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Blu-Ray : Highly Recommended
Ranking:
Sale Price: $68.16 Last Price: $ Buy now! 3rd Party 64.21 In Stock
Release Date: December 21st, 2010 Movie Release Year: 2010

Futurama: Volume 5

Overview -

You asked for more...and the Planet Express crew delivered! Welcome back to FUTURAMA, the light-years-ahead-of-its-time animated series from The Simpsons creator Matt Groening. Join Fry, Bender, Leela and the rest of the gang for 13 hilarious new episodes that tackle some of the most controversial subjects in the galaxy...including evolution, mind exchange, feline intelligence and robosexual marriage. Hey, it could happen!

OVERALL:
Highly Recommended
Rating Breakdown
STORY
VIDEO
AUDIO
SPECIAL FEATURES
Tech Specs & Release Details
Technical Specs:
Region A locked
Video Resolution/Codec:
1080p/MPEG-4 AVC
Length:
0
Aspect Ratio(s):
1.78:1
Audio Formats:
English DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1
Subtitles/Captions:
English SDH, French, Spanish
Special Features:
"The Prisoner of Benda" Table Read
Release Date:
December 21st, 2010

Storyline: Our Reviewer's Take

Ranking:

In the parlance of binge-drinking, chain-smoking robot Bender (John DiMaggio) - 'Futurama' is back baby! Paaaaartayyyyy!

That's right, after several seasons on Fox with minimal marketing support and a dunderheaded air time (the often risqué material aired at 7, an hour before 'The Simpsons' on Sunday nights), the series picked up steam after being rerun on Cartoon Network's [adult swim] programming block and later Comedy Central. It was revived in the bizarre fashion of four direct-to-video movies (that were in turn divided and turned into "episodes" that aired later on Comedy Central), in which conceptual grandiosity trumped overall quality. But, apparently it was enough of a success to bring the series back for an honest-to-goodness new season. This time, it aired on Comedy Central. And while it didn't break any records it did secure "good-for-Comedy Central"-sized ratings.

The first half of this new season has been collected and been erroneously stamped with the "Volume 5" tag (any 'Futurama' fan can tell you that the movies made up "season five" and what's more, since the season is only half-over, it should be "Volume 6.1" at the very least) and guess what? It's on Blu-ray! Again, quoting Bender - WOO!

A brief catch-up if you've never seen 'Futurama': it takes place in the year 3000. Our hero, Fry (voice actor Billy West), was a delivery boy in the year 2000. He accidentally trips and is frozen, only to be awoken in the year 3000. And, again, he's a delivery boy. This time it's for the intergalactic delivery service called Planet Express, but instead of delivering pizzas he's flying off to far-flung reaches of the galaxy with cohorts like the Cyclops Leela (Katey Segal of 'Married… with Children' and 'Sons of Anarchy') and wobbly alien Dr. Zoidberg (West, again).

"Volume 5" comes across exceptionally well, despite a drastic cut in each episode's production budget (at some point the powers-that-be threatened to fire the entire voice cast, which would have been dire). This meant that the visual scope of the series had to be somewhat contained, which should have been more jarring considering the opulence of the movies, and that much of the core writing staff was let go. (Some were still brought back as freelancers for one-off episodes.) It's also interesting to note that, given the looser censorship of basic cable, the series is a bit more, er, raw. Things are considerably grosser and more squishy than before. But hey, you have to give them credit for exploiting the newfound leniency.

As for the quality of the episodes themselves, season 6, er, "Volume 5" was a mixed bag. Sometimes the episodes felt repetitive (there's one episode about the Garden of Eden and another about evolution, which seemed a little redundant), sometimes too out-there ("The Duh-Vinci Code" featured a planet full of Leonardo DiVincis) and sometimes too outdated ("That Darn Katz" was an episode centered around evil LOLZ Cats… in the year 2010) But what was really striking were the episodes that were all-time series best contenders - the heat-tugging episode "Lethal Inspection" revealed a hidden connection between Hermes and Bender; "The Late Phillip J. Fry" was a poignant portrayal about the way time slips away from us; and "The Prisoner of Benda" was one of the most insanely hilarious and clever half hours of television aired last year.

Even when the episodes weren't great, there was always something to snicker (or titter) at. There was also, at the very least, the comfort in knowing that next week there would be another episode which had just as great a chance at being balls-out brilliant. And, true to form, even if you didn't dig on "Volume 5," there's another batch of episodes airing this year on Comedy Central.

The Blu-ray: Vital Disc Stats

'Futurama,' Volume 5 is the first proper season (or, at least, half-season) to make its way onto Blu-ray (this is discounting the movies; more on why in the "video" section of this review); it does so on a pair of 50GB Blu-ray discs. The discs are Region A locked. It is BD-Live enabled (and, shocker, there's actually something accessible on there right this very instant!) Also, given the environmental angle the show often takes (and that Al Gore's daughter, Kristin, used to write for the series and Al himself is a frequent guest star), the packaging is a more earth-conscience paper model. It might not hold up as well (it's pretty flimsy), but you're doing the planet a solid, which is even better.

