2015 Media Consumption: What Have We Learned?

For the first time, in the vein of Steven Soderbergh, I kept track of every single movie and TV show I watched for the entire year, 2015. This is obviously an insane task if I actually wrote down every single clip on TV I saw (or YouTube, for that matter), so to count I included any film I saw at least 51% of in some form either online, on television, or in the theater.

You may find this monstrous list of 198 films (close to an average of a movie every other day) and 96 distinct television shows here. Let's dig into the data:

There were seven movies that I saw twice. These are the following:

Fast Five (2011)
Harold and Kumar Go to White Castle (2004)
The Avengers (2012)
How High (2001)
Be Kind Rewind (2008)
The Campaign (2012)
Star Wars Episode VII: The Force Awakens (2015).

The Force Awakens was the only film I saw both times in theaters. The rest were on TV with the exception of Fast Five, which I watched on Blu Ray before Furious 7 (2015) and Harold and Kumar Go to White Castle, which I watched on a charter bus during a 24-hour ride to Florida.

This gives me a grand total of 189 distinct films

Breakdown by Viewing Medium:

Disc:
DVD: 12
BluRay: 2
Local DVD Rental: 1

Streaming:
Netflix: 71*
YouTube: 5
Download: 4
HBOGO: 3
Crackle: 1
DailyMotion: 1

Theater: 10

On TV: 86

*I lumped both Netflix streaming and Netflix DVD Rentals in the same category, which I'll probably break-up next year. Still, the vast majority of my movie watching comes from Television, which has all sorts of interesting implications on how that shapes culture.

Breakdown by Month:

January: 16
February: 14
March: 16
April: 25
May: 13
June: 8
July: 18
August: 25
September: 13
October: 10
November: 10
December: 28

December clearly wins as I had a strong push to see a lot of great films before the year ended to make some sweet best of lists. You can tell that I lost my TV in May, gained it back in July, then started a new job in September.

Breakdown by Year:

Current Year: I watched 27 movies that came out in 2015, or 14%.
Current Decade: 97 movies from 2010 - 2015 (49%)
2000s: 38 (19%)
1990s: 23 (12%)
1980s: 22 (11%)
1970s: 9 (5%)

The oldest movie I watched was actually surprising, the 1971 Bruce Lee film The Big Boss. I assuredly need to up my classics viewing for 2016. I'm actually decently surprised that the 90s and 80s are so similar. The most repeated year is 2015 with 27, 2014 takes second with 21, and 2012 is third with 20.

Most repeated pre-2010 year: 2008 (9)

Be Kind Rewind

Bronson

Cloverfield

Pineapple Express

The Good, The Bad, The Weird

The Happening

Tropic Thunder

You Don't Mess With the Zohan

Zack and Miri Make a Porno

Most repeated pre-2000 year: Tie between 1997 and 1987 with the most random assortment ever:

1997:

Con Air

Face/Off

Jackie Brown

Romy & Michele's High School Reunion

The Fifth Element

1987:

Dragnet

Planes, Trains, & Automobiles

Predator

The Monster Squad

The Running Man

Years without a film watched: 1991, 1980, 1976, 1974, 1973

Most Watched Television Shows:

I didn't keep track of what show I watched every day, just for the month, which is a trend I think I'll continue. Here were the shows I watched the most:

The Simpsons: A direct result of me losing FXX caused me to miss an episode in July (11 months)
Seinfeld: Only in February and March did I fail to watch at least one episode (10 months)
Archer: Missed in September and December (10 months)
South Park: Missed in January, May, and June (9 months)
It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia: Missed in April, May, and November (9 months)

Other Shows I watched at least one episode of for six months or more:

Adventuretime
Bob's Burgers
Brooklyn Nine-Nine
Futurama
Last Week Tonight
New Girl
Rick and Morty
Saturday Night Live
The Flash
Workaholics

This should clearly indicate where my tastes are.

TV Shows Watched Not Currently on the Air

Most shows I watched live but there were plenty of things I caught up on from either long or recently cancelled programs, such as:

30 Rock
Angry Beavers
Chappelle Show
Don't Trust the B---- in Apt. 23
Home Improvement
Korgoth of Barbaria
Raising Hope
The Amazing Screw-On Head
The Mary Tyler Moore Show
Tiny Toon Adventures
Weird Loners
WKRP in Cincinnati

Dramas I Actually Watched:

I know what you're thinking, I am so damn Drama-adverse. Everything is a sitcom or cartoon. True story. But I did actually watch some compelling TV this year, including:

American Horror Story: Hotel
Ballers
Better Call Saul
Fargo
Gotham
Sense8
Sleepy Hollow
True Detective

Ok, fine, those are all genre shows.

