Relive the characters of Futurama and get ready for the revival!
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After seven seasons and almost ten years without new stories from the characters of Futurama, it was announced that the animation, originally created by Matt Groening and David X. Cohen, will have a 20-episode revival on the streaming platform. Hulu already with confirmation of the return of some names.
The original voice actors for leads Fry and Leela, Billy West and Katey Sagal, respectively, have been confirmed to return in their roles. Names like Tress MacNeille, Maurice LaMarche, Lauren Tom, Phil LaMarr and David Herman, who give voice to several characters, are also slated to return.
So brace yourself for nostalgia and look back at Futurama's main characters — some confirmed for the revival and others we're rooting for so we can see one more time in new intergalactic misadventures.
Philip J. Fry
Voiced by Billy West, the character best known by his surname, Fry, is the protagonist who kicks off the story of the series. In the “people like us” style, he is presented as a pizza delivery guy without much prospects for life in the reality he was in. Accidentally, Fry is frozen in time and ends up jumping from the year 1999 to wake up a thousand years later.
Although he saw this event as a second chance to find himself in the world, Fry leaves his post as a delivery boy in the past to, amazingly, end up accepting another job with the same duties at Planet Express. In the midst of a futuristic universe full of robots and aliens, although he has not left his place in relation to his profession, Phillip J. Fry plays saving the world now and then alongside his new friends and, in a somewhat confused and sometimes even by crooked lines, awakens the hope and affection of those who accompany him.
His first appearance in the series is in the pilot. 1×1 – Fry in the Year 3000 (Space Pilot 3000)
Leela
With the striking voice of Katey sagal, Leela position she is presented as an “alien-woman” with a strong, good-natured personality and determined about her goals. Undoubtedly, she categorically occupies the position of protagonist alongside Fry - who, like us, has a great admiration for her.
To contrast with her qualities and distance herself from stereotypes that female characters tend to reinforce, she was given the characteristic of being a Cyclops — which, throughout the series, ends up being just a detail. Being focused and full of determination, her role at Planet Express ends up being to put the demands in order and try to reconcile the chaotic energy of the team so that the work is delivered.
His first appearance in the series is in the pilot. 1×1 – Fry in the Year 3000 (Space Pilot 3000)
Bender
When thinking about Futurama, probably most people associate the series with the image of Bender, a totally drunk robot who lives off jokes and unpoliticized attitudes. Until then, he was voiced by John DiMaggio, but it's not yet certain that the actor will return for the revival. Creators, producers and fans are all hopeful that DiMaggio will sign on, but if he doesn't, there will be another voice actor for the character.
Lazy, alcoholic, apathetic and addicted to gambling, Bender Bending Rodriguez is the kind of rebellious and contrarian character who does everything to be hated, but who, in the end, captivates everyone with his humor and his unresolved feelings with the the very fact of feeling, even if it is a robot. Most of the time, his speech is full of hate and violence, but in reality, he loves to cook, listen to music and serve as a shoulder to go with if he's bored.
His first appearance in the series is in the pilot. 1×1 – Fry in the Year 3000 (Space Pilot 3000)
doctor John Zoidberg
Also voiced by Billy West — which gives hope that the character will also return for the revival — the half-lobster, half-alien dr zoidberg is the doctor of Planet Express. Although he is responsible for the health of the team, his medical training is dubious on many levels, which causes some comical situations to occur throughout the series.
Zoidberg is one of those characters that you either love or hate — it's usually the latter. He is extremely emotional and, at the same time, has disgusting habits, a factor that most of the time alienates people around him, including his few friends. On the other hand, he sees joy in everything and provides a good laugh with his weird way of being.
His first appearance in the series is in the episode 1×2 – A Trip to the Moon (The Series Has Landed)
Professor Farnsworth
“Good news, everyone!”
Billy West is also the voice actor for the professor and scientist. Hubert J. Farnsworth, so there's a good chance we'll see him again in the revival.
Ironically, the brilliant and wacky Professor Farnsworth is a distant nephew of Fry and, at the same time, his boss, since he is the owner of Planet Express, a company specializing in delivery services across the universe that was created in order to make Farnsworth's scientific experiments possible.
The scientist has the title of "Earth's Oldest Human" and could easily acquire the "Funniest Character", after all, his temper changes completely at the slightest provocation or inconvenience that happens and, from there, he yields good lines and jokes. sarcastic.
His first appearance in the series is in the pilot. 1×1 – Fry in the Year 3000 (Space Pilot 3000)
Hermes
by the voice of Phil LaMarr, Hermes Conrad presents himself as the person who loves responsibility and, at the same time, is the greatest Limbo champion there is. Organized and responsible, the Jamaican works as an accountant at Planet Express's Bureaucracy Central, but while he loves his job, he's not very close to the team, nor does he insist on intimacy - unless he is Professor Farnsworth, the person who comes closer to being a friend.
Consequently, he assumes the post of most boring character in the main core. His tirades are about making the other colleagues comply with rules and regulations and the comic scenes consist of showing how obsessed he is with bureaucracy. There was a period when the series introduced the family of Hermes in a few arcs, in addition to focusing on him in sporadic moments in order to win the audience. But the attempt failed and he remained uninteresting and somehow forgettable. The voice actor is one of the actors who will return for the new episodes of Futurama, we hope the creators will repackage the character and deliver a memorable version of Hermes.
His first appearance in the series is in the episode 1×2 – A Journey to the Moon (The Series Has Landed)
Amy
Amy Wong, dubbed by Lauren Tom, has one main role at Planet Express: being the darling of the team. Despite being flighty, she is the dedicated intern of the group studying engineering at Mars University and has great skills as a pilot - something that is totally ignored by Professor Farnsworth, as he only hired her because they share the same blood type, thinking that this should eventually save it in some emergency.
Presented as a spoiled and clumsy girl, Amy is actually the most developed character throughout the series. She acquires depth when it is revealed that she is the daughter of wealthy farmers on Mars and has a very difficult relationship with her parents, something that directly impacts her personality. Another point that makes her much more interesting is her love life: after delivering comical situations in her brief time spent with Fry, it is from her involvement with the supporting alien Kif Kroker that everything starts to mesh, as the charismatic couple delivers more scenes dynamic and very funny — it's almost impossible not to like them.
His first appearance in the series is in the episode 1×2 – A Journey to the Moon (The Series Has Landed)
Nibbler
The little Nibbler was found by Leela on a planet that was about to be mined and destroyed. So, amidst the chaos, she saved him and brought him to Earth as her pet. But appearances can be deceiving, and so are the Nibbler — although it has a very cute appearance, the pet eats animals that are three times its size. In addition, he is part of the Nibblon race, whose purpose in life is to preserve the existence of the entire universe.
To fulfill this mission, Nibbler acts ahead of his time and delivers important and unimaginable scenes for a character who was adopted as just a pet. Another curiosity is that at no time is Nibbler's real name revealed, a fact that ends up being one of the many enigmas of this animation that mixes humor and sci-fi in a unique way.
His first appearance in the series is in the episode 1×4 – Looking for a love (Love's Labors Lost in Space)
Futurama has seven seasons, the first five of which were broadcast by Fox and the last three by Comedy Central. All are available from the Star +. The revival produced by the streaming platform Hulu is expected to premiere in 2023.
Check out the trailer for Futurama – Bender's Big Score, one of the most memorable episodes of the animated series so far:
See also:
Access other content related to the matter here at Showmetech. About Futurama, check out more information at Futurama Revival Announced; series arrives in 2023!
Sources: IGN, Futurama Fandom e ScreenRant.
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