Customer Reviews

Futurama - Monster Robot Maniac Fun Collection

5 star:		(10)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

I must say that Futurama is a very interesting show; While comparing this show and Family Guy's fourth season (not the previous three seasons really), I can say that Futurama is much funnier and more bearable than FG's new season. So after seeing this DVD came out, I thought "What the hell. Kick in $10 and you won't have to buy the Volume sets."

Like the FG Freakin' Sweet Collection, Futurama's Monster Robot Maniac Fun Collection is a compilation of four episodes (one episode per season) hand-picked by the creator himself. Here are my given thoughts on these episodes:

Hell is Other Robots is probably the funniest episode of the first season, where Bender, while trying to clean up his act, joins a robot religion group which irritates his friends at the Planet Express. Plenty of gags and music to keep you happy. 9/10

Anthology of Interest I is one of my all-time favorites; I always enjoy 10-minute sketches compiled into a half-hour episode like Simpsons' Treehouse of Horror and Family Guy's Viewer Mail. Fry, Leela, and Bender lend their wonders in a "what-if" machine; Bender wonders what if he was 500 feet tall (obvious to see him on the DVD cover art), Leela wonders what if she was a little more impulsive, and Fry wonders what if he never fell into the cryogenic freezer and never come into the future. 10/10

The Emmy-award winning Roswell that Ends Well follows Fry accidentally opening a time portal by a pot of popcorn while at a supernova explosion in a microwave and transporting the entire Planet Express Crew into Roswell, New Mexico in the year 1947, the time where Fry's grandfather was alive...well, at least Fry tries to keep him that way. Funny episode, well-written, period. 9/10

One thing I like about this show is that unlike Family Guy, which would just be a string of gags without any thick plotline, Futurama would concentrate on the characters' evolution and create such solid concepts. That's where The Sting comes in. Leela keeps thinking that Fry is alive and is communicating through her dreams after Fry is instantly killed by a giant bee. The bulk of this episode focuses on the Fry/Leela relationship; Clever and surreal, and while not as funny as the other episodes on this disc, it still has heart. 8/10

Now on to the extras: We get an overall disc intro, as well as individual intros per episode, by creator Matt Groening, developer David X. Cohen, a few producers, and voice actors Billy West and John Dimaggio. We also get a "lost" animatic of Hell is Other Robots with an optional commentary by the same people. This DVD doesn't offer much really, but these extras at least save this from being another bare-bones release. 6/10

Hardcore fans may appreciate the extras in the DVD, but the main focus is for newcomers for the shows, and of course, for casual fans. I still don't feel like buying the season sets yet, simply because the show is still rerunning on Adult Swim and TBS.

Overall score 7/10

Note to fans: The Futurama crew's called back to do four Direct-to-DVD movies so the show still has a future!

Yep. This is a good sign that Fox is still interested in the show.

Just like the Family Guy Freakin' Sweet DVD, these 4 episodes (1 episode per season) are hand-picked favorites by the creator of the show, Matt Groening. These episodes are:

Hell is Other Robots (S1)
Anthology of Interest I (S2)
Roswell that Ends Well (S3)
The Sting (S4)

If the extras are good, than that will make this DVD worth buying. There's no final word on what the extras are yet, but there are some rumors that there will be intros into each episode by Matt Groening, as well as brand new commentaries and a never-before-seen animatic.

If you want more info on this, go to GotFuturama.com. Otherwise BITE MY SHINY METAL @$$!

Set contains four of Futurama's top episodes: "Hell Is Other Robots" (featuring the Beastie Boys), "Anthology of Interest I" (featuring Al Gore, Nichelle Nichols, and Stephen Hawking), the Emmy-winning "Roswell That Ends Well", and the Emmy-nominated "The Sting".

Bonuses include an animatic (the early, rough pencil animation) of "Hell Is Other Robots" complete with new commentary track and scenes cut from the final version; a general intro to the disc by Matt Groening, cast (John Dimaggio - Bender, and Billy West - Fry/Zoidberg/Professor), and crew; as well as individual intros to each episode, and maybe an Easter Egg or two.

While they might not all be robot related, this is an assembly of some great episodes from the 4 season run of the show. "Roswell that ends Well", and "Anthology of Interest" are some of my favorite episodes.

You like the show, so why the two star rating you ask? Well there is very little new content for fans, such as myself, who have the 4 season boxsets. New to the disc is an animatic from "Hell is Other Robots" which runs about 5 minutes longer than the finished episode. There is also a brand new commentary track on the animatic. Rounding out the new extras is an intro to the series and mini-intros to each episode. Curiously the commentary tracks on all 4 episodes which were present on the season sets are not present on this compilation.

