Futurama is one of my favorite shows. Mixing irreverent humor with sci-fi, it became popular among geeks and non-geeks alike. When Fox took it off the air years ago, many people were upset because it poked fun at many items in both the current news and pop culture.

Unfortunately Fox has a history of pulling shows because they aren't successful enough (look at Firefly). However, Fox is usually the one responsible for this problem by changing the show times, preempting for sports or other shows, etc. Even though Futurama has the some of the same people involved who do The Simpsons (hence the quality is just as good, if not better), it was never really given the same chance as The Simpsons.

Like Family Guy, Futurama made enough money from DVD sales and reruns on Adult Swim to justify being brought back. However, the Fox network no longer controls it so it will be brought back on Comedy Central. Bender's Big Score is the first of several direct-to-DVD movies that will be "cut" to make the actual series. So, if you see these movies now, you'll have seen the new series. However, David X. Cohen (the series' writer) has stated that they will change enough material so that both the movies and the series will be unique enough to warrant viewing of both.

But enough of that, let's talk about the movie Bender's Big Score. For those who don't follow Futurama I'll give a brief synopsis of the show. There are many other characters in the show, depending on the storyline, but these are the main characters.

Philip Fry is a guy who was accidentally cryogenically frozen in at the end of the 20th century. He is unfrozen in the year 3000 and has to cope with the changes in life. Aliens and robots are walking the streets, flying cars exist, and many other sci-fi staples are present. He works as a delivery boy in the Planet Express shipping company, owned by his great-nephew Hubert Farnsworth (who is old enough to be Fry's great-grandfather).

Leela is a one-eyed mutant with purple hair and is constantly fighting off Fry's advances. Her parent's gave her up for adoption because they are also mutants, who happen to live in the sewers of the city.

Amy Wong is a human Martian (she was born on Mars after it was colonized). She is Professor Farnsworth's intern. Her parents are rich (they own part of Mars) and she's a klutz.

Dr. Zoidberg is an alien who looks like a humanoid lobster. He is the company's resident doctor (though his education and abilities are questionable). Working for a packing company, he doesn't make a lot of money so he is homeless.

Hermes Conrad is the company's manager. He's a grade 34 bureaucrat (and proud of it) from Jamaica and is a former Olympic limbo champion.

Bender is a bending robot who befriended Fry after Fry unfroze. He drinks beer to sustain his batteries, smokes cigars (because it's cool), and is generally the "bad boy" of the show.

Plot
The movie itself starts out with a great parody of how people get spammed. In this case, several aliens get the email addresses of the Planet Express crew and proceed to take everything they own. After taking over the company, the aliens learn the secret to time travel and proceed to have Bender go back in time to steal all of history's most precious artifacts. (Bender downloaded the alien's virus when looking for porn).

The main plot of the show is when Leela meets Lars and they fall in love. Fry can't stand it and tries to mess it up for them. Fry ultimately figures out who Lars is when he travels back in time to avoid being killed by the scammer aliens; the aliens want to kill him because he holds the secret to time travel.

The scammer aliens gain control of Earth when President Nixon's head ends up selling the Earth in another scam. Leela takes control of a squadron of space ships to retake Earth, fighting through a legion of gold Death Stars built by the scammers. However, she gets overwhelmed so Hermes takes over, using his bureaucratic knowledge to coordinate the attack. (Hermes lost his body in an accident and is now a head in a jar).

After defeating the aliens, everyone gets their money and belongings back. However, Bender creates a rift in space-time by messing too much with the time travel device, which everyone was warned about using. And this cliffhanger leaves us ready for the next installment.

Review
I thoroughly enjoyed this show. At approx. 90 minutes, it's a typical length for an animated show. The graphics don't appear to have changed very much from the original series; some of the computer animation might be smoother now but it's pretty much the same look.

All of the original voice actors are involved, which is good because they work well together and seem to play off one another (if that's possible for voice actors). Many of the character's from the series make cameo appearances, though I hope they are included more in the future movies. This particular show was really more about Fry and Leela's "love affair" than anything else.

There were times when I felt the movie was running a little long but I thinks that's more because I'm used to the usual 20 minute (without commercials) episode. But it wasn't that bad because I was constantly laughing throughout it. There are a lot of "poke fun at this" jokes in the show (like Al Gore's head driving a hybrid taxi) and a lot of "in jokes" that some people may not get, but they aren't necessary to understand what's going on. Some of the jokes are really there as "thank you gifts" for fans of the series.

If you like Futurama, then you'll enjoy this movie. If you like tongue-in-cheek humor, then you should also enjoy this movie. Actually, I can't really think of anyone who wouldn't like it unless you just don't like animated films. I can't comment on any of the DVD extras since I haven't watched them yet but I understand there are some other "gifts" for faithful viewers.

Recommended:
Yes

Viewing Format: DVD
Video Occasion: Good for Groups
Suitability For Children: Suitable for Children Age 13 and Older