FUTURAMA DVD-O-RAMAS

[kortanaskew]

this is from today on Cnn.com

Meanwhile, there haven't been any active negotiations to revive "Futurama," which, much like "Family Guy" before it, is enjoying a second life on Cartoon Network's "Adult Swim" late-night block. But Fox executives are keeping a close eye on the series' newfound success.


http://www.cnn.com/2006/SHOWBIZ/TV/01/18/television.fox.comedies.reut/index.html

[Alex DeLarge]

zoidberg should have his own movie

[TheButcher]

Legendary voice artist Billy West let loose some wonderful news on his website www.billywest.com. The news is Matt Groening’s way-too-underappreciated animated series Futurama will be returning as four direct-to-DVD movies. For those who’s memory spans are shorter than a microsecond, West was the voice of Fry, the series titular “hero,” as well as several other characters in the series. Other key voice artists were Katey Sagal (Leela), the equally legendary John DiMaggio (Bender) and now voice artist superstar Phil LaMarr.

http://www.newsarama.com/AniShorts/AS263.htm

COOL

[unikrunk]

this is very good news. Futurama was a far superior show than the Simpons, IMO.

[Flumm]

FUTURAMA LIVES!

24 NEW episodes appear on the horizon...

[nodforlife]

If only Cartoon Network could air Firefly, Wonderfalls, Dead Like Me, or any other show that was cancelled prematurely. It seems to lead to them getting restarted.

[John-Locke]

FUTURAMA LIVES!

24 NEW episodes appear on the horizon...

26 Episodes according to the Link.

Lets hope we get the chance to put this thread in Coaxial.

[vicious_bastard]

Not so fast - four movies to happen. Billy West was wrong about the 26 episodes according to slashdot.

Guys,
I'm sorry I gave inaccurate info on the cartoon.I was told on one end that the
TV show was a go but DXC enlightened me (with a hammer) that this was
not the case.I think there is a Futurama project as in DVD's but I appearently
had bad info.But I do live to give good Futurama news to people.So I must've
died or something.

All eyes on the skies,

Billy

Good enough for me. Bit vague though - PR stunt to drum up interest? When the lead voice doesn't know what is going on you have to be a tad suspicious.

[Vegeta]

Good news Everybody, indeed!

That's even better than resurecting family Guy. I am so stoked!!!!

[isNegative]

Yeah, so it would seem that Billy-boy jumped the gun... cock-tease!! But don't you think that with all of the geek sites out there clammering and the successful revival of Family Guy, they would be stupid NOT to bring Futurama back?! I never thought that I would say this, but given the fading quality of new Simpson episodes, Groening and crew should invest their money and efforts into to new Futurama eps.... The Sci-Fi premise lends to unlimited story possibilities... The rewatchability of this series goes towards the potential of huge DVD profits... I can honestly say that Futurama is one of the few shows that I can watch repeats of over and over and still find myself laughing at the same old jokes and sometimes picking up on little things that I've missed (due in the most part to their excellent writers who deftly weave nerdily smart jokes throughout with a wink and a nod). Alas, I have a feeling that they'll try the DVD movie route and if the sales are good, then they may bring the series back.

[kortanaskew]

Looks like we're gonna get 26 Episodes instead of Movies! Woot!

If it wasn't for DVD we'd never see Futurama and Family Guy or even Serenity/Firefly again!

Fox really does listen to it's wallet.

[monorail77]

Looks like we're gonna get 26 Episodes instead of Movies! Woot!

I think this was already debunked

[Doc Holliday]

Yeah, so it would seem that Billy-boy jumped the gun... cock-tease!! But don't you think that with all of the geek sites out there clammering and the successful revival of Family Guy, they would be stupid NOT to bring Futurama back?! I never thought that I would say this, but given the fading quality of new Simpson episodes, Groening and crew should invest their money and efforts into to new Futurama eps.... The Sci-Fi premise lends to unlimited story possibilities... The rewatchability of this series goes towards the potential of huge DVD profits... I can honestly say that Futurama is one of the few shows that I can watch repeats of over and over and still find myself laughing at the same old jokes and sometimes picking up on little things that I've missed (due in the most part to their excellent writers who deftly weave nerdily smart jokes throughout with a wink and a nod). Alas, I have a feeling that they'll try the DVD movie route and if the sales are good, then they may bring the series back.

