The future is here, and it’s hilarious. The award-winning animated sci-fi sitcom Futurama is the story of pizza-delivery boy Fry (Billy West) waking up 1,000 years later after being frozen accidentally in 1999. The show made its debut on Fox in 1999, then a series of straight-to-DVD movies were made and later re-cut into individual episodes before the series found a new home on Comedy Central. Most recently, it was rebooted on Hulu, over a decade after it last left the air, and has been renewed through Season 13. It was created by Matt Groening and David X. Cohen.
As Fry adjusted to life in 2999, he began working at Planet Express, owned and operated by 175-year-old inventor Professor Hubert J. Farnsworth (West), who Fry learns is one of his relatives. In fact, due to a time paradox, Farnsworth is both Fry’s 30 times great-grandnephew and great-grandson. Farnsworth alternates between being a genius scientist and a senile elderly man, and some of his best episodes reflect that. He’s also played a crucial role in some of Futurama‘s biggest moments.
Futurama follows the exploits of Philip J. Fry, a pizza delivery boy from 1999 who is cryogenically frozen for 1000 years. Waking up in the year 3000, Fry befriends a cyclops named Leela and a roguish robot named Bender, and the three find employment with Planet Express, an interplanetary delivery service. Their work takes them to all corners of the universe, exploring space and the future as imagined by Matt Groening and the creators of The Simpsons.
- Release Date
- March 28, 1999
- Seasons
- 12
- Studio
- Comedy Central
10 “The Series Has Landed”
Season 1, Episode 2
Fry, Leela (Katey Sagal) and Bender (John DiMaggio) meet Farnsworth at the end of the series premiere, “Space Pilot 3000,” but they meet the rest of the Planet Express crew in “The Series Has Landed.” They, along with Amy (Lauren Tom), go on their first delivery to the moon, where Fry is amazed to see a Disney World-like amusement park. After having some fun in the park, Fry gets bored and wants to explore “the real Moon.” Fry also meets Dr. Zoidberg (West) for the first time and discovered his knowledge was lacking when it comes to human anatomy and ailments.
“The Series Has Landed” offered some hilarious insight into Farnsworth’s character through Planet Express, from his advertising campaign calling his crew expendable to his selfish reasons for keeping Amy around, as well as funny moments. The episode also shows how he ran the company—major decisions like who to choose as captain were made at random—and how easily he could shift from a brilliant scientist to being lazy and apathetic.
9 “I, Roommate”
Season 1, Episode 3
In “I, Roommate,” after getting on everyone’s nerves, Fry moves out of the offices of Planet Express and into Bender’s robot apartment, only to find it too small. The two then set out to find a bigger place suitable for both of them, and although they succeed in finding a large, rent-controlled space, Bender’s antenna interferes with the TV reception in the building, angering the other residents, which leads to Fry kicking him out.
While “I, Roommate” focuses on Fry and Bender’s budding friendship and Fry’s ongoing adjustment to the future, Farnsworth also had some great moments. The Professor didn’t see the need for Fry to move out until he was directly affected—Fry mistook his mummified remains for beef jerky and ate them. Also, it’s because of Farnsworth that Fry and Bender found out about the apartment in the first place. As an early episode, “I, Roommate” helped to establish Farnworth’s character, as well as everyone else’s.
8 “A Big Piece of Garbage”
Season 1, Episode 8
In “A Big Piece of Garbage,” Farnsworth invents the Smell-O-Scope, which allows users to discover foul-smelling things throughout the universe. With it, Fry discovers a giant ball of garbage floating in space, which was created and launched into space in the 20th century. He then has to prevent it from crashing into Earth. They ultimately launch a second ball to knock the first one into the sun after a failed plot to destroy it.
Like some of Farnsworth’s other memorable episodes, “A Big Piece of Garbage” highlighted both his brilliance and his senility. He invents and presents the Death Clock, which shows how much time a person had to live. Yet, he forgets about it and presents it a second time, leading him to invent the Smell-O-Scope, which he had also already invented. In the end, he gets the credit he deserves and proves that not everything he does is silly or pointless.
7 “The Route of All Evil”
Season 3, Episode 12
Planet Express faces competition from Dwight (Bumper Robinson) and Cubert (Kath Soucie)—the 12-year-old sons of Hermes (Phil LaMarr) and Farnsworth, respectively. After the two get suspended from school, they form their own delivery company called Awesome Express in “The Route of All Evil.” What begins as a newspaper-delivery service expands into a much larger business as the boys become more successful, leading them to take over Planet Express.
“The Route of All Evil” presented a great look at the dynamic between Hermes and Farnsworth and their respective sons. All the boys really want is some respect, and they act out in the way kids do, albeit in a way that could also only happen in Futurama. For Farnsworth, it’s embarrassing to have his company taken over by his son, and both he and Hermes see themselves as better than the boys.
