External links
Wikiquote has quotations related to The Honking .
| "The Honking" | |
|---|---|
| Futurama episode | |
| Episode no. | Season 2 Episode 18 |
| Directed by | Susie Dietter |
| Written by | Ken Keeler |
| Production code | 2ACV18 |
| Original air date | November 5, 2000 |
| Episode features | |
| Opening caption | Smell-O-Vision Users Insert Nostril Tubes Now |
| Opening cartoon | "Bold King Cole" (1936) |
"The Honking" is the eighteenth episode in the second season of the American animated television series Futurama , and the 31st episode of the series overall. It originally aired on the Fox network in the United States on November 5, 2000. The title references the 1981 film The Howling . The episode is also a reference to the 1977 film The Car .
As part of his late uncle Vladimir's last will, Bender must spend the night in his family's sinister old castle near Thermostadt, the capital of the Robo-Hungarian Empire, in order to inherit it. However, the castle's holographic "robot ghosts" cause him to flee out into the night, where he is run over by a mysterious non-hover car.
After returning to New New York, Bender begins to experience nightmares and blackouts, and believes that the car has followed him home. In the city, mysterious tire tracks are discovered at places where Bender has been. Worried, he seeks "professional help" from a coin-operated Gypsy Bot machine. It informs him that he was run over by a "werecar", the robotic equivalent of a werewolf, and has thus become one himself. He is cursed to keep running people over and eventually kill his best friend. The only thing that can lift the curse is the destruction of the original werecar. That night, Bender indeed turns into a sedan and goes after Leela. This angers Fry, who takes it as a sign that Bender does not consider him to be his best friend.
After narrowly surviving Bender's nocturnal rampage, the crew returns to the village near Vladimir's castle. From there, they follow a trail of various bizarre werecars, until they ultimately find the original werecar: Project Satan, a demonic car built a thousand years earlier from parts of the most evil cars in history.
Bender once again transforms, and this time goes after Fry, which overjoys him as he sees it as proof that he is Bender's best friend after all. Project Satan accidentally drives into a large furnace, destroying himself and lifting the curse. A back to normal Bender grieves upon apparently killing Fry, but is relieved when Fry emerges from his compartment alive and admits he is grateful for their friendship. However, Bender strangles Fry for taking his last beer.
Calculon's claim that he was all of "history's greatest acting robots" is a subtle reference to the immortal Mr. Flint from the Star Trek: The Original Series episode "Requiem for Methuselah". [1]
The visual design for Bender as a were-car directly references the titular antagonist from The Car (1977 film)
In Doug Pratt's DVD Pratt noted that this episode had an "extremely witty plot turn". [2]
Zack Handlen of The A.V. Club gave the episode a B+, stating, "There are plenty of nifty ideas in 'The Honking.' I was especially fond of the ultimate source of the were-car problem, a murderous vehicle built by a group of scientists for Project Satan. Only thing is, Project Satan doesn’t become relevant until the last five minutes or so of the episode, which is a problem throughout; all the cleverness keeps things moving, but the end result is something that’s no more (but no less) than the sum of its various parts." [3]
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.
"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.
"Where No Fan Has Gone Before" is the eleventh episode in the fourth season of the American animated television series Futurama, and the 65th episode of the series overall. It originally aired on the Fox network in the United States on April 21, 2002. 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, the Planet Express team and most of the main cast of Star Trek: The Original Series face a court-martial after visiting the forbidden planet Omega 3.
"I, Roommate" is the third episode in the first season of the American animated television series Futurama. It originally aired on the Fox network in the United States on April 6, 1999. The title of the episode is a reference to collected short stories written between 1940 and 1950 by author Isaac Asimov titled I, Robot. The episode was written by Eric Horsted and directed by Bret Haaland. The plot focuses on Fry and Bender's search for an apartment after deciding to become roommates and the various difficulties they have in finding a place that is acceptable to both of them.
"A Flight to Remember" is the tenth episode in the first season of the American animated television series Futurama. It originally aired on the Fox network in the United States on September 26, 1999. The title is a reference to Walter Lord's non-fiction book about the Titanic disaster A Night to Remember. This episode was written by Eric Horsted and directed by Peter Avanzino. Dawnn Lewis guest-stars in this episode as LaBarbara Conrad. The episode is a direct parody of the 1997 film Titanic.
