It all adds up - Futurama is a great show!

By PropMaster - staff writer

I know this isn't exactly prop related, but its close enough. When Fox cancelled "Futurama", after only 5 seasons, I was convinced the "brains" behind the network weren't running on all cylinders. Futurama was just too "cerebral" for the executives to understand. Well, I was right. Dr. Sarah J. Greenwald, of Appalachian State University, got the chance to interview David X. Cohen, who was the executive producer and head writer for "Futurama", and he explained how he used math, science, and computer programming as "background jokes" when writing "Futurama".

Cohen, who has a bachelor's degree in physics from Harvard University and a master's degree in computer science from UC Berkeley, made "Futurama" especially fun to watch because math, science, and computer programming references appear in almost every episode. The show is also peppered with numerous references to classic science fiction movies and TV shows. The subtle references to classic sci-fi, math, science, and computer programming are too numerous to list. From the classic line, "I have a bad feeling about this", to Zapp Brannigan, the velure wearing, 25 star general, and caricature of Captain Kirk, to the familiar sounds of the star ship Enterprise, to the time Leela found a patch of "roddenberries", "Futurama" is a winner that Fox let get away. The brilliant material in "Futurama" simply goes over the head of most people and, seemingly, all Fox executives.

Frye, the main character, was a bored pizza delivery boy who arrived in the year 2999 after a mishap (or so we were led to believe) in 1999 at a cryogenics lab. He arrives in the year 2999 only to find that the government now picks your vocation and, after some very scientific tests, they made him a delivery boy. Another of the main characters is a robot named Bender. Bender is a robot who can't quite grasp the subtleties of normal, human sensibilities. He drinks, smokes cigars, and is a kleptomaniac. His excessive drinking is mandatory or he will become sober and unable to control his body since alcohol is robot fuel. He is made of 40% Zinc and 40% Titanium. He attended Bending State college where he majored in Bending and minored in Robo-American studies. His serial number is 1729, which is the smallest number that can be expressed as the sum of two cubes in two different ways. His identification number is 2716057 which is also a number that can be expressed as the sum of two cubes.

Check out "Futurama". It is currently playing on the Cartoon Network and is available on DVD. And, be sure to check out Dr. Greenwald's great web page for more info. http://www.mathsci.appstate.edu/~sjg/futurama/