The Late Philip J. Fry
| "The Late Philip J. Fry" | |
|---|---|
Lewis Morton | |
| Production code | 6ACV07 |
| Original air date | July 29, 2010 |
| Episode features | |
| Opening caption | If you don't watch it, someone else will |
"The Late Philip J. Fry" is the seventh episode in the
The episode was written by
Plot
Fry, Bender, and the Professor decide that their only hope of returning to the 31st century is to continue forward in time until they reach a period in which a time machine that can travel to the past has been invented. However, they are repeatedly sidetracked during their travels, encountering numerous periods of Earth civilization (at one point managing to find a time period populated by beautiful and intelligent women who have mastered backwards time-travel, but are sent forward by an angered Bender, who was not let off in an era where robots were conquering humanity), until they arrive at the year One Billion when Earth is barren and all life extinct. Back in the 31st century, Leela takes over Planet Express and turns it into a successful company for over forty years, but still harbors some nostalgia and hurt toward Fry for standing her up before his "death". In the year 3050, she finds the lost birthday card as it emerges from the time stream and learns that Fry did not mean to abandon her. She goes to the empty Cavern on the Green and fires her laser at the ceiling in a way that results in mineral water dripping to form stalagmites that create a message Fry discovers one billion years later, reading that although their time together was short, it was the best time of her life.
Having lost their opportunity to return home, Fry, Bender, and the Professor resign themselves to going to the end of time. After the last existing proton decays, they are amazed to discover that the now empty universe undergoes another Big Bang, and furthermore that it replicates the same universe and its exact events, as opposed to having unique inhabitants and history. They realize that they can continue forward in time and eventually reach the moment that they left in the new copy of the universe (although the Professor takes the opportunity to assassinate Adolf Hitler). They succeed after overshooting their first attempt (with the Professor accidentally killing Eleanor Roosevelt whilst attempting to assassinate Hitler a second time), though the new universe is about 10-feet lower than the previous one, causing the time machine to crush their duplicates in the new universe to death as they enter their machine (avoiding a time travel paradox). Fry rushes to meet Leela and manages to make it to their date on time. After dinner, Fry apologizes for losing his birthday card to her, but Leela dismisses it and tells him that she will always remember their time together. Bender can be seen under the bridge they stand on, burying the bodies of the dead duplicates.
Production
"The Late Philip J. Fry" was written by
Cultural references
The episode takes its main inspiration from the
The episode as whole alludes to the "Big Bounce" model for the origin of the universe, which posits that the Big Bang was actually a reflection of the collapse of a previous universe.
Broadcast and reception
"The Late Philip J. Fry" originally aired on July 29, 2010 on
The episode received critical acclaim. Zack Handlen from The A.V. Club was enthusiastic about the episode, stating that the episode's jokes and humor were solid throughout.[7] He was pleased that the relationship between Leela and Fry was "finally" addressed, also feeling that up until this episode, "[t]he writing on Leela hasn't been as solid this season".[7] Praising the episode's full use of science fiction and the smart structure of the episode, concluding: "It feels like we're back in the sweet spot here, mixing high and low comedy with sharp ideas, and a surprisingly uncynical sincerity. Everything old is new again, I guess, and that's a very good thing."[7] Robert Canning of IGN gave the episode a 7.5 out of 10, citing it as another example of Futurama's "smart takes" on time travel. He felt that "it showed that there's still a lot of thought going into plotting out these time trips", although he also stated that the episode did not have enough laughs.[9] Later in a list of the 25 best Futurama episodes, IGN named the episode fourth best in 2019.[10] Merrill Bar of Film School Rejects praised the episode, describing it as "[e]very joke hits, every line was sweet, every emotion is true, every visual was eye popping, this episode is Futurama at its finest. If there is any complaint, it's that it took this long for the show to regain this level of quality."[11] He concluded that "[t]his combined with last week's episode has restored my full confidence in the production team".[11] Sean Gandert of Paste rated the episode a 9.4 out of 10, writing: "'Late' was definitely the best episode of the season so far, and ranks with the best the show's ever done. Nearly every episode of this season has been better than the last, and it looks like it's finally reached the peaks it's hit in the past. As of now, I think any doubt about the Futurama's reboot should be pretty damn well silenced."[6]
Series creator
In 2013, it was ranked #4 "as voted on by fans" for Comedy Central's Futurama Fanarama marathon.[1]
Tie-in
In the Disenchantment episode "Dreamland Falls", when Luci is rewinding the magical crystal ball, for a brief frame, Fry, Farnsworth, and Bender appear in the time machine from this episode, implying that the two series take place in the same universe.[14]
Awards
See also
- "The Deconstruction of Falling Stars"
- The Accidental Time Machine
- "Flight to Forever"
References
- ^ a b "Futurama Fanarama marathon". 2013-08-25. Retrieved 2013-08-31.
- ^ a b c LeMarche, Maurice (October 21, 2009). "Maurice LaMarche". Facebook. Retrieved 2010-07-29.
Maurice LaMarche: Nah. Turns out I'm all good, cold-wise. On to the Futurama table-reading, Bitterman!! And go through the park. You know how I love the park...[...]Maurice LaMarche: We're table reading episode 7 today.[...]Bob Zaugh: Best Futurama table read ever!! Its [sic] the Emmy shot!! Maurice LaMarche: I think so, too! That script hit on all levels. Hilarious, touching, meaningful, philosophical, even metaphysical. And did I mention, hilarious?
- ^ "Countdown to Futurama". Comedy Central Insider. Archived from the original on 2010-07-06. Retrieved 2010-07-23.
- ^ "Leela's Birthday Lunch". Comedy Central. July 23, 2010. Archived from the original on 2010-07-31. Retrieved 2010-07-29.
- ^ Unknown (January 24, 2011). "Flight To Forever, Poul Anderson, 1950". The Last Man on Earth. Retrieved 2013-08-16.
- ^ a b c Gandert, Sean (July 30, 2010). "Futurama Review: "The Late Philip J. Fry" (6.7)". Paste. Retrieved February 14, 2022.
- ^ a b c d e Handlen, Zack (July 29, 2010). "The Late Philip J. Fry". The A.V. Club. Retrieved February 14, 2022.
- ^ a b Seidman, Robert (July 30, 2010). "Thursday Cable: Jersey Shore on Top + Burn Notice, Futurama, Project Runway & More". TVbythenumbers. Archived from the original on February 5, 2013. Retrieved 2010-07-30.
- ^ Canning, Robert (July 30, 2010). "Futurama: "The Late Philip J. Fry" Review". IGN. Retrieved February 14, 2022.
- ^ Nicholson, Max (March 28, 2019). "The 25 Best Futurama Episodes". IGN. Retrieved February 14, 2022.
- ^ a b Barr, Merrill (July 30, 2010). "Review: Futurama — The Late Philip J. Fry". Film School Rejects. Archived from the original on March 3, 2016. Retrieved February 14, 2022.
- ^ Fitzpatrick, Kevin (July 24, 2010). "Comic-Con 2010: Futurama Goes To The Future?". UGO. Archived from the original on 2010-07-27. Retrieved 2010-07-25.
- ^ "Outstanding Animated Program 2011". Emmys.com. Academy of Television Arts & Sciences. Retrieved 2011-07-16.
- ^ Leadbeater, Alex (August 18, 2018). "Disenchantment Easter Egg Confirms Netflix Show Exists In The Futurama Universe". Screen Rant. Retrieved August 19, 2018.
External links
- "The Late Philip J. Fry" at IMDb
- "The Late Philip J. Fry" at the Infosphere, the Futurama Wiki.
