List of references to Futurama in popular culture
This article lists references to the show Futurama in popular culture, which are references made by other media to Futurama itself.
Film
Animation
Attack of the Drones
Attack of the Drones (link) was the fourth Duck Dodgers short and was released in 2003, though not theatrically, due to the failure of the film Looney Tunes: Back in Action. Dr. Zoidberg makes a cameo appearance in the council, even as much as having a line: "Uh, what do we do?" Billy West voiced him in this appearances, due to his obligations as Porky Pig.
The buildings and animation (2D with 3D sequences) are similar to Futurama's, and this may be due to the involvement of Futurama staff Dwayne Carey-Hill, Eric Kaplan and Rich Moore.
Logorama
In the 2009 short film Logorama, over 2,500 logos are used to tell the story. Among these is the logo for Slurm, which appears among others at KFC. The film's name is similar to Futurama.
Live-action
The Adventures of Pluto Nash
In the 2002 film The Adventures of Pluto Nash, a piece of music similar to the Futurama theme can be heard in some scenes set on the moon.
Comic Book: The Movie
The 2004 mockumentary film Comic Book: The Movie features a Futurama cutout. Some Futurama castmembers also appear in the film, including Matt Groening, Mark Hamill, Maurice LaMarche, and Billy West.
An Inconvenient Truth
The 2006 documentary film An Inconvenient Truth is linked to Futurama in several ways:
- In An Inconvenient Truth, Al Gore uses a scene from the episode "Crimes of the Hot" during his initial explanation of global warming.
- The Futurama cast and crew also made an animated faux-trailer for the film titled A Terrifying Message from Al Gore featuring Gore and Bender.
- Al Gore is a recurring guest star on Futurama, appearing in "Anthology of Interest I", "Crimes of the Hot", Bender's Big Score and "The Futurama Holiday Spectacular". He has said that Futurama is his favourite show, prior to his appearance on it, during the time of Season 1.
- His daughter, Kristin Gore, also worked for the show as a screen writer for all of Season 3 and 4's episodes, bar three.
Unfaithful
Futurama appears in the 2002 film Unfaithful. It is unknown where it appears in the movie, but Fox is credited for its use in the film. Christopher Tyng is also listed in the film's credits for the use of "Music from Futurama" in the film.
Internet
Miscellaneous
Encyclopædia Dramatica
Through 4chan, Encyclopædia Dramatica claims that there are four memes associated with Futurama on its page:
Heroes
A supplement of the TV series, the 2010 Heroes graphic novel "The Trip, Part 1" (#160; link) features the Planet Express ship in a full page panel.
Know Your Meme
Know Your Meme, a website and web series documenting Internet memes, lists five confirmed memes sourced from Futurama: "Not Sure If X", based on a still of Fry from "The Lesser of Two Evils"; the Hypnotoad; "I Don't Want to Live on This Planet Anymore", based on a quote by Professor Farnsworth from "A Clockwork Origin"; "Shut Up and Take My Money", based on a quote by Fry from "Attack of the Killer App"; and "Why Not Zoidberg?".
Macromeme
Clamps appears in a Macromeme comic (link), where he is shown in a conversation with a robot who has a CAPTCHA tattoo.
Mozilla Firefox
In Mozilla's Firefox browser (version 3 or later), if one types "about:robots" in the address bar, a page will appear paying tribute to robots in popular culture. The last point is "Robots have shiny metal posteriors which should not be bitten." This is a reference to Bender's catchphrase, "Bite my shiny metal ass!"
Robot Hall of Fame
Bender was nominated for a place in the Robot Hall of Fame. He was in second place, garnering 30% of the votes.
xkcd
xkcd has made several references to Futurama:
- The tooltip for comic 233 (link) says "They'd use that Futurama episode with Fry's dog, but even spambots cry at that". This references the CAPTCHA test to determine if a response is computer-generated, as well as the very emotional nature of the episode "Jurassic Bark".
- Ironically, one of the possible captcha questions that are presented upon editing an Infosphere article is "Did you cry when Seymour Asses died?"
