Animation Futurama Thread

[Etienne]

Family Guy is worse.

The Simpsons is pretty bad though that show should've went out on a high note years ago.

 

[Spidey-Bat]

I can tolerate the new episodes of The Simpsons they're still not good though. Family Guy is just unbearable. The characters are nothing like they used to be and Brian being a liberal mouthpiece is obnoxious. They can't make anything funny without the cutouts anymore either.

 

[Etienne]

Brian just started being MacFarlane's liberal mouthpiece in this past season 7. The Simpsons has been steeped in mediocrity to down right crap for a few years now. In the end they're both bad but the Simpsons has been stinking it up longer than Family Guy.

 

[Spidey-Bat]

yeah, Simpsons has been worse longer but Family Guy stinks more.

 

[MarkUrgent]

Phil LaMarr said today that the price the actors were quoted at, 75 grand, is made up, and that the actors actually want less. Hopefully we'll know for sure before Comic-Con.

 

[the_ultimate_evil]

with the news of the con i smell a fix, but honestly if this is a pressure thing it could backfire badly

 

[terry78]

MacFarlane is to Fox right now what Shia is to Spielberg. Total golden boy raking in the pesos. Family Guy, American Dad, and now Cleveland this fall....if all this **** still manages to maintain decent viewings and merchandise, he ain't going anywhere for a while.

 

[the_ultimate_evil]

i can't say anything, i like family guy and enjoy watching it, i do see the critics points but it doesn't stop me watching it, though I would rank futurama higher on my lists of favourites

 

[Brian2887]

This has to be a prank, right? Like, they put the audition info up to get fan impressions for a dvd bonus feature...

That's gotta be it.

 

[Brian2887]

*double post

 

[gap5ewl]

Don't know if this has been posted yet:

Someone over at IMDB posted this.

Comic Con 2009 Programming:
Saturday 1:00-1:45 Futurama: Life or Death?!— Be a part of sci-fi history! Join executive producers Matt Groening and David X. Cohen, and stars Billy West, Katey Sagal, John DiMaggio, and Maurice LaMarche for high-stakes thrills as a top-ranking FOX executive decides live, on stage, whether Futurama will make yet another triumphant return or whether it is gone forever! The very fate of Futurama hangs in the balance! Paramedics will be standing by in case the intense excitement causes any panelists to collapse. Raucous celebration or abject despair to follow the news. Ballroom 20

So the cast, including Katey, are still expected to come to Comic-Con 2009 along with a top ranking Fox executive. I smell publicity stunt. And as of July 21, the website still lists them as being there (mind you they update the programming whenever there is a change).
http://www.comic-con.org/cci/cci09_prog_sat.php

 

[Kingfish]

One can only hope it's a prank or a stunt.

 

[ultimatefan]

The thing is, Futurama managed to be its own show, South Park to some extent too, while FG and American Dad are mostly knock-offs of The Simpsons. They have their moments, though.

I hope they make it work and bring back the original cast. The voice actors made these characters their own.

 

[MarkUrgent]

If it's not a joke to spin us into a fervor before the panel at Comic-Con, then it's just a negotiating tactic.

The ratings on Adult Swim and Comedy Central were good enough for Comedy Central to put in the initial order for 13, which prompted Fox to match them with another 13, so that Futurama can finally be syndicated and not just sold as reruns.

The difference being that most affiliates and stations won't pick up a show under 100 episodes, but they can sell the rights to rebroadcast to a single network to air the episodes whenever they want. Syndication casts a much wider net for a larger revenue stream which Fox wants. There's no way the cast won't come back, because it's just too much work and money to audition new people and redo all the contracts, it's all matter of everyone finding a price on which to agree.

They'll probably announce the whole thing at the panel this weekend.

 

[Marlboro Man]

I really dont know what to think about all this. I want to see "Futurama" come back, but if the voice actors are different, then I don't know if the show will have the same 'feel' to it. Hopefully this is a negotiation strategy, and since the original cast is going to be at comic con, it looks like things may work out. But man, I don't know if I can watch "Futurama" without the original talent.

 

[Kanon]

From Maurice LaMarche's facebook

http://www.petitiononline.com/mod_perl/signed.cgi?futura13

 

[Obi-Ron]

From Maurice LaMarche's facebook

http://www.petitiononline.com/mod_perl/signed.cgi?futura13

#1601

 

[Spidey-Bat]

Signed

 

[MarkUrgent]

That panel is going to be packed with fans who are already pretty upset, you think Fox or Groening would release a statement and let a little of the pressure out of the balloon. Anything that's not a quote with no name, rank, or division attached to it.

They'd better hope the news they're going to talk about there is good news.

 

[gap5ewl]

Well everyone is still expected to be there in an hour and a half. I wish I was at Comic-Con to see what will happen. They make it sound dramatic in the discription lol.

 

[Manic]

Have the riots started yet?

 

[gap5ewl]

So from what I heard, Fox tried to prevent them from going to Comic Con . However, the cast went anyway (just not for the Futurama panel) and signed autographs and said they're hopeful they'll come back.

 

[Gilpesh]

Thanks Fox.

http://www.variety.com/article/VR1118006493.html?categoryid=14&cs=1&ref=bd_tv

With their contract negotiations as yet unresolved, none of the voice actors appeared at the Comic-Con’s "Futurama" panel. Instead, there was creator Matt Groening, speaking like a recently converted, deeply sarcastic Bhuddist.

"The core of my being is at peace... There are no mistakes," he said. "I embrace the universe. I send loving thoughts to all living beings, including the 'Futurama' cast and Fox executives.

"We love our Futurama actors," he added. "And we hope that Fox and the actors can come to an agreement as soon as possible."

Originally airing on Fox in 1999, "Futurama" rode its "Simpson" lead-in for as long as it could, but the network canceled the sci-fi toon in 2002. However, if "Family Guy" taught us anything, it's to never discount the underdog. Comedy Central repeats, DVD releases and two direct-to-video features later, "Futurama" has a new lease on life with a 2010 air date on Comedy Central.

However, talks between the 20th Century Fox TV and stars Billy West, Katey Sagal, John DiMaggio, Maurice LaMarche and Tress MacNeille have taken a turn for the worse. New budget restrictions mean a salary cut for the show's stars. With the cast and studio currently at an impasse, Fox put out a casting call for new voice actors.

At the panel, writers Eric Kaplan and David X. Cohen discussed ideas for future episodes, carefully skirting the issue of the negotiations.

Currently, there are no plans for Fox and the cast to continue talks.

Said Cohen, “Keep your fingers crossed.”

 

[Manic]

"Futurama" rode its "Simpson" lead-in for as long as it could

Actually, Futurama was the first thing on every Sunday night. It was King of the Hill's lead-in. The timeslot was part of the reason it got cancelled. It kept getting preempted by football games every Sunday night, and the football games always ended just before King of the Hill started at 7:30. If you lived in the wrong timezone, you'd miss Futurama completely.

 

[Manic]

"Futurama" rode its "Simpson" lead-in for as long as it could

Actually, Futurama was the first thing on every Sunday night. It was King of the Hill's lead-in. The timeslot was part of the reason it got cancelled. It kept getting preempted by football games every Sunday night, and the football games always ended just before King of the Hill started at 7:30. If you lived in the wrong timezone, you'd miss Futurama completely.