"When Aliens Attack (1ACV12)" Episode Capsule Part One
Jordan Eisenberg Unit 22
============= THE FUTURAMA CHRONICLES ==== EPISODE CAPSULE =============
========================================================================
Official Title: When Aliens Attack
Episode Number: 1ACV12 (#12)
First Airdate : Sunday, November 7th, 1999
Written by : Ken Keeler
Directed by : Brian Sheesley
========================================================================
= Additional tidbits =
Opening theme promotion : = PROUDLY MADE ON EARTH =
Opening theme cartoon : "Daffy The Commando" (1943) {ms3}
07-Sep-99 Nielsen ranking: 7.6 million viewers (#42 for the night)
MPAA rating : TV-LV
Length minus commercials : [21:18]
========================================================================
= Fox Synopsis =
The Omicrons threaten to destroy the earth if they can't see the last
episode of a lost 20th Century television series "Single Female
Lawyer" starring an unmarried human female, who wears very short
miniskirts, struggling to succeed in a human man's world. Because
the last episode was destroyed by someone spilling beer on the
transmitter (think Fry), the crew from Planet Express must deliver
their version of "Single Female Lawyer."
========================================================================
= Minutiae =
- Fry and the technician have already eaten two slices of pizza thirty
seconds into the show.
- Fry spilt LoBrau beer on the controls at the TV station. {sam}
- In the shot from Earth to Omicron Persei 8, you can see a brief
glimpse of the Voyager spacecraft. {sam}
- If you watch closely, in the distant pan from Earth to OP8, you can
see our own sun slowly decrease in size until it blends in with the
background and becomes one of many dim stars!
- The female alien wears clothing but the male does not. {ds}
- The alien's television is oval and quite small. It also has rabbit
ear antennae. {ds}
- The static on the aliens' TV began a few seconds sooner than the
static in the control room, taking into account the minor
broadcasting delays -- some of what Fry and the operator saw made it
to the airwaves, but Fry interrupted the bulk of it with his soda.
More great attention to detail!
- There was a mouse hole in the wall of the alien house where they were
watching "Single Female Lawyer." {sam}
- Fry says "This is HDTV. Its got better resolution than the real
world." Fry's 'real world' is _not_ high resolution. {ds}
- People in the car, clockwise from the front-left seat: Nibbler, Fry,
Leela (driving), Farnsworth, Amy, Bender (sitting on Amy's lap),
Hermes and Zoidberg.
- On monument beach: The Sphynx, Big Ben, the White House, Mt.
Rushmore, Randy's Donuts, Easter Island heads and the Tower of Pisa.
- Zoidberg's cellmates make a break for it after he and Bender flee.
- Bender is giving Fry bunny ears when he takes the picture. {sam}
- The Tower of Pisa didn't explode, but rather just fell over. {ddg}
- When Fry's sandcastle is blown to bits, you can see half of the
remains of Randy's Donuts in the background.
- The super advanced aliens are using a late 50's style microphone.
{lf}
- Bender's blinking antennae (after his Patriotism Circuit is
activated) looks just like the WNYW broadcasting tower's did.
- The second-to-last ship to leave Earth in the DOOP fleet (before PE)
was the Magic School Bus, from the childrens' franchise of the same
name. (You can also see it in the Nimbus hangar in the next scene.)
(See also: "Other References.")
- This episode has finally confirmed my suspicion that the Planet
Express Delivery Ship has a laser turret on its dorsal side. {sam}
- When approaching the mothership for the first time, one of the ships
in the background looks like an old, old, Star Trek ship design.
Three 'warp nacelles' attached to a sphere for the rest of the ship.
{bt}
- I could've sworn that, after the real mothership uncloaked and began
firing, one of the ships destroyed was the Mystery Machine! {dd}
- Bender is wearing a mini-skirt during the battle, as well as those
gold things on his shoulders. {sam}
- You can see the symbol for DOOP on Fry's helmet during the battle.
{sam}
- An old-fashioned tire is thrown from the exploding Hubble Telescope.
