The Day the Earth Stood Stupid

Infobox Futurama episode
episode_name = The Day the Earth Stood Stupid
episode_no = 39
prod_code = 3ACV07
airdate = February 18, 2001
country = USA
writer = Jeff Westbrook
director = Mark Ervin
opening_subtitle = 80% Entertainment By Volume
opening_cartoon = Unknown


caption = The Hall Of Forever.
season = three

"The Day the Earth Stood Stupid" is the seventh episode in season three of "Futurama". It originally aired in North America on February 18, 2001. The title of this episode comes from the science fiction movie "The Day the Earth Stood Still".

Plot

The episode begins with Tweenis 12, one day's brain flight from Earth, collapsing due to an attack by giant brains.

Meanwhile, there is a pet show on Earth. After hearing that the top prize is $500 and dog food, Bender and Zoidberg plan to enter to win. Leela and Nibbler also enter. After a series of tests, the Hypnotoad wins by hypnotizing the judges. Nibbler is crowned the "dumbest pet in show" while Bender and Zoidberg the "whooping terrier" win second prize (an Afghan tarp made of real Afghans), much to Bender's disappointment.

Later, the Planet Express staff discusses an ominous trail of destroyed planets leading toward Earth. Nibbler begins gibbering excitedly and runs away. Tracking Nibbler to an alley, Leela is attacked by giant floating brains. Leela is rescued by Nibbler, who has donned a uniform and is piloting a tiny flying saucer. Nibbler and Leela leave New New York and fly away from Earth.

The next day, Fry discovers that all the citizens of New New York have been rendered stupid, except himself. Meanwhile, Nibbler begins communicating to Leela telepathically, and they travel to the planet Eternium, at the exact centre of the universe. There, in the Hall of Forever (10 miles west of the exact center of the universe), the Nibblonian council tells Leela of the threat of the Brainspawn, the giant brains that have invaded Earth and are attempting to wipe out all thought in the universe. While the Nibblonians have been fighting them for billions of years—-since the beginning of the universe—-they are powerless against the Brainspawns' powers of stupidity; in fact, Fry is the only being in the universe immune to the Brainspawns' mental attack, and is the only one capable of combating them.

Leela arrives on Earth to tell Fry of his mission, and retains just enough intelligence to remember what it is. In a successful leap of logic, Fry seeks the leader of the brains at the New New York Public Library. There Fry discovers that thinking hurts the brains, but the brain leader traps Fry and Leela in a mental realm based on "Moby-Dick". Fry and Leela pursue the giant brain through "The Adventures of Tom Sawyer", and into "Pride and Prejudice". Fry breaks free of the illusion, and attempts to attack the giant brain. Fry's efforts result in him being crushed to death by a bookcase, but this is then revealed to be an illusion based on a story Fry has quickly written, one riddled with "plot holes and spelling errors". In accordance with the story the giant brain leaves Earth for no "raisin" ("reason"), and the people of Earth regain their intelligence. Other than the Nibblonians, Fry is the only other being in the entire universe to have any recollection of the event; every time he tries to recount the story, no one believes him or really cares about what he has to say. Nibbler, meanwhile, returns to his undercover position observing Earth as Leela's adorable pet.

Continuity

Fry's immunity to the Brainspawn's attacks is due to his lack of the Delta brainwave which is revealed in this episode and referred to again in "The Why of Fry". This deficiency is caused by the events of the episode "Roswell That Ends Well" when Fry becomes his own grandfather after having sex with the woman who turns out to be his grandmother. In the DVD commentary for "The Why of Fry", executive producers Matt Groening and David X. Cohen point out that they had intended to give Fry a larger purpose for coming to the future since the pilot episode, but had held off on developing that idea until the fourth season.cite video | people=Cohen, David X.|year=2003|title=Futurama season 4 DVD commentary for the episode "The Why of Fry"| medium=DVD|publisher=20th Century Fox] This episode also makes reference to Nibbler's purpose in the series as it depicts him as a much more intelligent and powerful being than first established.

Broadcast and reception

In its original airing this episode was in a three way tie for 78th for the week with a 4.9 rating/9 share.cite web| url=http://news.awn.com/index.php?ltype=top&newsitem_no=4360| title= U.S. Primetime TV Ratings For The Week Of February 12 – 18, 2001| date=2001-02-21| access date=2007-07-05] In 2006, IGN.com ranked the episode as number eighteen in their list of the top 25 episodes of "Futurama".cite web |url=http://tv.ign.com/articles/716/716663p1.html |title="Top 25 Futurama Episodes" |accessdate=2006-07-05 |format= |work= ]

Cultural references

* A number of books are referred to in the library, including "The Hardy Boys" (which Fry dismisses as "too easy"), "Nancy Drew" (which Fry dismisses as "too hard"), "The Bonfire of the Vanities", "Moby-Dick", "The Adventures of Tom Sawyer", and "Pride and Prejudice".
* En route to the room of the giant brain, Fry and Leela pass a room dedicated to the works of Stephen King (at least those in the "A — Aardvark" range).
* The giant brain makes reference to the Dewey decimal system.
* The title is a reference to the 1951 film "The Day the Earth Stood Still". "The Simpsons" also referenced this film in the Treehouse of Horror story "The Day the Earth Looked Stupid".
* At the pet show, there is a booth advertising "Soylent Chow," a play on "Soylent Green". The logo is a dog's head inside a recycle symbol.
* A notably realistic effect occurs when the Big Brain enters the seawater of "Moby Dick"; the chemical composition of the water reacts to its form, turning it from pink to grey.

References