Commentary:The Farnsworth Parabox

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Commentary for
The Farnsworth Parabox
The Farnsworth Parabox.jpg
Production number4ACV15
Recorded dateDecember 2002
On DVDSeason 4
Disc 4
Additional
Transcript
Participants
Matt Groening
Executive Producer
David X. Cohen
Executive Producer
Bill Odenkirk
Writer
Ron Hughart
Director
Billy West
Actor (Fry(s), Professor Farnsworth(s), Zoidberg(s), miscellaneous)
Maurice LaMarche
Actor (Transition Announcer, miscellaneous not in episode)

Topics of Discussion

  • Maurice commentates even though he does not voice any characters in this episode, he normally would have voiced the Narrator.
  • Episode had not aired at time of commentary recording.
  • Origin of episode plot. Box was originally found in attic, they were going to not open the box until the end.
    • Discussed at length (perhaps over thought) how the boxes connect during development, David notes that there'll be an explanation later and that we should get out pencils and graph paper.
  • Smallest cast list in Futurama history.
  • Difficulty of having two of everyone.
    • They have the same personality as the alternate selves.
  • There was going to be a character called Deluxor, who was a robot brought to Planet Express that was better than Bender and made of either solid gold or exotic wood.
  • They were worried whether this episode was too confusing.
    • Katey Sagal didn't understand the concept when the writers/directors tried to explain it.
  • Audio and visual differences between the establishing shots in the two universes.
  • Zoidberg-1 is blue because one in two million lobsters are blue.
  • The official name of the Narrator is Transition Announcer.
  • The Zoidbergs initially enter universe 25.
  • Some of the boxes don't actually lead to each other, the wires keep the connections open though.
  • The meaning of the number 420, or more accurately 4:20pm, to cannabis users.
  • They didn't notice that Hermes-1 didn't come out of the box with the other characters until late in the process and had to do an emergency retake.
  • Pulling the boxes through each other is done outside three dimensional space.

Highlights / Quotes

    Bill Odenkirk: ... I don't want to ruin the surprise if you haven't seen it. But I think the whole show...
    Matt Groening: I think everybody who's... You gotta be crazy to listen to the audio commentary...
    Unknown: You gotta be crazy to listen to the audio commentary, period.
    David X. Cohen: You can give away what's going to happen in the episode, just don't give away what's going to happen in the audio commentary.

    Matt Groening: We're cancelled?!
    Bill Odenkirk: On hiatus, on hiatus.
    Matt Groening: Please, I'm living in denial, and I wanna remain so.

    David: Ah, The Curiosity Company.
    Bill Odenkirk: They make cars don't they?

Goofs

  • David received a phone call from his assistant.
  • At 07:00 a.m., Leela has finished guarding the box for the night. The sun is shown rising... in the west-southwest.
  • Professor A (our universe's Professor Farnsworth) addresses his Universe 1's counterpart (with the stitched-up head) as "Professor B" rather than "Professor 1".