Animated shows, whether they are more child-oriented or geared towards adults, tend to feature movie and TV cultural references in their episodes. Whether they are subtle or a direct reference, a show will often take a famous scene or character from another piece of media and apply them to a gag. For some viewers, this may be the first time they have seen that reference.Like all of Matt Groening’s programming,Futuramahas never shied away from cultural references. A lot of dialogue makes call-backs to 20th-century events; there’s also the endless stream of head-in-a-jar celebrities that make an appearance. A lot of obvious references have been given to popular science fiction series such asStar WarsandStar Trek, but there’s still plenty of potential for new references in the show’s reboot, especially considering the new sci-fi moves and shows that have come around duringFuturama’s absence.RELATED:Why ‘Disenchantment’ Can’t Live Up To The Simpsons Or FuturamaIt’s no doubt manywill be excited about the show’s return, and to see how it pokes fun at the pop culture of today. Plenty of big sci-fi names were referenced previously in the show’s original run, includingAlien, 2001: A Space Odyssey, Back To The Future, Forbidden Planet,andThe Day The Earth Stood Still— and that’s just the tip of the iceberg. Of course,The Simpsonsand many others have referenced these titles on this list, but withFuturamabeing a futuristic sci-fi show, these homages have a lot more meeting. For example, one of its most hilarious episodes, “Where No Fan Has Gone Before,” is dedicated to the originalStar Trekseries. SinceFuturamawent off the airthere’s been a lot ofStar Trekcontentfor them to play around with. TheStar Trekepisode is a standout moment whereFuturamadedicated its episode to that of another series.
The New Show Should Reference Modern Sci-Fi Themes
One of the biggest sci-fi shows to be majorly absent when it comes to references inFuturamaisDoctor Who. The show, whichcelebrates its 60th anniversary this year, has been referenced inFuturamaaround three times, mainly in the show’s later seasons. With the amount of content thatDoctor Whohas, it seems too great an opportunity to not use references inFuturamajokes and gags. The easiest reference the show use is having the characters fromDoctor Whoappear as heads in a jar, as is the wayFuturamamakes celebrity references.
There have been some fantastic sci-fi movies in the decade sinceFuturamawent off the air.Some movies in this period, such asHerandEx-Machina, feature themes that have already been establishedin theFuturamaworld — there have been instances whereFuturamacharacters have dated Artificial Intelligence or robots. While the Johnny Depp movieTranscendencewasn’t a box office success, the theme of holding a person’s consciousness in a computer would work well withFuturama. The main cast was always hooking themselves up to machines, for example in the episode “Love And Rocket,” in which Bender merges his programming with the Planet Express ship. Bender merging himself into every electrical product for some life-saving reason would have hilarious results, as he takes over everything andexhibits his usual narcissistic behavior.
One of themost popular sci-fi sub-genresin movies, TV, and video games over the last decade is that of dystopian worlds. Setting a story in a dystopian universe gives the writer endless possibilities and aids them in fitting their subject matter to the story, whether it involves robots, aliens, viruses, or future tech.Futuramaitself is quite dystopian, whether it acts like it or not. Two themes that would suitFuturama’sdystopian world are steampunk and cyberpunk, the latter of which has been increasingly popular in the last decade with movies such asMortal Engines, Ghost In The Shell,andAlita: Battle Angel. Thestrong female lead characterswould work well as a way to bring Leela into the spotlight. And whileFuturamais one of the most continuity-driven shows, these themes could easily be tied into “what if?” episodes.
What We Want To See In New Episodes
Futurama’s75th comic issue,Steampunk’d,sees Fry travel back in time to a sci-fi industrial revolution. This time travel episode would convert well onto the screen. The gang has traveled back in time on numerous occasions, and their sci-fi designs match the steampunk genre well.
BecauseFuturamacan alsowrite some amazingly emotional episodes, it would be intriguing for it to reference a film likeHigh Life,which shows the breakdown of a group of people living while conducting scientific experiments on a space mission. It presents the subjects of loneliness, life, and death andFuturamahas written episodes about loneliness in space (“Godfellas”). Here, the Planet Express crew could be stranded on a mission and have to deal with each other’s different personalities in a confined space before being rescued.
Another sci-fi filmthat deals with enclosed inhabitantsisSnowpiercer.The concept of a class system developing due to hard conditions could be brought about inFuturamafollowing some natural disaster that restricts resources.Futuramahas previously adapted the idea of trains traveling through space, and thus could bring theSnowpiercertrain and its society to Earth. Alternatively, the gang could encounter the train, and the episode could present the differences in life between the two societies.
Futuramadoes feature a lot of flashbacks to the character’s pasts, but a lot of how the 31st century is just accepted by the viewer. There’s a brief telling of when contact was made with aliens early on in the show and how man supposedly conquered the moon. Referencing a film likeArrivalwould be an interesting past piece about the events between the years 2000 and 3000.
In the end,Futuramacan reference whatever they please and there’s no doubt it will work well, whether the reference in question is a full-episode topic or a quote from a character. The show has tackled a lot of scientific subjects and has made over 100 movie/TV references, so when the show returns, viewers can expect to be given some form of reference in almost every episode. Viewers can certainly expect plenty ofStar TrekandStar Warsreferences still, but if the quality of the show is anything like seasons six and seven, then fans will be treated to some of the finest episodesFuturamahas ever made.
