Difference between revisions of "Proposition Infinity"
Freekkiller7 (talk | contribs) |
(→Goofs) |
||
(319 intermediate revisions by more than 100 users not shown) | |||
Line 1: | Line 1: | ||
{{episode infobox | {{episode infobox 2 | ||
|name= | |hatnote={{about|the episode|the ballot initiative|Proposition ∞}} | ||
|name=Proposition Infinity | |||
|image=[[File:Robosexual Proposal.jpg|225px]] | |||
|image text=[[Bender Bending Rodriguez|Bender]] and [[Dr. Amy Wong|Amy]] fight for the right to marry each other. | |||
|season=6 | |season=6 | ||
|broadcast season=7 | |broadcast season=7 | ||
|no=92 | |no=92 | ||
|written by= | |written by=Michael Rowe | ||
|directed by= | |directed by=Crystal Chesney-Thompson | ||
|caption= | |title reference = {{w|California Proposition 8 (2008)}} | ||
|first aired= | |caption=Dictated But Not Read | ||
|first aired={{date|8 July}}, [[2010]] | |||
|number=6ACV04 | |number=6ACV04 | ||
|broadcast number=S07E04 | |broadcast number=S07E04 | ||
|nomination='''{{w|38th Annie Awards}}'''<br/>{{w|Annie Award for Best Animated Television Production|Best Animated Television Production}} | |||
|special guest=[[George Takei]] | |||
|hasstoryboard=yes | |||
|prev ep=Attack of the Killer App | |prev ep=Attack of the Killer App | ||
|next ep= | |next ep=The Duh-Vinci Code | ||
|guest-stars=[[George Takei]] as [[George Takei's head|himself]] | |||
}} | }} | ||
After a break-up with [[Kif Kroker|Kif]], [[Dr. Amy Wong|Amy]] gets together with [[Bender Bending Rodriguez|Bender]] in a frowned-upon [[robosexuality|robosexual]] relationship. | |||
== Story == | The episode was nominated for the 2010 [[Annie Awards]]. | ||
== The Story == | |||
=== Act I: "I'm not just some piece of tofu, Amy!" === | |||
[[New New York]]'s walls are hit by a mysterious vandal, revealed to be [[Bender]]. Bender is caught vandalizing the back of [[URL]], a police officer, and swiftly arrested. Bender calls [[Dr. Amy Wong|Amy]], who has been fighting with [[Kif Kroker|Kif]] all night, to bail him out of jail. She agrees, then enters the police station with Kif to bail Bender out. While in line to get discharged, Amy is hit on by an inmate and flirts back with him. This shocks Kif, as the man is a criminal, and his reaction irritates Amy. Kif tells her she's attracted to "bad boys", which he is not. Amy disagrees, but then flirts with another inmate who actually threatens her life. Kif, still hurt by Amy's flirtations, tells Amy they're through. | |||
The breakup severely upsets Amy. To make her feel better, [[Turanga Leela|Leela]], [[Philip J. Fry|Fry]], and Bender take her to [[Forbidden Planet Hollywood]]. Bender repeatedly mocks Amy; when he tells her to shut up, Amy tells him to back off, saying he should be afraid of what she did to the last person that told her to shut up: sexual intercourse. After this, Amy and Bender discover a mutual attraction for each other. They enter into a taboo [[robosexual]] relationship, so they keep quiet about it, even to friends. Their co-workers grow suspicious but think nothing of it. | |||
=== Act II: "Oh, the humanity! Also Bender!" === | |||
On the [[Planet Tornadus]], the crew, collecting tornado wind for the Professor's entry for the County Fair, is shocked to learn that Bender and Amy are missing. They discover their clothes flying around in the tube with the tornado winds, so the Professor shuts off the machine, and when the winds die down, the crew is shocked to see Bender and Amy making love. Professor immediately disapproves, whereas the rest of the crew accepts Bender and Amy's relationship. Amy thanks them, as she knows she can't tell her family. However, this is exactly what Professor does; he calls [[Leo Wong|Leo]] and [[Inez Wong|Inez]], Amy's parents. He also calls the [[Reverend Lionel Preacherbot|Robot Pastor]] for Bender. While at her [[Wong Ranch|parent's Mars ranch]], Amy is saved by Fry, who poses as her new beau. Amy saves Bender from [[Camp Rectifier|the camp]] the Robot Pastor sent him to. They go back to the Planet Express building, where Bender proposes to Amy. | |||
=== Act III: "I'm just glad I didn't live to see this day" === | |||
