Futurama [Fox, Comedy Central, Hulu]

CrabRevolution · 10-02-2022 2:46pm

I am a huge fan of the original run of Futurama, and also the films. The Comedy Central incarnation did nothing for me and after seeing a few episodes I actively avoided watching or reading about any of the comedy central episodes lest my overall view of the programme become influenced by it.

Based on that I find it hard to get excited about new episodes. I'll probably give it a chance on the low likelihood that it recreates the Futurama of 20 years ago.

pixelburp · 10-02-2022 4:03pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118610560#Comment_118610560

I think the Comedy Central period had some of the show's best and worst episodes. Couldn't give you a hitlist of the cream of the crop but there were some excellent ones.

Penn · 10-02-2022 4:15pm

John DiMaggio seemingly not returning as Bender. Role likely to be recast.

pixelburp · 10-02-2022 4:25pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118611219#Comment_118611219

Ah jaysus, well then. DiMaggio's voice was a big part of why the character worked; I can't honestly see anyone filing that role and working.

Useless Lump · 10-02-2022 5:04pm

This is great news.

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118611270#Comment_118611270

Agreed. He IS Bender however he is not not in this revival. Seems like he might still be negotiating.

How long does it take these days to from table read to finished project in animation?

CrabRevolution · 10-02-2022 5:54pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118611162#Comment_118611162

It could just be me personally but I just didn't sense from the episodes I saw that the CC run recreated the 'feel' that the original 99-03 series had. The films were slightly off as well but not too much, and I could give them a bit more leeway since they were films and not the episodic TV series. The CC episodes just seemed wackier and more modern Simpsons like (which may seem a bit of a ridiculous complaint considering the original run could have the crew doing just about anything with anyone in any part of the universe in any given episode).

It also seemed far more intent on pushing very topical issues (for the time). Not that the original run wasn't (e.g. how it depicted politics and the military as analogues of the early 21st century), but the CC run absolutely homed in on an extremely precise topic of its time and just nakedly crammed it into a story in a Futurama episode. Episodes like proposition infinity or the eye device were just so unsubtle that they didn't feel like the Futurama of old.

Again, could just be my taste and a sense of nostalgia ain't what it used to be, but I never warmed to the CC Futurama.

pixelburp · 15-02-2022 4:36pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118611495#Comment_118611495

Dunno about exact timescales but presumably animation can take less time than live action so we might see it sooner than other shows. Heck you don't even need the actors in the same booth for recording: IIRC Archer almost never had its cast share a studio.

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118611730#Comment_118611730

Honestly it's so long now I don't even remember what it was exactly that the good CC episodes brought to the table. Must see what those episodes were, if I can remember, and where you can even view them these days (especially this side of the Pond)

Useless Lump · 15-02-2022 6:10pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118635566#Comment_118635566

Honestly I thought animation takes longer.

I know Clone Wars (does CG animation takes longer than hand drawn?) did the voice recording years in advance and that sometimes an actor was alone or even not in the same country (David Tennant did his part in London).

pixelburp · 16-02-2022 4:12pm

Seems like John DiMaggio is drawing a line over the issue of voice actors' relative pay. So I guess if he does eventually appear, the question will be whether he simply took a pay-cheque too large to refuse - or if he forced the studio to pay everyone else as much.

https://twitter.com/TheJohnDiMaggio/status/1493769815353225217?s=20