Difference between revisions of "Speculation of Futurama's return until the second run"

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(Added a section, still not enough.)
(disasters have aftermath -- good stuff has positive effects.)
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Indeed, some fans would consider the excise of the films entirely pointless, if the immediate reaction to their sales was a new TV season.
Indeed, some fans would consider the excise of the films entirely pointless, if the immediate reaction to their sales was a new TV season.


== Aftermath of the films ==
== Effect of the films ==
When ''[[Bender's Game]]'' had been released, [[David X. Cohen]] appeared in an interview,<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.scifi.com/scifiwire/index.php?category=0&id=61754 |title=A Future For ''Futurama''? |author=Spelling, Ian |publisher=Sci Fi Wire |date=2008-10-28 |accessdate=2009-04-16}}</ref> expressing hope for the show to be picked up once more.  He puts it, "[h]ope never dies on Futurama, or not anymore," explaining it with "[i]t died once, but once you introduce the idea that you can come back from the dead, then the second time you have to have a little bit of hope that you might come back to life yet again."
When ''[[Bender's Game]]'' had been released, [[David X. Cohen]] appeared in an interview,<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.scifi.com/scifiwire/index.php?category=0&id=61754 |title=A Future For ''Futurama''? |author=Spelling, Ian |publisher=Sci Fi Wire |date=2008-10-28 |accessdate=2009-04-16}}</ref> expressing hope for the show to be picked up once more.  He puts it, "[h]ope never dies on Futurama, or not anymore," explaining it with "[i]t died once, but once you introduce the idea that you can come back from the dead, then the second time you have to have a little bit of hope that you might come back to life yet again."



Revision as of 22:43, 14 May 2009

The future of Futurama is the future of the show, rather than the future it describes. As of March, 2009, a return of Futurama seems more and more likely.

The hiatus

After 3-4 years of hiatus due to cancellation, the show saw new light when season 5 was ordered. Season 5, unlike prior seasons, saw its light as four films cut into episodes, which would ultimately become production season 5.

There have been a general concern with the film format for Futurama, and most fear that it doesn't fit the show, and would prefer Futurama back as a weekly show.

Initial purpose

When the films were announced back during 2006 - 2007, many fans immediately thought of this an opportunity to prove to Fox that this show still had the gist, and they were willing to put their efforts (i.e. money) into getting these films a larger success than Fox could anticipate, and thus coming around with a renewal of the show with one or more TV seasons.

Indeed, some fans would consider the excise of the films entirely pointless, if the immediate reaction to their sales was a new TV season.

Effect of the films

When Bender's Game had been released, David X. Cohen appeared in an interview,[1] expressing hope for the show to be picked up once more. He puts it, "[h]ope never dies on Futurama, or not anymore," explaining it with "[i]t died once, but once you introduce the idea that you can come back from the dead, then the second time you have to have a little bit of hope that you might come back to life yet again."

But Cohen's hope is not without reasoning, "[t]he hard facts would seem to support us coming back again. From what we have heard, the DVDs have sold very well, and I have heard the phrase 'greatly exceeded' 20th Century Fox's expectations", but warns fans not to get too excited just yet, because "[w]e haven't heard anything, yes or no, so it's familiar territory."

Rumours of talks with FOX and speculation

Nearing the release of Into the Wild Green Yonder, HippoJuice made an interview with Billy West at South Florida Anime Supercon.[2][3] Among other things, Billy talks about a possible sixth season being in discussion internally at Fox.

totalfilm.com talked to Futurama producers Matt Groening and David X. Cohen plus the four voice actors Billy West, Lauren Tom, Maurice Lamarche, and Phil LaMarr and discussed "9 Odd Things We Now Know About Futurama".[4]

The ninth odd thing is about the possibility of Futurama returning:

    Matt Groening: We would love to continue making more Futurama episodes in whatever form... Except Pogs. I think we haven't even exhausted all the story ideas that we came up with back when the show started in '99.
    David X. Cohen: Every morning, and I'm not making this up, I find myself thinking in the shower about the next episode that we'll do after this one. I have it mostly worked out, so we're ready to go if the call comes in. There is a chance of it coming back as the DVDs sold well.
    Matt Groening: You have a solution? We painted ourselves into a corner at the end of this one, but I think we can do whatever we want.

movieweb.com conducted an interview with Matt Groening, David X Cohen, Maurice LaMarche, Lauren Tom, Phil Lamarr and Billy West. Among other things, they talk about a possible sixth season.[5] This supports the information in the prior interviews. In an IGN interview with Cohen, Cohen mentions "[t]he good news is it really might happen. And the bad news is it really might happen".[6]

David X. Cohen goes further in his indication, and indicates there is a 50/50 chance of the show getting renewed for a sixth season.[7] In addition to that, he continues discuss his plans for the future of the show, given the corner they have painted themselves in at the end of Into the Wild Green Yonder.

