Since we’ve got some delightful Futurama treats in this month’s ANIMATION theme, it got us thinking about how many easter eggs and snippets of awesome trivia there are in Matt Groening’s futuristic comedy! Let’s check them out, shall we?
1. Bender was actually modeled after a Ralph Bakshi creation! Necron 99 was a robot in Bakshi’s film Wizards in 1977 and it inspired Matt Groening to model Futurama’s sarcastic robot after it.
2. Billy West, voice actor extraordinaire, did a role in a film from the 90’s called Joe’s Apartment (based on the MTV sketch) which is when he first tried on Zoidberg’s infamous voice! Thanks a lot, silly cockroaches!
3. Nicole Sullivan of MadTV fame was originally considered for the voice of Leela but eventually Katey Sagal’s stoic sultry alien won out. Think about it, it could’ve worked!
4. Hermes is based on Hermes, the ‘Messenger of the Gods’ in Greek mythology. A little winky-face to folks who took note that Hermes works for an intergalactic delivery service, eh?
5. There were a few discarded titles for the show before they settled in on Futurama with a couple being Doomsville and Aloha Mars!, eventually scrapped for the snappier title we know and love.
(Fox / Comedy Central)
6. That snappy little tune that Bender can be found whistling is ‘Sweet Georgia Brown’ which is also known as the Harlem Globetrotters jam. No wonder it sounds familiar!
7. The writers had wanted to do parodies of Martin Scorsese films with the Futurama characters but they were cancelled at the time and had to shelve it. How cool would that have been!? The episode would’ve been called ‘Gangs of New New York‘
8. Wonder what that sound is that the Hypnotoad lets out? It’s the backwards playback of a turbine engine. ALL GLORY TO THE TURBINE ENGINE.
9. Those hidden glyphs and hieroglyphics you see all over episodes and in the opening of the show? They were always changing and they always meant something. Matt Groening loved to get the audience questioning those Easter eggs regularly.
10. Some of those sound effects you hear, since we already covered the Hypnotoad, come from shows like The Jetsons and Star Trek. No wonder it feels like home!
(Fox / Comedy Central)
