Difference between revisions of "The Six Million Dollar Mon"

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* Bender wears a spacesuit with an oxygen hosepipe attached to it while releasing ash into space, but from previous episodes it is clear that he can easily live in the vacuum without a spacesuit and he doesn't need air to breathe.
* Bender wears a spacesuit with an oxygen hosepipe attached to it while releasing ash into space, but from previous episodes it is clear that he can easily live in the vacuum without a spacesuit and he doesn't need air to breathe.
** The hosepipe also anchors him to the ship, an important function that prevents the events from "[[Godfellas]]" from happening again.
** The hosepipe also anchors him to the ship, an important function that prevents the events from "[[Godfellas]]" from happening again.
* When Hermes shows his firing tie, the Professor looks worried, but Hermes can't fire him, he owns the company.


=== Alien Language Sightings ===
=== Alien Language Sightings ===

Revision as of 18:21, 7 August 2012

Season 7 episode
Broadcast season 9 episode
The Six Million Dollar Mon
The Six Million Dollar Mon screenshot.png
Hermes - with an extendo arm and cycloscanner eyes - and LaBarbara in bed.[1]
No.121
Production number7ACV07
Written byKen Keeler
Directed byPeter Avanzino
Title captionThis Episode Worth 250 Futurama Points
First air date25 July 2012[2]
Broadcast numberS09E07
Title referenceThe American television series The Six Million Dollar Man and the fact that Hermes pronounces "man" as "mon"
Special guest(s)Dan Castellaneta
Additional
Commentary
(Transcript)
Transcript
Storyboard

Pictures

Season 7
  1. The Bots and the Bees
  2. A Farewell to Arms
  3. Decision 3012
  4. The Thief of Baghead
  5. Zapp Dingbat
  6. The Butterjunk Effect
  7. The Six Million Dollar Mon
  8. Fun on a Bun
  9. Free Will Hunting
  10. Near-Death Wish
  11. 31st Century Fox
  12. Viva Mars Vegas
  13. Naturama
  14. Forty Percent Leadbelly
  15. 2-D Blacktop
  16. T.: The Terrestrial
  17. Fry and Leela's Big Fling
  18. The Inhuman Torch
  19. Saturday Morning Fun Pit
  20. Calculon 2.0
  21. Assie Come Home
  22. Leela and the Genestalk
  23. Game of Tones
  24. Murder on the Planet Express
  25. Stench and Stenchibility
  26. Meanwhile
← Season 6Season 8 →

"The Six Million Dollar Mon" is the one hundred and twenty-first episode of Futurama, the seventh of the seventh production season and the ninth broadcast season.

Plot

Act I: "When I fight machinery, machinery always wins."

After conducting an annual performance review, Hermes discovers that he is the most inefficient employee of Planet Express and has himself fired and replaced by a machine. Surprisingly, Zoidberg is the only member upset by his departure, as he believed that Hermes hatred for him was merely a friendly inside joke (rather than out of genuine malice) and shows open resentment towards the company's new accountant. After Hermes tells his family the news over his wife's nearly-fatal spicy goat soup, he and Labarbara go for a walk, where they are attacked by Roberto. Smitty and URL come to their rescue at the last minute using URL's robotic chest harpoon, leading Hermes to conclude that he could use a robotic upgrade for himself. Because of his multiple escapes, Roberto is taken immediately to the Electromagnetic Chair and executed. Using Bender's help, Hermes finds a shadowy surgeon to perform the operation on him and returns home to show his family, much to their surprise and shock, that he now has a robotic chest harpoon.

Act II: "Nice shiny metal ass, Hermes."

The next day, Hermes shows off his new chest artillery to the Planet Express crew. Everyone is impressed and, upon demonstrating it to retrieve a box just out of Mark's reach, re-hires himself as Planet Expresses accountant. Zoidberg is thrilled to have him back, and even though Hermes explicitly states that he's not Zoidberg's friend, Zoidberg laughs it off, saying how, "When he [Hermes] stops insulting is when [Zoidberg] worries." When the Professor's dentures fall down the

Act III: "He wants a brain. He wants a robot brain."