What does your 2015 List look like? I've already started 2016 list, which you can follow all year long right here!

Community on Yahoo - When Should Good Shows Stay Dead?

By this time if you're a fan of the show Community you ought to know that a deal was struck with Yahoo's fledgling streaming video service to revive the show after NBC's cancellation. Yahoo dropped two new episodes of Season 6 on Tuesday, and all things considered, they were pretty good. But how much should we milk a show that changes production houses to stay alive against improbable fan-fulfilling odds?

I suppose my only issue with this is a sort of Seinfeld-based theory. This show ought to have gone out at its peak, in Season 3, with the departure of creator and supposed wunderkind, Dan Harmon. Season 4 was a rough, forced year that didn't quite walk the fine line that made Community special. Season 5 saw the return of Harmon's fine touch, but always felt like it was forcing what once came to it so naturally. This was sort of due to the cast influx along with the specter of behind-the-scenes strife between both the show and its cast and the show and its network.

So, in many ways, escaping NBC, who, for the record, gave the show far more chances than it deserved - it wasn't lasting five years on any other network - for the realm of digital streaming seemed like a big win. It's kind of a hip thing to do these days, with Arrested Development returning (albeit the seven-year gap in that case is somewhat more significant), this time to Netflix. Plenty of other shows have jumped stations for a few more victory laps, from Futurama on Comedy Central to Cougar Town on TBS. All of this should be great, right?

What I'm getting at is that fans don't always know what they want. They want to replicate the feeling they had when that show was in its prime and refuse to understand that that feeling is gone forever once a show's prime has fallen and its creative minds have largely moved on to other projects. The interesting thing about Community is that, as Community should, it has dealt with these perceptions head on in a very meta-way.

Community has always used Abed as its semi-fourth wall breaking outlet to connect with the "show," something the rest of the cast refers to as their lives. This allows Community to comment on its place in the pop cultural landscape, play with tropes, and in some ways subvert the decline in quality that plagues other revitalized productions through its acknowledgment of its situation, a self-aware declaration that adds another layer of jokes to the proceedings.

Reliably, they have done this more obliquely when opening a season. But "Ladders" (S6;E1) notably addresses how much things have changed, how people in real life aren't quirky or interesting, and how it's more important to send emails than to start underground Miller's Crossing (1990)-inspired speakeasies. The show does a nice job of contrasting this sort of actual life heart with the absolute zaniness that's required to make a hilarious modern single-camera sitcom. The complete failure of this show in anyone else's hands but Dan Harmon is a testament that this whole thing requires a very delicate touch.

I'm a bit torn on what exactly to think of Season Six of Community. It's not like the episodes were bad, they were certainly as good as anything Season Five had to offer. If anything, it ought to help legitimize Yahoo as a streaming player (with ad sales taking over from subscription sales, which is almost a plus for the cash-minded media consumer) and its hybrid release model of two episodes a week for anytime streaming is an interesting way to push the flexibility of streaming services while maintaining the habits of traditional television viewing.

Community finds success as an adaptable show because of its inherent meta-nature. It can comment on things, reflect on things, and doesn't have to pretend it's replacing any characters or expressing internal feuds without tact or subtlety. It's actually free to morph and change independent of its cast or network. As long as Dan Harmon sticks around it ought to be fine. But part of me still thinks we're chasing down 2012 for this thing.

The Way We Were: TV and Video Games in 2013

Now, with Movies and Music under our belt, it's time to deal with everything else. Television is such a tricky medium, especially considering honoring the calendar year of 2013 doesn't even honor seasons in most cases. Still, there were a handful of notable television series this year. This was also a standout year for video games to mature into the interactive storytelling medium they deserve to be. Let's begin by dividing television into a few categories.

