My favorite episode of Futurama so far. Fast-pace story with unexpected and dark events. Almost as stimulating as Rick and Morty. Plus you got the actual voice of Gary Gygax and Stephen Hawking. Fantastic episode!
7 Reviews
fantastic!
lxxwinner12 February 2018
What if...?
Tweekums30 April 2012
Warning: Spoilers
This episode is unlike any episode to date in that it effectively gives us three stories for the price of one. It opens with the Professor demonstrating his latest invention... the finglonger. He demonstrates it by using it to switch on another invention; his 'what if' machine... naturally people want to pose it questions.
First up is Bender who wants to know what would happen if he was 500ft tall. The machine shows how the giant Bender would come to Earth and befriend Fry; they would play in the park and have fun until a minor accident leaves thousands of Hanson fans dead. The army is called up to fight the metal menace but it is no good. Ultimately the Professor solves the problem by using his super-sizer device on Zoidberg; the two colossi battle it out, destroying much of the city in the process.
Second up is a reluctant Leela who, after a little cajoling, asks what it would be like if she was a little more impulsive. We then see her impulsiveness leads her to buy a new pair of boots which she uses to kick the Professor into a bit of man-eating anteaters! Desperate not to be caught she ends up killing the rest of the Planet Express employees until only Fry remains... she buys his silence another way.
The final question is posed by Fry; he wonders what would have happened if he hadn't been frozen a thousand years before. We are shown that this would have caused a tear in the universe; Vice President Al Gore and his action rangers; Stephen Hawking, Gary Gygax, Nichelle Nichols and chess playing supercomputer Deep Blue turn up to try to force him into the freezing tube but he would break it and cause the destruction of the universe.
The idea of having three short stories worked surprisingly well; there was no time wasted and each was packed with laughs and none dragged on too long. I personally found the first two stories the best as they weren't showcasing several famous guest stars like the third was; this is just a matter of taste though and I suspect overall each will be equally popular. Having the what if machine to link the stories also meant that regular characters could be killed off... after all they were only being shown 'What if?'
First up is Bender who wants to know what would happen if he was 500ft tall. The machine shows how the giant Bender would come to Earth and befriend Fry; they would play in the park and have fun until a minor accident leaves thousands of Hanson fans dead. The army is called up to fight the metal menace but it is no good. Ultimately the Professor solves the problem by using his super-sizer device on Zoidberg; the two colossi battle it out, destroying much of the city in the process.
Second up is a reluctant Leela who, after a little cajoling, asks what it would be like if she was a little more impulsive. We then see her impulsiveness leads her to buy a new pair of boots which she uses to kick the Professor into a bit of man-eating anteaters! Desperate not to be caught she ends up killing the rest of the Planet Express employees until only Fry remains... she buys his silence another way.
The final question is posed by Fry; he wonders what would have happened if he hadn't been frozen a thousand years before. We are shown that this would have caused a tear in the universe; Vice President Al Gore and his action rangers; Stephen Hawking, Gary Gygax, Nichelle Nichols and chess playing supercomputer Deep Blue turn up to try to force him into the freezing tube but he would break it and cause the destruction of the universe.
The idea of having three short stories worked surprisingly well; there was no time wasted and each was packed with laughs and none dragged on too long. I personally found the first two stories the best as they weren't showcasing several famous guest stars like the third was; this is just a matter of taste though and I suspect overall each will be equally popular. Having the what if machine to link the stories also meant that regular characters could be killed off... after all they were only being shown 'What if?'
Gorgeous
gallardini9618 March 2019
The One With The "What If" Machine...
taylorkingston15 October 2015
Warning: Spoilers
I enjoyed this episode. It is completely different to any other episode of Futurama, except for the other Anthology Of Interest episode.
In this episode, Professor Farnsworth reveals that he invented a "What If" machine, where you ask it any "what if" question, and it shows you what the answer would be. So of course, the crew decide to use it. Bender asks what it would be like if he were 500 feet tall, which leads to disaster. Leela ask what it would be like if she was more impulsive, which also ends bad, as she ends up murdering the crew. And Fry asks what it would be like if he never came to future, and it turns out it was better to be frozen.
Title Card: Painstakingly Drawn Before A Live Audience
Fun Fact: Scruffy the janitor is named for the first time.
Best part of the episode: The Leela segment, and Zoidberg.
Overall, I give this episode an 8 out of 10, which in my ratings book is: Awesome.
In this episode, Professor Farnsworth reveals that he invented a "What If" machine, where you ask it any "what if" question, and it shows you what the answer would be. So of course, the crew decide to use it. Bender asks what it would be like if he were 500 feet tall, which leads to disaster. Leela ask what it would be like if she was more impulsive, which also ends bad, as she ends up murdering the crew. And Fry asks what it would be like if he never came to future, and it turns out it was better to be frozen.
Title Card: Painstakingly Drawn Before A Live Audience
Fun Fact: Scruffy the janitor is named for the first time.
