Reincarnation

"Reincarnation"
Futurama episode
Left to right: Bender, Hermes, Leela, Dr. Zoidberg, Fry, Professor Farnsworth and Amy drawn in an anime style.
Episode no.	Season six Episode 114
Directed by	Peter Avanzino
Written by	Aaron Ehasz[1]
Production code	6ACV26
Original air date	September 8, 2011
Opening caption	"Reincarnation"
Guest actors
Stephen Hawking as himself[2]
Season six episodes
June 24, 2010 – September 8, 2011 "Rebirth" "In-A-Gadda-Da-Leela" "Attack of the Killer App" "Proposition Infinity" "The Duh-Vinci Code" "Lethal Inspection" "The Late Philip J. Fry" "That Darn Katz!" "A Clockwork Origin" "The Prisoner of Benda" "Lrrreconcilable Ndndifferences" "The Mutants Are Revolting" "The Futurama Holiday Spectacular" "The Silence of the Clamps" "Möbius Dick" "Law and Oracle" "Benderama" "The Tip of the Zoidberg" "Ghost in the Machines" "Neutopia" "Yo Leela Leela" "Fry Am the Egg Man" "All the Presidents' Heads" "Cold Warriors" "Overclockwise" "Reincarnation"
List of all Futurama episodes

"Reincarnation" (originally titled "Resurrection") is the 26th and final episode of the sixth season of the animated sitcom Futurama. It originally aired on Comedy Central on September 8, 2011.^[3] The episode is non-canon and features three different segments, each segment showcasing Futurama "reincarnated" in a different style of animation.^[4][5] The plot of each segment form part of an overall story arc, revolving around the discovery and subsequent destruction of a Diamondium comet. A running joke for the episode involves a key plot point in each segment being obscured by the specific animation style, though the characters themselves express amazement over what they see.

The episode was written by Aaron Ehasz and directed by Peter Avanzino. Stephen Hawking guest stars during the second segment.^[3][6] David Herman voices Professor Farnsworth in the third segment, in place of regular voice Billy West.

Plot

Prior to the episode's triptych structure, a brief introduction is given by the God entity from the 2002 episode "Godfellas".

"Colorama"

The first segment is animated in a black-and-white "Fleischer and Walter Lantz style".^[7] Professor Farnsworth discovers a comet made of Diamondium, the hardest substance in the universe, and sends the crew to gather diamond dust from the comet's tail to polish a doomsday device. Fry sneaks onto the surface of the comet and finds a large gem, which he hopes to give to Leela as an engagement ring. Fry plants the Professor's doomsday device on the comet and brings Leela to the balcony of the Planet Express building, thinking the resulting explosion will dislodge the gem and send it flying to land on her finger. It instead splits the comet in half, with one half flying towards the sun and creating a rainbow, and the other half flying into the rainbow and creating an entirely new color. Leela marvels at the beautiful sight, depicted entirely in grayscale. Before Fry can propose to Leela, the comet crumbles to dust that falls onto the Planet Express building, crystallising and trapping Fry and Leela in a giant diamond. One billion years later, an alien proposes to his alien girlfriend with a ring containing the diamond in which Fry and Leela are trapped.

"Future Challenge 3000"

The second segment is shown in the style of a low-resolution video game reminiscent of the 8 bit video gaming era.^[7] Using the debris from the Diamondium comet from the previous segment, Professor Farnsworth creates a microscope lens powerful enough to find the smallest unit of matter, which is described as extremely intricate but is depicted as a single black pixel. The Professor forms a scientific equation explaining the mysteries of the universe from this single unit, only to become depressed upon realizing that there are no further scientific questions to answer. Fry cheers him up by saying that he has yet to solve why the laws of the universe are what they are and not something else, thus giving scientists a reason to keep looking for answers about the universe.

"Action Delivery Force"

The third and final segment is drawn in the style of anime. A race of gelatinous aliens who can only communicate through body language is angered by the destruction of the Diamondium comet, which they worship as a god, and attack Earth in retaliation. The Planet Express crew attempts to relay a message of peace, but cannot communicate with the aliens properly due to both the humans' and aliens' inability to understand each other's language. Doctor Zoidberg successfully persuades the aliens to leave by shedding his shell and performing an intricate dance universally symbolizing peace, which is depicted as Zoidberg merely posing his body and standing still while the camera pans across his body per anime action sequence conventions.

Cultural references

The Future Challenge 3000 segment includes visual allusions to: Atari Adventure, Frogger, Donkey Kong, Tempest, Tapper, Super Mario Bros., Space Invaders, Dig Dug, Punch-Out!! and Pong.

The Action Delivery Force segment contained music featured in the Robotech animated series during moments when the gelatinous aliens used their weapons on Earth locations. The theme music to Voltron played to introduce the segment while the titular robot appeared soon after. The theme music to Battle of the Planets played when the team prepares for battle. Plus, the way Amy is dressed mimics the same style clothes the Sailor Senshi in Sailor Moon wear when in battle, and Professor Farnsworth's dress and mannerisms mimic those of Gendo Ikari in Neon Genesis Evangelion.

Reception

At Salon, critic Matt Zoller Seitz wrote, "This brilliant show from David X. Cohen and Matt Groening has always been as pop culture history-conscious as Groening’s better-known 'The Simpsons,' but this episode takes that obsession to a new level. Packed with Easter egg-style visual gags, it’s an orgy of nostalgia and visual invention, so densely imagined that it demands repeat viewings...Set your DVRs now." Zoller found the final segment, Action Delivery Force, to be "the craziest."^[8]

At The Onion's A.V. Club, Zack Hendlen gave "Reincarnation" an "A." "That was so, so, so much fun. I'm not even sure how I can properly review it. Futurama has done triptych episodes before. There were a couple 'Anthology of Interest' episodes, and maybe something else I'm forgetting. But it's never been this playful with its form before, paying homage to trio of different styles without missing a beat or coming across as self-indulgent...What is important is that this was a joy to watch, and I already want to watch it again."^[9]

References

External links

• Zach Handlen on Reincarnation at The Onion's A.V. Club
• Matt Zoller Seitz in Salon on Reincarnation
• "Reincarnation" at the Infosphere, the Futurama Wiki.