulb is glowing so the light may have just been turned off.
Characters
- Amy
- Bender
- Debut: Boxy Robot
- Debut: Calculon
- Debut: Human Friend
- Debut: Dr. Mbutu
- Dr. Zoidberg
- Fry
- Debut: Hattie
- Hermes
- Debut: Huge Assed Woman
- Leela
- Debut: Monique
- Prof. Farnsworth
- Debut: Randy Munchnik
- Debut: Suspiciously Fantastic Apartment Salesman
- Debut: Underwater House Salesman
- Debut: Unique Architecture Apartment Salesman
Episode Credits
- Writer
- Director
- Voice Actors
References
- ^ a b c d e Groening, Matt. Commentary for "I, Roommate" on Volume One, disc 1.
- ^ a b c d Cohen, David. Commentary for "I, Roommate" on Volume One, disc 1.
- ^ a b Haaland, Bret. Commentary for "I, Roommate" on Volume One, disc 1.
- ^ a b Moore, Rich. Commentary for "I, Roommate" on Volume One, disc 1.
- ^ Bierbaum, Tom (08 April 1999). "Fox's four-toon Tue. stumbles in first try". Variety. Retrieved on 19 April 2009.