Finest New TV Shows:

Comedy: FOX is slowly but surely building a Tuesday night comedy empire, with Brooklyn Nine-Nine, New Girl, and The Mindy Project rivaling anything CBS does on Mondays, ABC does on Wednesdays, or certainly what NBC is now doing on Thursdays. In a sea of absolute shit coming out of a lot of networks, Brooklyn Nine-Nine is a surprisingly well made show, with a dream ensemble that is far funnier than they ever deserved to be.
Standout Episode: "Sal's Piza"

Drama: Sticking with FOX, I doubt anyone would have called Sleepy Hollow the breakout hit of the year. It's really pretty trashy, but the sheer madness that drives each episode makes it inescapable. It's a giant "fuck you" to twisted long-mystery serials like LOST and even The X-Files, as well as to basic logic. If you're looking for an absolutely crazy horror show that works (and isn't American Horror Story: Coven, of course), Sleepy Hollow has the golden ticket.
Standout Episode: "Blood Moon"

Finest Returning TV Shows:

Comedy: While Parks and Recreation is always a reliable choice, this wasn't their best year. This really could have been the best new show years ago, but it's taken some time to gain a following, so thank goodness FOX actually gave it room to grow - all hail Bob's Burgers. It's worth the investment for fresh characters, intrepid storytelling, and the bold guidance of Loren Bouchard. It's a relentlessly positive show, and of course Bob doesn't sound like Archer at all. There's the reliable goofiness of The Simpsons mixed with the normalcy of King of the Hill, wrapped in a bun. A delight.
Standout Episode: "The Deepening"

Drama: Okay, I don't actually watch Game of Thrones. But I know enough to know that the cultural reverberations of "The Red Wedding"  jammed up my Facebook for days. I mean, I'm more a "Red Robin Wedding" fan, myself. Despite my apathy, everyone is taking GoT, which is far more important than me actually tuning in. It's an encapsulating narrative, a slow burn that's as addictive as it is brutal to its own characters. HBO is riding this one as long as it can.
Standout Episode: "The Red Wedding"

Finest Departing TV Shows

Comedy: There were numerous big shows that called it quits this year. While The Office's "Finale" was pretty competent, its best episode of the season was its penultimate, "A.A.R.M.", which served as more of a effective callback to better years than innovating or growing on its own. Futurama's "Meanwhile" bumped up a bit better, offering everything that series promised: a clever sci-fi high concept, lots of silliness, and some real heart. The greatest send-off, though, was 30 Rock's "Last Lunch", which is just about as satisfying as you can get with a series finale. You want to know that each character has moved on and is going to be okay without you watching them anymore, but also that they've made some progress as human beings. "“This whole time you’ve been telling me how to run my life — you didn’t know what you were talking about. You’re just an alcoholic with a great voice.” It's perfect.
Standout Episode: "Last Lunch"

Drama: Breaking Bad gets everything. The best characters, best story, and the most intricate development on television. Years ago the creators decided to take this meek High School chemistry teacher and find out how far they could push him to become the ultimate badass. Everything pays off here in this last season, even if the story had been stretched a bit the past few seasons. Everything clicks as the world goes out with a bang, no whimper to be found.
Standout Episode: "Ozymandias"

Now, where does Netflix fit in? Arrested Development blasted back on the scene with an epic return that delivered a super concentrated dose of its intense multi-layered storytelling. It was rough to get through, but with some patience and sobriety, proved to live up to its "greatest sitcom of all time" status. Likewise, Orange is the New Black proved that Netflix could push the restrictions of the television medium, in time, content, and character structure. The greatest advances in the television medium are happening now - eventually when the old guard of arbitrarily restricted traditional television falls, everything will be on-demand and awesome. 2013 will forever be the year we point to as the start of everything great in long-form visual storytelling.

Video Games:

There were three major landmark games this year amidst repetitive shooter and GTA copycats. The first is The Last of Us, which somehow spiced up the zombie survival game genre through its truly immersive storytelling and genuinely difficult gameplay that made its world seem all the mroe real. It's also damn tense and scary, with realistic characters to root for.

Going completely opposite in genre for a second, it seems as if all Nintendo can do lately is put new spins on thirty-year old properties. My answer is, so what if those games are still good. The Legend of Zelda: A Link Between Worlds pulled off difficult puzzles and drawing manipulation to bridge the gap between being a good and great Zelda game. And all Super Mario 3D World had to do was introduce cats. Yes, Cats to make a great Mario Game!

Finally, the greatest game of this past year was well worth the wait - Bioshock Infinite. It succeeds in every level required to make a great game - clever and fluid gameplay mechanics, stunning graphics, and an intricate and involving complex storyline. The game kept you thinking months after completion, and the amount of Easter eggs and other hidden bits that polished the experience kept the world rich. Not only that, but the game actually explored with a deep articulation the racism and xenophobic dangers inherent to late 19th-Century American Exceptionalism along with radical revolutionaries. And metaphysics. All while being really cool. There's not another game that has all this in one package, and Bioshock Infinite is really the game of the decade.

