Benderama
Encyclopedia
"Benderama" is the seventeenth episode of season six
of the animated sitcom Futurama
, and originally aired June 23, 2011 on Comedy Central
. The episode was written by Aaron Ehasz
and directed by Crystal Chesney-Thompson. American comedian Patton Oswalt
guest stars in the episode, voicing an "unattractive giant monster". In the episode, Bender duplicates himself into two smaller copies in order to avoid work. However, the duplicates also want to avoid work, so they create their own smaller duplicates, resulting in a vast number of increasingly smaller copies of Bender ultimately threatening to consume all of the matter on Earth.
The premise of "Benderama" is based around the transhumanist theory of grey goo
, an end-of-the-world scenario in which out-of-control self-replicating robots consume all matter on Earth while building more of themselves. "Benderama" received mostly positive reviews from critics, many of whom praised Patton Oswalt's guest appearance and noted that it was an improvement over the preceding episode "Neutopia
".
invents a machine that can scan an object and produce two smaller copies, consuming matter provided to it in the process. He uses it to make smaller sweaters for himself, since he is shrinking and feeling colder as he ages. Bender originally refuses the professor's request to fold them, then stuffs the replicator into his chest cavity and uses it to make two duplicates of himself so they can each fold one sweater. Before they can do so, the Planet Express crew (including the two new Benders) is sent to deliver a shipment of personal hygiene products to an ugly, giant alien humanoid who lives in a cave. He endures the crew's comments about his appearance until Fry inadvertently insults his mother, causing him to lash out and nearly destroy the ship before it escapes.
Back on Earth, Bender's two duplicates (each of whom has a small version of the Professor's replicator in his chest) copy themselves in order to get four cigars for Bender. The process continues until there are 11 generations of Benders running around the office; the crew quickly moves in to exterminate all the duplicates, but Amy
discovers that one of them has escaped. As this one gives rise to a new swarm that keeps reproducing and consuming matter, including Bender's couch and beer, the Professor worries that they will eventually eat the Earth. Leela points out that since the Benders are fueled by alcohol, they will run out of power once they have used up the world's supply. When this happens, the crew sweeps up the Benders and flushes them down the toilet.
As the Professor takes a bath, he is surprised to find that the water in the tub has turned into alcohol. Some of the Benders survived and have reached the atomic/molecular scale, where they can synthesize alcohol directly from water and carbon dioxide
molecules. As a result, the entire population of Earth becomes extremely drunk and the planet's fresh water supply is gone. At this point, the giant alien arrives on Earth to apologize for his earlier outburst, even though the crew keeps drunkenly insulting him and Zapp Brannigan
tries to destroy him with a tank. Unable to get hold of the therapist who has been helping him deal with his anger issues, the alien flies into another rage and starts tearing up the city. Bender, the only sober crew member, agrees to fight the alien if Fry will fold the Professor's two sweaters. Bender uses the hordes of tiny duplicates to form "Big Bender" and fight the alien hand-to-hand. He loses the fight after insulting the alien's mother, but the swarm quickly consumes the alien to leave only dust. Bender urges them to help him solve other worldwide problems, but they are too lazy to take part and leave Earth instead.
As the other crew members recover from a terrible hangover
the next morning, the Professor is happy to note that someone finally folded his sweaters. When Fry asks Bender if he did this and learned a lesson about being lazy, Bender cryptically replies that perhaps he did - or perhaps he kept one of the mini-Benders around to do the job for him. He then exhales cigar smoke, which turns out to be composed of thousands of microscopic, maniacally laughing Benders.
and directed by Crystal Chesney-Thompson. Before its airing, the first act of the episode was read by the show's voice actors at Futuramas 2010 San Diego Comic Con panel. From May 10 to May 13, and again on June 15, as part of its "Countdown to Futurama" event, Comedy Central Insider, Comedy Central
's news outlet, released various preview materials for the episode, including various screenshots, concept art, and a 2-minute clip of the episode.
The episode is one of only three episodes from season six of Futurama to use the full intro sequence, depicting more of the Planet Express ship's flight across New New York City as well as including a brief clip of a cartoon (in this case, the 1935 Beans the Cat short Hollywood Capers) mounted on a television screen.
