Mars University
Encyclopedia
"Mars University" is episode eleven of the first production season of Futurama
. It originally aired in North America
on October 3, 1999 as the second episode in the second broadcast season of Futurama. This episode was written by J. Stewart Burns
and directed by Bret Haaland
.
's office at Mars University. While touring the campus, Bender comes across a chapter of his old fraternity, Epsilon Rho Rho (Err). The nerdy fraternity brothers beg Bender for his help in the art of being cool, as "even Hillel
has better parties than us!"
Fry
finds out that his 20th century college dropout
status is equivalent to only a 31st century high school dropout. Knowing this, he vows to enroll, and drop out all over again. In a scene straight from Animal House
, Bender and the Robot House boys climb a ladder to peek in a girl's dorm window (in reality, they only try to see one of the girls' computers as it malfunctions, which to Bender and the nerd-bots, is a turn-on). A risque mishap happens when Bender's extendable eyes causes them to fall. The accident crushes Snooty House's servants' quarters and presumably the servants themselves.
Fry gets a room in the financial aid dorm, and finds his roommate Günter is an intelligent monkey wearing an undersized hat. The Professor enters, and reveals that Günter was the contents of the crate, and that the electronium hat is the source of Günter's intelligence. Bender and the Robot House members get called before Dean Vernon, who places them on dodecatuple secret probation and have to run out after Fatbot eats the Deans model ship.
At the parents' reception, Fry humiliates Günter by releasing Günter's unintelligent, feral parents from their cage. Later, Günter expresses his unhappiness at his current life. At the 20th century history exam, the stress finally becomes too much for him, and he tosses the hat aside, jumps out the window, and flees into the Martian jungle. While Fry, Leela, and the Professor head off into the jungle to find Günter, Robot House enters the fraternity
raft
regatta
in a bid to lift their probation status.
When Günter is found, the Professor offers him the hat, and Fry offers him a banana
. Before Günter can decide, Robot House speeds past with Bender on water skis. The boat's wake drags the humans into the river and towards a waterfall. Günter puts the hat on and rescues them, but falls off a cliff. The planet express crew believe him to be dead, and go to "gather him up". They find however, that the hat broke his fall, and is now only working at half-capacity. Günter announces that he likes the new reduced-capacity hat, and that he has decided to transfer to business school, to the horror of Professor Farnsworth. Robot House wins the regatta, and a parade in their honor is held, led by an unhappy Dean Vernon.
The episode ends with a party at Robot House, and an epilogue shown in the style of "Animal House" and "American Graffiti
" where captions explain that Fry successfully dropped out of college and returned to Planet Express, Günter went to business school to get his MBA and became The FOX Network's latest CEO, Fat-Bot caught a virus in Tijuana and had to be rebooted, Leela went on a date with Dean Vernon (and Vernon never called her again), and with his task done, Bender stole everything of value from Robot House and ran off.
criticized Futurama for the disconnectedness of the episodes and the lack of a large recurring cast and questioned the time spent in developing Günter's character when it is unlikely that he will return as a major character. The episode itself was praised for its references to classic frat films such as Animal House and Revenge of the Nerds
though the reference to Lite-Brite
was found to be lacking. In 2006 IGN
ranked this episode as number 21 in their list of the top 25 Futurama episodes. The episode was initially ranked higher in the list, particularly for its many references to Animal House and its appeal to fans of the film, it was eventually moved to 21st place and replaced by episodes with better storytelling.
.
Futurama
Futurama is an American animated science fiction sitcom created by Matt Groening and developed by Groening and David X. Cohen for the Fox Broadcasting Company. The series follows the adventures of a late 20th-century New York City pizza delivery boy, Philip J...
