The Devil's Hands are Idle Playthings
Encyclopedia
"The Devil's Hands Are Idle Playthings" is the eighteenth episode in the fourth production season of the animated television series Futurama
, and was aired for the first time in the United States
on August 10, 2003 as the sixteenth episode of the fifth broadcast season. The episode was written by Ken Keeler
and directed by Bret Haaland
, and it guest stars Dan Castellaneta
, who reprises his role as the Robot Devil. Keeler was nominated for an Emmy Award
for this episode and the song "I Want My Hands Back" was nominated for an Annie Award
.
This episode was Futuramas original series finale
, and was the very last episode that aired on Adult Swim
on December 31, 2007 at 10:30 EST. However, the show returned for an initial run of
four direct-to-DVD films, before being given a run of at least 26 episodes on Comedy Central
, with the first
airing on June 24, 2010.
attempting to play the holophonor, hoping to woo Leela as he did in Parasites Lost
. After a disastrous holophonor recital, Fry enlists the help of the Robot Devil to improve his holophonor skills through a hand transplant
at Bender's idea, correctly believing that his own hands are the reason he cannot play. The Robot Devil decides to switch his hands with a robot randomly selected by a carnival wheel — mischievously telling him he "probably" won't know the robot it lands on. Though suspicious, Fry agrees (especially after Bender threatens to beat him up if he doesn't
). It is hinted that it was intended to land on Bender, but stops on the Robot Devil himself (much to his disbelief and horror). Fry, however, holds the Robot Devil to his own binding contract. Using his hands and a cleaver the Robot Devil switches their hands. With his new, nimble hands, Fry becomes a skilled holophonor player as well as being able to perform numerous tricks and attempts to win the heart of Leela with an opera based on her life.
Revolted at getting the raw end of the deal, the Robot Devil decides he has to get his own hands back. He begs Fry, but Fry refuses reminding him they made a deal. He trades Bender a stadium air horn
for his "crotch-plate" so that he can annoy people. When Bender uses the air horn on Leela, he causes her to go deaf. His air horn also almost immediately runs out of propellant, and when the Robot Devil taunts him, there is no "shiny metal ass" for him to bite. Leela refuses to tell Fry that she is deaf because she is afraid that Fry will stop writing the opera, so she attends the premiere pretending she can still hear the performance. During the intermission, the Robot Devil offers Leela robotic ears (which previously belonged to Calculon who apparently got his acting talent from the Robot Devil) in exchange for her hand. Desperate to hear the opera, Leela accepts the offer.
The Robot Devil interrupts the opera at the point where Fry is making the deal, during which the Robot Devil is portrayed as a comical character, and demands that Fry give back his hands. When Fry refuses, the Robot Devil says that he will take Leela's hand - "in marriage" even though robosexual marriage was illegal at that time. After a musical conflict, where the Robot Devil gets the robot Priest to perform the ceremony and says he will take Leela to Robot Hell
, Fry decides that he has no choice but to trade the Robot Devil's hands back for his own, or else he will never have a chance to be with Leela. The Robot Devil then throws a smoke bomb and leaves with Richard Nixon
. Although this part of the Opera was enjoyed, with his own hands, Fry can no longer play the holophonor, and the remainder of the opera is terrible. The entire audience storms out except for the sympathetic Leela, who asks, "Please don't stop playing, Fry. I want to hear how it ends." Playing an improvised finale of his opera, Fry produces crude, cartoonish images of himself and Leela. To a simplistic yet sweet violin tune, the cartoonish Fry and Leela kiss and then walk into the distance hand-in-hand.
's Adult Swim
block, running until the end of 2007, and was bought by Comedy Central
to air in 2008. New episodes started airing in 2010, thus making the subtitle true twice. In the audio commentary it is stated that there was a concerted effort to include the entire cast of the show and also just about all the recurring characters.
Due to the ending of the series and Katey Sagal
's role in 8 Simple Rules for Dating My Teenage Daughter
, there was difficulty in recording the final line of the Fox incarnation of the series ("I want to hear how it ends"). In the audio commentary, it is stated that this single line took nearly six months to record. The Futurama Season Four DVD also includes a hidden featurette
of a table reading of the script for this episode.
was nominated for an Emmy Award
in 2004 for "Outstanding Music and Lyrics" for the song “I Want My Hands Back” and for an Annie Award
for "Music in an Animated Television Production". The episode was ranked number 16 on IGN
's list of the top 25 Futurama episodes in 2006. Science Fiction Weekly rated the episode as their "A Pick" for its original airing in 2003, calling the episode a "superbly funny ending to the series". Dan Castellaneta
's performance as the Robot Devil in this episode along with the episode "Hell is Other Robots
" has been described as a "bravura
appearance". The episode was called an "instant classic" by a reviewer for the Asia Africa Intelligence Wire.
