List of references to Futurama in popular culture

This article lists references to the show Futurama in popular culture, that means references outside of the show to the show itself.

Film

Animation

Attack of the Drones

Zoidberg appearing in Daffy Duck.

Attack of the Drones was the fourth short of Duck Dodgers and was released in 2003, though not theatrically, because of the failure of Looney Tunes: Back in Action. Dr. Zoidberg makes a cameo appearance in the council, even as much as having a line: "Uh, what do we do?". Billy West voiced him, due to his obligations as Porky Pig. The buildings and animation (2D with 3D sequences) are similar to Futurama's and this may be due to Dwayne Carey-Hill, Eric Kaplan and Rich Moore's involvement. It can be viewed here.

Logorama

The Slurm logo appearing in Logorama.

In the 2009 short film Logorama, over 2,500 logos are used to tell the story. Among these is the logo for Slurm, which appears among others at KFC. Also the name is similar to Futurama. It can be viewed here.

Live-action

The Adventures of Pluto Nash

In the film The Adventures of Pluto Nash, released 16 August, 2002, a piece of music similar to the Futurama theme song can be heard in some scenes on the moon.

Comic Book: The Movie

The mockumentary, Comic Book: The Movie (released 27 January, 2004), features a Futurama cut-out in it. Some Futurama crew also appear in the movie including Matt Groening, Mark Hamill, Maurice LaMarche, and Billy West.

An Inconvenient Truth

Futurama clip appearing in An Inconvenient Truth.

• In An Inconvenient Truth, released 24 May, 2006, Al Gore uses a scene from the episode "Crimes of the Hot" during his initial explanation of global warming.
• The Futurama cast and crew also made an animated faux-trailer for the film titled A Terrifying Message from Al Gore featuring Gore and Bender.
• Al Gore is a recurring guest star on Futurama, appearing in "Anthology of Interest I", "Crimes of the Hot", Bender's Big Score and an unknown Season 6 episode. He has said that Futurama is his favourite show, prior to his appearance on it, during the time of Season 1.
• His daughter, Kristin Gore, also worked for the show as a screen writer for all of Season 3 and 4's episodes, bar three.

Unfaithful

Futurama appears in the movie Unfaithful, released 10 May, 2002. It is unknown where it appears in the movie, but Fox is credited for its use in the film. Christopher Tyng is also credited for the song "Music From Futurama" in the soundtrack.

Internet

Miscellaneous

Encyclopædia Dramatica

Through 4chan, Encyclopædia Dramatica claims that there are four memes associated with Futurama on it's page:

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  I See What You Did There

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  Child Abduction

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  Second

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  Hypnotoad

Heroes

The Planet Express ship appearing in Heroes.

A supplement of the TV series, the Heroes graphic novel "The Trip, Part 1" (#160, released 4 January, 2010) features the Planet Express ship in a full page panel.

Mozilla Firefox

Bender's quote appearing in Mozilla Firefox.

In Mozilla's Firefox browser (version 3 or later), if you type "about:robots" in the address bar, a page will appear paying tribute to robots in popular culture. The last point is "Robots have shiny metal posteriors which should not be bitten." This is a reference to Bender's catchphrase, "Bite my shiny metal ass!"

Robot Hall of Fame

Bender is nominated for the Robot Hall of Fame. He is currently in number two position, with 29% of the votes, to get a place.

Video

Homestar Runner

Zoidberg appearing in Homestar Runner.

During the Halloween toon, "Most in the Graveyard" (released 30 October, 2008), of the Flash animation series Homestar Runner, The Poopsmith is dressed up as Zoidberg. The King of Town also says Professor Farnsworth's catch phrase, "Good news, everyone!", when you click The Poopsmith at the end of the toon. It can be viewed here.

RiffTrax

In the RiffTrax commentary for The Star Wars Holiday Special (released 10 December, 2007), Ackmena asks two aliens to finish their Slurm. It can be viewed here.

Yu-Gi-Oh: The Abridged Series

Bakura as Hypnotoad in Yu-Gi-Oh: The Abridged Series.

