50 Fun Facts About Futurama

Who created Futurama?

Matt Groening dreamed up Futurama in the mid-1990s while working on The Simpsons and brought in Simpsons writer David X. Cohen to develop it; the show premiered on Fox in March 1999.

On what date is Fry revived from cryogenic sleep?

Fry thaws out on December 31, 2999, exactly 1,000 years after toppling into the cryogenic tube just after midnight on New Year's Day 2000, and emerges into New New York.

What was Fry's job in 1999 before he was frozen?

Pizza delivery boy was Fry's job in 1999; a prank order sent him to Applied Cryogenics on New Year's Eve, where he toppled into a freezing tube.

Where does Futurama take its name from?

A pavilion at the 1939 New York World's Fair gave the show its name: General Motors' Futurama exhibit, designed by Norman Bel Geddes, imagined the world of 1960, and the pilot echoes the fair's 'world of tomorrow' slogan.

What is Bender originally programmed to do?

Bend girders is Bender's factory purpose; on learning his girders were used to build suicide booths he tries to kill himself in one, which is where Fry first meets him.

What does Bender need to drink to power his fuel cells?

Alcohol powers Bender's fuel cells, so when he sobers up he behaves like a drunk, with slurred speech and rusty five-o'clock shadow.

What is Bender's catchphrase insult?

'Bite my shiny metal ass' is Bender's trademark insult, first heard in the 1999 pilot 'Space Pilot 3000' and repeated throughout the series.

Why did Futurama's writers attach the number 1729 to Bender?

It is the taxicab number: the smallest sum of two cubes in two ways (1³+12³ = 9³+10³), the Hardy–Ramanujan anecdote beloved of the show's mathematically trained writers; Bender's serial number 2716057 is also a sum of two cubes.

Who built Bender?

Mom's Friendly Robot Company, the robotics arm of MomCorp, built Bender and nearly every robot on Earth, which lets Mom trigger a robot uprising by remote control in 'Mother's Day'.

Who voices Bender?

John DiMaggio voices Bender, a voice he has described as a mix of a sloppy drunk, Slim Pickens and a character he did in college called Charlie the Sausage Lover.

Billy West voices Fry, Zoidberg and Zapp Brannigan, plus which other main character?

Hubert Farnsworth is also Billy West's: he voices Fry, Zoidberg, Zapp Brannigan and the Professor, and built Fry's voice from an impression of himself at age 25.

Which cast member is the only one to voice a single character?

Katey Sagal voices only Leela, while every other regular cast member doubles as a roster of minor characters; Sagal had earlier starred as Peg Bundy in Married... with Children.

Leela turns out to be what, rather than the alien she assumed?

A sewer mutant is what Leela really is, revealed in 'Leela's Homeworld' (2002): her parents Morris and Munda live in the sewers under New New York and left her at the Orphanarium so she could pass as an alien.

What was Leela's job when Fry first met her?

A cryogenics-lab career officer, Leela implanted career chips at Applied Cryogenics and was about to give Fry his permanent one when she quit to join him; she then became captain of the Planet Express ship.

The Planet Express boss is Fry's distant relative in which direction?

His nephew and descendant at once: the Professor descends from Fry's brother, and because Fry fathered his own father during a time-travel mishap, Fry is also the Professor's direct ancestor.

Which word completes the Professor's catchphrase, 'Good news, ...'?

'Good news, everyone!' is Professor Farnsworth's catchphrase, used to unveil an invention or announce a delivery that is usually a suicide mission.

What is Zoidberg's home planet?

Decapod 10 is the home planet of the Decapodians, Zoidberg's lobster-like species; Billy West performs the doctor with a Yiddish-inflected accent inspired by George Jessel and Lou Jacobi.

Where is Hermes Conrad from?

Jamaica is Hermes Conrad's homeland; Phil LaMarr says the bureaucrat was originally written as 'Dexter' with no accent, and LaMarr's Jamaican voice gave him his identity and his passion for limbo.

