=1= First Hermes, now Bender: who's next for wearing Speedos?
=2= Old artists' lofts last into the 31st Century, whereas Modernist architecture is being knocked down by Bart Simpson in the year 2010 ("Lisa's Wedding" [2F15]). (Okay, I admit it, I'm an architecture wonk.)
=3= Any guesses why Zoidberg would sing "Danny Boy" as opposed to a Squiddish lamentation?
=4= Why are they delivering sandstone to a planet covered with sand?
=5= Erich von Daniken's "Chariots of the Gods?" is perhaps the best-selling version of the theory that ancient Egypt was visited by space aliens. In this episode, of course, we learn that it's the aliens who learned from the Egyptians, not the other way around.
=6= "Liberty Meadows" slave quarters: there's a comic strip with same name, but I didn't see anything in particular that referred to it.
=7= The guitar riff that plays when Pharoah Bender makes his big entrance is very much like The Bangles' "Walk Like an Egyptian." <_Jym_>
I gathered that it was part of the joke on the whole aliens built the pyramids. That's why Fry said something like (major paraphrazing here): "crazy crackpot theory 1, common sense archelology a bazillion."
In alt.tv.futurama, on the "Re: A Pharoah to Remember Capsule Submission" thread, Jym Dyer wrote:
Because more people have heard of "Danny Boy"? Obscure jokes are fun, but there have to be at least a few there that most people will get.
Did you know that Saudi Arabia imports sand? The local variety is either too coarse or too fine -- I forget which -- for their needs. Perhaps it's a similar situation at the Egypt planet, with the local sandstone not being monument quality.
By the way, is sandstone literally made of the same material that sand itself is? If not, it's possible they have plenty of sand, but not enough sandstone.
On Sat, 16 Mar 2002 21:24:29 GMT, [email] (Benjamin Robinson) wrote:
Time and pressure can create sandstone from sand, erosion turns it back into sand.
Given their advanced Abbott and Costello scaring technology, I would guess that they could make sandstone. It would require thousands of ships making constant trip to make a pyramid.
Either they wanted one special block for a shrine or something. Or they just want to capture more slaves to work.
Just before that, booths with labels "Slave Chess Club", "Don't be slave to credit - consolidate your bills", and, oddly, "loose weight now, ask me how".
There's a billboard in New New York reading "Dolphin: the other white meat".
Sullen Robot Magazine -> Giant Robot Magazine?
Also, I assume the various identifiable slaves (the guy with glasses, or the crocodile-dundee-like-guy) are references to something or other. But I'm not entertainment-literate enough to know what.
On 11 Mar 2002 00:36:43 GMT, [email] (Joe Klemm) wrote:
DYN:
In "A Head in the Polls" Bender is made up mostly of titanium. However, at his funeral, The Professor doesn't even list it in his composition.
This is the second appearance of Bender's remote control. Hermes used the 'mute' function in "I Second That Emotion".
After Fry asks "What will I watch and drink all day?" you can see the giant screen TV (From "the Series Has Landed" in the next room as Bender surf out.
The sign that says "Dolphin: The other white meat" has a banner on it that look like "Tuna safe". Kinda hard to read.
The Fabulous Furry Freak Brothers comics.- In the three part comic, "The Idiots Abroad" they all end up in the middle east. When Phineas become the most powerful ruler in the region, Franklin and Freddy think they are saved until Phineas turns out to be a bigger tyrant and keeps them as slaves.
Mad Fold ins- The building that bender paints on collapsing.
Newmans' Own- Pharaoh's organs are labeled "Pharaoh's own".
The Luxor Hotel (Las Vegas)- The bright light shining out of the opt of the pyramid. The spot light on top of The Luxor Hotel is the brightest spotlight in the world.
=v= Yeah, I noticed that. Not to be too pedantic, but ... aw heck, that's what online fans are supposed to do, right? ... Bender said his body was 40% titanium. Dunno if that includes his head (where one might expect the impurities to be).
=v= Speaking of online fans, why didn't the Professor just submit the alien note to the Internet? Oh yeah, he's got AOL and it would've taken years to sign on ...
=v= Another (obvious) reference: the title comes from the movie, _An_Affair_to_Remember_. <_Jym_>
On 13 Mar 2002 21:00:10 GMT, [email] (Matthew Miller) wrote:
The over all story is definitely the Exodus / The Ten Commandments. The part that is very similar to the comic is one of three "friends" becomes a powerful ruler and then turns on his friends, rather than freeing them.
My guess is that Matt and others on the show are familiar with Gilbert Shelton & Paul Mavrides work. Though it's not definitive enough to say it is a direct reference or just a similarity.
No, that's The Honking. Remember the scene: Bender is singing, Hermes comes in and mutes him, then shouts "Mail Call!" and gives Amy & Leela two letters, then one to Bender informing him his uncle's dead.