Futurama - "The Thief of Baghead"

Season 7, Episode 4

One of the biggest, knottiest question that I try to tackle with these reviews is just what makes for a “good” episode of Futurama. Obviously the ones that are big on the moments of pathos are winners, and I know I’ve put a lot of words down about what makes for a bad episode. But there always seems to be a je ne sais quoi to the proceedings, an X-factor that pulls everything together and makes it all work as a whole. Or at least that’s my new theory, as I’m having a hard time figuring out how tonight’s episode, which had a lot of things that I like, somehow left me feeling as if something was missing.

Tonight’s episode started with what seemed like a slam-dunk premise: Bender gets a job as a paparazzo. Much like seeing him as a father two weeks ago, this seemed primed to tap into Bender’s narcissistic and misanthropic nature, and give the audience a gleeful romp through the world of amorality. This episode didn’t ended up being about that, but it did go to a equally fulfilling place about the dangers of id, ego and celebrity worship.

Unlike last week’s episode, which felt like a bunch of cobbled together bits rather than a whole story, the twists and turns mostly worked here, since, as Langdon Cobb’s monologue showed, it was about the entire celebrity complex – the paparazzi, the stars, and how celebrity worships benefits both parties. As such, these bits of plot didn’t feel so random, and added up to mark a thematic whole. And speaking of twists, the idea that Landon Cobb was a form of quantum space lichen was rather brilliant, a piece of sci-fi junk science that sounds cool, wasn’t predictable, and helps to forward the storyline.

There was also a good deal of plot-setting and foreshadowing that worked here, from Calculon’s presence in the beginning of the episode, and the seemingly-random-at-first fungus ego dog. Both of these things seemed a bit like world-setting scenery at first, but when they got called on again later in the episode, they felt like their presence was suddenly earned. Sometimes in order to make an episode’s plot work, Futurama will pile a lot of random bits and dues ex machinas into 22 minutes in order to make a story move, but thankfully that wasn’t the case here.

So then what didn’t work about this episode? Well, I would like to point out that the one-liners here were neither as frequent, nor as funny, as they are when the show is working at its top-notch level. It was of course still funny, and there were some great sight gags to make up for the difference, but it didn’t feel like a proper comedic episode of the show with the dearth of good jokes. Obviously, this wasn’t an episode for pathos, where the jokes don’t nearly matter as much. Not all episodes of Futurama need jokes to work, but this was definitely one of those that did.

But I would hate to rest the blame for the shortcomings of this episode solely on a lack of jokes, even if I can’t place my finger on another problem. There was some missing element, and whatever that lack was left the center of this episode just a bit too lifeless for my tastes. So you know what? Didn’t it seem like the commercial breaks were extra long this time around? So let’s just blame it on the running time. Yeah, sure, why not.

Quotes and Other Thoughts:

As throw-away first acts go, this one with the futuristic aquarium was pretty good. Sure it didn’t go anywhere, but it was an interesting concept beautifully rendered.

This week in opening captions: “If this show’s a-rockin’, don’t come a-knockin’.”

“You’re no doubt curious why I tricked you all into hang-gliding here…or something…”

“I’m trying to enjoy a nice day out with the actors who play my TV family.”

“At last, we can enjoy our studio mandated quality time.”

“Man, I’ve never had anyone try so hard to digest me.”

“Even though it’s my first day, I want to you all to know that I’m better than you. Stay outta my way!”

“They feed on the attention of their prey.” “Just like the noble buffalo.” “Nothing like the buffalo!”

“Not soul – life force. It’s totally scientific.”

“Let’s just give up and go to the aquarium again.”

“He beats me out for every award, every role, every paternity suit…”

“That’s Romeo and Juliet, by will.i.am Shakespeare.”

“Calculon, you can’t kill yourself!” “I’m a celebrity! I can kill whoever I want!”

“The attention Cobb is receiving is inflating his ego – he’s going totally Kanye.”

“Hey, Calculon is dead.”