- When President McNeal was in the sack, a judge kicked the sack. {jk}
- One of the Omicrons has a cup of popcorn.
- The "Single Female Lawyer" credits said "Written and Directed by
Fry," without mentioning his first name. {ddg}
- The back of Bender's head is attached to a television via an RCA
cable.
- While Lrrr is grading the episode, you can see [his wife] in the
background by a water cooler. {jb}
- That mysterious man wearing a white suit with a big nine on it was
seen again! He was among the people who were celebrating the
departure of the aliens. {sam}
========================================================================
= Parallels to Science Fiction =
+ "Contact" (movie)
- Initial pull-back going from Earth outward is from this movie, as
is the concept of alien civilizations listening in on broadcasts
from Earth. {jb}
+ "Independence Day" (movie)
- Shadows of alien ships falling over people. {jb}
- The shots of the white house and other monuments being zapped were
direct copies from ID4 (or at least the explosion of the White
House was). {bm3}
- President McNeal is similar to the president in the movie, albeit
not quite so cowardly. {jb}
+ "Star Trek" (franchise)
- The TOS alarm klaxons sound when Zoidberg escapes from the lobster
trap. {jb} [I've also seen anti-virus programs use this sound
effect upon finding a virus. -ed]
- Lt. Uhura (TOS) and Captain Janeway (Voyager). {hl}
- Bender spouts Trek-ish technobabble when the ship is hit. {jb}
- Noise when the aliens' hatch opened. {ddg}
+ "Star Wars: A New Hope" (movie)
- The scene in the briefing room looks a lot like the one in this
movie. {sam}
- The approach to the alien mother ship is just like the approach of
the X-wings toward the Death Star in Star Wars. {sam}
- Fry wears a helmet [and gold visor {ddg}] similar to Luke
Skywalker's. {jb}
- One shot of a laser turret firing at a few ships looks exactly like
a similar scene in the Death Star battle in Star Wars. {sam}
- Pretty much the entire attack sequence. {hl}
========================================================================
= Other References =
+ "Ally McBeal" (TV show)
- Everything about "Single Female Lawyer" -- from the hot, naked
affairs to the unisex bathroom to the star's name (Jennie McNeal).
+ Charles Atlas (meatbag)
- The kicking sand in the face bit which what turned Charles Atlas
into a muscleman. {hl}
+ "Diff'rent Strokes" (TV show)
- Bender quotes Gary Coleman's catchphrase from this show when he
asks "Whatchoo talkin' 'bout, Fry?"
~ "MAD Worry Book" (paperback book)
- [This is a] MAD magazine paperback from the early 1980s full of one
panel cartoons of things to worry about. [One cartoon] in
particular was that "I Love Rucy" tv signals being emitted to outer
space may provoke a hostile alien race many light years away to
destroy earth twenty years down the road. The alien in that
cartoon panel looked similar to the ones in the show. {hl}
+ "The Magic School Bus" (children's book / PBS series) {jcl}
- The second-to-last ship to leave Earth in the DOOP fleet (before
PE) was the Magic School Bus itself. (You can also see it in the
Nimbus hangar in the next scene.)
+ "Men are from Mars, Women are from Venus" (book)
- Women are from Omicron Persei 7, and men are from Omicron Persei 9.
{ds}
~ "Monty Python" (franchise)
- There's something distincly "Pythonesque" about a 'monument-
destroying weapon'. I wouldn't call it an homage, but more a
parody. "You're going to destroy the White House? Yeah, well
we'll destroy that, Mt. Rushmore, the Leaning Tower of Pisa _and_
Randy's Donuts!" {rs}
+ Picasso (meatbag)
- Leela with the extra eye on the side of her head looks like that
famous Picasso painting I don't know the name of. {lf}
~ "Saturday Night Live" (TV show)
- Beer spilling on control board from "Sat. Night Live" parody of
"The China Syndrome", "The Pepsi Syndrome." {lf}
~ "The Tick" (TV show)
- The evil governor of NY from the 2600's looks one of the villains.
