Watercooler: Futurama Rockets to a Milestone

If there was ever a time for Futurama fans to go on a bender (get it?!), it was last night. Because after 11 years, two networks and a whole bunch of time off in between, the damn thing finally celebrated 100 episodes.
Ever since Matt Groening unleashed his follow-up to The Simpsons in 1999, the sci-fi snark-toon has had trouble finding its footing. It was on Fox. It was off Fox. People loved it. People hated it. Its ratings sank. Its DVD sales soared. Then Comedy Central rebooted the show almost seven years after Fox pulled the plug, and folks were freaked out that things wouldn't be the same. Were some of the new batch's early episodes not mega-gems? Sure, but even a weak Futurama is better than no Futurama, right?
Not that Thursday's season finale needed to worry about weaknesses. From the smart-ass writing, clever sight gags and Groening-level pop-culture savvy, everything that made the show worth bringing back was on full display. Built around the Planet Express team's 100^th transport—to the oldest remaining Astor family member—we got a galaxy of laughs involving the Titanic, a mutant revolution ("2, 4, 6 eyes...mutant people will arise!"), Devo and—because this is Futurama—body fluids. Sophomoric, maybe, but it was also super-fun and, even more so, a treat for superfans who have stuck by their show. Even when it didn't even seem to have a future.
Are you watching? Is the new incarnation up to snuff?
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