Futurama - Season 3 [DVD]

Good news, everyone, the third series of Futurama is just as funny as ever--irreverent, boundlessly inventive, warmhearted and chock full of in-jokes, sight gags and fleeting references to all manner of pop culture icons and obscure genre classics. In fact, if the show has a problem it's this very fecundity: it's all so lovingly crafted that scarcely a frame goes by without something both funny and clever going on: when a horse wins a race by a quantum fraction, Prof Farnsworth fulminates "You changed the result by observing it!"

Recurring minor characters (Elzar the chef, the robot mafia, the mutants in the sewers) pop up unexpectedly throughout, providing another wink to dedicated fans; like Red Dwarf, this is a show that loves the genre it sets out to spoof. Shame, then, that the show has had a troubled broadcast history and never quite found the mainstream appeal of its stablemate The Simpsons.

This year, Fry and the Planet Express team find themselves stranded on a planet of unfeasibly large women ("Amazon Women in the Mood"), standing in for psychotic Robo-Santa ("A Tale of Two Santas", with John Goodman reprising his evil robot) and variously falling in love with each other and sundry other humans, aliens, man-bots, fem-bots, virtual reality constructs and even the Planet Express ship itself.

On the DVD: Futurama, Series 3 comprises 22 episodes on four discs (see below for complete episode list). As with previous series DVDs the animated menus are a treat and there's a selection of bonus features including deleted scenes, storyboards, selected episode commentaries, animatics, "How to draw" tips and more. Best of all, though, each disc now has a "Play All" facility for the first time. Sheer heaven. --Mark Walker

Disc One – Episodes:

• Amazon Women in the Mood
  
• Parasites Lost
  
• A Tale of Two Santas
  
• The Luck of the Fryrish
  
• The Birdbot of Ice-Catraz
  
• Bendless Love

Special Features:

• Commentary for each episode
  
• Gallery for Parasites Lost
  
• Deleted scenes from all episodes
  
• Easter Egg – David X. Cohen Introduction
  
• Easter Egg – Table Read for A Tale of Two Santas

Disc Two – Episodes:

• The Day the Earth Stood Stupid
  
• That's Lobstertainment
  
• The Cyber House Rules
  
• Where the Buggalo Roam
  
• Insane in the Mainframe
  
• The Route of All Evil

Special Features:

• Audio commentary for each episode
  
• Deleted scene from The Day the Earth Stood Stupid, That’s Lobstertainment, The Cyber House Rules, Where the Buggalo Roam, Insane in the Mainframe

Disc Three – Episodes:

• Bendin' in the Wind
  
• Time Keeps on Slipping
  
• I Dated a Robot
  
• A Leela of Her Own
  
• A Pharaoh to Remember

Special Features:

• Audio commentary for each episode
  
• Deleted scenes from Time Keeps on Slipping, A Leela of Her Own, A Pharaoh to Remember

Disc Four – Episodes:

• Anthology of Interest, Part II
  
• Roswell That Ends Well
  
• Godfellas
  
• Future Stock
  
• The 30% Iron Chef

Special Features:

• Audio commentary for each episode
  
• Alternative animated commentary for Roswell That Ends Well
  
• How to Draw Characters – 1. Fry 2. Leela
  
• Still Gallery
  
• Deleted scene from Roswell That Ends Well, Future Stock, The 30% Iron Chef
  
• Easter Egg – alternative show opening quotes
  
• Animatics for Anthology of Interest, Part II

DVD Technical Information:

• Running Time: 506 minutes (not including extras)
  
• Subtitles: French, Danish, Finnish, Norwegian, Swedish, English
  
• Original Aspect Ratio: 4 x 3 FF
  
• Sound Quality: 2.0 Dolby Surround

Features the episodes 'Amazon Women In The Mood', 'Parasites Lost', 'A Tale Of Two Santas', 'The Luck Of The Fryrish', 'The Birdbot Of Ice-Catraz', 'Bendless Love', 'The Day The Earth Stood Stupid', 'That's Lobstertainment', 'The Cyber House Rules', 'Where The Buggalo Roam', 'Insane In The Mainframe', 'The Route Of All Evil', 'Bendin' In The Wind', 'Time Keeps On Slipping', 'I Dated A Robot', 'A Leela Of Her Own', 'A Pharaoh To Remember', 'Anthology Of Interest - Part 3', 'Roswell That Ends Well', 'Godfellas', 'Future Stock' and 'The 30% Iron Chef'.