Why did Hermes give up competitive limbo?

A young fan imitating him broke his back and died at the 2980 Olympics, so Hermes quit the sport; he returns to limbo in the episode 'Bend Her' during Bender's Olympic stunt as 'Coilette'.

Amy Wong is heiress to what?

The western hemisphere of Mars belongs to Amy's parents Leo and Inez Wong, who run a buggalo ranch there, the buggalo being a buffalo-sized bug; the family is shown in 'Where the Buggalo Roam'.

Zapp Brannigan was originally created for which actor, who died before the show aired?

Phil Hartman was to voice Zapp Brannigan but was killed in May 1998, before the show aired; Billy West took over the role, and Fry's first name, Philip, was chosen in Hartman's honour.

What is the name of Zapp Brannigan's starship?

Nimbus is Zapp's DOOP flagship, first seen in 'Love's Labours Lost in Space' when he jails Fry, Leela and Bender for violating Brannigan's Law; its hull number is BP-1729.

Kif Kroker, Zapp's long-suffering aide, comes from which planet?

Amphibios 9 is Kif's home planet; he returns there to give birth in 'Kif Gets Knocked Up a Notch', and his skeleton-free body is held up by fluid-filled bladders.

Which former US president's head serves as President of Earth?

His head is sometimes accompanied by Spiro Agnew's headless body.

Lrrr, who always introduces himself by his title, is ruler of which planet?

Omicron Persei 8 is ruled by Lrrr ('Lrrr, ruler of the planet Omicron Persei 8!'); Maurice LaMarche won a 2011 Emmy for voicing him and Orson Welles's head in 'Lrrreconcilable Ndndifferences'.

Fry is immune to the Brainspawn because his brain lacks what?

The Delta brainwave is missing from Fry's brain because he is his own grandfather, which lets him stand unaffected in the Brainspawn's stupefying field and infiltrate their Infosphere in 'The Why of Fry'.

How does Fry become his own grandfather on the crew's accidental trip into the past?

He sleeps with his grandmother after deciding she can't be his grandmother, having accidentally got his grandfather Enos killed despite the Professor's warning; the result is that Fry fathers his own father.

Which episode won Futurama's first Emmy for Outstanding Animated Program, in 2002?

Roswell That Ends Well won the 2002 Emmy for Outstanding Animated Program; a microwave-and-supernova accident throws the crew back to 1947, where they become the Roswell incident.

What was the name of Fry's dog, whose fossil he finds in 'Jurassic Bark'?

Seymour, fully Seymour Asses, was the stray Fry befriended in the 1990s; the closing flashback of Seymour waiting years for Fry to return is routinely called one of animation's saddest scenes.

Where did Fry's dog faithfully wait for him after he vanished?

Outside Panucci's Pizza, the shop where Fry worked, the dog waited twelve years for him, as the closing montage of 'Jurassic Bark' shows; the episode lost the 2003 Emmy to an episode of The Simpsons.

Writer Ken Keeler proved an original math theorem to resolve which body-swapping episode?

The Prisoner of Benda (2010) needed Keeler's theorem: he holds a PhD in applied mathematics, and the proof shows any sequence of body swaps can be undone with just two extra people.

Which 2010 Futurama episode, in which Fry, Bender and the Professor reach the end of the universe, won an Emmy?

The Late Philip J. Fry won the 2011 Emmy for Outstanding Animated Program; the forward-only time machine carries the trio past the end of the universe twice before they land ten feet above where they started.

How did Fox end Futurama's original run in 2003?

It simply stopped buying episodes: Fox never formally cancelled Futurama, but after shuffling it around the schedule it ordered no more after production season four, and the last original Fox episode aired in August 2003.

Which cable block ran Futurama reruns from 2003 to 2007, helping revive it?