The Professor reminds them that robosexual marriage is illegal in New New York. To fight against this, Bender and Amy launch a campaign, [[Proposition ∞]], for the legalization of robosexual marriage. In days before the election, Prop. ∞ support slumps in the polls. Amy loses hope, but Bender says they'll win following his debate tonight against Professor Farnsworth. Bender gives a heartfelt speech and the audience applauds. The Professor follows with his rebuttal, beginning with a flashback. He was in love with a fellow scientist named Eunice, and, 43 years later, discovered her in bed with [[First Robot Capable of Qualifying for a Boat Loan]] (or a similar robot) . This doesn't impress the audience, who despise the Professor for hating robosexuals simply because his girlfriend slept with a robot. He then admits that she ''was'' a robot, named [[Unit 47]], who slept with another robot. Farnsworth's heart was broken, so he took his anger out on other robosexuals. After admitting the truth, the Professor withdraws his argument and fully backs Prop. ∞. The next day, Prop. ∞ is approved. Amy is ecstatic, saying she and Bender can have a normal, monogamous marriage now. Upon hearing the word monogamous, Bender leaves Amy for two [[Hookerbots|robot hookers]], while Amy goes back to Kif, who adopts a bad boy persona for her. | |||
== Production == | == Production == | ||
[[David X. Cohen]] calls the episode one of his favorites from [[Season 6|the sixth season]]. | |||
== Reception == | |||
In its original American broadcast, "Proposition Infinity" was viewed by an estimated 2.013 million households with a 1.0 rating/3% share in the 18-49 demographic going down one tenth of a point from last weeks, "[[Attack of the Killer App]]".<ref>[http://tvbythenumbers.com/2010/07/12/thursday-cable-ratings-all-lebron-all-the-time-plus-bethenny-up-futurama-settles-more/56848]</ref> The episode has also been nominated for the 2010 [[Annie Awards]]. | |||
== Additional info == | |||
=== Trivia === | |||
*This is one among few ''Futurama'' [[:Category:Media featuring its title|media featuring its title]]. | |||
*When the episode aired, same-sex marriage {{w|same-sex marriage in the United States|was illegal}} in appoximately 97.6% of the territory of the [[United States]]. | |||
*[[Kif]] said that he is actually related to the sea cucumber. This makes many fans learn that he is not a toad or a jellyfish even though [[Amphibiosans|his species]] has no spine and is very squishy. | |||
*The closed captions had lines that were not spoken. Something to the effect of "Where am I? Is this TBS?" suggesting that [[Conan O'Brien's head|Conan O'Brien]] originally had a cameo. | |||
*In [[Amy's apartment|Amy and Kif's apartment]], there is a picture of {{s|Apu Nahasapeemapetilon|Apu}} and {{s|Manjula Nahasapeemapetilon|Manjula}}, from ''[[The Simpsons]]''. | |||
=== Continuity === | |||
*[[Will Riker's Island]] was previously seen in "[[Three Hundred Big Boys]]" when [[Kif Kroker|Kif]] was imprisoned. In that episode, it was called ''Commander Riker's Island''. | |||
*The idea of [[robosexuality]] was first mentioned in "[[Space Pilot 3000]]". It was later said to be wrong in "[[I Dated a Robot]]" and illegal in this episode. | |||
**No mention is ever made of robosexuality itself being criminal, only that robosexual marriage is not permitted. | |||
*The interracial couple from "Space Pilot 3000" is seen again. | |||
*[[Fatbot]] is revealed to be robosexual. | |||
*In the audience for the debate for [[Proposition ∞]] include Fatbot, and a [[Hookerbots|hookerbot]] first seen in "[[The Lesser of Two Evils]]". | |||
*While at [[Forbidden Planet Hollywood]], [[Amy]] says, "technically, we were Fonfon Rus, so we weren't really married." This is referencing the event when Kif and Amy married in ''[[The Beast with a Billion Backs]]''. | |||
**In The Beast with a Billion Backs, Amy refered to herself as Kif's wife, but now distinguishes Fonfon Ru from being a spouse. | |||
*[[Michelle]] and [[Pauly Shore (character)|Pauly Shore]] can be seen at the Proposition ∞ rally. Their marriage was confirmed by [[Commentary:Proposition Infinity|the audio commentary]]. | |||
*Remnants of Bender's vandalism can bee seen in "[[2-D Blacktop]]" | |||
This | === Allusions === | ||
[[File:Despair.png|right|thumb|The [[Richard Nixon's head|Richard Nixon]] "Despair" poster.]] | |||
[[File:Gay Robot.png|right|thumb|The {{w|Gay Robot}} in the upper left corner.]] | |||
*Bender's vandalism spree is a reference to French street artist {{w|Invader (artist)|Invader}}, who has placed tile {{w|Space Invaders}} in many cities around the world. | |||
