David X. Cohen Interviewed on New Futurama

eldavojohn writes "Toyfare has a short but exclusive interview with co-creator of Futurama David X. Cohen. There's a lot of information about how they plan to continue the series. He also reveals they're halfway through writing the new season and just starting animation. When asked about his favorite minor character of the show, Cohen responded 'Hypnotoad. By the way, we are looking into producing a full 22-minute episode of Everybody Loves Hypnotoad for the DVD release. I am serious.'"

Hypnotoad

[epsilon720]

All glory to the hypnotoad!

CLAP

CLAP

(Would have been more dramatic in all caps, but the filted doesn't like it.)

Re:

[thewils]

I have this vague memory of reading Asimov's Oceans of Venus, where, as the story goes (iirc) amphibians - toads maybe? - were kept as pets, but as the story unwound, it was found that the blighters were exerting mind control over the human inhabitants.

This Hypnotoad thingy wouldn't happen to have been nicked from Asimov now, would it?

Re:

[feepness]

This Hypnotoad thingy wouldn't happen to have been nicked from Asimov now, would it?

Nope. Lifted straight outta Star Control [wikipedia.org].

Re:Hypnotoad

[feepness]

Wrong. Star Control = 1991; Lucky Starr and the Oceans of Venus = 1953.

1) I was joking about Futurama lifting from Star Control rather than from Asimov.
2) You really, really, really think I didn't know that Asimov came before PC Games?

Ok, I guess toothpicks really do need instructions.

Re:

[Uner]

Seems to me that since Zoidberg is clearly based on Cthulhu, The Hypnotoad must be Tsathoggua. :-)

Re:Hypnotoad

[krakelohm]

Gesundheit.

Re:

[mrchaotica]

The funny thing is, anybody could go splice together "Everybody Loves Hypnotoad" themselves right now by just running the existing footage in a loop!

Re:

[Hamilton Lovecraft]

What? That wouldn't even be as good as your average season 4 episode of Hypnotoad.

Re:Hypnotoad

[agami]

http://r33b.net/ [r33b.net] For all your home hypnotoad viewing needs.

ALL GLORY TO THE HYPNOTOAD!

Check slashdots' headers

[ZeroExistenZ]

For those who don't know it yet, if you view the raw headers of slashdot, you'll find Futurama quotes.

I'm so excited Futurama is back that I hardly can contain myself!

Re:Check slashdots' headers

[defile]

HTTP/1.1 200 OK
Date: Thu, 14 Dec 2006 21:15:40 GMT
Server: Apache/1.3.33 (Unix) mod_gzip/1.3.26.1a mod_perl/1.29
SLASH_LOG_DATA: shtml
X-Powered-By: Slash 2.005000138
X-Bender: Curse you, merciful Poseidon!
Cache-Control: private
Pragma: private
Connection: close
Content-Type: text/html; charset=iso-8859-1

Wow, you weren't kidding.

Re:

[normal_guy]

It's a different Bender quote for X-Bender each time!

Re:

[Mercano]

Unless there is an X-Fry header. (Don't think there is anyone else.)

X-Fry: Please, Mr. Nixon! We're appealing to your sense of decency!

Re:

[dkf]

A few reloads later...

X-Fry: I haven't had time off since I was twenty-one through twenty-four.
X-Bender: They're tormenting me with uptempo singing and dancing!
X-Leela: Do you have idiots on your planet?

Re:

[Matimus]

It's a different Bender quote for X-Bender each time!

Its a mix of X-Blender, X-Fry and the occasional X-Leela.

Re:

[dangitman]

They need to mix it up with a few X-RobotDevils:

Stupider? Bah! This website's as lousy as it is brilliant!

Re:

[sacrilicious]

I'm so excited Futurama is back that I hardly can contain myself!

I'm so excited I wish I could wet my pants!

Re:Check slashdots' headers

[jlarocco]

#!/bin/bash
lynx -head -mime_header http://slashdot.org/ [slashdot.org] | sed -n '6s/^X-//p'

All Hail the Hypnotoad!

[tgd]

*drool*

Re:

[Bones3D_mac]

Isn't it, "All glory to the Hypnotoad!"

of course

[Anonymous Coward]

the hypnotoad is everyones favorite minor character

all hail the hypnotoad

Re:

[Amazing Quantum Man]

I prefer the Gronka-Lonkas. /me looks at the Hypnotoad

All glory to the hypnotoad.