Capsule 2010: Television

Alright folks, it's time to talk about some Television. 2010, like other recent years, was an incredible time for TV. Amidst some of the more legendary shows coming and going we saw the continued dominance of Cable Diversification and how much critics love it, startling audience breakdowns and NBC again really relying only on Fantastic Sunday Night Football coverage to support the entire network. Well, of course that AND the Winter Olympics.

RETURNING SHOWS OF 2010:

We'll break this down into a few categories because the TV season doesn't really measure up with our Calendar Year. I'll chat first about shows both in the 2009 - 2010 seasons as well as 2010 - 2011, then shows that ended in 2010 and finally shows that began in 2010. Now, naturally there's always the Mad Men and Breaking Bad and that people love, and these are some of the strongest narratives on TV, even if the former is incredibly boring and difficult to get into and the latter is so critically acclaimed that Norwegian Morning Wood really has no place supporting it here.

2010 was notable for a few big returns. Futurama arrived on Comedy Central this summer, with a good amount of sub-par episodes but some incredible, instant classics such as "The Late Philip J. Fry" (S6;E7) and "The Prisoner of Benda" (S6;E10). The Simpsons also featured one of their greatest non-Treehouse of Horror episodes in years in "The Squirt and the Whale" (S21;E19) and have had some return to form after a couple terrible years. As you can tell, I primarily watch cartoons. South Park, while surely blowing a few opportunities with their Coon arc this fall, knocked out "Medicinal Fried Chicken" (S14;E3) and "You Have 0 Friends" (S14;E4).

The best two shows on TV, though I still believe to be the one-two of Community and Parks and Recreation on NBC. Neither are audience favourites but those who watch them get hooked immediately and they've topped many end-of-year-lists like this one. I've ranted and raved about both of these plenty of times before, needless to say they're the most incredible comedies on television and their continual Emmy snub makes me want to punch babies until my arm gets sore.

So what other general news from the year? American Idol switched up its judges but no one really cared. Jersey Shore was everywhere, getting MTV ratings typically reserved for Networks. Everyone was DVR-ing and Satellite-ing and Hulu-ing, but that's not news. Olympics, World Cup, Thursday Night Football that non one was able to watch, fun sports year. Also we should note Super Bowl XLIV, which managed to attract the largest American audience of all time watching a TV at the same time. Of course, that's still a fraction of the people who logged on to Facebook at some point during the game.

NEW SHOWS OF 2010:

Let's talk about Conan. One of the hottest topics of 2010 was the huge NBC late night host controversy, in fact it has its own Wikipedia page (look how detailed that shit is!). In the end, Conan was able to settle into a new position on TBS with a dude who was more than happy to let him go wherever he wanted, and Conan has done pretty well ever since. By the way, currently 90.6% of households with a TV also had cable in 2010, is it that big of a deal that cable shows are beating Networks? It's also nice to see that amidst all the strange Late Night feuds there's at least two pretty cool rivals who like each other. I am growing into a pretty good Craig Ferguson fan by the way, who won a Peabody this year for interviewing Desmond Tutu, is settling into a fantastic "Awkward Pause" routine and also thoroughly skews Late Night standards with his Robotic Sidekick and other frank intimate moments. He's my dude.

Anyway, besides Late Night tangents, HBO debuted three fantastic series that should all be contenders for Best of the Year, including The Pacific, Treme and Boardwalk Empire. After being very impressed with the first episode of The Walking Dead, I'm not sold on how the season turned out, settling for more typical Zombie Tropes than the unrelenting comic series. My favourite new series of the year though is still Adventure Time with Finn & Jake on Cartoon Network. Haha, that rules.I'll also mention delighting in the Sunday double-dose of Childrens Hospital and Mary Shelley's Frankenhole. Lots of new gems to find in the sand this year. Also I guarantee this the only list you'll find mentioning Frankenhole equal to Treme. Dammit, that's some funny shit.

ENDING SHOWS OF 2010:

The Boondocks tended to go out with a whimper rather than a bang, despite an awesome kickball episode. Other than that, 2010 saw the end of long-going series like Law & Order and Larry King Live (did a soul care?) The big knock-outs were Scrubs, 24 and LOST, though, the latter of which really swept up the Spring Zeitgeist. All of these shows ended for the exact reason there's not a whole lot to write about them, though. They're irrelevant, no longer interesting and really puttered out without much satisfaction.