Production

On 28 July 2011, it was revealed at the San Diego Comic-Con that, in an episode of the seventh production season, "Hermes [would] realize he [was] less efficient than a machine, so he [would] chop some unnecessary parts of his body and [would] become a cyborg".[3] On 30 August, a photograph of the cover of the episode's production script was posted on a Tumblr blog - revealing the episode's title.[4] On 29 February 2012, CGEF confirmed the episode's title and revealed its writer to be Ken Keeler and its director to be Peter Avanzino.[5][6]

In June, Countdown to Futurama began releasing promotional material for the episode. It has so far released eight items: A promotional picture showing Leela, Amy, Zoidberg, Farnsworth, a mecha Hermes, Bender and Fry in the Planet Express employee lounge and a design of the mecha Hermes - together with the revelation that the episode was the one associated with the Hermes plot at the San Diego Comic-Con - on 6 June,[7] a design of the cover of the magazine Astounding Tales on 7 June,[8] part of the storyboard showing Bender suggest to Hermes getting an implant on 8 June,[9] a design of a new character, Mark 7-G, on 9 June,[10] a design of Hermes with an extendo arm and cycloscanner eyes and a design of four stages undergone by a ventriloquist dummy of Hermes on 10 June,[11] a promotional picture showing Zoidberg controlling the Hermes dummy on 11 June[12] and a video clip featuring Hermes - with the extendo arm and the cycloscanner eyes - and LaBarbara in bed on 12 June.[1]

By 8 June,[13] MSN TV had revealed the episode's air date.[2]

Comedy Central's website released another promotional picture, showing mecha Hermes about to drive a drill into Farnsworth's head.[14]

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 "The Six Million Dollar Mon" were shown during the live stream.[15]

Additional information

Allusions

Click here to see cultural mentions made in this episode.
  • The episode's title is a reference to the American television series The Six Million Dollar Man - the title character of which is, like Hermes here, a cyborg - and the fact that Hermes pronounces "man" as "mon".
  • Astounding Tales[8] is a reference to the American science fiction magazine Analog Science Fiction and Fact - which was initially published as "Astounding Stories" - and the American anthology comic book series Astonishing Tales.
  • The book Lady Chatterley's Janitor is a reference to the 1928 book Lady Chatterley's Lover. In keeping with the running gag of Scruffy only reading sexually explicit material, Lady Chatterley's Lover is well-known for containing explicit descriptions of sex.
  • Hermes reads a book called "The Invisible Mon" - which is a reference to the H. G. Wells science fiction novella The Invisible Man.
  • The song sung by Zoidberg is a parody of the Monster Mash.
  • The Professor showing Hermes' brain to his family is a possible reference to Dr. Mark Shelley, a Navy doctor who allowed the family of a deceased Marine to handle his brain and take pictures.
  • While Hermes and LaBarbara walk through the city at night, they pass the bridge where Fry and Leela spent Leela's birthday in "The Late Philip J. Fry".

Trivia

  • This is the second episode of season 7 where a recurring character has been killed (The first being Calculon in "The Thief of Baghead").
  • One of the gravestones in the cemetery reads Helper, another short-lived replacement for one of the main cast members.
  • Zoidberg's song is a reference to "Monster Mash" by Bobby "Boris" Pickett.
  • The robot, Mark 7G, who replaced Hermes might have been named after the section number of the nuclear power plant that Homer Simpson works in on "The Simpsons" (Matt Groening's other show).

Continuity

Quotes

    Hermes: No more implants. I don't want to end up a cold, emotionless machine like you.

    LaBarbara: Hermes! Oh, ya foolish man!

    Zoidberg: You don't understand. He was the only one who cared enough to insult me.
    Leela: I insult you, you fat sack.
    Zoidberg: Sure, when it's convenient.

