Spanish Fry
Encyclopedia
"Spanish Fry" is the seventeenth episode of Season four of Futurama
. It originally aired in North America
on July 13, 2003, with a beatbox rendition of the opening theme performed by John DiMaggio
and Billy West
.
is abducted by aliens as he searches for Bigfoot
. He wakes up the next morning to find that his nose has been stolen from his face. Fry learns that human noses are regarded by aliens as an aphrodisiac
, called "Human Horn". Bender, Leela, and Fry discover that Fry's nose has been sold by a "porno dealing monster" to Lrrr, ruler of Omicron Persei 8.
The three travel to Omicron Persei 8, where they learn Lrrr and his wife, Ndnd, are having marital troubles, explaining Lrrr's purchase. After retrieving Fry's nose, Leela reattaches it by laser. However, once Bender has finished explaining some details of human anatomy to Lrrr, Lrrr orders that Fry's "lower horn
" now be removed for consumption. Leela stalls the Omicronian by suggesting that he and Ndnd share a romantic dinner in the woods and work on their relationship. The dinner nearly fails; as Fry is about to get his lower horn removed, Bigfoot shows himself.
Ranger Park, the park ranger, also arrives, pleased to have finally gotten a look at Bigfoot. The ranger tries to amputate one of Bigfoot's feet as a trophy, but Lrrr prevents him. Lrrr then delivers a moving speech: Fry's wing-dang-doodle, like Bigfoot, is one of God's most beautiful creatures (around this time, the park ranger manages to at least cut off part of Bigfoot's fur coat). Ndnd then realizes that her husband is still the sensitive Omicronian she fell for. The crew quickly retreats (to a Lrrr-suggested "safe distance") as the now-happy couple passionately make love. Bigfoot looks on for a bit, gives a satisfied nod, and then disappears into the forest.
Behind the credits, an episode of The Scary Door shows a mad scientist creating a creature from the DNA of the universe's most evil animals, which will thus be the universe's most evil creature of all; the machine's door swings open to reveal—a Rod Serling
twist—a human being, who merely says, "It turns out it's man."
Originally, Fry was meant to look into Bender's "shiny metal ass" for his reflection but it was decided that the episode was too dirty already and it was too awkward.
A scene depicting a holographic Fry with various noses was cut after being fully animated. Matt Groening said that they deleted it because it "wasn't that funny". The scene is available on the DVD among other deleted scenes.
When watching the surveillance tape, Leela identifies Lrrr because the writers were not sure that the audience would recognize and clearly identify Lrrr.
Writer Ron Weiner admitted that Bender's offscreen quips and "woo-hoo"s were because they felt a bit guilty about all the silly jokes. Weiner also admits that the scene with Bender dancing was something he attempts to work into every episode he writes.
The Scary Door sequence at the end had been cut out of The Birdbot of Ice-Catraz
.
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 July 13, 2003, with a beatbox rendition of the opening theme performed by John DiMaggio
John DiMaggio
John William DiMaggio is an American voice actor. A native of North Plainfield, New Jersey, he is known for his gruff, deep voice and New Jersey accent, which he uses to voice mainly villains and anti-heroes.-Filmography:...
and Billy West
Billy West
William Richard "Billy" West is an American voice actor. Born in Detroit but raised in the Roslindale neighborhood of Boston, Massachusetts, Billy launched his career in the early 1980s performing daily comedic routines on Boston's WBCN. He left the radio station to work on the short-lived revival...
.
Plot summary
While camping in the woods on a company outing, FryPhilip 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:...
is abducted by aliens as he searches for Bigfoot
Bigfoot
Bigfoot, also known as sasquatch, is an ape-like cryptid that purportedly inhabits forests, mainly in the Pacific Northwest region of North America. Bigfoot is usually described as a large, hairy, bipedal humanoid...
. He wakes up the next morning to find that his nose has been stolen from his face. Fry learns that human noses are regarded by aliens as an aphrodisiac
Aphrodisiac
An aphrodisiac is a substance that increases sexual desire. The name comes from Aphrodite, the Greek goddess of sexuality and love. Throughout history, many foods, drinks, and behaviors have had a reputation for making sex more attainable and/or pleasurable...
