Futurama episode
"The Devil’s Hands Are Idle Playthings"
Episode no.	72
Prod. code	4ACV18
Airdate	August 10, 2003
Writer(s)	Ken Keeler
Director	Bret Haaland
Opening subtitle	See you on some other channel
Opening cartoon	Futurama’s opening credits (infinite regression)
Guest star(s)	Dan Castellaneta as the Robot Devil
Season 4 January 2002 – August 2003
Kif Gets Knocked Up a Notch Leela's Homeworld Love and Rocket Less Than Hero A Taste of Freedom Bender Should Not Be Allowed on TV Jurassic Bark Crimes of the Hot Teenage Mutant Leela's Hurdles The Why of Fry Where No Fan Has Gone Before The Sting Bend Her Obsoletely Fabulous The Farnsworth Parabox Three Hundred Big Boys Spanish Fry The Devil's Hands are Idle Playthings
List of all Futurama episodes...

"The Devil’s Hands are Idle Playthings" is the eighteenth and final episode in season four of the TV series Futurama. It first aired in the United States on August 10, 2003, at which point it was the series finale. However, it was confirmed on June 22, 2006 that the show would be returning for a run of at least 13 episodes on Comedy Central, to air beginning in 2008.^[1] This episode was written by Ken Keeler and directed by Bret Haaland, and it guest stars Dan Castellaneta, who reprises his role as the Robot Devil. Keeler was nominated for an Emmy Award for this episode and the song "I Want My Hands Back" was nominated for an Annie Award. This article is about the television series. ... Image File history File links Futurama_ep72. ... is the 222nd day of the year (223rd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2003 (MMIII) was a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Keeler at the 2003 Writers Guild Awards, after winning in the animation category. ... Bret Haaland is an American animation director. ... Turtles all the way down refers to an infinite regression myth about the nature of the universe (see Cosmology). ... Daniel Louis Castellaneta (born October 29, 1957) is an Emmy award winning American voice actor, actor and comedian best known for providing the voice of Homer Simpson and other characters on the long-running FOX animated series The Simpsons. ... The complete Futurama DVD collection The following is an episode list for the FOX animated television series Futurama. ... Kif Gets Knocked Up A Notch is the first episode in season four of Futurama. ... Leelas Homeworld is the second episode of Futuramas fourth season. ... ‹ The template below (Unreferenced episode) is being considered for deletion. ... Less Than Hero is the fourth episode in the fourth season of Futurama. ... A Taste of Freedom is the fifth episode of the fourth production season of Futurama. ... ‹ The template below (Unreferenced episode) has been proposed for deletion. ... Jurassic Bark is the seventh episode of season four of Futurama, airing November 17, 2002. ... “Crimes of the Hot” is the eighth episode of the fourth production season of the television show Futurama. ... The subject of this article may not satisfy the notability guideline for Television episodes. ... The Why of Fry is the tenth episode in the fourth season of the animated television series Futurama. ... Where No Fan Has Gone Before is the eleventh episode of the fourth season of the animated series Futurama. ... The Sting is episode twelve in season four of Futurama. ... Bend Her is the thirteenth episode of the fourth production season of Futurama. ... Obsoletely Fabulous is the fourteenth episode of the fourth production season of Futurama. ... “The Farnsworth Parabox” is the fifteenth episode of the fourth production season of Futurama. ... This article or section does not cite any references or sources. ... Spanish Fry is the seventeenth episode of Season four of Futurama. ... The complete Futurama DVD collection The following is an episode list for the FOX animated television series Futurama. ... This article is about the television series. ... is the 222nd day of the year (223rd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2003 (MMIII) was a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... A series finale is the very last installment of a television series, usually a sitcom or drama. ... is the 173rd day of the year (174th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2006 (MMVI) was a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Comedy Central is an American cable television and satellite television channel in the United States. ... Keeler at the 2003 Writers Guild Awards, after winning in the animation category. ... Bret Haaland is an American animation director. ... Daniel Louis Castellaneta (born October 29, 1957) is an Emmy award winning American voice actor, actor and comedian best known for providing the voice of Homer Simpson and other characters on the long-running FOX animated series The Simpsons. ... An Emmy Award. ... The Annie Awards are given to an animation award show created by the International Animated Film Society ASIFA-Hollywood, and are animations highest honor[1]. Originally designed to celebrate lifetime or career contributions to animation in the fields of producing, directing, animation, design, writing, voice acting, sound and sound...