*Another possible event that Bender's actions mimic is the 2007 {{w|2007_Boston_bomb_scare|guerrilla marketing campaign}} in Boston for the upcoming {{w|Aqua_Teen_Hunger_Force_Colon_Movie_Film_for_Theaters|''Aqua Teen Hunger Force Colon Movie Film for Theaters''}}. LED panels featuring characters from the show were placed at high traffic locations, and caused a major panic when they were mistaken for IEDs. | |||
*The house in the tornado is a reference to a scene from ''{{w|The Wizard of Oz}}'', a callback to "[[Anthology of Interest II]]". | |||
*The interracial couple shown in the protest scene is taken from the ''[[Star Trek]]'' episode "{{st|Let That Be Your Last Battlefield}}". | |||
*Bender is in jail on [[Will Riker's Island]], a reference to Commander ''{{st|William T. Riker}}'', the first officer of Picard's Enterprise in ''{{st|Star Trek: The Next Generation}}''. A "Commander Riker's Island" prison was shown in previous episodes. | |||
*The characters mention that [[robosexuality|robosexual]] marriage is legal in Space {{w|Massachusetts}}. | |||
*The Wong ranch has a sign with the text "No Brokebacking" in reference to the bisexual ranchers in the 2005 film ''{{w|Brokeback Mountain}}''. | |||
*The concept of moving tattoos is a reference to "{{w|The Illustrated Man}}" by {{w|Ray Bradbury}}. | |||
*While delivering a {{st|Vulcan nerve pinch}}, [[URL]] says, "Mama said, 'Spock you out.'" This is a reference to the {{w|LL Cool J}} song "{{w|Mama Said Knock You Out (song)|Mama Said Knock You Out}}" as well as the character of [[Spock]] from ''[[Star Trek]]''. | |||
*The [[Richard Nixon's head|President Nixon]] "Despair" poster is a parody of Shepard Fairey's iconic [[Barack Obama|Obama]] {{w|Barack Obama "Hope" poster|"Hope" poster}}. | |||
*[[Linda]] describes [[Channel √2]]'s coverage as "Fair and Balanced", the same slogan of conservative news channel, {{w|Fox News}}. | |||
*The advertisement against robosexual marriage is a parody of the infamous "storm is gathering" ad for the {{w|National Organization for Marriage}}. | |||
*The logo used by Camp Rectifier is a {{w|diode bridge}}, which converts an AC (alternating current) signal to a DC (direct current) one. | |||
*At [[Forbidden Planet Hollywood]], we see {{sw|Chewbacca}}'s feet (from ''[[Star Wars]]''), {{w|Iron Man}}'s underpants, [[Elvis Presley|Elvis]]' pelvis, and the Head of Lassie. We also get to see [[Calculon]]'s agent. | |||
*The story and the title of the episode are inspired by {{w|California Proposition 8 (2008)|2008's California Proposition 8}},<ref name="cinemablend-comiccon">{{cite web |url=http://www.cinemablend.com/television/Comic-Con-Futurama-Ignores-Controversy-Promises-To-Take-On-Twitter-18844.html |title=Comic Con: Futurama Ignores Controversy, Promises To Take On Twitter |publisher=Cinema Blend |date=2009-07-25 |accessdate=2009-07-26 |author=Perkis, Ed |quote=A parody of Prop 8, with Bender and Amy wanting a robosexual wedding. There is a Prop Infinity attempt to stop them.}}</ref> which illegalized same-sex marriage in the state. Also, the symbol for infinity looks like an eight turned on its side. | |||
** George Takei (and his husband) actively campaigned against California Proposition 8. | |||
*The {{w|Gay Robot}} from ''{{w|Shhh...Don't Tell}}'' and ''{{w|Nick Swardson's Pretend Time}}'' appears at the parade and in the debate scene. | |||
*Randy's line 'Our poodle has two daddies!' is an allusion to the {{cat|s=no|children}}'s book ''{{w|Heather Has Two Mommies}}'', a book about a child whose parents are a lesbian couple which has provoked controversy in some school districts. | |||
**Randy's hair is an orangeish-brown instead of blond. | |||
*Gearwich Village, where Amy and Bender hold their rally, is a play on {{w|Greenwich Village}}, an area of {{w|Lower Manhattan|Lower}} [[Manhattan]] where several artistic and counterculture movements started. | |||
*The line "Nah, I'm just a pre-op transformer" is a reference to the {{w|Transformers}} franchise, as well as the process of transitioning from one physical sex to another via a series of operations which is sometimes undergone by transsexual people. | |||
=== Quotes === | |||
{{q| | |||
<poem>'''[[Leela]]''': I thought [[circusitis]] only affected children. | |||
'''[[Hermes]]''': Children of all ages.</poem> | |||
<poem>'''[[Leo Wong]]''': Come home, Amy! It your decision! We can't make you! ''[Lassos her in.]'' Attagirl!</poem> | |||
<poem>'''[[Randy Munchnik|Randy]]''': Our poodle has two daddies!</poem> | |||