I remember at the time Futurama being cancelled got announced, reading two separate interviews with Groening in which he said he'd pretty much run out of ideas for The Simpsons and didn't want to do too many more if they coudn't sustain their own benchmark for quality. He was pretty annoyed with the Network too, because they had a good three seasons worth of material for Futurama still to put out and of the two was actually the show he was personally more interested in progressing.

I'm guessing he's getting on better with the Network now (that was, what, a good four years ago now?) but thought that might still be an interesting titbit of info for y'all.

And, BTW, there were two regular voice talents on the show who did the supporting voices - Dave Hermann and Frank Welker. DH also appears as a Dungeon Master/Bill Gates alike on Angel....whereas FW - who does all the animal noises - is the voice of Fred from the original (and all other) Scooby Doo's. Apparently this guy is The Don of voice talents....

[raasnio]

this is very good news. Futurama was a far superior show than the Simpons, IMO.

What's bad is I almost didn't give Futurama a chance since it was from the creator of the Simpsons. Honestly, the Simpsons, to me, is boring.

When I got to watching Futurama I couldn't believe how good it was. My favorite episode might be The Day the Earth Stood Stupid.

Some quotes from the episode:

Fry: Looks like this planet's next in line.
Leela: That's earth
Fry: ...
Leela: The planet we live on?
Fry: I'd hate to be those guys!


Nibblonian: Thus they travel from world to world. Making everyone stupid in order to wipe out all thought in the universe!
Leela: Wipe out all thought? My God! They're like flying televisions!


Fry: Now he's trapped in a book I wrote. A crummy world of plot holes and spelling errors.
Brain: The Big Brain am winning again! I am the greetest! Ha ha ha ha ha! Now, I am leaving Earth, for no raisin!

[Vegeta]

There's an interview with Matt Groening in the Onion AV club section http://www.avclub.com/content/node/47771
He says their doing 4 Futurama direct to DVD movies.

[Vegeta]

Yeah! Comedy Central orders 13 new Futurama Episodes!

[RogueScribner]

Sweet Zombie Jesus!

[The Ginger Man]

It's about friggin' time. I'm tired of Family Guy getting to say "We're the only show ever brought back from cancellation."

[Brocktune]

i just hope they get the rest of the cast as well.

methinks i smells a star stuuded futurama panel at comic con this year.

[The Garbage Man]

FUCK YES




That is all.

[Brocktune]

i would also like to take this opportunity to add (like its necessary) that this is concrete proof that the morons at fox have absolutely no clue on how to run a network, or what the fuck is really going on.

[RogueScribner]

Let's see, they cancelled Firefly. Check. They unceremoniously dropped Futurama. Check. Wonderfalls never stood a chance. But they did give Arrested Development 3 seasons, so I can't completely hate them. I just utterly dispise them!

[colonel_lugz]

There is a God!

Comedy Central Resurrects Futurama
Source: Variety
June 23, 2006


Comedy Central has resurrected the former Fox series Futurama, ordering 13 episodes to debut in 2008. The deal builds upon the cable channel's acquisition of the 72-episode library last fall.

Discussions about a revival of the half-hour began in earnest earlier this year between Futurama producer 20th Century Fox Television and series creators Matt Groening and David X. Cohen.

Actors Billy West, Katey Sagal and John DiMaggio are onboard for the new episodes that will continue the story of the pizza delivery boy, accidentally frozen for 1,000 years, who wakes up in the future.

Futurama has traveled a course similar to that of animated series Family Guy, which also was cancelled and later brought back after DVD releases and off-network repeats grew a new fanbase

[ThisIsTheGirl]

Woo-Hoo!

I can wait two years....

Great news, Lugz!

[Chairman Kaga]

Weird that Comedy Central ordered the eps instead of Cartoon Network.

[Petri]

Comedy Central is awesome

[tapehead]

The main site has posted a script review for the first feature length DVD/ four broadcast episodes, Bender's Big Score

http://www.aintitcool.com/display.cgi?id=24076

as noted the hypnotoad may not feature heavily

[The Garbage Man]

Forgot to mention it after all the craziness that was SDCC, but at the Cartoon Voices panel Maurice LaMarche said the voice cast was set to start recording for the new episodes the Tuesday after the con (July 25th).

[The Garbage Man]

New season details on the main site.

From the Wizard interview:

When our story resumes, two long years have passed. As for the Fry/Leela relationship, we will be visiting that subject right away, so I refuse to tell you where it will lead on the grounds that I want you to buy the DVD... Within the new season, we will definitely feature more continuity than in the past. We will also be shedding light on several lingering questions from the original run, including hitherto unknown facts about Nibbler, dark matter and Seymour the dog.