), the plot is loosely based on the story of Faust
, the story upon which several famous operas are based.
The song the Devil's band is playing at the beginning is the Hell song that he sings to Bender when he is taken there.
The Robot Devil references the River Styx of Greek mythology as well as the American rock band Styx
, singing that in Hell "Styx is a river and not just a band".
The Holophonor was inspired by the Visi-Sonor, an instrument played by the The Mule
in Isaac Asimov
's Foundation series.
Toho's Japanese Movie Monster, Godzilla
made an appearence, during Fry's concert.
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...
, and was aired for the first time in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
on August 10, 2003 as the sixteenth episode of the fifth broadcast season. The episode was written by Ken Keeler
Ken Keeler
Kenneth "Ken" Keeler is an American television producer and writer. He has written for numerous television series, most notably The Simpsons and Futurama. According to an interview with David X. Cohen, he proved a theorem which appears in the Futurama episode "The Prisoner of Benda".-Career:After...
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...
, and it guest stars Dan Castellaneta
Dan Castellaneta
Daniel Louis "Dan" Castellaneta is an American actor, voice actor, comedian, singer and screenwriter. Noted for his long-running role as Homer Simpson on the animated television series The Simpsons, he voices many other characters on The Simpsons, including Abraham "Grampa" Simpson, Barney Gumble,...
, who reprises his role as the Robot Devil. Keeler was nominated for an Emmy Award
Emmy Award
An Emmy Award, often referred to simply as the Emmy, is a television production award, similar in nature to the Peabody Awards but more focused on entertainment, and is considered the television equivalent to the Academy Awards and the Grammy Awards .A majority of Emmys are presented in various...
for this episode and the song "I Want My Hands Back" was nominated for an Annie Award
Annie Award
The Annie Awards have been presented by the Los Angeles, California branch of the International Animated Film Association, ASIFA-Hollywood since 1972...
.
This episode was Futuramas original series finale
Series finale
A series finale refers to the last installment of a series with a narrative presented through mediums such as television, film and literature. In many Commonwealth countries, the term final episode is commonly used in regards to a television series...
, and was the very last episode that aired on Adult Swim
Adult Swim
Adult Swim is an adult-oriented Cable network that shares channel space with Cartoon Network from 9:00 pm until 6:00 am ET/PT in the United States, and broadcasts in countries such as Australia and New Zealand...
on December 31, 2007 at 10:30 EST. However, the show returned for an initial run of
Futurama (season 5)
Futurama fifth production season began airing in March 2008 and concluded after 16 episodes on August 30, 2009. The episodes were TV versions and edits of the four DVD movies. This list is for the TV versions.-Production:...
four direct-to-DVD films, before being given a run of at least 26 episodes on Comedy Central
Comedy Central
Comedy Central is an American cable television and satellite television channel that carries comedy programming, both original and syndicated....
, with the first
Rebirth (Futurama)
"Rebirth" is the premiere of Futuramas sixth season, and the revival of the series. It originally aired in North America on June 24, 2010, on Comedy Central. The episode was written by David X...
airing on June 24, 2010.
Plot
The episode begins with FryPhilip 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:...
attempting to play the holophonor, hoping to woo Leela as he did in Parasites Lost
Parasites Lost
"Parasites Lost" is the second episode in season three of Futurama. Although the title is a play on John Milton's epic poem Paradise Lost, the episode is a parody of the 1966 film Fantastic Voyage. The plot also borrows from the novel Flowers for Algernon...
. After a disastrous holophonor recital, Fry enlists the help of the Robot Devil to improve his holophonor skills through a hand transplant
Hand transplant
Hand transplantation is a surgical procedure to transplant a hand from one human to another.The operation is carried out in the following order: bone fixation, tendon repair, artery repair, nerve repair, then vein repair. The operation typically lasts 8 to 12 hours...
at Bender's idea, correctly believing that his own hands are the reason he cannot play. The Robot Devil decides to switch his hands with a robot randomly selected by a carnival wheel — mischievously telling him he "probably" won't know the robot it lands on. Though suspicious, Fry agrees (especially after Bender threatens to beat him up if he doesn't
Coercion
Coercion is the practice of forcing another party to behave in an involuntary manner by use of threats or intimidation or some other form of pressure or force. In law, coercion is codified as the duress crime. Such actions are used as leverage, to force the victim to act in the desired way...
