The beauty of this episode in particular, is that it is a piece of television that anyone of any age can watch and enjoy, even if you're unfamiliar with the characters. Whatever age or gender you are, The Late Phillip J Fry will provoke your thoughts, grip your stomach and create feelings for fictional characters which you may have before thought impossible from a simple television show.
As always, Matt Groening and friends have provided us with a storyline which could almost seem plausible and because of that, this episode is somewhat believable. Revolving around the three central characters, (Fry, The Professor and Bender the robot) the plot unfolds around the testing of Hubert Farnsworth's latest invention, a time machine, which only goes forward in time. The three characters embark on a journey which takes them through various dates in Earth's future, ever hopeful that they will find a time in which civilization has invented the backwards time machine so they can return to their period in history.
Full of depictions of Earth's timeline, messages from the past and a sense of harmonious loneliness and togetherness, Groening has created an insightful view into the future of planet earth and the universe, no other show has quite captured such plausible bleakness.
This episode could extend itself into almost a TV Movie, however the current series of Futurama seems to be producing stand alone episodes. At first I was upset that I might not be able to see how the characters would change after being involved in such events, but if Groening can give us such fine viewing in 25 minutes, why not wait until next week and see what other explosive symphonies he has installed for us?
If you have enjoyed Futurama in the past, in any forms it has taken, you will adore and fully appreciate this episode. If you have never heard of Futurama you will be stunned by the creativity and thinking behind it and be left wanting more. This episode is for anyone, and it needs to receive the acknowledgement that it deserves.