Plot

After a holophonor recital, Fry enlists the help of the Robot Devil to improve his holophonor skills through a hand transplant. After randomly determining the robot “donor,” Fry’s hands are switched for those of the Robot Devil. Fry becomes a skilled holophonor player and attempts to win the heart of Leela with an opera commissioned by Hedonism-Bot. Fry playing the holophonor in the episode The Devils Hands Are Idle Playthings. ... Philip J. Fry is the protagonist of the animated television series Futurama and is voiced by Billy West. ... Futuramas recurring robot characters: // Boxy Boxy is a crude, Dalek-like robot similar to the Gonk droid from Star Wars, that is capable of communicating only by beeping. ... Turanga Leela (often referred to simply as Leela) (born A.D. 2975) is the primary female character in the animated television series Futurama. ... Futuramas recurring robot characters: // Boxy Boxy is a crude, Dalek-like robot similar to the Gonk droid from Star Wars, that is capable of communicating only by beeping. ...

The Robot Devil decides he has to get his own hands back. He trades Bender a stadium air horn for his "crotch-plate" so that he can annoy people. When Bender uses the air horn on Leela, he causes her to go deaf. Leela refuses to tell Fry that she is deaf because she is afraid that Fry will be unhappy, so she attends the opera as though she can still hear the performance. During the intermission, the Robot Devil offers Leela robotic ears (which previously belonged to Calculon) in exchange for her hand. Bender, full name Bender Bending Rodríguez or designated Bending Unit 22, is a fictional robot character in the animated television series Futurama. ... This article or section is in need of attention from an expert on the subject. ... Calculon is a recurring character on the animated television series Futurama. ...

The Robot Devil interrupts the opera and demands that Fry give back his hands. When Fry refuses, the devil says that he will take Leela’s hand in marriage. After a musical conflict Fry decides that he has no choice but to trade the Robot Devil’s hands back for his own. With his own hands, Fry can no longer play the holophonor, and the remainder of the opera is terrible. Everyone in the audience leaves, except for Leela who asks that he not stop playing, as she wants to “hear how it ends.” The finale of Fry’s opera shows a very crudely animated Fry and Leela kissing, then walking into the distance hand-in-hand.

Continuity

The main plot of the episode stems from the events of the earlier episode "Parasites Lost" including the holophonor and Fry's belief that learning to play the holophonor would make Leela fall in love with him. During the episode Fry occasionally makes reference to the worms which had infested him during that time. Parasites Lost is the 2nd episode in series 3 of Futurama. ...

As the production crew was aware that this was likely to be the final episode of the series they made efforts to include a large number of the characters which had appeared throughout the show. One notable instance of this is the wheel which The Robot Devil spins to decide what hands Fry will receive. All names on the wheel are of robot characters which had previously appeared in one or more episodes. Futuramas recurring robot characters: // Boxy Boxy is a crude, Dalek-like robot similar to the Gonk droid from Star Wars, that is capable of communicating only by beeping. ...

Production

While this episode may not have been conceived as the final episode of the series^[2] the production crew did include references to the series likely ending as the show had not been renewed by the end of production. The episode’s opening subtitle was “See You On Some Other Channel”, referring to the broadcast syndication that many shows enter after conclusion as this was the last episode at the time of production. In 2006 with the announcement that Futurama would be picked up by Comedy Central^[1] this tag became true after three years. Also the screen that the Planet Express Ship crashes into during the opener displays the Planet Express Ship crashing into the screen, resulting briefly in an infinite regression of the same animation. This was done due to a desire to do something special for the series finale, and presumably to play on the fact that the cartoon was now finished and could be lumped in with the other old animation clips that had been used previously.^{[citation needed]} The crew was aware when writing the episode that there was a 50/50 chance the show would not be renewed^{[citation needed]} and in the audio commentary it is stated that there was a concerted effort to include the entire cast of the show and also just about all the recurring characters. This episode features more characters that had previously appeared than any other. Notably absent, however, are Kif Kroker and Amy's parents. In broadcasting, syndication is the sale of the right to broadcast radio shows and television shows to multiple stations, without going through a broadcast network. ... Comedy Central is an American cable television and satellite television channel in the United States. ... The Planet Express Ship is a fictional spaceship in the animated series Futurama. ... Turtles all the way down refers to an infinite regression myth about the nature of the universe (see Cosmology). ... Lieutenant Kif L. Kroker is a fictional character in the animated television show Futurama. ... Futuramas recurring human characters: // In the episode A Big Piece of Garbage, Ron Popeil, his severed head floating in a large jar, mentions several of his inventions including the (fictional) technology to keep human heads alive in jars, implicitly arresting the aging process. ...

Due to the ending of the series and Katey Sagal's role in 8 Simple Rules there was difficulty in recording the final line of the series. In the audio commentary it is stated that this single line took nearly six months to record. The Futurama Season Four DVD also includes a hidden featurette of a table reading of the script for this episode. Katey Sagal (born Catherine Louise Sagal on January 19, 1954)[1] is a Golden Globe-nominated American actress, singer, and writer, best known for her roles in Futurama, 8 Simple Rules, and Married. ... 8 Simple Rules (originally known as 8 Simple Rules for Dating My Teenage Daughter) is an American television sitcom that originally aired on ABC from 2002 to 2005. ... Celluloid media Featurette is a term used in the American film industry to designate a film of approximately 3-4 reels length, or about 20-44 minutes in running time - thus midway between a short subject and a feature film; thus it is a small feature (ette is a common...

