Outside of The Simpsons, another animated sitcom introduced me to the world of adult animation during my middle school years. This show, while sharing a satirical essence with The Simpsons, distinguished itself with a futuristic, sci-fi twist. I am, of course, talking about Futurama, a science fiction comedy series that follows the adventures of a well-meaning but dimwitted pizza delivery boy who finds himself working for an interplanetary delivery company after being frozen for a millennium. Both of these shows happened to be created by Matt Groening, which naturally explains my interest in Futurama, given my fondness for The Simpsons.
Despite the rave reviews it garnered in the earlier seasons, I hadn’t stuck around with Futurama as much as I did with The Simpsons recently after my middle school years. Even as the show saw revivals by Comedy Central and Hulu, I found myself reluctant to revisit the series that had once been one of the staples of my teenage years. At least, not until the release of the latest season. Having recently returned to The Simpsons and enjoyed its newer episodes, I wondered if Futurama might offer a similar experience with its thirteenth season, or tenth if you want to go by production seasons.
If someone were to ask if they need to watch the previous seasons to view the recent season, I would say that it’s not a necessity. However, they do provide greater context on how bizarre the show can get with its futuristic misadventures and its cast of dysfunctional characters, especially in season one. Having watched the earlier seasons years ago, I already had a mindset that helped me grasp the recent season’s concept and adult humor, which was enough to help me tolerate this reunion. Watching the show’s thirteenth season over a decade later felt like reuniting with old friends, though a lot seemed to have happened during my absence. Nevertheless, the thirteenth season still showcases that even in the age of modern streaming, the future depicted in Futurama remains as humorously dystopian as ever.
The latest season, consisting of ten episodes, featured the expected blend of sci-fi antics and satirical commentaries we’d expect from Futurama. For example, “Destroy Tall Monsters” tackles height discrimination through Bender’s height problem, while “Wicked Human” explores the tension between religion and science as characters grapple with the mystery of people ascending to heaven. Some of its episodes stumble with formulaic sitcom plots, such as the third episode, “Fifty Shades of Green”, which explored the concept of soulmates amid Fry and Leela’s devolving relationship. However, the remaining ones delivered a fairly entertaining blend of satire and charisma that reminded me why I appreciated the show in the first place. One such example is its fifth episode, “Scared Screenless”, which depicted the children at a screen-free camp. I feel like this episode stood out the most due to its reflection of our current situation, where humanity is more connected with technology than ever, notably through cell phones. Additionally, it’s elevated by some pretty amusing gags that cleverly poke fun at our obsession with screens, treating “screen addiction” as any other form of addiction.
I hadn’t returned to Futurama since my teenage days, so it’s difficult for me to compare its thirteenth season with the previous ones. Regardless, I had enough experience to recognize that the series retains the wit and entertainment value, ensuring its future in today’s society. With a decent voice cast, solid animation, and moments of effective humor, season thirteen of Futurama is another entertaining addition to its revival on Hulu. Despite almost half of the episodes lacking some of the narrative intelligence, much like Fry himself, the rest were enough to convince me to give the show another shot, alongside my continued enjoyment of The Simpsons.