<poem>'''[[George Takei's head]]''': ''[After hearing Bender's debate speech.]'' I haven't heard such an eloquent speech since [[William Shatner|Bill Shatner]] explained why he couldn't pay me back.</poem> | |||
<poem>''Bender needs $5,000 for bail money'' | |||
'''[[Amy]]''': I don't have that kind of money laying around. | |||
'''[[Bender]]''': Yeah you do. You know that floor safe where you keep 10 grand? There's 5 grand in there.</poem> | |||
<poem>'''Hermes''': When the lights go out, it's nobody's business what goes on between two consenting adults. | |||
'''Zoidberg''': Or one!</poem> | |||
<poem>'''Fatbot''': Look at the rack on that one! I mean, that one on the rack!</poem> | |||
<poem>'''Bender''': We're going to fight to legalize it [[New New York|right here]]. | |||
'''Hermes''': Ya mon! Ya got to legalize it! | |||
'''Amy''': We're talking about robosexual marriage. | |||
'''Hermes''': We're talkin' about {{w|Legality of cannabis|lots of stuff}}.</poem> | |||
<poem>''[Wine bucket pours wine into Amy's glass.]'' | |||
'''Amy''': Thank you. | |||
'''Leo Wong''': Stop seducing him, you hussy! | |||
'''Amy''': Dad, gleesh! I'm attracted to Bender! Not this emotionless wine bucket! | |||
'''[[Wine Bucket]]''': ''[A tear rolls down its face.]'' Hopes... deleted.</poem> | |||
<poem>'''[[Reverend Lionel Preacherbot]]''': The only lies worth believing are the ones in the {{w|Bible}}.</poem> | |||
}} | |||
=== Goofs === | |||
*[[Bender Bending Rodriguez|Bender]] apparently stole Lassie's head in the [[Forbidden Planet Hollywood]]. However it was already said in "[[Jurassic Bark]]" that Lassie was in the Louvre. | |||
**Several dogs have played Lassie over the years. | |||
**She could have been moved from the Louvre since. | |||
*Most of the [[Planet Express crew|crew]]'s opinions on [[robosexuality]] are different from previous episodes, such as "[[I Dated a Robot]]". | |||
**As the story takes place several years after "I Dated a Robot", the crew may have simply changed their minds on the subject. | |||
**Also it could be related to the fact that the robots shown to be robosexual, are all actual robots, not built for the purpose of dating a particular human nor are their personalities and looks based on a human. | |||
**A general aversion to humans developing emotional attachments to robots was shown in "I Dated a Robot", but in neither episode does anyone say robosexuality itself is illegal. | |||
*In "[[Slaves of New New York!]]", the [[Hydroponic Farmer]] forced [[The Simpsons|Gil]] to marry [[the Crushinator]]. However, the [[Crossover Crisis]] is non-[[canon]]. | |||
*Bender tries to carve a wooden stick with a knife to protect himself from [[Roberto]] when he could have just used the metal knife. | |||
**This is obviously a joke, smilar to the cookie-assembling machine Fry uses and then only eat the center part anyway. | |||
*Bender doesn't launch into folk singing when [[Reverend Lionel Preacherbot]] drags him out of the [[Planet Express headquarters|Planet Express HQ]] with a magnet. | |||
**The magnet wasn't near his inhibition unit. If the magnet isn't near the head, it doesn't cause him to sing. | |||
*In "[[The Devil's Hands Are Idle Playthings]]", the [[Robot Devil]] wanted Leela to marry him, even though robosexual marriage is revealed to be illegal in this episode. | |||
**He's the Robot Devil, so he can do what he wants. | |||
**It was a sham marriage anyway, part of an extremely elaborate plot by the Robot Devil to get his hands back. The Preacherbot was probably in on the plot, too. | |||
**Also, [[Robot Hell]] is in [[New Jersey]], where robosexual marriage may be legal. | |||
<!-- | |||
***Neither point explains why the Preacherbot, using the power granted by the state, was going to perform a robosexual marriage in New New York. | |||
***Robosexual marriage was illegal throughout all of Earth, so the point about New Jersey does not apply. | |||
--> | |||
*When [[Morbo]] talks about Bender's tile graffiti, he says it is happening in "our city" but it has been established in "[[A Big Piece of Garbage]]" that [[Channel √2 News|√2 News]] is based in [[Los Angeles]]. | |||
**Considering the large amount of time that has passed, it is possible that √2 News has moved. More news seems to develop in New New York, so it would be advantageous for the news station to be based there. | |||
*In this episode, a criminal stole a police lightsaber and held it up to Amy's neck as if it was a knife (or a Star Wars lightsaber). However, in ''Futurama'', police lightsabers are used as batons, so there was no point in holding up a baton to someone's neck. | |||
