ven though Fox has canceled this masterful sci-fi satire, fans of Futurama (and would-be fans who might not have had the chance to see much of the show during its run, given Fox's incredibly erratic airing of it over the past couple of years) can take solace in the fact that the adventures of the Planet Express crew continue to survive on DVD.
With this second volume of discs, Futurama grows into an even richer comedic series. A few of the episodes introduce characters that make appearances in later installments—like the maniacal Richard Nixon's head and Professor Farnsworth's snotty little clone, Cubert—while others bring back some stellar minor characters from earlier episodes—like the iconically belligerent aliens from outer space, the Omicrons, and Mom, the foul-mouthed and despotic robot industry magnate. The gasbag of machismo that is Captain Zapp Brannigan—and his hapless first officer, Kiff—also feature prominently in a couple of stories.
The Planet Express principals also develop in some marvelous directions—many of them romantic—in this set. Dr. Zoidberg looks to get his chitinous freak on (in "Why Must I Be a Crustacean in Love," which has some great "Amok Time" references), Leela falls for someone who may be the last male of her species ("A Bicyclops Built for Two," with props to Sagal's former identity on Married with Children), and Fry hooks up with no less than three members of the opposite sex (mostly) in these episodes—co-worker Amy Wong, a mermaid from the lost city of Atlanta and his ex-girlfriend from the year 1999!
Of course, everyone's favorite supremely rude and amoral robot, Bender, gets his fair share of screen time, too. Episodes like "Raging Bender," in which the bombastic bending unit enters the world of professional wrestling (only to be turned into "The Gender Bender") and "The Honking," a horror genre spoof, are just more examples of the great wit and superlative storytelling this genre series achieved in its too-brief run.
Fun and satire in the far future
The packaging of this box set is pretty much the same as Volume One. Slim individual cases house each of the discs, which are in turn bound in two snazzy slipcases, all of which are covered in lots of that great Futurama art. The main difference in this set's packaging is in the top menus, which (unlike those on Volume One) are animated. Some of the submenus are also a bit different, with things like "Bender Vision(tm)" welcoming viewers to the special-features menus.
Nearly all of the episodes have at least one deleted scene, though most of these are only a few seconds, or one or two jokes, long. The "Concept Art Still Gallery" isn't nearly as interesting as Volume One's, and there's no featurette here, but there are a few extras on this set that are unique—like a translation key for the alien alphabet that shows up throughout the series, a selection of the farcical "sponsor" spots and clips of Futurama dubbed in different languages, which can be fascinating if for no other reason than to hear how various characters are voiced.
The full-length commentary that exists for all of the episodes is just as fun as it is in Volume One, what with all the obscure geek references and tales of ridiculous censors and evil Fox executives. Creator Matt Groening and executive producer David X. Cohen are the mainstays again, with various writers, directors and other production staff joining in here and there. And even though the ever-lively John DiMaggio again represents the show's voice actors the most on the commentary, Billy West does seem to show up for more episodes this time around.
Volume Two is more expensive than its predecessor, but viewers get what they pay for—six more episodes than in Volume One. What's here is at least as good, at least as multifariously entertaining, as what's on the first set. Fortunately, it looks as though more Futurama DVDs loom in the land of tomorrow.
