Futurama

The Farnsworth Parabox

Season 5, Episode 10, Aired 6/8/03

Episode Summary

When the Professor conducts an experiment so hideous that he wants his apparatus destroyed in the thermonuclear inferno of the sun, he has Leela guard the two-foot cubic box overnight so that no one opens it and sets it off. Fry and Bender try their best to sneak a peek but it is Leela who finally gives in and opens the box. Drawn into the power of the box, Leela is thrown into a parallel universe, which has duplicates of the Planet Express gang - including Leela.moreless

9.2

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Cast & Crew

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David Herman

Mayor Poopenmayer, Professor Ogden Wernstrum, Scruffy, Toronga Morris, Larry, Dwayne, Various
Katey Sagal

Turanga Leela, Various
Billy West

Philip J. Fry, Professor Hubert Farnsworth, Dr. John Zoidberg, Zapp Brannigan, Leo Wong, Various

Fan Episode Reviews (20)

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Farnsworth creates a box with an alternative universe inside it which Leela and the others enter.

7.0

"Good"

By Partdridge, Aug 26, 2010 Report Abuse

The Whole "Alternative universe" thing is probably the number one thing that every science fiction show has a stab at and is the most out there thing that they all try to do something with. It was only a matter of time till "Futurama" tried it out so here it finally is in season 4.

This episodes alot of fun if not as hilarious as some of the earlier or newer episodes. Most of the laughs come from Bender, again living it up with another version of himself.

As I wrote above, the whole other universe thing has been done lots of times before, but its the first time this show has used the idea, and they get some cool if predictable use out of it.moreless

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Another Great Episode for the Fans!

9.5

"Superb"

By Samuel2484, Jul 20, 2010 Report Abuse

The Farnsworth Parabox. A great episode. Not only for the fans, but for anyone who wants to get into Futurama. This Episode is incredibly exciting and really funny. It also gives a very strong Sci-Fi feeling for anyone who loves the Sci-Fi parts of Futurama. I thought that the Plot and Script were very cleaverly thought out. I really liked the way that the Parallel Characters interacted with eachother. With a mixture of honestly Great looking Animation and CGI, all of these ingredients make this episode of Futurama one of my Favourites. The Scene where they all go into the different Parallel Universes is so funny!moreless

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The Crew finds a universe parallel to theirs

10

"Perfect"

By Southparkfa, Jul 20, 2010 Report Abuse

In this episode, Pr. Fransworth gives Leela the duty of watching over a very important box, but that no one (including Leela herself) was allowed to look into it. Eventually, Leela grows so very bored, and disobeys Fransworth's orders and opens it, and then some kind of switch-a-roo happens and Leela is back... or she? It is eventually shown that there is a parallel universe inside the box, and the main difference is that if one gets heads, the other gets tails. I found this episode hialrious throughout, with universe B, all the other dimmensions, and the confusion that led to their universe being in the box(?) Overall, a very classic episode, easily one of the best of the series. 10/10 A+moreless

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Clever

10

"Perfect"

By futuramarama, Jun 20, 2010 Report Abuse

Parallel Universes, including one of the Planet Express crew? It's a good, clever, funny episode, especially near the end with all the universes they travel to. That is one of the funniest parts of the entire series, I think so anyways. Anyway, this is a really strong offering from the show, it's probably in my top 5 or so for the series, it is just such a good episode throughout and the resolution was good, as was the rest of the episode. It definitely gets an A+ from me, it is just such a joy to watch when I domoreless

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A funny and well written episode

9.5

"Superb"

By AdrenalinDragon, Jun 07, 2010 Report Abuse

"The Fansworth Parabox"

Grade: A

So this was an interesting episode which dealt with Parallel Universes and their many different outcomes in terms of simply flipping a coin. Filled with good quotes and memorable moments, The Farnsworth Parabox is one of the best episoes of Season 4/5 as a result.

