Futurama episode
"The Why of Fry"
Episode no.	64
Prod. code	4ACV10
Airdate	April 6, 2003
Writer(s)	David X. Cohen
Director	Wes Archer
Opening subtitle	Dancing Space Potatoes? You Bet!
Opening cartoon	Unknown
Guest star(s)	Bob Odenkirk, Frank Welker
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 Why of Fry" is the tenth episode in the fourth season of the animated television series Futurama. It originally aired in North America on April 6, 2003. Futurama is an Emmy Award-winning animated American sitcom created by Matt Groening, who also created The Simpsons, and developed by Groening and David X. Cohen for the Fox network. ... Image File history File links Futurama_ep64. ... is the 96th day of the year (97th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2003 (MMIII) was a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... David X. Cohen (born 1966), born David Samuel Cohen, is an American television writer. ... Wesley Wes Archer (born November 26, 1961) is a television animation director. ... Robert Bob Odenkirk (born October 22, 1962, in Naperville, Illinois) is an American actor, writer, director and producer. ... Franklin W. Welker (born February 16, 1945) is an American voice actor. ... 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 subject of this article may not satisfy the notability guideline for Television episodes. ... 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 Devil’s Hands are Idle Playthings is the 18th and final episode in season four of the TV series Futurama. ... The complete Futurama DVD collection The following is an episode list for the FOX animated television series Futurama. ... Animation refers to the process in which each frame of a film or movie is produced individually, whether generated as a computer graphic, or by photographing a drawn image, or by repeatedly making small changes to a model (see claymation and stop motion), and then photographing the result. ... A television program is the content of television broadcasting. ... Futurama is an Emmy Award-winning animated American sitcom created by Matt Groening, who also created The Simpsons, and developed by Groening and David X. Cohen for the Fox network. ... North America North America is a continent[1] in the Earths northern hemisphere and (chiefly) western hemisphere. ... is the 96th day of the year (97th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2003 (MMIII) was a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

Plot

Leela asks Fry to take care of Nibbler while she's on a date with Chaz, the mayor's aide. While walking Nibbler, Fry feels that he is useless, only to have Nibbler tell him otherwise. Nibbler knocks Fry out, drags him to his small spaceship, and takes him to Eternium. After being introduced to the Nibblonians, Fry's importance is revealed. He has a unique genetic disorder which has resulted in him lacking the Delta Brainwave due to him becoming his own grandfather. This rendered him immune to the attack of the Brainspawn a few months ago, an attack which no-one else on Earth remembers. Turanga Leela (referred to as simply Leela) is the primary female character in the animated television series Futurama. ... Philip J. Fry is the protagonist of the animated television series Futurama and is voiced by Billy West. ... Nibbler is a fictional character from the animated television series Futurama. ... The Hall of Forever, the monoliths (when translated) say Yummy Tummy in the two Alien Alphabets used in the show Eternium is the home planet of the Nibblonians, long-lived three-eyed aliens, in the TV series Futurama. ... Futuramas recurring characters: // a brain slug controlling Hermes The Brain Slugs are small, gelatinous, fist-sized aliens that attach themselves to human heads and act as mind control devices, reducing their hosts to a zombie-like state. ... Futuramas recurring characters: // a brain slug controlling Hermes The Brain Slugs are small, gelatinous, fist-sized aliens that attach themselves to human heads and act as mind control devices, reducing their hosts to a zombie-like state. ... The Day the Earth Stood Stupid is the seventh episode in season three of Futurama. ...

The Nibblonians reveal the Brainspawn's plan to collect all knowledge in the universe, and then destroy it. Fry, because of his immunity, is the only person who can stop them. The Nibblonians have made a 'Quantum Interface Bomb' which will send the InfoSphere into an alternate dimension forever, and Fry's mission is to implant it inside the InfoSphere. They bring Fry to the InfoSphere just as it collects the last data. It then opens to scan itself, the final piece of information. This is the only chance to get in. The Nibblonians send Fry in on the Scooty Puff Jr..

Fry arrives at the center of the sphere, rendered invisible by his genetic abnormality. He is about to activate the bomb, but realizes that while he is here, he can find the answers to any question in the universe. He asks questions about "postage for stamp glue" and "what killed the dinosaurs" to the Infosphere. He is discovered and the Brainspawn try to stop him, but his immunity protects him. He plants the bomb and tries to escape, but the Scooty Puff Jr. falls apart, trapping him. Fry is doomed to enter the alternate universe with the Brainspawn, but is glad that his life had a purpose: "leading good to victory over evil".