- In comic 482 (link), the Planet Express ship is visible, and a word balloon proclaims "Hey, a heaping bowl of salt!" This references the episode "My Three Suns", where Fry mentions he once ate a heaping bowl of salt.
Video
ETC: Entertainment, Technology, Culture
The 58th episode of the Machinima-run show ETC: Entertainment, Technology, Culture (link) focuses on the return of Futurama to television.
Homestar Runner
In the 2008 Homestar Runner Halloween episode "Most in the Graveyard" (link), the Poopsmith is dressed up as Zoidberg. The King of Town also says Professor Farnsworth's catchphrase, "Good news, everyone!", when one clicks the Poopsmith at the end of the episode.
RiffTrax
In the 2007 RiffTrax commentary for The Star Wars Holiday Special (link), Ackmena tells two aliens to finish their Slurm.
Yu-Gi-Oh: The Abridged Series
Futurama has been referenced a number of times in Yu-Gi-Oh: The Abridged Series:
- In episode 7, released in 2006 (link), Tristan Taylor (in robot monkey form) and Joey Wheeler are dubbed over as Bender and Fry in the episode "Space Pilot 3000".
- In episode 17, released in 2007 (link), Yami Marik appears as a parody of the Hypnotoad, with the same eyes.
- In episode 19, released in 2007 (link), Seto Kaiba announces that he will start a tournament "with blackjack and hookers. In fact, forget the tournament". This is a reference to Bender's famous line from "The Series Has Landed".
- In episode 44, released in 2009 (link), Zoidberg appears as one of the cards during the opening segment.
- In episode 49, released in 2010 (link), a penguin attempts to communicate with Téa Gardner in a similar manner to how the penguins communicated with Bender in "The Birdbot of Ice-Catraz".
- In episode 51, released in 2011 (link), Bender appears as one of the cards during the opening segment.
WTLNetwork
Two WTLNetwork videos make references to Futurama:
- In "Feeble...FEEBLE?!?", laser-eyed Daisy makes a noise like the Hypnotoad.
- In "Percy Gets the Runs", Percy passes a sign reading "Teddy Bear Junction".
Music
Comedy
Josh Thomas
Australian comedian Josh Thomas, who has stated he is an atheist, says on the end of his track "Other Sexy Stuff", featured on his 2010 album Things That I Have Said Before, that he follows Oprah Winfrey instead. This could be a nod to Oprahism, a religion mentioned in the episode "Hell Is Other Robots".
Electronic
Bender vs. Flexo
The band Bender vs. Flexo takes its name from Bender and Flexo.
Bizzare Contact
Israeli electronic musician Bizzare Contact's track "Peaches on the Moon", featured on the 2006 compilation The Natural Waves of Sound 003, heavily samples dialogue from "The Series Has Landed".
Dickster and Tron
Electronic musicians Dickster and Tron's track "A Few Spoonful's", featured on the 2009 compilation Quantum Effects, samples two lines spoken by Professor Farnsworth in the episode "The 30% Iron Chef": "According to the spectrolizer, Spargle's magic ingredient was...water!" and "Laced with nothing more than a few spoonfuls of LSD."
Mike Modular
Electronic musician Mike Modular's track "Fry Through Space", a collaboration with fellow electronic musician Rinkadink featured on the 2004 compilation Wild Life - Jungle Juice, samples various lines from "Space Pilot 3000".
Rinkadink
Electronic musician Rinkadink's track "Anyone Seen Bender?", from his 2004 album Rabbit from Darkside, samples dialogue between Bender and the Galactic Entity from "Godfellas"; it also samples a clip of Fry looking for Bender and a clip of H.G. Blob responding to Fry, both from the same episode. "Fry Through Space", a 2004 track by him and Mike Modular featured on the 2004 compilation Wild Life - Jungle Juice, samples various lines from "Space Pilot 3000".