). It is hinted that it was intended to land on Bender, but stops on the Robot Devil himself (much to his disbelief and horror). Fry, however, holds the Robot Devil to his own binding contract. Using his hands and a cleaver the Robot Devil switches their hands. With his new, nimble hands, Fry becomes a skilled holophonor player as well as being able to perform numerous tricks and attempts to win the heart of Leela with an opera based on her life.
Revolted at getting the raw end of the deal, the Robot Devil decides he has to get his own hands back. He begs Fry, but Fry refuses reminding him they made a deal. He trades Bender a stadium air horn
Air horn
The air horn is a device designed to create an extremely loud noise. It is usually composed of a pressurized air source coupled to a horn through a valve which allows the device to be turned on and off. Air horns have been installed on large semi-trailer trucks, fire trucks, and some ambulances for...
for his "crotch-plate" so that he can annoy people. When Bender uses the air horn on Leela, he causes her to go deaf. His air horn also almost immediately runs out of propellant, and when the Robot Devil taunts him, there is no "shiny metal ass" for him to bite. Leela refuses to tell Fry that she is deaf because she is afraid that Fry will stop writing the opera, so she attends the premiere pretending she can still hear the performance. During the intermission, the Robot Devil offers Leela robotic ears (which previously belonged to Calculon who apparently got his acting talent from the Robot Devil) in exchange for her hand. Desperate to hear the opera, Leela accepts the offer.
The Robot Devil interrupts the opera at the point where Fry is making the deal, during which the Robot Devil is portrayed as a comical character, and demands that Fry give back his hands. When Fry refuses, the Robot Devil says that he will take Leela's hand - "in marriage" even though robosexual marriage was illegal at that time. After a musical conflict, where the Robot Devil gets the robot Priest to perform the ceremony and says he will take Leela to Robot Hell
Hell
In many religious traditions, a hell is a place of suffering and punishment in the afterlife. Religions with a linear divine history often depict hells as endless. Religions with a cyclic history often depict a hell as an intermediary period between incarnations...
, Fry decides that he has no choice but to trade the Robot Devil's hands back for his own, or else he will never have a chance to be with Leela. The Robot Devil then throws a smoke bomb and leaves with Richard Nixon
Richard Nixon
Richard Milhous Nixon was the 37th President of the United States, serving from 1969 to 1974. The only president to resign the office, Nixon had previously served as a US representative and senator from California and as the 36th Vice President of the United States from 1953 to 1961 under...
. Although this part of the Opera was enjoyed, with his own hands, Fry can no longer play the holophonor, and the remainder of the opera is terrible. The entire audience storms out except for the sympathetic Leela, who asks, "Please don't stop playing, Fry. I want to hear how it ends." Playing an improvised finale of his opera, Fry produces crude, cartoonish images of himself and Leela. To a simplistic yet sweet violin tune, the cartoonish Fry and Leela kiss and then walk into the distance hand-in-hand.
Production
While this episode may not have been conceived as the final episode of the series, the production crew did include references to the series likely ending as the show had not been renewed by the end of production. The episode's opening subtitle was "See You On Some Other Channel", referring to the broadcast syndication that many shows enter after cancellation as this was the last episode at the time of production. In 2003, the series aired on Cartoon NetworkCartoon Network
Cartoon Network is a name of television channels worldwide created by Turner Broadcasting which used to primarily show animated programming. The channel began broadcasting on October 1, 1992 in the United States....
's Adult Swim
Adult Swim
Adult Swim is an adult-oriented Cable network that shares channel space with Cartoon Network from 9:00 pm until 6:00 am ET/PT in the United States, and broadcasts in countries such as Australia and New Zealand...
block, running until the end of 2007, and was bought by Comedy Central
Comedy Central
Comedy Central is an American cable television and satellite television channel that carries comedy programming, both original and syndicated....
to air in 2008. New episodes started airing in 2010, thus making the subtitle true twice. In the audio commentary it is stated that there was a concerted effort to include the entire cast of the show and also just about all the recurring characters.
Due to the ending of the series and Katey Sagal
Katey Sagal
Catherine Louise "Katey" Sagal is an American actress and singer-songwriter. She first achieved widespread fame as Peggy Bundy on the long-running Fox comedy series Married.....
's role in 8 Simple Rules for Dating My Teenage Daughter
8 Simple Rules
8 Simple Rules is an American sitcom that originally aired on ABC from September 17, 2002, to April 15, 2005, with 76 episodes produced over three seasons. It is based on the self-improvement book of the same name. The show starred John Ritter until his death on September 11, 2003...
, there was difficulty in recording the final line of the Fox incarnation of the series ("I want to hear how it ends"). In the audio commentary, it is stated that this single line took nearly six months to record. The Futurama Season Four DVD also includes a hidden featurette
Featurette
Featurette is a term used in the American film industry to designate a film whose length is approximately three quarters of a reel, or about 20–44 minutes in running time - thus midway between a short subject and a feature film; thus it is a "small feature"...
of a table reading of the script for this episode.