The Brainspawn question his motivation, suggesting that the Nibblonians are not as good as they appear. They offer to show Fry something that happened the night Fry was frozen on December 31st, 1999. It is revealed that Nibbler unbalanced the chair that Fry was sitting on that night, tipping him into the cryogenic chamber and bringing him to the future. Nibbler explains that Fry was the only person who could carry out the mission against the Brainspawn's Infosphere, but that he would have died of old age almost a thousand years before the mission was to take place, so they had to freeze him to bring him to the year 3,000, and save the entire universe. Fry does not disable the bomb and he and the Infosphere are sent to the alternate universe. Space Pilot 3000 is the first episode of Futuramas first season, which originally aired in North America on March 28, 1999. ...

Meanwhile, Chaz reserves the rocket ice rink specially for Leela, denying its use to the orphans who were supposed to visit the rink. Leela, having grown up as an orphan herself, tries to persuade Chaz to allow the orphans to use the ice rink, but he refuses. Leela realizes that Chaz abuses his position and completely ignores the needy. She shoves his badge in his mouth and leaves. Futuramas recurring characters: Spoiler warning: // 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. ...

In the other dimension the Brainspawn realize they can send only Fry back in time to stop Nibbler freezing him. Fry accepts their offer and is transported to the cryogenics lab. He appears behind Nibbler under the desk, just before his past self is frozen. He restrains Nibbler, who protests that Fry must be sent to the future to stop the Brainspawn. Fry assumes that Nibbler has traveled through time as well, but Nibbler explains that his people lack that ability, but are very long-lived, and Fry first met Nibbler when he was a thousand years older. Nibbler asks if there is anything he wants to save in the future and Fry realizes the only thing worth saving in the future is Leela. Fry mentions this to Nibbler, who mysteriously notes that Leela may be the 'Other', and advises Fry not to give up on her. He promises if Fry makes the right choice, back in the 31st century Nibbler will help Fry win Leela's heart. Fry gives in, and unbalances the chair himself, freezing his past self. Before he fades away, he yells "Just remember Scooty Puff Jr. sucks!". Nibbler then vows that "in a thousand years, I'll get right on it".

In the future, Fry escapes the InfoSphere on a Scooty Puff Sr. and Nibbler returns Fry to Earth, then blanks Fry's mind of what happened, but not before handing Fry a flower. Back at Planet Express, Fry gives Leela the flower. The episode ends with Leela giving Fry a kiss.

Continuity

David X. Cohen notes that he was particularly enthusiastic to write this episode because of how it tied into other episodes, feeling that it was something that was rarely done in sitcoms, particularly cartoons.^[1] He points out that the writing staff tried to tie as many episodes together as possible regardless of whether they were originally written with that intent. The episode contains flashbacks to the events of "Space Pilot 3000" when Fry is originally frozen. Cohen points out that Nibblers shadow is present in the pilot episode, a point which is explained in this episode, and that this was a plot point which was planned since the pilot. Jokes about the extreme mass of Nibbler's feces and mention of Vergon 6 call back to "Love's Labours Lost in Space".^[1] The planet Eternium, the Brainspawn and the delta brainwave concept were originally introduced in "The Day the Earth Stood Stupid".^[1] A joke about Fry becoming his own grandfather is also included, a reference to the events of "Roswell That Ends Well".^[1] Space Pilot 3000 is the first episode of Futuramas first season, which originally aired in North America on March 28, 1999. ... Loves Labours Lost in Space is the fourth episode in season one of Futurama. ... The Day the Earth Stood Stupid is the seventh episode in season three of Futurama. ... Roswell That Ends Well is the nineteenth episode of the third production season of the TV show Futurama. ...

Nibbler's and Fry's shadow from "The Why Of Fry"

Cohen also notes that in the episode "Jurassic Bark" a shot of Nibbler's third eye sticking out of a trash can is included as a reference to these events as well, an item which many fans had noticed.^[1] Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... The Why of Fry is the tenth episode in the fourth season of Futurama. ... Jurassic Bark is the seventh episode of season four of Futurama, airing November 17, 2002. ...