Supported rumours of talks

The British tabloid, ZOO, published a full page interview with Matt Groening,[8] where he states that Futurama will be back in some form. However, as a tabloid, its news should taken with a grain of salt. On the other hand, Matt mentions in the interview, that "[w]e're talking with 20th Century Fox and we really hope it happens". Which differs largely from prior interviews, where the crew stated that Fox were discussing it, internally.

In addition, Matt Groening seems to be leaning towards the theatrical release of Futurama, rather than a weekly TV show. But right now, no official word from Fox have been made of the type Futurama will return in.

After a period of silence, Matt Groening appeared in an interview for the A.V. Club,[9] in which he describes that they are not holding their breath, because in the television industry it is so easy to just say no. However, he suggests it would be financially smart to repurchase Futurama.

On the radio show, Coast to Coast AM, Billy West again mentions that the negotiations are still going, but also encourage fans to write letters and e-mails to Fox, which might help their course.[10][11]

canada.com writes about the King of the Hill sitcom on Fox, which is about to end. Co-producer John Altschuler mentions that the show ends to make room for other shows, where the article mentions that "Futurama, another animated comedy that ran briefly as a companion show to The Simpsons and King of the Hill, will be back on the prime time TV schedule, after enjoying a second and third life as a series of straight-to-DVD movies".[12] However, the author was later proven to be talking about episodes from the films, rather than a new season.[13]

Contradiction regarding talks

In February, 2009, Matt Groening stated in an interview that "[w]e're talking with Fox about doing more episodes and I hope we can. Just looking at the numbers, it seems to make sense. They're making money", indicating that there certainly was talks in the works.[5]

However, later in early March, David X. Cohen stated "[b]asically, all I genuinely know is that Fox is talking about it, they're thinking about it. But they're not talking about it with us, they're thinking about it among themselves. We know it's under consideration, apparently it's taking a while."[14] These contradictions in interviews have left fans puzzling, and speculation regards whether each Futurama crew member has each of their own interpretation of the actual ongoings at Fox or whether some of them are deliberately spicing up the truth. Indeed, Billy West have been easy to tell the world about the talks.[3][10]

The 2009-10 U.S. Television season

During the months of April and May, 2009, the U.S. television networks are often going to announce which shows they are bringing back and which they aren't. The British Digital Spy have launched a list of television shows of interest to British and American viewers, including already renewed shows and axed shows, but also shows still up for grabs.[15] As of 10 May, 2009, Futurama is still listed as "to be confirmed". Elsewhere, though, The Futon Critic reports that it is returning next season and have yet to premiere,[16] however, elsewhere on The Futon Critic, a table seems to imply that they considering each film as a broadcast season, with the listing of 4 episodes left for Futurama.[17] Confirmation should be available when Fox engage their 2009-10 season upfront on 18 May, wherein they will announce all the shows they are going to air during the coming season.

References

  1. ^ Spelling, Ian (28 October 2008). "A Future For Futurama?". Sci Fi Wire. Retrieved on 16 April 2009.
  2. ^ YouTube video of HippoJuice interview. (YouTube.)
  3. ^ a b McEwan, Cameron K. (19 February 2009). "More Futurama On The Way?". Den of Geek. Retrieved on 16 April 2009.
  4. ^ White, James (20 February 2009). "9 Odd Things We Now Know About Futurama". TotalFilm.com. Retrieved on 16 April 2009.
  5. ^ a b Gallagher, Brian (24 February 2009). "Go Beyond Futurama: Into the Wild Green Yonder". MovieWeb. Retrieved on 16 April 2009.
  6. ^ White, Cindy (27 February 2009). "The Future of Futurama". IGN. Retrieved on 16 April 2009.
  7. ^ Chen, Jason (05 March 2009). "Futurama's Creator Isn't Afraid of Robots, Doesn't Own a Roomba". Gizmodo. Retrieved on 16 April 2009.
  8. ^ "Futurama's Shock Return!" (Image). ZOO. Retrieved on 16 April 2009.
  9. ^ Ryan, Kyle (25 March 2009). "Matt Groening". A.V. Club. Retrieved on 16 April 2009.
  10. ^ a b Saturday 04-18-09 Show Recap. (Coast to Coast AM.) 18 April 2009. Retrieved on 21 April 2009.
  11. ^ Ralph Snart (21 April 2009). "Will there be any new Futurama after the movies?" Page 4. (PEEL.) Retrieved on 21 April 2009.
  12. ^ Strachan, Alex (22 April 2009). "King of the Hill to sip its last curbside beer". canada.com. Retrieved on 22 April 2009.
  13. ^ [-mArc-] (23 April 2009). "Will there be any new Futurama after the movies?" Page 5. (PEEL.) Retrieved on 23 April 2009.
  14. ^ Woerner, Meredith (05 March 2009). "If Futurama Comes Back, What's Next For Planet Express?". io9. Retrieved on 24 April 2009.
  15. ^ Wilkes, Neil (14 April 2009). "US TV Show Status: 2009-10 season". Digital Spy. Retrieved on 10 May 2009.
  16. ^ "Futurama on Comedy Central". The Futon Critic. Retrieved on 10 May 2009.
  17. ^ "Guide". The Futon Critic. Retrieved on 12 May 2009.