The Problem with Popplers: Difference between revisions

"**The Problem with Popplers**"
"The Problem with Popplers"
Futurama episode
Episode no.	Season 2; Episode 15
Directed by	Chris Sauvé; Gregg Vanzo
Story by	Darin Henry; Patric M. Verrone
Teleplay by	Patric M. Verrone
Production code	2ACV15
Original air date	May 7, 2000
Guest appearances
	Phil Hendrie as Free Waterfall Jr.[broken anchor];
Episode features
Opening caption	For External Use Only
Opening cartoon	"Up to Mars" (1930)
Episode chronology
← Previous; "Mother's Day"	Next →; "Anthology of Interest I"
	Futurama season 2
	List of episodes

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Latest revision as of 14:52, 29 October 2024

"The Problem with Popplers" is the fifteenth episode in the second season of the American animated television series Futurama, and the 28th episode of the series overall. It originally aired on the Fox network in the United States on May 7, 2000. The title is a reference to the Star Trek: The Original Series episode "The Trouble with Tribbles". The episode focuses on the Planet Express crew discovering what they think is fast food they call "Popplers," but they turn out to be the young of the Omicron aliens, and the Omicronian leader Lrrr seeks revenge.

Plot

After delivering to the Moocher Homeworld, the Planet Express crew find that their store rooms have been raided. They land on a planet in search of food, finding that it abounds in a delicious edible life-form, which they call "Popplers." The highly addictive "Popplers" soon inspire a new business venture for the crew. However, after Popplers become an incredibly popular food item and the organization MEAT (Mankind for Ethical Animal Treatment) begins to protest against them, it is learned that they are the larval stage of the Omicronian race, and that the planet where they came from is one of the nursery planets of the Omicronians.

Leela, the first to discover this when a Poppler awakens in her hands, leads the charge to stop the eating of Popplers. This mostly fails, partly due to Bender's subversive actions. The warlike natives of Omicron Persei 8, led by Lrrr, arrive to seek justice for humans devouring billions of their young. The Omicronians demand that they be allowed to eat the same number of Earthlings as of "Popplers" that had been eaten. Since there are fewer humans on Earth than the number of Popplers that were eaten, and since Lrrr filled up on nuts during the negotiations, the Omicronians choose instead to eat the first Earthling to eat their young: Leela.

In order to fool the Omicronians, Zapp Brannigan brings a female orangutan dressed and styled as Leela. The Omicronians are initially fooled because they have difficulty recognizing individual humans; however, hippie Free Waterfall Junior exposes the sham to protect "one of Mother Earth's most precious creatures". After realizing the trick, and after Ndnd eats the orangutan, Lrrr demands the real Leela. With Leela in Lrrr's mouth, the small Omicronian, Jrrr, whom Leela had been nannying since birth, arrives. Jrrr jumps into Leela's mouth and convinces the Omicronians that it is wrong to eat other intelligent life out of revenge. The Omicronians leave, but not before Lrrr devours Waterfall Junior. The amount of drugs in Waterfall's system leads to Lrrr becoming stoned.

The episode ends with the Planet Express Crew eating a smorgasbord buffet of unintelligent animals, including a suckling pig and a dolphin who wasted all his money on instant-lottery tickets.

Reception

The episode was ranked number eleven on IGN's top 25 episode list, particularly noting its great premise.^[1] In Doug Pratt's DVD Pratt called the episode "original and inspired".^[2] The A.V. Club gave the episode an A.^[3]

Usages of the name

The PDF library Poppler is named after the lifeform in this episode.^[4]

References

^ Iverson, Dan (2006-07-07). "Top 25 Futurama Episodes". IGN.com. Retrieved 2008-03-22.
^ Pratt, Douglas. Doug Pratt's DVD: Movies, Television, Music, Art, Adult, and More!. p. 474.
^ "Futurama: "Mother's Day"/"The Problem With Popplers"". 2015-03-05. Retrieved 2016-12-26.
^ "Poppler Homepage". Retrieved 2015-01-03.

External links

"The Problem with Popplers" at the Infosphere, the Futurama Wiki.
"The Problem with Popplers" at IMDb

[IGN-1] Iverson, Dan (2006-07-07). "Top 25 Futurama Episodes". IGN.com. Retrieved 2008-03-22.

[Pratt-2] Pratt, Douglas. Doug Pratt's DVD: Movies, Television, Music, Art, Adult, and More!. p. 474.

