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I Second That Emotion (Futurama)
Encyclopedia
"I Second That Emotion" is episode one in season two of Futurama
. It originally aired in North America
on November 21, 1999. The episode was written by Patric Verrone
and directed by Mark Ervin. The episode introduces the sewer mutants, a society of humans who have been mutated by years of exposure to pollution and radioactive waste poured into the sewers from New New York.
chips his fang, he is taken to the vet, and during the time, is found out to be five years old. Nibbler
has a birthday party, and Bender becomes annoyed that Nibbler is getting more attention than him. Having reluctantly made a birthday cake for Nibbler, Bender is aghast to see Nibbler gobble it all up before everybody else can praise Bender for the cake. In extreme annoyance, Bender flushes the animal down the toilet. Leela is distraught at the loss of her pet and wishes Bender could understand the emotions of others. Professor Farnsworth
proposes a solution: installing an empathy
chip in Bender's head that will cause him to feel other people's emotions. After forcibly installing the chip, the chip is tuned to pick up Leela's emotions, so that whatever feelings Leela experiences, Bender automatically experiences them as well.
After a night of experiencing a multitude of Leela's feelings, but mostly her sadness about Nibbler, Bender misses Nibbler so much that he cannot stand it. When Fry tells him that alligators can supposedly live after being flushed
, Bender flushes parts of himself down the toilet in pursuit of Nibbler. Fry
and Leela enter the sewers and quickly manage to find Bender and a crowd of mutants who live in the sewers. The mutants introduce them to their subterranean civilization. They also reveal that a monster called El Chupanibre
has been terrorizing them.
Leela, thinking that Nibbler is the monster, is happy until she is informed that the only way to lure the monster out is to offer a snackrifice (a sacrifice) in the form of a virgin. Although not one herself (considering her run-in with Zapp Brannigan
), Leela is the closest thing to a virgin there and is therefore chosen to be the sacrifice. At the sacrifice, Nibbler emerges from a pipe: however, the mutants point out Nibbler is not the beast they fear, but the large, reptilian monster behind him, who is the real El Chupanibre. Fry gets entangled in the trap that was meant for El Chupanibre, leaving only Bender to fight the beast; however, Leela is so scared, for herself and the others, that Bender is immobilized by her emotions. He and Fry teach Leela to stop caring about other people and care only about herself, and as a result, Bender is able to fight off the beast, whom he eventually flushes down a giant toilet into the sub-sewers.
The Professor removes Bender's empathy chip when Bender could not take it anymore. He says in amazement that the chip actually burnt out, so that Bender was actually sympathizing for Leela by himself. He then corrects himself, saying that it was actually at triple capacity ("And I still barely felt anything!" Bender claims). Bender still retains his 'in-your-face' interface and has learned nothing, while Leela learns that adopting Bender's attitude is better than being nice.
is now credited under a "Starring" role instead of "Guest Star". Maurice LaMarche
, former MADtv castmembers David Herman
and Phil LaMarr
, and King of the Hill voice actress Lauren Tom
, however, remain as guest stars and stay that way for the rest of the series until Season 6 in 2010.
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
North America
North America is a continent wholly within the Northern Hemisphere and almost wholly within the Western Hemisphere. It is also considered a northern subcontinent of the Americas...
on November 21, 1999. The episode was written by Patric Verrone
Patric Verrone
Patric Miller Verrone is an American television writer and labor leader. He served as a writer and producer for several animated television shows, most notably Futurama.-Schooling and pre-television career:...
and directed by Mark Ervin. The episode introduces the sewer mutants, a society of humans who have been mutated by years of exposure to pollution and radioactive waste poured into the sewers from New New York.
Plot
When NibblerNibbler (Futurama)
Lord Nibbler is a fictional character from the animated television series Futurama. He is voiced by Frank Welker, who provides not only his speaking lines but also the various noises he makes when not speaking English....
chips his fang, he is taken to the vet, and during the time, is found out to be five years old. Nibbler
Nibbler (Futurama)
Lord Nibbler is a fictional character from the animated television series Futurama. He is voiced by Frank Welker, who provides not only his speaking lines but also the various noises he makes when not speaking English....
has a birthday party, and Bender becomes annoyed that Nibbler is getting more attention than him. Having reluctantly made a birthday cake for Nibbler, Bender is aghast to see Nibbler gobble it all up before everybody else can praise Bender for the cake. In extreme annoyance, Bender flushes the animal down the toilet. Leela is distraught at the loss of her pet and wishes Bender could understand the emotions of others. 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...
proposes a solution: installing an empathy
Empathy
Empathy is the capacity to recognize and, to some extent, share feelings that are being experienced by another sapient or semi-sapient being. Someone may need to have a certain amount of empathy before they are able to feel compassion. The English word was coined in 1909 by E.B...
chip in Bender's head that will cause him to feel other people's emotions. After forcibly installing the chip, the chip is tuned to pick up Leela's emotions, so that whatever feelings Leela experiences, Bender automatically experiences them as well.
