Xmas Story

As far as Christmas specials go, this is one of the best I've ever seen. However, something about it being so Christmassy takes away from the overall plot for me. I love aspects of the story, but other bits such as the crew sat around celebrating Xmas together cause it to stop and start.

It features some extremely nice characterisation from Fry and Leela however and the humour is standard for Futurama.

"Xmas Story" is Futurama's take on the Christmas holiday, which in the year 3000 has turned into a night of horror as a robotic Santa Claus hunts down the persons on his "Naughty" list (which typically includes all of Earth). It feels a little bit disjointed as it bounces between three or four different plotlines, but all comes together at the end when the Planet Express crew team together to defeat Robot Santa.

After a company ski trip, Fry begins to feel depressed during his first Xmas (pronounced exactly as it's spelled) away from his own time. The others try to cheer him up, but Fry later makes an insensitive remark to Leela (who also has no family with whom to celebrate) and brings her to tears. Fry leaves Planet Express and braves the dangers of Xmas Eve to search for a present for Leela. He purchases a parrot, which predictably flies away and leads Fry to the top of a skyscraper. Meanwhile, Bender heads out to a robot homeless shelter and goes caroling with Tinny Tim and some of the other refugees.

Horrified that Fry is walking the streets on Xmas Eve, Leela runs out and rescues Fry from the skyscraper, and they and the robots manage to escape Robot Santa's rampage. Santa eventually forces his way down the Planet Express chimney, but with a beautiful display of teamwork the robots and the Planet Express gang manage to blow Santa out of the sky.

Despite the morbid violence that accompanies the Xmas holiday, the sentimental (perhaps sappy) spirit of the holiday bleeds through -- as Leela says to Fry as they walk hand in hand down the street, "I'm lonely, and you're lonely, but together -- we're lonely together". Though Fry, Leela, Bender and others have no close family with whom to share the holiday, they can take comfort in knowing that they have each other, and the mood of "Xmas Story" certainly fits the Christmas season.

"We're trapped."

"I never thought it would end this way: Gunned down by Santa Claus. Honestly, I didn't see it coming!"

The first seasonal episode of "Futurama", and one of the rare writings of creator David X. Cohen, "Xmas Story" is full of smart dialogue and smart gags, and guest stars Conan O'Brien as himself and John Goodman as the dreadful Robot Santa Claus.

Fry and Leela are forced to deal with their loneliness when the futuristic Christmas season starts.