Ken Keeler | |
|---|---|
 Keeler at the 2010 San Diego Comic-Con | |
| Occupation | Television writer |
| Education | Harvard University (BA, PhD) Stanford University (MA) |
| Period | 1992–present |
| Genre | Comedy |
Ken Keeler is an American television producer and writer. He has written for numerous television series, most notably The Simpsons and Futurama . According to an interview with David X. Cohen, he proved a theorem that appears in the Futurama episode "The Prisoner of Benda". [1]
Keeler studied applied mathematics at Harvard University, graduating summa cum laude in 1983. He then gained a master's degree from Stanford in electrical engineering before returning to Harvard. [2] He earned a PhD in applied mathematics from Harvard in 1990. His doctoral thesis was "Map Representations and Optimal Encoding for Image Segmentation". [3]
After earning his doctorate, Keeler joined the Performance Analysis Department at AT&T Bell Laboratories. [4]
Keeler soon left Bell Labs to write for David Letterman and subsequently for various sitcoms, including several episodes of Wings , The Simpsons , Futurama , and The Critic , as well as the short-lived Fox claymation show The PJs . For The Simpsons, Keeler has written such episodes as "A Star Is Burns" (which series creator Matt Groening refused to be credited for, as he was opposed to the idea of The Simpsons crossing over with The Critic) and "The Principal and the Pauper" (which many fans – including Groening and voice actor Harry Shearer – disliked due to the massive changes in Principal Skinner's backstory). [5] [6]
Keeler was instrumental in the creation of Futurama , and served as a co-executive producer in its first three years, and as an executive producer in its fourth year. He was one of the show's most prolific writers, with fourteen episodes to his name (including the original series finale, "The Devil's Hands Are Idle Playthings", the Writers Guild Award-winning episodes "Godfellas" and "The Prisoner of Benda," and the second series finale "Meanwhile"). Keeler wrote many of the original songs on both The Simpsons and Futurama during his time with the shows. He also wrote the direct-to-DVD Futurama movies Bender's Big Score and Into the Wild Green Yonder .
Keeler is also a fan of (but of no relation to) Harry Stephen Keeler and won the fifth and twelfth annual Imitate Keeler Competitions. [8] [9] His Futurama episode "Time Keeps on Slippin'" was partly inspired by the Harry Stephen Keeler story "Strange Romance" from the novel Y. Cheung, Business Detective .
Matthew Abram Groening is an American cartoonist, writer, producer, and animator. He is best known as the creator of the comic strip Life in Hell (1977–2012) and the television series The Simpsons (1989–present), Futurama, and Disenchantment (2018–2023). The Simpsons is the longest-running U.S. primetime television series in history and the longest-running U.S. animated series and sitcom.
Futurama is an American animated science fiction sitcom created by Matt Groening for the Fox Broadcasting Company and later revived by Comedy Central, and then Hulu. The series follows the adventures of slacker Philip J. Fry, who is cryogenically preserved for 1,000 years and revived on December 31, 2999. Fry finds work at the interplanetary delivery company Planet Express, working alongside one-eyed mutant Leela and robot Bender. The series was envisioned by Groening in the mid-1990s while working on The Simpsons; he brought David X. Cohen aboard to develop storylines and characters to pitch the show to Fox.
Bender Bending Rodríguez is one of the main characters in the animated television series Futurama. He was conceived by the series' creators Matt Groening and David X. Cohen, and is voiced by John DiMaggio. He fulfills a comic, antihero-type role in the show, and is described by fellow character Leela as an "alcoholic, whore-mongering, chain-smoking gambler".
Philip J. Fry, commonly known mononymously by his surname, is a fictional character and the protagonist of the animated series Futurama. He is voiced by Billy West using a version of his own voice as he sounded when he was 25. He is a delivery boy from the 20th century who becomes cryogenically frozen and reawakens in the 30th century to become a delivery boy there with an intergalactic delivery company run by his 30th great-grandnephew, Professor Hubert J. Farnsworth. He is the best friend and roommate of Bender and the boyfriend and later fiancé of Leela.
Turanga Leela is a fictional character from the animated television series Futurama. Leela is spaceship captain, pilot, and head of all aviation services on board the Planet Express Ship. Throughout the series, she has an on-again, off-again relationship with Philip J. Fry, the central character in the series. The character, voiced by Katey Sagal, is named after the Turangalîla-Symphonie by Olivier Messiaen. She is one of the few characters in the cast to routinely display competence and the ability to command, and routinely saves the rest of the cast from disaster. However, she suffers extreme self-doubt because she has only one eye and grew up as a bullied orphan. She first believes herself an alien, but later finds out she is the least-mutated sewer mutant in the history of 31st-century Earth. Her family parodies aspects of pollution and undesirability associated with industrial New Jersey when compared with New York City.
The animated science fiction television program Futurama makes a number of satirical and humorous references to religion, including inventing several fictional religions which are explored in certain episodes of the series.
David Samuel Cohen, better known as David X. Cohen, is an American television writer. He began working on Beavis and Butt-Head, has written for The Simpsons, and served as the head writer, showrunner and executive producer of Futurama and a producer of Disenchantment.