[3] "Futurama: "Mother's Day"/"The Problem With Popplers"". 2015-03-05. Retrieved 2016-12-26.

[Homepage-4] "Poppler Homepage". Retrieved 2015-01-03.

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[3]

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@@ Line 1: / Line 1: @@
 {{Infobox Futurama episode
-| title           = The Problem with Popplers
 | image           =
 | caption         =
-| season          = 2
+| season          = 2<!-- Please do not change. Production order, not airing order, is used here. -->
+| episode         = 15<!-- Please do not change. Production order, not airing order, is used here. -->
-| episode         = 18
-| director        = [[Chris Sauve]]<br/>[[Gregg Vanzo]]
+| director        = [[Chris Sauve|Chris Sauvé]]<br/>[[Gregg Vanzo]]
-| writer          = [[Patric M. Verrone]]<br/>[[Darin Henry]] (story)
+| teleplay        = Patric M. Verrone
+| story           = [[Darin Henry]]<br />[[Patric M. Verrone]]
 | production      = 2ACV15
-| airdate         = May 7, 2000
+| airdate         = {{Start date|2000|05|07}}
-| guests          = [[Phil Hendrie]] as [[List of recurring human characters from Futurama#Free Waterfall Jr.|Free Waterfall Jr.]]
+| guests          = *[[Phil Hendrie]] as [[List of recurring human characters from Futurama#Free Waterfall Jr.|Free Waterfall Jr.]]{{Broken anchor|date=2024-05-28|bot=User:Cewbot/log/20201008/configuration|target_link=List of recurring human characters from Futurama#Free Waterfall Jr.|reason= }}
 | opening_caption = For External Use Only
 | opening_cartoon = "Up to Mars" (1930)
@@ Line 16: / Line 16: @@
 }}
-"'''The Problem with Popplers'''" is the eighteenth episode in the <!-- Please do not change. Production order, not airing order, is used here. -->[[Futurama (season 2)|second season]] of ''[[Futurama]]''. It originally aired on the [[Fox Broadcasting Company|Fox network]] in the United States on May 7, 2000. The title is a reference to the ''[[Star Trek: The Original Series]]'' episode "[[The Trouble with Tribbles]]".  The episode focuses on the Planet Express crew discovering what they think is fast food they call "Popplers," but they turn out to be the young of the Omicron aliens, and the evil Lrrr seeks revenge.
+"'''The Problem with Popplers'''" is the fifteenth episode in the <!-- Please do not change. Production order, not airing order, is used here. --> [[Futurama season 2|second]] [[List of Futurama episodes|season]] of the American animated television series ''[[Futurama]]'', and the 28th episode of the series overall. It originally aired on the [[Fox Broadcasting Company|Fox network]] in the United States on May 7, 2000. The title is a reference to the ''[[Star Trek: The Original Series]]'' episode "[[The Trouble with Tribbles]]".  The episode focuses on the Planet Express crew discovering what they think is fast food they call "Popplers," but they turn out to be the young of the Omicron aliens, and the Omicronian leader Lrrr seeks revenge.
 ==Plot==
-When the Planet Express crew lands on a [[planet]] in search for a [[fast food]] restaurant, they find that it abounds in a delicious edible life-form, which they call "Popplers". The highly addictive "Popplers" soon inspire a new business venture for the crew. However, after Popplers become an incredibly popular food item and the organization MEAT (Mankind for Ethical Animal Treatment) begins to protest against them, it is learned that they are the larval stage of the Omicronian race, and that the planet where they came from is one of the nursery planets of the Omicronians.
+After delivering to the Moocher Homeworld, the Planet Express crew find that their store rooms have been raided. They land on a [[planet]] in search of food, finding that it abounds in a delicious edible life-form, which they call "Popplers." The highly addictive "Popplers" soon inspire a new business venture for the crew. However, after Popplers become an incredibly popular food item and the organization MEAT (Mankind for Ethical Animal Treatment) begins to protest against them, it is learned that they are the larval stage of the Omicronian race, and that the planet where they came from is one of the nursery planets of the Omicronians.
