Variety is reporting that the money talks between Fox and the voice actors of “Futurama” – Billy West, Katey Sagal, John DiMaggio, Maurice LaMarche and Tress MacNeille – have broken down. As a result, rumors have already begun to run rampant that, when the show returns for its 26 new episodes on Comedy Central in 2010, it will be with new actors providing the voices of Fry, Bender, Leela, and the gang.
The studio announced last month that it would produce 26 new episodes of “Futurama,” and that Comedy Central was on board to begin airing the new episodes in mid-2010. As part of the announcement, the show’s producers said stars including West, Sagal and DiMaggio had all signed on to return.
Turns out that wasn’t true.
The stars had all expressed interest in returning. But with the budget for “Futurama” dramatically slashed, the salary offers came in well below what the thesps were asking. As a result, 20th has put out a casting call to find replacement voice actors for the show.
Maybe I’m wrong about this (though I certainly hope I’m not), but I think this is going to blow over pretty quickly, and that either the actors will get the money they want or will at least find a middle ground with Fox that makes both parties happy enough to move forward. I mean, think about it: this is a show that has lived, died, and begun to live again as a result of its diehard fans. Do you really think they’re going to accept new people voicing their favorite characters while the original actors still walk the earth and retain the power of speech?
Not bloody likely.
In closing, allow me to present one of my all-time favorite “Futurama” scenes…one which I still quote to this day (”A what what?”)…in German.
UPDATE: Mark Evanier feels the same way I do, and he has a hell of a lot more experience in the field to back it up than I do.
“Futurama” goes out with a bang on “Into the Wild Green Yonder,” their fourth and supposedly final full-length movie. As Leo Wong begins construction on a galaxy-wide miniature golf course that will require the destruction of a dwarf star, Leela joins a group of eco-terrorists to stop him, while Fry inherits mind-reading abilities that enable him to battle the Dark Ones as they plot the star’s destruction. It’s a typical, gleefully labyrinthine “Futurama” story, but for the first time in these DVD movies, they’re more focused on having fun than being overly clever (compared to, say, “Bender’s Big Score,” where the writing staff was just showing off). They also have a great time setting up the apparent deaths of several characters, and gave the fans a happy, though open-ended, finale. Bravo, gentlemen. Oh, and the smooth crooner that sings the opening number? That would be Seth McFarlane. Yes, that Seth McFarlane.
In nature, the weaker members of a species are often ostracized so they cannot reproduce and dilute the gene pool. Lions, for example, do not keep an omega male around to be the butt of the joke for the rest of the pride, like we humans tend to do. And while that makes sense in a Darwinian way, our way is a lot more fun. It may be cruel, but imagine how boring life would be if we lived in a world without the human equivalent of a punching bag. Admit it: you all know someone who fills this role in your life, and you relish it. You wouldn’t be human if you didn’t.
The world of television has a near-inverse proportion of punching bags as there are in nature, and this makes sense; it is much easier – and fun – for the writing staff to designate one character as the target for random acts of misfortune and malice, though not necessarily in that order. If you ever wondered why every show features at least one character that the other characters would likely never associate with in real life, now you know.
So bring us your sad, your weak, your insecure; your clueless, your obnoxious, your desperate, your slow-witted, and we will celebrate them for their inherent loserness. Get your boxing gloves on as we present to you Bullz-Eye’s all time favorite TV punching bags.