{lf}
========================================================================
= Goofs =
- Tireless cars still squeal rubber. {hl}
- Leela's handbag and Zoidberg's cooler both disappear from beside
their beach-chairs.
- Zoidberg walked into the water sideways like a crab, not like a
lobster. {sam}
- Beef is extinct. (Perhaps Bender's grilling up tofu burgers.) {jb}
- Bender's red hot glowing ass didn't melt his lounge chair. {ds}
[It's some future Kevlar-like high temp substance -- although the
Statue of Liberty, which is mostly copper and steel, was on fire at
the end. {lf}]
- Once again, the Statue of Liberty is holding something different.
This week it's her traditional torch.
- The aliens attacked rather than waiting one week for the next
episode. How did they handle other pre-emptions? (They said
"season finale," not "series finale.") {ddg}
- Only the WNYW signal was strong enough to reach Omicron Persei 8.
{ddg}
- Why was there only 1 official DOOP fleet ship sent against the
aliens? What happed to the rest? Were they destroyed by the aliens
or just kept from approaching? {sam}
- How could that first ship they attacked be the Hubble Telescope? It
was firing on them!! {sam}
- Zapp's hands are way to big when he says "That _was_ McNeal."
- Who was filming Zapp's conversation with Lrrr?
- Maybe I'm wrong here, but there's no room for an attic in the Planet
Express building. The main section opens up during spaceship
launches, and we've seen inside the dome-like section in 1ACV08.
- The Omicrons watching Single Female Lawyer change places. At first,
Lrrr (distinguished by his gown) is near the middle, but, when he
suggests that McNeal tear the judge's head off, there is no one
sitting to his right.
========================================================================
= Extended Goofs / Technical Nitpicks =
>> What did they do for entertainment back in 2900?
Joe Klemm: Television signals from Earth are actually travelling across
the universe as we speak. In fact, it is possible for aliens to be
watching old TV shows for the very first time. However, their
response to our programs, as well as contact with them, will take a
while to reach back to Earth, as television waves go the same to and
from Earth.
David Antonoff: There's an actual star named "Atik," in the
constellation Pleiades, that's also known as Omicron Persei. I
imagine that if this star has any orbiting bodies, one might be
called #8.
Robert Teague: I looked up that star [Omicron Persei] in my copy of The
Guinness Book of Astronomy, and according to it, it is 310 parsecs
(1011 light years) away. I might go to the Hipparcos Astrometry
Satellite's online catalog and check the parallax there for a more
precise distance.
The star's name is given as Ati. It's a B1 star, so is bigger, more
massive, and brighter than our G2 sun. Without going into specifics,
having Planet VIII as habitable is reasonable, since the eco-zone
would be further from the star. I'd say the writer knows his
astronomy.
In real life, a B1 star is far too massive to have a lifetime that
would allow life to develope. It may not even last long enough for
the planets to cool down to solid rock.
Larry Finkelstein: They may have evolved elsewhere and then colonized a
planet or two in O.P. for minerals or better TV reception.
If planetary formation results in orbital distances, measured from
the stellar surface, that follow a consistent pattern, then the
designation O.P. 8 would refer to a planet at approximately the orbit
of Neptune.
That distance would compensate for the extreme heat of a blue giant
star. Migration would account for the existence of advanced life
forms in a stellar system that must be relatively young.
This assumption cannot be tested until a second planetary system is
measured with enough accuracy to determine the distribution of mass
in the proto-stellar disk.
>> Inconvenience Drive
Daniel Silberfarb: So, if the Aliens of Omicron Persei 8 live 1000
light years from Earth, how did they travel to Earth so quickly? In
order to do so, they would have to travel 10s of thousands of times
faster than the speed of light -- which is supposedly impossible.
Larry Finkelstein: Of course, the Planet Express ship travels to other
stars and galaxies routinely, so this is not new. Breaking the light
speed barrier is a necessary plot convenience in science fiction.
There are numerous scientific theories that are use to justify it.