Hypnotoad is hardly a minor character

[Anonymous Coward]

In fact, a recent poll of fans ranked hypnotoad as one of the most lickable characters on Futurama.

"No, it isnt'"

[Lurker2288]

I prefer the brain slugs. ::dazed voice::

Re:

[kv9]

Won't brain slugs starve on most /. readers? :-)

he said slashdot not digg

Seymour the Dog!

[Calmiche]

(Quote) We will also be shedding light on several lingering questions from the original run, including ... Seymour the dog. (/Quote)

Oh Man, oh man, oh man! Jurassic Bark, the episode featuring Seymour the dog, has to be one of the best written pieces of television I've ever seen, as well as one of the saddest. Look, I'm a grown man, and every time I see that episode, I cry. Anything that can do that is good television.

Oh, yah. If you can't tell, I'm REALLY excited about the return of Futurama.

Re:Seymour the Dog!

[0racle]

Ya I hate that episode, and by hate I mean I don't like feeling depressed for hours after it.

You son of a bitch, why did you even have to bring it up.

Re:

[msuzio]

I agree. That episode makes me cry, everytime. Anyone who has owned a dog knows how much it sucks that they are loyal to the end, but can't stick around long enough to share all the time they want with us. I know my dog would wait for me too...

Oh man, now my keyboard is all wet. :-(

*shakes fist* Damn you, David X. Cohen!!!

Re:Seymour the Dog!

[thc69]

Try owning dachshunds. That'll fix that problem.

They live long, but you wish they wouldn't. Well, _I_ wish they wouldn't.

The damnfool idiots need surgeries all the time, produce twice their body volume (that's twelve times their body weight) in feces daily (most of which they do indoors; these days they have their own room with a doggy door and a sheet of rubber under a scrap carpet), and never shut up. Oh, and they smell awful (must be from rolling around in shit). For awhile, in their own room, they were quiet, but lately they've taken to fighting with eachother...

My wife got them before we were married. I wish she had gotten a hypnotoad instead. ALL GLORY TO THE HYPNOTOAD.

Re:

[sg3000]

> Ya I hate that episode, and by hate I mean I don't like feeling depressed for hours after it.

Agreed.

I always assumed that Fry's dog was a metaphor for the way Fox treated Futurama as a show. It was *always* on hiatus or being pre-empted, and yet Groening didn't try to take his enterprise to another network.

Re:

[DaveM753]

Yeah, they pulled a fast one on many of us with that episode. I mean, here we are, watching one of the funniest TV shows ever, and they spring that tear-jerker, heart-warming ending on us. Gads! See...just thinking about it and I'm about to start bawling again. :'(

Re:Seymour the Dog!

[defile]

Yeah, they pulled a fast one on many of us with that episode. I mean, here we are, watching one of the funniest TV shows ever, and they spring that tear-jerker, heart-warming ending on us. Gads! See...just thinking about it and I'm about to start bawling again. :'(

When I watch Futurama, it's usually on late at night and sometimes I pass out near the end. Every time I've watched the episode with Fry's dog, I've passed out right at the ending and woken up to a everyone else in the room crying. Happened three times now.

I don't think I ever want to see the ending.

Re:

[NFNNMIDATA]

Every time that music gets to me and I start to tear up, I remember that the dog's name is Seymour Butts and I start laughing instead.

Re:Seymour the Dog!

[tdc_vga]

For those of you who don't know the episode is based on Hachiko [wikipedia.org] the famous Japanese Dog who returned to the Shibuya train station in Tokyo for 11 years in an attempt to greet his dead master. So I don't know if I'd say it was the best writing ever, but a nice adaption from reality and a damn fine episode.

Cheers,
    TdC_VgA

Re:

[CodeArtisan]

For those of you who don't know the episode is based on Hachiko the famous Japanese Dog who returned to the Shibuya train station in Tokyo for 11 years in an attempt to greet his dead master.

Or it may have been based on Greyfriar's Bobby [wikipedia.org]

Re:

[Tsuzuki]

Or even the Dog on the Tuckerbox [wikipedia.org]!

Re:

[glwtta]

So I don't know if I'd say it was the best writing ever, but a nice adaption from reality and a damn fine episode.