BETTY WHITE:

What the hell, Betty White. From appearing on Community, SNL (winning an Emmy for a...pretty shitty episode) and truly igniting the Facebook community (what the hell does that mean), Betty White was THE TV artist of 2010 and didn't even really star in any shows. What a glorious old cunt. I don't really understand my generation's love of Betty White. Sure there's the old vagina jokes, and those can be pretty fun but what other joy do we get from watching this old woman get bounced around in Snickers Commercials (on that topic can we mention the creep-out Commercial of the year? Snickerrrrsss!!). This chick and like, Jon Hamm seemed to pop up in every weird little spot. Like the Season Finale of Childrens Hospital. What the hell, Jon Hamm. Go sell some John Ham.

BEST EPISODES OF 2010:

Community - "Modern Warfare" (S1;E23) was absolutely legendary, from the Apocalypse spoof to the lack of character shields, eruption of sexual tension and Ken Jeong's masterful final appearance, this was breathtaking.



Ugly Americans - "The Manbirds" (S1;E14) was pretty awesome. Does anyone else ever watch this show? Most of it is unremarkable, but this episode's pension for cockfighting, which I already adored here proved to be a great emotional tether for a classic sports redemption. Maybe not, but the Manbird language alone makes the episode worth watching.

The Venture Bros - "Operation P.R.O.M." (S4;E16) was a severely underlooked achievement. This scene alone may be one of the most fantastically constructed of the year and the amount of reward for the depth and growth of character this season doesn't fail to disappoint.

LOST - "Ab Aeterno" (S6;E9) took the show's most interesting and mysterious side character and developed an entire short movie about his backstory that was interesting, moving, gave some insight to the Island's Mythology (some insight). This is what LOST was like at its best - not necessarily following a strict narrative but using its episodic medium and huge cast of characters to tell little vignettes that tied into a more complete story. Despite a somewhat middling final season (although I think the Finale was spectacular), "Ab Aeterno" emerges as one of the best episodes of the year. You can take that to the bank.

Because it was on TV: The Resurgence of Futurama

Last Thursday one of the greatest Turn of the Century shows of our time returned to the air with new episodes designed as direct-to-TV episodes for the first time in seven years. I speak of one of our Greatest Animated Sci-Fi Shows, Futurama.

Futurama has had a storied run, first on the Fox Network alongside fellow creation of Matt Groening, The Simpsons. While the show at its best easily matches The Simpsons' writing, it never had the mainstream, massive cultural impact its predecessor had. The reasons for this are obvious, as Futurama really is just an incredibly incredibly nerdy show. So from 1999 - 2003 it had some great seasons over on Fox then was mostly screwed over, switched time slots, subverted for Sports Games and never allowed to grow the way it should. The real shame is that in its original run by the Fourth Season it had really hit its stride, that season is easily its best.

After its cancellation in 2003 nerds around the globe despaired. Alongside fellow prematurely cancelled Fox animated show Family Guy, though, DVD sales and repeats on Cartoon Network's Adult Swim sparked interest in its revival. Family Guy fast-tracked this revival, easily securing a new deal on Fox by 2005 and holding very strong ratings, mostly out of college drunks, every since. Seth MacFarlane productions now dominate Fox's once creatively lucrative Sunday Animation Line-Up which basically means anyone sensible should now stay away. I can't believe these shitty shows are still allowed to air, it's a crime against God.

See, Futurama is that rare Second Show that works. It works because its humour is similar yet distinctive from its predecessor. Both Futurama and The Simpsons are highly satirical, primarily of American Pop Culture and Institutions, but the beats are different. The source is also slightly different. Whereas The Simpsons relies on Family Lifestyle Humour, a highly episodic structure with an extremely slight arching narrative and bouts of insane "Flexible Reality," Futurama instead is mostly City Bachelor Humour, thorough arching storylines and the insanity is more grounded in actual reality rather than stretches of momentary goofiness. I think what works best to distinct the two however is simply the Suburban vs. Urban parody. This is all to say simply that Futurama has always been able to stand on its own ground.

