Kif Gets Knocked Up a Notch
Encyclopedia
"Kif Gets Knocked Up a Notch" is the first episode in season four of Futurama
. It first aired on January 12, 2003.
is unhappy with her long-distance relationship with Kif
and wants to see him in person again. When the crew is sent to deliver a giant pill to a planet near where Kif is stationed, Amy stows away onboard the Planet Express Ship
. While the crew is asleep, Amy changes course to meet with Kif. When Zapp Brannigan
sees the ship, the Planet Express crew joins him on the Nimbus. On the Nimbus, Kif shows Amy the HoloShed
to show her what life would be like with him. In one of the environments, Kif tries to literally pluck the moon from the sky and give it to Amy, but only succeeds in dislodging it before he falls into a lake. Soon, however, the shed malfunctions and the holograms that invade—Attila the Hun
, Professor Moriarty
, Jack the Ripper
, and an evil version of Abraham Lincoln
along with an evil horse Amy had earlier admired—become real. When the holograms reach the bridge, Zapp Brannigan threatens them with a laser cannon and, despite a rather accurate warning from Attila: "No shoot fire stick in space canoe. Cause explosive decompression
!", he blasts a hole in the ship, which sucks out history's greatest villains (although the evil Abraham Lincoln later appears, unharmed). Everyone else on the bridge is also sucked towards the hole, but they manage to survive by hanging on to each others' hands (until the moon from the Holoshed plugs the hole). In sickbay later, the doctor looks at everyone and deduces that everyone survived despite minor injuries, and also reveals the unlikely news that Kif is pregnant.
It is initially believed that Amy is the mother since Kif's race reproduces through touch, due to the fact that their skin is a semi-permeable membrane. Kif's race is thus able to conceive whenever they are in love through direct physical contact with another being. Fry
points out that everyone on the ship's bridge touched Kif while he was trying to hang onto them to prevent being sucked through and it is unclear who the mother is. Professor Farnsworth uses an invention of his, the Maternifuge, to determine who is the real mother. The machine filters out its occupants based on a DNA sample, eliminating Fry, Zapp (much to Kif's relief), Zoidberg (who was not on the ship earlier, he just lives in the machine because he doesn't have a home of his own) and Amy, revealing that the mother is Leela. Amy is instead the "smizmar" (person whose love inspired the conception) of Kif's children, which nevertheless makes her the "real" mother by Kif's species' standards.
Later on, at Fry and Bender's apartment for the pre-birth celebrations, Amy decides she cannot go through with this and runs away, leaving Kif just as his babies are about to be born.
The crew takes Kif to Amphibios 9, his homeworld
. They escort him through the jungle after they land. Kif encounters the Grand Midwife, who oversees the birthing ceremony, which requires the participation of the smizmar, further underscoring Kif's sadness at Amy's abandonment. Just as Kif is about to give birth, Amy arrives saying she wants to be with him despite not being ready for motherhood. After Kif gives birth, the babies, in a tadpole-like state, hop towards the swampy planet's water, nearly attacked by deadly predators that Amy, telling them to stay away from her babies, fends off successfully. The tadpoles make it to the water and are left to swim about until they are able to live out of water, which Kif reveals won't actually happen for twenty years; Amy is thus satisfied that she will be ready to help raise them when the time comes (they are indeed Leela's children, as some have only one eye).
" when the announcer for the Ultimate Robot Fighting match refers to the audience as "Ladies, gentlemen, and smizmars". The same episode also contains a movie poster advertising When a Man Loves a Smizmar. This episode is the first time the term is explained.
, but ultimately it was felt that hearing the professor was funnier. The writers apparently had an even larger debate about who the second parent of Kif's children should be. The head writer for the episode notes that they felt making Amy the true parent would make her character unlikeable after she did not accept the children.
In the scene in Kif's room, Bender is seen in Kif's closet with his head and body separated. No explanation for this is ever given. However, on the DVD commentary, it is revealed that it was originally going to be explained that the room was much too small to have everybody fit inside, and that Bender was in the closet out of necessity. The original script also contained a much longer series of events once the characters arrived at Kif's planet. The material that was eventually cut focused on the journey and a series of tasks Kif needed to complete before giving birth. Reportedly the material was enough for an entire second episode.
