The term “geek” used to refer to a discernible group of characters, and they clung to each other under that word like it was one giant Enterprise-shaped umbrella. But things changed, and time, the Internet and the growth of niche fandom drove them apart – the pop culture equivalent to Darwin’s finches. Now the geek’s tastes widely vary and often conflict with those of other geeks. Authenticity belongs to nobody and everybody. As a Buffy geek, my monthly trip to Midtown Comics is met with scoffs when I approach the register with nothing but the latest issue of the show’s comic continuation. I, in turn, scowl at the unattractive, middle-aged men pawing at sexually explicit copies of manga. It’s hard to believe we have any common ground, but the 21st century brought a cultural flypaper that seemed to appeal to those from all walks of geekdom: Futurama.
Though it was canceled a few years back, their reward for an estimated $100+ million in DVD sales and nailing key demographics on Cartoon Network is four films to be released on DVD and then broken up into 16 episodes that will air on Comedy Central. The initial fruits of their labor, Bender’s Big Score, came out two weeks ago, and though I’ve always been more of a passive fan, the idea of new Futurama was enough to make me shell out $24.99.
So here’s the thing that I didn’t actually know about Futurama: the people who write it are smart – crazy smart. They have PhDs in Chemistry and Math and MAs in Computer Science and Philosophy. What they’ve created in the past, and in this film in particular, is a comedic look at science and the future – but with correctly placed four dollar words and legitimate scientific principals. This was one of their biggest successes in developing a cult following, but for me, it is the biggest problem with this new offering. The time travel theme that the story hinges on gets so repetitive, convoluted and confusing it made me not want to pay attention. I probably missed a lot of funny in the process. Bender’s Big Score isn’t bad. As a stand-alone episode of the series, it might actually be great, but as a long-anticipated 88-minute film, it’s just kind of a disappointment. So if you’re considering picking up a copy or making it a last minute addition to your Christmas list, I have to advise against it. Futurama is best enjoyed on the medium it’s most familiar with.