Hip-hop
DANGERDOOM
As well as featuring characters from fellow animated television series such as Aqua Teen Hunger Force, The Brak Show, Family Guy and Space Ghost Coast to Coast, the song "El Chupa Nibre", from DANGERDOOM's 2005 album The Mouse and the Mask, references the monster El Chupanibre from Futurama in its title. The song "Space Ho's", also on the same album, features the lyric "Look Leela eyeball to eyeballs".
MC Lars
MC Lars referenced the show in the song "Space Game", from his 2006 album The Graduate, with the lyric "Hey Fry, look, we can still be friends. I won't ask Leela out again".
Beastie Boys
In 2009, the Beastie Boys released a song called "Too Many Rappers". In the song, there is a line where it is said that they will be rapping "until the year 3000 and beyond". (Click here for the lyrics.) This is likely a reference to Futurama - considering their appearance in "Hell Is Other Robots".
Yung Lean
In 2018, Yung Lean released a mixtape titled Poison Ivy, which features a track named "bender++girlfriend". The lyrics state: "Got robotic instincts like I'm Bender, Futurama spaceship box of syrup in the blender".
Rock
Atomic Raygun Attack
The band Atomic Raygun Attack released an EP entitled Atomic Raygun Attack Presents: The Sting (link) in 2007 which bases its six songs off the Futurama episode "The Sting".
The Devin Townsend Project
The title of the song "Bend It Like Bender!" by The Devin Townsend Project, from their 2009 album Addicted, references Bender. Additionally, the song contains the line "Game's over, losers! I have all the money!", spoken by Bender in the episode "A Head in the Polls".
Machinae Supremacy
The Machinae Supremacy song "Attack Music" (link) opens with a sample of the quote "In actual news, the human race was doomed to extinction today, as the robot revolt turned violent", spoken by Linda in the episode "Mother's Day".
Publications
Comics
52
In an issue of the comic series 52 (#21, published September, 2006), the Australian mechanic Johnny Warrawa wears a welding mask shaped like Bender's face whilst repairing the droid head of the Red Tornado.
Action Comics
In Action Comics (#863, published May, 2008), a Legion of Super-Heroes comic, there is a plot involving aliens being sent to a prison camp. Among them is what appears to be Zoidberg and possibly Kif Kroker.
Deadpool / GLI - Summer Fun Spectacular
In the Deadpool / GLI - Summer Fun Spectacular, published July 2007, Bender can be seen on the television screen in the GLI headquarters.
FoxTrot
Bender, R2-D2 (Star Wars), and Maximillian (The Black Hole) make a brief cameo appearance. Interestingly, Countdown to Futurama author Matt Tobey, who posted "Futurama Fanarama: Bender in FoxTrot", mistook R2-D2 for "C3PO from Star Trek" (actually from Star Wars) and Maximillian for "Dr. Zaius from The Matrix" (actually from Planet of the Apes). It is possible, however, that he did so knowingly.
Life in Hell
In Matt Groening's comic, Life in Hell, a Bender-like doll appears in a 1999 Christmas strip.
Off The Mark
The 17 September, 2009, issue of the single panel comic Off The Mark, created by Mark Parisi, features Leela trying to be chatted up by cyclops Mike Wazowski from the film Monsters, Inc., whilst his friend Sulley is at the bar with Fry and Bender.
Outer Orbit
The Planet Express Ship appears in an issue of the Dark Horse Comics miniseries Outer Orbit.
Top 10
In issue 11 of Top 10, a discoloured Fry, Leela, and Bender can be seen in the background of the first frame of page 11. Nibbler is also featured two panels later wearing a shirt saying "Slam", a reference to the DC Comics' Message Board poster who suggested Nibbler as an Easter egg.
Transmetropolitan
In Transmetropolitan #25, there is a billboard which depicts Leela and Bender.
Young Avengers
In Young Avengers Special #1 (published February, 2006), the logo for Slurm can be seen on a vending machine being thrown by the Hulkling.
Zits
In a Zits comic (published in the 2001 collection, Big Honkin' Zits), Jeremy is excited about a new Futurama episode.
Magazines
Cracked
Cracked was a humour magazine which based most of its material on popular culture. This gallery shows all appearances of Futurama in Cracked:
Futurama is parodied on the cover of #340 (published December, 1999),...
