Written by: Ken KeelerDirected by: Brain SheesleyDN’s Ranking: Bad / Nonessential / ESSENTIAL I knew going in that I would call this one essential but I wasn’t sure how I was going to justify that – I usually take subjective … Continue reading Futurama, Season One, Episode Twelve, “When Aliens Attack”

Written by: J Stewart BurnsDirected by: Bret HaalandDN’s Ranking: Bad / NONESSENTIAL / Essential There’s been occasional discussion in the comments on how, for being done by the most overeducated cartoon writers’ room in history, Futurama rarely churns out sophisticated … Continue reading Futurama, Season One, Episode Eleven, “Mars University”

Written by: Eric HorstedDirected by: Peter AvanzinoDN’s Ranking: Bad / NONESSENTIAL / Essential This is a great one to explore the concept of a ‘nonessential’ Futurama episode, because it’s funny without its main ideas quite sparking to life. If I … Continue reading Futurama, Season One, Episode Nine, “A Flight To Remember”

Written By: Eric KaplanDirected By: Rich MooreDN’s Ranking: Bad / Nonessential / ESSENTIAL I’m genuinely shocked this one comes so early! I knew Futurama found its feet relatively early compared to most television comedies, but somehow I always missed that … Continue reading Futurama, Season One, Episode Nine, “Hell Is Other Robots”

Written By: Lewis MortonDirected By: Susie DietterDN’s Ranking: ESSENTIAL Here we go! This is the first truly great episode of the show. The ones building up to it are good and even moving, but I don’t revisit them anywhere near … Continue reading Futurama, Season One, Episode Eight, “A Big Piece Of Garbage”

Written by: J Stewart BurnsDirected by: Jeffery Lynch and Kevin O’Brian We’re still in an era of firsts, and I would call this the first middling-in-a-good-way episode. Unlike The Simpsons, I do feel comfortable ranking episodes of the show based … Continue reading Futurama, Season One, Episode Seven, “My Three Suns”

Written By: Ron HughartDirected By: Gregg Vanzo I remember this as a mediocre episode, not because it wasn’t that funny, but because it was the most major example of the show not quite finding its feet yet. Fry’s defining trait, … Continue reading Futurama, Season One, Episode Six, “A Fishful Of Dollars”

Written By: Heather Lombard and Evan GoreDirected By: Peter Avanzino and Carlos Baeza From a certain point of view, this is the first ‘real’ episode of Futurama – the crew make a delivery to the Planet O’ The Week with … Continue reading Futurama, Season One, Episode Five, “Fear Of A Bot Planet”

Written By: Brian KelleyDirected By: Brian Scheesley I enjoy that we’re four episodes in and still having many fundamental aspects of the show established; people often describe this show (and others) as ‘planned, but I prefer the word ‘prepared’ because … Continue reading Futurama, Season One, Episode Four, “Love’s Labours Lost In Space”

Written by: Eric HorstedDirected by: Bret Haaland I always liked this episode, but now I can see it as proto-Futurama – an episode that has all the elements of the show, including a heartfelt emotional arc and many great one-liners, … Continue reading Futurama, Season One, Episode Three, “I, Roommate”

Written by: Ken KeelerDirected By: Phil Avanzino Should I say that I already see so many elements of what makes Futurama great, or should I say that the show was always great and it would, with time, lock into its … Continue reading Futurama, Season One, Episode Two, “The Series Has Landed”