The Futurama Episode That Set The Show's Writers Free From Fox's Terrible Notes
In the third episode of "Futurama," called "I, Roommate" (April 6, 1999), Fry (Billy West) has been causing a mess by sleeping in the Planet Express building where he works. The time has come for him to move out. At first, he moves in with the alcoholic robot Bender (John DiMaggio), but, as it so happens, robots live in apartments the size of phone booths. Fry likes the idea of living with Bender, but can't sleep in a closet. Eventually, he and Bender find a sprawling bachelor pad where they can be roomies and both have enough space. The only conflict arises when Bender's antenna proves to interfere with the apartment's TV signals.
This may seem like a rather quotidian story for a sci-fi sitcom set in the distant future. This was a series with fantastical technologies, sentient robots, weird aliens, and faster-than-light space travel, and the third episode dealt with the down-to-earth problems of a shiftless twentysomething apartment hunting.
It seems that "I, Roommate" was the result of studio notes, handed to series creators Matt Groening and David X. Cohen in the early days of the show's production. If one listens to the commentary tracks on the "Futurama" DVDs — and the showrunners helpfully provided commentaries for every single episode — one will find numerous stories about how Fox never fully "got" the show, finding it to be a little too wild, a little to space-oriented, and a little too crass. Fox essentially hated the show they ordered.
Groening and Cohen, however, found a way to ensure that Fox would never hand them another note again. Their secret was to do everything Fox wanted for one episode and show them the result. Naturally, Fox hated that too.
Worst. Episode. Ever.
Evidently, all the notes Groening and Cohen received re: "Futurama" were about toning down the show's sci-fi elements, as well as some of its weirder conceits. Fox didn't like Bender's constant drinking and kleptomania, nor were they terribly fond of the fact that the Planet Express doctor was a freaky lobster monster. For one episode, perhaps trying to be game or perhaps trying to shut up their bosses, Groening and Cohen followed every note. As Groening said:
"This is the third episode in the series, and this is a series that ... It had a troubled beginning with the Fox network, who felt that the show was too outrageous and too much outer space. So this was our attempt, the third episode, to bring the show back to Earth. [...] [T]he network really, really was freaked out by the show, with the suicide booths and lobster creatures and Bender being so antisocial. And so, again, this was our show just to tone things down. The script was written specifically to their specifications, and their reaction David?"
Cohen replied playfully: "Worst. Episode. Ever."
Although writer Eric Horsted did a very good job, Fox hated it. The hatred gave Groening the license to ignore all future suggestions. Groening continued:
"Yeah, they really hated this script — sorry Eric. And this was the point at which we decided that we were gonna do the show that we wanted to do. Their notes made no sense anyway, they were completely contradictory, and so we did what we wanted."
Sadly, he does not share specifics of what Fox said or what their specific demands were. I would love to know.
But it still worked
And, despite staying on Earth and churning out a notes-infected script that the studio hated anyway, "I, Roommate" still served a vital function in the series. It seems that, by being forced to stay off of spaceships, "Futurama" had the opportunity to establish some of the more practical elements of the show — where people live — as well as develop the characters' relationships. Cohen noted:
"I've heard a lot of people say they really like this episode actually though because it is a little more down to earth and it made people care a little more, I think, about the characters of Fry and Bender."
At the conclusion of the episode, Bender and Fry realize they can't live together and have TV at the same time, an intolerable arrangement. Fry realizes he didn't mind living in Bender's closet-like apartment, as at the very least he would be a friend. In a twist, however, Bender revealed that robot closets are full-blown one-bedroom apartments unto themselves. Yakkity-schmackity-doo! Fry lives in Bender's closet, and Bender gets the front room. Their friendship was, with "I, Roommate," palpably sealed. The studio hated it, Groening merely used it as an experiment, and yet it can't be easily removed from the canon of the series.
Rich Moore, a supervising director on "Futurama" merely said he liked the episode because "I basically had fun drawing Fry's butt."