Broadcast and reception

Writer Ken Keeler was nominated for an Emmy Award in 2004 (for Outstanding Music and Lyrics) for this episode (specifically, for the song “I Want My Hands Back”) and for an Annie Award for "Music in an Animated Television Production".^[3] The episode is considered by many fans to be one of the best episodes in the series' history and was ranked number 16 on IGN's list of the top 25 Futurama episodes in 2006.^[4] Science Fiction Weekly rated the episode as their "A Pick" for its original airing in 2003.^[2] Dan Castellaneta's performance as the Robot Devil in this episode along with the episode "Hell is Other Robots" was described as a "bravura appearance". ^[5] Keeler at the 2003 Writers Guild Awards, after winning in the animation category. ... An Emmy Award. ... The Annie Awards are given to an animation award show created by the International Animated Film Society ASIFA-Hollywood, and are animations highest honor[1]. Originally designed to celebrate lifetime or career contributions to animation in the fields of producing, directing, animation, design, writing, voice acting, sound and sound... For other uses, see IGN (disambiguation). ... In classical music, a bravura is a virtuostic passage intended to show off the skill of a performer, generally as a solo, and often in a cadenza. ...

Cultural references

In keeping with the episode’s focus on classical music (and particularly, opera), the plot is loosely based on the story of Faust,^[6] the story upon which several famous operas are based. Additionally, the episode’s climax mirrors that of the opera Pagliacci, in which the distinction between the actors’ performance and their real lives becomes blurred. Also featured in the episode is the music of Ravel (Boléro) and Beethoven (“Für Elise”). In addition, the Opera scene in which Leela, Fry and Bender fight Godzilla is reminiscent of Siegfried's fight against Fafnir in Siegfried. Also, the Robot Devil's method of surprising Bender by leaping from the fridge recalls the actions of Rorschach while on his first visit to Moloch's apartment in the second chapter of Watchmen by Alan Moore. Classical music is a broad, somewhat imprecise term, referring to music produced in, or rooted in the traditions of, European art, ecclesiastical and concert music, encompassing a broad period from roughly 1000 to the present day. ... For other uses, see Opera (disambiguation). ... For other uses, see Faust (disambiguation). ... Cover of the first edition of Pagliacci published by E. Sonzogno, Milan, 1892 Pagliacci (Clowns) is an opera consisting of a prologue and two acts written and composed by Ruggero Leoncavallo. ... Maurice Ravel. ... Boléro is a one-movement orchestral piece by Maurice Ravel. ... Ludwig van Beethoven Ludwig van Beethoven (baptized December 17, 1770 – March 26, 1827) was a German composer of Classical music, the predominant musical figure in the transitional period between the Classical and Romantic eras. ... Für Elise (German for For Elise) is the popular name of the Bagatelle in A minor, WoO 59, a piece of music for solo piano by Ludwig van Beethoven, written approximately in 1810. ... This article is about the character itself. ... Siegfried could refer to: The opera by Richard Wagner; see Siegfried (opera). ... Fáfnir guards the gold hoard in this illustration by Arthur Rackham to Richard Wagners Siegfried. ... Siegfried is the third of the four operas that comprise Der Ring des Nibelungen (The Ring of the Nibelung), by Richard Wagner. ... Rorschach (pronounced Ror-shock) is a fictional character, a superhero featured in the acclaimed 1986 DC Comics series Watchmen. ... Moloch the Mystic, real name Edward Jacobi, is a fictional character in the 1987 graphic novel Watchmen. ... For other uses, see Watchman. ... For other persons named Alan Moore, see Alan Moore (disambiguation). ...

References

Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to:

The Devil's Hands are Idle Playthings

Image File history File links This is a lossless scalable vector image. ... Wikiquote is one of a family of wiki-based projects run by the Wikimedia Foundation, running on MediaWiki software. ... is the 173rd day of the year (174th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2006 (MMVI) was a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2006 (MMVI) was a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... is the 173rd day of the year (174th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... is the 216th day of the year (217th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2003 (MMIII) was a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2007 (MMVII) is the current year, a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar and the AD/CE era in the 21st century. ... is the 162nd day of the year (163rd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2007 (MMVII) is the current year, a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar and the AD/CE era in the 21st century. ... is the 179th day of the year (180th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2006 (MMVI) was a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... is the 308th day of the year (309th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ...

External link

• The Devil's Hands are Idle Playthings at the Internet Movie Database