I suppose this collection is meant to attract the casual fan who wants to see some of the best the show had to offer, and it does a fairly good job at that, though a welcome inclusion would have been the Pilot episode to properly introduce people to the Futurama Universe. Another excellent bonus feature would have been to include the hillarious cinematics from the Futurama video game.

To summarize, if you already own the boxsets, there is not much reason to bother with this release, rent it if you want to give the commentary track a listen. If your new to the series, this is a pretty good litmus test to whether your style of humor gels with Futurama, though your money would probably be better spent toward the purchase of Vol. 1 of the series.

I'm buying this despite owning every season on DVD. Why? Because if FOX is looking to bring back the best animated show ever, then ten bucks is not much for me to part with to show my interest and support. Besides, even those who don't need it can give it as a gift.

Futurama: Monster Robot Maniac Fun Collection collects four episodes of the much loved sci-fi spoofing series from Simpsons creator Matt Groening. The episodes collected here include "Hell Is Other Robots", "Anthology of Interest I", "Roswell That Ends Well", and "The Sting"; all of which are quite funny and great episodes as well, and the DVD itself includes some introductions from Groening and others as well. However, all that being said, this DVD compilation is for ultra casual fans of the series only who don't already own the DVD season box sets. For those that do own the DVD season box sets, there's absolutely no reason to buy this disc at all, but for ultra casual fans of the series or those new to the series and are looking to get into it, this is a decent buy. It's just disappointing that a few more extras weren't included on here, which would have been really nice.

This reminds me of the Family Guy "Freakin' Sweet" DVD, except with even less new material. I'm sorry, I just don't like the re-packaging of old episodes in a new disc unless they really make it worth your while. I didn't buy this disc, I rented it from the video store just to see the new twists they put in it.

The new features are indeed worth a rental, but not worth the purchase price in my book, unless you're a Futurama completist.

The episodes chosen are good ones. Personally, though I like them, I think three of the episodes"Hell Is Other Robots," "Roswell That Ends Well" and "Anthology Of Interest I" are somewhat overrated ("Anthology Of Interest II" is better - you watched it, you can't unwatch it!), and "The Sting" (one of my three favorite episodes) is underrated. They could have chosen some better episodes, but they also could have done much worse.

I'm forgiving of this aspect because I like the new general introduction to the disc with our old commentary friends back once again, and I enjoy the new introductions explaining why they chose each episode and what's special about it, for a long time Futurama episode and commentary lover, it's good to hear "the old gang" again.

The "Hell Is Other Robots" animatic and commentary is okay, but it's the sort of thing that if it were included on one of earlier discs, people would likely just skip over it.

In conclusion, while I love Futurama, no matter how much you cut it, there simply is not enough new and never-before-seen real "meat" to the disc. New commentary stuff from the likes of Groening and Cohen is always fun, but it's simple not enough.

I'd recommend it for a rental though.

This is a great DVD to buy, full of jokes that will have you in stitche's, stupid one-liners and loads of action!
Futurama is something different to the rest! One of the best and deffinatly one to watch!
so...What are you waiting for? If you want humour, originality and pure genious, go for Futurama-Monster Robot Maniac Fun Collection!!!

Futurama - Monster Robot Maniac Fun Collection is da best. Im so happy I got one .. well actually i got 1 for myself 1 for my brother and 1 for my friend :D I dont wanna lend him mine coz he might break it .. mwahaha so i gave him a copy instead :D
This is definitely a DVD that you would want to be a part of your collection. I have already viewed it 5x in 4 days can u believe that? maybe i have too much time on hand .. but still .. i love the DVD!!! haha! i have other futurama DVDs too but Monster Robot Maniac is super!!

Even though the straight-to-DVD Futurama movie is almost greenlit, this is apparently FOX's test to see if people still love this show. This collection contains four episodes, one from each season, on one nice little package.
Now this set is different than the similar Simpsons sets. These four episodes were picked by Matt Groening and David X. Cohen and are among the best episodes. They're also recorded introductions for each episode, and an intro to the disc. In addition, there's an animatic for "Hell is Other Robots" containing material that was eventually cut from the episode, with optional commentary.
This set wasn't just phoned in. The show's crew made an effort, and as a result, this set is worth buying to the casual fan, and the super nerdy fan like myself. So I'd advise anyone with even the tinest interest in the show to buy this DVD. It's cheap, contains great episodes, and will show FOX... once again... that fans want more.