Commentary:Teenage Mutant Leela's Hurdles

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Commentary for
Teenage Mutant Leela's Hurdles
Production number	4ACV09
Recorded date	April 7, 2003
On DVD	Season 4 Disc 2
Additional
Transcript
Participants
Matt Groening Executive Producer David X. Cohen Executive Producer, Writer Rich Moore Supervising Director Jeff Westbrook Writer Bret Haaland Director John DiMaggio Actor (Bender, miscellaneous) Maurice LaMarche Actor (Not in episode)

Topics of Discussion

• Matt leaves during the introduction to make a phone call and doesn't return.
• The initial idea for the episode was to have Leela live with her parents.
• Only a few of the vehicles needed to be created from scratch
• The space station blown up is Deep Space Nine, from the Star Trek series of the same name.
  • Leela's book's cover features an alien based on the Gorn from Star Trek
• The 2000 election recounts.
• Cut scenes included Farnsworth selecting soft foods at the salad bar.
• This commentary was recorded a little over a week after the episode premiered.
• Popularity of botulism injections and use as an actual medical treatment.
• Actors needed to adjust their voices for the character variations, the commentators are especially impressed by those of Billy West, due to the sheer number of variations required of him.
  • The producers considered nominating him for an emmy
• Designing younger versions of characters.
  • Fry and Leela already had some young versions in earlier episodes.
  • Zoidberg's progression through various species.
  • Bender's early forms include the antennae ears that were in the early concept art.
• The race was inspired by Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace's Podracers.
• The (mostly) scientific origins of the oil eating bacteria.
• David X. Cohen once lost an auction of trilobite fossils to Nicholas Cage.
• Pazuzu is named for the Assyro-Babylonian god Pazuzu, king of the demons of the wind. Although they actually got the name from The Exorcist.
  • David questioning if perhaps it was in the Dungeons and Dragons Monster Manual, and being told it isn't. (It is, in fact, and one of the types of creatures that worship it are gargoyles.)
• Maurice LaMarche is credited despite not acting, Brian Cowan, a producer who happened to be there, confirmed that Maurice won't be paid for the episode.

Highlights / Quotes

• Jeff Westbrook: We always like to get the Professor naked, it's one of our favourite visuals.
  Bret Haaland: Maybe one of yours.

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