**The criminal may not have known how the lightsabers worked. | |||
**It is possible to choke someone to death with a baton by constricting the blood flow to the brain. | |||
*Amy states that since she and Kif were Fonfon Rus, they weren't actually married. However, in ''[[The Beast with a Billion Backs]]'', she refers to Kif as her husband, and Zapp later refers to her as Kif's wife. | |||
*When the crew discovers Amy and Bender together, the mini-tornado has vanished from the jar. | |||
*A couple including a ghost and a horse is shown, when it was mentioned in "[[The Honking]]" that the last ghost died over 200 years prior. | |||
*During his flashback about having his heart broken by Eunice/Unit 47, the Professor says they skipped "through a field of posies" and were working on something to fight off the "posy infestation". However, posies are not actually a type of flower. "{{w|Nosegay|Posy}}" is a term for a small bouquet of flowers. | |||
=== Appearances === | |||
{{chars}} | |||
==== Characters ==== | |||
{{chars-begin|note=no}} | |||
*[[Amy Wong|Amy]] | |||
*[[Bender Bending Rodriguez|Bender]] | |||
*[[Calculon]] {{mito}} | |||
*[[Donbot]] | |||
*[[Fanny]] | |||
*[[Farnsworth's grandmother]] {{miso}} | |||
*[[Fatbot]] | |||
*[[First Robot capable of qualifying for a boat loan]] | |||
*[[Philip J. Fry|Fry]] | |||
*[[George Takei's head]] | |||
*[[Hattie McDoogal]] | |||
*[[Hedonismbot]] | |||
*[[Hermaphrobot]] | |||
*[[Hermes Conrad|Hermes]] | |||
*[[Horrible Gelatinous Blob]] | |||
*[[Huge-assed woman]] | |||
*[[Humorbot 5.0]] | |||
*[[Hyper-Chicken]] | |||
*[[Inez Wong]] | |||
*'''Debut''': [[Jim]] | |||
*[[Joey Mousepad]] | |||
*[[Kif Kroker|Kif]] | |||
*'''Debut''': [[Larry the Murder Burglar]] | |||
*[[Turanga Leela|Leela]] | |||
*[[Leo Wong]] | |||
*[[Linda]] | |||
*[[Michelle]] | |||
*[[Monique]] | |||
*[[Morbo]] | |||
*[[Pauly Shore (character)|Pauly Shore]] | |||
*[[Professor Hubert J. Farnsworth|Professor Farnsworth]] | |||
*[[Richard Nixon's head]] {{cameo|"Despair" poster}} | |||
*[[Randy Munchnik]] | |||
*[[Reverend Lionel Preacherbot]] | |||
*[[Roberto]] | |||
*[[Smitty]] | |||
*[[Soupy]] | |||
*[[Spock]] {{miso}} | |||
*'''Debut''': [[Todd]] | |||
*'''Debut''': [[Unit 47]] | |||
*[[URL]] | |||
*[[Wailing Fungus]] <small>(voice)</small> | |||
*'''Debut''': [[Wine Bucket]] | |||
*[[Zapp Brannigan|Zapp]] <small>(picture frame)</small> | |||
*[[Dr. John A. Zoidberg|Zoidberg]] | |||
{{chars-end}} | |||
==== Miscellaneous ==== | |||
<!-- {{chars-begin|note=no}} --> | |||
*'''Debut''': "[[Let's go already!]]" | |||
<!-- {{chars-begin}} --> | |||
== References == | == References == | ||
Line 27: | Line 205: | ||
{{navigation bottom | {{navigation bottom | ||
|prev ep= | |prev ep=Attack of the Killer App | ||
|next ep= | |next ep=The Duh-Vinci Code | ||
}} | }} | ||
[[Category:A plots focusing on Amy]] | |||
[[Category:A plots focusing on Bender]] | |||
[[Category:A plots focusing on Professor Farnsworth]] | |||
[[Category:Media featuring flashbacks]] | |||
[[Category:Media featuring its title]] | |||
[[Category:Media featuring legal proceedings]] |
Latest revision as of 23:08, 10 November 2015
← Previous | Navigation in production order | Next → |
---|
- This article is about the episode. For the ballot initiative, see Proposition ∞.
Season 6 episode Broadcast season 7 episode | |||||
Proposition Infinity | |||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
No. | 92 | ||||
Production number | 6ACV04 | ||||
Written by | Michael Rowe | ||||
Directed by | Crystal Chesney-Thompson | ||||
Title caption | Dictated But Not Read | ||||
First air date | 8 July, 2010 | ||||
Broadcast number | S07E04 | ||||
Title reference | California Proposition 8 (2008) | ||||
Special guest(s) | George Takei | ||||
Nomination(s) | 38th Annie Awards Best Animated Television Production | ||||
Additional | |||||
| |||||
Season 6 | |||||
|
"Proposition Infinity" is the ninety-second episode of Futurama, the fourth of the sixth production season and the fourth of the seventh broadcast season. It aired on 8 July, 2010, on Comedy Central. It guest-stars George Takei as himself. After a break-up with Kif, Amy gets together with Bender in a frowned-upon robosexual relationship.
The episode was nominated for the 2010 Annie Awards.
The Story
Act I: "I'm not just some piece of tofu, Amy!"