Adult Swim on Cartoon Network aired Futurama reruns from January 2003 to December 2007, where strong ratings alongside fellow Fox cast-off Family Guy helped persuade Comedy Central to revive the show.

Which direct-to-DVD Futurama film was released second, in June 2008?

The Beast with a Billion Backs reached DVD on 24 June 2008, following Bender's Big Score (November 2007), which had premiered on Comedy Central that March; Bender's Game and Into the Wild Green Yonder completed the set.

Which streaming service revived Futurama in 2023?

Hulu ordered twenty new episodes in February 2022 and released them as two seasons from 24 July 2023, a decade after the show's Comedy Central run ended in 2013.

Futurama's theme has been noted for its similarity to which 1967 piece?

Pierre Henry's Psyché Rock, a 1967 musique concrète piece written with Michel Colombier, is the acknowledged model for Christopher Tyng's Futurama theme, which borrows its bell-like electronic hook.

The show's original writing staff collectively held how many PhDs?

Three PhDs sat on the writing staff, Ken Keeler's in applied mathematics, Jeff Westbrook's in computer science and Bill Odenkirk's in chemistry, alongside seven master's degrees and over 50 years of Harvard education.

What is Alienese?

A cipher for the Latin alphabet used on background signs, Alienese swaps each letter for a symbol; fans cracked it quickly, so the writers introduced a second, harder alphabet based on a running-sum code.

How many viewers watched the Futurama premiere between The Simpsons and The X-Files in March 1999?

About 19 million viewers watched the pilot 'Space Pilot 3000' on 28 March 1999, when Fox slotted it between The Simpsons and The X-Files; it was the largest audience Futurama ever drew.

How many Emmy Awards had Futurama won by the end of 2025?

Six Emmys by the end of 2025: Outstanding Animated Program in 2002 and 2011, Outstanding Voice-Over Performance for Maurice LaMarche in 2011 and 2012, and two further craft awards.

What is Fry's older brother's name?

Fry believes his brother stole his name and dreams, until he learns Yancy named his own son Philip in tribute.

What did Fry get in exchange for trading hands with the Robot Devil?

The ability to play the holophonor and write an opera came with the Robot Devil's hands; in 'The Devil's Hands Are Idle Playthings', written as a series finale, Fry composes an opera for Leela before giving the hands back.

Which character is the Professor's clone, raised as his son?

Cubert Farnsworth is the Professor's clone, grown from a scraping of his back and raised as his son from 'A Clone of My Own'; Igner, by contrast, is the Professor's son by Mom.

What is Calculon famous for?

Starring in the robot soap All My Circuits made Calculon a celebrity; he supposedly got his acting talent by selling his soul to the Robot Devil and boasts of never needing a second take.

Which alien news anchor is openly an advance scout for an invasion of Earth?

Morbo, the green alien who co-anchors the √2 News with Linda van Schoonhoven, openly promises that his people will conquer Earth, and he is voiced by Maurice LaMarche.

Whose shadow can be seen as Fry falls into the cryogenic tube in the pilot?

Nibbler's shadow appears under the desk as Fry topples into the tube; 'The Why of Fry' (2003) reveals that Nibbler pushed him so that, a thousand years on, Fry could defeat the Brainspawn.

According to the show's creator, what inspired the suicide booths?

A 1937 Donald Duck cartoon, Modern Inventions, with its misbehaving robot barber chair, is what the show's creator cited as inspiring the suicide booths; Fox executives were disturbed by the booths and by Bender's antisocial behaviour.

Which malt liquor, named after a programming language, is Bender's favourite?

Olde Fortran malt liquor splices Olde English 800 with Fortran, the 1957 IBM language that is among the oldest high-level programming languages.

In 'Xmas Story', Zoidberg alone is judged good enough to get a present from whom?

Robot Santa, voiced by John Goodman in 'Xmas Story', judges everyone naughty and punishes them with violence, except Zoidberg, whom he gives a pogo stick.