Posts with tag jackie martling
Posted Jun 25th 2006 8:35PM by Joel Keller
Filed under: Other Comedy Shows, TV on DVD, OpEd, Animation, Retro Squad, Futurama
(S01E04) There's so much packed into this episode, it's hard to figure out where to begin. First, we have the Planet Express crew's first trip to another planet. Then we are introduced to both Zapp Brannigan and Kif Kroker. Finally, we see little Nibbler for the first time, who is introduced as a dumb, so-ugly-he's-cute alien with a voracious appetite and the ability to crap out rocket fuel. But all
Futurama fans know Nibbler will play a much larger role later on.
Here's a quickie plot summary: The crew go on a humanitarian mission to Vergon 6, which is about to collapse since its core of dark matter has been over-mined. On the way, the crew runs into Zapp Brannigan and his ship. Zapp is your typical Kirk-esque starship captain, only clumsier and lonlier. He tries to seduce a lonely Leela, who gives him pity sex. He almost has to rescue them from the planet, but Nibbler saves them with his poop.
Continue reading Futurama: Love's Labours Lost In Space
Posted Jun 15th 2006 11:15AM by Joel Keller
Filed under: FOX, Talent, Industry, Animation, Adult Swim, Interviews, Celebrities, The Daily Best, Retro Squad, Futurama
If you've watched any cartoon on TV in the last fifteen years, chances are you've heard
Billy West's voice. West is one of the premier voice actors working today, and during those fifteen years, he's used his versatile voice to create new characters -- and resuurect old ones -- all over the television and movie landscape. From Shaggy to Bugs Bunny to Woody Woodpecker to the Cherios Honey Bee to the Red M&M, the 54-year old West has put his imprint on all of them. But most people know him from two classic cartoon series: On
Ren & Stmpy, he did the voices of both main characters (he picked up Ren after creator John Kricfalusi was fired after the first season), and on
Futurama he did the voices of Philip Fry, Professor Farnsworth, Dr. John Zoidberg, and Zapp Brannigan, among others.
In this wide-ranging interview, conducted by phone on May 31, Billy and I talked about his history with John K., the way he went about creating some of his
Futurama characters, his early-'90s role on "The Howard Stern Show", and the influx of celebrity voices in current cartoon movies (let's just say he's against it). We also went over all the
Futurama Season One episodes in the 90-minute (!) interview, which you will see in my
Retro Squad coverage of the show. He was even nice enough to do a
Futurama / R&S -themed intro for our APB podcast, which we used
to open podcast #13 last week. Needless to say, Billy West is a mensch.
Continue reading Billy West: The TV Squad Interview
The Cheers episode Ken Levine's still writing in his head
Giveaway Tuesday: Fastlane - The Complete Series
Giveaway Monday: The X-Files: Revelations on DVD
