“I can conceive of gravies that would boggle your tiny mind! But it’s not safe here.“ – Bender
Even though there’s still one more episode set to air of this latest season of Futurama, this week’s hijinks are meant to serve as the canonical season finale. Having been produced prior to the show’s renewal, “Overclockwise” joins a growing list of episodes that could have served as the series finale, and so provides the right amount of closure interspersed amongst the hilarity.
This week’s episode reacquaints us with a few fan favorites, including Mom, Nibbler, and Cubert, the Professor’s clone. After getting fed up with Bender’s outdated software, Cubert over-clocks the robot’s circuitry and makes him an online-gaming pro. Harkening back to the South Park episode, “HUMANCENTiPAD,” – though with markedly less disturbing implications – Cubert’s mild tinkering with a product that he owns violates the Terms of Agreement that the Professor had to agree to in order for Bender to bend things. Seizing the opportunity to lock up Farnsworth for life, Mom brings the Professor and his clone to trial.
Meanwhile, back at the Planet Express, an over-clocked Bender is making more hardware and software upgrades on himself, installing a hydrothermal cooling system, and enough processors to see the future, becoming a near-omniscient amalgam of Dr. Manhattan and the entire concept of the Matrix. After dismantling the fishbots that Mom sends to restore him to factory settings, Bender departs to construct his hideout, which may or may not be for a super-villain.
Without their key evidence and witness, the Farnsworths’ chances at acquittal are slim to none – much like Fry’s chances of living when he decides to go over Niagara Falls in a barrel. Despite everything going on this episode, Fry and Leela still have a chance to hash out the state of their relationship. Dissatisfied with being stuck in her career and love life, Leela sets off to sell interstellar real estate. Depressed by the absence of his best friends, and for some reason entirely uninspired by the notion of “Nibbler on the Roof,” Fry goes to Niagara Falls to kill himself. Going over the falls, Fry comes upon a hidden cave, which actually turns out to be Bender, who has “passed the existential singularity.” In Fry’s terms, he hacked himself inside-out, and now the universe is his processor.
Despite having access to all of the world’s mysterious mechanisms, Bender refuses to help Farnsworth win his trial, citing his lack of concern for human emotion. Of course, if this were true, he wouldn’t have sent Fry away when he asked about his future with Leela. Or gotten mad about Randy. Even though Bender is late to the proceedings, he is still able to contribute. In order to ensure the worst possible penalty for Farnsworth, Mom has her lawyer acquit Cubert, fearing the jury’s leniency on a child. I admit, I should have seen it coming, but by acquitting Cubert, Mom effectively acquits the Professor, thanks to the obviously outdated “double jeopardy” law, which Bender brings to light.
Although I was expecting more of a cliff-hanger ending – maybe with Fry and the Planet Express embarking to find Leela – everything remained plenty open-ended for next season. Although he was restored to factory settings, Bender was able to keep record of some of the things he learned when he was over-clocked, including a copy of the future for Fry and Leela. As they both read over their potential future (which is changed now, because they know what’s coming) Fry and Leela exchange mirrored looks (and slaps), ranging through the highs and lows, the endearing and the tumultuous moments that their future holds. Though it’s not the pinnacle of Futurama’s animated achievements, I’m still looking at it this way: if the zombie/robot/alien apocalypse happens before season seven, this stands as a solid finale.
Look out for the actual finale, the experimental “Reincarnation,” where Futurama gets re-imagined in contemporary Japanese anime, 8-bit videogame graphics, and a black-and-white Fleischer-style cartoon (think 1930s Betty Boop).
Some stats and info about Futurama, “Overclockwise”
TV SHOW – Futurama
SEASON/EPISODE – Season 6, Episode 25
NETWORK/STREAMING SERVICE – FOX/Comedy Central
GENRE – Comedy, Animated Shows, Science Fiction
CREATED BY – David X. Cohen, Matt Groening
This review was originally published on TV Geek Army.