Does anybody know if Fry was originally meant to be a nerd or was he always meant to be a little/very dim? He received a fair amount of stereotypical nerdish traits from Groening and company. He's a real big Star Track fan (Where No Fan Has Gone Before, Jurasic Bark) and he admitted he had a rather terrible social life (Where No Fan Has Gone Before). His luck with most women is pretty terrible, he day dreams alot, and is a terrible slob with a somewhat unhealthy diet. Besides, Farnsworth's intelligence has to come from somewhere?
Fry the Nerd
Apr 8, 2003, 6:51 PM ET59 posts by 20 posters
59 posts
"Lee Ratner" wrote in message news:[email]...
Well, since Fry never had any kids, my guess is that Farnsworth is descended either from Yancy or some other member of Fry's family.
"Doug Tabacco" wrote in news:[email]:
Yes, he did - he had himself.
On or about Wed, 09 Apr 2003 00:33:20 GMT, Jim made the sensational claim that:
No, he had his Dad.
"LooseChanj" wrote in message news:E2Kka.108038$[email]...
sensational claim that:
Doh! forgot all about that past nastification :)
LooseChanj wrote in message news:...
Enos and Mildred look more like Fry's mother than father, I think Fry is the father of his mother.
On or about 9 Apr 2003 03:34:58 -0700, Lee Ratner made the sensational claim that:
We've been through this before. Fry addressed Enos' testicles saying "I'll save you,*Dad*!"
Yes, but did Fry actually know whether Enis was his paternal or maternal grandfather? He doesn't strike as the kind of person who'd memorize family trees as far back as two generations.
Leons Petrazickis import java.lang.disclaimer;
On or about Wed, 09 Apr 2003 15:06:48 -0400, Petrazickis made the sensational claim that:
Now that's just plain reaching. Especially since Enos' last name was Fry.
On Wed, 09 Apr 2003 20:58:16 GMT, LooseChanj spewed forth:
Yeah but Enos never married Fry's grandmother, therefore she wouldn't have taken his name and she didn't seem interested in learning Fry's name either. So maybe his MATERNAL grandfather was ALSO named Fry !!! THIS MEANS SOMETHING !!!! Or I'm doing my best to make it sillier than it needs to be.
Ten bucks this whole discussion ends up being mocked in the DVD commentary
"LooseChanj" wrote in message news:IP%ka.25989$[email]...
Did they actually say that? I skimmed War Is The 'H' Word and couldn't find a relevant quote.
Although I was under the impression that Enos was Fry's paternal grandfather, there's another clue: Fry's hair is pretty characteristic (as pointed out on the DVD commentary) with the two forks of red hair sticking up. In The Luck Of The Fryish, his mom clearly has the two forks of red hair; his father does not, nor does his brother. Enos has the two forks of red hair as well.
Just some evidence tossin'.
"FenPhen" wrote in message news:...
I think Enos is Fry's should be maternal grandfather because he has red hair like Fry and his mother and is not named Yancy.
"Lee Ratner" wrote in message news:[email]...
I agree with you, but the name is not technically strong evidence cause Fry's father says, "Your name is Yancy, just like me, and my grandfather, and so on, all the way back to Minuteman Yancy Fry..."
Yeah, I had the same questions. I thought of two possibilities for that one...
1) Phil tells Mildred his name is Yancy. 2) Phil actually doesn't knock-up Mildred and later on, Enis' brother, Yancy, hooks up with Mildred since Enis is dead...
Jason Saslow wrote in message news:...
Fry is generally not that clever.
Its confirmed in the Why of Fry that Fry did the nastie in the pastie and is his own grandpa.
I would put this on the same level of clever as joining the Army to get a 5% military discount card. I don't think it's beyond him. Besides, maybe he changed his name because he thought his g-ma would recognize him, which would totally be within the bounds of his own ignorance...
Yeah, I noticed that too. There's a way to explain around that too, but by then, there's too much implied non-action which doesn't make a lot of sense even for a cartoon.
"Lee Ratner" wrote in message news:[email]...
I was going to say that although Fry may have done the nasty in the pasty, he was sterilized by the F-ray in "Fry and the Slurm Factory."
But damn the commentary track that later says he was sterilized and then impregnates his grandmother.