The episode begins with Farnsworth doing an experiment whilst Fry keeps trying to ask Leela out. Leela's excuses for not wanting to don't work on Fry, and in the end Farnsworth finishes the experiment.
The professor tells the crew about the object he used for his experiment, which is a Parallel Universe box (though he only tells the crew about the box and not what's inside). He tells no one to look inside, and in the end he lets Leela guard it from the others. Leela successfully fools the others from taking the box by switching it, in which Fry and Bender fall for it.
Leela gets through the whole day without anyone peeking the box, and gets annoyed on not being able to have even a slight peek on what's inside. Whilst heading for a coffee vending machine, Leela gets a coin out and decides to flip it whether to look inside it or not, she gets Heads so she decides to look in, only to be sucked into the box.
Leela comes out of the other side, and realises she's in a different universe, noticing the many changes in the crew and the environment. The 2nd Leela forces the crew from the original Universe into the new one, and as a result they are assumed to be the evil crew.
Both crew Universes discuss on what has just happened, and conclude that both boxes have Parallel Universes. The 2nd Farnsworth has hidden the box for the time being, and when convinced that their parralel selves are not evil, they will let them go back as a result. The original Leela also finds out that their Parallel Fry and Leela selves are also married together as well.
With having to live in the Parallel universe for a while, the crew try to get along with each other. Bender meets his Golden opposite, in which he realises that there's someone as equally as great as him, whilst the two Zoidbergs are annoyed at how their crew treats them as losers, when one of them knows where the box is and should keep it hidden away from them. Meanwhile, Fry and Leela learn more about how their secondary selves got together, in which resulted in a positive coin flip, in where it was negative for the original Leela, preventing her from dating Fry, in which annoys him.
Both Farnsworths' have been working together and conclude that neither of them are evil, and that they can return to their own universe as a result. The 2nd Professor goes into a fish tank and finds in the clam its not there, and they then find out that the Zoidberg's took it. To make things worse, the Hermes from the original universe has been sent to destroy the original Parallel Universe box, by sending it into the sun.
With the Zoidberg's running away and jumping into another random Parallel Universe box, the crew tether wire on them so that they can get back to the correct universe when they find them. After finally cornering the Zoidberg's off in the Hippie universe due to lack of boxes, the crew quickly jump back before Hermes releases the cargo lock. Farnsworth tells Hermes not to do it, in which he hesitates for a few seconds and lets them out.
The episode ends with both crews switching boxes from each universe, and as a result they both have their own existing universes with them. Everyone is watching the TV, and Fry comes in and sits on it, stretching the whole universe as a result.

So overall, a very funny and excellent episode of Futurama, using the multiple universes as a good set of jokes, and telling out the interesting outcomes of a simple coin flip. I think this episode also cleverly twisted catchphrases too, like Golden Bender's "Bite my glorious golden ass!" so that was pretty awesome. Overall, a decent episode not to be missed!moreless

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Trivia, Notes, Quotes and Allusions

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Trivia
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- This episode marks the second time Fry and Bender have attempted to climb through a steam vent, the first being Love's Labours Lost In Space. Edit
- The reason Dr. Zoidberg is blue is because one in every two million lobsters is blue. Edit
- Opening theme promotion: BEATS A HARD KICK IN THE FACE Edit
Notes
ADD NOTES
- A number of scenes were deleted for time. Some of them can be found on the Volume 4 DVD. Edit
- The Bobble Head universe is numbered 1729. This number is Ramanujan's taxi-cab number, Bender is Mom's 1729th son, and Zapp's spacecraft the Nimbus is labelled BP-1729. Edit
Quotes
ADD QUOTES
- Hermes: Item 1: Box. Check. Item 2: Sun. Whoo, that's a big check! (Hermes puts down the rear view mirror then catches fire) Whoo! Edit
- Hermes 1: Oh, if I know Hermes A, he's half way to the sun by now! Bender 1: Our universe is doomed! Both Benders: DOOOOOOOOMED! Edit
- Bender 1: Y'know what they say about making friends, make new friends, but keep the old, one is silver- Bender: And the other's gold. (both hug) Edit
Allusions
ADD ALLUSIONS
- The Narnia Chronicles The idea of jumping from one universe to another well predates Star Trek or Sliders. The Magician's Nephew, was published in 1955 and is the first book in the series containing The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe. In this book, the two main characters jump into many shallow pools in a forest clearing that lead to different universes, similar to the many boxes on the floor in this episode. Edit
- The "hippy" universe is numbered 420. 420 is a term used by pot smokers as a code for getting high. Edit
- DC Comics: Multiverse Most of the episode is a parody of the DC Comics Multiverse where there are several Earths that explained why various superheros were different in different comic series. Edit

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