Futurama is more than a sci-fi cartoon about a 20th century delivery boy who's cryogenically frozen and wakes up in the year 3,000. It's more than a show that's been nominated for 86 awards, then won 29, including 5 Emmys, 8 Annie Awards, and 7 Behind the Voice Actors awards. It's more than a show so beloved by fans that it's come back from cancellation twice (three times, counting the four movies), something no other series, that I can find, has done. It's more than the eighth longest running animated series for adults, with 140 episodes (so far), surpassed only by The Simpsons, Family Guy, American Dad, South Park, King of the Hill, Beavis and Butthead, and Bob's Burgers. It's more than a show with a ridiculously loyal, vocal, passionate, adoring, and diehard fanbase, spawning innumerable fan sites, endless dialogue and discussion of episodes, easter eggs, and attendance of cast events in massive numbers. It's not just a show with a writer who invented his own math theorem for a single episode (Ken Keeler, who holds a PhD in applied mathematics). It's not just a show; it's a journey, one millions of fans have embarked on, and it's not just fans who hold the show close to their hearts.
Billy West, the voice of Fry, Professor Farnsworth, "Doctor" Zoidberg, and more has said Futurama is his favorite show he ever worked on. Maurice Lamarche, the voice of Kif, Calculon, and many, many more, was "delighted" to hear the show was getting a second life and that he always felt Futurama "wasn't done yet." Katey Sagal, the voice of Leela, has talked about how much she misses the show anytime it's off the air, and about how much love the cast and crew have for both the show and for each other. John DiMaggio, the voice of Bender, Sal, and many more, has called Bender "part of his soul." Matt Groening, David X. Cohen, Lauren Tom, Phil LaMarr, and other cast and crew members have all expressed how thrilled they are at the show's return (slated for 2023 on Hulu), how much they love the show, their fellow cast members, and the fans. Futurama is truly something special.
I could go on...and on...and on and on and on about how much I love Futurama, about how truly unique, how truly special it is, about how much adoration, love, and respect I have for the show's cast and crew. I could write endless lists of things that make Futurama so memorable, so exceptional, so beloved, so uniquely extraordinary. I could talk about the incredible cast, how willing they are to meet, and speak with, fans, how I can strike up a conversation with a stranger, based on nothing but our mutual love for the show, how I can go back and watch the show and notice jokes I missed my first ten or twenty viewings. I could go on, but I won't because, however good a writer I may be, I don't think I can fully convey the magic of Futurama. You have to watch it yourself, and, if you do, I hope to bump into you someday, so we can talk about how incredible it is.
One last thing though, there's no one thing that makes Futurama what it is, nor is it simply the sum of its parts. It's a collective effort, a group magic, and everyone involved contributes something essential. A major piece of that magic is John DiMaggio, and, as much as I love the show, it's not truly Futurama without him.
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