, called "Human Horn". Bender, Leela, and Fry discover that Fry's nose has been sold by a "porno dealing monster" to Lrrr, ruler of Omicron Persei 8.
The three travel to Omicron Persei 8, where they learn Lrrr and his wife, Ndnd, are having marital troubles, explaining Lrrr's purchase. After retrieving Fry's nose, Leela reattaches it by laser. However, once Bender has finished explaining some details of human anatomy to Lrrr, Lrrr orders that Fry's "lower horn
Penis
The penis is a biological feature of male animals including both vertebrates and invertebrates...
" now be removed for consumption. Leela stalls the Omicronian by suggesting that he and Ndnd share a romantic dinner in the woods and work on their relationship. The dinner nearly fails; as Fry is about to get his lower horn removed, Bigfoot shows himself.
Ranger Park, the park ranger, also arrives, pleased to have finally gotten a look at Bigfoot. The ranger tries to amputate one of Bigfoot's feet as a trophy, but Lrrr prevents him. Lrrr then delivers a moving speech: Fry's wing-dang-doodle, like Bigfoot, is one of God's most beautiful creatures (around this time, the park ranger manages to at least cut off part of Bigfoot's fur coat). Ndnd then realizes that her husband is still the sensitive Omicronian she fell for. The crew quickly retreats (to a Lrrr-suggested "safe distance") as the now-happy couple passionately make love. Bigfoot looks on for a bit, gives a satisfied nod, and then disappears into the forest.
Behind the credits, an episode of The Scary Door shows a mad scientist creating a creature from the DNA of the universe's most evil animals, which will thus be the universe's most evil creature of all; the machine's door swings open to reveal—a Rod Serling
Rod Serling
Rodman Edward "Rod" Serling was an American screenwriter, novelist, television producer, and narrator best known for his live television dramas of the 1950s and his science fiction anthology TV series, The Twilight Zone. Serling was active in politics, both on and off the screen and helped form...
twist—a human being, who merely says, "It turns out it's man."
Production
David X. Cohen admits that this is one of their "filthiest" episodes. As with most episodes, the space scenes were done in 3D. Among the non space scenes done in 3D was the roasting car at the alien market.Originally, Fry was meant to look into Bender's "shiny metal ass" for his reflection but it was decided that the episode was too dirty already and it was too awkward.
A scene depicting a holographic Fry with various noses was cut after being fully animated. Matt Groening said that they deleted it because it "wasn't that funny". The scene is available on the DVD among other deleted scenes.
When watching the surveillance tape, Leela identifies Lrrr because the writers were not sure that the audience would recognize and clearly identify Lrrr.
Writer Ron Weiner admitted that Bender's offscreen quips and "woo-hoo"s were because they felt a bit guilty about all the silly jokes. Weiner also admits that the scene with Bender dancing was something he attempts to work into every episode he writes.
The Scary Door sequence at the end had been cut out of The Birdbot of Ice-Catraz
The Birdbot of Ice-Catraz
"The Birdbot of Ice-Catraz" is the fifth episode in the third production season of Futurama. It originally aired in North America on March 4, 2001 as the ninth episode of the third season. The episode was written by Dan Vebber and directed by James Purdum...
.
Continuity
- In episode Teenage Mutant Leela's HurdlesTeenage Mutant Leela's Hurdles"Teenage Mutant Leela's Hurdles" is the ninth episode of the fourth production season of Futurama. It first aired on March 30, 2003 as the seventh episode of the fifth broadcast season. The episode was directed by Bret Haaland and written by Jeff Westbrook.-Plot:Professor Farnsworth is chasing...
it was mentioned that Bigfoot used to be a myth but is now Secretary of StateSecretary of StateSecretary of State or State Secretary is a commonly used title for a senior or mid-level post in governments around the world. The role varies between countries, and in some cases there are multiple Secretaries of State in the Government....
