Futurama (season 4)

Futurama
Season 4
DVD cover for the 2012 re-release of Volume Four featuring Amy Wong
No. of episodes	18
Release
Original network	Fox
Original release	February 10, 2002 (2002-02-10) – August 10, 2003 (2003-08-10)
Season chronology
← Previous Season 3 Next → Season 5
List of episodes

The fourth season of Futurama began airing in 2002 and concluded after 18 episodes on August 10, 2003.

The complete 18 episodes of the season have been released on a box set called Futurama: Volume Four, on DVD and VHS. It was first released in Region 2 on November 24, 2003, with releases in other regions following in 2004. The season was re-released as Futurama: Volume 4, with entirely different packaging to match the newer season releases on July 17, 2012. ^[1]

This is the last season that composer, Christopher Tyng, used a live orchestra before switching to a produced score, starting with Season 5. This is also the last season of the show to air on Fox.

Episodes

See also: List of Futurama episodes

No. overall	No. in season	Title	Directed by	Written by	Original air date	Prod. code	U.S. viewers (millions)
55	1	"Kif Gets Knocked Up a Notch"	Wes Archer	Bill Odenkirk	January 12, 2003 (January 12, 2003)	4ACV01	5.73 [2]
Amy's relationship with Kif leads to pregnancy... Kif being the pregnant one. But Amy fears that she will not be able to handle the burdens of motherhood, much to Kif's dismay.
56	2	"Leela's Homeworld"	Mark Ervin	Kristin Gore	February 17, 2002 (February 17, 2002)	4ACV02	5.64 [3]
When Bender disposes nuclear waste in the sewers, the angry mutants drag him, Fry, and Leela down to the depths to be mutated. As they attempt to escape, two hooded figures manage to convince the mutants to let them go, and it's through chasing after these two that Leela discovers that the lost homeworld she's been looking for all her life has been much closer than she thought.
57	3	"Love and Rocket"	Brian Sheesley	Dan Vebber	February 10, 2002 (February 10, 2002)	4ACV03	6.27 [4]
After landing a major contract with a romance factory in Wisconsin and using the money to update the company, Bender falls deeply in love with the Planet Express ship autopilot's female voice setting (voiced by Sigourney Weaver). Meanwhile, Fry searches for the perfect candy heart to properly convey his feelings for Leela.
58	4	"Less Than Hero"	Susie Dietter	Ron Weiner	March 2, 2003 (March 2, 2003)	4ACV04	7.00 [5]
Dr. Zoidberg's mysterious miracle cream gives Fry and Leela superpowers. Teaming up with Bender, they form the New Justice Team, under the respective alter egos of Captain Yesterday, Clobberella, and Super King. But Leela's new duties as a superheroine put a strain on her relationship with her parents.
59	5	"A Taste of Freedom"	James Purdum	Eric Horsted	December 22, 2002 (December 22, 2002)	4ACV05	4.20 [6]
When Zoidberg publicly devours an Earth flag on Freedom Day, he is sentenced to death for his anarchic behavior. In protest, the Decapodians come to Zoidberg's aid by invading Earth, teaching the populace the true meaning of freedom.
60	6	"Bender Should Not Be Allowed on TV"	Ron Hughart	Lewis Morton	August 3, 2003 (August 3, 2003)	4ACV06	4.38 [7]
"All My Circuits" holds an audition to replace the part of Calculon's son after the original actor has a literal breakdown on-set, and Bender lands the part, despite not being a child robot actor. Soon, Bender's uninhibited behavior proves to be a bad influence on children, and an outraged Bender leads a protest group to get himself banned from the airwaves.
61	7	"Jurassic Bark"	Swinton O. Scott III	Eric Kaplan	November 17, 2002 (November 17, 2002)	4ACV07	5.98 [8]
Fry discovers his dog Seymour is being exhibited in a museum as a fossil, and takes it to Professor Farnsworth's lab to be revived. However, Bender is displeased with the lack of attention he has been receiving and becomes increasingly jealous of Seymour's fossil.
62	8	"Crimes of the Hot"	Peter Avanzino	Aaron Ehasz	November 10, 2002 (November 10, 2002)	4ACV08	4.15 [9]