This episode was rated TV-14, the fifth such Futurama episode.
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 first aired on January 12, 2003.
Plot
AmyAmy 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...
is unhappy with her long-distance relationship with Kif
Kif Kroker
Lieutenant Kif Kroker is a character from the animated television series Futurama. He is the long suffering assistant to Captain Zapp Brannigan and Fourth Lieutenant on the Democratic Order of Planets starship Nimbus...
and wants to see him in person again. When the crew is sent to deliver a giant pill to a planet near where Kif is stationed, Amy stows away onboard the Planet Express Ship
Planet Express Ship
The Planet Express Ship is a fictional spaceship in the animated series Futurama, which bears the official designation "U.S.S. Planet Express Ship." The ship was designed and built by Professor Hubert Farnsworth and is the sole delivery ship of Planet Express, a delivery service owned by the...
. While the crew is asleep, Amy changes course to meet with Kif. When 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...
sees the ship, the Planet Express crew joins him on the Nimbus. On the Nimbus, Kif shows Amy the HoloShed
Holodeck
A holodeck, in the fictional Star Trek universe, is a simulated reality facility located on starships and starbases. The first use of a "holodeck" by that name in the Star Trek universe was in the pilot episode of Star Trek: The Next Generation, "Encounter at Farpoint", although a conceptually...
to show her what life would be like with him. In one of the environments, Kif tries to literally pluck the moon from the sky and give it to Amy, but only succeeds in dislodging it before he falls into a lake. Soon, however, the shed malfunctions and the holograms that invade—Attila the Hun
Attila the Hun
Attila , more frequently referred to as Attila the Hun, was the ruler of the Huns from 434 until his death in 453. He was leader of the Hunnic Empire, which stretched from the Ural River to the Rhine River and from the Danube River to the Baltic Sea. During his reign he was one of the most feared...
, Professor Moriarty
Professor Moriarty
Professor James Moriarty is a fictional character and the archenemy of the detective Sherlock Holmes in the fiction of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. Moriarty is a criminal mastermind, described by Holmes as the "Napoleon of Crime". Doyle lifted the phrase from a real Scotland Yard inspector who was...
, Jack the Ripper
Jack the Ripper
"Jack the Ripper" is the best-known name given to an unidentified serial killer who was active in the largely impoverished areas in and around the Whitechapel district of London in 1888. The name originated in a letter, written by someone claiming to be the murderer, that was disseminated in the...
, and an evil version of Abraham Lincoln
Abraham Lincoln
Abraham Lincoln was the 16th President of the United States, serving from March 1861 until his assassination in April 1865. He successfully led his country through a great constitutional, military and moral crisis – the American Civil War – preserving the Union, while ending slavery, and...
along with an evil horse Amy had earlier admired—become real. When the holograms reach the bridge, Zapp Brannigan threatens them with a laser cannon and, despite a rather accurate warning from Attila: "No shoot fire stick in space canoe. Cause explosive decompression
Explosive decompression
Uncontrolled decompression refers to an unplanned drop in the pressure of a sealed system, such as an aircraft cabin and typically results from human error, material fatigue, engineering failure or impact causing a pressure vessel to vent into its lower-pressure surroundings or fail to pressurize...
!", he blasts a hole in the ship, which sucks out history's greatest villains (although the evil Abraham Lincoln later appears, unharmed). Everyone else on the bridge is also sucked towards the hole, but they manage to survive by hanging on to each others' hands (until the moon from the Holoshed plugs the hole). In sickbay later, the doctor looks at everyone and deduces that everyone survived despite minor injuries, and also reveals the unlikely news that Kif is pregnant.
It is initially believed that Amy is the mother since Kif's race reproduces through touch, due to the fact that their skin is a semi-permeable membrane. Kif's race is thus able to conceive whenever they are in love through direct physical contact with another being. 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:...
points out that everyone on the ship's bridge touched Kif while he was trying to hang onto them to prevent being sucked through and it is unclear who the mother is. Professor Farnsworth uses an invention of his, the Maternifuge, to determine who is the real mother. The machine filters out its occupants based on a DNA sample, eliminating Fry, Zapp (much to Kif's relief), Zoidberg (who was not on the ship earlier, he just lives in the machine because he doesn't have a home of his own) and Amy, revealing that the mother is Leela. Amy is instead the "smizmar" (person whose love inspired the conception) of Kif's children, which nevertheless makes her the "real" mother by Kif's species' standards.