, an end-of-the-world scenario in which out-of-control self-replicating robots consume all matter on Earth while building more of themselves; this exact scenario is explored in the episode, in this case with Bender and his duplicates. In one scene in the episode, mass amounts of microscopic Bender duplicates group together, forming a pool of what Bender calls, and resembles, literal "grey goo". It featured an episode of The Scary Door, Futuramas ongoing parody of anthology television series The Twilight Zone
. Bender says the line, "Hi, I'm Bender, this is my robot Bender and this is my other robot Bender."; this is a reference to the TV series Newhart
, specifically the character of Larry, who introduced himself and his brothers with the line, "Hi, I'm Larry, this is my brother Darryl and this is my other brother Darryl." The Professor's duplicator is called the "Banach-Tarski Dupla-Shrinker," a reference to the Banach–Tarski paradox
.
, immediately following the episode "Neutopia
". In its original American broadcast, "Benderama" was viewed by an estimated 2.473 million households with a 1.1 rating in the 18–49 demographic.
"Benderama" received mostly positive reviews from critics. Zack Handlen of The A.V. Club
wrote: "'Benderama' works because the script holds together, starting from the original premise, and then introducing complications over time." He graded the episode A-, praising the premise of the episode, as well as Patton Oswalt's voice work in the episode. Sean Gandert of Paste
, reviewing both "Benderama" and "Neutopia", wrote: "Both of these are what other shows would call gimmick episodes, but with Futurama pretty much everything is a one-off and taking on these strange premises is really what the show's about." He gave both episodes an 8.4, and added: "If these two are any indicator, there's a good summer of episodes to look forward to." Blair Marnell of CraveOnline
wrote: "'Benderama' had a lot of fun moments that helped negate the bad taste left behind by 'Neutopia'." He rated the episode 8/10. However, Marnell wrote that the writers should refrain from reusing what he called "'Bender uses experiment x' storylines", adding "There are only so many ways to reuse a plot and I don't want to see this series go downhill before its time."
Futurama (season 6)
Futurama sixth production season originally aired on Comedy Central from June 24, 2010 to September 8, 2011 and consisted of 26 episodes. The season marks the change of networks from Fox to Comedy Central.David X...
of the animated sitcom 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...
, and originally aired June 23, 2011 on Comedy Central
Comedy Central
Comedy Central is an American cable television and satellite television channel that carries comedy programming, both original and syndicated....
. The episode was written by Aaron Ehasz
Aaron Ehasz
Aaron Ehasz is an American television writer and producer whose body of work primarily consists of animated series, although he did serve as a producer on the live-action series The Mullets and Ed.-Career:...
and directed by Crystal Chesney-Thompson. American comedian Patton Oswalt
Patton Oswalt
Patton Oswalt is an American stand-up comedian, writer, actor and voice actor. He is best known for portraying Spencer Olchin in the popular sitcom The King of Queens, voicing Remy from the film Ratatouille and Thrasher from the Cartoon Network original series Robotomy.-Early life:Oswalt was born...
guest stars in the episode, voicing an "unattractive giant monster". In the episode, Bender duplicates himself into two smaller copies in order to avoid work. However, the duplicates also want to avoid work, so they create their own smaller duplicates, resulting in a vast number of increasingly smaller copies of Bender ultimately threatening to consume all of the matter on Earth.
The premise of "Benderama" is based around the transhumanist theory of grey goo
Grey goo
Grey goo is a hypothetical end-of-the-world scenario involving molecular nanotechnology in which out-of-control self-replicating robots consume all matter on Earth while building more of themselves, a scenario known as ecophagy .Self-replicating machines of the macroscopic variety were originally...
, an end-of-the-world scenario in which out-of-control self-replicating robots consume all matter on Earth while building more of themselves. "Benderama" received mostly positive reviews from critics, many of whom praised Patton Oswalt's guest appearance and noted that it was an improvement over the preceding episode "Neutopia
Neutopia (Futurama)
"Neutopia" is the fourteenth episode of the sixth season of the animated sitcom Futurama, and the premiere of Season 6-B. It is the twentieth episode of the sixth season in production order, and the 102nd episode in broadcast order...
".
