TVSquad

Despite a minor derailment that nearly threw all of the show's voice talent head first through a windshield, Futurama is finally full steam ahead ... again.

Variety reports that production on the new Comedy Central episodes has been restarted now that the principal voice talent has been coaxed back to the studio. This means that the show will be able to meet its 2010 target date.

That is, of course, unless there are unforeseen complications like, say, another writers' strike, an animator ink shortage, or an impromptu invasion led by the planet Omicron Persei 8. Negotiations with Lur are still pending.

What the....? What do you mean that Fox has put out a casting notice to replace the voice leads on Futurama? Katey Sagal and Billy West didn't mention that when they spoke to Danny in June. What kind of colossal cluster-frak is Fox doing?

As the article notes, this is either a salary negotiation tactic or the dumbest marketing move since new Coke. This is like replacing Seth MacFarlane on Family Guy (which I wouldn't put past the Fox executives in looking to save a buck or two). Everybody, and I mean everybody, would notice if the characters suddenly spoke with a different voice, no matter how much the voice tried to be like the original.

This is a bad idea. Even if they did some sort of lame plot device like having Professor Farnsworth invent a machine that would change everybody's voice, this is a bad idea.

They tried this same tactic years ago with the voices on The Simpsons and that didn't work either. Here's hoping that Fox has similar luck.

If you thought Futurama had nowhere to go after the climatic series-long ending with Into the Wild Green Yonder (and notice I'm not revealing what that ending is so you spoiler-hating surprise junkies don't lose your half-daily hit of whahuh?!?), think again.

Futurama's executive producer David X. Cohen talked to Wired Magazine's Underwire blog about just what lies ahead for the new Comedy Central episodes.

The good news is Cohen seems to be brimming with more crazy ideas than a Hardee's product development retreat, but he doesn't reveal anything too specific in terms of what Fry, Leela and Bender will be doing in the episodes to come.

What was once just internet gossip that spread across the web like a persistent skin rash has now become confirmed fact.

20th Century Fox and Comedy Central are not only reviving Futurama, but they want double the initial number of episodes that Collider.com reported meaning fans can look forward to 26 new episodes the sci-fi comedy series around the middle of 2010.

Variety also reports that actors Billy West, Katey Sagal and John DiMaggio have also signed up to once again provide the voices for Fry, Leela and Bender. I believe that sound you just heard was the universe being ripped open by this awesome time loop.

Have you grown tired of bad TV news? And by bad TV news, I mean bad news about television shows. Bad "TV news" is redundant.

Well, get ready for some good news. No wait, get ready for some great news. No, great doesn't really describe it. Here is some grantasticularly wondergasmiclicious news! (And my 12th grade English teacher said I'd never amount to anything as a writer.)

Comedy Central has ordered all brand new episodes of Futurama, and the show has officially gone back into production.

For those of you lucky enough to catch the screening of Futurama's final direct-to-DVD adventure for the foreseeable future, Into The Wild Green Yonder, at the New York Comic Con (like me), then you already know how awesome this movie is and don't need to read any further. For the rest, this review is for you.

The story begins with Leo Wong, wealthy entrepreneur and father of Amy, who is trying to build a bigger and better Mars Vegas. This would include an interplanetary golf course that uses a black hole as one of its, er, holes. Over time, we learn that he's trying to destroy a planetoid that is growing indigenous life at an accelerated rate in order to build this.

The fourth and final Futurama direct-to-DVD movie now has a title and a release date. Into The Wild Green Yonder will be released on February 24, 2009.

Reading the synopsis from the press release, it sounds good. The plot sounds a little haphazard, but I think you'd say the same thing reading a synopsis of the plots from any of the DVD movies. One can only hope that this will not be the last we see of the Planet Express gang, but if it is, I hope they are sent off with the respect and dignity they deserve (provided we don't count Fry and Bender).

I really loved Bender's Big Score . I liked but didn't love The Beast With A Billion Backs. I caught Bender's Game, which on my likability scale was between the first and second movies. I'm hoping to really love this fourth one. At the very least, at least they've dropped their penchant of using the letter "B" in the title.

I'm sure at one point or another in every little kid's life, he or she has wanted to have a robot BFF. All the potential for wacky fun and scientific misadventures would make up for the inevitable human/binary language barrier, and, when I think about it, I still totally want a robot buddy. I mean, from my time on this Earth, of two things I am sure: Lists are fun and robots are awesome. So, despite the fact that my age numerically suggests I shouldn't be thinking about this sort of stuff, I am all over this list.

I should also note that, upon completion of this depressingly nerdy post, I am legally obligated to punch myself in the face for a solid fifteen minutes and then steal my own lunch money. Let's just get this over with, shall we? Here are the top eleven robot buddies from TV, in no particular order, because each robot is special in its own way. Also, I don't want any readers to kill me for not ranking to their liking.