Broadcast and reception
Writer Ken KeelerKen Keeler
Kenneth "Ken" Keeler is an American television producer and writer. He has written for numerous television series, most notably The Simpsons and Futurama. According to an interview with David X. Cohen, he proved a theorem which appears in the Futurama episode "The Prisoner of Benda".-Career:After...
was nominated for an Emmy Award
Emmy Award
An Emmy Award, often referred to simply as the Emmy, is a television production award, similar in nature to the Peabody Awards but more focused on entertainment, and is considered the television equivalent to the Academy Awards and the Grammy Awards .A majority of Emmys are presented in various...
in 2004 for "Outstanding Music and Lyrics" for the song “I Want My Hands Back” and for an Annie Award
Annie Award
The Annie Awards have been presented by the Los Angeles, California branch of the International Animated Film Association, ASIFA-Hollywood since 1972...
for "Music in an Animated Television Production". The episode was ranked number 16 on 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...
's list of the top 25 Futurama episodes in 2006. Science Fiction Weekly rated the episode as their "A Pick" for its original airing in 2003, calling the episode a "superbly funny ending to the series". Dan Castellaneta
Dan Castellaneta
Daniel Louis "Dan" Castellaneta is an American actor, voice actor, comedian, singer and screenwriter. Noted for his long-running role as Homer Simpson on the animated television series The Simpsons, he voices many other characters on The Simpsons, including Abraham "Grampa" Simpson, Barney Gumble,...
's performance as the Robot Devil in this episode along with the episode "Hell is Other Robots
Hell Is Other Robots
"Hell Is Other Robots" is the ninth episode of Futurama. It originally aired in North America on May 18, 1999, as the season finale of the first season. The episode was written by Eric Kaplan and directed by Rich Moore. Guest stars in this episode include the Beastie Boys as themselves and Dan...
" has been described as a "bravura
Bravura
In classical music, a bravura is a virtuosic passage intended to show off the skill of a performer, generally as a solo, and often in a cadenza. It can also be used as an adjective , or to refer to a performance of extraordinary virtuosity. The term comes from the Italian language for great skill....
appearance". The episode was called an "instant classic" by a reviewer for the Asia Africa Intelligence Wire.
Cultural references
The title comes from the old saying "Idle hands are the Devil's playthings", which according to David X. Cohen, is rarely heard nowadays. In keeping with the episode’s focus on classical music (and particularly, operaOpera
Opera is an art form in which singers and musicians perform a dramatic work combining text and musical score, usually in a theatrical setting. Opera incorporates many of the elements of spoken theatre, such as acting, scenery, and costumes and sometimes includes dance...
), the plot is loosely based on the story of Faust
Faust
Faust is the protagonist of a classic German legend; a highly successful scholar, but also dissatisfied with his life, and so makes a deal with the devil, exchanging his soul for unlimited knowledge and worldly pleasures. Faust's tale is the basis for many literary, artistic, cinematic, and musical...
, the story upon which several famous operas are based.
The song the Devil's band is playing at the beginning is the Hell song that he sings to Bender when he is taken there.
The Robot Devil references the River Styx of Greek mythology as well as the American rock band Styx
Styx (band)
Styx is an American rock band that became famous for its albums from the late 1970s and early 1980s. The Chicago band is known for melding the style of prog-rock with the power of hard rock guitar, strong ballads, and elements of American musical theater....
, singing that in Hell "Styx is a river and not just a band".
The Holophonor was inspired by the Visi-Sonor, an instrument played by the The Mule
Mule (Foundation)
The Mule is a fictional character from Isaac Asimov's Foundation series. One of the greatest conquerors the galaxy has ever seen, he is a mentalic who has the ability to reach into the minds of others and "adjust" their emotions, individually or en masse, using this capability to forcibly enlist...
in Isaac Asimov
Isaac Asimov
Isaac Asimov was an American author and professor of biochemistry at Boston University, best known for his works of science fiction and for his popular science books. Asimov was one of the most prolific writers of all time, having written or edited more than 500 books and an estimated 90,000...
's Foundation series.
Toho's Japanese Movie Monster, Godzilla
Godzilla
is a daikaijū, a Japanese movie monster, first appearing in Ishirō Honda's 1954 film Godzilla. Since then, Godzilla has gone on to become a worldwide pop culture icon starring in 28 films produced by Toho Co., Ltd. The monster has appeared in numerous other media incarnations including video games,...
made an appearence, during Fry's concert.
External links
- The Devil's Hands Are Idle Playthings at The Infosphere.