Spanish Fry

Last updated
"Spanish Fry"
Futurama episode
Episode no.Season 4
Episode 17
Directed by Peter Avanzino
Written by Ron Weiner
Production code4ACV17
Original air dateJuly 13, 2003 (2003-07-13)
Episode features
Opening caption [In Alienese (1)] Thanks for watching, Futurama slave army!
Opening cartoon "Much Ado About Mutton" (1947)
Episode chronology
 Previous
"Three Hundred Big Boys"
Next 
"The Devil's Hands Are Idle Playthings"
Futurama (season 4)
List of episodes

"Spanish Fry" is the seventeenth episode in the fourth season of the American animated television series Futurama , and the 71st episode of the series overall. It originally aired on the Fox network in the United States on July 13, 2003. Set in a retro-futuristic 31st century, the series follows the adventures of the employees of Planet Express, an interplanetary delivery company. In this episode, Fry's nose has mysteriously disappeared so he seeks to get it back. David X. Cohen admitted that this episode is one of the most "filthy" in the series' history.

Contents

Plot

While camping in the woods on a company outing, Fry is abducted by aliens as he searches for Bigfoot. He wakes up the next morning to find that his nose has been stolen from his face. Fry learns that human noses are regarded by aliens as an aphrodisiac called "Human Horn". Bender, Leela, and Fry discover that Fry's nose has been sold by a "porno dealing monster" to Lrrr, ruler of the planet Omicron Persei 8.

The three travel to Omicron Persei 8, where they learn Lrrr and his wife, Ndnd, are having marital troubles, explaining Lrrr's purchase. After retrieving Fry's nose, Leela reattaches it by laser. However, once Bender has finished explaining some details of human anatomy to Lrrr, Lrrr orders that Fry's "lower horn" now be removed for consumption. Leela stalls the Omicronian by suggesting that he and Ndnd share a romantic dinner in the woods and work on their relationship. The dinner nearly fails; as Fry is about to get his lower horn removed, Bigfoot shows himself (on Omicron Persei 8).

The park ranger also arrives (on Omicron Persei 8), pleased to have finally gotten a look at Bigfoot. The ranger tries to amputate one of Bigfoot's feet as a trophy, but Lrrr prevents him. Lrrr then delivers a moving speech: Fry's "lower horn" like Bigfoot, is one of God's most beautiful creatures. Ndnd then realizes that her husband is still the sensitive Omicronian she fell for. The crew quickly retreats as the now-happy couple passionately make love.

As the credits roll, an episode of The Scary Door is shown.

Production

Writer and producer David X. Cohen admits that this is one of the series' "filthiest" episodes. As with most episodes, the space scenes were done in 3D. Among the non-space scenes done in 3D was the roasting car at the alien market. [1]

Originally, Fry was meant to look into Bender's "shiny metal ass" for his reflection but it was decided that the episode was dirty enough already and it was too awkward. [2]

A scene depicting a holographic Fry with various noses was cut after being fully animated. [1] Matt Groening said that they deleted it because it "wasn't that funny". [3]

When watching the surveillance tape, Leela identifies Lrrr because the writers were not sure that the audience would recognize and clearly identify Lrrr. [4]

Writer Ron Weiner admitted that Bender's offscreen quips were added because they felt a bit guilty about all the silly jokes. Weiner also admits that the scene with Bender dancing was something he attempts to work into every episode he writes. [4]

The Scary Door sequence at the end had been cut out of the season three episode "The Birdbot of Ice-Catraz". Cohen had wanted it to not go to waste so the sequence was shortened slightly so it could be fit in during the credits of an episode. [1]

Cultural references

Broadcast and reception

In its initial airing, the episode received a Nielsen rating of 2.3/5, placing it 86th among primetime shows for the week of July 7–13, 2003. [5]

Related Research Articles

<i>Futurama</i> 1999 American animated sci-fi 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 (<i>Futurama</i>) Futurama character

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".

Leela (<i>Futurama</i>) Main character in the television show Futurama

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 and later on got engaged to Philip J. Fry, the central character in the series. She is also Elena Fry's mother while she is the biological mother of Axel, Mandy and Newt Kroker. 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.

"Roswell That Ends Well" is the nineteenth episode in the third season of the American animated television series Futurama, and the 51st episode of the series overall. It originally aired on the Fox network in the United States on December 9, 2001. The plot centers on an accidental time travel event that results in the main characters participating in the Roswell Incident in 1947.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Space Pilot 3000</span> 1st episode of the 1st season of Futurama

"Space Pilot 3000" is the pilot episode of the American animated television series Futurama. It originally aired on the Fox network in the United States on March 28, 1999. The episode focuses on the cryogenic freezing of the series protagonist, Philip J. Fry, and the events when he awakens 1,000 years in the future. Series regulars are introduced and the futuristic setting, inspired by a variety of classic science fiction series from The Jetsons to Star Trek, is revealed. It also sets the stage for many of the events to follow in the series, foreshadowing plot points from the third and fourth seasons.

