Even nostalgia for the future is best left in the past. The Futurama reboot premiered last Monday on Hulu, and sadly the show may have lost its touch. The beloved series from Matt Groening, creator of The Simpsons, contained unique and original storylines that made for a successful five seasons. Fan devotion led to four movies being made, which resulted in a reboot on Comedy Central. While that reboot was shortlived, most of its episodes are now treasured by fans. Perhaps this will happen again with the new reboot. But at the moment, the show that refuses to die feels like a zombie with no personality. Here are some reasons why Futurama may have lost its touch.
What Has Hulu’s Futurama Given Us So Far?
The current season of Futurama has publicly released two episodes so far. The first episode, “The Neverending Stream,” opens with Professor Farnsworth unfreezing the universe after the events of “Meanwhile.” Realizing he’s been in the future for 23 years and accomplished nothing, Fry decides to set a goal for himself. That goal is to subscribe to Fulu (get it?) and binge through every TV show ever made, causing him to lose touch with reality.
The next episode, “Children of a Lesser Bog,” serves as a sequel to the episode “Kiff Gets Knocked Up a Notch.” Amy and Kiff are reunited with three of the many children that Kiff — yes, the male — gave birth to twenty years prior. However, when Kiff is called away for duty, Amy deals with the stress of being a mother. And her motherhood is threatened when the children attach to Leela, who is technically the biological mother.
So thus far, the Futurama reboot has given us social commentary on the dangers of binging and a throwback to the original series. And the next episode will have more social commentary, touching on cryptocurrency. There are more sequel episodes to come, including an episode where worms that lived in Fry’s gut return. There will also be more social commentary with episodes touching on vaccines, cancel culture, and the work environment at Amazon.
This all might sound entertaining, but it’s part of why this reboot is a letdown.
What Is Wrong With the Futurama Reboot?
The Futurama reboot seems specifically catered to long-time fans. Aside from the gratuitous cameos from characters like the whale biologist, we will also get another sequel episode in which worms in Fry’s stomach in season three return. This may appeal to some fans, but it will go over the heads of new viewers. Moreover, they feel like throwbacks to great episodes of a much better show.
Regarding social commentary, Wilson Chapman of IndieWire criticizes Futurama for being far too topical. While Chapman has seen more episodes than we have, simply knowing all these topics are going to be preached at us is a bit tiring to think about. Hulu appears to be making the same mistakes they made with the reboot of Animaniacs. The social commentary and self-referential reboot jokes were funny at first. But it grew stale and ended quickly with a trainwreck third season.
Has Futurama Lost Its Touch?
Perhaps this show will pick up with the remaining eight episodes of this season. However, based on the first impression of these two episodes, Futurama has lost its touch. This show was beloved for its original storylines and for its colorful cast of characters. Now it seems that Hulu is taking those characters and giving them storylines and themes that we’re already getting on other shows. And no amount of Bender’s antics can make up for that.