Thanks to the extreme generosity of Fox Home Entertainment, TV Squad has scored an advance copy of the latest direct-to-DVD Futurama release titled The Beast With A Billion Backs. Previously, we directed you to another DVD review of the show, but now this one is ours! All ours! MWA HA HA HA!

A-hem.

The second direct-to-DVD release of Futurama is a fun movie with loads of extras that make the purchase worth it. They include outtakes, deleted scenes, commentary tracks, and an extra I particularly enjoyed: a "Lost Episode" made from a Futurama video game (which was a bit like watching a video game demo, but with jokes). The DVD also comes with a preview of the next Futurama DVD release which looks to be a satire of Lord of the Rings. Guest voices include Brittany Murphy as Fry's new girlfriend, David Cross as the planet-sized Yivo and Professor Stephen Hawking as himself.

Spoilers after the jump...

Disclaimer: TV Squad will soon be posting its own review of this Direct-to-DVD Futurama movie. Rather than keep our loyal readers in suspense, we'll be directing you to another review site until the DVD finally arrives in the mail.

Screen Jabber was able to grab an advance copy of the second Futurama DVD release, The Beast With A Billion Backs (lucky bastards). As a result, we are treated to a review by them.

The story takes place about a month after the events of Bender's Big Score. It seems that there has been a rip in time and space and a giant mutli-tentacled alien is reaching through to try and have sex with everyone on the planet (if two people having sex are the beast with two backs, then...well, you get the idea).

Believe it or not, Futurama has been airing on Cartoon Network's Adult Swim block for about five years. During that period, fans of the show have probably watched every single episode at least once, or twice, or fifteen times. Now, those same fans will get the chance to watch every single episode one more time as Adult Swim begins a Futurama marathon.

Starting tonight at 11:00 PM, and continuing until 11:30 PM on the last day of the year, there will be nothing on the schedule but Fry, Leela, Bender, and the rest of the team from Planet Express. On December 31st Adult Swim will air the show's first episode, 'Space Pilot 3000' and the last episode, 'The Devil's Hands Are Idle Playthings' (great episode, by the way) at 11:00 pm and 11:30 pm respectively. This is all in preparation of Futurama moving from Adult Swim to Comedy Central starting on January 1st.

Futurama is back, and the future looks a whole lot brighter. Cliché, but true.

When I first heard that Family Guy was returning to the airwaves, I was wondering if/when other cancelled Fox animated shows would similarly rise from the dead. Then I heard Futurama was returning to Comedy Central (with a brief stop on DVD beforehand). Futurama can best be described as The Simpsons for sci-fi/fantasy fans (which makes sense consider that Matt Groening created both and uses the same animation style for both). I then thanked the gods of comedy for returning this gem.

The plan for Futurama is to release four direct-to-DVD movies which would make up a complete season of 16 half-hour episodes. "Bender's Big Score" is the first release and consists of the first four episodes (although I hear the individual episodes will contain extra footage not in the DVD release when they are eventually broadcast. How's that for a reversal of precedent?).

Futurama is back, and now we know in what form. The show will return on November 27th as a full-length high-def film sold on DVD. It will be followed by three additional films, and each film will be divided into four episodes each to be aired on Comedy Central. So, that's 4 DVD movies or 16 new episodes depending on how you look at it.

See that robot on the right? Does he look familiar at all? Does he perhaps resemble a certain womanizing, hard-drinking robot from a certain recently-resurrected animated series that rhymes with "Futurama," and is, coincidentally, also called "Futurama?" And didn't I essentially give away the answer in the title of this post?

Internet scuttlebutt has it that the robot featured on the old comic book cover, drawn by artist Alex Schomburg, is what inspired the design of Bender from Futurama. The Web site Samuel Design seems to have conclusive proof that Bender did in fact spawn from this cover. It has a screenshot from the season four episode "Crimes of the Hot" that features a "bending unit" with very similar head features of the nameless robot on the cover.

This sci fi and comic book stuff gets into territory I'm not completely familiar with, so I give the floor to you readers who know more about this than I do. Is it obviously the inspiration for Bender, or is everyone reading too much into it?

Thanks to Wild Bill for the link.

David X. Cohen spilled a few beans recently to Toyfare Magazine about the upcoming new Futurama season that'll be both direct to DVD, and appearing on Comedy Central. Right now it's like the chicken and egg, and nobody knows which will come first, but I know that one way or another, I'll be watching. Here's a couple of tidbits:

• The entire original cast is returning
• You'll find out some of Nibbler's secrets
• Al Gore is back

What more can you ask for? Except of course, for them to hurry up and finish it. How long does someone have to wait for some new Futurama goodness? Apparently at least a year longer. The new Futurama won't be ready until 2008, meaning that five years will have passed since a new episode has been seen. Five years! Still, I suppose it's a small price to pay. How many shows come back from the dead after that long? Does this mean I shouldn't give up hope on Gilligan's Island?

[Thanks, Justin and Jeff]