Zapp Dingbat

Last updated

"Zapp Dingbat"
Futurama episode
Episode no.Season 7
Episode 5
Directed byFrank Marino
Written byEric Rogers
Production code7ACV05
Original air dateJuly 11, 2012 (2012-07-11)
Guest appearance
Episode features
Opening caption Cancel/OK (computer buttons; OK seen selected)
Episode chronology
 Previous
"The Thief of Baghead"
Next 
"The Butterjunk Effect"
Futurama (season 7)
List of episodes

"Zapp Dingbat" is the fifth episode in the seventh season of the American animated television series Futurama , and the 119th episode of the series overall. It originally aired on Comedy Central on July 11, 2012. The episode was written by Eric Rogers and directed by Frank Marino.

Contents

Plot

Leela invites the Planet Express crew and the other sewer mutants to her parents Morris and Munda's 40th anniversary, where everyone learns that they met at Brown University, where Morris was a laid-back surfer (aided by having ten toes on each foot), while Munda obtained a PhD in exolinguistics, the study of alien languages; the two fell in love and Munda put aside her future studies. However, during the anniversary celebration, Munda reveals a long-standing bitterness to Morris over his disinterest in her career and disinterest in exploring the universe now that sewer mutants are allowed to leave Earth's sewers. She divorces him and moves in with Leela.

Now that Munda is free to see the alien worlds she always studied, Leela takes her to a space bar. Zapp Branigan is also there attempting to negotiate with the shark-like Carcarons. When he has problems with the translation where one of his attempts caused the Carcarons to attack him, Munda steps in and provides help with her exolinguist skills, leading the two to begin to flirt. Zapp and Munda soon begin dating regularly and having sexual relations, which both Zapp and Munda flaunt, annoying Leela, who believes Zapp is only using her mother to get to her. Meanwhile, Morris returns to surfing in the sewers around the world, joined by Fry and Bender, in an attempt to move on from his and Munda's failed marriage.

Zapp eventually proposes to marry Munda, and they quickly arrange a marriage aboard his ship, but unfortunately scheduling it at the same time as an important diplomatic function with the Carcarons. At the negotiation, Munda realizes that Zapp plans on having the Carcarons unknowingly sign a declaration of war against Earth. He instructs Munda to tell them it is a peace treaty, so that they will sign it and he can proceed to attack them. Enraged by this, Munda calls off the wedding and tells the Carcarons what Zapp is actually planning. The enraged Carcarons begin to fire wave-like beams at the ship, threatening to destroy it. The attacks end up putting the weapons on Zapp's ship offline. Morris (who had stowed aboard the Planet Express ship to try to stop the marriage) offers to help guide the ship using his surfing skills to manipulate an auxiliary control device that allows them to "surf" the Carcarons' waves. Munda realizes why she had fallen in love with Morris in the first place. She then forces Zapp to apologize to the Carcarons in their language. Once the ship is safe and a real peace treaty is made with the Carcarons, Morris and Munda reaffirm their love for each other and remarry, which Zapp officiates. When Zapp tries to flirt with Munda again, Morris punches him in the gut. Morris and Munda then space-surf their way back to Earth.

Cultural references

The episode's title is a reference to Zapf Dingbats, a dingbat typeface designed by typographer Hermann Zapf in 1978 and licensed by International Typeface Corporation.

Bender is found playing poker with C-3PO.

The wedding’s Mr. Nixon and Mr. Agnew comedy routine is modeled on the nineteen-twenties’ Gallagher and Shean.

Reception

Alasdair Wilkins of The A.V. Club gave the episode a B−. He stated, "The episode does at least end well, which inclines me to forgive somewhat its saggy middle section...but at least it had enough sequences [to] feel as though you’re seeing things that could only ever happen in the world of Futurama. That counts for a surprising amount sometimes." [1]

Related Research Articles

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.

<i>Futurama</i> (video game) 2003 video game

Futurama is a 3D platform video game based on the science fiction animated series of the same name. It was developed by Unique Development Studios for the PlayStation 2 and Xbox, both of which use cel-shading technology. The cutscenes of the game are presented as an entire "lost episode" of Futurama on the DVD of The Beast with a Billion Backs.

"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.

"I Second That Emotion" is the first episode in the second season of the American animated television series Futurama, and the 14th episode of the series overall. It originally aired on the Fox network in the United States on November 21, 1999. The episode was written by Patric M. Verrone and directed by Mark Ervin. The episode introduces the recurring sewer mutants, a society of humans who have been mutated by years of exposure to pollution and radioactive waste poured into the sewers from New New York.

"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.

"The Lesser of Two Evils" is the sixth episode in the second season of the American animated television series Futurama, and the 19th episode of the series overall. It originally aired on the Fox Network in the United States on February 20, 2000.

"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.

"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.

"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.

<i>Futurama: The Beast with a Billion Backs</i> 2008 American film

Futurama: The Beast with a Billion Backs is a 2008 American direct-to-video adult animated science-fiction comedy-adventure film based on the animated series Futurama, and the second of four straight-to-DVD films that make up the show's fifth season. The film was released in the United States and Canada on June 24, 2008, followed by a UK release on June 30, 2008 and an Australian release on August 6, 2008. The title refers to a euphemism for sexual intercourse—"the beast with two backs". Comedy Central aired the film as a "four-part epic" on October 19, 2008. The movie won an Annie Award for "Best Animated Home Entertainment Production".

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.

"In-A-Gadda-Da-Leela" is the second episode in the sixth season of the American animated television series Futurama, and the 90th episode of the series overall. It originally aired directly after "Rebirth" on June 24, 2010 on Comedy Central. In the episode, Zapp Brannigan and Leela end up on a Garden of Eden-like world after fighting a planet-destroying satellite called V-Giny.

"The Mutants Are Revolting" is the twelfth episode in the sixth season of the American animated television series Futurama, and the 100th episode of the series. It aired on Comedy Central on September 2, 2010, as a mid-season finale, with remaining episodes broadcast in November 2010 and in 2011. In the episode, the Planet Express crew celebrate their 100th delivery. Leela's status as a mutant is exposed to the public and she is deported from the surface and forced to live with other mutants in the sewers. She recognizes the inequality with which mutants are forced to live and rallies them together in an equal rights revolt against the surface dwellers.

"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".

"Love's Labours Lost in Space" is the fourth 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 13, 1999. The episode was written by Brian Kelley and directed by Brian Sheesley. This episode introduces the recurring character Zapp Brannigan when he attempts to prevent the Planet Express crew from completing their mission. It also introduces the characters of Kif Kroker, Brannigan's aide, and Nibbler, whom Leela adopts as a pet.

"Leela and the Genestalk" is the twenty-second episode in the seventh season of the American animated television series Futurama, and the 136th episode of the series overall. It originally aired on Comedy Central on August 7, 2013. The episode was written by Eric Horsted and directed by Lance Kramer. Leela develops a mutation which causes her to sprout tentacles all over her body, and ends up at a genetic engineering facility owned by Mom's Friendly Robot Company. The episode parodies many well-known fairy tales including Rapunzel, Chicken Little, and especially Jack and the Beanstalk among other references.

References

  1. Wilkins, Alasdair (July 12, 2012). "Futurama: "Zapp Dingbat"". The A.V. Club . Retrieved February 16, 2022.