• In episode 7 (released 7 August, 2006), Tristan Taylor (in robot monkey form) and Joey Wheeler are dubbed over as Bender and Fry in the episode "Space Pilot 3000". It can be viewed here.
• In episode 17 (released 17 March, 2007), Ryo Bakura appears as a parody of the Hypnotoad, with the same noise and eyes as it. It can be viewed here.

Music

Comedy

Josh Thomas

Australian comedian Josh Thomas, who has stated he is an atheist before, says on his album Things That I Have Said Before (released 23 March, 2010), at the end of the track "Other Sexy Stuff", that he follows Oprah Winfrey instead. This is possibly a nod to Oprahism in the episode "Hell Is Other Robots".

MC Lars

MC Lars referenced the show in the song "Space Game", from his album The Graduate (released 21 March, 2006), with the lyric "Hey Fry, look, we can still be friends. I won't ask Leela out again". It can be heard here.

Rock

Atomic Raygun Attack

The band Atomic Raygun Attack made an free download EP in 2007 which bases it's six songs off the Futurama episode "The Sting".

The Devin Townsend Project

The song "Bend It Like Bender!", from The Devin Townsend Project album Addicted (released 17 November, 2009), is a reference to Bender. The music video can be viewed here.

Publications

Comics

52

Johnny Warrawa wearing a Bender-mask.

In an issue of the comic series 52 (#21, published September, 2006), the Australian mechanic Johnny Warrawa wears a welding mask shaped like Bender's face whilst repairing the droid head of the Red Tornado.

Action Comics

Zoidberg and Kif appearing in Action Comics.

In Action Comics (#863, published May, 2008), a Legion of Super-Heroes comic, there is a plot involving aliens being sent to a prison camp. Among them is what appears to be Zoidberg and possibly Kif Kroker.

Life in Hell

Bender appearing among rubbish and toys in Life in Hell.

In Matt Groening's comic, Life in Hell, a Bender-like doll appears in a 1999 Christmas strip.

Off The Mark

Leela (and others) appearing in Off The Mark.

The 17 September, 2009, issue of the single panel comic Off The Mark, created by Mark Parisi, features Leela trying to be chatted up by cyclops Mike Wazowski from the film Monsters, Inc., whilst his friend Sulley is at the bar with Fry and Bender.

Outer Orbit

The Planet Express Ship appears in an issue of the Dark Horse Comics miniseries Outer Orbit.

Top 10

In issue 11 of Top 10, a discoloured Fry, Leela, and Bender can be seen in the background of the first frame of page 11. Nibbler is also featured two panels later wearing a shirt saying "Slam", a reference to the DC Comics' Message Board poster who suggested Nibbler as an Easter egg.

Transmetropolitan

In Transmetropolitan #25, there is a billboard which depicts Leela and Bender.

Young Avengers

In Young Avengers Special #1 (published February, 2006), the logo for Slurm can be seen on a vending machine being thrown by the Hulkling.

Zits

Futurama mentioned on Zits.

In a Zits comic (published in the 2001 collection, Big Honkin' Zits), Jeremy is excited about a new Futurama episode.

Magazines

Cracked

Cracked was a humour magazine which based most of its material on popular culture. This gallery shows all appearances of Futurama in Cracked:

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  Futurama is parodied on the cover of #340 (published December, 1999),...

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  ... whilst inside, there is a comic parody called "Futuredrama". The full 5 pages can be read here.

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  In this "Toon Issue" (#342, published March, 2000), Bender is impaled on the spikes of Bart's hair, along with other cartoon characters.

Forbes

Mom was included in the 2007 Forbes list of the richest fictional characters. She was ranked at #4 with an estimated net worth of $15.7 billion. MomCorp was also included in the list of "The 25 Largest Fictional Companies" which estimated its sales at $291.8 billion.

Mad

The Mad magazine parodies many popular culture things, including Futurama. This gallery shows all appearances of Futurama in Mad:

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  In this translation of a German edition, there is a parody named "Botterama". The full 4 page comic and information on the more obscure jokes can be read here.

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  In another German magazine (#31, published April, 2001), Futurama is parodied on the front cover...

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  ...and in a comic on an interior page. "Schraub" is German for "screw".

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  On the cover of this 2008 summer issue, dealing with superheroes, instead of coming out in his usual armour, Tony Stark comes out as Bender instead.

