The Farnsworth Parabox
Encyclopedia
"The Farnsworth Parabox" is the fifteenth episode of the fourth production season of Futurama
. It first aired June 8, 2003, as the tenth episode in the fifth broadcast season. The episode was written by Bill Odenkirk
and directed by Ron Hughart
.
decides to destroy an experiment that nearly killed him in a yellow box by ejecting it into the sun. He forbids the Planet Express staff to open it, and Hermes
assigns Leela to guard it. However, she is tempted by curiosity and flips a coin
to decide whether to look in the box. The flip results in favor of looking in the box. Upon doing so, she falls into the box and finds herself in a parallel universe
where everyone has identical personalities to their counterparts but most have a different color scheme.
The parallel Leela orders everyone in the original universe to come into their universe by threatening them with a gun, as the parallel Professor believes that the original universe members are all evil. However, they all decide to discuss their differences over the meeting table.
The two Farnsworths discover that, just as the original Farnsworth created a box containing a parallel universe, the parallel universe Farnsworth created a box containing the original universe. After arguing over which universe will be named Universe A and Universe B, the original universe is named Universe A and the parallel universe is named Universe 1. Although everyone is the same, Professor-A questions why Leela-A looked in the box whilst Leela-1 did not. Leela-1 says that she flipped a coin and it came up tails so she didn't look, a complete opposite of what happened to Leela-A. Both professors observe that the key difference between both universes is that coin flips have opposite outcomes. They ask the two groups to watch their counterparts to determine if the other is evil. When Leela-1 asks if she and Fry-1 can watch their counterparts together because they have plans, Leela-A thinks that they are dating but she and Fry-A are amazed to find that they are married.
The counterparts begin watching each other: the Benders prove to be exactly alike, even down to stealing each other's wallets. The Amys are slightly discouraged to realize that they both wear nail polish of a color the other dislikes (Amy-A wears yellow, Amy-1 prefers pink, the reverse of their clothing colors), and Professor-A and Professor-1 talk about a brain operation Professor-1 attempted on himself, again the result of a differing coinflip.
Fry-A and Leela-A go out to dinner with Fry-1 and Leela-1 and Fry-A becomes slightly annoyed and angry after realizing that Leela-A did not marry him because she always had excuses for not wanting to go out with him.
The Zoidbergs talk in a dumpster about how they are both unappreciated by the rest of the team, until Zoidberg-1 remarks that he saw where Professor-1 hid the box containing the original universe. The two both plan to steal the box.
After studying the Scriptures
, the Professors decide that nobody is evil and the members of Universe A can go back home. However, when Hermes-1 comes in to destroy the box containing Universe A, the crew realize that Hermes-A must be doing the same thing to the box containing Universe 1. They plan to go back through the box to stop Hermes-A but discover that the box is missing (Professor-1 had hidden it inside the Coelacanth
tank). The two Farnsworths try to recreate the original box, but end up creating a large number of boxes containing different universes. As the crew looks through the boxes, the two Zoidbergs walk in holding the original universe box and quickly jump into another universe box, and in the process bump into the bookshelf containing the boxes, causing all of them to fall so the crew are unable to tell which box the Zoidbergs jumped into. Each member of the two crews goes in a parallel universe box in search of them, grabbing a length of wire so they can return. After checking several parallel universes, each with its own amusing point of difference, they eventually find the two Zoidbergs, and everyone makes their way to Universe A. They arrive outside the box inside the airlock just as Hermes-A has reached the Sun and is about to eject the box.
After returning to Earth, the parallel universe crew return to their universe. When Fry asks Leela if she will give him another shot, Leela flips a coin. When Fry asks whether it is heads or tails, Leela decides that they will just say that it is heads. The Farnsworths exchange
their universe boxes by pulling each other's back into each other's universe, meaning they have pulled their box into their universe. Farnsworth tells the crew to treat the new box with care. Later, Fry enters the living room to find the crew watching TV and sits on top of the universe box, partially flattening the entire universe under his own weight.
's list of the top 25 episodes of Futurama. The episode was noted for its humor as a stand–alone episode and in particular for Universe #420 where Professor Farnsworth tells his hippie
counterpart to get a job.
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 June 8, 2003, as the tenth episode in the fifth broadcast season. The episode was written by Bill Odenkirk
Bill Odenkirk
Bill Odenkirk is an American comedy writer.Odenkirk was born in Naperville, Illinois. He is the brother of American comedian Bob Odenkirk, and worked as a writer, producer and actor on sketch comedy TV show Mr. Show with Bob and David, which featured his brother as co-star. Odenkirk went on to...
and directed by Ron Hughart
Ron Hughart
Ron Hughart is an American animation director. He has worked on several shows, including The Ren & Stimpy Show, Family Dog, Futurama and American Dad!.He also worked on Ren & Stimpy as a layout supervisor and timing director...
.
