Good news everyone! The future is bright, or at least in HD,
as Matt Groening’s acclaimed sci-fi spoof
returns with another out-of-this-world thirteen episodes on Blu-Ray. Once
thought to consist of the series’ last-ever episodes, Futurama: The Complete Season 6 continues the adventures of
cryogenically frozen pizza delivery boy, Philip J. Fry, and his unorthodox
co-workers of Planet Express. This brand new 2-disc set contains the latter
half of the first batch of episodes produced to make their debut on Comedy
Central following a seven year hiatus. And, while the first half may have left
viewers feeling a little cold, this time around, fans are expectedly hopeful
that the Planet Express crew will deliver.
Indeed, there are plenty of golden moments, reminiscent of
the show’s original, near-flawless, 72-episode run, some of which are rather
innovative: Benderama sees Bender
create infinite scaled-down duplicates of himself that threaten to consume all
matter in the universe, while Cold
Warriors, interweaved with flashbacks of Fry’s childhood relationship with
his dad, unexpectedly manages to tug at the heartstrings by its conclusion.
Other highlights include Law and Oracle,
a work of comedic genius that spoofs both Police
Academy and Tron simultaneously,
while Overclockwise is so fine an
episode, it would serve as an apt conclusion to the series overall.
Sadly though, it’s not all good news. While none of the
episodes are completely unwatchable, there are notable inconsistencies in terms
of character development and continuity. Leela’s obsession with hunting down a
four-dimensional space whale in Mobius
Dick seems out-of-character, while the intensity of her relationship with
Fry seems to vary throughout, from ‘strictly platonic’ to a full-blown romance.
Part of what made Futurama’s original
series so compelling and, at times, touching, was the use of such story arcs,
and the absence of any structurally sound, ongoing back-story makes this season
on the whole seem a little hollow, despite a fair amount of well-written and
engaging episodes.
In addition, Special features are a little thin on the
ground, but nonetheless of decent quality, with the usual batch of deleted
scenes and audio commentary on every episode. Also included are a couple of
behind-the-scenes featurettes, which are enjoyable, if a little short.
Ultimately, this box set poses something of a mixed bag. Yet
despite its occasional inconsistencies, the series at this point remains vastly
enjoyable, and the pros undeniably outweigh the cons. It may not live up to the
standards of the original series, but this set showcases a welcome return to a
show that’s a thousand years ahead of its time. In the words of a certain
cigar-smoking, beer-guzzling robot, “We’re back, baby!”
7/10
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