Futurama ‘How the West Was 1010001’ Is the Only Episode That Had OG Vibes After Revival
The revival was controversial, but one episode still stood out.
The last (as we thought) season of Futurama was released in 2013. However, 10 years later, in 2023, the show's creators, Matt Groening and David X. Cohen, went back to work.
Futurama Revival History
The show's fate was not easy. Futurama had serious problems with Fox, despite high ratings from critics. It was all because of the topics raised by the show — the writers wanted to make fun of real people and the movie industry. This did not sit well with the network's management, which is why the show's time slot was constantly changed.
But neither this nor the pressure on the writers caused the creators to change the plot of Futurama much. However, when the ratings dropped in 2003, it was decided to end the show for the first time. Originally, the 18th episode of Season 4 was intended to be the final one. Therefore, the episode ended with a hint of a happy ending, wrapping up the love story between Leela and Fry.
After the series ended, there were long rumors about a possible next season. The official announcement came in 2006 — Fox released four feature-length animated films.
In the finale of the last movie, Into the Wild Green Yonder, the Planet Express crew went into a wormhole where anything could have happened.
In 2010, the show returned to Comedy Central. Initially, the creators planned to make only one season — it could have been the last for the show. In the 25th episode of the sixth season, Bender's processor is overclocked, after which he begins to improve himself, becoming the most advanced artificial being in the universe, essentially a deity.
After the sixth season finale, Comedy Central decided to renew the series for another season. So Futurama got another "ending." In the 26th episode of Season 7, Fry proposes to Leela, but she does not arrive on time. Then he jumps off a skyscraper. In the air, Fry realizes that Leela is just late and uses a device that rewinds time.
The New Season Was Not a Huge Success
In 2023, Futurama began airing on Hulu — and this latest revival was met with mixed feelings from fans. Many accused the new 11th season of being more like Frankenstein 's monster, woven together from pieces of episodes from previous seasons.
The fact that the revival brought nothing new to the project did not evoke a feeling of pleasant nostalgia — on the contrary, it looked like a sitcom that had run for too many seasons.
How the West Was 1010001 Brings Back Warm Memories of Old School Futurama
However, there is one episode that many fans have enjoyed — How the West Was 1010001.
“Great episode, felt like OG Futurama,” Reddit user Koofteh wrote.
The Planet Express crew heads to the new Wild West to make money and pay off Professor Farnsworth's debts to the robot mafia. In the 31st century, the new gold is suddenly bitcoins. They are popular again, and mining zones even appear in San Francisco.
The professor understands that mining takes too long, so he persuades the team to look for the mineral thallium — it can be exchanged for bitcoins. And while the team searches for it, everyone tries on the Wild West roles.