A Fishful of Dollars
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| Futurama episode | |
| "A Fishful of Dollars" | |
 |
|
|---|---|
| Episode no. | 6 |
| Prod. code | 1ACV06 |
| Airdate | April 27, 1999 |
| Writer(s) | Patric M. Verrone |
| Director | Ron Hughart Gregg Vanzo |
| Opening subtitle | LOADING.... |
| Opening cartoon | 1932's "Betty Boop's Crazy Inventions" |
| Guest star(s) | Pamela Anderson as herself |
| List of all Futurama episodes... | |
"A Fishful of Dollars" is episode six in the first season of Futurama. It originally aired in North America on April 27, 1999. This also marks the first appearance of the antagonist Mom.
Contents |
[edit] Plot
After having their dreams taken over by an advertisement, the Planet Express crew takes a trip to the local shopping mall. Trying to buy the product in his dreams, Fry realises he is broke. At the same time, Bender is caught shoplifting and sent to jail. Unable to pay the bail, Fry remembers he had a bank account back in the twentieth century. Surprisingly his old bank account is still active, and has been accruing interest for the past thousand years, bringing the balance from 93 cents to $4.3 billion. Fry goes on a massive spending spree, buying numerous 20th century artifacts, including the last known tin of now-extinct anchovies, which were fished to extinction shortly after Dr. Zoidberg's people arrived on Earth.
Mom, famous industrialist and owner of Mom's Old-Fashioned Robot Oil, wants to secure the anchovies for her own purposes. Anchovy oil could be used to permanently lubricate robots, and therefore represent an enormous threat to Mom's business interests.
Mom's sons Walt, Larry, and Ignar conspire with the head of Pamela Anderson to steal Fry's ATM card and PIN, which they use to bankrupt Fry. All of Fry's 20th century artifacts are repossessed, except the anchovies, which Fry had hidden in his sock.
After Mom discovers Fry intends to eat the anchovies, she stops interfering. Fry covers a pizza with the anchovies, and shares them with the rest of the Planet Express employees. Everyone except Fry spits their pizza out in disgust. Fry claims that they are an acquired taste. When Dr. Zoidberg enters the room, he smells a 'heavenly stench' and immediately devours all the remaining anchovy-covered pizza, and goes on a rampage screaming "MORE! MORE! MORE!!"
[edit] Characters
Characters who make their first appearances in this episode are:
[edit] Future products
Future products seen in this episode are:
[edit] Cultural references
- The title references the Clint Eastwood/Sergio Leone Spaghetti Western A Fistful of Dollars.
- When Fry purchases his "authentic 20th century apartment", there is an illustrated poster of a woman on the wall. The poster is drawn in a style reminiscent of 1980s pop-artist Patrick Nagel, most renowned for drawing the cover of the Duran Duran album, Rio.
- The song "Baby Got Back" is described as classical music by Leela.
- Fry watches a parody commercial for Pepperidge Farm.
- Fry is seen watching an episode of Sanford and Son, where Redd Foxx's character, Fred G. Sanford, is heard saying "Esther, you ugly", referring to Sanford's constant humiliation of his sister-in-law's profound ugliness.
- Sometime between Fry's freezing and his waking up, Pamela Anderson apparently won an Academy Award. It was for the fictitious Baywatch: The Movie, which was "the first movie filmed entirely in slow motion".
- The Baywatch movie being filmed entirely in slow motion is parodying the slow motion shots of the cast running up and down the beach in the television series.
- The auction house where Fry buys anchovies is called Staagi & Staagi, a reference to the advertising firm Saatchi & Saatchi, and its founder, Charles Saatchi's interest in art collection, as well as the term "stodgy," meaning dull and pompous.
- In the scene at the fake Panuchi's piza a campaign poster from Richard Nixon's 1968 campaign can be briefly seen.
[edit] Continuity
- This episode marks the first appearance of Scruffy, although he is not identified and does not speak. His mustache is also red as opposed to grey, though he has been shown to enjoy dyeing his hair in "Three Hundred Big Boys", in which he sports a pink mohawk.
- Near the end of the episode, a comment by Amy implies that cows are extinct by the year 3000, which would explain the buggalo's use for meat.
- The figure of $4.3 billion is in fact accurate, given the one-thousand-year investment period at the stated average of 2.25% interest with a beginning principal of $0.93. This is with annual compounding, as opposed to the more traditional monthly compounding of interest. The actual amount would be $4,283,508,450.
[edit] Goofs
- The door in Fry's apartment is seen to open to the left when Leela's ponytail gets caught then later to the right when Mom's boys kidnap Fry.
- Fry's Bank interest gives him billions of dollars, despite the fact civilization was destroyed by aliens sometime between the years 2000 and 3000, as portrayed in "Space Pilot 3000".
[edit] Fry's shopping spree
With his fortune, Fry buys many different things:
- Top hats
- Champagne
- Zuban Cigars
- A walking ash tray
- A massage session for him, Leela, and Bender at Le Spa
- A day at the shooting range where priceless paintings are used instead of clay pigeons
- A 20th century apartment block with original asbestos
- Ted Danson's skeleton (in the Latin American dubbing the skeleton belongs to Chespirito).
- An antique robot toy
- An unopened can of Angry Norwegian Anchovies
- Assorted videotapes of 20th Century television shows and commercials
- A bucket of fossilized KFC
- Sir Mixalot Albums