... whilst inside, there is a comic parody called "Futuredrama". The full 5 pages can be read here.
Forbes
Mom was included in the 2007 Forbes list of the richest fictional characters. She was ranked at #4 with an estimated net worth of $15.7 billion. MomCorp was also included in the list of "The 25 Largest Fictional Companies" which estimated its sales at $291.8 billion.
Mad
The Mad magazine parodies many popular culture things, including Futurama. This gallery shows all appearances of Futurama in Mad:
In this translation of a German edition, there is a parody named "Botterama". The full 4 page comic and information on the more obscure jokes can be read here.
In another German magazine (#31, published April, 2001), Futurama is parodied on the front cover...
...and in a comic on an interior page. "Schraub" is German for "screw".
On the cover of this 2008 summer issue, dealing with superheroes, instead of coming out in his usual armour, Tony Stark comes out as Bender instead.
Mother Jones
Four panels of Futurama are featured on the back of the May/June, 2001 issue of Mother Jones.
Novels
Ark Angel
In the sixth book of the Alex Rider series, Ark Angel (published 1 April, 2005), the CIA hide behind the pseudonym "Creative Ideas Animations". In their SoHo office, they sell, among others, Futurama original drawings.
Television
Animation
Adventure Time
- In the episode "Everything's Jake" (aired 24 November, 2014), Billy West voices Goose using Fry's voice, the mayor with Zapp Brannigan's voice and Dr. Erik Adamkinson with Professor Farnsworth's voice. Tress MacNeille also voices Dr. Adamkinson's mother using Mom's voice, and an urchin using Tinny Tim's voice. Goose tells Jake (voiced by John DiMaggio, aka Bender) that he is his best friend (a reference to the relationship between Fry and Bender), and that he hasn't seen him in 2-3 years (a reference to Futurama going off air in September, 2013).
American Dad!
- In the episode "The Longest Distance Relationship" (aired 18 May, 2014), Jeff and Sinbad travel through a wormhole and end up on Earth 60 years into the future; here the Earthican flag from Futurama can be seen on the Smith family's front lawn. Also, as they enter the wormhole, Jeff and Sinbad switch between many different animation styles, one of them being very similar to the style of animation used for Futurama and The Simpsons.
Aqua Teen Hunger Force
In an episode of Aqua Teen Hunger Force called "Bible Fruit" (aired 23 March, 2008), Frylock, Meatwad and Master Shake have a discussion about watching Futurama. It is a joke about Futurama being removed from Adult Swim, as Comedy Central had bought the rights to the show.
Meatwad: Why don't you ask that TV if he minds showin' me some Futurama. I like me some Futurama.
Shake: Well now we're too damn cheap to receive it, so go the hell over to Carl Central and watch it to your heart's content.
Meatwad: Carl gets Futurama?
Shake: He didn't even want it until we started watching it.
The Cleveland Show
- "Leela: Orphan of the Stars" by Fry is one of the Hot 100 Cartoon Songs in "Harder, Better, Faster, Browner".
- Dawnn Lewis provides the voice of Mrs. Bailey, a Jamaican woman, which is very similar to that of LaBarbara, also a Jamaican woman, in "Murray Christmas".
- A Bender costume appears twice in "Hot Cocoa Bang Bang".
"Harder, Better, Faster, Browner".
"Murray Christmas".
"Hot Cocoa Bang Bang".
"Hot Cocoa Bang Bang".
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Drawn Together
In the episode "Breakfast Food Killer" (aired 18 October, 2007) of Drawn Together, Bender is briefly seen as a silhouette, waiting to be a mascot for Frankenberry's Empire.
The Grim Adventures of Billy & Mandy
In the episode "Dream Mutt" (aired 17 June, 2005) of The Grim Adventures of Billy & Mandy, Wiggy Jiggy Jed's line "So you can lick my Candy-striped..." may be a reference to Bender's line, "Bite my shiny metal ass".