Later on, at Fry and Bender's apartment for the pre-birth celebrations, Amy decides she cannot go through with this and runs away, leaving Kif just as his babies are about to be born.
The crew takes Kif to Amphibios 9, his homeworld
Core worlds
Core worlds or core planets often exist in works of science fiction, especially space operas. They are usually at the center of the galaxy or of colonized space, occasionally both. Core worlds are densely populated with long histories, advanced technology, and/or highly-developed culture. The...
. They escort him through the jungle after they land. Kif encounters the Grand Midwife, who oversees the birthing ceremony, which requires the participation of the smizmar, further underscoring Kif's sadness at Amy's abandonment. Just as Kif is about to give birth, Amy arrives saying she wants to be with him despite not being ready for motherhood. After Kif gives birth, the babies, in a tadpole-like state, hop towards the swampy planet's water, nearly attacked by deadly predators that Amy, telling them to stay away from her babies, fends off successfully. The tadpoles make it to the water and are left to swim about until they are able to live out of water, which Kif reveals won't actually happen for twenty years; Amy is thus satisfied that she will be ready to help raise them when the time comes (they are indeed Leela's children, as some have only one eye).
Continuity
The term "smizmar" was previously used in the episode "Raging BenderRaging Bender
"Raging Bender" is the eighth episode in the second production season of Futurama. It originally aired in North America on February 27, 2000 as the twelfth episode of the second broadcast season. The episode was written by Lewis Morton and directed by Ron Hughart...
" when the announcer for the Ultimate Robot Fighting match refers to the audience as "Ladies, gentlemen, and smizmars". The same episode also contains a movie poster advertising When a Man Loves a Smizmar. This episode is the first time the term is explained.
Production
At the beginning of the episode when Professor Farnsworth retreats to the angry dome, there was a long debate amongst the writers about whether the viewers should be able to hear him or not. They envisioned the angry dome as being similar to the Cone of Silence from Get SmartGet Smart
Get Smart is an American comedy television series that satirizes the secret agent genre. Created by Mel Brooks with Buck Henry, the show starred Don Adams , Barbara Feldon , and Edward Platt...
, but ultimately it was felt that hearing the professor was funnier. The writers apparently had an even larger debate about who the second parent of Kif's children should be. The head writer for the episode notes that they felt making Amy the true parent would make her character unlikeable after she did not accept the children.
In the scene in Kif's room, Bender is seen in Kif's closet with his head and body separated. No explanation for this is ever given. However, on the DVD commentary, it is revealed that it was originally going to be explained that the room was much too small to have everybody fit inside, and that Bender was in the closet out of necessity. The original script also contained a much longer series of events once the characters arrived at Kif's planet. The material that was eventually cut focused on the journey and a series of tasks Kif needed to complete before giving birth. Reportedly the material was enough for an entire second episode.
This episode was rated TV-14, the fifth such Futurama episode.
Cultural references
- The animation of the Planet Express Ship entering the Nimbus’ cargo hold is a reference to the film You Only Live TwiceYou Only Live Twice (film)You Only Live Twice is the fifth spy film in the James Bond series, and the fifth to star Sean Connery as the fictional MI6 agent James Bond. The film's screenplay was written by Roald Dahl, and loosely based on Ian Fleming's 1964 novel of the same name...
, although on the DVD commentary the creators mistake it for MoonrakerMoonraker (film)Moonraker is the eleventh spy film in the James Bond series, and the fourth to star Roger Moore as the fictional MI6 agent James Bond. The third and final film in the series to be directed by Lewis Gilbert, it co-stars Lois Chiles, Michael Lonsdale, Corinne Clery, and Richard Kiel...