Anyway, Futurama's history went on in a more roundabout fashion. After a good run on Adult Swim parallel to Family Guy it shifted to Comedy Central, where it was really given a good home. Comedy Central has been pretty keen the past few years picking up some quality shows like Ugly Americans, It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia and of course, Secret Girlfriend. Somehow their pulse has been on a higher caliber show than Adult Swim, including their proclivity towards securing syndication rights for shows like Futurama then actually treating them well. Hell, Futurama's practically on equal footing as South Park is now.

So there were these long years where Futurama built a DVD cult as well as successful runs in syndication. From 2007 - 2009 four Direct-to-DVD movies came out, each followed by a run on Comedy Central split up into four episodes. They all did well (Into the Wild Green Yonder [2009] being by a large margin the best one) and so Comedy Central began production on a Sixth Season (the movies being the "Fifth") for a genuine return to scheduled episodic storytelling.

So last week the new episodes premiered. They set a high bar for what's to follow. They were also markedly different from the first run as well as the four movies. Besides an edgier tone (the move from Network to Basic Cable allows them to get away with a whole lot more) with a whole lot more sex, violence and partying, there was also a very different kind of story being told.

Before we go any further, I gotta talk about Sex in Futurama, the animators must be so damn horny, every chick is so busty and usually has barely anything on. This goes for the men, too, there's so much nudity in this show already, in the New Season there was even more than expected. We've already seen every major character completely naked, then Leela and Zapp Brannigan for almost an entire episode. It's so insane.

Back to point, these episodes were decidedly more nerdy with a heavier bent towards Sci-Fi storytelling than previous incarnations. It's as if the producers are now feeling they can tell a much more determined story to an audience that they can rely on to tune in each week. They aren't fighting for viewership or backing from Fox anymore, they've secured their brand which allows them to throw as much Nerdy Sex into the pot as possible. The two episodes definitely emerged more as science fiction short stories or thought experiments with a couple good jokes thrown in to keep it light than mainstream Americana animation.

Thus we're seeing the early stages of Futurama's full blown Cerebus Syndrome. It has become a much more character-driven dramatic show than absurd flighty cartoon and if upcoming episode previews are any indication this trend should continue, likely to great critical and commercial success.

The next wave of New Episodes come on tonight at 10:00 pm EST on Comedy Central. Tune in for a rare treat this summer.

The Long Halloween: Flag Day

Here again is our year-long look at the greatest Television Holiday Specials. Rules are, one holiday a month, one show a year. Today is Flag Day, one of the most Holy of all the High Holidays in this nation. Nothing says "I Love You," "You're Beautiful," or "Let's Get Drunk!" like a good Flag Day Celebration. As for Television Specials, I couldn't really find anything, but here's the next best thing: Upholding the same general principles we have "A Taste of Freedom" (S4;E5) from Futurama.



Yes, this partly in Russian. Okay, mostly in Russian, you can watch two minutes of the American version (and then buy the whole thing if you really want to) here. You should be able to get the just of it.

While the episode is technically showcasing the celebration of the ficticious "Freedom Day," the episode's themes are easily applied to Flag Day. Flag Day is basically a day to honour a nation's colours (in this nation that nation is America. How wonderful) and what those colours represent. "A Taste of Freedom" is a thorough examination of the meaning of flags.

The episode focuses mainly on smelly foreigner Dr. John Zoidberg, fish-monster from Decapod 10, who eats the Earthican Flag during a large mistaken celebration of freedom. It raises the old question of free speech and action that extends too far and threatens patriotism. As Zoidberg himself states later in the episode (while lighting a flag on fire in order to attract a heat-seeking missile towards the Mobile Oppression Palace...uh...just watch the episode somewhere), "Yes, I'm desecrating a flag, but to preserve the freedom it represents!" Thus while flags are important symbols, flags without genuine freedom and principles to back the symbols, are meaningless. In the end, both the Flag and the Planet's integrity are preserved not through blind jingoism, but through constructive action.

Futurama was an incredible show, certainly one of the best of the current Millennium. In ten days we'll see a slew of new episodes for the first time since 2003. In between that time there's been a slew of movies, some fantastic, some terrible. If anything, these movies should serve as a warm-up before the series dives again into a more episodic structure (although the individual movies were unfortunately episodic in their nature anyway). The short time spent between Family Guy's cancellation and rebirth greatly lowered the quality of that program, if the movies are any indication of Futurama's progress, rather than consistent greatness the season will seem more hit or miss.

Then again, the only way to find out is to wait until the Season drops June 24. Let's see what you got, Comedy Central.