Superb episode. I forgot how layered the jokes are and how many little grace notes to various gags there are. Zapp is at his Zapp-iest here, but the real story is about Fry, Leela, and Bender and there's enough of an emotional core to make us care, without hitting us over the head, or crowding out the buffet of humor that this episode provides. Lots of laughs all around, and even a small showcase for Kif!
EDIT 12/29/2017: I'd probably revise this down to an 8.2/10 or so, but it's still a great episode. It spends just enough time digging into the relationship between Fry/Bender and Leela, and even grazes insightful notions of hard-working, if unpopular leaders being shoved aside for flaxen-haired boasters who promise big things, but in the end, are only looking out for themselves, see enemies everywhere, and leave things headed for disaster that feel all the more salient today.
Still, apart from that heavier stuff, the laughs are there, and the way it gives us another chance to see Zapp at his bravado-filled, incompetent best is outstanding. It's another episode that's more fun after having watched the original Star Trek and seeing just how much Kirk/Shatner is baked into the character.
Overall, a fun episode with a solid observational thoughline for its characters and their interactions at its core.
Review by Andrew BloomVIP 9BlockedParent2015-09-29T08:35:28Z— updated 2018-01-02T17:49:58Z
Superb episode. I forgot how layered the jokes are and how many little grace notes to various gags there are. Zapp is at his Zapp-iest here, but the real story is about Fry, Leela, and Bender and there's enough of an emotional core to make us care, without hitting us over the head, or crowding out the buffet of humor that this episode provides. Lots of laughs all around, and even a small showcase for Kif!
EDIT 12/29/2017: I'd probably revise this down to an 8.2/10 or so, but it's still a great episode. It spends just enough time digging into the relationship between Fry/Bender and Leela, and even grazes insightful notions of hard-working, if unpopular leaders being shoved aside for flaxen-haired boasters who promise big things, but in the end, are only looking out for themselves, see enemies everywhere, and leave things headed for disaster that feel all the more salient today.
Still, apart from that heavier stuff, the laughs are there, and the way it gives us another chance to see Zapp at his bravado-filled, incompetent best is outstanding. It's another episode that's more fun after having watched the original Star Trek and seeing just how much Kirk/Shatner is baked into the character.
Overall, a fun episode with a solid observational thoughline for its characters and their interactions at its core.