Futurama
Bender Should Not Be Allowed on Television
TV Flash files “Bender Should Not Be Allowed on Television” as hour 71 of 164 in the TV Flash guide — Futurama (1999–2003) on Fox, season 5, episode 15, aired 2003-08-03, 30 min.
From the desk
How this hour is filed
This leaf is S05E15: listed hour 71 of 164 in the Futurama guide, hour 15 of 16 in season 5. It aired 2003-08-03 (30 min). The listed hour before it is “Obsoletely Fabulous” (S05E14). Next is “The Devil's Hands Are Idle Playthings” (S05E16).
Catalog log
Broadcast listing — not a TV Flash recap.
Bender becomes a star on his favorite soap opera by forgetting his lines and reverting to character, but becomes concerned about the effect he is having on the audience.
Viewer FAQ
Where does Bender Should Not Be Allowed on Television sit in the Futurama guide?
S05E15 is listed hour 71 of 164 — hour 15 of 16 in season 5, season 5 episode 15.
When did Futurama S05E15 air?
Bender Should Not Be Allowed on Television aired 2003-08-03 and is listed at 30 minutes.
Fox run or later revivals?
Start with the 1999–2003 Fox seasons. Comedy Central and streaming revivals continued the crew; the original is the pathos-and-math text.
In the series
Why this series still plays
A frozen delivery boy wakes a thousand years later, and Groening still finds the sad note under the gag. Nerd-precision sci-fi sitcom: math jokes, robot unions, and hours that wreck you between punchlines. Fox animation with real pathos — revived, never replaced, still the smartest pizza-delivery epic on television.
Visual first: a frozen delivery boy in a thousand-year thaw, a ship silhouette that can wreck you between punchlines, nerd-precision sci-fi with a sad note under the gag. Matt Groening and David X. Cohen's Fox series premiered in 1999. Billy West, Katey Sagal's Leela, John DiMaggio's Bender, Lauren Tom, Phil LaMarr. *Math jokes as sparkle, robot unions as the gown, pathos as the second look.* **This was not Simpsons in space; this was a different instrument.**
Filed against
- Billy West as Philip J. Fry / Professor Farnsworth
Billy West’s Stimpy — and later Ren — made The Ren & Stimpy Show a gums-and-gravy religion — 1990s catalog gross-out as high art, then Futurama asking the same throat for a thousand-year sad joke. TV Flash files him as the voice that can…
- Katey Sagal as Leela
Katey Sagal’s Peggy Bundy made Married… with Children a leopard-print weather system — 1980s catalog anti-wholesome, Fox’s first family of gleeful dysfunction. Futurama and Sons of Anarchy proved the same instrument could sing pathos and…
- John DiMaggio as Bender
John DiMaggio’s Bender made Futurama a robot with a drinking problem and a soul — a frozen delivery boy waking a thousand years later, Groening still finding the sad note under the gag. Nerd-precision sci-fi sitcom: math jokes, robot…
- Lauren Tom as Amy Wong
Lauren Tom's Amy Wong kept Futurama's sad note under the gag — a frozen delivery boy a thousand years later, Groening nerd-precision sci-fi, math jokes and robot unions, Fox animation with real pathos. Revived, never replaced. The desk…
- Phil LaMarr as Hermes Conrad
Phil LaMarr voices Hermes Conrad on Futurama, Groening’s 1990s nerd-precision sci-fi sitcom — a frozen delivery boy waking a thousand years later, math jokes, robot unions, hours that wreck you between punchlines. Fox animation with real…