List of references to Futurama in popular culture

This article lists references to the show Futurama in popular culture, that means references outside of the show to the show itself, in alphabetic order by name of the popular culture referring to it.

Action Comics

Zoidberg appearing in Action Comics #863.

• In Action Comics #863, Legion of Super-Heroes comic, there is a plot involving aliens being sent to a prison camp. Among the aliens is Dr. Zoidberg.

The Adventures of Pluto Nash

• In the film The Adventures of Pluto Nash, the Futurama theme song can be heard in some scenes on the moon.

Aqua Teen Hunger Force

In an episode of Aqua Teen Hunger Force entitled "Bible Fruit" the characters of Frylock, Meatwad and Master Shake have a discussion about watching Futurama.

Meatwad: Why don't you ask that TV if he minds showin' me some Futurama. I like me some Futurama.
Shake: Well now we're too damn cheap to receive it, so go the hell over to Carl Central and watch it to your heart's content.
Meatwad: Carl gets Futurama?
Shake: He didn't even want it until we started watching it.

Countdown with Keith Olbermann

• Countdown with Keith Olbermann is a news show hosted by Keith Olbermann which regularly uses catchphrases from The Simpsons and Family Guy, but has recently taken to common use of Professor Farnsworth's catch phrase, "Good news, everyone!"

The Einstein Factor

• Contestants in the Australian ABC1 quiz show The Einstein Factor choose a specialty on which to be quizzed during the first round. During episode ten of the 2005 season, a contestant chose Futurama as his specialty. He was the second placing of three contestants in the episode. For a time, the questions were stored here for viewing and may one day reappear.

Family Guy

Bender appearing in Blue Harvest.

• During the premiere skit in Family Guy's Stewie Griffin: The Untold Story, a reporter on the red carpet asks Stewie Griffin if Fox has any plans to bring back Futurama. Family Guy and Futurama were both animated series on Fox which were canceled and subsequently aired on Adult Swim; at the time of release Family Guy was scheduled to return but Futurama was not.
• Bender was seen during the Chalmun's Cantina scene of the Family Guy episode "Blue Harvest".

The Graduate

• MC Lars referenced the show in the song "Space Game", from his album The Graduate, with the lyric "Hey Fry, look, we can still be friends. I won't ask Leela out again".

Homestar Runner

Zoidberg appearing in Homestar Runner.

• During the 2008 Halloween toon, Most in the Graveyard, of the Flash animation series Homestar Runner, The Poopsmith is dressed up as Zoidberg. The King of Town also says Professor Farnsworth's catch phrase, "Good news, everyone!" after mentioning that the ketchup in the ketchup fountain wasn't really ketchup after clicking on The Poopsmith at the end of the toon.

An Inconvenient Truth

Futurama clip appearing in An Inconvenient Truth.

• In An Inconvenient Truth, Al Gore uses a scene from the episode "Crimes of the Hot" during his initial explanation of global warming.
• The Futurama cast and crew also made an animated faux-trailer for the film titled A Terrifying Message from Al Gore featuring Gore and Bender.
• Al Gore is a recurring guest star in Futurama, and he had said that Futurama is his favorite show, prior to his appearance on it.
• His daughter, Kristin Gore, also worked for the show in later seasons.

Journeyman

Futurama appearing on a TV in Journeyman.

• From the series Journeyman, in episode Emily, the main character travels back in time to the year 2001, and enters his own house at that time, on a TV screen is seen and heard (namely, Professor Farnsworth's "Come on, let's all give Fry some privacy.") a clip from "Parasites Lost", meaning the character probably traveled to January 21^st.

Life in Hell

Bender appearing among rubbish and toys in Life in Hell.

• In Matt Groening's comic, Life in Hell, a Bender "doll" appears in a 1999 Christmas strip.

Looney Tunes

Zoidberg appearing in Daffy Duck.

• On the show Looney Tunes in the Daffy Duck episode Attack of the Drones, Dr. Zoidberg makes a cameo appearance.