Hyperspace - Space is warped into a fourth (or fifth) dimension and
the two points in space are moved closer so the ship can
pass between them quickly.
Warp drive - Similar to hyperspace, space is warped and the ship
jumps across the crests of the warp.
Time drive - The ship moves back in time 99.999999% as fast as time
moves forward, creating the illusion that you are moving
faster than light.
Worm holes - Temporary rifts through the fabric of space, though
unstable and requiring huge amounts of energy to create,
they provide short-cuts through the universe.
Lint drive - If you take a pair of pants out of the drier and put
your hand in the pockets, what do you find? Lint! How
does it get there? It's that fast!
James W. Sager III: Instead of asking why they get back so fast, don't
you think we should really be asking, "How did they get such good
reception 1000 light years away?"
Larry Finkelstein: Since the signal originates in 1999, we can assume
it is a digital signal. As long as there is enough signal to tell 1s
from 0s, they would get perfect reception. Giant dishes in orbit
could pick up the signal, and re-broadcast it to the little rabbit
ears on the side of the TV.
However, when we are behind the sun, they would lose the signal.
Hopefully it is in the summer when there's nothing on but re-runs.
Willondon Donovan: Not necessarily. The line from Sol to their sun
could be perpendicular to the plane containing Earth's orbit. In
that case, Earth would never be obscured from view. Personally,
though, I'm guessing illegal cable hookup.
"Magic. Got it." -- Fry
>> Filmed on Location
Dave Sweatt: This episode takes place on Labor Day, which is still an
observed work holiday in the year 3000. This establishes that Fry
has been in the future for 9 months, and may give us a clue as to
whether or not time will pass by on the show (IOW, will we always be
in the year 3000 or will time pass?). [More than one person
concluded that Labor Day 3000 will fall on September 1st. -ed]
Larry Finkelstein: Fry had been at Planet Express for over two months
when they finally kicked him out. So he was definitely too late to
enroll at Mars University for the spring semester and it had to be
fall semester when he started. How could he be in school long enough
to be taking a major test on the history of the 20th century, then
drop out in time for Labor Day? Other than the tight schedule, it is
chronological.
Since it was Labor Day, why wasn't Jerry Lewis' head hosting a
telethon for something?
Rick Carlson: He could have enrolled in a Summer Semester, especially
since they are traditionally "light material" due to the shorter time
frame.
>> Nobody bothered to preserve Calista Flockhart's head (in a test-
>> tube ... )
Don Del Grande: If there was a web site for "Single Female Lawyer," why
didn't anybody try to find real writers and actors that looked like
the originals, rather than letting Fry and company do it?
Eric Sansoni: Disregarding the fact that it's bound to be much funnier
to see our favorite characters act the parts, as opposed to directing
other actors behind the scenes, they certainly didn't have time to do
a casting call with only 24 hours before this week's imminent
annihilation of the Earth.
John DiFool: Plus the aliens probably think that all humans look alike.
Ward Donald Griffiths III: You mean you _don't_ all look alike?
========================================================================
= Reviews =
Jason Barrera: After a somewhat lackluster trip to the beach, this
episodes really picks up steam in the second and third acts with lots
of glitzy special effects. Kudos to Leela for her rousing
performance as Jenny McNeil. (A-)
Phish Eggs: After seeing another episode of Homer's wacky adventures
this episode was a welcome relief. Thank goodness Futurama is back
in form after a mediocre episode last month. The characterization in
this episode was dead-on with Zapp acting the way he should and some
great Farnsworth activity ("You'll be the alchoholic, foul-mouthed
..."). The standout of this episode was Fry with the most funny
lines in the episode. I loved his script for "Single Female Lawyer"
and his sand castle had me ROTFL. All in all an excellent show with
good pacing, good story, and most importantly, it was funny; and it
had Amy losing her bikini top. ;) (A)
Scott Henrichs: After that slighty above-mediocre episode a month ago
(in case you forgot -- it's been so long since a new episode -- the
one where they go to Mars University), I thought this episode was
just like the first 7 or 8 before, rolling-on-the-floor hilarious.