Johnny Test
In the episode "JTV" (aired 4 November, 2006) of Johnny Test, they are flipping though the channels on the television and the line "I'm my own grandpa..." is said. It may be a reference to the fact Fry is his own grandpa.
Mad
In the episode "Real Veal / Celebrity Wife Swamp" (aired 5 March, 2012) of the show Mad, Bender makes a cameo appearance in the segment "Real Veal", a parody of the 2011 film Real Steel. He is seen in a robot boxing championship losing to "Real Veal", a robot-cow hybrid.
The PJs
In the episode "Cliffhangin' with Mr. Super" (aired 18 August, 2000) of the show The PJs, Fry makes a cameo appearance on a wanted ad on a milk carton, referring to Fry's disappearance after being frozen. This was an act of reciprocation for The PJs being etched onto a manhole cover in the episodes "I Second that Emotion" and "The Luck of the Fryrish", like the The PJs' opening scene.
Rick and Morty
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In the episode "Raising Gazorpazorp", Morty can be seen holding a mechanical claw that looks very similar to Zoidberg's right at the beginning of the episode.
Although this was technically in the Simpsons, In another universes spaceport-like place, the planet express ship can be seen for about a second flying over Morty's head in the couch gag for the episode "Mathlete's Feat"
Shaun the Sheep
In the Shaun the Sheep episode "The Visitor", aired 4 September 2007, the alien's space ship can use sheep feces as fuel. This resembles Nibbler's waste.
South Park
In the South Park episode "Go God Go" (aired 1 November, 2006), Cartman is stuck in the snow and is buried by an avalanche and is defrosted 500 years later. Although not an explicit reference to Futurama, there is brief reference to cryogenics, and the name of the city "New New Hampshire" is familiar to other names of cities used in Futurama, like "New New York".
Panty & Stocking with Garterbelt
In the second episode of this Japanese anime, several characters from other animes or cartoons can be seen in the background for a brief moment, including Fry.
Family Guy
- See Family Guy.
Live-action
The Colbert Report
During the intro for the 22 June, 2009 episode of The Colbert Report, Colbert's interview with author Simon Schama was headlined "Future-Schama", a pun on the name for Futurama.
When talking about the U.S. government not shutting down, Colbert was dismayed in his 11 April, 2011 episode (clip available to all but Canadian and British audiences) that all the countdowns on news channels were unemployed. He even had his own countdown, which he decided to repurpose for a countdown to another Futurama rerun, where he further specified that it would also work for rebroadcasts of his show, as, on Comedy Central, people are never more than an hour away from a Futurama rerun.
The Comedy Central Roast
The Comedy Central Roasts are events hosted by Comedy Central, when a celebrity is made fun of by other celebrities. During the introduction to the Roast of William Shatner, clips of his appearances in movies and television shows were shown, including a clip of his appearance in the episode "Where No Fan Has Gone Before". The same was done for Pamela Anderson, where a clip of her appearance from "A Fishful of Dollars" was used in her montage.
Countdown with Keith Olbermann
Countdown with Keith Olbermann is a news show hosted by Keith Olbermann who regularly uses catchphrases from The Simpsons and Family Guy, but has recently taken to common use of Professor Farnsworth's catch phrase, "Good news, everyone!"
Tosh.0
During the recent premiere of the episode "Rebirth", an ad for Tosh.0 came on, where Daniel uses Futurama as a reference to his show.
Doctor Who
The relaunched Doctor Who contains a few possible references (or just similarities) to Futurama.
- In the series 1 episode, "The Long Game" (aired 7 May, 2005), a character pretends to be a student at Mars University, to which a medical technician replies, "The Martian boondocks. Typical!"
- The series 2 episode, "New Earth" (aired 15 April, 2006), which is set in the year five billion and twenty-three in the city of New New York. However, if the city had been more accurately named, it would in fact be "New New New New New New New New New New New New New New New New York" as it was the fifteenth New York.
- New New York also appears in the series 3 episode, "Gridlock" (aired 14 April, 2007), which is set 30 years after "New Earth". It features a character called Thomas Kincade Brannigan, and has a similar skyline to Futurama. They also briefly refer to the regular New York as "Old New York", as do the 31st century characters in Futurama.
