Love's Labours Lost in Space
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| Futurama episode | |
| "Love's Labours Lost in Space" | |
 |
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|---|---|
| Episode no. | 4 |
| Prod. code | 1ACV04 |
| Airdate | April 13, 1999 |
| Writer(s) | Brian Kelley |
| Director | Brian Sheesley |
| Opening subtitle | Presented In Brain Control Where Available |
| Opening cartoon | Bugs Bunny in "The Wacky Wabbit" |
| List of all Futurama episodes... | |
"Love's Labours Lost in Space" is the fourth episode in season one of Futurama. It originally aired in North America on April 13, 1999.
Contents |
[edit] Plot
After an unsuccessful attempt by Amy to introduce Leela to eligible bachelors at The Hip Joint, a New New York nightclub, the crew gets sent on a tax-deductible charity mission. The uninhabited planet Vergon 6 has been mined hollow, and is about to collapse. The crew is sent to recover two of each kind of animal native to the planet for breeding purposes.
Unfortunately, Vergon 6 has been declared restricted due to its undeveloped status, under Brannigan's Law (a parody of Star Trek's Prime Directive). The Planet Express crew are arrested by legendary space captain Zapp Brannigan, who immediately attempts to seduce Leela.
Leela initially rebuffs Brannigan, but eventually succumbs to pity for the desperate fool, a fact that Brannigan brings up in every later appearance in the series.
The sexually-satisfied Brannigan allows the Planet Express crew to depart for Vergon 6, and the crew proceeds to collect the strange animals. While working on their checklist, they discover a small black and white creature with a third eye on a stalk attached to its head. Leela decides to rescue it as well, names it Nibbler, and places it in the cargo hold with the other animals. When Fry, Leela, and Bender return with the last animal, they discover that the mystery creature has devoured all the other animals.
The planet begins to collapse, and when the crew try to escape, they discover that the ship is out of fuel. Leela refuses to beg Zapp Brannigan for assistance, and the crew settles in for their inevitable deaths. The ship shifts to one side, and the crew discovers that Nibbler has defecated a small pellet of dark matter, which is the fuel the ship runs on. Bender tosses the ultra-dense pellet into the engine, and the crew returns safely to Earth.
[edit] Characters
Characters who make their first appearances in this episode are:
[edit] Future animals
Future animals which appear in this episode are:
[edit] Future planets
Future planets which appear in this episode are:
[edit] Foreshadowing
- Zapp mentions that he once tried to seduce a man that he thought was a woman. This same thing happens in a future episode in which he goes on a date with a man dressed up as a woman ("Put Your Head on My Shoulders"). In another episode ("War is the H-word"), he reveals an attraction for a supposedly male recruit, who is actually Leela in disguise.
[edit] Cultural references
- The title of the episode is a riff on Shakespeare's play Love's Labour's Lost, crossed with Lost in Space.
- The opening sub-title, "Presented in Brain Control Where Available" is a play off of the common subtitle added to most TV broadcasts, "Presented in Stereo Where Available."
- According to the DVD Commentary for this episode, the Nimbus is based on a large canned ham.
- Zapp Brannigan is a parody of Star Trek's character James T. Kirk and the actor who plays him, William Shatner. As well, Zapp asking Kif to write down the captain's log is a direct reference to Star Trek's usual opening.
- Zapp Brannigan's bedroom is based on the aged Dave Bowman's bedroom in the final scenes of the film 2001: A Space Odyssey. Also, his portrait is an homage to the official presidential portrait of John F. Kennedy.
- Zapp is the author of The Big Book of War, a spoof of The Art of War. On the cover there is also a symbol indicating the book's inclusion in the "I Can Read It All by Myself Beginner Books" series, similar to many Dr. Seuss books.
- The painting in Zapp's "Lovenasium" is a parody of a famous John F. Kennedy painting.
- Zapp becomes stumped as to what Stardate it is when he is dictating to the Captain's Log (another Star Trek/James T. Kirk reference). Kif dryly advises him, "April 13th," the date of the show's original airing.
- The Hip Joint and all the people dressed in rings is an obvious play on The Jetsons.
- When planet Vergon 6 explodes, the music mimics that of when the Death Star explodes in Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope.
- The Planet Express' mission (to collect two of every animal from the planet before it is destroyed) is an obvious reference to the story of Noah's Ark.
- The character of Zapp Brannigan was created with actor Phil Hartman in mind, but after Hartman was murdered approximately 3 weeks after the audition on May 28, 1998, the role was recast. Billy West based the voice he uses for this character after Hartman's intonations.
[edit] Continuity
- In the scene where Nibbler is first put in the cargo holding area of the ship where the rest of the animals are, if you look near the back you can see a creature that looks like a four-legged Nibbler. This is the Four-legged Mimic that previously mimicked Leela.
