After six months waiting in anticipation, I was disappointed that last week’s episodes were just so-so. But all is forgiven with “Ghost in the Machines,” one of my favorite episodes of the season so far. The jokes were fast, furious and hilarious tonight (did you catch the “All-Parts Franks” sign?), but the episode really went to another level once Bender realized Fry did respect robot lives because of him. Seeing Bender lovingly look over Fry in his new life — and ultimately save his friends’ lives while freely sacrificing his afterlife — makes this one of the more touching Bender episodes in the series. I’m impressed by the way the writers made this character growth seem so natural in such an outrageous character. Of course, he immediately goes on to beat up Robot God, so I wouldn’t worry too much about Bender losing his edge.
There were a plethora of callbacks to earlier seasons, but none of them felt forced. Tress MacNeille was used once again to perfection as Suicide Booth and Gypsy the coin-operated fortune teller, among other minor characters. Preacherbot comes in to perform an exorcism and eat the gang’s food. And don’t forget Dan Castellaneta reprising his role as Robot Devil. My geek heart leapt with delight when he started playing his catchy little torture ditty from “Hell is Other Robots.”
This week’s episode has completely made up for last week’s trip-up. “Ghost in the Machines” is a reminder that Futurama is still our Futurama.
All the best quotes:
“#1 most viewed show among viewbots.” — Titlecard
“Care to say a few words, son?” — Mayor Poopenmeyer
“Um, heroes don’t do drugs … except Drugman, I guess.” — Fry
“You see, Bender, you’re a ghost!” — Robot Devil
“A g-g-g-ghost?!” — Bender
“No, just the regular kind.” — Bender
“This is all Fry’s fault!” — Bender
“Fry? I hate that guy. We once traded hands. They still stink of candy corn!” — Robot Devil
“As you can see, since Bender’s death, requests to bite one’s shiny metal ass are down 98%.” — Hermes
“All I know is, I’ve got a ghost that needs busting.” — Fry
“Who you gonna call?” — Hermes
“Gho–” — Fry
“The number you have dialed has been lame since 1989.” — automated phone message
“Now that’s he’s gone, I realize how valuable a robot life can be when it belongs to my best friend.” — Fry
“That’s the closest thing to ‘Bender is great’ that anyone besides me has ever said!” — Bender
“Are you OK? What just happened?” — Leela
“Well, I think the robot devil said he loved me in Bender’s voice wearing Granny Hester’s clothes … I wanna go home!” — Fry
“I am pleased to welcome you to robot heaven.” — The Robot Almighty
“Shut up, God!” — Bender
Clacked by Katie Schenkel 
on Jun 30, 2011 @ 23:48 EST5EDT