New New York's walls are hit by a mysterious vandal, revealed to be Bender. Bender is caught vandalizing the back of URL, a police officer, and swiftly arrested. Bender calls Amy, who has been fighting with Kif all night, to bail him out of jail. She agrees, then enters the police station with Kif to bail Bender out. While in line to get discharged, Amy is hit on by an inmate and flirts back with him. This shocks Kif, as the man is a criminal, and his reaction irritates Amy. Kif tells her she's attracted to "bad boys", which he is not. Amy disagrees, but then flirts with another inmate who actually threatens her life. Kif, still hurt by Amy's flirtations, tells Amy they're through.
The breakup severely upsets Amy. To make her feel better, Leela, Fry, and Bender take her to Forbidden Planet Hollywood. Bender repeatedly mocks Amy; when he tells her to shut up, Amy tells him to back off, saying he should be afraid of what she did to the last person that told her to shut up: sexual intercourse. After this, Amy and Bender discover a mutual attraction for each other. They enter into a taboo robosexual relationship, so they keep quiet about it, even to friends. Their co-workers grow suspicious but think nothing of it.
Act II: "Oh, the humanity! Also Bender!"
On the Planet Tornadus, the crew, collecting tornado wind for the Professor's entry for the County Fair, is shocked to learn that Bender and Amy are missing. They discover their clothes flying around in the tube with the tornado winds, so the Professor shuts off the machine, and when the winds die down, the crew is shocked to see Bender and Amy making love. Professor immediately disapproves, whereas the rest of the crew accepts Bender and Amy's relationship. Amy thanks them, as she knows she can't tell her family. However, this is exactly what Professor does; he calls Leo and Inez, Amy's parents. He also calls the Robot Pastor for Bender. While at her parent's Mars ranch, Amy is saved by Fry, who poses as her new beau. Amy saves Bender from the camp the Robot Pastor sent him to. They go back to the Planet Express building, where Bender proposes to Amy.
Act III: "I'm just glad I didn't live to see this day"
The Professor reminds them that robosexual marriage is illegal in New New York. To fight against this, Bender and Amy launch a campaign, Proposition ∞, for the legalization of robosexual marriage. In days before the election, Prop. ∞ support slumps in the polls. Amy loses hope, but Bender says they'll win following his debate tonight against Professor Farnsworth. Bender gives a heartfelt speech and the audience applauds. The Professor follows with his rebuttal, beginning with a flashback. He was in love with a fellow scientist named Eunice, and, 43 years later, discovered her in bed with First Robot Capable of Qualifying for a Boat Loan (or a similar robot) . This doesn't impress the audience, who despise the Professor for hating robosexuals simply because his girlfriend slept with a robot. He then admits that she was a robot, named Unit 47, who slept with another robot. Farnsworth's heart was broken, so he took his anger out on other robosexuals. After admitting the truth, the Professor withdraws his argument and fully backs Prop. ∞. The next day, Prop. ∞ is approved. Amy is ecstatic, saying she and Bender can have a normal, monogamous marriage now. Upon hearing the word monogamous, Bender leaves Amy for two robot hookers, while Amy goes back to Kif, who adopts a bad boy persona for her.
Production
David X. Cohen calls the episode one of his favorites from the sixth season.
Reception
In its original American broadcast, "Proposition Infinity" was viewed by an estimated 2.013 million households with a 1.0 rating/3% share in the 18-49 demographic going down one tenth of a point from last weeks, "Attack of the Killer App".[1] The episode has also been nominated for the 2010 Annie Awards.
Additional info
Trivia
- This is one among few Futurama media featuring its title.
- When the episode aired, same-sex marriage was illegal in appoximately 97.6% of the territory of the United States.
- Kif said that he is actually related to the sea cucumber. This makes many fans learn that he is not a toad or a jellyfish even though his species has no spine and is very squishy.
- The closed captions had lines that were not spoken. Something to the effect of "Where am I? Is this TBS?" suggesting that Conan O'Brien originally had a cameo.
- In Amy and Kif's apartment, there is a picture of Apu and Manjula, from The Simpsons.
Continuity
- Will Riker's Island was previously seen in "Three Hundred Big Boys" when Kif was imprisoned. In that episode, it was called Commander Riker's Island.
- The idea of robosexuality was first mentioned in "Space Pilot 3000". It was later said to be wrong in "I Dated a Robot" and illegal in this episode.
- No mention is ever made of robosexuality itself being criminal, only that robosexual marriage is not permitted.
- The interracial couple from "Space Pilot 3000" is seen again.
- Fatbot is revealed to be robosexual.
- In the audience for the debate for Proposition ∞ include Fatbot, and a hookerbot first seen in "The Lesser of Two Evils".
- While at Forbidden Planet Hollywood, Amy says, "technically, we were Fonfon Rus, so we weren't really married." This is referencing the event when Kif and Amy married in The Beast with a Billion Backs.