. It originally aired in North America
North America
North America is a continent wholly within the Northern Hemisphere and almost wholly within the Western Hemisphere. It is also considered a northern subcontinent of the Americas...
on October 3, 1999 as the second episode in the second broadcast season of Futurama. This episode was written by J. Stewart Burns
J. Stewart Burns
J. Stewart Burns is a television writer and producer most notable for his work on Unhappily Ever After, The Simpsons and Futurama....
and directed by Bret Haaland
Bret Haaland
Bret Haaland is an American animation director. He worked on The Simpsons during the first season as a layout artist. He has directed episodes of The Critic, Futurama and Father of the Pride...
.
Plot
The Planet Express crew's latest mission is to deliver a crate to Professor FarnsworthHubert J. Farnsworth
Professor Hubert J. Farnsworth, or simply The Professor, is a fictional character in the American animated television series Futurama. He is voiced by Billy West using a combination of impressions of Burgess Meredith and Frank Morgan. Farnsworth is the proprietor of the Planet Express delivery...
's office at Mars University. While touring the campus, Bender comes across a chapter of his old fraternity, Epsilon Rho Rho (Err). The nerdy fraternity brothers beg Bender for his help in the art of being cool, as "even Hillel
Hillel: The Foundation for Jewish Campus Life
Hillel: The Foundation for Jewish Campus Life is the largest Jewish campus organization in the world, working with thousands of college students globally...
has better parties than us!"
Fry
Philip J. Fry
Philip J. Fry, known simply as Fry, is a fictional character, the main protagonist of the animated science fiction sitcom Futurama. He is voiced by Billy West using a version of his own voice as he sounded when he was 25.-Character overview:...
finds out that his 20th century college dropout
Dropping out
Dropping out means leaving a group for either practical reasons, necessities or disillusionment with the system from which the individual in question leaves....
status is equivalent to only a 31st century high school dropout. Knowing this, he vows to enroll, and drop out all over again. In a scene straight from Animal House
National Lampoon's Animal House
National Lampoon's Animal House is a 1978 American comedy film directed by John Landis. The film was a direct spin-off of National Lampoon magazine...
, Bender and the Robot House boys climb a ladder to peek in a girl's dorm window (in reality, they only try to see one of the girls' computers as it malfunctions, which to Bender and the nerd-bots, is a turn-on). A risque mishap happens when Bender's extendable eyes causes them to fall. The accident crushes Snooty House's servants' quarters and presumably the servants themselves.
Fry gets a room in the financial aid dorm, and finds his roommate Günter is an intelligent monkey wearing an undersized hat. The Professor enters, and reveals that Günter was the contents of the crate, and that the electronium hat is the source of Günter's intelligence. Bender and the Robot House members get called before Dean Vernon, who places them on dodecatuple secret probation and have to run out after Fatbot eats the Deans model ship.
At the parents' reception, Fry humiliates Günter by releasing Günter's unintelligent, feral parents from their cage. Later, Günter expresses his unhappiness at his current life. At the 20th century history exam, the stress finally becomes too much for him, and he tosses the hat aside, jumps out the window, and flees into the Martian jungle. While Fry, Leela, and the Professor head off into the jungle to find Günter, Robot House enters the fraternity
Fraternities and sororities
Fraternities and sororities are fraternal social organizations for undergraduate students. In Latin, the term refers mainly to such organizations at colleges and universities in the United States, although it is also applied to analogous European groups also known as corporations...
raft
Raft
A raft is any flat structure for support or transportation over water. It is the most basic of boat design, characterized by the absence of a hull...
regatta
Regatta
A regatta is a series of boat races. The term typically describes racing events of rowed or sailed water craft, although some powerboat race series are also called regattas...
in a bid to lift their probation status.
When Günter is found, the Professor offers him the hat, and Fry offers him a banana
Banana
Banana is the common name for herbaceous plants of the genus Musa and for the fruit they produce. Bananas come in a variety of sizes and colors when ripe, including yellow, purple, and red....
. Before Günter can decide, Robot House speeds past with Bender on water skis. The boat's wake drags the humans into the river and towards a waterfall. Günter puts the hat on and rescues them, but falls off a cliff. The planet express crew believe him to be dead, and go to "gather him up". They find however, that the hat broke his fall, and is now only working at half-capacity. Günter announces that he likes the new reduced-capacity hat, and that he has decided to transfer to business school, to the horror of Professor Farnsworth. Robot House wins the regatta, and a parade in their honor is held, led by an unhappy Dean Vernon.
