Written by Caballero Oscuro 

Good news, everyone! The Planet Express crew is back in business and they’re better than ever. With the direct-to-DVD release of Futurama - Bender’s Big Score, fans have four completely new episodes that have been combined into one glorious full-length feature presentation. Unlike the common approach of using clumsy bridging sequences to tie episodes together into one narrative, the new DVD episodes really feel like one cohesive project that can best be enjoyed as a feature-length movie. The episodes will eventually be split for airing on TV, but the DVD is clearly the optimal viewing choice, especially considering the wealth of bonus material included.

The new feature starts off with some ruthless jabs at Fox management, similar to the Family Guy rebirth that famously had them rattling off the names of all the dozens of crappy shows Fox had launched and cancelled since their original demise. In Futurama’s case, they’ve been shut down by the idiotic Box Network (with some faulty wiring in their neon “B” sign) shipping conglomerate but get a second chance when a new group of morons take control of the company. On their first new mission, they fall prey to some crafty alien e-mail spammers who take over Planet Express and launch a virus in Bender that places him under their control. When the aliens subsequently discover the secret to time travel from the unwitting Fry, they plot to steal and amass all of the world’s greatest treasures with the assistance of Bender. This sets off some amusing and increasingly mind-bending misadventures in time travel that temporarily send Fry back to the year 2000, a nice nod to the original series premiere episode. Along the way, there are some romantic sparks between Fry and Leela, some thwarted heroics by Nibbler and friends, and a subplot that finds Hermes decapitated and sloppily reassembled while he fights to keep his wife. In short, there’s never a dull moment on this funny ride through the future and past.