That's what all great writing is, in one way or another.

Re:

[bitt3n]

well.. I don't know if you can say that they copied from that. After all, Odysseus' dogs waited ten years (or whatever it was) for him in the Odyssey, and then died promptly upon his return to Ithaca. Does that mean the Japanese dog was copying Homer?

Re:Seymour the Dog!

[Sloppy]

No, no, no, Homer is in the other show.

Re:

[mrchaotica]

"Professor! Lava! HOT!"

Re:

[interstellar_donkey]

Perhaps, but the Daily Growl is not a reputable journal of opinion.

Re:

[Kostya]

Look, I'm a grown man, and every time I see that episode, I cry. Anything that can do that is good television.

Oh, yah. If you can't tell, I'm REALLY excited about the return of Futurama.

Amen. It's worse if you own dogs and they are laying at your feet when you watch it. Hell, I'm choking up even thinking about it.

I haven't owned a dog for years...

[FatSean]

That episode still chokes me up...actually, I watched it once on TV and never again. That track on my DVD has never been played.

Re:

[sg3000]

> That episode still chokes me up...actually, I watched it once on TV and never again. That track on my DVD has never been played.

I watched it once on the DVD, but only to listening to the director's commentary track. I wanted to hear if they could provide some justification for the episode. No such luck. They started off mentioning that the episode generated the most hate mail they had received, and then they carefully avoided the plot during the rest of the commentary.

Re:

[dpille]

It says this part of The Hustle implores the gods to grant a favour. Usually a Trans-AM.

Nuff said about the best pieces of television ever.

You are a bit too sensitive

[roman_mir]

It's an ok episode, not funny enough for my liking.

Re:

[Itsacon]

My favourite tearjerker has always been `Luck of the Fryrish', but maybe that's because I don't have a dog, and I do have a brother...

It is ranking no. 2 though...

Re:

[jandrese]

Don't forget the one where (spoiler alert)Leela discovers who her parents are(end of spoiler). I ended up picking up the Pizzacato 5 CD based on that ending alone.

Hypnotoad

[hedley]

If we can just get him to handle elections... Oh wait, thats why we have
Diebold machines.

About the "X"...

[Bones3D_mac]

For those of you who never watchd the full set of commentaries on the Futurama DVDs, there's an interesting story behind the "X" in David X. Cohen's name.

Back in the late 90's, he attempted to register his real name, "David S. Cohen", with the writer's guild. However, they already had a David S. Cohen registered with them. Due to the rules of the writer's guild, all names registered with them must be unique to avoid confusion. So, David decided to change his name over to David X. Cohen for identification purposes.

So what's the meaning of the "X" in the name? Not a damned thing! It was chosen entirely because it was weird enough to be easily recognizable.

Re:About the "X"...

[Nasarius]

The Futurama DVD commentaries are seriously funnier than the shows sometimes, which is saying something. David X. Cohen and Ken Keeler are huge nerds, and John DiMaggio and Billy West are just plain hilarious.

Hypnotoad sucks!

[Anonymous Coward]

He has got nothing on the brain slugs. I'm sure once you try one, you'll see how much better than hypnotoads they are. Email me and I will send you a complementary brain slug of your own. Brain slugs also make the perfect x-mas gift. Axe me nice and I will send you a whole gross.

I'm so excited ...

[Vaibhav_Locke]

that I feel like I was mauled by Jesus

Nerdgasm!

[Scrameustache]

One down, two to go!

(frell you if my sig can't let you guess what I mean)

Re:

[KillerBob]

How the hell does this get modded troll? Not trolling at all. :(

And I agree with you. I'd have a hard time breathing if either of the other shows you're referencing were to make it back to the air. Sadly, I don't think that the one in your .sig will get done, since they killed off two of my favourite characters in the movie. I still think that Jaynestown was the best episode. ;)

As for Farscape... well, they could. I dunno... it'd be really cool if they did, though. Dying in each others' arms would be hard t

Perhaps Mr. Cohen should be the one....

[8127972]

.... To do the new Star Trek animated series. It would likely be better than anything that the guys that are currently responsible for the series could come up with.

Re:

[DragonWriter]

Or we could just watch the Futurama episodes in which Zap Branigan, et al., appear and pretend they constitute the new Star Trek animated series, and it would still probably be better...