After a night of experiencing a multitude of Leela's feelings, but mostly her sadness about Nibbler, Bender misses Nibbler so much that he cannot stand it. When Fry tells him that alligators can supposedly live after being flushed
Sewer alligator
Sewer alligator stories date back to the late 1920s and early 1930s, in most instances they are part of contemporary legend. They are based upon reports of alligator sightings in rather unorthodox locations, in particular New York City.-Legend:...
, Bender flushes parts of himself down the toilet in pursuit of Nibbler. 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 enter the sewers and quickly manage to find Bender and a crowd of mutants who live in the sewers. The mutants introduce them to their subterranean civilization. They also reveal that a monster called El Chupanibre
Chupacabra
The chupacabras is a legendary cryptid rumored to inhabit parts of the Americas. It is associated more recently with sightings of an allegedly unknown animal in Puerto Rico , Mexico, and the United States, especially in the latter's Latin American communities...
has been terrorizing them.
Leela, thinking that Nibbler is the monster, is happy until she is informed that the only way to lure the monster out is to offer a snackrifice (a sacrifice) in the form of a virgin. Although not one herself (considering her run-in with Zapp Brannigan
Love's Labours Lost in Space
"Love's Labours Lost in Space" is the fourth episode in season one of Futurama. It originally aired in North America on April 13, 1999. The episode was written by Brian Kelley and directed by Brian Sheesley. This episode introduces the recurring character Zapp Brannigan when he attempts to prevent...
), Leela is the closest thing to a virgin there and is therefore chosen to be the sacrifice. At the sacrifice, Nibbler emerges from a pipe: however, the mutants point out Nibbler is not the beast they fear, but the large, reptilian monster behind him, who is the real El Chupanibre. Fry gets entangled in the trap that was meant for El Chupanibre, leaving only Bender to fight the beast; however, Leela is so scared, for herself and the others, that Bender is immobilized by her emotions. He and Fry teach Leela to stop caring about other people and care only about herself, and as a result, Bender is able to fight off the beast, whom he eventually flushes down a giant toilet into the sub-sewers.
The Professor removes Bender's empathy chip when Bender could not take it anymore. He says in amazement that the chip actually burnt out, so that Bender was actually sympathizing for Leela by himself. He then corrects himself, saying that it was actually at triple capacity ("And I still barely felt anything!" Bender claims). Bender still retains his 'in-your-face' interface and has learned nothing, while Leela learns that adopting Bender's attitude is better than being nice.
Continuity
- In the scene where Fry, Leela, and Bender are surrounded by the mutants, Leela's real mother and father (who are not introduced until season fourLeela's Homeworld"Leela's Homeworld" is the second episode of the fourth production season of Futurama. It originally aired as the fifth episode on the Fox network in the United States on February 17, 2002. "Leela's Homeworld" was written by Kristin Gore and directed by Mark Ervin. The episode reveals Leela's true...
) are clearly visible in the crowd. This appearance was intentional on the part of the creators who had conceived of Leela's true origin before they even pitched the idea for Futurama to FOX. This episode features the original design for Leela's parents in which Morris has a normal mouth and Munda has normal human arms. It was later decided that the characters would need to appear more mutated and the design was changed. - Raoul, the 'Supreme Mutant', is depicted in this episode with his third arm having replaced his right ear, with a few jokes being made referencing his reduced ability to hear as a result of it. However, later episodes show him as having both ears, and his third arm is placed slightly higher on his head.
- Bender imitates a Harlem GlobetrottersHarlem GlobetrottersThe Harlem Globetrotters are an exhibition basketball team that combines athleticism, theater and comedy. The executive offices for the team are currently in downtown Phoenix, Arizona; the team is owned by Shamrock Holdings, which oversees the various investments of the Roy E. Disney family.Over...
routine and whistles their theme song, Sweet Georgia BrownSweet Georgia Brown"Sweet Georgia Brown" is a jazz standard and pop tune written in 1925 by Ben Bernie and Maceo Pinkard and Kenneth Casey .The tune was first recorded on March 19, 1925 by bandleader Ben Bernie, resulting in a five-week No. 1 for Ben Bernie and his Hotel Roosevelt Orchestra...
. His love of the Globetrotters and desire to become one would become a subplot in the season three episode Time Keeps On Slippin'Time Keeps on Slippin'"Time Keeps On Slippin" is the 14th episode in season 3 of Futurama. It originally aired May 6, 2001. The title is from a lyric in Fly Like an Eagle by Steve Miller Band which was featured in the basketball film Space Jam...
. - Although celebrating Nibbler's fifth birthday in this episode, it is later revealed in "The Why of FryThe Why of Fry"The Why of Fry" is the tenth episode in the fourth season of the animated television series Futurama. It originally aired in North America on April 6, 2003. The episode was written by David X. Cohen and directed by Wes Archer...
" that Nibbler is, in fact, well over one thousand years old. - Bender's catchphrase is "bite my shiny metal ass". Nibbler actually does so at the beginning of the episode.
