Reincarnation

The Futurama episode "Reincarnation" was the last of the season. The episode is split into three segments. The first segment is in black and white, the second being an 8-bit video game and the third is anime.

The story of these three segments are loosely connected. Basically, a Diamondium comet is spotted and the crew goes to gather dust from it. Now there are a lot of things to like in this episode.

In each story, the different kinds of animation are effectively, yet affectionately lampooned. It's clear that this episode was a labor of love for all involved. Each segment is successful and uniquely funny in the way they explore the different platforms.

The 6th season of Futurama, I think accurately, has been accused of having some quality issues. Then episodes like this one come along and remind us all why Futurama developed such a cult following and ultimately started airing new episodes again.

Although it is already on its 7th season in the US, it took me a while to catch up with the new episodes that saw this show come back from being cancelled. I did so with a careful tread because the various DVD films of the show that were part of this returning, were actually not that great in the whole. I wasn't sure if the show would be able to return to its best or if it would continue the hit and miss tone of the film. Disappointingly the sixth season does rather continue this path and, while some episodes are very good, the majority here are not that good and only deliver the odd laugh here and there.

The key thing is the writing, much like The Simpsons, it isn't just about making references and having funny lines, it is about them being smart and being within a solid frame of a plot, but here we seem to have far too many messy plots without any reason (ie they are not funny or engaging to cover the mess) while also having references that just don't work. I know I watched these episodes a year after broadcast but I was surprised by some of the pop culture references that were used heavily for some episodes. So Susan Boyle (Boil here) is a weird one in an episode digging at iPhone and Twitter – none of these are topical as things but more importantly the episode didn't do anything with them that was topical, it felt, as many episodes did, like it was much older than it was. Likewise we have episodes riffing off the Da Vinci Code and Minority Report in a way that suggests the episodes are really on the cutting edge, as opposed to running with things already passing to the back of our minds.

There are other episodes where lots of plotting occurs for very little benefit in terms of engagement or humour; body swapping, forbidden relationships, time-travel etc – nothing sillier than previous seasons but yet not funny enough to justify how silly they are. Indeed the episode built around a robot/human relationship only really made me laugh once with the line about adults being free to do whatever they want together in the privacy of their own homes, only for Zoidberg to proclaim "or alone" or words to that effect. The later episodes do get better – perhaps not in terms of coming up with stories, but certainly they delivered a few more laughs per episode and I did enjoy the season finale a lot (the episode with three segments done in different styles).

I had looked forward to the return of this show and this season had enough good line or funny character but generally the writing is weaker than it should be. The plots were mainly things that happened while I waited for a funny throwaway moment to happen off to the side – and while you can get away with this some time if you are funny enough, but this season rides that too long with too few laughs. Has its moments but not up to its best and maybe not enough to make me come back for the next season.

Pros: Fleischer Bros and 8-bit spoofs favorites of mine (also enjoyed anime segment as well) Cons: Cuebert in the anime spoof