"Futurama" War Is the H-Word (2000)

Director:

Ron Hughart

Writers:

Matt Groening (creator)
Matt Groening (developer) ...

TV Series:

"Futurama" (1999)

Original Air Date:

26 November 2000 (Season 3, Episode 2)

Genre:

Animation | Comedy | Drama | Sci-Fi

Plot:

Fry and Bender enlist in the army to get a soldiers discount for bubblegum. When they are called to fight a war on a planet of bouncing ball aliens...

Plot Keywords:

M A S H | Strapped To Bomb | Nixon | Homosexual Subtext | Suicide Bomber

US TV Schedule:

Wed. Jan. 13

9:30 PM

COMEDY

War Is the H-Word

#3.2

Cast

Billy West	...	Philip J. Fry / Prof. Hubert J. Farnsworth / Dr. Zoidberg / Zapp Brannigan / President Richard Nixon's Head / Cashier / Additional Voices (voice)
Katey Sagal	...	Turanga Leela / Lee Lemon (voice)
John Di Maggio	...	Bender / Henry Kissinger's Head / Bumpkin Soldier / Additional Voices (voice) (as John DiMaggio)
Tress MacNeille	...	Nurse (voice)
Maurice LaMarche	...	Lt. Kif Kroker / iHawk / Brain Balls / Recruitment Officer / Additional Voices (voice)
David Herman	...	Additional Voices (voice)
Lauren Tom	...	Amy Wong / Additional Voices (voice) (credit only)
Phil LaMarr	...	Hermes Conrad (voice)
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Todd Susman	...	PA Announcer (voice) (as Todd Sussman)

Runtime:

Argentina:30 min

Certification:

Argentina:Atp

Trivia:

The scene where it switches to the Hospital has many large references to 70's and 80's American TV show, M*A*S*H. The PA announcer and the scene with Dr Zoidberg arguing with a robot (which has 'iHawk' written on the front, referencing Hawkeye Pierce, the main character) are both the two main examples.

Quotes:

Prof. Hubert J. Farnsworth: Now, be careful, Fry. And if you kill anyone, make sure to eat their heart to gain their courage. Their rich, tasty courage.

Movie Connections:

Spoofs "M*A*S*H" (1972)

Soundtrack:

Walking on Sunshine

Hilarious 'starship troopers' spoof provides great lines for Zoidberg.

*** This review may contain spoilers ***

Loosely based on Starship Troopers, this episode contains one of the highest good joke/minute ratio of the series. A giant load of hits and few if any misses. The war hospital scenes blow most of the rest out of the water:

Zoidberg: "I'm afraid he's gone" Patient: 'Whoa doctor I'm not dead' Zoidberg: "I believe I'm the doctor"

The voice actor's delivery gets the maximum out of the writing, the funniest character for me will always be Zoidberg because the writers go into all kind of directions with him, pitiful, childishly honest, just plain weird, vulnerable, clueless, attention hungry, he's all that and much more. If anyone could be the 'Homer' of Futurama, it's Zoidberg. Although Professor Farnsworth and Bender come close to absolute hilarity too. 'Leela' will always be the slightly nerve-wrecking voice of reason, the 'Lisa' if you will.

I've always adored the end of the episode, where Bender tries to guess the word that'll detonate the bomb inside him...euhm...dare I say...anticking?

Some of the episodes most memorable jokes to go out on.

- Bender's top 10 most used words: 8. Yours 7.Up

- Zoidberg: Scalpel (short pause) Blood Bucket (short pause) Priest

- Brannigan: Look at this sissy Kiff. While others were fighting and dying pointlessly, he was hiding in a hole wallowing in a pool of his own cowardice. Fry: That wasn't cowardice!

- Nurse: leave doctor Zoidberg alone, he's got twice the training you do! Other surgeon: Yeah, he's a doctor and a butcher (chuckling while the sedated patient he's operating on chuckles heartily too).

- Brannigan: here lies the bravest soldier I've seen since my mirror got grease on it. I hereby order that in Bender's honor, he be melted down and made into a statue of himself.

I bet you got in the mood to revisit this episode now. :-)