- In The Beast with a Billion Backs, Amy refered to herself as Kif's wife, but now distinguishes Fonfon Ru from being a spouse.
- Michelle and Pauly Shore can be seen at the Proposition ∞ rally. Their marriage was confirmed by the audio commentary.
- Remnants of Bender's vandalism can bee seen in "2-D Blacktop"
Allusions
![](/images/thumb/2/25/Despair.png/300px-Despair.png)
![](/images/thumb/4/48/Gay_Robot.png/300px-Gay_Robot.png)
- Bender's vandalism spree is a reference to French street artist Invader, who has placed tile Space Invaders in many cities around the world.
- Another possible event that Bender's actions mimic is the 2007 guerrilla marketing campaign in Boston for the upcoming Aqua Teen Hunger Force Colon Movie Film for Theaters. LED panels featuring characters from the show were placed at high traffic locations, and caused a major panic when they were mistaken for IEDs.
- The house in the tornado is a reference to a scene from The Wizard of Oz, a callback to "Anthology of Interest II".
- The interracial couple shown in the protest scene is taken from the Star Trek episode "Let That Be Your Last Battlefield".
- Bender is in jail on Will Riker's Island, a reference to Commander William T. Riker, the first officer of Picard's Enterprise in Star Trek: The Next Generation. A "Commander Riker's Island" prison was shown in previous episodes.
- The characters mention that robosexual marriage is legal in Space Massachusetts.
- The Wong ranch has a sign with the text "No Brokebacking" in reference to the bisexual ranchers in the 2005 film Brokeback Mountain.
- The concept of moving tattoos is a reference to "The Illustrated Man" by Ray Bradbury.
- While delivering a Vulcan nerve pinch, URL says, "Mama said, 'Spock you out.'" This is a reference to the LL Cool J song "Mama Said Knock You Out" as well as the character of Spock from Star Trek.
- The President Nixon "Despair" poster is a parody of Shepard Fairey's iconic Obama "Hope" poster.
- Linda describes Channel √2's coverage as "Fair and Balanced", the same slogan of conservative news channel, Fox News.
- The advertisement against robosexual marriage is a parody of the infamous "storm is gathering" ad for the National Organization for Marriage.
- The logo used by Camp Rectifier is a diode bridge, which converts an AC (alternating current) signal to a DC (direct current) one.
- At Forbidden Planet Hollywood, we see Chewbacca's feet (from Star Wars), Iron Man's underpants, Elvis' pelvis, and the Head of Lassie. We also get to see Calculon's agent.
- The story and the title of the episode are inspired by 2008's California Proposition 8,[2] which illegalized same-sex marriage in the state. Also, the symbol for infinity looks like an eight turned on its side.
- George Takei (and his husband) actively campaigned against California Proposition 8.
- The Gay Robot from Shhh...Don't Tell and Nick Swardson's Pretend Time appears at the parade and in the debate scene.
- Randy's line 'Our poodle has two daddies!' is an allusion to the children's book Heather Has Two Mommies, a book about a child whose parents are a lesbian couple which has provoked controversy in some school districts.
- Randy's hair is an orangeish-brown instead of blond.
- Gearwich Village, where Amy and Bender hold their rally, is a play on Greenwich Village, an area of Lower Manhattan where several artistic and counterculture movements started.
- The line "Nah, I'm just a pre-op transformer" is a reference to the Transformers franchise, as well as the process of transitioning from one physical sex to another via a series of operations which is sometimes undergone by transsexual people.
Quotes
Leela: I thought circusitis only affected children.
Hermes: Children of all ages.
Leo Wong: Come home, Amy! It your decision! We can't make you! [Lassos her in.] Attagirl!
Randy: Our poodle has two daddies!
George Takei's head: [After hearing Bender's debate speech.] I haven't heard such an eloquent speech since Bill Shatner explained why he couldn't pay me back.
Bender needs $5,000 for bail money
Amy: I don't have that kind of money laying around.
Bender: Yeah you do. You know that floor safe where you keep 10 grand? There's 5 grand in there.
Hermes: When the lights go out, it's nobody's business what goes on between two consenting adults.
Zoidberg: Or one!
Fatbot: Look at the rack on that one! I mean, that one on the rack!
Bender: We're going to fight to legalize it right here.
Hermes: Ya mon! Ya got to legalize it!
Amy: We're talking about robosexual marriage.
Hermes: We're talkin' about lots of stuff.
[Wine bucket pours wine into Amy's glass.]
Amy: Thank you.
Leo Wong: Stop seducing him, you hussy!
Amy: Dad, gleesh! I'm attracted to Bender! Not this emotionless wine bucket!
Wine Bucket: [A tear rolls down its face.] Hopes... deleted.
Reverend Lionel Preacherbot: The only lies worth believing are the ones in the Bible.
Goofs
- Bender apparently stole Lassie's head in the Forbidden Planet Hollywood. However it was already said in "Jurassic Bark" that Lassie was in the Louvre.