Color me excited.

By the way, we are looking into producing a full 22-minute episode of Everybody Loves Hypnotoad for the DVD release. I am serious.

[Chairman Kaga]

ALL HAIL THE HYPNOTOAD

[morbo]

ALL HAIL THE HYPNOTOAD

All hail WHO????

[Tyrone_Shoelaces]

A friend of mine made a hypnotoad screensaver complete with sound. It is annoying as fuck, though would make a great gag to install on someone else's computer.

[sonnyboo]

ALL HAIL THE HYPNOTOAD

All hail WHO????

Everbody Loves Hypnotoad!!! it's been going downhill since the 3rd season, though.

[tapehead]

That hypnotoad av is freaking me out.

[MonkeyM666]

This isn't just about Futurama but I'll post it here and in the simpsons thread...

Article found here

Exclusive Interview: CREATOR MATT GROENING GOES BACK TO FUTURAMA AND TALKS THE SIMPSONS MOVIE
The co-creator of the cult animated series says it's back with 16 new episodes next year (which will become 4 direct-to-DVD movies) and iF has the scoop

--------------------------------------------------

By ANTHONY C. FERRANTE, Editor in Chief
Published 3/9/2007

Who would have ever guessed a small, interstitial animated sequence on THE TRACEY ULLMAN SHOW in 1987 would lead to the full-fledged animated series in 1989, yet THE SIMPSONS is still going strong 18 years later.

It’s been a great ride for creator Matt Groening who is shepherding THE SIMPSONS MOVIE into theaters on July 27 as well as brand new episodes of his cult series FUTURAMA which was unceremoniously cancelled by Fox, only to find an after-life on DVD and the Cartoon Network. Starting in 2008, 16 new episodes are being produced which will also be turned into four direct-to-DVD movies. The first --FUTURAMA: BENDER’S BIG SCORE -- will be released December 2007.

With so much going on, iF MAGAZINE was lucky enough to get a few moments of Groening’s time for an exclusive interview to talk about the future of FUTURAMA and a little bit about THE SIMPSONS MOVIE.

THE SIMPSONS TREEHOUSE OF HORROR XVII
(C) 2006 FOX



--------------------------------------------------


iF MAGAZINE: Can you explain how there will be 16 new episodes and the DVD movies at once.

MATT GROENING: We’re doing four DVD movies around ninety minutes and then we’re going to reconfigure those and they’ll be episodes on Comedy Central. The impolite way of saying it is we’re chopping them up and the polite way is to say we’re reconfiguring and we’re going to add narration and more stuff. We’re going to be doing some fun extras on the DVD show, there’s going to be "Everybody Loves Hyptno-Toad" – a whole show of it. The DVD’s are going to be self-contained packages, but the episodes will also work, we hope. That’s the goal.

iF: Will they be released as single episode box set seasons?

GROENING: I’m sure that we’ll figure out a way of getting every penny we can out of these things.

iF: You have said in the past that Fox always loved THE SIMPSONS, but when FUTURAMA was on the network, they always treated it as a bastard step-child. How do you feel now going into this new venture with FUTURAMA?

GROENING: What’s really fun, is every single person who worked on the original show was eager to come back. The entire original cast Katey Sagal, Billy West, John Di Maggio, Maurice LaMarche. They all came on board. The same animation house Rough Draft is back and the same animators are too. And the one’s who didn’t come back, wished they could. We really felt good about that. It was really fun. It was always the underdog show and everybody who worked on it, loved it, so it’s great to come back.


Related Articles
Convention Coverage: SAN DIEGO COMIC-CON 2006: DAY 1 – PART 2 – BILLY WEST TALKS ABOUT THE RETURN OF FUTURAMA
7/21/2006iF: For everyone who worked on the show, it’s been off the air much longer, since Fox had a whole season left in the can to air once production had stopped.

GROENING: That’s the nature of animation. When the SIMPSONS finally ends, there will probably be another season and we’ll do a long farewell tour and wave to people.

iF: Was it fun coming back to the FUTURAMA world?

GROENING: We had a lot more ideas, and there are many things of "what were we going to do, I can’t remember?" so we had to come up with a bunch of new stuff.

iF: There was that series finale which was sort of a swan song, but not really.

GROENING: We didn’t know if that was going to be the final episode, if it were, we felt "let’s not tie everything up, but let’s have an emotional conclusion to the show" and I thought we did.

iF: Do you pick it up from that point?