This episode was awesome! Much better than tonight's Simpsons
episode, of course. The best part was Bender's red hot metal ass and
"camera 3." :) Of course, I'm sure a lot of people here will like
Nibbler eating Amy's bikini more. (Probably #2 episode ever only to
the one where Zap and Leela sleep together.) (A)
Joe Klemm: When I first saw the ads for it, I was a little bit worried
that the episode would be a disappointment like E-I-E-I-Annoyed
Grunt. However, the writers prevented it from being disappointing
thanks to the beach scenes, the crew doing their version of Single
White Lawyer, and the alien's critique of the episode. (B+)
Eric Sansoni: Perfect characterization here spells big laughs. Zapp,
satirizing both military-think and booty-hounds, is indispensable,
and the unending variations on Bender's gadgetry are priceless. The
Star Wars refs are nicely done as throwaways; spotting them is a
bonus, not a requirement. The humor is so consistent, that you might
overlook how elegant the plot and themes are. That intelligent
undercurrent makes this involving and satisfying, not just funny.
Great plot touches include Fry both causing and resolving the 1000
yr-old threat, and Leela's sensible anti-TV stance turning out to be
truly bad advice. Best of all are the pokes at TV viewers and what
they crave. Thank God this show was the opposite. (A-)
Mike Smith: I do enjoy that episode, thanks to Ken Keeler's
entertaining script. The "Single Female Lawyer" recreation is so
funny, as was the ending shot! The alien may give the recreation a
C+, but I give the whole episode an: (A)
Yours Truly: The funniest yet. It manages to overlay carefree comedy
with a consistent and fully developed universe like no one else could
have. The most amazing thing is that every single reference (either
to pop culture or a previous episode) was presented so that people
who didn't get it wouldn't even have to think twice because it was
integrated so well with the plot. TV should always be this much fun.
(A+)
Average Grade: [17/7=2.428571428571] (A)
========================================================================
= Final Thoughts / Comments =
>> Minute Title Sequence Trivia
Mike Smith: The cartoon is "Daffy The Commando" from 1943. It's one of
those wartime-themed cartoons from WWII. The most interesting thing
about this is the rotoscoping of Hitler at the end. Interesting,
since the episode involves a war over a TV show from the 20th
Century!
Scott H. Eckert: Definitly very weird cartoon with Daffy hitting Hitler
on the head with the mallet and stuff ...
>> Newsgroups ain't for a-praisin'
Eric Sansoni, in response to Scott Henrich's review: Geez, Futurama
just might be a smash ratings success after all. You manage to count
among your favorite moments every sexually-related joke they ever
did, while I found the exaggerated satire of "sophisticated" sex
comedies on tonight's show well-aimed. Yet neither of us found
enough to be offended by in the material the other liked. There's
magic in this television writing.
>> Freeze Frame Fanaticism will return next week at its regular time ...
Daniel L. Dreibelbis comments on the many spaceship gags hidden during
the battle scenes: A similar thing happened in an episode of Tiny
Toon Adventures, in which Plucky Duck became Pluckzilla -- a jet
began firing missiles at Plucky, and if you slowed down the tape you
could see other things being shot at him, including a kitchen sink,
an anvil, and George Jetson ... )
>> Tell me where you are _now_, you bastard!
Daniel Tropea: Destroying the Hubble? Sheesh. Although you would
think that would have crashed back on Earth by now.
Reagan Sulewski: Who knows what version of the Hubble this is. I
believe there's suppossed to be a replacement for the current one in
not too long. I also get a kick out of the fact that the future
Hubble is armed.
>> Hidden references to "Newsradio" and Phil Hartman?
Captain Jackass: In the opening scene (from 1999), Fry was delivering
pizza and beer to a TV station with the call letters "WNYW." This is
only one letter off from "WNYX."
