The Story Behind Saving Mr. Banks, Starring Tom Hanks as Walt Disney. In 1. 99. 9, Matt Groening followed up the monumental success of The Simpsons with an idea for a sci fi comedy that hed been tinkering around with for years. With influences ranging from groundbreaking sci fi movies like Blade Runner to shows like The Jetsons and pulpy 5. Weird Science, Futurama proved to be yet another winner for the cartoonist. Characters like Fry, Bender, and Leela quickly became fan favorites, rivaling Homer, Marge, and the rest of Springfield for quotability. The show was also a hit with the critics, winning plenty of Annie and Emmy Awards along the way. Never a ratings juggernaut to a larger audience, the show only lasted four seasons on Fox before being cancelled in 2. Neither the production staff nor the series loyal fan base would give up on Futurama, though, and the series was revived for an additional three seasons on Comedy Central from 2. Here are 1. 0 things you might not know about Futurama. THE SHOWS NAME COMES FROM AN EXHIBIT AT THE 1. NEW YORK WORLDS FAIR. Though Matt Groenings Futurama takes a comedic look at what the future might hold for us, the name is based on a very real world version of the world of tomorrow. At the 1. 93. 9 New York Worlds Fair in Queens, GM built a mammoth attraction called Futurama, which was a scale model city showing off the predicted wonders of 1. The model was the brainchild of industrial designer Norman Bel Geddes and his team of hundreds of artists and builders. It spanned an impressive 3. GM cars to travel on. Visitors would sit in chairs that moved on a conveyer belt around the model, showing off all the wonders they could look forward to. To pay homage to its namesake, the first thing Fry hears when hes defrosted in the future during the pilot episode is the bellowing sound of a lab worker proclaiming Welcome to the World of Tomorrow, which was one of the heavily advertised themes of the fair. THE THEME SONG WAS INSPIRED BY A TUNE CALLED PSYCHE ROCK. Futuramas main theme, composed by Christopher Tyng, bears a striking resemblance to the song Psych Rock by French electronic artist Pierre Henry. The songs are so similar that the Futurama theme basically acts as a remix to Henrys work. Wool 100% Online. The followup report on our retirement relocation to Santa Fe. I explore the regions many positives, and a few negatives. Due to the amount of images their high quality, some of my listings are bigger than the file size limit on Etsy, in which case you will get a txt document with a. Catalog includes new and outofprint books, documents, post cards, photographs, maps and charts,and equipment and apparatus relating to these lighthouse services. California Chrome foaled February 18, 2011 is an American Thoroughbred racehorse. He was named the 20 American Horse of the Year. He won the 2014. The song has also been remixed by Fatboy Slim, which is even closer to the Futurama version. GETTING THE SHOW ON THE AIR WAS A DIFFICULT PROCESS FOR MATT GROENING. Though Matt Groening and the team over on The Simpsons have the freedom to mostly govern themselves, getting Futurama off the ground was a different story. When asked by Mother Jones in 1. Groening said, It has been by far the worst experience of my grown up life. He further explained that, The second they ordered it, they completely freaked out and were afraid the show was too dark and mean spirited, and thought they had made a huge mistake and that the only way they could address their anxieties was to try to make me as crazy as possible with their frustrations. Despite the battles with the network, Groening and his team didnt cave, saying, I resisted every step of the way. In one respect, I will take full blame for the show if it tanks, because I resisted every single bit of interference. CO CREATOR DAVID X. COHEN IS A MATH WHIZ. When Groening was developing Futurama into a pitch, he had one key Simpsons writer in mind to collaborate with David S. Cohen. Cohen who is credited as David X. Cohen for Futurama was known for some of the most popular Simpsons episodes of the mid 9. Itchy Scratchy Poochie, Lisa The Vegetarian, and Much Apu About Nothing. After I assembled a few hundred pages of ideas, I got together with David Cohen, one of the writers and executive producers on The Simpsons, who is also a lover of science fiction and has a great knowledge of science and mathematics, Groening told Mother Jones. The emphasis on mathematics may sound odd, but it became a hallmark of the series. You want high quality images