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Futurama: Time Keeps on Slipping

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In the 30th Century, the once entertaining Harlem Globetrotters are now feared as they will humiliate any planet in the Universe who dares to play them. Feeling up to the challenge, Professor Farnsworth creates a group of mutant basketball players to go head-to-head with the Globetrotters. Farnsworth's secret winning ingredient is chronitons, time particles found in the Tempus Nebula. However, when the Planet Express crew removes the mutants from harvesting, they tip off the Time/Space Continuum causing forward motion of time to skip ahead. Add a recap »

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Writers:: Ken Keeler

Director:: Chris Louden

Stars:: Katey Sagal (Turanga Leela); David Herman (Sweet Clyde); John DiMaggio (Bender / Curly Joe / Thorias / Madison Cube Garden Proprietor); Maurice LaMarche (Aracneon); Phil LaMarr (Hermes Conrad / Ethan "Bubblegum" Tate / Reverend Preacherbot); Tress MacNeille (Linda / Boy); Lauren Tom (Amy Wong); Billy West (Philip J. Fry / Professor Hubert Farnsworth / Dr. Zoidberg / Richard Nixon's Head / Judge Ron Whitey / Senior Citizen)

Guest Star:: Jeff Cesario (Marv Albert's Head)

Professor Farnsworth has six doomsday devices, one of which is used in the episode. edit »
Opening theme promotion: FOR PROPER VIEWING TAKE RED PILL NOW edit »
There's a sign-up sheet for body dumping at Central Park Lake. edit »
The long-armed mutant is named Grotrian (which is a brand of piano), the five-armed mutant is named Armo, the spider-like mutant is named Arachnium, the mutant with a cannon in his chest is Thorias, and the laser-eye mutant is named Lazar. edit »
The image shown when time skips is the same as the holes left in the Tempest Nebula where the chronitons were originally pulled from. edit »

This episode is rumored to be an homage to a cartoon of The Globetrotters In Space, but the staff didn't know it existed until they finished the episode. edit »

Bender: Well, the doomsday device is ready. Maybe blasting this quadrant of space into a hell storm of flaming nothingness will cheer me up a little. edit »
Leela: Careful with that doomsday device, Bender.
Bender: What does it matter? I'll never be a Globetrotter. My life, and, by extension, everyone else's, is meaningless.
Leela: Roger. edit »
Tate: We must leave now, for we are needed elsewhere. But we wish you Godspeed.
Bender: Please, please let me come with you. I can make myself taller.
Tate: Bender, you can talk trash, you can handle the ball. But look in your heart and ask yourself: Are you funky enough to be a Globetrotter? Are you?
Bender: Yes.
Tate: Are you?
Bender: I mean, with time, my funk level could-
Tate: Are you?
Bender: No. edit »
Tate: Give me some skin, Prof. I'm making you an honorary Globetrotter. In fact, everybody in this room's an honorary Globetrotter.
Amy: Hooray!
Hermes: Yes!
Zoidberg: I'm a Globetrotter!
Bender runs in
Bender: Did you just say-
Tate: Too late, hot plate.
Bender: Oh, crap. edit »
Farnsworth: Well, I'm stumped. We'll have to call in the finest scientific minds in the univ-
Time skips
Farnsworth: Perhaps we could explode the whole damned nebula. What do you think, Curly Joe?
Curly Joe: No, man. An explosion big enough to destroy that mama would take out half the universe.
Sweet Clyde: You gotta Globetrotter that explosion up a little, Farnsy. Make it an implosion. edit »

Basketball: 'Bubblegum' Tate's line, "Nothin' but nebula", is obviously a play on the popular B-Ball expression, "Nothin' but net." edit »
The song that Bender whistles when he's leaving Fry alone at the cockpit near the end is "Sweet Georgia Brown", which is most famous for being the Harlem Globetrotters' signature tune. edit »
Professor Farnsworth throwing a chair resembles the usual attitude of Bobby Knight, head coach of the Indiana Hoosiers Basketball team from 1971 to 2000. edit »
Strange Romance Concept Part of the concept of this episode was inspired by the short story "Strange Romance" from the book "Y. Cheung, Business Detective" by Harry Stephen Keeler, in which a man falls in love with a woman whom he sees through his telescope, only later to found out that she lived (and died) 10,000 years ago. edit »
Opening theme: FOR PROPER VIEWING, TAKE RED PILL NOW

In The Matrix, Neo had to take the red pill to see the reality. edit »

10
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Blind_Legend
member since: Jun 21, 2008
Time Keeps on Slipping
The Bottom Line: "Exactly why I watch this series"
one of the best episodes, touching and funny ...Continue »
06/24/08 02:11pm | report abuse
10
00
Iverson82094
member since: Aug 23, 2007
Time Keeps on Slipping
The Bottom Line: "Series classic"
One of my favorite episodes in the history of TV!!!!! ...Continue »
02/18/08 07:27pm | report abuse
7
01
slinkdogg
member since: Apr 5, 2004
Time Keeps on Slipping
The Bottom Line: "Out of character"
Professor Farnsworth creates mutant, superhuman basketball players to play against the Harlem Globetrotters but in the process ruins space-time. The crew need to figure out how to solve the problem as time keeps skipping forward. ...Continue »
07/04/07 08:25pm | report abuse
9.8
01
mataletea
member since: Nov 13, 2006
Time Keeps on Slipping
The Bottom Line: "A very special episode"
Time leaps forward and random moments. ...Continue »
02/04/07 09:13pm | report abuse
10
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jimbo_001
member since: Jul 12, 2005
Time Keeps on Slipping
The Bottom Line: "Cleverly plotted"
Introduction of the Harlem Globetrotters ...Continue »
01/31/06 08:55pm | report abuse