GROENING: We definitely address that we haven’t been around for a few years, in the opening scene of the first episode. There’s a very lengthy acknowledgement that we’ve been gone for awhile. It’s very funny.

iF: Will Fox put the episodes on like FAMILY GUY?

GROENING: It’s going to be on Comedy Central, starting at the beginning of 2008 and I don’t know. Fox has an option, who knows. I hope so, that would be nice.

iF: When will you know if you’re going to have a second batch of FUTURAMA episodes?

GROENING: Probably not until 2008. Maybe somebody will get inspired, but we are doing these four movies and sixteen episodes and that’s good. It’s a good start.

iF: It’s so ironic that everyone on the SIMPSONS is so open to talking about upcoming episodes and what’s going to happen next year, but everyone is tight-lipped about THE SIMPSONS MOVIE.

GROENING: We’re premiering the movie worldwide on July 27 and we wanted it to be an event and we think it’s more fun to be a surprise. And nobody concentrates on a single episode of THE SIMPSONS, but there will be a lot of attention on the movie.

iF: Whenever we talked in the past about a "possible" SIMPSONS movie, you always talked about "we need that big idea," now that it’s happening, did you finally find that idea that was a SIMPSONS movie or did you say "let’s make a movie" and figure it out from there.

GROENING: We got together with a bunch of the writers and everybody threw out ideas, we picked one and went with it.

iF: It’s a full story, not a series of random ideas thrown together?

GROENING: It’s one big story. We had a lot of ideas and probably have enough for three or four movies. We’ll thrown out a lot of them.

iF: How far ahead are you on the DVD’s in terms of commentaries and special features.

GROENING: We’re starting in a week or two on Season 10 with audio commentaries.

iF: It seemed like everyone hated those weird SIMPSONS "head" DVD boxes.

GROENING: We did them in two versions, so if you didn’t like them, you didn’t have to get those. And we’ve stopped the heads after Bart and then we’ll have something different.

iF: Are there any other characters, supporting or minor, you would like to see more of on the SIMPSONS TV show.

GROENING: We’ve given spotlights to almost all the characters. I would more like Apu episodes and the Comic Book Guy, I love Comic Book Guy. On the other hand, one of the reasons the characters are so much fun, is when you don’t get enough, you only get a line or two.

iF: Will there will be any new characters added to FUTURUAMA?

GROENING: We’ve got a giant alien octopus that mates with every person on earth with its tentacles. And in the first movie, Sarah Silverman plays a cameo and Al Gore. Al Gore is back!

[Doc Holliday]

Nice work Monkey - I'm dying for FUTURAMA'S big return. And you get to double up on the one post too! Such industry...

[doglips]

Is Industry the new word filter for Fluffing? Sweet!

[MonkeyM666]

Futurama: Bender's Big Score is the proposed name of the straight-to-DVD movie based on the animated series Futurama to be released around December 2007. The movie is written by Ken Keeler and David X. Cohen, directed by Dwayne Carey-Hill, and is set to include: the Nibblonians, Seymour (Fry's dog), Phil the Chud, Barbados Slim (the limboer who always defeats Hermes), Morbo, Robot Santa, the God space entity, Al Gore, and Zapp Brannigan.[1]
In February 2007, Futurama creator Matt Groening clarified speculation as to whether Futurama had been revived in episodic or feature-film form, explaining that the crew is "writing them as movies and then we're going to chop them up, reconfigure them, write new material and try to make them work as separate episodes."[2]
According to IMDB.com, the film is set for a December 2007 release date.

