It has been 14 years since we first saw pizza boy Philip J. Fry (Billy West) fall into a cryogenic freezer on New Year’s Eve in 1999 and get thawed out 1,000 years in the future. His ragtag Planet Express Ship delivery crew, including his descendant Professor Hubert Farnsworth (Billy West), love interest Leela (Katey Sagal), and robot bestie Bender (John DiMaggio), are nearing the end of their intergalactic journey as Comedy Central starts running the first of Futurama’s last 13 episodes tonight. (The final installment airs on September 4.) However, the future of the show is uncertain as this isn’t the first go-round creator Matt Groening has had with Futurama. It was canceled back in 2003 on Fox and resurrected in 2009. In honor of the show’s seven-season run on adventures and starting anew, we take a look back at some of the most hilarious moments.
Fry on Love
Fry is rarely lucky in love. When he goes on a mission in Season 3 to check off his bucket list, he finally crosses off his fantasy of dating a celebrity—who just so happens to be the downloaded personality of Lucy Liu (Elementary) in a robot’s body. Although their relationship starts off perfectly as she pays Fry compliments in a dronelike fashion, he later finds out about the dangers of dating a fembot when Liu gets replicated into an “erotic assassin.”
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Zoidberg on Being a Doctor
Zoidberg, the resident doctor and also an impoverished crustacean, finds out the harsh truth from Leela about how much doctors really get paid. In the episode, “The Cyber House Rules,” Leela dates her childhood crush—now a rich surgeon—and tries to change her Cyclops look.
Fry on iPhones
In Season 6’s “Attack of the Killer App,” Futurama parodies the iPhone and dubs it the “eyePhone.” This episode might as well be called “Shut Up and Take My Money,” as Fry shouts out these words in this hilarious video.
Bender on Pimping
Numerous GIFs and memes have sprouted from this one scene in Season 2, where Bender perfects his pimp walk in the episode “Put Your Head on My Shoulder.” The booze-guzzling robot gets fined for pimping and walks out with his hobots, which leads him to the idea of creating a not-so-great computer-dating service.
Leela on Vegetarians
True to Futurama’s tongue-in-cheek M.O., Leela makes some social commentary—this time on vegetarians—in “The Problem With Popplers” episode. The Planet Express Ship crew discovers a new and delicious life form called “popplers,” and the MEAT (Mankind for Ethical Animal Treatment) protest against their plans. Leela starts off saying to them, “You’re vegetarians. Who cares what you do?”
Zoidberg on Home Owning
Zoidberg is known for his ridiculous antics and his lobster-alien scuttling, and feels at ease in Season 2’s “The Deep South.” When the crew travels underwater, they discover a land where the mermen and merwomen speak a Southern American drawl. Zoidberg finds a new home when he announces, “I’m Doctor Zoidberg: homeowner!”
Fry on Valentine’s Day
Fry has had a long and albeit unsuccessful journey through love. When he isn’t pining over Leela, he’s had some trysts with crew member Amy Wong (Lauren Tom) and his girlfriend from his previous life before 1999, Michelle (Sarah Silverman). In this clip, Fry reveals what he forgets to do on Valentine’s Day.
Farnsworth on Languages
Remember when “french fries” became “Freedom Fries”? The American quips on the French don’t stop here in Futurama when Farnsworth introduces a machine for dead languages.
Zapp Brannigan on Chess
Zapp Brannigan (Billy West) is one of the most narcissistic members in space, and spends his time not wearing pants and wooing Leela. He exemplifies his incompetence when he describes how to play chess in this clip.
Fry on Time
In an episode in the early days of Futurama, the team wins a trip to visit the Slurm Factory through finding a golden bottlecap—à la Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. When Fry is told he must wait to drink the Slurm beverage, he points out his understanding of time and patience.