Best part of the episode: The Leela segment, and Zoidberg.
Overall, I give this episode an 8 out of 10, which in my ratings book is: Awesome.
Anthology of Interest Interested Me
AnimatedCritic29 April 2021
Warning: Spoilers
This episode was one of my favorite episodes of Futurama because the the fun and exciting segments.
The first one has Bender as 500ft from another planet, with a dream to kill all humans, which lead to a an favorite quote, "I came here with a simple dream. A dream of killing all humans." It starts off with Fry and the 500ft Bender becoming good friends, until Bender wrecks havoc in the city. Soon, the Planet Express Crew turns Zoidberg into 500ft to fight off Bender, leading to a Godzilla vs Kong-like fight. In the end, it was Zoidberg that won the battle, and the 500ft Bender dies. This segment was surprisingly sweet, and was a fun ride.
The second segment asks if Leela was more impulsive. In the segment, Leela becomes the professor's heir because she's boring and predictable, which leads to Leela killing the professor. It make sure no one else find out, she kills the other Planet Express members until there is only Fry, who buys his silence another way. This episode was a thrilling and fun episode with a murder mystery.
The third segment is the worst of the three, but still good. This segment asks if Fry never fell into the Cryogenics Tube, taking him to the future. This leads to a rip in the fabric of space, with the world's smartest people to solve it. In the end, the universe gets destroyed and the smart people and Fry end up playing Dungeons and Dragons for all eternity. Not the best of the three, but still good fun.
This is one of my favorite Futurama episodes because it explores different outcomes and realities, and not afraid to show great amounts of creativity.
The first one has Bender as 500ft from another planet, with a dream to kill all humans, which lead to a an favorite quote, "I came here with a simple dream. A dream of killing all humans." It starts off with Fry and the 500ft Bender becoming good friends, until Bender wrecks havoc in the city. Soon, the Planet Express Crew turns Zoidberg into 500ft to fight off Bender, leading to a Godzilla vs Kong-like fight. In the end, it was Zoidberg that won the battle, and the 500ft Bender dies. This segment was surprisingly sweet, and was a fun ride.
The second segment asks if Leela was more impulsive. In the segment, Leela becomes the professor's heir because she's boring and predictable, which leads to Leela killing the professor. It make sure no one else find out, she kills the other Planet Express members until there is only Fry, who buys his silence another way. This episode was a thrilling and fun episode with a murder mystery.
The third segment is the worst of the three, but still good. This segment asks if Fry never fell into the Cryogenics Tube, taking him to the future. This leads to a rip in the fabric of space, with the world's smartest people to solve it. In the end, the universe gets destroyed and the smart people and Fry end up playing Dungeons and Dragons for all eternity. Not the best of the three, but still good fun.
This is one of my favorite Futurama episodes because it explores different outcomes and realities, and not afraid to show great amounts of creativity.
Truly Inceptional!
GraXXoR20 May 2021
Genius episode in how Futurama take the most ridiculous premise and turns it into something truly poignant.
For me, this is the pinnacle of Season 2 and an absolute Coup in terms of cameos...
Al Gore played Al Gore and Stephen Hawking actually came up with his own replies... apparently unscripted....
And let's not forget the legendary Lt. Uhara from the Starship Enterprise, Nichelle Nichols...
Aaaannnd... Gary Gygax... the ultimate master of "what if" tabletop fantasy.
How the actual does a single episode of a single TV gather this number of world renowned people into one episode????
Legendary rank episode!
For me, this is the pinnacle of Season 2 and an absolute Coup in terms of cameos...
Al Gore played Al Gore and Stephen Hawking actually came up with his own replies... apparently unscripted....
And let's not forget the legendary Lt. Uhara from the Starship Enterprise, Nichelle Nichols...
Aaaannnd... Gary Gygax... the ultimate master of "what if" tabletop fantasy.
How the actual does a single episode of a single TV gather this number of world renowned people into one episode????
Legendary rank episode!
Definitely not impressed
3HK11 October 2022
I just listened to the DVD commentary for this episode and I have to say, I'm definitely not at all impressed with how this episode was produced. I mean, what the hell is wrong with making this episode an hour long special? This episode had loads of potential yet they tried really hard to cram everything down into 22 minutes which caused very huge sacrifices to this episode and as a result this episode ended up not being as good as it could have been.
That's not to say this episode is really bad or anything, I just have a great problem with the producers of this episode and how opposed they are to hour long special episodes, causing this to lose its full potential and lose being an actually really great episode. At least they were transparent about that in the DVD commentary (something that other shows definitely aren't), but still.
That's not to say this episode is really bad or anything, I just have a great problem with the producers of this episode and how opposed they are to hour long special episodes, causing this to lose its full potential and lose being an actually really great episode. At least they were transparent about that in the DVD commentary (something that other shows definitely aren't), but still.
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