The rapid increase in global warming (despite Leela telling Fry that nuclear winter canceled it out on "Xmas Story") is traced to a ventilation flaw that Professor Farnsworth failed to correct in his first robot prototype. As a result, all robots are ordered to be destroyed, but Bender refuses to go without a fight after adopting a turtle.
63	9	"Teenage Mutant Leela's Hurdles"	Bret Haaland	Jeff Westbrook	March 30, 2003 (March 30, 2003)	4ACV09	5.89 [10]
The crew's attempts to de-age Professor Farnsworth result in everyone returning to their more youthful stages. While Farnsworth seeks out a way to re-age the crew, the newly-teenaged Leela takes the opportunity to experience the parental childhood she never had.
64	10	"The Why of Fry"	Wes Archer	David X. Cohen	April 6, 2003 (April 6, 2003)	4ACV10	4.43 [11]
Still unable to impress Leela, Fry sadly suspects that he has no importance in life - until Nibbler takes him on a mission to prevent the brains (last seen on "The Day The Earth Stood Stupid") from destroying the universe. In the process, Fry learns what really happened when he was cryogenically frozen on December 31, 1999.
65	11	"Where No Fan Has Gone Before"	Patty Shinagawa	David A. Goodman	April 21, 2002 (April 21, 2002)	4ACV11	6.54 [12]
Fry leads the crew on a quest across the galaxy to regain the forbidden 79 episodes of "Star Trek: The Original Series", where they encounter the original cast of the show - as well as their captor, an obsessive energy being named Melllvar.
66	12	"The Sting"	Brian Sheesley	Patric M. Verrone	June 1, 2003 (June 1, 2003)	4ACV12	3.86 [13]
A mission to collect honey from deadly space bees leads to Fry's death from a stinger. Leela, who is wracked with remorse, soon finds solace in eating space bee honey, where she can meet Fry in her dreams. But as the hallucinations intensify, Leela must fight her addiction to the honey.
67	13	"Bend Her"	James Purdum	Michael Rowe	July 20, 2003 (July 20, 2003)	4ACV13	4.32 [14]
In order to compete in the Fembot's division of the 3004 Olympics, Bender is surgically rebuilt to become a woman named Coilette. Her trashy behavior angers Leela and Amy, who thinks she's making women look bad, but catches the eye of Calculon, with whom she develops a strong and confusing celebrity relationship.
68	14	"Obsoletely Fabulous"	Dwayne Carey-Hill	Dan Vebber	July 27, 2003 (July 27, 2003)	4ACV14	4.57 [15]
Bender is incompatible with Professor Farnsworth's new Robot 1-X, but rather than get an upgrade, Bender escapes to a desert island to start his life anew. There, he meets several other outdated robots and receives a downgrade, then leads his new comrades in a rebellion against technology.
69	15	"The Farnsworth Parabox"	Ron Hughart	Bill Odenkirk	June 8, 2003 (June 8, 2003)	4ACV15	4.79 [16]
Professor Farnsworth forbids the crew to look inside a mysterious box. Leela can't resist taking a peek, discovering the box to be a gateway to a parallel universe.
70	16	"Three Hundred Big Boys"	Swinton O. Scott III	Eric Kaplan	June 15, 2003 (June 15, 2003)	4ACV16	4.39 [17]
A $300 refund for all taxpayers results in a series of interconnected stories, following the Planet Express crew's adventures in spending the money.
71	17	"Spanish Fry"	Peter Avanzino	Ron Weiner	July 13, 2003 (July 13, 2003)	4ACV17	3.95 [18]
During a camping trip, Fry is abducted by aliens, who harvest his nose as an aphrodisiac. The crew traces Fry's missing nose to Lrrr, leader of the Omicronians, who decides that Fry's "lower horn" would be a much better aphrodisiac to jump start his stagnant marriage with Ndnd.
72	18	"The Devil's Hands Are Idle Playthings"	Bret Haaland	Ken Keeler	August 10, 2003 (August 10, 2003)	4ACV18	4.31 [19]
Desperate to learn how to play the holophonor in order to impress Leela, Fry swaps hands with the Robot Devil. He goes on to become a skilled holophonor player, winning Leela's heart and penning an opera about her life story, but the Robot Devil still has a trick or two up his sleeve.

Reception

The fourth season was met with critical acclaim and remains popular among the show's fanbase. Andy Patrizio of IGN wrote a positive review of the season, giving it a score of 8 out of 10. ^[20]

Home releases

The original Volume Four home release.