*shakes fist*
On or about Sat, 12 Apr 2003 16:09:26 GMT, FenPhen made the sensational claim that:
Just because the ray killed what sperm he was carrying at that moment doesn't mean it sterilized him.
"LooseChanj" wrote in message news:V3Xla.32772$[email]...
doesn't
You can't feel pain from your sperm.
"FenPhen" wrote in news:h5%la.903$[email]:
You can if they succeed in reproducing. :-)
Have you ever had your sperm maddenned by a death ray?:)
Leons Petrazickis import java.lang.disclaimer;
its not a Death-Ray, its an F-Ray!
"FenPhen" wrote in message news:WSWla.549$[email]...
Even if he was sterilized then; The worms that he got from the gas station sandwich probably repaired the damage (We did see the miniature Zoidberg ride in on a sperm in that episode).
"William Wetherington" wrote in message news:dYFoa.32960$[email]...
Good call.
I think it's great that fans often have a better grasp of continuity than the writers themselves...
Shifty writer: "Yes... we meant it to happen that way..."
On or about Thu, 10 Apr 2003 13:55:31 GMT, FenPhen made the sensational claim that:
But did Fry's father say *his* father's name was Yancy? I'm gonna have to dig out my divx cd's.
I have the distinct feeling that Yancy was supposed to say "just like me, and YOUR grandfather, and so on", because what he actually said made no sense. Although knowing Futurama, it could have been written like that to be confusing and funny. In fact, when I first saw Luck of the Fryish, that quote reminded me of the illogical thing Lrrr said in Problem with Popplers: "We shall start with the firemen, then the math teachers, and so on in that fashion..."
fo0bar
I can't see how you could have since that's the wrong episode :o)
"War is the H-Word" is the one where Fry and Bender join the army to get a 5% discount on ham bubble gum and end up fighting the bouncing ball planet.
The ep you're looking for is "Roswell that Ends Well", but I figure that's what you meant and just mixed up the titles...
"Jason Saslow" wrote in message news:[email]...
Yeah, that's what I meant (duh, even has the title on the file I opened).
LooseChanj wrote in news:E2Kka.108038$[email]:
D'oh! That's what I meant.
Jim
On Tue, 8 Apr 2003 15:58:32 -0700, "Doug Tabacco" spewed forth:
Yeah he did. His dad.
That's fuckin' messed up man. Funny too.
On 09 Apr 2003 02:03:19 GMT, [email] (Legion1979) spewed forth:
Which makes Yancy his grandson so THAT'S covered too and my head hurts thinking about it.
So if Farnsworth is descended from Yancy, that means Farnsworth is also Fry's great great great ... great grandson.
Uhm... what I meant to say was: This COULD mean Farnsworth is also Fry's great great great ... great grandson, if he is descended from Yancy.
It was established in the pilot that Farnsworth was Fry's, great [...] great grand-*nephew*.
"Geert Jan" wrote in message news:b70ts0$2js$[email]...
Skipped over the word "also" in the post or missed the episode "Roswell that ends well"? :)
DOH!
Time-travel...tsk...
A case of "definite maybe", methinks.
"Dennis Bliefernicht" wrote in message news:b7170q$9tk08$[email]...
great
My WhatIf Machine predicts that this will turn into a Geek vs Nerd debate.:)
Leons Petrazickis import java.lang.disclaimer;
On or about 8 Apr 2003 15:51:15 -0700, Lee Ratner made the sensational claim that:
I don't really thinks he's "dim", just a real slacker.
"Lee Ratner" wrote in message news:[email]...
It seems that he started out as a sort of dumb slacker; I really didn't picture him as a Star Trek fan, it seemed somewhat forced, like they got the guest stars so had to write an episode around it.
Are you forgetting that the very very first words he -- or anyone, for that matter -- spoke on the show are a Star Trek reference?
I think the problem here is that Fry isn't fitting into your stereotypes.
"Matthew Miller" wrote in message news:[email]...
that
Which he mangled...
Right, which is why we're confused.
He's obviously not a very *focused* fan. :)
Well then, that should settle it.
"A.C." wrote in message news:N8Lka.124$[email]...
the
Fry is a Star Trek fan, and I think they planned it that way from the beginning.