-[[Leela (Futurama)|Leela]], the first to discover this when a Poppler awakens in her hands, leads the charge to stop the eating of Popplers. This mostly fails, partly due to Bender's subversive actions. The warlike natives of Omicron Persei 8, led by [[List of recurring characters in Futurama#Lrrr|Lrrr]], arrive to seek justice for humans devouring billions of their young. The Omicronians demand that they be allowed to eat the same number of Earthlings as "Popplers" which were eaten. Since there are fewer humans on Earth than the number of Popplers that were eaten, and since Lrrr filled up on nuts during the negotiations, the Omicronians choose instead to eat the first Earthling to eat their young: Leela.
+[[Leela (Futurama)|Leela]], the first to discover this when a Poppler awakens in her hands, leads the charge to stop the eating of Popplers. This mostly fails, partly due to Bender's subversive actions. The warlike natives of Omicron Persei 8, led by [[List of Futurama characters#Omicronians|Lrrr]], arrive to seek justice for humans devouring billions of their young. The Omicronians demand that they be allowed to eat the same number of Earthlings as of "Popplers" that had been eaten. Since there are fewer humans on Earth than the number of Popplers that were eaten, and since Lrrr filled up on nuts during the negotiations, the Omicronians choose instead to eat the first Earthling to eat their young: Leela.
 In order to fool the Omicronians, [[Zapp Brannigan]] brings a female [[orangutan]] dressed and styled as Leela. The Omicronians are initially fooled because they have difficulty recognizing individual humans; however, [[hippie]] Free Waterfall Junior exposes the sham to protect "one of Mother Earth's most precious creatures". After realizing the trick, and after Ndnd eats the orangutan, Lrrr demands the real Leela. With Leela in Lrrr's mouth, the small Omicronian, Jrrr, whom Leela had been nannying since birth, arrives. Jrrr jumps into Leela's mouth and convinces the Omicronians that it is wrong to eat other intelligent life out of [[revenge]]. The Omicronians leave, but not before Lrrr devours Waterfall Junior. The amount of [[drugs]] in Waterfall's system leads to Lrrr becoming [[Substance intoxication|stoned]].
@@ Line 28: / Line 28: @@
 ==Reception==
-The episode was ranked number eleven on [[IGN]]'s top 25 episode list, particularly noting its great premise.<ref name="IGN">{{cite web |url=http://tv.ign.com/articles/716/716663p1.html |title=Top 25 Futurama Episodes |author = Iverson, Dan| publisher= IGN.com| date= 2006-07-07|access-date=2008-03-22 }}</ref> In ''Doug Pratt's DVD'' Pratt called the episode "original and inspired".<ref name="Pratt">{{cite book|last=Pratt| first=Douglas| title=Doug Pratt's DVD: Movies, Television, Music, Art, Adult, and More!| page=474}}</ref> ''The A.V. Club'' gave the episode an A.<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://www.avclub.com/tvclub/futurama-mothers-day-problem-popplers-216112|title=Futurama: "Mother's Day"/"The Problem With Popplers"|date=2015-03-05|access-date=2016-12-26}}</ref>
+The episode was ranked number eleven on [[IGN]]'s top 25 episode list, particularly noting its great premise.<ref name="IGN">{{cite web |url=http://tv.ign.com/articles/716/716663p1.html |title=Top 25 Futurama Episodes |author = Iverson, Dan| publisher= IGN.com| date= 2006-07-07|access-date=2008-03-22 }}</ref> In ''Doug Pratt's DVD'' Pratt called the episode "original and inspired".<ref name="Pratt">{{cite book|last=Pratt| first=Douglas| title=Doug Pratt's DVD: Movies, Television, Music, Art, Adult, and More!| page=474}}</ref> ''The A.V. Club'' gave the episode an A.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.avclub.com/futurama-mother-s-day-the-problem-with-popplers-1798182967|title=Futurama: "Mother's Day"/"The Problem With Popplers"|date=2015-03-05|access-date=2016-12-26}}</ref>
 == Usages of the name ==
-The pdf software library [[Poppler_(software)]] is named after the lifeform in this episode.
+The PDF library [[Poppler (software)|Poppler]] is named after the lifeform in this episode.<ref name="Homepage">{{cite web | url=https://poppler.freedesktop.org | title=Poppler Homepage | access-date=2015-01-03}}</ref>
 ==References==
@@ Line 44: / Line 44: @@
 {{DEFAULTSORT:Problem with Popplers, The}}
-[[Category:Futurama (season 2) episodes]]
+[[Category:Futurama season 2 episodes]]
 [[Category:2000 American television episodes]]
-[[Category:Fiction set around Omicron Persei]]