Saying Goodbye to Futurama

Paulie says goodbye….

Needless to say I’m pretty sad about one of my favorite shows leaving us prematurely but I suppose Comedy Central has its reasons and as we know, television is a fickle business.

Futurama has been and always will be one of my top five favorite cartoons. I don’t need to explain why, if you’re reading this article, you already know why this show was so magical. It made us laugh and it made us cry (go watch Jurassic Bark right now if you don’t believe me,) and gave us a universe I actually wouldn’t mind living in. It seemed like a world full of dangers and exciting adventures, but the dangers were comfortable, inviting, and most importantly, funny. Each week we tuned in as the Planet Express crew got into some kind of ridiculous adventure that left us crying laugh-tears and we couldn’t wait to watch again the following week.

This show could have been terrible, but it wasn’t. Matt Groening was directly involved in it, and he doesn’t give us junk. What he gave us was a smart, funny show that hardcore and casual fans alike could enjoy. Nerds, I suppose this is more of a eulogy than it is an Op-Ed article, and for that I will not apologize. See, we all lost a dear friend today and we must remember.

There was a time, Blabberfans, when I was in dire straits. I had no job and no purpose. I was working at a school and I got laid off. My first job out of college gave me a pink slip on the Friday before Memorial Day Weekend of 2008 and I was devastated. I didn’t know it then, but I would be unemployed for the better part of two years because the Great Recession had just started kicking the collective skulls of Americans everywhere. Needless to say, in those dark and depressing days I needed to laugh and Philip j. Fry, Dr. Zoidberg, Leela, Bender, and the rest became my go-to show (along with Scrubs,) to alleviate the feeling of worthlessness losing your job brings.

Though I still was active socially, I became something of a recluse at night. My worries wouldn’t be able to follow me around if I clocked into bed at 7:30 every night. The bills would still be there, sure, but for a few hours I could relax and smile a bit because Futurama was that kind of show. Even if you weren’t bowling over with laughter at every joke, it had a way of making you smile.

So for that, Planet Express, thank you. You got me through some really difficult times when I questioned myself worth, my future, and if I’d ever find gainful employment again.

As time went on, Futurama did too. When I met my girlfriend, Kat, we’d watch my old Futurama DVD’s and I’d make her laugh (still do to this very day,) with my spot on impressions of Zoidberg, Kiff, Morbo, Nixon, and Zapp Brannigan. The laughter drew us closer and we still watch the reruns today and the new episodes when we can watch together.

So thanks, Planet Express. You played a small part in helping me grow closer to the girl I love. I’m sorry to see you go, old friend, but these things happen I guess.

We’re a hell of a lot poorer now that this show will no longer be airing. It was smart. Written by nerds for nerds but with enough good sense to make it accessible to anyone who wants a good laugh, or even those of us who want a good science fiction show because SYFY is doing just a smashing job at giving us really good science fiction these days. This show made quantum physics cool and can even claim its own mathematical formula. Let’s see The Big Bang Theory do that! It was a thinking person’s comedy show gift wrapped in crazy scenarios and plenty of catchphrases to keep us coming back week after week. They handled time travel as good as that British doctor show, mutants as well as that comic book company, and still made us give a shit about the plucky crew from beyond the stars.

So bye, bye, Futurama. I suppose I’ll always have the reruns and the memories, good and bad that come with them.

Love,

Paulie Von Doom.

P.S.- Comedy Central: Bite My Shiny, Metal Ass!