The second episode of a series is arguably just as important as the very first. Sure, the pilot is the one that starts it all and tells you whether the show’s for you, that’s a given. Yet, a disappointing follow-up can have you declaring a great first episode a fluke and abandoning ship altogether. After Futurama’s second installment, nobody was about to abandon the Planet Express ship, that’s for sure.
Already a huge name in the realm of animation, hopes were sky-high for Matt Groening’s animated sci-fi sitcom Futuruma when it aired in 1999. An excellent pilot teased that Fry, Leela and Bender would be characters we’d want to see on screens for years to come, but it was the following week’s episode that confirmed that and sealed the deal.
The episode was aptly called The Series Has Landed and saw the delivery crew gathered for their first mission: a delivery to Luna Park, an amusement attraction on the Moon. Fry never believed he’d ever set foot on the moon but finds the park to be no different from the ones on Earth.
Pleading with Leela to let him see the “real Moon”, they set out but soon find themselves running low on oxygen. This is when they hide out on a hydroponic farm with a disgruntled farmer. They’re forced to flee when the farmer discovers that Bender has been seducing his three robot daughters: Lulabelle 7, Daisy Mae 128-K, and last but not least… the Crushinator.
Well, as it turns out, the Hulu and Disney+ Futurama revival takes us right back to where the series landed with season 11 episode 5. Titled Related To Items You’ve Viewed, the installment is a satire on Amazon, keeping in line with this season’s satirical approach to things like Bitcoin and its parody of Dune.
After all these years, the crew is sent on a mission to none other than the Moon, and it’s the very same farm from episode 2 that they’re delivering to. The same farmer makes an appearance and, yes, he’s still wearing his ‘The Moon Shall Rise Again’ cap. Of all the moments of the latest season so far, it may just be the most nostalgic, but it gets better. When the farmer voices his theory that the Momazon warehouse that neighbors his property is growing bigger, he invites the crew to a meeting where his robot daughters are present.
They stand up to say they’ve taken jobs in the warehouse, with the Crushinator telling him that he’s been an “amazing dad.” Seeing the Crushinator again takes us back to that hilarious moment from the second episode where Fry asks Bender if he went back for her. “Of course not,” he says. “A lady that fine you got to romance first.”
It’s cool being back on the Moon, and even better to have Futurama back. With the particularly special location prevalent in the episode, that’s not the only thing that has fans saying the episode took them back to the beginning.
The episode has been the most celebrated of the new season so far, with some raising that it’s a return to form that hearkens back to the show’s glory days.
One fan tweeted “I was watching the old Futurama because the new episodes were average until this new episode 5.”
On the whole, a number have called it a “Classic episode,” saying that it had “A strong story, good gags, a futuristic twist to a topic and overall a fun ride from start to finish.”:
“The Momazon episode was an instant classic,” another echoed.
Let’s hope this return to form continues throughout. The series may have landed with the Moon episode, but if so, season 11 has landed with the Momazon installment.
Futurama revival now streaming on Hulu (US) and Disney+ (UK).
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