Casting
Starting this episode, Tress MacNeilleTress MacNeille
Tress MacNeille is an American voice actress best known for providing various voices on the animated series The Simpsons, Futurama, Tiny Toon Adventures, Animaniacs, Disney's House of Mouse, Courage the Cowardly Dog, Rugrats, All Grown Up!, Chip 'n Dale Rescue Rangers, and Dave the...
is now credited under a "Starring" role instead of "Guest Star". Maurice LaMarche
Maurice LaMarche
Maurice LaMarche is an Emmy Award winning Canadian-American voice actor and former stand up comedian. He is best known for his voicework in Futurama as Kif Kroker, as Egon Spengler in The Real Ghostbusters, Verminous Skumm and Duke Nukem in Captain Planet and the Planeteers, Big Bob Pataki in Hey...
, former MADtv castmembers David Herman
David Herman
David Herman is an American actor, comedian and voice actor best known as an original cast member of MADtv and for his role as Michael Bolton in Office Space. He is also known for his voice roles on television programs such as Futurama and King of the Hill.- Biography :David Herman was born in New...
and Phil LaMarr
Phil LaMarr
Phillip "Phil" LaMarr is an American actor, comedian and voice actor. One of the original cast members on the sketch comedy series MADtv, he is also known for his small, but memorable role as Marvin in Pulp Fiction...
, and King of the Hill voice actress Lauren Tom
Lauren Tom
Lauren Tom is an American actress and voice actress perhaps best known for her roles as Lena St Clair in The Joy Luck Club, Julie in the TV series Friends, and for providing the voices for both mother and daughter characters on two animated TV comedy series: on Futurama she voices Amy Wong and her...
, however, remain as guest stars and stay that way for the rest of the series until Season 6 in 2010.
Cultural references
- One of the animals in the vet's office is a rust monsterRust monsterA rust monster is a fictional creature from the Dungeons & Dragons fantasy role-playing game that seeks out and consumes metal, often the armor and weaponry of players' characters...
from the Dungeons & DragonsDungeons & DragonsDungeons & Dragons is a fantasy role-playing game originally designed by Gary Gygax and Dave Arneson, and first published in 1974 by Tactical Studies Rules, Inc. . The game has been published by Wizards of the Coast since 1997...
role-playing gameRole-playing gameA role-playing game is a game in which players assume the roles of characters in a fictional setting. Players take responsibility for acting out these roles within a narrative, either through literal acting, or through a process of structured decision-making or character development...
. - The title of the episode comes from the 1967 hit song by The Miracles titled I Second That Emotion (as well as a pun on the expression "I second that motion", when an action has been suggested by one member of a group and another member announces his support for it). In the audio commentary for this episode, the commentators debate whether or not the episode's title is also a reference to the fact that this episode is the season two premiere.
- A reference is also made to the movie Beneath the Planet of the ApesBeneath the Planet of the ApesBeneath the Planet of the Apes is a 1970 American science fiction film directed by Ted Post and written by Paul Dehn. It is the second of five films in the original Planet of the Apes series produced by Arthur P. Jacobs...
when Fry points out that the mutants worship an unexploded nuclear bomb. - El Chupanibre is a direct reference to the Latin American legend of El Chupacabre, because El Chupanibre comes at night and eats their crocodiles (with Chupacabre it is farmer's cattle or livestock, most commonly goats, since Chupacabre literally translates to "goat sucker" in Spanish).
- Bender finds a copy of Ayn RandAyn RandAyn Rand was a Russian-American novelist, philosopher, playwright, and screenwriter. She is known for her two best-selling novels The Fountainhead and Atlas Shrugged and for developing a philosophical system she called Objectivism....
's Atlas ShruggedAtlas ShruggedAtlas Shrugged is a novel by Ayn Rand, first published in 1957 in the United States. Rand's fourth and last novel, it was also her longest, and the one she considered to be her magnum opus in the realm of fiction writing...
amongst a pile of sewage and "crumpled porn". - While exploring the sewers, Fry consults a Let's Go Sewers guidebook, a parody of Let's Go Travel GuidesLet's Go Travel GuidesLet's Go is the first travel guide series aimed at the student traveler. Researched, written, edited, and run entirely by students at Harvard University, Let's Go was founded in 1960 and is headquartered in Cambridge, Massachusetts.-History:...
. - A parody was made on the movie King KongKing Kong (1933 film)King Kong is a Pre-Code 1933 fantasy monster adventure film co-directed by Merian C. Cooper and Ernest B. Schoedsack, and written by Ruth Rose and James Ashmore Creelman after a story by Cooper and Edgar Wallace. The film tells of a gigantic island-dwelling apeman creature called Kong who dies in...
when Leela was being sacrificed.
External links
- I Second That Emotion at TV.comTV.comTV.com is a website owned by CBS Interactive. The site covers television and focuses on English-language shows made or broadcast in the United States, the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Ireland and Japan...
- I Second That Emotion at the Internet Movie DatabaseInternet Movie DatabaseInternet Movie Database is an online database of information related to movies, television shows, actors, production crew personnel, video games and fictional characters featured in visual entertainment media. It is one of the most popular online entertainment destinations, with over 100 million...
- I Second That Emotion at The Infosphere.