A Future for Futurama: Long after the hit show, Futurama, was canceled- its memory still rang in the minds of fans everywhere. Hearing this ring- Matt Groening took it upon himself to revive this glorious franchise as Seth McFarlane has done before him. Thanks to the popular reissuing of television on DVD format- Futurama received this new form of distribution and gave fans a chance to voice their longings for more episodes.

After Bender’s Big Score was well received on DVD, Futurama continues their fifth season premier by adding the second installment, Beast with a Billion Backs. These videos are comprised of 4 seamless episodes that are tied together with one continuous plot. The entire season will consist of 4 DVDs- 4 chapters each.

Beast with a Billion Backs begins exactly where Bender’s Big Score left off. If you haven’t seen Bender’s Big Score yet, it’s okay because all you need to know is that Bender created a large rip in the universe leading to an unknown region. Fortunately, the first few seconds of the new movie recaps that for the viewers.

This time around, Futurama gets a much more cohesive plot that gets strung along quite quickly. The characters change for no reason and love interests change faster than the scenes, but that is what we’ve come to love about Futurama. All of the voices are there and the animation is spot-on. It’s almost like Futurama never left and that feels good.

The first chapter begins rather forcefully and when put into perspective of the season as a whole, is the most wearisome to watch. It sets up the background romances (introducing Brittany Murphy’s voice over talents as Fry’s new love interest) and the beginnings of Bender’s obsession with a secret brother of robots called The League of Robots. Some of the information is useless and feels like it took up too much screen time (eg. Did you know Amy and Kif were in love? Did you know that Amy’s aristocratic parents were against the relationship?). All-in-all, the best scenes in part 1 was a new game invented to resolve academic disputes called DeathBall!

The second chapter is all about the great bending master himself, Bender! Quite a lot of normal Bender behavior is mixed with the same witty dialogue that we’re used to. We get great cameos from all of the older robots including Calculon, as well as my personal favorite, Hedonismbot. The story really begins to pick up with this chapter and is a great lead-in to the next and most action-packed portion.

The third chapter contains the most plot development and action sequences out of the four. Technically, this is the climax of the movie even though it is a bit premature. The beast with a billion backs is revealed outside of the space rip and conducts a reign of terror on Earth. The themes presented in this chapter are sexually explicit, so beware! I won’t give away too much information in fear of spoiling the action, but let’s just say that you will certainly be very attentive during the next twenty minutes or so.

The fourth and final chapter is a bit of an anti-climax in the sense of plot line. Bender’s subplot eventually becomes intertwined with the rest of the characters, which leads to more classic Futurama scenes. The chapter itself inspires a mixed reaction- both of boredom and general uneasiness. The subject matter is a bit unorthodox for a such a mainstream cartoon show, but given Futurama’s unorthodoxy- fans shouldn’t be surprised. All of the storylines are closed pretty tightly with very few loose ends or continuity issues (unlike the first movie). Fans are then left with a general feeling of satisfaction as no cliffhangers are presented for the third release.

Overall, I was pleased to see Leela’s character knocked down a few pegs in terms of screen time and it was a healthy change to see more of the famous Zap Brannigan. The title is a bit confusing as the beast in question is a tentacle monster (No spoiler alert there, as the DVD cover has this image prominently displayed) voiced by David Cross. The movie wasn’t shy of cameos from past shows but there didn’t seem to be as much as Bender’s Big Score. The movie did present subject matter a bit extreme for the young and since the movie was not rated by the MPAA, there is nothing adequately displaying this warning.

The DVD was released on Tuesday, June 26th and was at par in terms of presentation with the previous releases of Futurama and is packaged with original artwork. The features include a few behind the scenes looks at the making of Futurama, a compilation of cinematics from the Futurama PS2 video game (that actually creates a full episode) and deleted scenes. There’s also a first look at the third movie, called Bender’s Game. Futurama has always treated their DVDs with flair and this one is no exception. It isn’t offered in a high definition format unfortunately, as I believe that animated features make the best high definition viewings.

Futurama’s Beast with a Billion Backs may be intended for veteran fans of the show, but that doesn’t mean that beginners can’t enjoy it. Either way, the show built for science fiction lovers is back in action- so if you’re quiet, you may actually hear the combined voices of nerds everywhere rejoicing! Shhh…

GOD KING GRADE: (B)   ★★★★★