The first TV show in my countdown is Futurama. This was one of the first long-running television shows that I made a concerted effort to watch every episode of. When I was 12 and 20th Century Fox announced that they were bringing the show back to Comedy Central, I went back and watched every episode even though I had already seen most of them. I then kept up with with the series until the very last episode aired in 2013. I miss this show and go back to it often, particularly when I pine for the days I came of age.

Futurama originally aired on Fox from 1999 to 2003, but I discovered it on Cartoon Network’s late night Adult Swim lineup sometime around 2005. As a self-proclaimed nerd from a young age, I fell in love with the humor in the show, particularly the inside jokes. I distinctly remember a joke during its second run from 2008-2013 when Fry is attacked by Schrödinger’s cat that really made me laugh as I had just learned about the famous thought experiment shortly before.

The show reminds many of the creator, Matt Groening’s, other, more famous show, The Simpsons. There are several reasons why I personally find it more compelling. For one, the characters actually develop into better people, monsters and robots. This is most obviously seen in the progression of Fry and Leila’s relationship that I loved, but can also be seen in smaller characters as well. For example, we get a glance into the trials and tribulations of a minor character, Dr. Zoidberg in the 2012 episode called “The Tip of the Zoidberg.” This is one of my all-time favorites and the critics agreed, nominating it for the Primetime Emmy for Outstanding Animated Program. Anyone who is afraid that Futurama is just slapstick comedy must watch this episode to get a sense of the depth the show can have. Another huge advantage that Futurama had over the Simpsons is the diversity of the characters. They come from all walks of life, different time periods, different planets, different races and differnt species. None of them feel tokenized or particularly pigeonholed into sterotypical roles.

For each of my ten favorite TV shows, I am planning to tell you my favorite primary character, favorite secondary character, favorite season and favorite episode. My favorites for Futurama are below.

Favorite Primary Character - Bender Rodriguez

To me, Bender is a sort of future-day socialist. He escaped a terrible life as a bending unit in Tijuana to live freely and amongst humans in New York City. His primary catch phrase may be “bite my shiny metal ass,” but I’ll always remember him as the character who would yell “kill all humans,” a metaphor for how the working class (robots) should rise against the ruling class (humans). Despite a literal cold exterior, Bender does experience human emotions and grows from his past mistakes. The best example of this is in “Jurassic Bark,” where he becomes jealous of Fry’s dog and ultimately tries to kill him before saving the day. He is very complicated, yet mostly predictable, just like most technology.

Favorite Secondary Character - Amy Wong

I love Amy for a lot of reasons. I love that she dresses provacatively not to attract others, but to rebel against her conservative family. In fact, she even mentions getting a “cuteness reduction surgery” in one episode showing that she actually dislikes the attention she receives. While she has flings with both Fry and Bender, her love for Kif is clear throughout their relationship. As someone who could be with anyone, it’s admirable that she loves Kif despite all of his quirks and oddities.

Honorable Mention: Nibbler

What a weird, little, intelligent creature. Characters like him are what make Futurama so great.

Favorite Episode - S6E07 “The Late Phillip J. Fry”

This is a classic Futurama episode for so many reasons. I love all of the references to other great movies, shows and stories it makes. From Planet of the Apes to the H.G. Wells novel The Time Machine. The gang of Fry, Bender and Farnsworth is stuck in a time machine that can only go forward and eventually pay homage to The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy as they watch the universe end together at peace with their fate before a miracle happens. Along the way, they try to kill Hitler, but accidentally kill Eleanor Roosevelt. The plot line was a definitely improvement on the start of season six and it really put Futurama back on track to being the best comedy cartoon on television. The episode is at different times hilarious, sweet and terribly sad. It went on to win the 2011 Primetime Emmy for Outstanding Animated Program as it rightly deserved.

Favorite Season - Season Five

This may be a somewhat controversial take because these episodes aren’t really episodes at all. After Futurama was not renewed following the fourth season, Groening eventually created four direct to video movies that were later chopped into sixteen episodes that rebooted the series on Comedy Central. These episodes that immediately flow from one to the next seem to fit in a lot more in today’s full-season-release-direct-to-Netflix world we live in. As a fan of Bender, these four movies are very much centered around him he evolves from an antihero to a surprising hero. These movies do the most for his character arc, but also kickstart some of the key storylines in the later seasons of the series as relationships transform into something deeper, more heartfelt and decidely real.

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