It's a shame, but it might be better this way. They tried dumbing it down after the first four seasons, but couldn't make it sell. There wouldn't be anything left, if they would've gone down another couple of notches.

The biggest problem might've been making a TV show for an audience, that doesn't give a crap about TV networks and get all their shows from computer networks instead.

I was really into this show during its first run and I enjoyed the DVD movies, but when I tried to watch some of the newer episodes I found them... just not funny or interesting. The jokes felt forced and dumb. Maybe I just outgrew it.

Their last season almost caught back up with the first four, I genuinely enjoyed it. The Eye Phone episode of the intermediate seasons is a rare gem of an episode amongst the lesser ones. One of the few instances where the new writing's extremely lazy reference humor actually worked.

After the "rebirth" episode, there were more misses than hits.

I really couldn't get into it after they started making new episodes. I've only seen a baker's dozen of 'em and there were some moments like this where I'm like "heh" but it just wasn't working for me. It's kind of like when Family Guy got cancelled. Everyone wanted Family Guy back, and rumors started to spread that it was the episode that got banned because of its antisemitism (if you watch the episode it's not any more offensive than early Family Guy)

So the show comes back and seems to play off this "EDGY" thing. "OH NO WE DID NOT JUST MAKE A JOKE ABOUT _____ 4 WEEKS AFTER _____. OH WE TOTALLY DID." The show really wasn't like that at first. At its inception it was basically an All in the Family spoof with more fart jokes, references (which Archie did all the time if you watched All in the Family) and a charmingly evil baby.

Futurama, to me, didn't really have that logical place to go if it were picked up again, even though they had the whole universe (and other universes) to explore. Bender would still be Bender, but more like a straight up dick rather than the sort of malevolent Tin Man he was in earlier episodes. Fry just became a lovable 20th century doofus, and the rest of the characters in my opine weren't really that well developed by the time the show was first cancelled.

What I liked about Star Trek was that it was a "five year mission" and never made it to five years, space-time or Earth-time. Instead, the show took flight in many new ways, many of which I haven't seen, but it was able to stay fresh. That being said, I for one mourn the loss of the new Fururama, even if I didn't watch it much.

The first season after they came back was a bit rocky. While I appreciated that the writers had turned Amy Wong into an endless parade of fan service, it was, on the whole, a bit too edgy and dumb. I stuck it out, more from obligation than anything. Zest's impression is correct.

However, the show really picked up again after only a season/ season and a half. The final season was nearly on par with the best Futurama had ever been, and, given more time, I have no doubt Futurama could be king again. *At the very least* it deserves the standard fifteen + season run enjoyed by shows like The Simpsons, Family Guy, and South Park, as even at it's worst, Futurama was still better than Family Guy.

I consider the first season back on Comedy Central (which is to say, the season happening after the four stand-alone DVD movies that were apparently chopped up into a season, somehow) to be one of the absolute best in the series. The final three after that are probably the three worst. I don't mind that it's gone after those three seasons.

But that first brand new Comedy Central season was marvellous.

I'll check the new ones out. Since I didn't have TV and most of my experience growing up was with going to my friend's house to watch the Simpsons, I went to the comic shop and read the Simpsons comics. It wasn't Futurama but it was something similar that was referenced a lot. So when I heard about Futurama I was like "oh man just a spinoff." I didn't turn out watching it until years later when I was stranded in Kentucky with nothing but a Super 8 Motel and a liquor store and cable TV to keep me company. Cartoon Network was doing their big "We Lost Futurama" 24 hour marathon so I watched them all and then bought the DVDs and it became my favorite show, animated or otherwise, ever. At least for four seasons.

I wonder if they have pandered to my fetish recently.

Something to keep in mind is that you and your tastes change over the years.

While Futurama was canceled and dormant my cultlike fanaticism strengthened at the same time that my tastes matured (slightly). When it came back on the air the characters could have climbed out of the TV and sucked my dick and I would still have been disappointed.

Anything Matt Groening is associated with always sticks with me on a personal level, not because I grew up with the Simpsons but because I grew up with the Simpsons. My parents were friends with the Groenings and they attended Homer's funeral. I didn't attend because I can't deal with that stuff. I still can't.

So growing up watching the Simpsons had a very profound impact on me. The places, the people, more than the street names and everything else.