On the other place I constantly saw memes of shows that I thought ‘well if they’re that popular they must be pretty good’
Shows like:
Avatar, The Office, Parks and Rec and IT Crowd
I’ve watched them and I just don’t get it. They aren’t so amazing that they are worth that level of adoration IMO. Avatar has its good spots and Parks and Rec is pretty enjoyable but I cringe at American office and IT crowd is forgettable.
However a show I actually really like, Community, only started getting the same type of treatment after the pandemic because people watched it on Netflix. Although it’s still not as popular as these others. Are people just really basic or am I out of touch?
Anyway, what show did you watch and think ‘I don’t get what the fuss is about’? Maybe it was Community?
Futurama. I know it’s supposed to be “a parody” of the future rather than a representation of it, but there are times it just feels like one big PSA. It doesn’t age well at all, and the new season will age even worse, to the point where any child a decade from now is going to know what kind of people watched it, such as with its views on theology and politics which are trademark 90’s views.
It makes it even more annoying when some world event happens and people are like “Futurama predicted this” as if the show is a kind of scripture, such as the show predicting that robosexual marriage would become a thing. It’s like, I don’t know, science fiction was made to predict and give ideas to science?
It seems like you are mainly criticising fans (perhaps imaginary fans) rather than the show itself. I do agree that the later seasons are just not as good as the first ones, and personally I have little interest in the newest season, it never should have been revived in my opinion, it is just going to end up like the Simpsons.
I will gladly rewatch old episodes though, and no, not because I think it predicts anything, but because it is damn funny.
You are getting me curious. Could you give some examples of what trademark 90’s views on theology and politics are?
Out of curiosity, have you watched the Simpsons recently? I think, after season 31 or 32, it started getting better again. There are some really great episodes from two seasons ago.
The latest season of Futurama had two good episodes, but the rest were kind of weak. About the same level as season 9-10(Hulu season numbering). Those seasons were “meh” mostly but with three really amazing episodes (Free Will Hunting, Game of Tones, Meanwhile).
I watched Futurama trying to stay sane in grad school, as it was released on DVD. It’s straight-up comforting to watch now. Watching it when I’m stressed connects me emotionally to almost 20 years ago. I was stressed then but I made it out ok.
Imagine being 3000 years into the future and being told the United States has become the ruler of the world, that Richard Nixon was revived and became president just so he could be made fun of (nobody in a few years is going to think of him as the butt of the presidential line), that Nibbler’s species formed the universe by pooping out dark matter (again, the 90’s was the prime Stephen Hawking age, and the 2000’s were when the media had a big theology movement), Bender and “god” in the form of a galaxy, the beast with a billion backs, the robot devil (you have to wonder at this point how theological the show can get), etc.
They did the worldview equivalent of making a show made in the 70’s and set in the 70’s and expecting the show to not be dated.
Ok first of all, yes Futurama is dated by its pop culture references, that’s what happens when you make pop culture references. Second, Fry travelling into the future is used to make fun of the 20th century. The show isn’t about the future, it’s about now. The world of the future isn’t supposed to be believable it’s used as a vehicle for pointing out the absurdities of the 20th century.
But most of all it’s just a silly comedy with clever writing. Most Futurama memes are of one off gags and not what made the show truly funny. One of the huge mistakes they made with the newer seasons was constantly referencing old jokes, which is essentially the writers says “hey remember when this show was actually funny?”.
But I’m ranting now. Futurama has been memed to shit and the fan base embarrassingly loves to hype up the show and it’s all its PHD having writers. None of that captures what makes the show great. The first run of the show was just a solid, funny, witty show with a heart of gold.
This clip epitomizes Futurama for me.
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This clip epitomizes Futurama for me.
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