Plot
The ProfessorProfessor 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...
invents a machine that can scan an object and produce two smaller copies, consuming matter provided to it in the process. He uses it to make smaller sweaters for himself, since he is shrinking and feeling colder as he ages. Bender originally refuses the professor's request to fold them, then stuffs the replicator into his chest cavity and uses it to make two duplicates of himself so they can each fold one sweater. Before they can do so, the Planet Express crew (including the two new Benders) is sent to deliver a shipment of personal hygiene products to an ugly, giant alien humanoid who lives in a cave. He endures the crew's comments about his appearance until Fry inadvertently insults his mother, causing him to lash out and nearly destroy the ship before it escapes.
Back on Earth, Bender's two duplicates (each of whom has a small version of the Professor's replicator in his chest) copy themselves in order to get four cigars for Bender. The process continues until there are 11 generations of Benders running around the office; the crew quickly moves in to exterminate all the duplicates, but Amy
Amy Wong
Amy Wong, voiced by Lauren Tom, is a fictional character, one of the main characters from the Fox and Comedy Central television animated series Futurama. She works as an intern at Planet Express...
discovers that one of them has escaped. As this one gives rise to a new swarm that keeps reproducing and consuming matter, including Bender's couch and beer, the Professor worries that they will eventually eat the Earth. Leela points out that since the Benders are fueled by alcohol, they will run out of power once they have used up the world's supply. When this happens, the crew sweeps up the Benders and flushes them down the toilet.
As the Professor takes a bath, he is surprised to find that the water in the tub has turned into alcohol. Some of the Benders survived and have reached the atomic/molecular scale, where they can synthesize alcohol directly from water and carbon dioxide
Carbon dioxide
Carbon dioxide is a naturally occurring chemical compound composed of two oxygen atoms covalently bonded to a single carbon atom...
molecules. As a result, the entire population of Earth becomes extremely drunk and the planet's fresh water supply is gone. At this point, the giant alien arrives on Earth to apologize for his earlier outburst, even though the crew keeps drunkenly insulting him and Zapp Brannigan
Zapp Brannigan
Captain Zapp Brannigan is a fictional character in the animated sitcom Futurama. He is voiced by Billy West, but was originally intended to be voiced by Phil Hartman, with West taking over the role after Hartman's death. Brannigan is a 25-Star General in the Democratic Order of Planets, and captain...
tries to destroy him with a tank. Unable to get hold of the therapist who has been helping him deal with his anger issues, the alien flies into another rage and starts tearing up the city. Bender, the only sober crew member, agrees to fight the alien if Fry will fold the Professor's two sweaters. Bender uses the hordes of tiny duplicates to form "Big Bender" and fight the alien hand-to-hand. He loses the fight after insulting the alien's mother, but the swarm quickly consumes the alien to leave only dust. Bender urges them to help him solve other worldwide problems, but they are too lazy to take part and leave Earth instead.
As the other crew members recover from a terrible hangover
Hangover
A hangover describes the sum of unpleasant physiological effects following heavy consumption of alcoholic beverages. The most commonly reported characteristics of a hangover include headache, nausea, sensitivity to light and noise, lethargy, dysphoria, diarrhea and thirst, typically after the...
the next morning, the Professor is happy to note that someone finally folded his sweaters. When Fry asks Bender if he did this and learned a lesson about being lazy, Bender cryptically replies that perhaps he did - or perhaps he kept one of the mini-Benders around to do the job for him. He then exhales cigar smoke, which turns out to be composed of thousands of microscopic, maniacally laughing Benders.
Production
The episode was written by Aaron EhaszAaron Ehasz
Aaron Ehasz is an American television writer and producer whose body of work primarily consists of animated series, although he did serve as a producer on the live-action series The Mullets and Ed.-Career:...
and directed by Crystal Chesney-Thompson. Before its airing, the first act of the episode was read by the show's voice actors at Futuramas 2010 San Diego Comic Con panel. From May 10 to May 13, and again on June 15, as part of its "Countdown to Futurama" event, Comedy Central Insider, Comedy Central
Comedy Central
Comedy Central is an American cable television and satellite television channel that carries comedy programming, both original and syndicated....
's news outlet, released various preview materials for the episode, including various screenshots, concept art, and a 2-minute clip of the episode.
The episode is one of only three episodes from season six of Futurama to use the full intro sequence, depicting more of the Planet Express ship's flight across New New York City as well as including a brief clip of a cartoon (in this case, the 1935 Beans the Cat short Hollywood Capers) mounted on a television screen.