Production

David X. Cohen states in the episode commentary that he was eager to write this episode in part because it was something that had been discussed since the very beginning of the show. They had wanted to show that there was a larger conspiracy that had brought Fry to the future and notes on more than one occasion that this was something that had been planned since the pilot.^[1] Creator Matt Groening also notes that they had planned to hold off on using time travel plot lines until the series was better established.^[2] Cohen jokes that perhaps they should have explored this plot point earlier however since at the time the episode commentary was recorded it had become clear that the series would be ending. Cohen also thought it was important that the episode explored Fry's option of returning to the past and the question of whether he was happier in the past or in the future.^[1]

This episode contains a scene which re-enacts events from the pilot episode, "Space Pilot 3000", after they have been changed by the events of this episode. The episode is so similar to the pilot that the Animation director even jokes that the animators charged their time twice for the parts that were taken from the pilot.^[3] In actuality, some of Billy West's lines in this episode are taken directly from the voice track for the pilot, specifically Fry's lines as he enters Applied Cryogenics.^[1]

Broadcast and reception

IGN.com ranked the episode as number twenty in their list of the "Top 25 Futurama Episodes" in 2006 because while the episode was not the funniest episode in the series it had a fun story and was a "great continuation" to "The Day the Earth Stood Stupid"^[4]. IGN is the oldest and most visited general gaming website, and runs one of the most popular forums on the Internet. ...

Cultural references

• The InfoSphere constructed by the Brainspawn bears a striking resemblance to the Death Star from Star Wars: A New Hope.
• When Fry reveals his Quantum Interface Bomb to the Brainspawn, a panicked brain asks him if he is "insane in the membrane". This is a lyric from the song "Insane in the Brain" by Cypress Hill. The episode "Insane in the Mainframe" was also named after this lyric.
• When trapped in the alternate reality one of the brains suggests that they sing "American Pie" to which Fry says "Go ahead, I deserve it," insinuating that Fry thinks that "American Pie" would be apt punishment.
• When the Huge Brain explains how Fry can return to the past, a light cone diagram is shown on the display, used in general relativity to illustrate the past and future boundaries of an event.
• When the Nibblonians are telling Fry that he is very important, Fry incredulously asks "So the way I feel when I'm drunk is correct?". The Nibblonians reply: "Yes, except that the Dave Matthews Band doesn't rock".
• The flashing light Nibbler uses to erase Fry's memory is a reference to the movie Men in Black.
• After having his memory erased, Fry asks "Did everything just taste purple for a second?" This is a reference to synesthesia, a neurological condition that is characterized by the mixing of sensory input. Fry also demonstrates this condition when he smells the color blue in "Roswell That Ends Well".

The Death Star is a fictional planet-destroying superweapon as well as an enormous mobile military garrison in the Star Wars universe. ... This movie poster for Star Wars depicts many of the films important elements, such as Luke Skywalker, Princess Leia, Han Solo, X-Wing and Y-Wing fighters Star Wars, retitled Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope in 1981 (see note at Title,) is the original (and in chronological... Insane in the Brain was a hit single for the American hip-hop group Cypress Hill. ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ... “Insane in the Mainframe” is the eleventh episode in season three of Futurama. ... American Pie is an eight-and-a-half minute long classic rock song by singer-songwriter Don McLean, about the day the music died. Recorded in 1971 and released that year on the album of the same name, it was a number-one U.S. hit in 1972. ... In special relativity, a light cone is the pattern describing the temporal evolution of a flash of light in Minkowski spacetime. ... An illustration of a rotating black hole at the center of a galaxy General relativity (GR) (aka general theory of relativity (GTR)) is the geometrical theory of gravitation published by Albert Einstein in 1915/16. ... Dave Matthews Band (also known by the initialism DMB) is a United States rock band, originally formed in Charlottesville, Virginia, in 1991 by singer, songwriter, and guitarist Dave Matthews. ... Men in Black is a 1997 science fiction comedy action film directed by Barry Sonnenfeld, starring Tommy Lee Jones, Will Smith and Vincent DOnofrio. ... Synesthesia (also spelled synæsthesia or synaesthesia, plural synesthesiae or synaesthesiae)—from the Ancient Greek (syn), meaning with, and (aisthēsis), meaning sensation—is a neurologically based phenomenon in which stimulation of one sensory or cognitive pathway leads to automatic, involuntary experiences in a second sensory or cognitive pathway. ... Roswell That Ends Well is the nineteenth episode of the third production season of the TV show Futurama. ...

References

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The Why of Fry