- The series 4 Christmas Special, "Voyage of the Damned" (aired 25 December, 2007), has an interstellar cruiser modelled after the original RMS Titanic. This is very similar to the space cruise ship, Titanic, in the Futurama episode, "A Flight to Remember".
- The series 5 episode, "The Beast Below" (aired 10 april, 2010), features a "Star Whale", a giant alien species living in the depth of space, and captured by the Starship UK to pilot it. The concept of a whale-like alien living alone in space is similar to that of the four-dimensional space whale in the 2011 Futurama episode "Möbius Dick". (A space whale-based episode was first proposed for Doctor Who in 1985.)
The Einstein Factor
Contestants in the Australian ABC1 quiz show The Einstein Factor choose a specialty on which to be quizzed during the first round. During episode ten of the 2005 season, a contestant chose Futurama as his specialty. He was the second placing of three contestants in the episode.
Gilmore Girls
In the Gilmore Girls episode "Scene in a Mall" (aired 24 February 2004), Brian has a set of action figures from the show, which he and Zach discuss at length.
Good News Week
In an episode of Good News Week, broadcast 31st August 2009, Paul McDermott, the host, went to a commercial break saying "Stay tuned meatbags!" Meatbag is a word frequently used by Bender.
Journeyman
In the series Journeyman, in the episode "Emily" (aired 19 November, 2007), Dan Vasser travels back in time to the year 2001, and enters his own house and at that time, on a TV screen, a clip from "Parasites Lost" is seen and heard (Professor Farnsworth saying "Come on, let's all give Fry some privacy."). This means that he probably travelled to 21 January.
Kenan & Kel
In season 4 of the sitcom Kenan & Kel, there is an episode named "Futurama" (aired 31 December, 1999) which is set in the year 3000.
Lost
- In the episode "The Man Behind the Curtain" (aired 9 May, 2007), the plot element of the Dharma Initiative arrivals being assigned their new jobs and one being angry about it, is similar to the Career chip in the Futurama episode "Space Pilot 3000".
- In the episode "Because You Left", released 21 January, 2009, Daniel describes the time skips like a needle skipping on a record player. This is a direct quote from the Futurama episode "Time Keeps on Slippin'".
Media Watch
On the 8 September, 2003 episode of Media Watch, a man called Jonathon complained about Futurama being broadcast on Channel Seven. The transcript can be read here.
Modern Family
In the episode "Manny Get Your Gun", Manny tries to make a prank call under the fake name Seymour Butts.
Stargate Universe
In the Stargate Universe episode "Earth" (aired 6 November, 2009), Eli Wallace goes under the alias of "Philip Fry".
Talkin' 'Bout Your Generation
The Australian quiz show, Talkin' 'Bout Your Generation, asks many popular culture questions.
- On episode 9, aired 30 June 2009, in the round "Your Generation", a true or false question was asked: "Did Darren Shatner, the son of William Shatner, compose the theme song to Futurama?" Generation Y answered true and got the question wrong. Futurama's theme song was actually composed by Christopher Tyng.
- On the episode aired 26 October 2010, Zoidberg was featured as a cut-out in the game "¡chronoloco!".
Warehouse 13
On the 8 September, 2009 episode of the Syfy series Warehouse 13 (episode 10, "Breakdown"), Claudia says, "Oh, we're boned!" This is one of Bender’s catch-phrases.
QI
On the episode titled "Lethal" of popular British comedy-quiz show QI, the panelist discussed euthanasia. Host Stephen Fry brought up Futurama's [[Suicide booth|suicide booths] as an example of sci-fi displaying euthanasia as a everyday right, stating that there are "three modes of suicide in Futurama: Quick and painless", "slow and horrible", and "clumsy bludgeoning".
Video Games
Miscellaneous
Contra 4
Bender appears credited with his full name on the Special Thanks section in the Contra 4 credits, released 13 November, 2007.