Video Review

Ranking:

'Futurama's' 1080p AVC MPEG-4 encoded transfer (1.78:1 aspect ratio) looks absolutely gorgeous - even if you watched it in HD when it originally aired, you'll still be floored.

The sixth season of 'Futurama' was the first season that aired in HD and was animated with a widescreen aspect ratio, both of which make this transfer a divine fit for Blu-ray. Colors pop, detail is immaculate (like in the Da Vinci contraptions), and the entire thing looks lush and impressively dimensional. Even though they were working on a smaller budget, and many of the episodes were less sophisticated than previous seasons', this transfer will make you give out a little yelp of glee. Or maybe that was just me.

There weren't any noticeable technical hiccups either; lines look clean and crisp, there isn't any noise or disruption. This is as pristine a presentation as you could have hoped for, and another example of why animation benefits so greatly from the high-definition treatment. While it may not be as flawless as the latest Pixar release, it's still plenty impressive. Well done!

Audio Review

Ranking:

While not quite as impressive as the video quality, the two discs' DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 mixes still give you a lot to love.

While the focus of the mix is on dialogue - which is crisp and clear, front and center - since this is the animated version of a sitcom, basically, there are still some nice flourishes if not an out-and-out sensation of atmosphere and depth.

For instance, there is a moment in the episode "The Late Phillip J. Fry" when our heroes watch the universe end. And I was really taken with the sophistication of the sound design, the way that the universe seemed to swoop to a close, and while there wasn't a tremendous amount of surround elements or directionality, there was still a dynamism in the way that the mix was created, and the sound effects layered in, that I was suitably impressed.

There are moments like this sprinkled throughout the season, which add a lot to the overall presentation of the mix. So while it isn't the most active or dimensional surround mix you'll ever hear, there's enough going on in the mix, from time to time, to keep you riveted. It's just kind of amazing to hear the show sound this good after watching it for so long in crappy basic cable late night reruns.

The DTS-HD English language mix is the only audio option on both discs, but there are subtitles available in English SDH, Spanish and French.

Special Features

Ranking:

'Futurama' has always been known for its wealth of extras, and the trend continues with this new set. There's tons of great, laugh-out-loud stuff, and even a nifty HD exclusive. Read on!

  • Audio Commentaries A longheld staple of the 'Futurama' collections are audio commentaries on every episode - and this disc is no different. Included on every episode is a commentary track anchored by executive producers Matt Groening and David X. Cohen, along with a revolving door of creative principles and voice cast. There are usually about a half-dozen participants, and each episode is different… and great. Well worth watching each one with the commentaries, since you'll get just as many laughs.
  • Deleted Scenes (HD, 10:18) This is a collection of deleted scenes from episodes that run the course of the season. Most of them are very hilarious and sorely missed. Giggling will ensue.
  • Behind the Fungus: Makin' a Hit Song (HD, 4:58) This is a sort of tiresome documentary, even at less than five minutes, on the making of a song that Billy West wrote and recorded for the robosexual marriage episode. This seems more like throwing Billy West a bone for being such a good sport on the show than something anyone would actually think about watching.
  • Previously on "Futurama" (HD, 1:21) This is a collection of brief animations that accompanied the "episodes" that were made up of the broken-down movies. Supposedly they were rarely seen (I never saw the movies as episodes - did anyone else?) and sport some surprising 'Futurama' characters giving the "Previously on 'Futurama'" throw - including Al Gore! This is worth watching, but is only a passing curio for diehard 'Futurama' completists.
  • Bend it Like Bender (HD, 2:41) This is a Bender music video and just as insane as that sounds. Worth watching, although it might make your head spin off your shoulders (you've been warned).
  • Delivery Boy Man (HD, 7:13) This is a longer version of Fry's comic book that appears in one of the episodes, an intentionally crummy-looking little thing that imagines Fry as a superhero. It's available with optional commentary by executive producers Matt Groening and David X. Cohen along with co-executive producer Patric M. Verrone. The commentary is actually pretty fascinating, since they describe the painstaking measures to insuring that the "video comic book" looks truly horrible. Fun stuff.
  • Table Read (HD, 35:07) Maybe the most substantial special feature, at least in terms of something that both the DVD and the Blu-ray share, this is video of a table read for the outstanding "Prisoner of Benda" episode (my favorite half-hour of the whole season). And if you thought it was wacky as-is, wait until you see the actors wrapping their minds around the constant body-swapping fun. This is a hoot!

Final Thoughts

'Futurama' Volume 5 was a whole lot of fun. The show came back with a vengeance, layering on the silly and the icky in equal measure (thanks to basic cable looseness), and ended up with a winningly hilarious season that included a handful of all-time-great episodes. The Blu-ray set does a great job making the show's first HD season look and sound even better, with wonderful A/V and a fantastic array of special features. If you're a fan of the show, this is a no-brainer, if you're just a casual viewer, this is still highly recommended. The hyno-toad commands it!