TV

Futurama – Season 12, Episode 8: “Cuteness Overload”

Sometimes, an episode can do everything right, but just not click with you.

I have no real notes or complaints for “Cuteness Overload”. The story’s well-constructed, doing a fine take on the social-trend-with-disastrous-sci-fi-consequences plot that’s a Futurama mainstay. Doing an episode focused on Amy’s new status as a parent is a great way to make the characters feel fresh after all this time. It’s paced well, has some good visuals, and I can’t think of any scene that particularly needs to be changed.

I just didn’t find it very funny.

It’s not unfunny. Little in the way of groan-inducers here, and plenty of jokes that kept me amused throughout. But there were no real gut-busters, and only a couple that even came close. I was kept entertained for the full half hour (well, twenty-something minutes), but walked away without especially strong feelings about what I’d just seen.

(I know, I know, how very Neutral of me.)

Just as “Beauty and the Bug” succeeded by being an ordinary episode of Futurama that absolutely nailed its jokes, this is an ordinary episode of Futurama that only kinda nailed its jokes. Like, the nails are all in there, and none of them are too terribly bent, but most of ’em didn’t go in completely straight, either.

So … yeah.

Stray Observations:

  • Super weird we got an NFT craze parody and a Beanie Baby craze parody in the same season. ‘Course, obsessive toy collecting is an evergreen source of comedy, so the latter holds up a bit better. (Also helps that I think the nostalgia cycle has gotten around to looking back fondly on Beanie Baby Mania.)
  • The plot’s kind of reminiscent of “That Darn Katz”, what with aliens using their irresistible cuteness to infiltrate Earth. Also reminiscent of a Philip K. Dick story that I won’t name here, ’cause, spoilers.
  • The casual way Admirella was introduced made me think they must be from an earlier episode or one of the movies, and I just forgot. But, nope, far as I can discover, this is their first appearance.
  • Of the jokes that worked best for me, I’m particularly fond of Admirella and Zapp laughing at Kiff for thinking Amphibios 9 might be the important planet that’s in danger. “Important means Earth!”