- Several dogs have played Lassie over the years.
- She could have been moved from the Louvre since.
- Most of the crew's opinions on robosexuality are different from previous episodes, such as "I Dated a Robot".
- As the story takes place several years after "I Dated a Robot", the crew may have simply changed their minds on the subject.
- Also it could be related to the fact that the robots shown to be robosexual, are all actual robots, not built for the purpose of dating a particular human nor are their personalities and looks based on a human.
- A general aversion to humans developing emotional attachments to robots was shown in "I Dated a Robot", but in neither episode does anyone say robosexuality itself is illegal.
- In "Slaves of New New York!", the Hydroponic Farmer forced Gil to marry the Crushinator. However, the Crossover Crisis is non-canon.
- Bender tries to carve a wooden stick with a knife to protect himself from Roberto when he could have just used the metal knife.
- This is obviously a joke, smilar to the cookie-assembling machine Fry uses and then only eat the center part anyway.
- Bender doesn't launch into folk singing when Reverend Lionel Preacherbot drags him out of the Planet Express HQ with a magnet.
- The magnet wasn't near his inhibition unit. If the magnet isn't near the head, it doesn't cause him to sing.
- In "The Devil's Hands Are Idle Playthings", the Robot Devil wanted Leela to marry him, even though robosexual marriage is revealed to be illegal in this episode.
- He's the Robot Devil, so he can do what he wants.
- It was a sham marriage anyway, part of an extremely elaborate plot by the Robot Devil to get his hands back. The Preacherbot was probably in on the plot, too.
- Also, Robot Hell is in New Jersey, where robosexual marriage may be legal.
- When Morbo talks about Bender's tile graffiti, he says it is happening in "our city" but it has been established in "A Big Piece of Garbage" that √2 News is based in Los Angeles.
- Considering the large amount of time that has passed, it is possible that √2 News has moved. More news seems to develop in New New York, so it would be advantageous for the news station to be based there.
- In this episode, a criminal stole a police lightsaber and held it up to Amy's neck as if it was a knife (or a Star Wars lightsaber). However, in Futurama, police lightsabers are used as batons, so there was no point in holding up a baton to someone's neck.
- The criminal may not have known how the lightsabers worked.
- It is possible to choke someone to death with a baton by constricting the blood flow to the brain.
- Amy states that since she and Kif were Fonfon Rus, they weren't actually married. However, in The Beast with a Billion Backs, she refers to Kif as her husband, and Zapp later refers to her as Kif's wife.
- When the crew discovers Amy and Bender together, the mini-tornado has vanished from the jar.
- A couple including a ghost and a horse is shown, when it was mentioned in "The Honking" that the last ghost died over 200 years prior.
- During his flashback about having his heart broken by Eunice/Unit 47, the Professor says they skipped "through a field of posies" and were working on something to fight off the "posy infestation". However, posies are not actually a type of flower. "Posy" is a term for a small bouquet of flowers.
Appearances
Characters
- Amy
- Bender
- Calculon (mentioned in text only, unknown moment)
- Donbot
- Fanny
- Farnsworth's grandmother (mentioned in speech only)
- Fatbot
- First Robot capable of qualifying for a boat loan
- Fry
- George Takei's head
- Hattie McDoogal
- Hedonismbot
- Hermaphrobot
- Hermes
- Horrible Gelatinous Blob
- Huge-assed woman
- Humorbot 5.0
- Hyper-Chicken
- Inez Wong
- Debut: Jim
- Joey Mousepad
- Kif
- Debut: Larry the Murder Burglar
- Leela
- Leo Wong
- Linda
- Michelle
- Monique
- Morbo
- Pauly Shore
- Professor Farnsworth
- Richard Nixon's head (cameo, "Despair" poster)
- Randy Munchnik
- Reverend Lionel Preacherbot
- Roberto
- Smitty
- Soupy
- Spock (mentioned in speech only)
- Debut: Todd
- Debut: Unit 47
- URL
- Wailing Fungus (voice)
- Debut: Wine Bucket
- Zapp (picture frame)
- Zoidberg
Miscellaneous
- Debut: "Let's go already!"
References
- ^ [1]
- ^ "A parody of Prop 8, with Bender and Amy wanting a robosexual wedding. There is a Prop Infinity attempt to stop them."
Perkis, Ed (25 July 2009). "Comic Con: Futurama Ignores Controversy, Promises To Take On Twitter". Cinema Blend. Retrieved on 26 July 2009.
- Episodes written by Michael Rowe
- Episodes directed by Crystal Chesney-Thompson
- Episodes with special guests
- Nominated episodes or films
- Media
- Episodes
- Season 6 Episodes
- A plots focusing on Amy
- A plots focusing on Bender
- A plots focusing on Professor Farnsworth
- Media featuring flashbacks
- Media featuring its title
- Media featuring legal proceedings