Gears of War 2
On Gears of War 2, released 7 November, 2008, in the special thanks section for the makers, Mikey Spano says That Guy's quote of "My one regret is that I have Boneitis!". John DiMaggio voices the franchise's main character Marcus Fenix and supporting character Franklin in the game.
Halo 3
In Halo 3, released 25 September, 2007, there is an easter egg called the "I Would Have Been Your Daddy" skull which makes characters say rare, weird, or uncommon dialog. One of the quotes that may be heard from the UNSC Marine Corps after killing an enemy is "He's pending for a bending!", a phrase which Bender has exclaimed on the rare occasion.
Enter the Gungeon
The Wind Up Gun is a reference to the wind-up laser rifles used by the DOOP army in "War Is the H-Word".
Team Fortress 2
In Team Fortress 2, released 10 October, 2007, an unlockable headgear called "Triboniophorus tyrannus" (released with the first community contribution update on 18 March, 2010) is modelled after the brain slugs on Futurama. It can be seen being made and used here.
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2
In the multiplayer map "Carnival" there are several references to Futurama including:
- Outside a fake Rocket Ship, there is a planet and in front of it the words "Planet Xpress".
- The rocket ship and subsequent mural have a striking resemblance to the Planet Express ship. To the right of the Planet Xpress globe sign, there's a sign that reads C-R-U-S-H-I-N-A-T-O-R.
Call of Duty: Black Ops
In Call of Duty: Black Ops, released 9 November 2010, Richard Nixon is a playable character in the zombie survival mode. Occasionally, he makes references to Futurama by saying things like "NIXON'S BACK!" and "AROOOO!"
TimeSplitters: Future Perfect
In the game TimeSplitters: Future Perfect, released 21 March, 2005, the Gingerbread Man says Bender's quote of "Bite my crunchy brown ass!" in the character select menu. It can be viewed here.
Vampire: The Masquerade – Bloodlines
In the hospital, of the game Vampire: The Masquerade – Bloodlines (16 November, 2004), a patient named D. Marsh is diagnosed with frequent bouts of Sexlexia.
In the bar, Arp Hole, if the player tries to seduce a woman in the bar, one of the dialogue options is, "I find the most erotic part of a woman is the boobies", referencing "Amazon Women in the Mood".
Fallout: New Vegas
In the Lonesome Road DLC (20 September, 2011), using the "Wild Wasteland" perk, a fossilized dog named "Seymour" can be found in the "Cave of the Abaddon", referencing Fry's dog, which was found by Fry fossilized in the future.
Joshua E. Sawyer the lead designer of Fallout: New Vegas said "Fallout 3? I'll make my own Fallout 3 with Blackjack and hookers!", this is similar to what Bender says after being thrown out of Luna Park.
The Sims 3
The expansion pack Into the Future, released on 22 October, 2013, features three characters that resemble Fry, Leela, and Bender.
MMORPG
RuneScape
- The Sea slugs' ability to take over a human's mind is similar to the brain slugs of Futurama.
- During the final dialogue of the quest Troll Romance (released 5 January, 2005), Arrg says "This concept of 'love' confuses and infuriates Arrg." This is a reference to a quote said by Lrrr in the episode "Love and Rocket".
- In the 100th quest, Recipe for Disaster (released 15 March, 2006), when the player is informed by Gypsy Aris that the universe could be destroyed, the player exclaims, "Not the whole universe! That's where I keep my stuff!", a quote originally appearing in Futurama.
World of Warcraft
- In the game World of Warcraft (released 23 November, 2004), [Professor Putricide]'s voice and many parts of his quotes (such as "Good news, everyone!") are based on Farnsworth. It can be seen here.
- Outside The Exodar, a small black cat called [Nibblet] can be seen walking around. This is probably a reference to Nibbler from Futurama.
- In the Apothecarium area. there is a large, stitched together thing that periodically excretes a load of the green goo that fills the Canals. This is vaguely reminiscent of the Slurm Queen's behind in the episode "Fry and the Slurm Factory".
Various
The Simpsons
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The Simpsons is Matt Groening's other TV show. It easily references Futurama the most of all media because of this connection. This is a small sample of the references. For more, see its main page.