. - The HoloShed (and its frequent malfunctions turning holograms "real") are parodies of the holodeckHolodeckA holodeck, in the fictional Star Trek universe, is a simulated reality facility located on starships and starbases. The first use of a "holodeck" by that name in the Star Trek universe was in the pilot episode of Star Trek: The Next Generation, "Encounter at Farpoint", although a conceptually...
from Star Trek: The Next GenerationStar Trek: The Next GenerationStar Trek: The Next Generation is an American science fiction television series created by Gene Roddenberry as part of the Star Trek franchise. Roddenberry, Rick Berman, and Michael Piller served as executive producers at different times throughout the production...
. Among the HoloShed characters who run rampant are Professor MoriartyProfessor MoriartyProfessor James Moriarty is a fictional character and the archenemy of the detective Sherlock Holmes in the fiction of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. Moriarty is a criminal mastermind, described by Holmes as the "Napoleon of Crime". Doyle lifted the phrase from a real Scotland Yard inspector who was...
, Attila the HunAttila the HunAttila , more frequently referred to as Attila the Hun, was the ruler of the Huns from 434 until his death in 453. He was leader of the Hunnic Empire, which stretched from the Ural River to the Rhine River and from the Danube River to the Baltic Sea. During his reign he was one of the most feared...
, Jack the RipperJack the Ripper"Jack the Ripper" is the best-known name given to an unidentified serial killer who was active in the largely impoverished areas in and around the Whitechapel district of London in 1888. The name originated in a letter, written by someone claiming to be the murderer, that was disseminated in the...
and an evil version of Abraham LincolnAbraham LincolnAbraham Lincoln was the 16th President of the United States, serving from March 1861 until his assassination in April 1865. He successfully led his country through a great constitutional, military and moral crisis – the American Civil War – preserving the Union, while ending slavery, and...
. A holodeck incarnation of Professor Moriarty "came alive" in two episodes of Star Trek: The Next Generation - "Elementary, Dear Data" and "Ship in a BottleShip in a Bottle (TNG episode)"Ship in a Bottle" is the 138th episode of the television series Star Trek: The Next Generation.-Overview:The sentient holodeck character Professor James Moriarty puts the Enterprise in jeopardy in his quest to be freed to live outside the confines of a holographic environment.-Plot:Data and La...
" - while Jack the Ripper and Lincoln appeared in Star TrekStar Trek: The Original SeriesStar Trek is an American science fiction television series created by Gene Roddenberry, produced by Desilu Productions . Star Trek was telecast on NBC from September 8, 1966, through June 3, 1969...
; "Evil Lincoln" is a specific reference to the episode "The Savage CurtainThe Savage Curtain (TOS episode)"The Savage Curtain" a third season episode of Star Trek: The Original Series, first broadcast on March 7, 1969 and repeated July 1, 1969. It is episode #77, production #77, written by Gene Roddenberry and Arthur Heinemann, based on an original story by Gene Roddenberry, and directed by Herschel...
", where aliens pit some of Earth's most storied heroes (including Lincoln) against its most hated villains. - The HoloShed is programmed in BASICBASICBASIC is a family of general-purpose, high-level programming languages whose design philosophy emphasizes ease of use - the name is an acronym from Beginner's All-purpose Symbolic Instruction Code....
because the writers were amused by the idea that in the Star TrekStar TrekStar Trek is an American science fiction entertainment franchise created by Gene Roddenberry. The core of Star Trek is its six television series: The Original Series, The Animated Series, The Next Generation, Deep Space Nine, Voyager, and Enterprise...
universe any simulation one wants to experience has already been painstakingly programmed. - The sick bay scene is a parody of that from Star Trek, complete with sound effects. The sign references a creature from the series called a Horta that gives severe acid burns. The sick bay's doctor is a parody of Dr. Leonard “Bones” McCoy, and is named "Veins" in a deleted scene.
- The maternifuge is based loosely on the amusement park ride, "The RotorRotor (ride)The Rotor is an amusement park ride, designed by German engineer Ernst Hoffmeister in the late 1940s. The ride was first demonstrated at Oktoberfest 1949, and was exhibited at fairs and events throughout Europe during the 1950s and 1960s...
".
External links
- Kif Gets Knocked Up a Notch at Yahoo! TV
- Kif Gets Knocked Up a Notch at The Infosphere.