Futurama: Volume Four
Set details			Special Features
18 episodes 4-disc set (DVD) 1.33:1 aspect ratio Languages: English (Dolby Surround) Subtitles: English SDH French Spanish			Optional full-length commentaries on all 18 episodes, plus one bonus commentary featuring Matt Groening, David X. Cohen, and the writers on "Jurassic Bark". Deleted scenes from 16 episodes Storyboards for "Kif Gets Knocked Up a Notch" Concept art still gallery "How to draw Professor Farnsworth and Bender" featurette International clips Animatic and 3D models Hidden feature with David Goodman and John DiMaggio easter egg Hidden script table read Easter egg (media) Hidden unused title captions Easter egg (media) Hidden poster in alien writing Easter egg (media)
DVD/VHS release dates
Region 1	Region 2	Region 4
August 24, 2004	November 24, 2003	February 18, 2004

Futurama: Volume 4
Set details			Special Features
18 episodes 4-disc set 1.33:1 aspect ratio Languages: English (Dolby Surround) Subtitles: English SDH French Spanish			Optional full-length commentaries on all 18 episodes Deleted scenes from 16 episodes Storyboards for "Kif Gets Knocked Up a Notch" Concept art still gallery "How to draw Professor Farnsworth and Bender" featurette International clips Animatic and 3D models Hidden feature with David Goodman and John DiMaggio easter egg Hidden script table read easter egg Hidden unused title captions easter egg Hidden poster in alien writing easter egg
DVD release dates
Region 1	Region 2	Region 4
July 17, 2012 [1]	—	March 13, 2013 [21]

References

1. Kyle Nolan (August 6, 2012). "Cool new cover art on Futurama Vol. 1-4 DVD re-releases". Archived from the original on June 23, 2012. Retrieved June 8, 2012.
2. "National Nielsen Viewership (Jan. 6-12)". The Los Angeles Times . January 15, 2003. Retrieved June 10, 2023– via Newspapers.com.
3. "National Nielsen Viewership (Feb. 11-17)". The Los Angeles Times . February 22, 2002. Retrieved June 10, 2023– via Newspapers.com.
4. "National Nielsen Viewership (Feb. 4-10)". The Los Angeles Times . February 13, 2002. Retrieved June 10, 2023– via Newspapers.com.
5. "National Nielsen Viewership (Feb. 24-March 2)". The Los Angeles Times . March 5, 2003. Retrieved June 10, 2023– via Newspapers.com.
6. "National Nielsen Viewership (Dec. 16-22)". The Los Angeles Times . December 25, 2002. Retrieved June 10, 2023– via Newspapers.com.
7. "National Nielsen Viewership (July 28-Aug. 3)". The Los Angeles Times . August 6, 2003. Retrieved June 10, 2023– via Newspapers.com.
8. "National Nielsen Viewership (Nov. 11-17)". The Los Angeles Times . November 20, 2002. Retrieved June 10, 2023– via Newspapers.com.
9. "National Nielsen Viewership (Nov. 4-10)". The Los Angeles Times . November 13, 2002. Retrieved June 10, 2023– via Newspapers.com.
10. "National Nielsen Viewership (March 24–30)". The Los Angeles Times . April 2, 2003. Retrieved June 10, 2023– via Newspapers.com.
11. "National Nielsen Viewership (March 31-April 6)". The Los Angeles Times . April 9, 2003. Retrieved June 10, 2023– via Newspapers.com.
12. "National Nielsen Viewership (April 15–21)". The Los Angeles Times . April 24, 2002. Retrieved June 10, 2023– via Newspapers.com.
13. "National Nielsen Viewership (May 26-June 1)". The Los Angeles Times . June 4, 2003. Retrieved June 10, 2023– via Newspapers.com.
14. "National Nielsen Viewership (July 14–20)". The Los Angeles Times . July 23, 2003. Retrieved June 10, 2023– via Newspapers.com.
15. "National Nielsen Viewership (July 21–27)". The Los Angeles Times . July 30, 2003. Retrieved June 10, 2023– via Newspapers.com.
16. "National Nielsen Viewership (June 2–8)". The Los Angeles Times . June 11, 2003. Retrieved June 10, 2023– via Newspapers.com.
17. "National Nielsen Viewership (June 9–15)". The Los Angeles Times . June 18, 2003. Retrieved June 10, 2023– via Newspapers.com.
18. "National Nielsen Viewership (July 7–13)". The Los Angeles Times . July 16, 2003. Retrieved June 10, 2023– via Newspapers.com.
19. "National Nielsen Viewership (Aug. 4-10)". The Los Angeles Times . August 13, 2003. Retrieved June 10, 2023– via Newspapers.com.
20. Patrizio, Andy (August 5, 2004). "Futurama Volume 4". IGN. Archived from the original on March 23, 2012. Retrieved April 22, 2018.
21. "Futurama; S4". Sanity. Archived from the original on September 20, 2014. Retrieved August 19, 2013.

External links

• Futurama at IMDb