Re:

[Babbster]

My weird Futurama reaction: Every time I watch an episode with Zap in it, I get misty thinking about how that character should have been voiced by Phil Hartman...

Re:

[kimvette]

That character was originally written for Phil Hartman. . .

(It's been 19 seconds since you hit 'reply'.)

Oh god I love this show

[F34nor]

My favorite thing is that I made up 3 t-shirts after reading the wired article that pre-viewed the show. The best was a pic of Bender and the caption..." When you're built for DC, AC is like really clean acid." Then they made a show about bender abusing electricity and I nearly pooped myself.

Best quote ever in the show was" I get it the engines don't move the ship around the universe they move the universe around the ship." Thanks to that concept I have finished my FTL ship and have been vacationing on a sm

Opening tagline

[Citizen of Earth]

I have a suggestion for an opening tagline on one of the new episodes:

"Now with 20% more synergy!"

Anyone else have a suggestion?

Re:

[corbettw]

"Now with blackjack and hookers."

"11001110101111000011" (reference to how robots pray)

"More addictive than Slurm(tm)!"

"Thank you, Mr. Murdoch, we promise to play nice now."

Oh, come on.

[Wilson_6500]

Everyone knows the Dnyarri [wikipedia.org] came first! These Futurewhatsis people, they're just stealing the Dnyarri's thunder! Yeah!

Except, uh, Dnyarri don't take over people's minds with hypnotism or frighteningly powerful telepathy or anything. Nope! Of course not. That's absurd.

Glagnar's Human Rinds

[colonslashslash]

They're a buncha muncha cruncha human!

Futurama is my favourite show of all time. There are a few that come close, but even after watching every episode about 10 times, I will still watch a Futurama re-run over a new episode of something else I like if they are on at the same time. I can't get enough. Maybe it's a medical condition [slashdot.org].

Just out of interest, what is everyone's favourite character (main or side character, it doesn't matter). I think mine would have to be Dr Zoidberg. Every time he scuttles of

Re:

[spike1]

There're too many good characters to pick one favourite... But one of the best lesser charactrers has to be...

Lurr of omicron persei 8.

Woaaaaa... I think there was something funny in that hippy...

Favorite episodes

[Cthefuture]

My favorite episodes are the Fry-heavy episodes. Especially Parasites Lost and The Devil's Hands are Idle Playthings. The top 2 on my favorite list.

My least favorite are Leela and especially Dr. Zoidberg-heavy episodes. A Taste of Freedom, That's Lobstertainment!, Why Must I Be A Crustacean in Love?, all on my worst-of-the-worst stinkers list.

Re:

[D-Cypell]

My top 2 would be Parasites Lost and Luck of the Fryish. When bender offers to 'go get his kit' when Fry suggests a spot of grave robbing, I crack up every time.

Re:

[geekoid]

"300 Big Bucks" is the best.

"The loot, the loot, the loot is on fire!" - Nixon's head.

Yeah, so its coming back... in 2008

[Supreme_101]

God i might be blind in one eye and poke myself in the other with the remote on the night that futurama comes back on tv. I vote they get their butts into gear, bring out the whips and shackles, get them to work asap! hopefully by the time it comes out, people will still enjoy it :D im sure i will, but i want a 2007 release... say jan 1st? come on guys who is with me!

Good news, everyone!

[Dorceon]

Great Zombie Jesus, how can you submit a news story about new Futurama and not use Prof. Farnsworth's catch phrase?

Re:Good news, everyone!

[Babbster]

It would be inappropriate since news about new Futurama episodes is actually good. Now, if the story was about said episodes being cancelled, THEN "Good news everyone!" works just fine. :)

Re:

[Dorceon]

He has used it to give actual good news before. For example:
Farnsworth A: Good news, everyone! We've consulted the scriptures, and it turns out nobody is evil!
Farnsworth 1: Yes, the bible is the real good news.

Re:

[Babbster]

As a geek, I would contend that any deviations from standard "good news" usage in that episode should be ignored due to the possibility that NONE of the alternate realities shown were truly the Futurama Prime reality. ;-)

Oh my, yes.

Re:

[Dorceon]

Okay, how about this one?
Farnsworth: Good news, everyone! We were supposed to make a delivery to the planet Tweenis 12, but it's been completely destroyed.
Leela: What's good about that?
Farnsworth: They paid in advance.

