Meanwhile in the far future, Fry, Bender and the Professor find themselves in various time periods that parody Planet of the Apes, The Time Machine and The Terminator. The musical montage in this episode is particularly inspired as the song “In The Year 252525” hilariously describes the dystopian futures, including an era ruled by giraffes. In a subtle touch, we can actually see the growing despair on the faces of the Professor, Fry and even Bender.
Finally, the trio go too far into the future and there is no life left on Earth. And no hope of ever getting back. Fry sinks into depression and he finds himself at Cavern on the Green where Leela’s message is waiting for him: “Our time together was short but it was the best time of my life.”
This has a profound effect on Fry. Knowing that he never lost Leela’s love allows him to accept his fate. Fry was ready to die, but he wasn’t necessarily suicidal. Instead, Fry invites the Professor and Bender to join him for a few beers as they watch the end of the universe go by from the safety of their machine. It’s all very Douglas Adams and even the small jokes land. “Oh the vast emptiness!” exclaims the Professor as a not-so-subtle hint for Bender to hand over another beer.
At the very end of the universe, a second Big Bang occurs. And a new universe is formed that is identical to the one that the trio left behind. At least that’s the Professor’s theory. Another theory is that the end of time and the beginning of time were somehow linked; allowing Fry, Bender and the Professor to go through a cycle of history… twice. But not before killing Hitler in their first attempt and accidentally shooting Eleanor Roosevelt the second time through. Whoops!
Eventually, the trio end up back where they started… right before accidentally murdering their temporal duplicates by landing the time machine on them. Although I would argue that the duplicate Bender could have been repaired, it was still for the best. Fry makes his date with Leela and promises that the guy who was constantly late was “the old Fry. He’s dead now.”
The closing scene of the episode is another emotional moment between Fry and Leela on a bridge in the park juxtaposed with the hilarious visual of Bender burying their temporal duplicates directly underneath them. It was the perfect blend of heart and comedy. Because as much as I loved “Jurassic Bark” and “Luck of The Fryish,” I really needed a laugh after those episodes.
“The Late Philip J. Fry” is pretty popular among ‘Futurama” fans, but it rarely gets the top spot on the list that it deserves. This is the Best Episode Ever of “Futurama” and it also took home an Emmy award for Outstanding Animated Program.
“Futurama’s” Comedy Central seasons weren’t always as fresh or as funny as the original Fox run. But I will always be grateful for this episode.
Feel free to share your picks for the greatest “Futurama” episode in the comment section below!
