| "Godfellas" | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Futurama episode | |||
| Episodeno. | Season 3 Episode 20 | ||
| Directed by | Susie Dietter | ||
| Written by | Ken Keeler | ||
| Production code | 3ACV20 | ||
| Original air date | March 17, 2002 (2002-03-17) | ||
| Episode features | |||
| Opening caption | Please Turn Off All Cell Phones andTricorders | ||
| Opening cartoon | Private Snafu in "Censored" byWarner Bros. Cartoons (1944) | ||
| Episode chronology | |||
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| Futuramaseason 3 | |||
| List of episodes | |||
"Godfellas" is the twentieth episode of thethirdseason of the American animated television seriesFuturama, and the 52nd episode of the series overall. It first aired on theFox Network in the United States on March 17, 2002. AfterBender is shot out of the Planet Express ship, he becomes the god of a tiny civilization that crash lands on his body. The episode was written byKen Keeler and directed bySusie Dietter. "Godfellas" has received universal acclaim, and won the firstWriters Guild of America Award for animation.
The episode has been discussed in the context of variousreligious issues; it also has been recommended by Christianyouth groups as a way to initiate discussion about spirituality and faith.
During aspace pirate attack, Bender is accidentally fired into space. Because Bender was launched when the ship was at its top speed, it is impossible to catch up with him. After an asteroid crashes into Bender, a civilization of tiny humanoid "Shrimpkins" grows on him and worships him as a god. Bender enjoys his new-found status, picking aprophet named Malachi. The Shrimpkins begin praying for rain, sun and wealth, and Bender attempts to heed theirprayers, failing and unintentionally harming the Shrimpkins in the process. Malachi tells him that the Shrimpkins who migrated to hisbuttocks feel their prayers are unheeded and have becomeatheists. The atheists threaten war with Bender's worshipers. Bender, horrified that his previous attempts to help the Shrimpkins only harmed them, refuses to intervene. The micro-civilization is destroyed when the Shrimpkin factions launch atomic weapons out of Bender's nuclear piles.
Bender continues floating through space until he encountersa cosmic entity. During their time together, the entity tells Bender that it has had much the same experience with helping those who pray to it, and has given up on directly interfering in its worshippers' lives. It now uses a "light touch", which it compares tosafecracking,pickpocketing, or (as Bender adds)insurance fraud. Bender asks if he can be sent back to Earth, but the entity claims that it does not know where Earth is. Meanwhile, Fry and Leela search for a way to locate Bender, which leads them to a sect of monks who use aradio telescope to search for God in space. Leela locks up thepacifist monks and Fry spends the next three days searching for Bender. Leela convinces him to give up the search, considering the odds of finding Bender astronomical.
Fry spins the telescope'strackball and finds the cosmic entity by accident as he wishes out loud he had Bender back. The entity hears him and flings Bender toward Earth, where he lands just outside the monastery. Bender recounts his tale, while Fry is reluctant to return to the monastery and claims that their God will surely help the monks. Bender tells them that God cannot be counted on, and demands they rescue the monks themselves. The cosmic entity chuckles and repeats advice it gave to Bender earlier: "When you do things right, people won't be sure you've done anything at all."
"Godfellas" was written byKen Keeler, and directed bySusie Dietter.Billy West, who voices series protagonistFry, as well as "God", based the voice of the latter onVic Perrin's "Control Voice" fromThe Outer Limits.[1]
"Godfellas" touches on the ideas ofpredestination, prayer,an inactive creator god, and the nature ofsalvation, in what theology writer Mark Pinsky referred to as a theological turn to the episode, which may cause the viewer to need "to be reminded that this is a cartoon and not a divinity school class".[2] By the end of the conversation, Bender's questions still have not been fully answered and like many of the conversations between humans and God inthe Bible, Bender is left wanting more from the voice than it has given him.[2] Pinsky also notes that the monks visited by Fry and Leela occupy the monastery of "Teshuvah", which is theHebrew word for repentance.[2]
The bookToons That Teach, a text used by Christianyouth groups to teach teenagers about spirituality, recommends this episode in a lesson teaching about "Faith, God's Will, [and] Image of God".[3]
The first half of this episode explores themes similar to "Microcosmic God" byTheodore Sturgeon, in which a small race of beings worship their human creator as a God, earnestly carrying out his every command.[4] The story has previously inspired episodes ofThe Twilight Zone and Groening's ownThe Simpsons.[citation needed]
The observatory located in a monastery is also a reference to "The Nine Billion Names of God" byArthur C. Clarke.[4]
In its initial airing, the episode received aNielsen rating of 2.6/4, placing it 97th among primetime shows for the week of March 11–17, 2002.[5]
"Godfellas" received high praise upon release. The episode won the firstWriters Guild of America Award for animation in 2003,[2][6] where it competed against animated specials, long form programs and episodic animation.[7] Series creatorMatt Groening has cited it as one of the best episodes of the series.[8] TheReno Gazette-Journal called the episode amazing and noted it as one of the prime episodes of the season.[9] Zack Handlen ofThe A.V. Club gave the episode an A.[10] In 2008,Empire placedFuturama 25th on their list of "The 50 Greatest TV Shows of All Time" and cited "Godfellas" as the show's best episode.[11] In 2013, it was ranked number 7 "as voted on by fans" for Comedy Central's Futurama Fanarama marathon.[12] An accolades list fromIGN compiling the 25 best episodes of Futurama placed "Godfellas" in the #1 spot. The review called the episode a "straightforward affair", but praised it for its "excellent commentary on religion and leadership".[13]
"God" later reappears in the season 6 episode "Reincarnation", introducing the viewer to the episode's unique storytelling approach.[14]