Cultural references
The episode is based on the transhumanist theory of grey gooGrey goo
Grey goo is a hypothetical end-of-the-world scenario involving molecular nanotechnology in which out-of-control self-replicating robots consume all matter on Earth while building more of themselves, a scenario known as ecophagy .Self-replicating machines of the macroscopic variety were originally...
, an end-of-the-world scenario in which out-of-control self-replicating robots consume all matter on Earth while building more of themselves; this exact scenario is explored in the episode, in this case with Bender and his duplicates. In one scene in the episode, mass amounts of microscopic Bender duplicates group together, forming a pool of what Bender calls, and resembles, literal "grey goo". It featured an episode of The Scary Door, Futuramas ongoing parody of anthology television series The Twilight Zone
The Twilight Zone
The Twilight Zone is an American television anthology series created by Rod Serling. Each episode is a mixture of self-contained drama, psychological thriller, fantasy, science fiction, suspense, or horror, often concluding with a macabre or unexpected twist...
. Bender says the line, "Hi, I'm Bender, this is my robot Bender and this is my other robot Bender."; this is a reference to the TV series Newhart
Newhart
Newhart is a television situation comedy starring comedian Bob Newhart and actress Mary Frann as an author and wife who owned and operated an inn located in a small, rural Vermont town that was home to many eccentric characters. The show aired on the CBS network from October 25, 1982 to May 21, 1990...
, specifically the character of Larry, who introduced himself and his brothers with the line, "Hi, I'm Larry, this is my brother Darryl and this is my other brother Darryl." The Professor's duplicator is called the "Banach-Tarski Dupla-Shrinker," a reference to the Banach–Tarski paradox
Banach–Tarski paradox
The Banach–Tarski paradox is a theorem in set theoretic geometry which states the following: Given a solid ball in 3-dimensional space, there exists a decomposition of the ball into a finite number of non-overlapping pieces , which can then be put back together in a different way to yield two...
.
Broadcast and reception
"Benderama" originally aired June 23, 2011 on Comedy CentralComedy Central
Comedy Central is an American cable television and satellite television channel that carries comedy programming, both original and syndicated....
, immediately following the episode "Neutopia
Neutopia (Futurama)
"Neutopia" is the fourteenth episode of the sixth season of the animated sitcom Futurama, and the premiere of Season 6-B. It is the twentieth episode of the sixth season in production order, and the 102nd episode in broadcast order...
". In its original American broadcast, "Benderama" was viewed by an estimated 2.473 million households with a 1.1 rating in the 18–49 demographic.
"Benderama" received mostly positive reviews from critics. Zack Handlen of The A.V. Club
The A.V. Club
The A.V. Club is an entertainment newspaper and website published by The Onion. Its features include reviews of new films, music, television, books, games and DVDs, as well as interviews and other regular offerings examining both new and classic media and other elements of pop culture. Unlike its...
wrote: "'Benderama' works because the script holds together, starting from the original premise, and then introducing complications over time." He graded the episode A-, praising the premise of the episode, as well as Patton Oswalt's voice work in the episode. Sean Gandert of Paste
Paste (magazine)
Paste is a monthly music and entertainment digital magazine published in the United States by Wolfgang's Vault. Its tagline is "Signs of Life in Music, Film and Culture."-History:...
, reviewing both "Benderama" and "Neutopia", wrote: "Both of these are what other shows would call gimmick episodes, but with Futurama pretty much everything is a one-off and taking on these strange premises is really what the show's about." He gave both episodes an 8.4, and added: "If these two are any indicator, there's a good summer of episodes to look forward to." Blair Marnell of CraveOnline
CraveOnline
CraveOnline is a male lifestyle website based in Los Angeles with sales offices in New York, Chicago, and San Francisco. The site is owned by media company AtomicOnline, the publishing division of Evolve Media Corp.- History :...
wrote: "'Benderama' had a lot of fun moments that helped negate the bad taste left behind by 'Neutopia'." He rated the episode 8/10. However, Marnell wrote that the writers should refrain from reusing what he called "'Bender uses experiment x' storylines", adding "There are only so many ways to reuse a plot and I don't want to see this series go downhill before its time."