Movies - TV
One Of Futurama’s Funniest Characters Was Only Meant To Appear Once
By WITNEY SEIBOLD
In a “Futurama” retrospective, show creator David X. Cohen said that Roberto (voiced by Dan Herman) was only supposed to appear once, but he was so loved that he returned often.
Roberto was a homicidal robot and vicious criminal frustrated that he was programmed to be so violent. “Don’t call me crazy!,” he would yell, adding, “I’m just not user-friendly!”
Roberto even had a catchphrase. While stabbing something, Roberto would unleash a high-pitched “Ha-ha!,” as Herman brought a delightfully erratic performance to Roberto.
“Futurama” actors Maurice LaMarche and Billy West were especially fond of Roberto because Herman was permitted to cut loose and be as zany as possible when voicing the character.
Since debuting in the Season 2 episode “Mother’s Day” and becoming a star in the Season 3 episode “Insane in the Mainframe,” Roberto has been in 12 episodes and three of the films.
When explaining Roberto’s recurrence, Cohen said, “When we write a character like Roberto [...] we mean it to be a joke that’s gonna be five seconds in one episode.”
He added, “[But] Dave comes in and invented that ‘Ha-ha!’ That stabbing noise. [...] So, like in that one second, he made it a character that we brought back again and again.”