Ok, I guess this should start with a couple disclaimers:
- I am not a Futurama expert, but I have seen every episode multiple times
- I do not include the (awesome) movies in this list
- I wanted to include the first two episodes in the list, but then I decided people that those who want to get into the series should start with them first. “Space Pilot 3000” and “The Series Has Landed” help introduce the viewer to the characters and Futurama’s sense of humor.
All that being said, let’s get into it. The list which is ordered chronologically by air date, includes all of what made Futurama such a great program: sci-fi, humor, drama, satire and character development. Now, I’d tell you that you should see every episode, but this list might be a good place to start.
1. A Fishful of Dollars
Fry discovers his bank account, thanks to the power of compound interest over 1000 years, raised the balance from 93 cents to $4.3 billion.
2. War is the H-Word
Fry and Bender join the military to get a discount on gum, and are immediately deployed to fight a war.
3. Roswell That Ends Well
The crew travels back in time and discover what really happened in Roswell. The time travel element is executed in such a fun way in this episode.
4. The Why of Fry
Fry discovers something about his origin while fighting to stop the Brains from destroying the Universe.
5. The Devil’s Hands are Idle Playthings
One of my personal favorite episodes. Every good show needs a music episode, and Futurama does it well by including the Robot Devil. Fry trades hands with the ruler of Robot Hell in order to write in opera to impress Leela
6. Benderama
Bender learns he can shrink and duplicate himself to get out of work. His characteristic selfishness leads to chaos.
7. Tip of the Zoidberg
An episode that answers the age-old question, why does The Professor (my favorite character) keep Dr. Zoidberg around?
8. Reincarnation
Futurama does segmented episodes so well, two of them made it on this list. Sorry fans, Anthology of Interest Parts 1 and 2 didn’t make it this time. Reincarnation re-imagines the crew in three different mediums: old fashioned black and white cartoon, a classic video game, and a Japanese anime.
9. Saturday Morning Fun Pit
The second segmented episode on the list, this one shows the crew as classic cartoons, with Earth President Richard Nixon at the helm.
10. Meanwhile
The final episode of Futurama, and I won’t say much about it. This is one you must watch if you’re a fan of this show. I’ll say it explores the use of a 10-second time machine, and is one of the finest finales of all time.
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