"Mars University" is the eleventh episode in the first season of the American animated television series Futurama. It originally aired on the Fox network in the United States on October 3, 1999. This episode was written by J. Stewart Burns and directed by Bret Haaland.
"Brannigan, Begin Again" is the second episode in the second season of the American animated television series Futurama, and the 15th episode of the series overall. It originally aired on the Fox network in the United States on November 28, 1999. The episode was written by Lewis Morton and directed by Jeffrey Lynch.
"Xmas Story" is the fourth episode in the second season of the American animated television series Futurama, and the 17th episode of the series overall. It originally aired on the Fox network in the United States on December 19, 1999. The episode was written by David X. Cohen and directed by Peter Avanzino. John Goodman guest stars in this episode as Robot Santa. The plot of the episode focuses on the first Xmas that Fry spends in the future.
"Why Must I Be a Crustacean in Love?" is the fifth episode in the second season of the American animated television series Futurama, and the 18th episode of the series overall. It originally aired on the Fox network in the United States on February 6, 2000. The episode is a parody of the Star Trek: The Original Series episode "Amok Time" and, in part, Cyrano de Bergerac.
"Anthology of Interest I" is the sixteenth episode in the second season of the American animated television series Futurama, and the 29th episode of the series overall. It originally aired on the Fox network in the United States on May 21, 2000. This episode, as well as the later "Anthology of Interest II", serves to showcase three "imaginary" stories, in a manner similar to the "Treehouse of Horror" episodes of Matt Groening's other animated series The Simpsons.
"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.
"Bend Her" is the thirteenth episode in the fifth season of the American animated television series Futurama, and the 67th episode of the series overall. It originally aired on the Fox network in the United States on July 20, 2003. In the episode, Bender changes into a female robot and adopts the name Coilette.
"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.
"Proposition Infinity" is the fourth episode in the sixth season of the American animated television series Futurama, and the 92nd episode of the series overall. It originally aired on Comedy Central in the United States on July 8, 2010. In the episode, Amy Wong and Bender fall in love and begin a culturally taboo robosexual relationship. After facing anti-robosexual sentiments from society, they elect to get married and advocate to legalize robosexual marriage through "Proposition Infinity".
"The Prisoner of Benda" is the tenth episode in the sixth 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.
"Law and Oracle" is the sixteenth episode in the sixth season of the American animated television series Futurama, and the 104th episode of the series overall. It was originally broadcast on July 7, 2011, on Comedy Central. In the episode, Fry leaves his job as a delivery boy at Planet Express and applies for a new job as a police officer. He is eventually promoted to the Future Crimes division, where he is foretold of a crime committed by his best friend Bender that places him in a dilemma that puts his friends' lives in danger.
"Ghost in the Machines" is the nineteenth episode in the sixth season of the American animated television series Futurama, and the 107th episode of the series overall. It originally aired June 30, 2011, on Comedy Central. The episode was written by Patric M. Verrone and directed by Ray Claffey. American actor Dan Castellaneta guest stars in the episode, voicing the Robot Devil. In the episode Bender, angry at Fry for valuing human life over robot life, kills himself in a suicide booth. Afterwards, he becomes a ghost, and learns from the Robot Devil that he is in limbo, and he cannot leave. Sharing a mutual dislike towards Fry, the Robot Devil offers to return Bender to his old body in exchange for using his new ghostly powers to scare Fry to death.
"The Bots and the Bees" is the first episode in the seventh season of the American animated television series Futurama, and the 115th episode of the series overall. It originally aired on Comedy Central on June 20, 2012, along with "A Farewell to Arms" as part of an hour long season premiere. The episode was written by Eric Horsted and directed by Stephen Sandoval. Wanda Sykes guest stars as Bev.
"Game of Tones" is the twenty third episode in the seventh season of the American animated television series Futurama, and the 137th episode of the series overall. It originally aired on Comedy Central on August 14, 2013. The episode was written by Michael Rowe and directed by Edmund Fong. The Planet Express crew enter Fry's dreams and find themselves back in the year 1999 in search of a mysterious alien song.