Monsters vs. Aliens

• After the first set of credits in the DreamWorks Animation film, Monsters vs. Aliens, President Hathaway inadvertently launches all the U.S.'s nuclear missiles. He tells his generals that they should look into it in 500 years, then addresses the audience asking whether anyone could freeze his head down, referencing the concepts of cryogenics and heads in jars popularised by Futurama. This is possibly a thanks for the DreamWorks SKG reference in "Three Hundred Big Boys".

Mozilla Firefox

• In Mozilla's Firefox browser (version 3 or later), if you type 'about:robots' in the address bar, a page will appear paying tribute to robots in popular culture. The last point is "Robots have shiny metal posteriors which should not be bitten." This a reference to Bender's catchphrase, "Bite my shiny metal ass!"

Outer Orbit

• The Planet Express Ship appears in the Dark Horse Comics miniseries Outer Orbit.

Over the Hedge

• In one of the final scenes of the movie Over the Hedge, the hyperactive squirrel, Hammy, has a energy drink with caffeine, giving him the same effects that happened to Fry after 100 coffees in "Three Hundred Big Boys" - time slows down almost until pausing and the character calmly saves the situation. Although it is not an explicit reference to Futurama, the scene is very similar.

The PJs

Fry appearing on a milk carton in The PJs

• In the episode Cliffhangin With Mr. Super of the show The PJs, Fry makes a cameo appearance on a wanted ad on a milk carton, referring to Fry's disappearance after being frozen.
  • This was an act of reciprocation for an advertisement of The PJs etched onto a manhole cover in the episodes "I Second that Emotion" and "The Luck of the Fryrish", like The PJ's opening scene.

The Simpsons

Main article: Simpsons connections

• In the episode Future-Drama (even the title of the episode is a reference), Bender shows up briefly in Homer's new hover car, and utters "All right! You guys are my new best friends," only for Homer to say "You wish, loser!" and throw him out of the car again.
• In the couch gag in episode HOMR, the family is inserted via tubes (similar to the tubes seen around New New York), one of the tubes inserts Fry instead of Bart, only to be sucked up again, and being replaced by Bart.
• Bender and Zoidberg are villains in the Simpsons game.
• In episode The 90's Show, Homer introduces the 90's with a summary of what happened, including that it was the time when Futurama was created.

South Park

• In the South Park episode Go God Go, Cartman is stuck in the snow and is buried by an avalanche and is defrosted 500 years later. Although not an explicit reference to Futurama, there is brief reference to cryongenics, and the name of the city "New New Hampshire" is familiar to other names of cities used in Futurama, like "New New York" or "New New Jersey".

Star Wars

Main article: Star Wars connections

• The droid HK-47 and other droids from the Star Wars Expanded Universe have been known to use Bender's phrase of 'Meatbag'.
• In the comic Skippy the Jedi Droid, Bender is seen making fun of Skippy.
• A droid with the name "Probulator" appears in the online game Star Wars Galaxies.
• Bender is also seen in the comic Junkheap Hero as a scrapped droid.
  • The 'Bender Droid' also appeared in the novel Death Star'. It is unknown if they are related.
• Bender was seen in the Star Wars parody Family Guy: Blue Harvest in the Chalmun's Cantina scene.
• Bendu Fry's name was probably derived from Bender and Fry.
• There are a few characters in the Star Wars Galaxy with names shared in Futurama:
  • Bender
  • Doctor Farnsworth
  • Fry
  • Leela
• Jedi Master Xamar's species, Khil, has been jokingly referred to as being the same species of Zoidberg, Decapodian.

Transmetropolitan

• Warren Ellis' Transmetropolitan features a billboard depicting Leela and Bender in the background of a panel in issue 25.

Top Ten

• Alan Moore's "Top Ten" (issue 11), a discolored Fry, Leela, and Bender can be seen in the background of one of the frames.

Xiaolin Showdown

• In the Xiaolin Showdown episode "Days Past", Dojo is instructing Omi about the dangers of travel to the past, he mentions the possibility to him "of being your own grandfather". This is reference to the incident in "Roswell that Ends Well".

Young Avengers

• In Young Avengers Special #1, the logo for Slurm can be seen on a vending machine being thrown by the Hulkling.