. After revealing in this episode that Bigfoot is primitive, that line was changed to be the tooth fairyTooth fairyThe tooth fairy is a fantasy figure of early childhood. The folklore states that when a child loses a baby tooth, if he or she places it beneath the bed pillow, the tooth fairy will visit while the child sleeps, replacing the lost tooth with a small payment....
being head of the FBI. - In Xmas StoryXmas Story"Xmas Story" is the fourth episode in the second production season of Futurama. It originally aired as the eighth episode in the second broadcast season in North America on December 19, 1999. The episode was written by David X. Cohen and directed by Peter Avanzino. John Goodman guest stars in this...
Farnsworth explains that pine trees were extinct however several can be seen in the woods of this episode. They were explained in the commentary as being made of plastic like the trees which were seen in that episode. It is also suggested that they may have been cloned since that episode. The possibility exists that they are fir trees. - The photograph of Fry's nose depicts him and Slurmz Mackenzie who he met in Fry and the Slurm FactoryFry and the Slurm Factory"Fry and the Slurm Factory" is the thirteenth episode of the first production season of Futurama. It originally aired in North America on November 14, 1999 as the fourth episode of the second broadcast season. The episode was directed by Ron Hughart and written by Lewis Morton...
.
Broadcast and reception
In its initial airing, the episode received a Nielsen rating of 2.3/5, placing it 86th among primetime shows for the week of July 7-13, 2003.Cultural references
- The title is a reference to the Spanish flySpanish flyThe Spanish fly is an emerald-green beetle in the family Meloidae, Lytta vesicatoria. Other species of blister beetle used by apothecaries are often called by the same name...
, an aphrodisiac. - When Fry says "My nose, light of my face" it is a reference to the opening line of LolitaLolitaLolita is a novel by Vladimir Nabokov, first written in English and published in 1955 in Paris and 1958 in New York, and later translated by the author into Russian...
by Vladimir NabokovVladimir NabokovVladimir Vladimirovich Nabokov was a multilingual Russian novelist and short story writer. Nabokov wrote his first nine novels in Russian, then rose to international prominence as a master English prose stylist...
. - Upon Fry's return to camp after having his nose abducted, Farnsworth proclaims "What in Sega Genesis happened to you?!", in reference to the 1990s video game console made by SegaSega, usually styled as SEGA, is a multinational video game software developer and an arcade software and hardware development company headquartered in Ōta, Tokyo, Japan, with various offices around the world...
. - The lengthy tube that Fry was abducted in is a reference to a Windows screensaverScreensaverA screensaver is a type of computer program initially designed to prevent phosphor burn-in on CRT and plasma computer monitors by blanking the screen or filling it with moving images or patterns when the computer is not in use...
with winding pipes. - When the gang is at the market Joe CamelJoe CamelJoe Camel was the advertising mascot for Camel cigarettes from late 1987 to July 12, 1997, appearing in magazine advertisements, billboards, and other print media.-History:The U.S. marketing team of R. J...
and an alien parodies the alien dolls in the Toy StoryToy StoryToy Story is a 1995 American computer-animated film released by Walt Disney Pictures. It is Pixar's first feature film as well as the first ever feature film to be made entirely with CGI. The film was directed by John Lasseter and featuring the voices of Tom Hanks and Tim Allen...
franchise can be seen. - Lrrr refers to Bigfoot as an “innocent giganto;” a reference to cryptozoological claims that the sasquatch may be a remnant population of gigantopithecusGigantopithecusGigantopithecus is an extinct genus of ape that existed from roughly one million years to as recently as three hundred thousand years ago, in what is now China, India, and Vietnam, placing Gigantopithecus in the same time frame and geographical location as several hominin species...
. - The title card in this episode when translated from the shows alien language reads "Thanks for watching, Futurama slave army!"
- Lrrr references the Honeymooners with "One of these days, Ndnd - bang, zoom, straight to the third moon of Omicron Persei 8!" ("One of these days, Alice - bang, zoom, straight to the Moon!")
External links
- Spanish Fry at The Infosphere.