I geniunely didn't think this episode was that great. Over the season I have found myself laughing less and less at Futurama, and this episode was no exception. I got many of the jokes, though I think some of the anime segment went over my head, but I just didn't find it funny.

I mentioned this in an earlier episode thread, but I thought I might as well bring it back now. Does anyone else think Milhouse acts a bit too old for his age in this episode? He's supposed to be 10, but comes off like a 13 or 14-year-old.

Even in "This little Wiggy" he is fodder for some good jokes, despite being unfunny himself. The little leprechaun telling him to burn the house down is pretty good.

What about "that triumverate of twinkies merely overwhelmed my resolve?"

Good list. Out of ones that haven't been mentioned, I would add Columbus Day and the episode where Chris meets with Ben Kingsley about starring in his movie.

I've found reading plot summaries on Wikipedia is often better than reading the comics themselves with recent books.

Definitely felt forced, but I think a lot of hilarity ensued in both that plotline and others. I quite liked the idea of Randall selling off Mark's dreams for Zombie Theatre, and Twayne seems to be really shining in his season 2 role as the weird effeminate guy over the last few episodes in a way he really didn't…

Worst BSG episode: The Woman King, though there are at least four or five episodes in the ballpark.

what about Wrecked?

It is a great call-back, in an episode chocked full of call-backs to the running gags of the show.

I'm pretty sure that it is kind of the point that the villains are implausible. The main story is essentially riffing on quite kid-friendly sci-fi/adventure stories, particularly Charlie and the chocolate factory among others, and in that context it would make sense to have villains who are just pure evil and don't…

It took me a while to come around on this episode, though I ended up enjoying it. To me at least, the episode felt just a bit off in the direction, with the editing really needing some tightening up and some of the line readings feeling kind of flat. The twist with Z was really strong however.

I think that there are a few spy series that run into similar issues. The Alex Rider and Cherub series are examples of long-running series that, like Harry Potter, matured somewhat with their originally younger readers. Despite both relying heavily on standalone stories in each book, and being a bit less goal driven…

I would definitely watch it on a double bill with A Star is Born. I think New York, New York is a flawed film that plays better when you think about it afterwards than when you are actually watching it, but it is still pretty good.

I'm not calling him a fringe character, of course he is a core cast member. I'm just suggesting that the reason he is so loved by fans is because he is funny instead of for being a strongly developed character, and even the episodes that have dealt with his backstory in the past have been funny episodes.

Futurama trying too hard for sentimentality?
Now I know that the original run was not above going for sappy sentimentality, but the resonant episodes (Jurassic Bark, which has similarities with this episode in structure, The Sting etc.) always worked because they were using the more strongly-developed characters in…

I think Leonard's real high point was the shameless infomercials. It was also interesting that from the chorus girls kept on popping up through the episode, tying it to Little Shop of Horrors really well.

Guest Stars aplenty
Rhea Pearlman was in the last part of the first episode as the talking cat, as well as that Indian guy from "Undeclared" and "The 40-year-old Virgin" in the second episode.

The book doesn't contain any tips on how to win the lottery, but is instead a chilling tale of conformity gone mad

I think she is largely annoying. I think it was just because the Japanese sense of humour grated on me a bit, though sometimes she is funny.