The Tri-Lite

Issue date: 1/1/08 Section: Entertainment

In the year 3000, a pizza delivery boy by the name of Philip J. Fry woke up to the world of tomorrow. He befriended a mutant Cyclops, Turanga Leela, and an alcoholic robot, Bender Bending Rodriguez. It is with his two new friends that the three join an intergalactic delivery crew including, long-term intern and martian, Amy Wong, the company's physician crustacean, Dr. John A. Zoidberg, a Jamaican Bureaucrat Grade 34, Hermes Conrad, and the distant relative of Fry as well as owner and founder of Planet Express, Professor Hubert J. Farnsworth. (Oh, and Scruffy, the Janitor.) These are the stars of one of the greatest animated series ever created, "Futurama."

Crated by the minds behind "The Simpsons," "Futurama" was a cartoon that aired on Fox, but was cancelled in 2003, and has since been put into sindication on several television stations. Fortunately, the show has recently had new life breathed into it by its creators Matt Groening, David X. Cohen, and the many other writers behind this futuristic laugh zone. Now, we have been given the first full-length "Futurama" movie, "Bender's Big Score."

A straight to DVD film, "Bender's Big Score" picks up right where the cancelled show left off. After setting up some cheap shots, which results in the grinded up, pink remains of Fox's executives appearing several times as a multi-purpose powder, (good for adding flavor to your food, making missiles deadlier, and "soothing the fire") the crew gets into much trouble including love, decapitation, time travel, spam, Al Gore, and more. If you are (or were) a fan of this show, then you know the madness you'll be guaranteed to see. This is the same show that was the first to make their main character be their own grandfather through means of time-travel and poor thinking. Here's a brief summary of events which may help entice you to check out "Bender's Big Score."

What will you get if you buy this DVD? Well you'll get your standard feature length film with special features and such attached to it. This movie is a solid and entertaining hour and thirty minutes filled with many of the characters you've met throughout the cartoon series and plenty of references for you diehard fans. You won't get a break from the wildness as "Bender's Big Score" will have you guessing until the end, and then probably more so after that. Once you have finished watching, you will also get plenty of extras, such as deleted scene storyboards, commentary, the best math lecture I've ever seen, and even a full episode of "Everyone Loves Hypnotoad," which is honestly just a picture of a hypnotic frog on the screen for less than a half hour. (It's the best half hour you'll ever waste!)

The DVD is likely to be in a store near you or near someone you know, and is going for the usual DVD price of somewhere around $20. I haven't seen "The Simpsons Movie," but I am willing to bet that this movie is a thousand times better, even if it was created by the same people. There is many great things about this movie, such as its close connection to Al Gore and fighting Global Warming. While creating this movie, carbon emissions were reduced, which is apparently helpful to our planet. (Al Gore says so, doesn't he? How can you not believe him?) The best part? Creators have announced that they will be writing more "Futurama" movies. At least three more, in fact, so the laughs will continue to flow in sometime later this year and then someday put on TV in multiple part episodes on whatever channel decides to air it. In the words of Bender, the greatest robot who ever lived, "We're back, baby!" It just won't die!

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