Goofs

  • Hermes's Robot Body starts talking like Roberto before his (Roberto's) brain is inserted.
    • It is discovered that if robots die a certain way, their software is uploaded into the computational cloud and capable of taking-over other electronic devices. ((6ACV19))
  • When Roberto melts, one of the three key-rings inside his chest cabinet does not.
    • The keys on the plot-driven key-ring (and only that key-ring) may be made of a different metal more resistant to heat (eg: Dolomite).
  • The magnetic waves from the electromagnetism chair would have fried Roberto's brain.
    • Magnetism, even at that power, would only really damage a hard-drive (in our time) Roberto's brain looks more like a motherboard with no indication of any kind of storage device on it.
  • Hermes robot body, goes from having a hole in its head, where the brain was taken out, to not having one, when Roberto attacks.
    • The reshaping of the head could have closed the opening.
  • Hermes stated Zoidberg didn't reattach his nerves in which case, he would have died the moment he tried to move.
    • It is possible that the autonomic nervous system was reengaged, but the parts of the somatic nervous system (i.e. pain receptors in the skin) were left separate.
  • Bender wears a spacesuit with an oxygen hosepipe attached to it while releasing ash into space, but from previous episodes it is clear that he can easily live in the vacuum without a spacesuit and he doesn't need air to breathe.
    • The hosepipe also anchors him to the ship, an important function that prevents the events from "Godfellas" from happening again.
  • When Hermes shows his firing tie, the Professor looks worried, but Hermes can't fire him, he owns the company.

Alien Language Sightings

Time:06:46
Location: Alley wall next to Organ Dealer's store
Language: AL1
Translation: If you lived here you'd be homeless by now

Characters

(In alphabetic order)

References

  1. ^ a b c Matt Tobey (12 June 2012). Countdown to Futurama: Hermes’ Robot Extension. (Comedy Centrl [sic].) Retrieved on 12 June 2012.
  2. ^ a b Futurama - Episode Guide. (MSN TV.) Retrieved on 09 June 2012.
  3. ^ JavieR (27 July 2011). San Diego Comic-Con 2011 Futurama panel sneak peeks + videos. (The Futurama Point.) Retrieved on 06 June 2012.
  4. ^ Pizza & Orange Juice. 13 August 2011. Retrieved on 13 May 2012.
  5. ^ Episode Guide: 7 ACV. (CGEF.) 29 February 2012. Retrieved on 29 February 2012.
  6. ^ "Just Fan" (29 February 2012). "Futurama: Futurama News (pre-season 7)". (PEEL.) Retrieved on 29 February 2012.
  7. ^ Matt Tobey (06 June 2012). Countdown to Futurama: Mecha Hermes. (Comedy Centrl.) Retrieved on 06 June 2012.
  8. ^ a b Matt Tobey (07 June 2012). Countdown to Futurama: Astounding Tales. (Comedy Centrl.) Retrieved on 07 June 2012.
  9. ^ Matt Tobey (08 June 2012). Countdown to Futurama: Extendo Arms Storyboard. (Comedy Centrl.) Retrieved on 08 June 2012.
  10. ^ Matt Tobey (09 June 2012). Countdown to Futurama: Mark 7-G. (Comedy Centrl.) Retrieved on 09 June 2012.
  11. ^ Matt Tobey (10 June 2012). Countdown to Futurama: Cylon Eye and Lil Hermes. (Comedy Centrl.) Retrieved on 10 June 2012.
  12. ^ Matt Tobey (11 June 2012). Countdown to Futurama: Hermes Dummy. (Comedy Centrl.) Retrieved on 11 June 2012.
  13. ^ Just Fan (08 June 2012). Futurama: Futurama News (including but not limited to Countdown to Season 7) - Page 8. (PEEL.) Retrieved on 09 June 2012.
  14. ^ Michelle Rosenblatt. Comedy Central Press | Futurama. (Comedy Central.) Retrieved on 12 July 2012.
  15. ^ "Tastes Like Fry" (12 July 2012). "Newsarama! (Futurama News Thread)" (page 1). (PEEL.) Retrieved on 13 July 2012.