6 “Rebirth”
Season 6, Episode 1
In the Season 6 premiere—the first episode to air on Comedy Central—“Rebirth,” the Planet Express ship was damaged and crashed. Most of the crew are killed, but the Professor is able to revive them all using his birth machine. However, there were some issues—Leela, for instance, is in an irreversible coma, which leads Fry to build a robotic version of her to cope with losing her.
“Rebirth” was a fun and fitting return for Futurama. Part of the fun of the series has always been the Professor’s inventions with varying degrees of usefulness, and here, he is actually able to save everyone’s lives, proving how smart he can be. The episode, and by extension the rest of the series, couldn’t happen without him. Best of all, though, the Professor has some of the funniest and most memorable moments of the episode.
5 “Time Keeps on Slippin'”
Season 3, Episode 14
Farnsworth creates a team of mutants in order to take on the Harlem Globetrotters in a game of basketball after they challenged Earth in “Time Keeps on Slippin’.” With the mutants still in their infancy, he sends the crew to gather chronitons, which had previously destroyed an entire civilization, to accelerate their growth. As the game gets underway, time begins skipping forwards, all while Fry is trying to express his love for Leela.
“Time Keeps on Slippin’” was a fun episode of Futurama that showcased the Professor’s intelligence, as well as his carelessness. He iss able to stop time slipping, but he never really considered the dangers the chronitons could pose, even though he was aware of them. Although his inventions can range from useless to life-saving, Farnsworth’s invention here, with help from the Harlem Globetrotters, is among the machines that help them save the universe. Plus, this episode showcases Farnsworth’s competitve side.
4 “Three Hundred Big Ones”
Season 5, Episode 11
In “Three Hundred Big Ones,” Richard Nixon’s head (West) gives everyone $300 after Zapp Branigan (West) defeats the Spiderians of Tarantulon Vi and returns to Earth with silks and riches. The episode is made up of vignettes showing how each member of Planet Express spends their money on something different—the Professor buys stem cells to make him look younger, only to find their effects are temporary. He also falls in love.
The Professor unsurprisingly spends his money on something scientific that would also keep him looking young in “Three Hundred Big Ones.” The real highlight of Farnsworth’s part of the episode was his new relationship. They both use their money on stem cells to alter their appearances, but when they see each other as they really are, it didn’t change how they felt about each other. It’s nice to see Farnsworth in a sincere relationship.
3 “2-D Blacktop”
Season 7, Episode 15
In “2-D Blacktop,” after Farnsworth turbocharges the Planet Express ship—ignoring Leela’s concerns about safety—and names it Bessie, it crashes and is towed to a salvage yard to be scrapped. Farnsworth saves it, turns it into a hot rod, and joins a street-racing gang. During a race against Leela, they’re accidentally sent to a 2-D universe. Ultimately, Farnsworth is able to blast them back to their own dimension.
“2-D Blacktop” was a great parody of racing movies, most notably The Fast and the Furious, and centered on Farnsworth and his inventions in a really entertaining way. This episode shows a different side to him. Normally a terrible driver, this episode depicts Farnsworth as a competent and competitive racer. This was juxtaposed with Leela’s prioritization of safety, making her into essentially a soccer mom, and the two faced off in the only way possible in an episode about racing.
2 “Near Death Wish”
Season 7, Episode 10
After winning an award for Best Delivery Boy, Fry is disappointed that the Professor didn’t attend the ceremony and wishes he had other relatives he could spend time with in “Near-Death Wish.” As a result, he tracks down the Professor’s parents on the Near-Death Star, where residents are connected to power-generating pods—similar to The Matrix—which kept them entertained using virtual reality; Fry accidentally wakes them up. The episode also provides a look at the Professor’s history.
“Near-Death Wish” was a classic episode which began with a look at the dynamic between Fry and the Professor. Fry’s frustration is understandable, as entertaining as the Professor’s apathy towards his accomplishments are. It also examines the Professor’s relationship with his parents, with a nice reconciliation between them at the end. While the series’ most heartfelt episodes were often reserved for Fry and Leela, this one centers on Farnsworth.
1 “The Farnsworth Parabox”
Season 4, Episode 15
The Professor’s calls for help go unanswered as he works on his latest invention in “The Farnsworth Parabox.” When he emerges, he intends to destroy the project, a box which would allow the crew to visit a parallel universe, until Leela decides via a coin toss to look inside. It took her to a different universe, one in which the only difference was the outcome of coin tosses, and the characters of the two universes interact with each other.
“The Farnsworth Parabox” was an example of how intelligent the Professor could be, as well as how impressive his inventions could be. The episode’s opening also includes a great moment in which the Professor calls upon the gods of different religions for help, including the devil, who he said owed him a favor, setting up some hilarious implications. It was a great episode not just for him, but it was one of the best in the series.
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