Futurama is a fan favorite and even though the series has long ended, that hasn’t stopped fans from talking about the series. Perhaps with Matt Groening’s newest series hitting its second season, the talk has been a bit louder lately. The sometimes chaotic future setting of the series was one that immediately caught the attention of the fans. And while we all love the series as a whole, there’s no argument that some episodes are better than others. That’s simply the nature of the beast.
It’s easy to get into a million arguments about which episodes are the best, and which are the worst. We’re going to conclude the debate by using IMDb’s rating to decide which are the five best, and five worst episodes of the series.
Best: Jurassic Bark
The highest-ranked episode from Futurama is none other than Jurassic Bark. This is perhaps one of the biggest tearjerkers of the series. Well, one of several, at least. This episode is part of the fifth season, and it made an impact on the fans.
In this episode, Fry finds his beloved dog, Seymour. Unfortunately, Seymour didn’t have a cryotube to pass time in so instead, Fry and his friends have come across Seymour’s flash fossilized body. The events that unfold from this moment onward are emotional at best, and force some deep thinking from Fry. To add insult to injury, fans were shown what happened to Seymour after Fry’s sudden disappearance. There are no dry eyes when watching this episode.
Rating: 9.6
Worst: The Futurama Holiday Spectacular
Conversely, The Futurama Holiday Spectacular is the worst-rated episode of the series. That being said, the lowest rating isn’t all that bad, all things considered. It certainly could have been worse. This holiday-themed episode came out of season six and consisted of three different stories.
The first story in the episode is the tale of X-mas, and how all of the X-mas trees are now gone. That is until the Planet Express crew interfered. Next is the tale of Robanaca, a holiday that Bender totally didn’t makeup. And finally, it’s time to celebrate Kwanzaa with Hermes, but only after a trip to space.Split episodes like this one are always hit or miss. And in this case, it would seem that most fans considered it to be a miss.
Rating: 6.5
Best: The Luck of the Fryish
The Luck of the Fryish aired during the third season of Futurama, and as with many of the hit episodes in this series, it has been known to make the fans cry. This episode pulls at the viewer’s emotions while forcing Fry to, once again, face his past.
This is the tale of one very lucky 7-leaf clover, and what happened to it. Fry came upon this clover back in his past, but it was not frozen with him. In his journey to get his hands on the beloved clover, Fry finds out what it has been up to while he was frozen.
Rating: 9.5
Worst: Forty Percent Leadbelly
One of the rare ‘misses’ in the series, Forty Percent Leadbelly is not the most popular episode to be found. This episode aired alongside the rest of season 7, yet didn’t quite grab the fans’ attention the way they had hoped.
In this episode, Bender decides it’s time to fulfill his lifelong dream. And no, it doesn’t involve Blackjack and hookers: we’re talking about his dream to become a folk singer. But Bender being Bender, he has to go about things in a truly unique way. This naturally results in some disasters.
Rating: 6.7
Best: Meanwhile
Meanwhile is the final episode of the series. And we mean the true finale of the series – not the last episode before a series of cancellations. Meanwhile aired at the end of season 7, and was clearly intended to be the goodbye the fans deserved.
Fry and Leela are given a chance to grow old together, thanks to a new invention of Farnsworth’s. Granted, that wasn’t exactly his plan when he created the device but that’s Futurama for you. This episode is both touching and heartwarming, giving a bittersweet goodbye.
Rating: 9.4
Worst: Saturday Morning Fun Pit
As mentioned above, the episode involving multiple plots don’t always go over so well with the fans. Unfortunately, that means that Saturday Morning Fun Pit was slightly less than a hit. Somewhat ironic, when you think about it.
This episode contains three spoof shows; quick cartoons that could theoretically have aired within the Futurama universe. Naturally, the main cast found themselves ported into the insanity. All three are shockingly different and are based on classic Saturday morning tropes exaggerated to extreme levels.
Rating: 6.9
Best: The Late Philip J. Fry
The Late Philip J. Fry aired in season 6, and is arguably yet another tearjerker of the series. This episode once again plays with time travel, all thanks to the chaos that is the Farnsworth/Fry/Bender combination.
In this episode, fans learned that time is cyclical, all thanks to Farnworth’s forward time machine. Because he knows better than to go back in time. Again. Our three characters find themselves in the far future, facing a future they never expected. Meanwhile, the rest of the characters have continued to live out their lives – for better or for worse.
Worst: Yo Leela Leela
Yo Leela Leela aired during season 6 of the series, and was an interesting episode, if not exactly a fan favorite. In this episode, Leela takes the focus, but naturally, the rest of the cast revolves around her.
Leela has become famous, thanks to a hit children’s show she wrote. Only…things aren’t exactly as they appeared. And to think it all started because she wanted to read a story to the children in the orphanarium that she grew up in.
Best: The Sting
The Sting is arguably one of the most impactful episodes of the series, so perhaps it’ll surprise some fans to see that it is the last highest ranked episode on this list. Like many others on the top, this episode was designed to elicit emotions from the viewers.
In this episode, the Planet Express crew has been sent on a deadly and dangerous mission. Their job? To collect exotic space honey. Naturally, things don’t go quite as planned… mostly because Leela decided to bring home a baby queen bee. The events that follow are emotional, to say the least.
Rating: 9.2
Worst: A Leela of Her Own
The final episode on our list of five best and five worst falls under the ‘worst’ category. We’re talking about A Leela of Her Own. This episode is yet another that revolves around our one-eyed mutant, yet it isn’t a fan favorite.
Leela has become the first professional female Blernsball player ever. But there’s a catch: she’s awful. Truly, truly awful. But thanks to her tendency to cause damage in the process, she’s been brought on anyway. Here she has to face what her reputation means, and what it can do to other aspiring athletes.
Rating: 7.0