- In "Bart Gets Famous", there is a head in a jar in a dream about the future from Bart Simpson. This episode aired approximately 5 years and a month before Futurama started, on 3 February, 1994.
- In Simpsons Comics #99 (published October, 2004), there is a cameo appearance by Bender.
- In "Future-Drama", aired 17 April, 2005, Bender appears in the hovercar Homer Simpson and Bart are driving after crossing a "quantum tunnel". There are references to heads preserved in jars, Hovercars and cities similar to Futurama. Homer's under water house resembles one that Fry considers buying in "I, Roommate". The title, "Future-Drama", is an obvious reference to the title of Futurama itself.
- In The Simpsons Game, released 30 October, 2007, Bender and Dr. Zoidberg are characters at the end of Level 15 - "5 Characters In Search Of an Author." Fry also appears in a painting from Matt Groening.
- In Simpsons Super Spectacular #6 (published January, 2008), the Planet Express crew appear at the end of this comic.
- In "Beware My Cheating Bart", Fry and Leela are seen on an asteroid in a scene where the camera is zooming out of the universe and a meteor instructs viewers (in Alien Language 1) to "Watch Futurama, Thursdays at 10".
- A Futurama/Simpsons crossover aired in 2014.
- In the couch gag for the episode "Mathlete's Feat", in which Morty travels to another dimension that resembles a spaceport, the planet express ship is seen flying in the air.
Star Wars
- In the comic Skippy the Jedi Droid (published in Star Wars Tales 1 on 29 September, 1999), Bender is seen making fun of Skippy.
- Bender is seen in the comic Junkheap Hero (published in Star Wars Tales 6 on 20 December, 2000) as a scrapped droid.
- The "Bender Droid" also appeared in the novel Death Star, published 16 October, 2007. It is unknown if they are related.
- A droid with the name "Probulator" appears in the online game Star Wars Galaxies, first released 26 June, 2003.
- The droid HK-47, and other droids from the Star Wars Expanded Universe have been known to use Bender's phrase of "Meatbag".
- Appearing in Being Boba Fett (published in Star Wars Tales 18 on 24 December, 2003), Bendu Fry's name was probably derived from Bender and Fry.
- A clip from "War Is the H-Word" appears in the "The Birth of the Lightsaber" featurette on the 25th anniversary trilogy DVD.
- Bender was seen in the Star Wars parody Family Guy: Blue Harvest (released 23 September, 2007), in the Chalmun's Cantina scene.
- There are a few characters in the Star Wars Galaxy with names shared in Futurama, though these might just be coincidences. Among them are Bender, Farnsworth, Fry and Leela.
- Xamar's species, Khil, has been jokingly referred to as being the same species of Zoidberg, Decapodian.
Transformers
- In the Transformers: Universe comic "The Wreckers: Finale Part 1", Bender appears as a resident of CSSB-16 Spaceport.
- In the Transformers: Timelines story "Gone Too Far" (published 13 March, 2008), Old Fortran is mentioned.
- In the Transformers: Timelines script reading "Bee in the City" (presented 26 April, 2008), the Transformers Animated incarnation of Bumblebee says "My manwich!", a line used by Hermes and Dwight Conrad in Futurama (Dwight and Animated Bumblebee were both voiced by Bumper Robinson).
- In the Transformers Animated episode "A Fistful of Energon" (aired 24 May, 2008), the Starscream clones #2716057 and #3370318 are references to Bender and Flexo's serial numbers.
- In "The AllSpark Almanac", a Transformers Animated guidebook (published 19 August, 2009), there is an advertisement for many films, including Bikini Party Summer from the episode "That's Lobstertainment!".
- The voice actors Frank Welker, Phil LaMarr, Bumper Robinson, Kath Soucie, Tom Kenny, Maurice LaMarche and John DiMaggio have done work for both Futurama and Transformers.
Exalted
- In the Exalted tabletop RPG supplement, Manual of Exalted Power: Alchemicals has a reference to Bender in its index, as part of a joking reference to loops.
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