Bender Should Not Be Allowed on TV
Encyclopedia
"Bender Should Not Be Allowed on TV" (also known as "Bender Should Not Be Allowed on Television", and in program records as "BSNBAOTV")
is the sixth episode of the fourth production season of Futurama
. It originally aired in North America on August 3, 2003.
!"), the cheers of Fry
and Leela from the other room convince him that the audience will like Bender, and win him the part.
On the set, the writers have written a part for Bender appropriate to his acting ability: an "irreversible, permanent... coma
". Not liking the decision, Bender starts singing, dancing, drinking and smoking while the show is filming; he even utters the line, "Bite my shiny metal ass." Bender is almost fired, but the network executives reveal that Bender's reckless behavior boosted the show's ratings. The show is turned into a vehicle for Bender; and kids, such as Dwight, Cubert
, The Cookieville Orphans and Tinny Tim, begin to follow his corrupt example.
Professor Farnsworth
and Hermes
, as they are disgusted by this, start the protest
group Fathers Against Rude Television
(F.A.R.T.). Meanwhile, the three kids decide to rob Bender, imitating his robberies on TV, not knowing that the safe marked "BENDER'S LOOT" was where Bender was sleeping. The kids throw a party at the Planet Express office, until it is stopped by Hermes and Farnsworth.
Bender finally wakes up and emerges from his safe to find himself at Planet Express, where he faces the ire of Farnsworth and Hermes for inspiring their children to steal. At first Bender is indifferent, until he realizes that the things they stole belonged to him. Annoyed that he inspired his own robbery
, Bender decides to lead the F.A.R.T. in a crusade to get himself off TV. Invading the set, Bender is held at gunpoint by both F.A.R.T. and the network executives to quit the show and shoot the scene, respectively. Bender manages to distract the network president and Farnsworth and grab both of the guns from them. He then makes a statement about how the parents are responsible for how their children act after they watch TV shows, and that they should not only take it less seriously, but to turn the TV off from time to time. He makes his point by telling the parents, "Have you ever tried simply turning off the TV, sitting down with your children, and hitting them?"
At Planet Express, Farnsworth realizes that sometimes you just need to turn off the TV once in a while. However, after browsing three channels and finding nothing good on, they continue to watch (though not by choice) when they stop on Everybody Loves Hypnotoad.
is the sixth episode of the fourth production season of Futurama
Futurama
Futurama is an American animated science fiction sitcom created by Matt Groening and developed by Groening and David X. Cohen for the Fox Broadcasting Company. The series follows the adventures of a late 20th-century New York City pizza delivery boy, Philip J...
. It originally aired in North America on August 3, 2003.
Plot
After a robot actor on All My Circuits malfunctions, an open casting call is held for a replacement actor. Bender applies (even though the part is that of a childbot). He boos all the other childbots until his turn, fooling Calculon into thinking that none of them will be received well. During his audition, Bender reads the script rather poorly with his "flawless" Spanish accent. Although Calculon is horrified ("That was so terrible I think you gave me cancerCancer
Cancer , known medically as a malignant neoplasm, is a large group of different diseases, all involving unregulated cell growth. In cancer, cells divide and grow uncontrollably, forming malignant tumors, and invade nearby parts of the body. The cancer may also spread to more distant parts of the...
!"), the cheers of Fry
Philip J. Fry
Philip J. Fry, known simply as Fry, is a fictional character, the main protagonist of the animated science fiction sitcom Futurama. He is voiced by Billy West using a version of his own voice as he sounded when he was 25.-Character overview:...
and Leela from the other room convince him that the audience will like Bender, and win him the part.
On the set, the writers have written a part for Bender appropriate to his acting ability: an "irreversible, permanent... coma
Coma
In medicine, a coma is a state of unconsciousness, lasting more than 6 hours in which a person cannot be awakened, fails to respond normally to painful stimuli, light or sound, lacks a normal sleep-wake cycle and does not initiate voluntary actions. A person in a state of coma is described as...
". Not liking the decision, Bender starts singing, dancing, drinking and smoking while the show is filming; he even utters the line, "Bite my shiny metal ass." Bender is almost fired, but the network executives reveal that Bender's reckless behavior boosted the show's ratings. The show is turned into a vehicle for Bender; and kids, such as Dwight, Cubert
Cubert Farnsworth
Cubert Farnsworth is a fictional character, Professor Farnsworth's clone from the animated television series Futurama. He was created from a growth on Professor Farnsworth's back in 2989. Cubert differs from the Professor in appearance due to his nose being squashed up against the wall of his...
, The Cookieville Orphans and Tinny Tim, begin to follow his corrupt example.
Professor Farnsworth
Professor Hubert Farnsworth
Professor Hubert J. Farnsworth, or simply The Professor, is a fictional character in the American animated television series Futurama. He is voiced by Billy West using a combination of impressions of Burgess Meredith and Frank Morgan. Farnsworth is the proprietor of the Planet Express delivery...
and Hermes
Hermes Conrad
Hermes Conrad is a fictional character in the Futurama animated series. He is voiced by Phil LaMarr.- Appearance and personality :Born in 2959, Hermes is a grade 36 bureaucrat from Jamaica. He manages the Planet Express delivery business with responsibilities that include paying bills, giving out...
, as they are disgusted by this, start the protest
Protest
A protest is an expression of objection, by words or by actions, to particular events, policies or situations. Protests can take many different forms, from individual statements to mass demonstrations...
group Fathers Against Rude Television
Television
Television is a telecommunication medium for transmitting and receiving moving images that can be monochrome or colored, with accompanying sound...
(F.A.R.T.). Meanwhile, the three kids decide to rob Bender, imitating his robberies on TV, not knowing that the safe marked "BENDER'S LOOT" was where Bender was sleeping. The kids throw a party at the Planet Express office, until it is stopped by Hermes and Farnsworth.
Bender finally wakes up and emerges from his safe to find himself at Planet Express, where he faces the ire of Farnsworth and Hermes for inspiring their children to steal. At first Bender is indifferent, until he realizes that the things they stole belonged to him. Annoyed that he inspired his own robbery
Robbery
Robbery is the crime of taking or attempting to take something of value by force or threat of force or by putting the victim in fear. At common law, robbery is defined as taking the property of another, with the intent to permanently deprive the person of that property, by means of force or fear....
, Bender decides to lead the F.A.R.T. in a crusade to get himself off TV. Invading the set, Bender is held at gunpoint by both F.A.R.T. and the network executives to quit the show and shoot the scene, respectively. Bender manages to distract the network president and Farnsworth and grab both of the guns from them. He then makes a statement about how the parents are responsible for how their children act after they watch TV shows, and that they should not only take it less seriously, but to turn the TV off from time to time. He makes his point by telling the parents, "Have you ever tried simply turning off the TV, sitting down with your children, and hitting them?"
At Planet Express, Farnsworth realizes that sometimes you just need to turn off the TV once in a while. However, after browsing three channels and finding nothing good on, they continue to watch (though not by choice) when they stop on Everybody Loves Hypnotoad.
Broadcast and reception
In its initial airing, the episode received a Nielsen rating of 2.7/6, placing it 79th among primetime shows for the week of July 28 – August 3, 2003.External links
- Bender Should Not Be Allowed on Television at The Infosphere.