Globex Corporation Newsletter

I've really been into lists a lot lately. It's great blog fodder, it takes up a lot of space and really doesn't involve much writing. Add some photos and you gots yourself one memorable post.

So I love the show Futurama that FOX stupidly canceleda few years ago. It lives on in Cartoon Network's Adult Swim programming block. As with The Simpsons, Futurama's brilliance lies in its wonderful characters. You would think that it would be hard to come up with 10 characters from a show that revolves primarily around 3 of them, but not so, lots to choose from here...

10.Scruffy
Scruffy only shows up in a handful of episodes, the other characters don't recognize him, he, in turn claims to have never seen them before. Scruffy owns far more Planet Express stock than any other character because "Scruffy believes in this company..."

9.The Robot Devil
Characters with a good musical numbers always catch my attention. The Robot Devil is the actual devil from Robotology (robot hell is in New Jersey) and can take possession of robots'souls (such as they are). He was prominent in the series finale, one of my favorite Futurama episodes.

8.Zap Branigan
The Democratic Order of Planets' most decorated general and leader of Branigan's Rough Raiders. The Zapper got busy with Leela in an early episode but has been largely ignored (and once savagely beaten) by her in later episodes.

7.Hermes Conrad
The bureaucrat for Planet Express, Hermes Conrad was a former Jamaican limbo champion who represented Earth in the Olympics. A stickler for detail, but a lover of other things that Jamaicans love (I meant reggae music), Hermes keeps Planet Express running efficiently

6.Prof. Hubert Farnsworth
An immoral scientist and creator of such inventions as "The Smelloscope" and "The Finglonger." Farnsworth is the owner of Planet Exporess and is distantly related (a great great great great great great great great great great great great great great great [well, you get the idea] nephew) of Phillip J. Fry.

5.Amy Wong
Prof. Farnsworth's college intern, the daughter of the Wongs who own the Western Hemisphere of Mars (the best hemisphere, just like on earth). Amy and the Wongs only play a primary role in a couple of episodes.

4.Teranga Leela
Not an alien like we were led to believe in early episodes, but actually the least mutated mutant in New New York's sewers. Leela is the ship's captain of the Planet Express ship, but isn't able to exert much influence over her crew/

3.Phillip J. Fry
A pizza delivery boy from 1000 years in the past, Futurama pretty much revolves around him (he is the most important person in the universe, but The Dave Matthews Band does NOT rock...). Fry sort of serves as the slacker guy that someone brought up in the 20th century can identify with.

2.Dr. John Zoidberg
Though he sounds it, Zoidberg can't be Jewish. Why, you ask? Shellfish isn't kosher. The episode in which Zoidberg returns to his home planet for mating or "klauplak" has some of the best Futurama moments, most notably, the playing of the National Anthem.

1.Bender Bending Rodriguez
Bending is his middle name, and he was manufacured in the bad part of Tijuana. As far as I'm concerned, you can't go wrong with a foul-mouthed robot, and Bender is the king of this very specialized sci-fi sub-genre.

It's my list. Opinions may differ from mine, but they would all be wrong.

My nephew, Scooter, wants me to do one of my invitational lists on best cartoon characters. Rest assured, Bender would make mine.

BOJ

Labels: Lists