Who knows what brilliant adventures might have lied in store for Fry, Leela, Bender, and the crew of Planet Express Delivery Company? Thanks to a four new full-length features debuting on DVD, we need not wonder for long.

Like too many science fiction TV series, Futurama was never treated well by its network, FOX. Burdened by an erratic production schedule and changing air dates, it had a difficult time capturing a general audience like The Simpsons and Family Guy have done. After four years (1999-2003), the loyal following saw Futurama fly its last.

Rating:

Staring: Billy West, Katey Sagal, John Di Maggio

Directed by: Dwayne Carey-Hill

Written by: Ken Keeler and David X. Cohen

The truth the first of these DVDs reveals is that during its short lifespan Futurama didn’t “jump the shark” or noticeably decline in quality. But with Bender’s Big Score, we’re served a platter full of recycled ideas, jokes, and stories, lacking the spontaneous, gut-busting hilarity and genuine science fiction revelations of the best episodes.

We are introduced twice over to the Planet Express crew, and it’s cheering to see these familiar faces. A deserved lampooning of FOX’s execs quickly follows, though it weakens as a running gag. The crew then deliver a package to the nudist planet, and become entangled in Internet scams. Before they know it, their beloved company is in the hands of three fleshly alien Scammers, led by Nudar. Discovering the secret of time travel (or one of the many) on Fry’s butt, they send a more-than-eager Bender to steal history’s treasures. The crew, accompanied by many recurring favorite characters must eventually retake Earth from the Scammers and set history right.

The plot is intricate and while the time travel is cleverly touted as “paradox free,” the ins and outs might become confusing. Intricacy should not be taken as depth. After all, similar storytelling techniques are employed to equal effect in both the intellectual thriller Twelve Monkeys and the lowbrow comedy Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me. In fact, Futurama already outdid itself with its own time travel episodes, Time Keeps On Slippin’ and Roswell That Ends Well. Two elements of the former installment are held over for Bender’s Big Score - Fry’s quest for Leela’s heart and the Harlem Globetrotters puzzling out quantum mechanics.

Since the plan is to air these DVD features as four episodes each, the narrative stops and starts at odd points and becomes more drawn out when it should resolve itself. The major twist can be easily assumed from a glance at the voice credits, while the closing space battle is anti-climatic in its expectedness. Fighting twelve golden, jewel-encrusted death stars is really not too much different from fighting one or two of the regular kind.

The main characters seem somehow muted, unable to act in typical fashion. Fry is too tragically lovestruck to utter gleefully oblivious one-liners, Bender is under the Scammers’ control and doesn’t have to be shifty and underhanded, and Leela is in “girly mode” rather than kicking ass and taking names. Dr. Zoidburg, Prof. Farnsworth and Amy each get out a few good lines; Hermes gets many lines. Zapp Brannigan and Kif appear all too briefly, and Zapp - Futurama’s resident sex machine and Captain Kirk send-up - says nothing memorable. Dozens of characters from various episodes are spotted, but once again are simply there to bolster appearances.

Worst of all are the Scammers, weak villains who are neither funny nor threatening. The series’s best villains, such as Mom and Lrrr, were easily both. Nudar and his accomplices are unappealing in every respect, with Internet scams a too-easy mark for parody.

Nonetheless, there are still plenty of laughs to be had. The animation is up to the series’s high standard, and in true Groening tradition there are a couple of lively musical numbers. Anyone who followed the series will find this an adequate continuation (and be able to pick out many references and retcons), while those who have only seen a few episodes can still appreciate the humour and adventure.

We can hope that the redundancy of Bender’s Big Score will force the producers to be more creative, daring, and savage with the three remaining DVD releases. This is the legacy Futurama deserves.