Whenever something that ended a few years ago suddenly gets a reboot announced, usually for a small direct to streaming deal, I have zero faith in it ever amounting to the prior quality it is likely known for. Reboots, remakes, spin-offs, each of these tends to be a bit lackluster in some way, particularly for shows that were created under a completely different era. To say this about Futurama seems a bit strange, but the realisation of how much society has changed in just five years alone is enough to recognise that Futurama came at during a very different world. Matt Groeing's work hasn't been all that interesting as of late, either. The Simpsons has absolutely lost its way with many poor choices; Disenchantment was just average. The chances at a reboot of Futurama having any sort of success seemed incredibly low. So much so, that once I heard it was to receive a reboot, I completely forgot about it the following day. In fact, I'm not even sure when Futurama's new season started airing. It managed to completely pass me until now, to which my curiosity got the best of me with my recent viewings of various animated shows both new and old.
The first sign that things couldn't possibly be that bad was seeing the majority of the original cast returning. A good sign that ultimately the original talent felt they could relive their prior roles of the Futurama characters while ensuring it remains faithful to what made it such an enjoyable show to begin with. But even so, I went in still with incredibly low expectations. Thus far, I have actually been quite surprised by it. It still feels very much like Futurama, with very few changes. As if it never really ended in the first place. Though, this season appears to have a bit of a structure to it that may imply it's a one-off thing, with no additional seasons to come. Thus far, it has only received an order of 20 episodes, supposedly split over what they'd consider two seasons (but not really given the order amount meaning they're already made).
A small heads-up, but this post will contain a few spoilers just due to the nature of the show's reboot where some narrative takes place. Though the episodes thus far appear to have no connection to each other for the most part, much like the show's original idea. That said, it's likely there will be something that could be considered a spoiler by accident or just intentionally. Read if you don't care, don't read if you do care.
Futurama
The first thing I noticed with Futurama's reboot was how good the animation is. The show looks like it never went anywhere in terms of its visuals. The colour palette is the same. The characters look completely the same. The style is the same. The animation itself has not changed at all. This is by far one of the main things I have enjoyed so far simply due to how authentic and caring it is to the original series. I mentioned before that The Simpsons had changed, and it has done so in animation to such an awful level. I had fears that Futurama would experience the same fate, and I'm so glad it hasn't! I binged through a few episodes and didn't notice a single dip in quality with the animation. If you have read any of my posts on animated shows as of late, you'd know that I have often complained about the state of the animation industry, and how it seems to not really care for quality anymore. This reboot certainly proves that some still care, and that what was possible and popular before still is achievable. A massive budget isn't necessary, but passion certainly is.
Next up are the episodes and stories themselves: Futurama pulls its characters back with a dimension in which time has remained frozen. In another dimension, Fry and Leela are happy and old together, offered another run around life. The two agree, to which they're pulled back into youth to seemingly so the whole set of adventures all over again. This is where I mentioned that I feel the show might actually have some sort of main story to conclude sooner or later, but as of now it doesn't appear to be pursuing it. For now, it's all about fun adventures and silliness. These stories seem alright for the most part, nothing out of the ordinary for Futurama, but I did notice a few stories here and there that had some annoying references. Again, nothing out of the ordinary for Futurama; but I just hate crypto references in shows and films. One episode is entirely about bitcoin mining. I can't say I enjoyed it all that much, but this is the small price to pay for a show that tells a different story each episode. Some are great, some are good, some are bad. And, well, some you just won't like one bit. Yet, I like it this way.
With the original voice actors playing their roles, all of the characters feel themselves. They don't appear to have changed at all, and again this is a major plus in the weird era we are now in with entertainment media. It still feels a little offensive, not afraid to make certain jokes, or to highlight a character's stupid or cruel nature. And I'm really happy that the show isn't overplaying any of their returns. They sort of just appear and go about their actions as they originally did, no grand reveal or pulling at the nostalgia with some over the top return in which the show is focusing on them. I'm really glad they went with this. It really does feel like Futurama! But I am curious as to how the show will address character development, or if there really will be any. With the current show's episode order, I feel that character development may already be done from the original series, and we'll just see a few short episodes of fun adventures before some more dramatic conclusion to yet again tie things up. I can see this happening, and I'm not sure how I feel about it. Part of me wants these characters to stick around more, part of me knows that they've actually already had their time.
Regardless, I'm having a lot of fun watching it so far. I don't really have any problems with it, and it's a big surprise to see how decent it actually is. Of course, this is certainly due to the original cast appearing and ensuring their characters get the support they deserve. It's a rarity these days, and I think this reboot is a rare case of a reboot actually being done properly. Whether it can maintain the quality or not, I can't say. But I'll be watching the show to see what happens, ready for anything. As the show's great appeal provides.