"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.

"When Aliens Attack" is the twelfth episode in the first season of the American animated television series Futurama. It originally aired on Fox in the United States on November 7, 1999. This episode was written by Ken Keeler and directed by Brian Sheesley. The episode features an attack by aliens from Omicron Persei 8, when their leader, Lrrr, is outraged when the final episode of the series, Single Female Lawyer, is interrupted by technical difficulties caused by the clumsiness of Fry in 1999.

"The Problem with Popplers" is the fifteenth episode in the second season of the American animated television series Futurama, and the 28th episode of the series overall. It originally aired on the Fox network in the United States on May 7, 2000. The title is a reference to the Star Trek: The Original Series episode "The Trouble with Tribbles". The episode focuses on the Planet Express crew discovering what they think is fast food they call "Popplers," but they turn out to be the young of the Omicron aliens, and the Omicronian leader Lrrr seeks revenge.

"War Is the H-Word" is the seventeenth episode in the second season of the American animated television series Futurama, and the 30th episode of the series overall. It originally aired on the Fox network in the United States on November 26, 2000. The episode parodies several war films and shows, including Starship Troopers, Star Wars and M*A*S*H.

"The Day the Earth Stood Stupid" is the seventh episode in the third season of the American animated television series Futurama, and the 39th episode of the series overall. It originally aired on the Fox network in the United States on February 18, 2001. The title of this episode is a play on the title of the 1951 science fiction film, The Day the Earth Stood Still.

"Leela's Homeworld" is the second episode in the fourth season of the American animated television series Futurama, and the 56th episode of the series overall. It originally aired on the Fox network in the United States on February 17, 2002. "Leela's Homeworld" was written by Kristin Gore and directed by Mark Ervin. The episode reveals Leela's true origin as a mutant who was abandoned by her parents so she could have a better life. Her parents fabricated her prior background as an alien, as it is illegal for mutants to live on the surface.

"Love and Rocket" is the third episode in the fourth season of the American animated television series Futurama, and the 57th episode of the series overall. It first aired on the Fox network in the United States on February 10, 2002. The episode is a Valentine's Day-themed episode that centers on Bender's relationship with the artificial intelligence of the Planet Express Ship. The subplot involves Fry trying to express his feelings for Leela through the use of Valentine's Day candy. The episode parodies 2001: A Space Odyssey.

"The Why of Fry" is the tenth episode in the fourth season of the American animated television series Futurama, and the 64th episode of the series overall. It originally aired on the Fox network in the United States on April 6, 2003. The episode was written by David X. Cohen and directed by Wes Archer. In this episode, it is revealed that Fry's cryogenic freezing and arrival in the 31st century was not an accident, but a calculated plot by Nibbler to save the universe. Along with "Where No Fan Has Gone Before", it is one of two episodes that do not feature Professor Farnsworth.

<i>Futurama: Into the Wild Green Yonder</i> 2009 American film

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".

The animated science fiction show Futurama presents a satirical look at politics and current affairs in a number of its episodes. Series creator Matt Groening intended from the outset that Futurama would lampoon not only the conventions of science fiction, but elements of present-day life, serving as a form of political and social satire.

"Rebirth" is the premiere and first episode in the sixth season of the American animated television series Futurama, the 89th episode of the series overall, and the revival of the series. It originally aired on Comedy Central in the United States on June 24, 2010. The episode was written by David X. Cohen and Matt Groening, and directed by Frank Marino.

"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.

"Naturama" is the thirteenth episode in the seventh season of the American animated television series Futurama, and the 127th episode of the series overall. It originally aired on Comedy Central on August 29, 2012. The episode was written by Eric Rogers, Michael Saikin and Neil Mukhopadhyay, and directed by Crystal Chesney-Thompson.

"T.: The Terrestrial" is the sixteenth episode in the seventh season of the American animated television series Futurama, and the 130th episode of the series overall. It originally aired on Comedy Central on June 26, 2013. The episode was written by Josh Weinstein and directed by Lance Kramer. In the episode, Fry becomes marooned on a distant planet, where he befriends an inhabitant who helps protect him and find his way home.

References

  1. 1 2 3 Cohen, David X. (2003). Futurama season 4 DVD commentary for the episode "Spanish Fry" (DVD). 20th Century Fox.
  2. 1 2 3 Avanzino, Peter (2003). Futurama season 4 DVD commentary for the episode "Spanish Fry" (DVD). 20th Century Fox.
  3. Groening, Matt (2003). Futurama season 4 DVD commentary for the episode "Spanish Fry" (DVD). 20th Century Fox.
  4. 1 2 3 Weiner, Ron (2003). Futurama season 4 DVD commentary for the episode "Spanish Fry" (DVD). 20th Century Fox.
  5. "Nielsen ratings.(Illustration)". Broadcasting & Cable . Reed Business Information. 2003-07-21. Archived from the original on 2012-10-23. Retrieved 2009-03-07.