As Matthew Miller pointed out, his first words are a Star Trek reference. Also, when he wakes in the future, he notices the doors and says, "Cool, just like Star Trek," and when he meets Nimoy's head, he says, "Spock! Do the thing!" (raises his hands and splits his fingers). In "When Aliens Attack," he says, "I'm gonna be a science-fiction hero like Uhura, or Captain Janeway..."
If you need some stereotypes to define Fry, he is a kid that hadn't found his place in the 20th-century world, a combination TV-geek, slacker, dumbass, and what he really is: a daydreamer. Star Trek fits in because it's an escape for him from his 20th-century world.
In that sense, Fry is much more real than say Comic Book Guy (complete geek/nerd with no social skills) or Homer (total dumbass and slacker).
What are you saying? CBG is "closer to life" and believable than Fry when compared to some people I know...
(and yes, they scare me)
"Lee Ratner" wrote in message news:[email]...
He's not a nerd! Nerds are smart.
Nathan
"Nathan" wrote in message news:[email]...
No we aren't.
"A Bag Of Memes" wrote in message news:f7qma.73758$[email]...
Yes we are.
"A Bag Of Memes" wrote in message news:f7qma.73758$[email]...
You're a failed one then.
[email] (Lee Ratner) wrote in message news:...
Acquired characteristics (like intelligence) can't be passed on to one's offspring. -- Christopher Heckman
"Proginoskes" wrote in message news:[email]...
news:...
Intelligence is not an acquired characteristc. You're confusing it with knowledge or wisdom. Smart parents have smart kids.
Of course, it's *so* much more complicated than that. Much of intelligence *is* learned.
"Matthew Miller" wrote in message news:[email]...
Knowledge is learned. Intelligence is inherited. That's why try as I might, I can't teach my cat to add. He lacks the intelligence to learn addition because his parents lacked that intelligence.
Like I said, it's much more complicated than that. Part of intelligence *is* knowledge -- problem solving skills, for example, or even the drive to ask questions and expect to be able to find answers.
Obviously some aspects of intelligence are genetic. However, within a similar genetic sampling -- the human race, say -- learned intelligence skills are likely the more important factor when comparing one example to another.
"Matthew Miller" wrote in message news:[email]...
intelligence
*is*
You're redefining intelligence.
Source?
I'm using definition 1a from Merrian-Webster. Note particularly, "the skilled use of reason".
What, I have to provide sources now? If I wanted to provide sources, I wouldn't be ranting in a newsgroup. :) I don't remember anyone else here doing so.
<http://www3.utsouthwestern.edu/library/consumer/naturenurture.htm>, for a random google result. (Much of my search was polluted by white supremacist web pages ranting about the conspirancy of politically-motivated scientists, so I got tired of that and gave up.)
Really, I think the Wikipedia has it about right: "Another is the question of intelligence - was Einstein genetically predestined to become a revolutionary thinker? The subject is highly contentious, as many questions raised seem unlikey to be answerable scientifically. With so many variables to contend with, it seems impossible to isolate the effects that either genes or the environment have on the subjects of experiments." <http://www.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nature_versus_nurture>
As I said, both genetics and heritage play a part, and it's likely that learned intelligence is the more important factor between largely otherwise homogeneous genetic groups -- remember, we're all basically genetically identical, with a few miscalculations here and there. I could say "I think, or in my opinion, or in my belief", but I won't, because I wouldn't be saying anything were it not my thought, opinion, and belief so you can read that as given.
"Matthew Miller" wrote in message news:[email]...
of
questions
variables
Have you seen one peer reviewed study that doesn't show a hereditary psychometric correlation? I've never seen one. I've seen dozens that do.
otherwise
Every twin study shows it isn't likely. We aren't basically genetically identical. We're each genetically unique. It isn't politically correct in some circles to acknowledge that smart people have smart kids, strong people have strong kids, etc., but it is as true for humans as any other life form.
Time for *you* to cough up some sources. Most importantly, have you seen a study that shows that there *isn't* an extrememly strong environmental factor? I don't dispute that heredity plays into it.
"Every"? You've read them all? I found some that differ. In fact, most take environmental factors as a given, and many attempt to factor them out in their results.
The difference in strenth between a very strong human and a very weak (but healthy) one is also small. Especially given the same level of exercise. It may seem like a lot, but that's because
Oops -- I got distracted by enviromental factors mid-post.
Because you're only looking at the part of the scale within the range in question, not comparing from zero to infinity.