Later in the episode, there were several scenes featuring one
"President McNeal." Not McNeil, mind you, but McNeal. In my
opinion, he also bore a striking "resemblance" to Phil Hartman / Bill
McNeal / Lionel Hutz, at least as much as a cartoon can resemble a
real person.
Of course, it could all be coincidence, but given Phil's close
association with The Simpsons, these things really struck me as a
subtle tribute the Dearly Departed One.
Eric Sansoni: I would guess it wasn't meant to make us think of
Hartman. Considering that the character is killed, it would have
made for a potentially tasteless comparison. OTOH, Brian Kelley and
Lewis Morton have written for both shows, making potential Newsradio
references more plausible.
I'd say it's a coincidence. WNYW is a real New York City affiliate, and
McNeal was used (and spelled thusly) because it sounds like "McBeal."
Whether or not the president looked like Hartman is subjective ...
but I'll grant that taken together they're nice coincidences.
>> That'll teach 'em to store them horizontally and not watch them
Jason Radek: I have a question about a joke in this episode. One of the
characters says that all videotapes of shows from the twentieth
century were destroyed in 2443, during the second coming of Jesus.
Some sort of disaster is mentioned as well. I'm not sure what he was
getting at. My interpretation is that all television shows were
destroyed so Jesus couldn't see the crap we're all watching. Any
thoughts?
Larry Finkelstein: The second coming is supposed to include a variety
of global catastrophes, fire, brimstone etc. Any kind of massive
electro-magnetic release could damage video tapes for miles around.
Also, he said "most video tapes were destroyed." Remember, Fry had
some old episodes of "Sanford and Son" that survived.
A second coming would support the idea of Jesus having divine origin,
which itself would imply that he already knows what we're watching.
But then, I practice Oprahism ...
Brendan Keane: I thought that the second coming of Jesus was supposed
to be the end of the world what with death and destruction raining
down from the heavens, but in the Futurama universe the second coming
of Jesus merely damaged their video tapes. It's a joke. Thanks for
your time.
Steven Aaron Monroe: If the Second Coming has happened, why is the
world like the way it is? Why are there still Jews and members of
non-Christian religions (ie, Oprahism, Voodoo, Robotology)? Either
Farnsworth is senile and was lying, or it wasn't really the Second
Coming (at least, not the way the Christians think it will be like).
>> A clown hugs a nun
Eric Sansoni: I don't think it was supposed to be Krusty, or a Krusty
costume for that matter, just a generic clown, albeit Groening-style
in appearance. It took me a few seconds to get the joke, so I can't
say it gelled quick enough to produce a laugh, but I think I know
what they were getting at. It's easier to figure out when you
realize the previous shots of people hugging were meant to show
complete opposites getting along (an old joke done best in the
original Naked Gun and also done in Simpsons Halloween Special #2
when Lisa wishes for world peace). The question to ask is what about
a clown is opposite from a nun? Well, nuns wear black and white, in
fact they're one of the few people who wear a strictly colorless
uniform. Meanwhile, the essence of the clown outfit is that they
wear a veritable rainbow of colors. So the joke was someone who
wears strictly black and white was getting along with someone who
wears every other color there is. Why doesn't the joke work so well?
Probably because fashion is not the immediate characteristic that
comes to mind when thinking of clowns, or especially nuns, who have
been the butt of jokes for numerous other reasons over the years for
reasons besides their "penguin" gear.
The joke gelled with me instantly. It's the rivalry between
conservativism and liberalism, morality vs. fun, old-fashioned vs.
modern ... now that I think about it, this may be one of the best
jokes in the episode. Look at it this way:
- If we were all the same color, would we all get along? Probably
not.
- If we were all the same color and religion, would we get along?
Maybe.
- If we were all the same color and religion, and everyone had the
same outlook on how to live life, would we get along? I say
most likely.
That's how I saw the joke.
>> On the Cutting-Room Floor
This may not really qualify as an OTCRF, but ... in the first network
airing, Fox goofed and reran the credits for the Simpsons episode
that came before ("E-I-E-I-DO'h! (AABF19)") instead of the
appropriate Futurama credits. Those zidiots!