Futurama: Bender’s Big Score (2007)

(On DVD, May 2008) The futurama gang is back from cancellation in style with the first of four feature-length episodes. After an opening sequence featuring a number of jokes at the expense of the “Box Network” executives that grounded the crew, the subsequent story tackles the binary incantation for time travel, evil aliens, Bender’s insatiable appetite for the cool crime of robbery and makes another trip to Fry’s last moments in 1999. Even Al Gore makes a return appearance. Some of the jokes feel a bit forced, but if you already love Futurama, there’s little else to add here: it’s a good extended episode, and the sheer joy of seeing another bit of the smartest SF cartoon series ever produced will do much to enhance the experience. Don’t miss the Math lesson hidden in the DVD supplements, or the Hypnotoad episode.