The episode ends with a party at Robot House, and an epilogue shown in the style of "Animal House" and "American Graffiti
American Graffiti
American Graffiti is a 1973 coming of age film co-written/directed by George Lucas starring Richard Dreyfuss, Ron Howard, Paul Le Mat, Charles Martin Smith, Cindy Williams, Candy Clark, Mackenzie Phillips and Harrison Ford...
" where captions explain that Fry successfully dropped out of college and returned to Planet Express, Günter went to business school to get his MBA and became The FOX Network's latest CEO, Fat-Bot caught a virus in Tijuana and had to be rebooted, Leela went on a date with Dean Vernon (and Vernon never called her again), and with his task done, Bender stole everything of value from Robot House and ran off.
Broadcast and reception
In a review of the episode, Space.comSpace.com
Space.com is a space and astronomy news website. Its stories are often syndicated to other media outlets, including CNN, MSNBC, Yahoo!, and USA Today.Space.com was founded by former CNN anchor Lou Dobbs and Rich Zahradnik, in July 1999...
criticized Futurama for the disconnectedness of the episodes and the lack of a large recurring cast and questioned the time spent in developing Günter's character when it is unlikely that he will return as a major character. The episode itself was praised for its references to classic frat films such as Animal House and Revenge of the Nerds
Revenge of the Nerds
Revenge of the Nerds is a 1984 comedy film satirizing social life on a college campus. The film stars Robert Carradine and Anthony Edwards, with Curtis Armstrong, Ted McGinley, Julia Montgomery, Brian Tochi, Larry B. Scott, John Goodman, and Donald Gibb...
though the reference to Lite-Brite
Lite-Brite
Lite-Brite is a toy, created by Hasbro in 1967, which allows the user to create glowing designs. It is a light box with small colored plastic pegs that fit into a matrix of holes and illuminate to create a lit piece of art. Using the colored pegs the user can create designs from imagination or by...
was found to be lacking. In 2006 IGN
IGN
IGN is an entertainment website that focuses on video games, films, music and other media. IGN's main website comprises several specialty sites or "channels", each occupying a subdomain and covering a specific area of entertainment...
ranked this episode as number 21 in their list of the top 25 Futurama episodes. The episode was initially ranked higher in the list, particularly for its many references to Animal House and its appeal to fans of the film, it was eventually moved to 21st place and replaced by episodes with better storytelling.
Cultural references
Much of the plot references scenes from Animal House. When Professor Farnsworth is lecturing on the effects of quantum neutrino fields, the blackboard behind him displays an explanation of "Superdupersymmetric String Theory" and a diagram explaining "Witten's Dog". Witten's Dog, named after Ed Witten, is a parody of the classic Schroedinger's Cat paradox. Astrophysicist David Schiminovich created both the equations and the diagram, based on "an equation that constrains the mass density of neutrinos in the universe". Gunter holding up the girls number through the window saying, "How do you like them bananas?" is a reference to the common phrase How do you like them apples?How do you like them apples
How do you like them apples?, also shortened to, How you like them apples? or how bout that., sometimes spelled dem apples or those apples, is a phrase used to gloat or to express bemusement or vexation. In all senses, the phrase acts as a rhetorical question.-Film:The first known use in a film was...
.
External links
- Mars University at TV.comTV.comTV.com is a website owned by CBS Interactive. The site covers television and focuses on English-language shows made or broadcast in the United States, the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Ireland and Japan...
- Mars University at the Internet Movie DatabaseInternet Movie DatabaseInternet Movie Database is an online database of information related to movies, television shows, actors, production crew personnel, video games and fictional characters featured in visual entertainment media. It is one of the most popular online entertainment destinations, with over 100 million...
- Mars University at TVSquad.com
- Mars University at The Infosphere.