Philip J. Fry Accidentally Kills His Gay Grandpa (But Saves the Universe)
Added 2022-02-24 03:35:40 +0000 UTC“Roswell That Ends Well” (December 9, 2001)
Equal parts sitcom and sci-fi epic, Futurama has some deep lore, and at the core of one of its most important storylines — that Fry is genetically destined to save the universe — is the fact that he also accidentally kills his gay grandfather and impregnates his own grandmother. Which is a lot, we realize, but in this episode we try to explain why Futurama is great and why dead, gay Grandpa Enos is vital to the cosmology of the show.
If you like deep dives into Futurama, go throw money at the Talking Simpsons Patreon, where they’ve done whole bonus seasons about it.
What does it mean that Leela is “the other”?
If you want to listen to us discuss a far less good episode by the same writer, listen to “Marge Simpsons Is a Homophobe and a Transphobe,” about the Simpsons episode “There’s Something About Marrying.” It really sucks! A less controversial episode is “Drew and Glen Discuss Instrumental Sitcom Themes.”
Bender’s connection to The Breakfast Club is sourced to this Mental Floss article, which sadly does not cite its sources.
Listen to Astonishing Legends breakdown of the Alien Autopsy hoax.
Listen to Smart Mouth’s episode about how World War II made American children eat like they were going to war.
Read about the history of Japanese hydrogen balloon bombs.
Read about how studying after a test can make you retroactively do better on it, time causality be damned.
No, microwaved water is not toxic and neither are microwaves.
And listen if you dare to Tom Arnold’s rendition of “I’m My Own Grandpa” from the movie The Stupids.
Purchase the first issue of Drew and Glen’s new comic anthology, Beyond Sunset
Go shop at our TeePublic store!
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Comments
I think I also sent one when I watched all of Head of the Class a couple of years ago. There is about a 30 second mention of what if someone is gay and that's it. You would have to be better at reading subtext than me to get something substantial from a different episode. If you still want to do HoC, I would say just do one of the musicals, Little Shop or Hair.
Robyn Pavlakovich
2022-03-01 19:55:48 +0000 UTCShoot, lemme search for that
Drew Mackie
2022-03-01 18:36:05 +0000 UTCI sent you an email a while ago after randomly seeing an episode of Gomer Pyle where to cheer up depressed Sarge he starts secretly writing him love letters. It's a stretch, but you've done more with less.
Robyn Pavlakovich
2022-03-01 09:58:23 +0000 UTCLike, I'm sure there is a reason microwaves might be bad, but it's just not this particular reason. Happy to get the word out.
Drew Mackie
2022-03-01 02:50:35 +0000 UTCMy bf used to believe that hoax about microwaved water until I sent him that Snopes article. So thanks for that!
Sandip Sarma
2022-02-28 20:25:14 +0000 UTCThank you for clarifying on the UFO thing. It is one of my biggest pet peeves that people keep trying to make the United States admits to UFOs an aliens thing.
Jennifer Hill
2022-02-26 05:51:28 +0000 UTCI know no podcast likes a pedantic listener, but you hit on one of my favorite subjects, retrofuturism, so I couldn't resist: The 1939 World's Fair was held in Flushing Meadows, Queens, within sight of where I live. The two structures you referenced where the Trylon and the Perisphere. The Futurama exhibit, which was a clockwork moving diorama (think of a proto-Disneyland ride) of a city of the distant future of 1960 was sponsored by General Motors. The fair's theme was the future, and was referred to as the "world of tomorrow," which is why Futurama uses that particular phrase. If you like Streamline Moderne architecture and industrial design, look up some photos from the fair. It's a triump.
Turner Arrington
2022-02-25 20:06:29 +0000 UTCThat much I knew. Zoot Suit is a play a lot of California high schools teach, and I actually did it twice. I was referring specifically to whether the Bryan Setzer song was a wholly original thing made in the 90s or if it is based on anything old. It is not.
Drew Mackie
2022-02-24 23:54:04 +0000 UTCSame
Kat Heagberg
2022-02-24 21:16:32 +0000 UTCJust so the four years of Sanskrit classes I took during the time I was in a yoga cult don’t go completely to waste, I would like to mention that leela (also transliterated “lila”) means “divine play.”
Kat Heagberg
2022-02-24 21:15:47 +0000 UTCI met Billy west last year. He was incredibly sweet. I need to watch more Futurama. I was a kid when the first season came out and I watched it. I haven't watched much of the comedy central seasons.
Caitlin Pring
2022-02-24 19:35:58 +0000 UTCRe: Zoot Suit Riot. The Zoot Suit Riot was a1943 event where white service men attacked Mexican-American Pachucos. The song was written in the 90’s & is only loosely based on the event. I’m not a fan the song (or swing revival in general) & recommend actual Pachuco music from artists like Lalo Guerrero 🥰
Lobo
2022-02-24 16:48:53 +0000 UTCI would wear that shirt!
Barry Maher-Caras
2022-02-24 04:07:53 +0000 UTC
