(S01E10) If you watch this episode along with the rest of Season One's set, you might think that this one is a bit on the snappy side, with the jokes coming at a bit of a faster pace than on previous episodes.

There's a reason for that; for the first time, there are more than a couple of stories going on at once, something that David Cohen acknowledged in the DVD commentary to this episode. You've got Leela using Fry to try and get away from Zapp Branigan, Amy using Fry to satisfy her parents, Hermes returning to his limboing roots, Zapp arrogantly steering the Titanic off course into a "swarm of comets," according to his first mate Kif, and Bender falling in love with the Countess de la Roca. Quite a bit for one episode; it's almost Seinfeld-ian in scope, which is something that the brain trust mentions in the commentary.

Now, just like David Cohen and Matt Groening, I am among the five people left on planet Earth who haven't seen Titanic, but I got 95% of this episode's riffs on the movie. My favorite joke was the Fiesta Deck, a deck so low that it's below the engine room. When Fry opens what he thinks is a porthole, he's blasted by nuclear exhaust. Of course, there are also some swipes at The Love Boat -- loved it when iZac the bartender mixed Bender a cocktail of Jägermeister and Penzoil -- and lots of fun back-and-forth between Zapp and Kif.

We're introduced to a lot of characters in this episode. We see Amy's parents, the Wongs, who are apparently very wealthy and like to interfere in their daughter's life. "We were planning on enjoying a relaxing vacation. But since you're here, we'll have to do some meddling," says Mr. Wong after Amy runs into the two of them on board the ship. Then we have Hemes' wife LaBarbara; she looks like she's about a foot taller than he is.

Oh, speaking of Hermes, let me give you this week's edition of...

Billy West's take: I enjoyed that because it was another little facet of the gang that was being unraveled. Hermes is such a great character, and it's so understated, and Phil LaMarr plays it beautifully. It's like "How Hermes Requisitions His Groove." (When I mention the musical nature of this episode... mocking the Titanic score) You know what, I loved all the musicals. Any episode that had a musical were my favorites. Ken Keeler and I think Christopher Tyng was involved in the orchestration, and... it was perfect.

Some other notes on the episode:

• Fox held back the last four episodes of Season One and aired them beginning in the fall of 1999. So, while this episode is the 10th episode of what the producers consider their Season One, this is actually the first episode of what Fox considers the show's second season. Got that?
• Billy West really outdid himself as Zapp this time around, especially inserting extra syllables on the ends of sentences. For instance, Zapp sees Leela kiss Fry but tells her, "I just want you to know I'll be there t score you on the rebound." He pronounces "rebound" as "re-bound-duh". Classic.
• I liked the fact that the Countess was so heavy, mainly because of her hoop-skirted dress. She's also a class-3 yacht, which came in handy after Bender tried to rescue her.
• As they board, Leela introduces Zapp to Fry, saying Fry's her fiance. But Zapp and Fry met during the episode "Love's Labours Lost in Space", which surprisingly wasn't acknowledged in the DVD commentary. Maybe it's just a fun but of Simpsons-style plot inconsistency.
• Oh, and the magnetic bow tie Bender wore did not scramble his inhibtion circuit, as was established early on, because, well... let's just say David Cohen gave a very creative reason: the magnet only affects him if it's on his head or neck, not his chest. Uh, ok, David...