You really should watch Futurama

"Futurama" is something as rare as an animated science fiction sitcom.

Created by none other than Matt Groening, of "The Simpsons" fame, it is one of my favorite shows.

First aired back in 1999 Futurama never really reached the success that The Simpsons did (but then again, what has?), and the initial series was killed off in 2003.

The series follows the the adventures of the interplanetary delivery company "Planet Express" in the year 3000.

The drawing style is recognizably "Simpons like" 

The series has some fantastic characters such as Leela, the cyclopian pilot of the Planet Express spacehip, Bender, the bending series robot (for all your bending needs) that has a hankering for alcohol and a desire to kill all humans.

Oh, and of course the lobster-like medical expert of the team, Dr. Zoidberg, who is probably my favorite character of the series.

The main character of the show however is Phillip Fry, a none too bright pizza delivery boy, who inadvertently ends up being cryogenically frozen on New Year's Eve 1999 and is thawed up 1000 years later.

"Open your mouth and say "Aaah""

The humor of Futurama is somewhat in the same vein as you are used to from The Simpsons.

That means heavy satire, but Futurama also makes quite a few nods to more "nerdy" viewers, with jokes referring to stuff like The Twilight Zone and even quantum physics.

In general most of the humor is perhaps a bit more subtle than what you will find in your average Simpsons episode and requires a bit more commitment from the viewer to be fully effective.

One of the most wonderful things about the show is that since it is set 1000 years out in the future, it is possible to have all sorts of completely bizarre and outrageous scenarios, which results in some truly great episodes.

One very memorable episode deals with Santa Claus. Or rather, the Santa Claus robot that terrorizes the streets of the city on Christmas Eve.

No matter if you've been naughty or nice, you better go hide

He was programmed to judge whether people had been naughty or nice, but due to an unfortunate programming mistake his standards were set extremely high, turning him into a four tonnes killing machine.

It's zany ideas like this that really make Futurama stand apart from other comedy shows, and while not every episode is a gem, you'll gladly deal with a few lumps of coal to bathe in the prismatic glory of those perfectly cut jewels of top comedy.

Futurama was also adapted into four feature length straight-to-DVD movies, and these are also definitely worth checking out.

The naming of one of the Futurama movies "Bender's Game"
is an example of the kind of nerd humor that you can expect from Futurama.
(Hint: If you don't get it, try Googling "Ender's Game")

Luckily for all Futurama fans, the series has actually been revived, with season 7 kicking off in 2010 and contracts running until 2013 as it stands right now.
Which is, in the words of Professor Farnsworth "Good news, everyone!"

Thanks to the wonders of technology, prominent people can now live on as heads in a jar

Enjoy your stay with Planet Express and remember not to feed the heads in the jars.