Yo Leela Leela
Encyclopedia
"Yo Leela Leela" is the nineteenth episode of the sixth season
of the animated sitcom, Futurama
. It aired on Comedy Central
in the United States on July 21, 2011. The title is a reference to the Nickelodeon kids' show Yo Gabba Gabba!
. The show is also parodied within the episode: Leela's show is similar, featuring people dressed up in fanciful costumes as its main characters.
, comes to pitch new television shows to the children. The orphans enjoy Leela's new story, called "Rumbledy-Hump," prompting Doubledeal to persuade Leela to write an educational
children's television series
based on her story.
Rumbledy-Hump, which is filmed in the Planet Express building and performed by Leela and the crew, quickly develops into a successful franchise. After her show wins at the Young People's Choice Awards, she becomes an egomaniac and starts to look down on her coworkers. She takes the Planet Express ship to her "quiet place" to write more episodes, but is surprised when Bender intrudes, having stowed away to make out with a fembot from the awards ceremony. The "quiet place" is actually an unknown planet inhabited by the Rumbledy-Hump characters—"the Humplings"—who are real. Leela's scripts are revealed to be word-for-word documentations of the Humplings' daily activities, which she is exploiting for profit.
Despite agreeing to give Bender half of the show's earnings in exchange for keeping the secret, Leela becomes wracked with guilt over taking credit for the Humplings' lifestyle. She brings the crew, Doubledeal, and the Cookieville orphans to the planet and confesses her deception, disappointing the orphans. Doubledeal takes advantage of the situation by filming the Humplings to create a reality show and adopting the orphans to work as his film crew. This proves beneficial to both the Humplings (who are paid and thus able to afford better lifestyles for themselves) and the children (who now have full-time jobs). Leela is horrified that she is able to get away with making a bad example for the children, and pleads to be punished as the Humplings and children cheer and express their gratitude for her.
generally praised the episode, giving it a B+ rating. Handlen praised the episodes humor and writing, but said that it continued "a general trend this season of competence over risk."
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...
. It aired on Comedy Central
Comedy Central
Comedy Central is an American cable television and satellite television channel that carries comedy programming, both original and syndicated....
in the United States on July 21, 2011. The title is a reference to the Nickelodeon kids' show Yo Gabba Gabba!
Yo Gabba Gabba!
Yo Gabba Gabba! is an American children's television show currently airing on the Nick Jr. cable network in the United States and the Nick Jr. networks in the United Kingdom & Ireland, Italy, France and Australia as well as Treehouse TV network in Canada and RTE2 on RTEjr see Raidió Teilifís...
. The show is also parodied within the episode: Leela's show is similar, featuring people dressed up in fanciful costumes as its main characters.
Plot
Leela visits the Cookieville Orphanarium for a storytelling session with the children there, but fails to make up a good story for the orphans. Hoping to come up with a better story, and seeking quiet from her disruptive crewmates, Leela takes the Planet Express ship to a secret destination that she calls her "quiet place." She returns to the orphanarium with her story at the same time as Abner Doubledeal, CEO of the TV station TickleodeonNickelodeon (TV channel)
Nickelodeon, often simply called Nick and originally named Pinwheel, is an American children's channel owned by MTV Networks, a subsidiary of Viacom International. The channel is primarily aimed at children ages 7–17, with the exception of their weekday morning program block aimed at preschoolers...
, comes to pitch new television shows to the children. The orphans enjoy Leela's new story, called "Rumbledy-Hump," prompting Doubledeal to persuade Leela to write an educational
Educational television
Educational television is the use of television programs in the field of distance education. It may be in the form of individual television programs or dedicated specialty channels that is often associated with cable television in the United States as Public, educational, and government access ...
children's television series
Children's television series
Children's television series, are commercial television programs designed for, and marketed to children, normally scheduled for broadcast during the morning and afternoon when children are awake. They can sometimes run in the early evening, for the children that go to school...
based on her story.
Rumbledy-Hump, which is filmed in the Planet Express building and performed by Leela and the crew, quickly develops into a successful franchise. After her show wins at the Young People's Choice Awards, she becomes an egomaniac and starts to look down on her coworkers. She takes the Planet Express ship to her "quiet place" to write more episodes, but is surprised when Bender intrudes, having stowed away to make out with a fembot from the awards ceremony. The "quiet place" is actually an unknown planet inhabited by the Rumbledy-Hump characters—"the Humplings"—who are real. Leela's scripts are revealed to be word-for-word documentations of the Humplings' daily activities, which she is exploiting for profit.
Despite agreeing to give Bender half of the show's earnings in exchange for keeping the secret, Leela becomes wracked with guilt over taking credit for the Humplings' lifestyle. She brings the crew, Doubledeal, and the Cookieville orphans to the planet and confesses her deception, disappointing the orphans. Doubledeal takes advantage of the situation by filming the Humplings to create a reality show and adopting the orphans to work as his film crew. This proves beneficial to both the Humplings (who are paid and thus able to afford better lifestyles for themselves) and the children (who now have full-time jobs). Leela is horrified that she is able to get away with making a bad example for the children, and pleads to be punished as the Humplings and children cheer and express their gratitude for her.
Reception
Zack Handlen of The A.V. ClubThe 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...
generally praised the episode, giving it a B+ rating. Handlen praised the episodes humor and writing, but said that it continued "a general trend this season of competence over risk."