Mother Jones

Futurama appearing in Mother Jones.

Four panels of Futurama are featured on the back of the May/June, 2001 issue of Mother Jones.

Novels

Ark Angel

In the sixth book of the Alex Rider series, Ark Angel (published 1 April, 2005), the CIA hide behind the pseudonym "Creative Ideas Animations". In their SoHo office, they sell, among others, Futurama original drawings.

Television

Animation

Aqua Teen Hunger Force

In an episode of Aqua Teen Hunger Force called "Bible Fruit" (first aired 23 March, 2008), Frylock, Meatwad and Master Shake have a discussion about watching Futurama. It is a joke about Futurama being removed from Adult Swim, as Comedy Central had bought the rights to the show.

Meatwad: Why don't you ask that TV if he minds showin' me some Futurama. I like me some Futurama.
Shake: Well now we're too damn cheap to receive it, so go the hell over to Carl Central and watch it to your heart's content.
Meatwad: Carl gets Futurama?
Shake: He didn't even want it until we started watching it.

Family Guy

Bender appearing in Blue Harvest.

• In the episode "Deep Throats" of Family Guy, released 9 April, 2006, Peter Griffin sings a song without his inspiration (marijuana). His lyrics are possibly describing the Tube Transport System in New New York.
• During the premiere skit in Stewie Griffin: The Untold Story, released 27 September, 2005, a reporter on the red carpet asks Stewie Griffin if Fox has any plans to bring back Futurama. Family Guy and Futurama were both animated series on Fox which were cancelled and subsequently aired on Adult Swim; at the time of release Family Guy was scheduled to return but Futurama was not.
• Bender was seen during the Chalmun's Cantina scene of the "Blue Harvest", released 23 September, 2007.
• In the fifth "road" episode, "Road to the Multiverse", released 27 September, 2009, Stewie keeps the multiverse remote in a safe, with alienese characters on the buttons. Also the multiverses are similar to Futurama's Parallel universes.

The Grim Adventures of Billy & Mandy

In the episode "Dream Mutt" (released 17 June, 2005) of The Grim Adventures of Billy & Mandy, Wiggy Jiggy Jed's line "So you can lick my Candy-striped..." may be a reference to Bender's line of Bite my shiny metal ass.

The PJs

Fry appearing on a milk carton in The PJs.

In the episode "Cliffhangin' With Mr. Super" (aired 18 August, 2000) of the show The PJs, Fry makes a cameo appearance on a wanted ad on a milk carton, referring to Fry's disappearance after being frozen. This was an act of reciprocation for an advertisement of The PJs etched onto a manhole cover in the episodes "I Second that Emotion" and "The Luck of the Fryrish", like The PJs opening scene.

Shaun the Sheep

In the Shaun the Sheep episode "The Visitor", aired 4 September 2007, the alien's space ship can use sheep faeces as fuel, which resembles Nibbler's crap.

South Park

In the South Park episode "Go God Go", 1 November, 2006, Cartman is stuck in the snow and is buried by an avalanche and is defrosted 500 years later. Although not an explicit reference to Futurama, there is brief reference to cryogenics, and the name of the city "New New Hampshire" is familiar to other names of cities used in Futurama, like "New New York" or "New New Jersey".

Live-action

The Colbert Report

During the intro for the 22 June, 2009 episode of The Colbert Report, Colbert's interview with author Simon Schama was headlined "Future-Schama" — a pun on the name for Futurama.

Countdown with Keith Olbermann

Countdown with Keith Olbermann is a news show hosted by Keith Olbermann who regularly uses catchphrases from The Simpsons and Family Guy, but has recently taken to common use of Professor Farnsworth's catch phrase, "Good news, everyone!"

Doctor Who

Space-ship Titanic appearing in Doctor Who.

The relaunched Doctor Who contains a few possible references (or just similarities) to Futurama.

