Here's the letter that was sent to anyone who harassed casting director Scott Muller:

Dear Futurama Fan,

Thank you for voicing your strong support for Futurama and the original voice cast. We appreciate the time you took to fire off a thoughtful and/or concerned and/or homicidal e-mail message to our casting director, Scott Muller. (Rest assured, not a single one of these e-mails reached the actual decision-makers at 20th Century Fox Television. For future reference, please note that Scott Muller is in fact one of Futurama's biggest fans, and was instrumental in bringing about the return of the cast. Please hoist a bottle of Olde Fortran for Scott!)

Speaking of the cast returning... good news, everyone! The cast is returning! All of our series regulars are back in action for Season 6. Billy West, Katey Sagal, John DiMaggio, Maurice LaMarche, Tress MacNeille, Lauren Tom, Phil LaMarr, and David Herman are all on board and have already begun delivering their customary virtuoso performances. The all-new Futurama episodes are slated to air on Comedy Central beginning in June, 2010.

We are extremely grateful for the outpouring of support for the series. Your loyalty over the years has kept the show going through its original four seasons on FOX, its subsequent reincarnations on Adult Swim and DVD, and now its Bendiferous return to life on Comedy Central. See you in the (near) future!

Sincerely,

David X. Cohen & Matt Groening

The deal was sealed about 3 weeks ago, but somehow we missed it because of our myopic, obsessive focus on gadgets and only gadgets. Who won that election everyone was talking about last fall, anyways? [Thanks, Ivan!]

Now with Kooky Chew Human Dog Food, you can succumb to temptation and indulge in the succulent but crunchy world of kibble. And you even get a bundled bowl to complete the experience.

2 and 1/2 ounces of crunchy cookies come in every $1.49 pack (cheap!), coupled with a delectable candy bone that's almost as delicious looking as a raw hide. It's my greatest wish that adding a bit of water to the mix will produce a frothy beef gravy. But if not, I guess that's why God gave us Manwich. [Stupid via Nerd Approved]

It's like the time Vince McMahon tried to pawn off a fake Razor Ramon and Diesel on us. Or the time the Fresh Prince's Aunt Viv inexplicably became four shades lighter over the course of a season (Vitiligo?). Or maybe more relevant, the time Cartoon Network aired all those new episodes of Dragonball Z, and Goku sounded like he was severely constipated.

The point is this: if you're bringing the show back for the rabid, already-established fanbase who knows the show best, how are you going to recast all the main voices and think the fans won't care or notice? It wont work. [CrunchGear]

After four movies (most of which we covered here), Comedy Central decides that they want more of Futurama and renewed them for TWENTY SIX new episodes starting 2010. That's twice the amount of episodes that were rumored.

Don't forget to check out our David X. Cohen interview as well. [EW - Thanks Daniel!]

With a little help from an earlier tribute by Neatorama, I learned about, and will bring to you, two geektastic clips from her seven decade career.

The first clip comes to us from the 1978 Star Wars Holiday Special, one of the four black marks George Lucas bestowed on the franchise (the others being Episodes 1-3 in their entirety). Bea Arthur played Ackmena, the singing nightshift bartender at Chalmun's Cantina on Tatooine.

The second clip is from Futurama. Arthur played Femputer, the computer leader of a tribe of Amazonian women who didn't care much for men (See? A man-hating computer—that's a gadget, right?)

Sure, she'll be remembered mostly for her role on Golden Girls, but it was nice to see Bea Arthur let her geek flag fly once in a while too. RIP. [Neatorama]

How big of a nerd, Jason? This big of a nerd. (It's really tough to tell, but I'm pointing at myself right now. OK, technically I'm not, since I use two hands to type. But mentally, oh man, mentally I'm totally pointing at myself with double thumbs.)

Glacier Computer's W200 is a Pip-Boy 3000, or Leela's arm computer, or any of these wrist-worn magical devices—and it exists now. Featuring a 3.5-inch touchscreen, backlit keyboard, Wi-Fi and GPS, the Windows CE or Linux device isn't just a weak portable computer; the inclusion of an electronic compass and energy saving tilt/motion sensor make it ideal for the wilderness explorer who needs to collect some data on the trail (or just the guy who's too lazy to physically open a netbook).

