Feeling nostalgic for FUTURAMA, Matt Groening's fractured futuristic family that starting airing regularly in primetime on FOX April 6, 1999? Now you can buy the first year of episodes on FUTURAMA VOLUME ONE DVD COLLECTION from Fox Home Entertainment. The collectable three-disc set features lively commentaries from Groening and the rest of the crew, deleted scenes, a featurette, animatics, a script/storyboard and an interactive still gallery for the suggested retail price of $39.98. FUTURAMA chronicles the adventures of Philip J. Fry, a pizza delivery boy who was accidentally frozen on New Year's Eve in 1999 while on the job. When he thaws out 1,000 years later, he must adapt to a very different world populated by peculiar species, robots, space ships and omnipresent advertising. Groening's second brainchild after THE SIMPSONS hit a loyal core of fans when it debuted March 28, 1999, then moved to its regular slot of April 6. It was the 11th most watched TV show in the U.S. as it received a 11.2 rating and a 17 share, better overall ratings than both THE SIMPSONS (9.3/15) that preceded it, and THE X-FILES (10.1/15) that followed it. Produced by Rough Draft animation studio in Glendale, California, the animators had to create a world that spoofed the sci-fi genre clichés while maintaining the look of Groening's original drawings. Voice actors Billy West, John De Maggio and Maurice LaMarche are featured in the audio commentaries along with writer/exec producer David X. Cohen, plus co-directors/supervising directors Rich Moore and Gregg Vanzo. FOX recently received a petition from FUTURAMA fans containing more than 130,000 signatures. All 72 episodes of the series have been picked up be Cartoon Network, which broadcasts the show during its Adult Swim Block.
Take a look at how viewers embraced FUTURAMA in its early days in an early look, "Predicting the Future of Futurama" by Matt Shumway and Lamont Wayne for Animation World Network Magazine.