• In the series 1 episode, "The Long Game" (released 7 May, 2005), a character pretends to be a student at Mars University, to which a medical technician replies, "The Martian boondocks. Typical!"
• The series 2 episode, "New Earth" (released 15 April, 2006), which is set in the year five billion and twenty-three in the city of New New York. However, if the city had been more accurately named, it would in fact be "New New New New New New New New New New New New New New New New York" as it was the fifteenth New York.
  • New New York also appears in the series 3 episode, "Gridlock" (released 14 April, 2007), which is set 30 years after "New Earth". It features a character called "Branagan", and has a similar skyline to Futurama.
• The series 4 Christmas Special, "Voyage of the Damned" (released 25 December, 2007), has an interstellar cruiser modelled after the original RMS Titanic. This is very similar to the space cruise ship, Titanic, in the Futurama episode, "A Flight to Remember".

The Einstein Factor

Contestants in the Australian ABC1 quiz show The Einstein Factor choose a specialty on which to be quizzed during the first round. During episode ten of the 2005 season, a contestant chose Futurama as his specialty. He was the second placing of three contestants in the episode.

Gilmore Girls

Bender action figure in Gilmore Girls.

In the Gilmore Girls episode "Scene in a Mall" (released 24 February 2004), Brian has a set of action figures from the show, which he and Zach discuss at length.

Good News Week

In an episode of Good News Week, broadcast 31st August 2009, Paul McDermott, the host, went to a commercial break saying "Stay tuned meatbags!" Meatbag is a word frequently used by Bender.

Journeyman

Futurama appearing on a TV in Journeyman.

In the series Journeyman, in the episode "Emily" (released 19 November, 2007), Dan Vasser travels back in time to the year 2001, and enters his own house and at that time, on a TV screen, a clip from "Parasites Lost" is seen and heard (Professor Farnsworth saying "Come on, let's all give Fry some privacy."). This means that he probably travelled to 21 January.

Kenan & Kel

In season 4 of the sitcom Kenan & Kel, there is an episode named "Futurama" (released 31 December, 1999) which is set in the year 3000.

Lost

• In the episode "The Man Behind the Curtain" (released 9 May, 2007) of the series Lost, the plot element of the Dharma Initiative arrivals being assigned their new jobs and one being angry about it, is similar to the Career chip in the Futurama episode "Space Pilot 3000".
• In the episode "Because You Left", released 21 January, 2009, Daniel describes the time skips like a needle skipping on a record player. This is a direct quote from the Futurama episode "Time Keeps on Slippin'".

Media Watch

On the 8 September, 2003 episode of Media Watch, a man called Jonathon complained about Futurama being broadcast on Channel Seven. The transcript can be read here.

Stargate Universe

In the Stargate Universe episode "Earth" (6 November, 2009), Eli Wallace gives his mother the name "Philip Fry".

Talkin' 'Bout Your Generation

The Australian quiz show, Talkin' 'Bout Your Generation, asks many popular culture questions. On episode 9, aired 30 June 2009, in the round "Your Generation", a true or false question was asked: "Did Darren Shatner, the son of William Shatner, compose the theme song to Futurama?" Generation Y answered true and got the question wrong. Futurama's theme song was actually composed by Christopher Tyng.

Warehouse 13

On the 8 September, 2009 episode of the Syfy series Warehouse 13 (episode 10, "Breakdown"), Claudia says, "Oh, we're boned!" This is one of Bender’s catch-phrases.

Video Games

Miscellaneous

Contra 4

Bender's name appearing in the credits of Contra 4.

Bender appears credited with his full name on the Special Thanks section in the Contra 4 credits, released 13 November, 2007.

Gears of War 2

Boneitis appearing in the special thanks of Gears of War 2.

On Gears of War 2, released 7 November, 2008, in the special thanks section for the makers, Mikey Spano says That Guy's quote of "My one regret is that I have Boneitis!". John DiMaggio voices the main character Marcus Fenix and Franklin in the game also.

Team Fortress 2

In Team Fortress 2, released 10 October, 2007, an unlockable headgear called Triboniophorus tyrannus is modelled after the Brain slugs on Futurama. It can be seen being made and used here.

TimeSplitters: Future Perfect

In the game TimeSplitters: Future Perfect, released 21 March, 2005, the gingerbread man says Bender's quote of "Bite my crunchy brown ass!" in the character select menu. It can be viewed here.

Vampire: The Masquerade – Bloodlines

In the hospital, of the game Vampire: The Masquerade – Bloodlines (16 November, 2004), a patient named D. Marsh is diagnosed with frequent bouts of Sexlexia.

