Anyway, many of the pictures have been scanned and put online. I won't put them here, because I'm allergic to C&D orders, but I will link you to them.
Click here to see the pictures and, actually, just a darn good Futurama website. Actually, most other sites are better than mine now, because I haven't updated in so long. What an I say, finally getting a full-time job will do that to you.
This is the art that was featured in The New Yorker last October. Click on it for a larger picture of Fry and Leela.
This of course is the banner you've already seen countless times. Click on it for a larger version.
Hold your horses. Nobody ever said making a brilliant animated show was easy!
Futurama is expected to premiere this spring, probably in March. NO, IT WILL NOT PREMIERE AFTER THE SUPER BOWL! For months now, I've been reporting that the post-Super Bowl spot is just too soon for the producers to be able to have the show ready. Following the Super Bowl is/was the new cartoon Family Guy by wunderkind Seth MacFarlane and a new episode of The Simpsons (the one with the long-awaited Rupert Murdoch guest appearance).
And, if I might be allowed to debunk another rumor (spread by Entertainment Weekly), Futurama will not be delayed until this fall.
That is all.
The three lead roles are those of 20th-century castaway-in-time Fry, Undercover cyclopean alien Leela, and kleptomaniac robot Bender. Fry will be played by animation veteran Billy West, best known for Ren and Stimpy and Doug. Leela is Katey Sagal, best known as Peg Bundy from the classic Married, with Children (perhaps "classic" is too strong a word, but hey, I liked it as a guilty pleasure). As Bender is John DiMaggio, best known for his work on Chicago Hope, where he played Dr. Sean Underhill.
The supporting cast includes several animation veterans: Tress MacNeille and Maurice LaMarche, who have appeared in virtually every cartoon of the last 15 years; Lauren Tom, a member of the King of the Hill supporting cast; and Phil Lamarr, better known for his role on Mad TV, but who also has voiced a cartoon or two (for instance, Nickelodeon's Oh Yeah! Cartoons).
Like The Simpsons, Futurama will have its share of celebrity guest appearances. However, celebrities appearing as themselves will appear as heads preserved in liquid (like Mr. Burns at the end of the Rosebud episode of The Simpsons). Anyway, a list of guest voices lined up to appear on the show include:
I'll tell you, if you stop talking like a 19th century prospector.
The show's writers include (in alphabetical order) Justin Adler, Stewart Burns, Tom Gammill, Eric Horsted, Eric Kaplan, Matt Karis, Ken Keeler, Lewis Morton, Max Pross, and Patric M. Verrone. The members of this august group have worked on such shows as Seinfeld, NewsRadio, The Late Show with David Letterman, Unhappily Ever After, The Critic, and (natch) The Simpsons. Animation directors for the show include (also in alphabetical order) Peter Avanzio, Susie Dietter, Bret Haaland, Claudia Katz, Rich Moore, Brian Sheesley, and Greg Vanzo.
Still, as long as I have your attention, here's some fun email I've received from you, the fans of Futurama.
From Mitch Mann:
I was able to view a video of Futurama on a recent trip to Fox. You will be quite pleased to know that this series is already trying to capture the sprit and humor of the Simpsons but in a more advanced state. Believe me, this will be a huge hit for Fox once the word of mouth gets going...
Thanks for the good word, Mitch!
Copyright 1998-1999 by Dale G. Abersold
Disclaimer: "Futurama" TM and copyright Fox and the Curiosity Company. All rights reserved. This website and its contents is neither authorized nor endorsed by Fox.