Well, shut my mouth. Last week I bemoaned Futurama falling into repetitive mediocrity, rehashing plots done often and better in previous seasons, and I wondered if the series could ever rise above that again. And then this week they proved they can still rise above that, thank you very much, by delivering a rollicking fun and hilarious episode!

So I’m left to wonder: why was I so bothered by the rehashed plots in last week’s episodes, but not in this week’s? ‘Cause this ep does rehash some old plots, make no mistake.

Heck, it starts off with that most well-worn bit of Futurama plotting: the crew doing a delivery mission that goes pear shaped. That one, at least, is easy to excuse: it’s less a plot in itself and more an impetus to get the plot started, with the story able to go any number of directions from there.

Now, the crew being duped by the DOOP into an underhanded deal: that plot is a bit more specific, and we’ve seen it before, with Zapp/Leela’s mom, the mission to the groping globular aliens, the whole war against the bouncing ball aliens.

Also repeated is the crew being captured and needing to escape – seen it done with Amazons, Egyptians, Slurm slugs, and a whole bunch of others I don’t feel like typing out here. Even the climax, with the planet wrecking bomb disguised as something innocuous, is reminiscent of the ending to “War Is the H Word”.

Yet, here, none of that bothers me. Is that just because there are pirates?

…

Mostly, yes – it’s ’cause of the pirates.

Sure, Futurama has also done space pirates before (they even recycle the “You know, pirates, but in space” line). But that was only for a single short scene – it left plenty of untapped pirate tropes still to explore, and this ep dives into ’em with gusto.

They just find so many fun ways to play with everything piratical. From the pirates being surprisingly progressive and democratic (though still, y’know, pirates), to silly visual gags like the skeleton crew member (named, of course, Jolly Roger), to Fry’s bizarre dynamic with the parrot, Buddy (“Like Fry! Like Fry!”), to a host of others about treasure maps and pirate names and derelict ships and going “Yarr!” (which even the cliche pirates think is a little old-fashioned).

The pirate setting gives the episode all the material it needs for loads and loads of creative jokes … certainly more than hot dogs did last week, anyway.

Though, even beyond the pirate stuff, this ep is buoyed up by what a relentlessly fast pace it sets. The jokes aren’t just good, but we move through them rapidfire, with a good sense of which are worth lingering on (“And Bender, if there’s time”) and which are good for precisely one laugh before moving on (“Zapp Sparrow”).

That fast pace also makes for a plot that … well, I won’t call it intricate or twisty. It’s still mostly a loose framework to hang jokes on. But there are enough shakeups and surprises to keep it all engaging – and ending with Admirella taking control of DOOP is a change that probably won’t affect anything, but the fact that they ended with a change to the setting of any sort is a refreshing surprise (normally, getting Futurama to change the status quo is like pulling teeth).

So, yeah, I had a great time with this one, and it gives me renewed hope for the rest of the season. And, having said that, let’s see how badly I’ve jinxed the next episode!