"The Principal and the Pauper" is the second episode of the ninth season of the American animated television series The Simpsons and the 180th episode overall. It first aired on the Fox network in the United States on September 28, 1997. In the episode, Seymour Skinner begins to celebrate his twentieth anniversary as principal of Springfield Elementary School, when a man arrives claiming that Skinner has assumed his identity. Principal Skinner admits that his real name is Armin Tamzarian, and that he had thought the true Seymour Skinner, a friend from the Army, had died in the Vietnam War. Armin leaves Springfield, but is later persuaded to return as principal.
Principal Seymour Skinner is a recurring fictional character in the animated sitcom The Simpsons, who is voiced by Harry Shearer. He is the principal of Springfield Elementary School, which he struggles to control, and is constantly engaged in a battle against its inadequate resources, apathetic and bitter teachers, and often rowdy and unenthusiastic students, Bart Simpson being a standout example.
"Godfellas" is the twentieth episode in the third season of the American animated television series Futurama, and the 52nd episode of the series overall. It originally aired on the Fox network in the United States on March 17, 2002. The episode was written by Ken Keeler and directed by Susie Dietter. It features Bender becoming the god of a tiny civilization, and explores various religious issues. The episode won the first Writers Guild of America Award for animation.
"Hell Is Other Robots" is the ninth episode in the first season of the American animated television series Futurama. It originally aired on the Fox network in the United States on May 18, 1999. The episode was written by Eric Kaplan and directed by Rich Moore. Guest stars in this episode include the Beastie Boys as themselves and Dan Castellaneta voicing the Robot Devil.
"Time Keeps On Slippin'" is the fourteenth episode in the third season of the American animated television series Futurama, and the 46th episode of the series overall. It originally aired on the Fox network in the United States on May 6, 2001. The title is from a lyric in "Fly Like an Eagle" by Steve Miller Band, also featured in 1996 film Space Jam. Basketball and time travel play a prominent role in this episode.
"The Devil's Hands Are Idle Playthings" is the eighteenth and final episode in the fourth season of the American animated television series Futurama, the 72nd episode of the series overall, and the finale of the original run. It originally aired on the Fox network in the United States on August 10, 2003. The episode was written by Ken Keeler and directed by Bret Haaland, and it guest stars Dan Castellaneta, who reprises his role as the Robot Devil. Keeler was nominated for an Emmy Award for this episode, while the song "I Want My Hands Back" was nominated for an Annie Award.
Futurama: Bender's Big Score is a 2007 American adult animated science fiction comedy-adventure film based on the animated series Futurama. It was released in the United States on November 27, 2007. It was the first Futurama production since the original series finale "The Devil's Hands are Idle Playthings". Bender's Big Score, along with the three follow-up films, comprise season five of Futurama, with each film being separated into four episodes of the broadcast season. Bender's Big Score made its broadcast premiere on Comedy Central on March 23, 2008. The film was written by Ken Keeler, based on a story by Keeler and David X. Cohen, and directed by Dwayne Carey-Hill.
Futurama: Into the Wild Green Yonder is a 2009 American direct-to-video adult animated science fiction comedy-adventure film based on the animated series Futurama, and the fourth and final of the direct-to-DVD films that make up the show's fifth season. The film was written by Ken Keeler, based on a story by Keeler and David X. Cohen, and directed by Peter Avanzino. Guest stars include Phil Hendrie, Penn Jillette, Snoop Dogg, and Seth MacFarlane, who sings the theme song. In the movie, Leela becomes an outlaw when she and a group of ecologically-minded feminists attempt to save an asteroid of primitive life forms and the Violet Dwarf star from being destroyed, while Fry joins a secret society and attempts to stop a mysterious species known as the "Dark Ones" from destroying all life in the universe. The title itself is a reference to the U.S. Air Force Song, the main chorus of which describes reaching "Into the wild blue yonder".
Futurama's fifth season is composed of the TV edits of the four direct-to-video films, split into four episodes each. While the films were originally released between November 27, 2007 and February 24, 2009, the TV edits began airing on March 23, 2008 and concluded after 16 episodes on August 30, 2009. These episodes were the first produced for Comedy Central, after their negotiations with Fox for syndication rights gave the opportunity to create new episodes.
"The Prisoner of Benda" is the tenth episode in the seventh season of the American animated television series Futurama, and the 98th episode of the series overall. It aired on Comedy Central on August 19, 2010. In the episode, Professor Farnsworth and Amy build a machine that allows them to switch minds so that they may each pursue their lifelong dreams. However, they learn that the machine cannot be used twice on the same pairing of bodies. To try to return to their rightful bodies, they involve the rest of the crew in the mind switches, leaving each member free to pursue their own personal endeavors in a different crew member's body. The episode is composed of multiple subplots, with the main subplot being Bender attempting to steal a crown, but ending up switching places with the Robo-Hungarian emperor.
"Lrrreconcilable Ndndifferences" is the eleventh episode in the sixth season of the American animated television series Futurama, and the 99th episode overall. It aired on Comedy Central on August 26, 2010. In the episode, the ruler of the planet Omicron Persei 8, Lrrr, experiences marriage trouble with his queen, Ndnd. He departs for Earth, invading it in an attempt to overcome his mid-life crisis and reignite his marriage.
"Meanwhile" is the twenty-sixth and final episode in the seventh season of the American animated television series Futurama, the 140th episode of the series overall and the finale of the second run. The episode was written by Ken Keeler and directed by Peter Avanzino. It premiered on Comedy Central in the United States on September 4, 2013, along with Futurama Live, a special preshow and aftershow for the occasion.
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