MMORPG

RuneScape

"Not the whole universe! That's where I keep my stuff!".

• The Sea slugs' ability to take over a human's mind is similar to the Brain Slugs of Futurama.
• During the final dialogue of the quest Troll Romance (released 5 January, 2005), Arrg says "This concept of 'love' confuses and infuriates Arrg." This is a reference to a quote said by Lrrr in the episode "Love and Rocket".
• In the 100th quest, Recipe for Disaster (released 15 March, 2006), when the player is informed by Gypsy Aris that the universe could be destroyed, the player exclaims, "Not the whole universe! That's where I keep my stuff!", a quote originally appearing in Futurama.

World of Warcraft

• In the game World of Warcraft (released 23 November, 2004), Professor Putricide's voice and many parts of his quotes (such as "Good news, everyone!") are based on Farnsworth. It can be seen here.
• Outside The Exodar, a small black cat called Nibblet can be seen walking around. This is probably a reference to Nibbler from Futurama.
• In the Apothecarium area. there is a large, stitched together thing that periodically excretes a load of the green goo that fills the Canals. This is vaguely reminiscent of the Slurm Queen's behind in the episode "Fry and the Slurm Factory"

Various

The Simpsons

Bender appearing on The Simpsons.

Main article: The Simpsons

• In "Bart Gets Famous" (1F11), there is a head in a jar in a dream about the future from Bart Simpson. This episode aired approximately 5 years and a month before Futurama started.
• In "Future-Drama" (GABF12), Bender appears in the hovercar Homer Simpson and Bart are driving after crossing a "quantum tunnel". There are references to heads preserved in jars, Hovercars and cities similar to Futurama. Homer's under water house is resembles one that Fry considers buying in "I, Roommate". The title, "Future-Drama", is an obvious reference to the title of Futurama itself.
• In The Simpsons Game, Bender and Dr. Zoidberg are characters at the end of Level 15 - "5 Characters In Search Of an Author." Fry also appears in a painting from Matt Groening.
• In Simpsons Comics #99, there is a cameo appearance by Bender.
• In Simpsons Super Spectacular #6, the Planet Express crew appear at the end of this comic.

Star Wars

Main article: Star Wars

• The droid HK-47 and other droids from the Star Wars Expanded Universe have been known to use Bender's phrase of "Meatbag".
• In the comic Skippy the Jedi Droid, Bender is seen making fun of Skippy.
• A droid with the name "Probulator" appears in the online game Star Wars Galaxies.

Bender appearing in Junkheap Hero.

• Bender is also seen in the comic Junkheap Hero as a scrapped droid.
  • The "Bender Droid" also appeared in the novel Death Star. It is unknown if they are related.
• Bender was seen in the Star Wars parody Family Guy: Blue Harvest in the Chalmun's Cantina scene.
• Bendu Fry's name was probably derived from Bender and Fry.
• There are a few characters in the Star Wars Galaxy with names shared in Futurama:
  • Bender
  • Farnsworth
  • Fry
  • Leela
• Jedi Master Xamar's species, Khil, has been jokingly referred to as being the same species of Zoidberg, Decapodian.
• A clip from "War Is the H-Word" appears in the "The Birth of the Lightsaber" featurette on the 25 anniversary trilogy DVD

Transformers

Various Transformers releases include some references to Futurama:

• In the Transformers: Universe comic "Wreckers Finale: Part 1", Bender appears as a resident of CSSB-16 Spaceport.
• In the Transformers: Timelines story "Gone Too Far", Old Fortran is mentioned.
• In the Transformers: Timelines script reading "Bee in the City", Bumblebee says "My manwich!", a line used by Hermes and Dwight Conrad in Futurama.
• In the Transformers Animated episode "A Fistful of Energon", the Decepticon's Clone #2716057 and Clone #3370318 is a reference to Bender and Flexo's serial numbers.
• In "The AllSpark Almanac" for Transformers Animated, there is an advertisement for many films, including Bikini Party Summer from the episode "That's Lobstertainment!".
• The voice actors Frank Welker, Phil LaMarr, Bumper Robinson, Kath Soucie and John DiMaggio have done work for both Futurama and Transformers