and movies showing women enjoying sexual climax, right Orgasmaniacs gives you premiere quality photographs and movie footage of. Orange Countys source for local news and information. Energy and Water Monitoring District Dashboard Acequia Madre Energy and Water Monitoring Dashboard Building Dashboard Network multiple site comparisons. Do you really want to pay for an American Girl doll or is there a less expensive version There are a few lookalike dolls that are very comparable and can wear. Dealing with sci fi plots allowed Cohen to bring a certain authenticity to some of the more complex episodes he was also able to sneak in all sorts of esoteric mathematical jokes for the like minded viewers. This is similar to how math played a role on The Simpsons for years without ever becoming distracting to casual viewers. Cohens mathematical background goes far beyond the norm. He graduated from Harvard with a degree in physics, and from the University of California, Berkeley, with an M. S. in computer science. This knowledge gave way to plenty of in jokes, including the creation of a numerical based alien language and countless background gags that only the brainiest viewers would have a shot at deciphering. ZAPP BRANNIGAN WAS GOING TO BE VOICED BY PHIL HARTMAN. The character of Zapp Brannigan was originally written with actor Phil Hartman in mind for the voice, but he was tragically killed before he would have begun recording. The role then went to Billy West, who also voices Fry and Professor Farnsworth. In an interview with The New York Times, West says he based his Brannigan on disc jockeys from the 5. Theres also a bit of Hartmans signature, Troy Mc. Clure esque sound in there. JOHN DIMAGGIO ORIGINALLY AUDITIONED FOR PROFESSOR FARNSWORTH USING BENDERS VOICE. Figuring out what Bender would sound like wasnt an easy task for the folks in charge of Futurama. Would it be a human voice, or something more synthesized like Robby the Robot from Forbidden PlanetThe crew auditioned dozens and dozens of voice actors in an attempt to find the perfect Bender, with no luck. At the same time, voice actor John Di. Maggio was auditioning for a role on the show against his agents wishes, who worried about both the money and contract being offered. At first he auditioned for the role of Professor Farnsworth, using a boorish, drunken voice he partially based on Slim Pickens. The voice didnt work for the professor, but according to the DVD commentary for the shows pilot, the producers asked him to try it out for Bender. The voice instantly clicked, leading to the creation of the shows breakout character. THE NIXON LIBRARY EVENTUALLY CAME AROUND TO HIS HEAD BEING IN A JAR. Richard Nixon famously proclaimed that the media wouldnt have him to kick around anymore back in 1. President of Earth in Futurama. With Billy West providing the jowly voice of the former Commander in Chief, Nixon became a villain for a whole new generation. And the Richard Nixon Library wasnt very happy about it at first. Early on in the show the network got a letter from the Richard Nixon Library saying they werent pleased with his portrayal and would we consider not doing it, Cohen told WIRED. But a few years later, things changed. We didnt really stop, however, because we liked it, but the strange thing is that a few years later we got another letter from the Nixon Library saying can we provide some materials because theyre going to do an exhibit about Nixon in popular culture and theyd like to include Futurama, so they came around. WRITER KEN KEELER INVENTED A NEW THEOREM JUST FOR THE SHOW. Saving Santa The Movie High Quality ' title='Saving Santa The Movie High Quality ' />In addition to Cohen, Futurama is staffed by a roster of Ivy League graduates with backgrounds in science and math. But while writing one episode, the staff had created a plot so complex that the crew soon found itself stumped. The episode was The Prisoner of Brenda from the sixth season, and it involved a brain switching machine that could swap the minds of any two people that stepped into it. There was only one problem once used, the machine couldnt be used twice to swap the same two minds back to normal. This means numerous pairs of other characters would have to use the machine in a roundabout plan to restore everyones mind to their proper body. Though the idea sounded like a winner to the writers, Cohen recalled that they soon realized they had to create a mathematical explanation that could get everyones mind back. It was like a nightmarish SAT problem for the staff.