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Lesser of Two Evils is episode 6 in season 2 of Futurama. It originally aired in North America on February 20, 2000.
Plot
While visiting the Past-o-rama theme park, Fry runs over a robot with an uncanny resemblance to Bender. They bring him back to the Planet Express building, where Professor Farnsworth repairs him. The robot's name is Flexo, and like Bender, he is a bending unit. The only physical difference between the two is that Flexo has a goatee. Bender and Flexo hit it off, but Flexo soon begins to grate on Fry's nerves.
The Professor reveals an atom of the fictional element Jumbonium, which the crew is to deliver to the Miss Universe pageant, to be held on Tova 9. Due to the value of the atom, the Professor hires Flexo as additional security.
Leela assigns Fry, Bender, and Flexo shifts guarding the atom, but when Fry's shift comes up, Fry falls asleep and the atom is stolen. Fry not only suspects Flexo, but believes he has disguised himself as Bender. After Bender re-establishes his identity, Fry, Leela, and Bender head off to inform pageant host Bob Barker of the theft.
They burst into the contest in pursuit of Flexo, and he and Bender start to fight. At the end of the fight, Bender's door is knocked open, revealing the atom. Flexo had seen Bender steal the atom and left to inform Bob Barker.
With the atom recovered, and Flexo accidentally falsely imprisoned for Bender's crime, the pageant concludes with a giant amoeba being crowned Miss Universe.
Quotes
- Announcer: Is todays hectic lifestyle making you tense and impatiant?
Bender: Shut up and get to the point!
- Bender: (rubbing his ass) AAAH, I think I have whiplash!
Leela: You can't get whiplash, you don't have a neck!
Bender: I mean ass-whiplash.
- Tour Guide: I direct your attention to this ancient and mysterious tablet, which has yet to be deciphered.
Leela: Do you know what it means?
Fry: Yeah, I asked a cop once. It means "up yours kid."
- Bob Barker: Do you braindead space jockeys have any idea how much that thing is worth?
Fry: One-hundred thousand?
Leela: Two-hundred thousand?
Bender: Two-hundred thousand and one?
Bob Barker: You're closest without going over.
- Bob Barker: I may be against the fur industry, but that won't stop me from skinning you alive. As long as no one wears the skin.
- Fry: I'm so confused. The Bender I liked turned out to be evil, and the Bender I hated was good. How can I live my life when I can't tell good from evil?
Bender: They're both fine choices, whatever floats your boat.
Characters
Charaters making their first appearances in this episode are:
References
- Flexo's Goatee is a parody of Star Trek Episode Mirror, Mirror where an evil Spock from a parallel universe sports a beard.
- The Miss Universe pageant is a reference to to the actual Miss Universe pageant, although (within Futurama at least) contestants from other planets are able to enter by the 31st Century. There are some jokes at the expense of the Miss America pageant, as well. Barker once hosted the Miss America pageant, but became upset at their offering of fur coats as prizes, so he quit.
- URL and Smitty appear on the TV show Cop Department, a parody of Cops
- Past-o-Rama makes reference to Good Times, when Hammurabi says to Albert Einstein, "Dy-no-mite!"
- The Planet Express' crew attempt to guess how much the tiara is worth (complete with Bender guesses one dollar more than Leela) references The Price is Right.
- One of the beauty pageant finalists is Miss Arrakis, a reference to Dune
"Lesser of Two Evils (Futurama)"