“I’ll be damned; it did make him a double-yeti!” – Zoidberg
About a month ago, I said that Futurama finally delivered the promised Zoidberg-centric episode, explaining why he was kept around the Planet Express for so long. Well, I was wrong – oh so blissfully wrong. I was willing to accept that Zoidberg merely fulfilled the delivery service’s cutting, snipping, slicing, and clamping needs – it was convenient and simple, so I went with it. But then. Then! Who would have thought that a pleasant day of drugs and surgery wouldn’t go according to plan with Zoidberg involved?
He leaves Fry with a list of animated ailments, Leela with a spinning spine, Hermes with a jenga’d vertebrae, and he somehow makes Bender incontinent. Needless to say, Zoidberg attracts the wrath of his victims/patients/co-workers for the last time – all of them, that is, except for Professor Farnsworth.
Throughout the first half of the episode, we get glimpses of the first meeting between John Zoidberg and Hubert Farnsworth, who are both enlisted in Mom’s Army. While on a secret mission to kill a yeti and retrieve its venom, the two militarily incompetent academics bond, quickly becoming friends – Zoidberg’s first, judging by his enthusiasm. After saving Zoidberg’s life from the murderous yeti, Farnsworth reveals his fear that he has contracted hyper-malaria, a fatal disease that causes fever, spasms, insanity, coma, and ultimately, death. The problem is, the symptoms can strike in one day, or one decade, or even later, and so Zoidberg promises to stay by Farnsworth’s side until the day comes when the symptoms start to show, so that he can end his suffering.
Uh huh, Zoidberg is around purely to kill Farnsworth. The thing is, Zoidberg seems to be pretty incompetent when it comes to trying to kill his friend – he even brings him back to life after giving him a heart attack. Zoidberg gets kicked out of the Planet Express before he can kill Farnsworth, and when the Professor finally shares what Zoidberg has been trying to do, he’s nowhere to be found.
We learn a lot more about Zoidberg this episode than I thought we were ever going to – he’s always performed well in the background, kicking out only a handful of lines each episode, often at his own expense. With some more depth to alien M&D, it makes me like him that much more. Zoidberg gave up a career working with Mom in order to be with Farnsworth, his friend, and proves that he’s willing to literally give up everything he has to save his friend’s life.
Back at the Planet Express, the crew has fashioned an immaculately plotted death contraption, complete with doves and a fireworks flourish, so as to share in the guilt of Farnsworth’s mercy killing. Before the Murdolator’s death wheel can reach Farnsworth and end his suffering, however, Zoidberg arrives, and for once with good news of his own! After a rarely accurate diagnosis, Zoidberg discovers that Farnsworth doesn’t have hyper-malaria, but yeti-ism! During their scuffle with the poisonous yeti, the would-be Professor sustained a scratch while saving Zoidberg’ life – now that Farnsworth is turning into a yeti from that same scratch, Zoidberg has the chance to return the favor, and for the second time in this season, saves the day.
Some stats and info about Futurama, “The Tip of the Zoidberg”
TV SHOW – Futurama
SEASON/EPISODE – Season 6, Episode 23
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.