Futurama canceled (again)

Oh Futurama: The show too beautiful to live. Yes, it's true. After returning from the dead twice, Futurama has been canceled. It's sadder than the death of Fry's loyal dog, yet as easily predicted as Professor Farnsworth's choice of footwear.

Futurama struggled when it first went on the air. It premiered on FOX's Sunday night lineup on March 28, 1999, just three months after the premiere of Family Guy. Both shows were bolstered by the then-strong ratings of The Simpsons, and both shows struggled initially to find their fanbase. It's hard to believe now, but at the time, Family Guy was too raunchy and outre for most people, whereas Futurama was too nerdy.

Futurama had a gorgeous palette, a knack for complex world-building, solid story-telling skills, and was packed with hilarious tiny grace notes (like the way the future is infested by spotted owls). Futurama was canceled by FOX in 2003, despite its strong fan following. It returned to the small screen on Comedy Central in 2006 in a series of feature-length shows. After the success of the movies, Comedy Central decided to revive the show in its original half-hour sitcom format.

I would venture to say we have never seen a show like Futurama, and we never will. Its executive producer David X. Cohen has degrees in both physics and computational science, and he brought that scientific mindset to the show, which has had more amazing (and scientifically accurate) moments than you can easily list. (Including a real-life mathematical theorem cooked up by show writer Ken Keeler, who has a PhD in applied mathematics.)

Futurama was a smart show, a funny show, and a beautiful show. The complex mechanics of the relationship between Fry and Leela - its evolution, as well as its many ups and downs - is one of the most powerful things you'll find in contemporary television, not to mention animation as a whole.

Pour a little Slurm out on the curb for Futurama.

Image courtesy Flickr/Zim2411