The Farnsworth Parabox (8 Jun. 2003)

Prof. Farnworth creates a box which contains an entire universe and sends Leela into it, where she discovers another Planet Express with a few notable differences.

Directors:

Ron Hughart, Rich Moore

Writers:

Matt Groening (creator), Matt Groening (developer),

Stars:

Billy West, Katey Sagal, John DiMaggio

Cast

Episode cast overview:
Billy West	...	Philip J. Fry A / Prof. Hubert J. Farnsworth A / Dr. Zoidberg A / Philip J. Fry 1 / Prof. Hubert J. Farnsworth 1 / Dr. Zoidberg 1 / Philip J. Fry 1729 / Philip J. Fry 31 / Professor Hubert J. Farnsworth XVII / Prof. Hubert J. Farnsworth 420 / Transition Announcer (voice)
Katey Sagal	...	Turanga Leela A / Turanga Leela 1 / Turanga Leela 1729 (voice)
John DiMaggio	...	Bender A / Bender 1 / Bender 1729 (voice)
Tress MacNeille	...	(credit only)
Maurice LaMarche	...	(credit only)
Phil LaMarr	...	Hermes Conrad A / Hermes Conrad 1 / Hermes Conrad 25 (voice)
Lauren Tom	...	Amy Wong A / Amy Wong 1 / Amy Wong 420 (voice)

Storyline

Prof. Farnworth creates a box which contains an entire universe and sends Leela into it, where she discovers another Planet Express with a few notable differences.

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Genres:

Animation | Comedy | Sci-Fi

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Details

Language:

English

Release Date:

8 June 2003 (USA)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Curiosity Company, The, 20th Century Fox Television

Technical Specs

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The '60's hippie universe is universe #420.

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Goofs

When Hermes is poised to press the eject button the crew jump out of the box and he pulls his hand away in shock. When we pull back to outside the ejection port we see Hermes finger still poised over the eject button again.

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Quotes

Bender: Oh, I can't stay mad at what is essentially me.

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Connections

Referenced in I Fucked You & Yo Mama 4 (2008)

User Reviews

A universe in a box!

As this episode opens the Planet Express building is shaken by a number of explosions; it turns out they were caused by the professor's latest experiment; the results of which are contained in an ordinary cardboard box. He doesn't know what he has created but he is certain that it is so dangerous that it must be destroyed by throwing it into the sun. Leela is given the task of guarding it over night but is tempted to look what is inside; unsure whether to peek or not she tosses a coin... it comes up heads so she looks. When she opens the box she finds herself falling into it; she then falls out again only this time the box is blue! She has fallen into a parallel universe that is almost identical; here she meets the 'parallel' Planet Express crew; once again they are all recognisable but different; for example this Bender is golden and Fry has black hair. They are initially suspicious; assuming anybody from a parallel universe must be evil. Parallel Leela goes back through the box and forces the rest of the crew, apart from Hermes, to return with her. By the time they establish that nobody is evil Hermes is heading towards the sun with the intention of throwing the box into the sun and getting back to stop him will be difficult as the two Zoidbergs have stolen the box!

This is a really fun episode; it was nice to see Leela getting such a main role and once she entered the other universe the subtle differences are fun... those fans who think Fry and Leela should be a couple will love it! The scenes where they search a variety of other parallel universes were great. The laughs continued to the end; I loved how Hermes hesitated for a moment when the Crew emerged from the box just before he launched it into the sun and told him to stop. As for the title... the universe ends up contained in a box within that universe; if that isn't a 'parabox' I don't know what is!