"The Devil's Hands are Idle Playthings" was the final episode in the TV series Futurama before the show began its current 5 year hiatus 2003-2008. (It was confirmed on June 22, 2006 the show would be returning for a run of at least 13 episodes on Comedy Central, to air beginning in 2008.)

Plot

After a disappointing holophonor recital, Fry enlists the help of the Robot Devil to improve his holophonor skills through hand transplants. After randomly determining the robot "donor", Fry's hands are switched for those of the Robot Devil himself. Fry then becomes a skilled holophonor player and attempts to win the heart of Leela with an opera commissioned by Hedonism Bot.

The Devil, who is unhappy with the trade, decides he has to get his own hands back. He gives Bender a stadium air horn so that he can annoy people. When Bender uses the air horn on Leela, she becomes deaf. Leela can't tell Fry that she is deaf, so she attends the opera as though she can still hear the peformance. During the intermission, the devil offers Leela robotic ears (which previously belonged to Calculon) in exchange for her hand. Leela, who is thrilled she will hear the end of Fry's opera, agrees.

The Robot Devil interrupts the opera when Fry's portrayal of him states that the Robot Devil is stupider than Fry; he demands that Fry give back his hands. When Fry refuses, the devil says that he will take Leela's hand...in marriage. Fry has no choice but to trade the Robot Devil's hands back for his own.

With his own hands, Fry can no longer play the holophonor, and the remainder of the opera is terrible. Everyone in the audience leaves, except for Leela who asks that he not stop playing, as she wanted to "hear how it ends". The finale of Fry's opera shows a very crudely-animated Fry and Leela kissing.

Trivia

• On the spinning wheel that the Robot Devil uses to select what robot hands Fry shall switch his hands for. The names that it runs through are actual names of robots that have been on previous episodes (and/or this episode).
• The grumpy snail is in every holophonor piece Fry plays, apart from the opera. It is also featured on the advert for Fry's record.
• During the advertisement for Fry’s record he switches between having normal and robot hands.
• The final line in the episode took a while to record due to Katey Sagal's involvement with 8 Simple Rules.
• Dan Castellaneta returns as the Robot Devil and also plays the slug advertising for Fry's album.
• The holophonor previously appeared in "Parasites Lost".
• When the show went on hiatus in April 2002, the Futurama crew made this episode to work as both a season and a series finale, as it was a 50/50 chance that they would get renewed.
• Fry, Leela, Bender, Professor Farnsworth and Richard Nixon are the only characters to appear in both this episode and "Space Pilot 3000".
• Writer Ken Keeler was nominated for an Emmy in 2004 (for Outstanding Music and Lyrics) for this episode (specifically, for the song "I Want My Hands Back").
• Preacherbot mentions the power vested in him "by the state of New New York." Up until this point, it had never been mentioned if the state's name had changed along with that of the city's, although it was marked as such in Bendin' in the Wind.
• The person sitting next to Bender changes after the intermission from a woman in a red dress to a black man with glasses in a suit.

References

• Two people in the holophoner image jump over barrels as they walk upstairs, which is similar to the gameplay in Donkey Kong. Both the first episode ("Space Pilot 3000") and the last episode have a Donkey Kong reference.
• The idea of someone selling something to the devil for an artistic talent is similar to The Devil and Daniel Webster.
• The title of this episode is a play on the phrase "Idle hands are the Devil's playthings".
• The name of the opera hall where Fry's opera debuts is MHOp (Metropolitan House of Opera), a reference to both IHOP (International House of Pancakes) restaurants and the Metropolitan Opera House in New York City

Quotes

• Bender (telling Fry how he can get better at the holophonor): Although you may have to make a metaphorical deal with the Devil. And by Devil, I mean Robot Devil. And by metaphorical, I mean get your coat.

• Leela (touching Fry's robot hands) Aah! They're so cold!
  Robot Devil: (Off screen) AND YET HELL IS SO HOT! (Laughs) Can I have my hands back now?
  Fry: NO!
  Robot Devil: (whining) YOU'RE NOT NICE!

• Zoidberg: Only $14.99 for a two-record set. Two records! Oh, Zoidberg, at last you're becoming a crafty consumer!
  Man: (on phone) Hello?
  Zoidberg: Hello? I'll take eight!

• Bender: Forget it, you can't tempt me.
  Robot Devil: Really? There's nothing you want?
  Bender: Oh, I forgot you could tempt me with things I want.

• Robot Devil: This opera is as lousy as it is brilliant!

• Robot Devil: Your lyrics lack subtlety. You can't just have your characters announce how they feel! That makes me feel angry!

• (all singing)
  Hermes: Is this really happening, or just being staged?
  Professor Farnsworth: It can't be real...
  Amy: Not if Leela is engaged.

• Fry: I can't play anymore...
  Dr. Zoidberg: Yes you can! The music was in heart not in your hands!
  (Fry begins playing crude images on the holophonor, and the audience is disgusted)
  Dr. Zoidberg: Your music is bad and you should feel bad!

• Hedonism Bot: A man writing an opera about a woman? *Giggle* Oh, sirrah, how deliciously absurd!

• Leela: Please don't stop playing, Fry. I want to hear how it ends.
  (Final line of dialog in the episode, at the time it was believed that this would be the final line of the series however the show was renewed)

Futurama episodes | Series finales