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Futurama: The Beast With a Billion Backs - DVD Review
by Brad Trechak, posted Jun 9th 2008 2:39PM
Thanks to the extreme generosity of Fox Home Entertainment, TV Squad has scored an advance copy of the latest direct-to-DVD Futurama release titled The Beast With A Billion Backs. Previously, we directed you to another DVD review of the show, but now this one is ours! All ours! MWA HA HA HA!A-hem.
The second direct-to-DVD release of Futurama is a fun movie with loads of extras that make the purchase worth it. They include outtakes, deleted scenes, commentary tracks, and an extra I particularly enjoyed: a "Lost Episode" made from a Futurama video game (which was a bit like watching a video game demo, but with jokes). The DVD also comes with a preview of the next Futurama DVD release which looks to be a satire of Lord of the Rings. Guest voices include Brittany Murphy as Fry's new girlfriend, David Cross as the planet-sized Yivo and Professor Stephen Hawking as himself.
Spoilers after the jump...The story begins with a tear in space opening right near the Earth. Then they go to a Steamboat Willie tribute using the Futurama characters. This is an homage I've seen on other animated shows but is nonetheless effective with Matt Groening and David X. Cohen's crew behind it.
Fry begins dating a woman named Colleen whom we later learn has her own harem. Fry finds himself unable to share the love and breaks up with Colleen as a result (despite having amorous feelings towards her).
In the rip lives Yivo, a giant alien with many tentacles. We later learn exactly what the tentacles are (if two people having sex is "The Beast With Two Backs," then...you get the idea). The only good news is that he puts the tentacles in the back of the neck rather than any other part of the anatomy.
Fry becomes Yivo's representative on Earth (in the form of a Space-Pope) and preaches the surrender of free will and acceptance of Yivo's tentacular glory. The only beings immune to Yivo's influence (and unable to enter the space tear into Yivo's domain) are the robots, including Bender.
Other sub-plots include the wedding of Kif and Amy and Bender's admission into the super-secret society called the League of Robots. Kif is killed in an attack against Yivo led by Zapp Brannigan and eventually is resurrected by Yivo himself (although not until after Amy has rebound sex with Zapp). On a side note, it was nice to see Zapp and Kif have such a large role in this story after being reduced to cameos in Bender's Big Score.
As with the last DVD movie, there were callbacks to the four seasons of the show, including the space-faring Harlem Globetrotters and the Amazon Women of Pazuzu (whose love of snu-snu makes them perfect for this tale). Robot Satan (voiced by Dan Castellaneta) also makes a cameo leading to a hilarious scene involving Bender's first born ("No backsies!").
If I were to give a theme to this story, it would be relationships. The show has decidedly taken a more adult bent since its return from cancellation. In fact, this DVD is probably as close to an episode of Sex And The City as Futurama can get. All the plotlines were about love and sex and relationships. There was Fry and Colleen, Fry and Leela (to a limited, subtle degree), Kif and Amy, Amy and Zapp, Bender and nobody, and Yivo and everybody (the ultimate polyamorous relationship).
I enjoyed this DVD, but not as much as Bender's Big Score. I suspect it's because I enjoyed the in-jokes of the first movie. However, this one still represents a solid effort by the crew and is likely more accessible to the general public. It may even be the best way currently available to introduce new viewers to Futurama.
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