Futurama, Episode 7.06: “The Butterjunk Effect”

Tonight’s Futurama episode felt awfully disjointed, as if the writers had four or five story elements that couldn’t stand on their own, and decided to just slap them together in the crudest way possible.  Let’s picture the story pitch meeting: “Let’s send up roller derbies!” “Okay, but we’ve gotta work a huge fly swatter into the plot!” “Ooh, let’s write a scathing commentary on performance-enhancing drugs!” “You know what would be hilarious? If Fry were an irresistible sex object!” “Better yet… let’s turn Fry into a butterfly!” As you may imagine, the resulting episode couldn't have turned out well... and it doesn't.

Let’s start with the episode’s version of the roller derby: the butterfly derby, which swaps out roller skates for giant butterfly wings, as its female contestants (including our ever-competitive Leela and Amy) try to stay up in the air and avoid falling to the ground.  What became evident very quickly is that riffing on roller derbies wasn’t as funny as one would hope.  (Which is sad, since I very much enjoyed Drew Barrymore’s 2009 roller-derby comedy Whip It. #ShamelessPopCultureAdmissions)  The Futurama writers end up relying on a bunch of insect-related gags, including a huge bug zapper and the aforementioned fly swatter.

Then, the show shifts focus to performance enhancers, when Leela and Amy start chugging nectar to improve their strength (for the wing-flapping, of course).  Surprisingly, the story doesn’t head into any dark territory as a result of the new subject matter.  Remember South Park’s “Up the Down Steroid”, in which Jimmy juices up to win the Special Olympics?  I was afraid that the show would retread the same story beats, focusing on the “Drugs are bad, mmmkay?” aspects of the plot.  Instead, the drug is played almost entirely for laughs, giving Leela and Amy temporarily deeper voices and increased ab definition.  Even weirder, the ladies’ demand for nectar leads them to Kif’s home planet, and eventually to a sitcom-level plot thread in which Fry is doused by butterfly pheromones, making him sexually irresistible to both Amy and Leela… resulting in bedroom follies that Three’s Company would be envious of.

And then, there’s the ending, which is a giant “What the heck?” moment if I’ve ever seen one.  Fry’s pheromone shower essentially turns Fry into a caterpillar, and he ultimately creates a cocoon attached to the Planet Express ship.  Meanwhile, Leela and Amy’s championship butterfly derby match nearly proves to be their end, namely on account of the giant hot lava pit that is located beneath them… when suddenly, Fry emerges from his cocoon as a full-formed butterfly, distracting their competitors into an impromptu mating session.  All told, the ending is both ridiculously bizarre, even by Futurama standards, and also painfully abrupt.

Even the show’s trademark steady stream of on-the-mark jokes seemed weaker than usual… although there were a few choice lines, including one from the butterfly derby commissioner: “Congratulations to our gutsy, non-paralyzed challengers!” and Fry’s comment about being a “derby wife”.  Even the one-off visual gags: such as the chef’s special (Jar Jar Tartare) and the Monsanto Yokel Dome, seemed second-rate at best.  Here’s hoping that this week’s episode was a dud, and that next week’s episode (which features Hermes as some sort of robot?!?!?) will pick up the pace.

Random notes:

• Fry’s screeching yowls were priceless. Re-owwwwwwwwrrrrr!
• Just in time for The Dark Knight Rises, Futurama pulls out a WingNuts transition card reminiscent of the 1960s Batman TV series.
• Nice touch with the butterfly folding chair… because why not?
• Exchange of the night, courtesy of Fry and a very amorous Leela:
  Leela: “Night, Fry. Keep your door unlocked tonight!”
  Fry: “But McGruff the Crime Dog says… ohhhhhhhhh!”
• In case you didn’t know, this summer season of Futurama is already slated for a DVD and Blu-ray release. Just like the last couple of years, it will hit store shelves the Tuesday before Christmas… and Dr. Zoidberg’s mug is all over the packaging! For more info, click here.