Fry: "All right…it's Saturday night. I have no date, a two liter bottle of Shasta and my all-Rush mix tape. Let's rock!"

When Futurama ended its run in 2003, many figured it would die like any other sitcom. Fans would continue to appreciate it, and the re-runs would fill late-night slots across the nation with low ratings. So, it was a major surprise for Cartoon Network to have found a hit show in Futurama re-runs. With the show now officially ending its run on Cartoon Network and new DVD movies being released, Wired has written an extensive article chronicling every video game reference from the adventures of Fry, Leela, Bender and Zoidberg.


Futurama has been (and remains to be) one of my favorite shows from the last ten years. It's the perfect combination of all genres smashed into one -- comedy, science fiction, love story and cultural/political commentary. My favorite episode (Roswell That Ends Well) combines Star Trek and Futurama into a giant farce that has Shatner poking fun at himself while being controlled by a green sparkling god-like blob.

Nonsensical? Hell yes. Incredibly sharp and witty? No doubt. The fact that Futurama's David X. Cohen (the show's co-creater with Matt Groening) is a big video game fan only furthers the cool factor.

Lrrr: "You are defeated. Instead of shooting where I was, you should have shot where I was going to be. Muahahahaha! "

Here's the full caveat of articles Wired has written about Futurama and videogames. I have a personal affection to Raiders of the Lost Arcade, and would recommend reading that one first. In fact, I think I'll go grab that DVD right now.

Futurama Is Back! Grab a Can of Slurm and Settle In
The Wired mag feature article from whence the week full of B-sides and rarities was culled.

Videogames & Futurama, Part 1: Raiders of the Lost Arcade
A love poem dedicated to every video game nerd's favorite episode, complete with some hidden references you may have missed.

Videogames & Futurama, Part 2: How Zoidberg Got His Name From a Game
Futurama creator David X. Cohen wrote an Apple II game called Zoid, back in the day. Can you help him dump the ROM?

Videogames & Futurama, Part 3: Pinball Wizardry
Cohen and Matt Groening loved them some pinball, as evidenced by this scan of the Twilight Zone high score sheet from their office.

Videogames & Futurama, Part 4: The Lost Episode is on a PS2 Disc
Could the poorly-rated Futurama PlayStation 2 game really be considered the lost 73rd episode?

Videogames & Futurama, Part 5: Bender Gets Medieval On The Third DVD
A sneak preview of the third Futurama original DVD, due sometime in 2008.