Plot
Professor FarnsworthProfessor 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...
decides to destroy an experiment that nearly killed him in a yellow box by ejecting it into the sun. He forbids the Planet Express staff to open it, 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...
assigns Leela to guard it. However, she is tempted by curiosity and flips a coin
Coin flipping
Coin flipping or coin tossing or heads or tails is the practice of throwing a coin in the air to choose between two alternatives, sometimes to resolve a dispute between two parties...
to decide whether to look in the box. The flip results in favor of looking in the box. Upon doing so, she falls into the box and finds herself in a parallel universe
Multiverse
The multiverse is the hypothetical set of multiple possible universes that together comprise all of reality.Multiverse may also refer to:-In fiction:* Multiverse , the fictional multiverse used by DC Comics...
where everyone has identical personalities to their counterparts but most have a different color scheme.
The parallel Leela orders everyone in the original universe to come into their universe by threatening them with a gun, as the parallel Professor believes that the original universe members are all evil. However, they all decide to discuss their differences over the meeting table.
The two Farnsworths discover that, just as the original Farnsworth created a box containing a parallel universe, the parallel universe Farnsworth created a box containing the original universe. After arguing over which universe will be named Universe A and Universe B, the original universe is named Universe A and the parallel universe is named Universe 1. Although everyone is the same, Professor-A questions why Leela-A looked in the box whilst Leela-1 did not. Leela-1 says that she flipped a coin and it came up tails so she didn't look, a complete opposite of what happened to Leela-A. Both professors observe that the key difference between both universes is that coin flips have opposite outcomes. They ask the two groups to watch their counterparts to determine if the other is evil. When Leela-1 asks if she and Fry-1 can watch their counterparts together because they have plans, Leela-A thinks that they are dating but she and Fry-A are amazed to find that they are married.
The counterparts begin watching each other: the Benders prove to be exactly alike, even down to stealing each other's wallets. The Amys are slightly discouraged to realize that they both wear nail polish of a color the other dislikes (Amy-A wears yellow, Amy-1 prefers pink, the reverse of their clothing colors), and Professor-A and Professor-1 talk about a brain operation Professor-1 attempted on himself, again the result of a differing coinflip.
Fry-A and Leela-A go out to dinner with Fry-1 and Leela-1 and Fry-A becomes slightly annoyed and angry after realizing that Leela-A did not marry him because she always had excuses for not wanting to go out with him.
The Zoidbergs talk in a dumpster about how they are both unappreciated by the rest of the team, until Zoidberg-1 remarks that he saw where Professor-1 hid the box containing the original universe. The two both plan to steal the box.
After studying the Scriptures
Bible
The Bible refers to any one of the collections of the primary religious texts of Judaism and Christianity. There is no common version of the Bible, as the individual books , their contents and their order vary among denominations...
, the Professors decide that nobody is evil and the members of Universe A can go back home. However, when Hermes-1 comes in to destroy the box containing Universe A, the crew realize that Hermes-A must be doing the same thing to the box containing Universe 1. They plan to go back through the box to stop Hermes-A but discover that the box is missing (Professor-1 had hidden it inside the Coelacanth
Coelacanth
Coelacanths are members of an order of fish that includes the oldest living lineage of Sarcopterygii known to date....
tank). The two Farnsworths try to recreate the original box, but end up creating a large number of boxes containing different universes. As the crew looks through the boxes, the two Zoidbergs walk in holding the original universe box and quickly jump into another universe box, and in the process bump into the bookshelf containing the boxes, causing all of them to fall so the crew are unable to tell which box the Zoidbergs jumped into. Each member of the two crews goes in a parallel universe box in search of them, grabbing a length of wire so they can return. After checking several parallel universes, each with its own amusing point of difference, they eventually find the two Zoidbergs, and everyone makes their way to Universe A. They arrive outside the box inside the airlock just as Hermes-A has reached the Sun and is about to eject the box.
After returning to Earth, the parallel universe crew return to their universe. When Fry asks Leela if she will give him another shot, Leela flips a coin. When Fry asks whether it is heads or tails, Leela decides that they will just say that it is heads. The Farnsworths exchange
Smale's paradox
In differential topology, Smale's paradox states that it is possible to turn a sphere inside out in a three-dimensional space with possible self-intersections but without creating any crease, a process often called sphere eversion...
their universe boxes by pulling each other's back into each other's universe, meaning they have pulled their box into their universe. Farnsworth tells the crew to treat the new box with care. Later, Fry enters the living room to find the crew watching TV and sits on top of the universe box, partially flattening the entire universe under his own weight.
Broadcast and reception
In 2006 this episode was ranked 17th on IGNIGN
IGN is an entertainment website that focuses on video games, films, music and other media. IGN's main website comprises several specialty sites or "channels", each occupying a subdomain and covering a specific area of entertainment...
's list of the top 25 episodes of Futurama. The episode was noted for its humor as a stand–alone episode and in particular for Universe #420 where Professor Farnsworth tells his hippie
Hippie
The hippie subculture was originally a youth movement that arose in the United States during the mid-1960s and spread to other countries around the world. The etymology of the term 'hippie' is from hipster, and was initially used to describe beatniks who had moved into San Francisco's...
counterpart to get a job.
External links
- The Farnsworth Parabox at The Infosphere.