Re:

[DurendalMac]

Good news, everyone! Futurama's coming back!

Re:

[earthbound kid]

I would... but I am already in my pajamas.

Berkeley

[Frisky070802]

And to think, David, you gave up a PhD in Computer Science from UC Berkeley for the obscurity of a career writing silly cartoons. Have you no ambition? :)

22 minute episode of the Hypnotoad, eh?

[cplusplus]

...I wonder how long it took Mr. David X. Cohen to write *that* episode :)

David X Cohen is cool!

[AbRASiON]

I emailed him once after finding his address out there on the net.
He responded politely and promptly - was pretty cool too, I also found his commentary on the Futurama DVD's to be excellent.

Re:

[DaveM753]

> "you techno-hedonist nerds all deserve to die..."

You first!

Re:

[revlayle]

...or posting on slashdot.... all glory to the HYPNOTOAD

Re:

[Cyberax]

You got it wrong:

All... hail... our... hypnotoad... overlords.

Re:Who gives a f---

[enharmonix]

"I regret nothing!" -- Hedonismbot, Futurama, "Crimes of the Hot"

Re:

[LWATCDR]

Somebody needs a hug.

Re:

[crimson30]

you techno-hedonist nerds all deserve to die in an anthrax attack

That'd be great! With me being vaccinated against anthrax, maybe then I could get a sweet job :)

Re:Who gives a fuck

[MobileTatsu-NJG]

"there are more important things than some jagoff cartoon"

I did an experiment where I spent a lot of time simply worrying about North Korea's nuke program. I read about it until my eyes bled. I bitched on various websites about it. I even had a T-Shirt made. In the end, the results were surprising: I couldn't stop the bomb!

So.. yeah.. Futurama makes more productive use of my time.

Re:

[thc69]

a show with giant jewish aliens performing freaky alien sex on each other

I find your ideas intriguing, and wish to subscribe to your newsletter.

Re:

[enharmonix]

I bet on one of those TVs, you couldn't even see my obscene tattoo...

Re:

[pegr]

None of these posers got it but me. Props! (Is it wrong to get excited by Amy? If it is, I don't want to be right!)

Re:

[Upaut]

Wow, I would hate to see what happens after you heat about the 22 minute hypnotoad special...

Re:More Futurama?

[DaveM753]

I just slurmed my pants a little.

Re:

[revlayle]

...but not busy enough to NOT post on slashdot *thumbs up*

Re:

[LWATCDR]

Blame Canada, Blame Canada..

I didn't know that Candada had a Pride Week.
Have fun eh.

Re:new episodes of Futurama...

[Jerf]

I doubt it will. I like Family Guy, but Futurama's got much better fundamentals. Better characters, better actual stories (as opposed to joke hooks), and Family Guy has never actually affected me emotionally like several of the last season Futurama episodes. I think they'll be fine.

Re:new episodes of Futurama...

[slashbob22]

We can't dunk ..

but Futurama's got much better fundamentals

Zap: Oh that's Rich. Stop it your killing me. [gets hit] You're really killing me.

Re:

[zerocool^]

I completely agree. Futurama's humor is episode derived, whereas the Family Guy humor is completely independant of the episodic content. FG basically comes up with great scenes or one liners, and puts them into the episode randomly (as flashbacks or whatever).

The thing is, though, sometimes I like that part of family guy. Family Guy has been milk-out-the-nose funny on multiple ocasions. And even bad episodes of Family Guy are fairly funny. This is contrasted with Futurama, which in every way you think

Re:new episodes of Futurama...

[Viper Daimao]

Am I the only one who read the announcement and thought "Good news everyone!"

Re:

[Kozar_The_Malignant]

I was so excited when I saw this, I almost dropped my bowl of Bachelor Chow.

I opened a can of anchovies to celebrate.

Re:

[kimvette]

That's okay, go to the store and buy some more. In fact, I hear that the new and improved product now has flavor!

Re:

[Bones3D_mac]

That musical number from the episode "How Hermes Requisitioned His Groove Back", where Hermes is sorting the Master "In" pile, is easily one of the best sequences of the entire series. Between the song and the quality of the animation involved, I can only begin to imagine the number of hours that were needed for the planning and execution of that one single sequence.