And from the mother site…

Ben Sinister Has Read The New FUTURAMA 'Movie'!!
I am - Hercules!!
The 13 new episodes of "Futurama" hit Comedy Central in 2008, but Ben Sinister has already read the first four, and calls it a tearjerker! No mention of the HypnoToad:
Herc--
So I read the script for the new Futurama episodes / DVD movie. I'll go against Ain't It Cool Tradition, skip five painful and pointless paragraphs that no one cares about, and just cut to the chase.
The script, "Bender's Big Score," is a DVD movie divided into four broadcastable episodes. I don't know how well each episode stands on its own as a self-contained piece of Futurama, but as an arc, the story is delightful and truly epic in scope.
As for the story, it comes from Ken Keeler and David Cohen, and it's very very big. Basically, "Planet Express" undergoes a hostile takeover and its new new owners make use of Bender for some criminal schenanigans. What follows is... a very big plot. Which I don't want to ruin. Because it's a lot of fun, very surprising, and something fans should wait for. Making return visits are: the Nibblonians, Seymour, Barbados Slim, Morbo, Santa Bot, the "God" space entity (probably not for the last time), Al Gore, and yes, sexlexia sufferer Zapp Brannigan (although all too briefly). Not to mention space battles, songs, and even a little time travel.
By episode's end, the world of Futurama is left more or less unchanged, and intact for the next three movies (and beyond?). The real development in these episodes is the elaboration of the mythology of the series. Questions you've asked, and haven't asked, are answered. The movie resembles many fan favorite episodes in terms of structure. There's a lot of similarities to "The Why of Fry," "Time Keeps on Slipping," and "The Luck of the Fryish" as well as "Jurrasic Bark," and more loosely, "The Farnsworth Paradox." Fry / Leela fans have plenty to chew on, and if that romance has ever elicited a tear or two, well, grab a hanky, it may do so again.
I'm sure someone's going to criticize these episodes as derivative of past glories. To that person, I say fuck you. All the great Futurama episodes resemble each other in some ways - great sacrifices are made, love goes unrequited, and past and present intersect in unexpected and touching ways. "Bender's Big Score" delivers on all of that, with fresh material and some hilarious jokes. Seriously, I don't laugh a lot when I read scripts, and I laughed a lot reading this.
I don't think these episodes / this movie will be super accessible to anyone new to the series. While it does a very patient and clever job of re-introducing us to the characters and universe, it quickly slips into continuity porn, which will delight some and confuse others. I know for one I can't wait to see this baby hit Comedy Central, and I suspect nary a Futurama fan will be disappointed.
If you use this, call me Ben Sinister.

Sounds fraking great to me… 95% of the original cast, big story arcs, a giant octopus that has sex with everyone on the planet, the ‘Everybody loves Hypnotoad’ show... gold, gold I tell ya!

[Doc Holliday]

Is Industry the new word filter for Fluffing? Sweet!

You know - that would be a good word filter! Let the relentless PM campaign to Mori begin

[MonkeyM666]

That's a good filter...


I can't wait, Futurama is easily one of my favourite shows and it's about bloody time it comes back!

[doglips]

I've always preferred Fry and the gang to Homer and the family, so this is some good news.

Does this mean we won't get new TV episodes?

TV would be nice, but I'll settle for the movie.

[Doc Holliday]

Does this mean we won't get new TV episodes?

Check out the interview with Groening on the Futurama thread Dog! Things look positive for the future re: TV

[MonkeyM666]

I hear that we're getting both..

From IF Magazine

iF: When will you know if you’re going to have a second batch of FUTURAMA episodes?

GROENING: Probably not until 2008. Maybe somebody will get inspired, but we are doing these four movies and sixteen episodes and that’s good. It’s a good start.

Whoop!

I too like the Futurama characters more than the simpsons, but that could be due to the sci-fi aspect of it all

[Doc Holliday]

Well, let's not get carried away - right now what we're getting are the films, then these broken down into episodes for a one-off season on TV.

But....the HOPE (crosses all fingers) is that the attention this receives persuades someone to commission a whole new series with an open-ended mandate.

[MonkeyM666]

I'd say that it'll come down to DVD sales. For this kind of thing that's where our hope lies. So when it comes out every one of us will have to buy 10 copies each...

[tapehead]

I'd say that it'll come down to DVD sales. For this kind of thing that's where our hope lies. So when it comes out every one of us will have to buy 10 copies each...

Agreed - that's what got Family Guy (love it or hate it) back on the air.

[MonkeyM666]

Damn straight... and I hear that it's the same reason for why we have the movies/eps coming back now. That and the fact that Groening (and related team) always said that he couldn’t focus on two large, creatively draining projects at the same time... so Fox made the call and went with Simpsons, not the Futurama the networks underdog at the time.

[Doc Holliday]

I'd say that it'll come down to DVD sales. For this kind of thing that's where our hope lies. So when it comes out every one of us will have to buy 10 copies each...

Agreed - that's what got Family Guy (love it or hate it) back on the air.

I feel a dream sequence coming on....

[MonkeyM666]

There's next to no new news out there about it, I was trying to find a promotional poster, sketch work or something but nadda.

On a side note, looking at the 3d stuff The Simpsons have been using this season the film/eps look really promising... they’re using the same animation house as before (Rough Sketch I think??). So spectacular FX?? We can only hope…[/quote]

[tapehead]

slow day at the office...?