| Futurama episode | |
| "The Day the Earth Stood Stupid" | |
 The Hall Of Eternium |
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| Episode no. | 39 |
|---|---|
| Prod. code | 3ACV07 |
| Airdate | February 18, 2001 |
| Writer(s) | Jeff Westbrook |
| Director | Mark Ervin |
| Opening subtitle | 80% Entertainment By Volume |
| Opening cartoon | Unknown |
| Season 3 January 2001 – December 2002 |
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| List of all Futurama episodes... | |
"The Day the Earth Stood Stupid" is the seventh episode in season three of Futurama. It originally aired in North America on February 18, 2001. The title of this episode is a play on the title of The Day the Earth Stood Still, a science fiction movie.
Contents |
Plot
The episode begins with Tweenis 12, one day's brain flight from Earth, collapsing due to an attack by giant brains.
Meanwhile, there is a pet show on Earth. After hearing that the top prize is $500 and a year's supply of dog food, Bender and Zoidberg plan to enter to win. Leela and Nibbler also enter. After a series of tests, the Hypnotoad wins by hypnotizing the judges. Nibbler is crowned the "dumbest pet in show" while Bender and Zoidberg the "whooping terrier" win second prize (an Afghan tarp made of real Afghans), much to Bender's disappointment.
Later, the Planet Express staff discusses an ominous trail of destroyed planets leading toward Earth. Nibbler begins gibbering excitedly and runs away. Tracking Nibbler to an alley, Leela is attacked by giant floating brains. Leela is rescued by Nibbler, who has donned a uniform and is piloting a tiny flying saucer. Nibbler and Leela leave New New York and fly away from Earth.
The next day, brains start sending blue beams at buildings, and Fry discovers that all the citizens of New New York have been rendered stupid, except himself. Meanwhile, Nibbler begins communicating to Leela telepathically, and they travel to the planet Eternium, at the exact center of the universe. There, in the Hall of Forever (10 miles west of the exact center of the universe), a Nibblonian council tells Leela of the threat of the Brainspawn, the giant brains that have invaded Earth and are attempting to wipe out all thought in the universe. While the Nibblonians have been fighting them for billions of years—-since the beginning of the universe—-they are powerless against the Brainspawns' powers of stupidity; in fact, Fry is the only being in the universe immune to the Brainspawns' mental attack, and is the only one capable of combating them and their leader. They explain to her that once entered into the Earth's atmosphere, she would be too dumb to remember, so they write it down on a note.
Leela arrives on Earth to tell Fry of his mission, but he takes the note, blows his nose on it, and throws it into a burning fireplace. Fortunately, Leela retains just enough intelligence to remember what it is. In a leap of logic, Fry seeks the leader of the brains at the New New York Public Library (for his assumption that a leader of big brains would be a big nerd and would go to a library). There Fry discovers that thinking hurts the brains, but the brain leader traps Fry and Leela in a mental realm based on Moby-Dick. Fry and Leela pursue the giant brain through The Adventures of Tom Sawyer and gained help from Captain Ahab, Queequeg and Tom Sawyer, and into Pride and Prejudice. Fry breaks free of the illusion, and attempts to attack the giant brain. Fry's efforts result in him being crushed to death by a bookcase, but this is then revealed to be an illusion based on a story Fry has quickly written, one riddled with "plot holes and spelling errors". In accordance with the story, the giant brain announces it is leaving Earth "forever, for no raisin" (Fry's misspelling of "reason"), and the people of Earth regain their intelligence. Other than the Nibblonians, Fry is the only other being in the entire universe to have any recollection of the event; every time he tries to recount the story, no one believes him or really cares about what he has to say. Nibbler, meanwhile, returns to his undercover position observing Earth as Leela's adorable pet.
Continuity
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Lists of miscellaneous information should be avoided. Please relocate any relevant information into appropriate sections or articles. (April 2009) |
- Fry's immunity to the Brainspawn's attacks is due to his lack of the Delta brainwave which is revealed in this episode and referred to again in "The Why of Fry". This deficiency is caused by the events of the episode "Roswell That Ends Well" when Fry becomes his own grandfather after having sex with the woman who turns out to be his grandmother. In the DVD commentary for "The Why of Fry", executive producers Matt Groening and David X. Cohen point out that they had intended to give Fry a larger purpose for coming to the future since the pilot episode, but had held off on developing that idea until the fourth season.[1]
- This is the first episode featuring The Hypno-Toad (Matt Groening's favorite character according to DVD commentary).
Broadcast and reception
In its original airing this episode was in a three way tie for 78th for the week with a 4.9 rating/9 share.[2] In 2006, IGN.com ranked the episode as number eighteen in their list of the top 25 episodes of Futurama.[3]
References
- ^ Cohen, David X.. (2003). Futurama season 4 DVD commentary for the episode "The Why of Fry". [DVD]. 20th Century Fox.
- ^ "U.S. Primetime TV Ratings For The Week Of February 12 – 18, 2001". 2001-02-21. http://news.awn.com/index.php?ltype=top&newsitem_no=4360. Retrieved 2007-07-05.
- ^ ""Top 25 Futurama Episodes"". http://tv.ign.com/articles/716/716663p1.html. Retrieved 2006-07-05.
External links
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