Sure, your smartphone may be smaller and/or more powerful. But the W200 has so much geek cred that you literally will not need to watch another sci fi movie or read another comic book for the next decade. If it only included 3G, I'd be sold. (Pricing and availability are unknown.) [Glacier Computer]

Mouth: dry. Stomach: queasy. Head: racing. Not only is David X. Cohen the co-creator of one of my favorite shows of all time, he's a fellow Berkeley computer science alum, fellow nerd, and a tremendously funny guy. He also holds the dream job—comedy writer and creator of a successful Sci Fi TV show. After fully preparing myself by watching the latest Futurama movie—Into the Wild Green Yonder—I had hours worth of questions for the man, but he only had 30 minutes.

I had to get the most important question on everyone's minds out of the way: Will Futurama be coming back to Fox for a 6th season? Although Fox has indeed been making noises about the show's return, Cohen said DVD sales of the fourth movie may be a deciding factor in whether or not the project would be profitable. Basically, we need to go out and buy the DVD and Blu-ray if we want to bring Futurama back. Cohen also revealed that although there is a fifty-fifty chance of the show returning, he has yet to hear more concrete details about it from Fox—according to him, though, "No news is good news."

But how is the movie? In a word, good. In two words, very good. Into the Wild Green Yonder feels as if the Futurama writers used the first three movies as practice for getting back into the groove of writing Futurama episodes and was a final coda to the series. That's not to say that the first three movies were bad—they were just different.

If the Bender-focused, first half hour of the movie were its own episode, it would solidly land in any "top ten funniest Futurama episodes of all times" list, hands down. However, because the next 58 minutes covered some very familiar, classic Futurama-esque territory, it made Into the Green Yonder feel like the one movie—out of the four—that connected the most with the series. But why this movie, why now?

Bringing this movie back to the feel of the series, as Cohen revealed, was somewhat intentional. For each one of the Futurama movies, the writers decided that they would cover one major area of Sci Fi. The latest one, like the series itself, is more of a large space opera that comfortably cradles you back into the company of the Futurama characters you grew to love. Cohen also pointed out that a scene in the newest movie—the one where Leela is giving out space coordinates—is probably one of the "most hardcore things they've done" in terms of showing respect for actual science.

It's these science fans as well as the more hardcore viewers that would have noticed when Futurama's writers give shout outs to real-world physics in their jokes—such as when the Professor invoked the observer effect after a horse race. This ability to mix humor with scientific intelligence is one of the greatest benefits of having so many smart writers on staff. The other benefit? The ability to actually have an interesting vision of the future.

And it's this future that Fry's trying to save once again. This could be why the Green Yonder felt like it was slightly retreading old territory. If you've seen some of Fry's Nibblonian episodes, I'm sure you're familiar with the basic premise—we get it: Fry's special and he's the only one who can save the universe. But that's not to say there weren't some great moments to be had during these 88 minutes. This is more akin to strolling down a familiar street you haven't seen in years, examining which stores have changed and which haven't, and reveling in the fact that you're lucky enough to be back once more.

As the series draws to a (temporary) close, we wonder if we've learned the entirety of Fry's origin story and how he came to be in the year 3000. Not to worry, Cohen assures that he is not finished with that tale quite yet. When asked how much of it was left—after the Nibblonian saga was finished and the "Lars" adventure in the first DVD movie—he responded that there is "one sentence," uttered in the series that was left unaddressed. But it's up to superfans to figure out which sentence, not to mention which episode, he is referring to.

Because David X. Cohen helped create the entire world and backstory of Futurama, he's given a lot of thought to the future. Our future. Because he didn't want to go to extremes and create either a utopia or a dystopia, Futurama's universe is only about 50% realistic, according to Cohen. It does, however, borrow some ideas from our own world for both comedic and dramatic effect.

So what, if anything, in our real world future is David X. Cohen most afraid of? It isn't robots, surprisingly enough. It's stuff like nuclear bombs. Wars. And technology that kills people, fast. Things that—when taking the fact that Cohen grew up in the cold war and studied physics at Harvard into account—makes a lot of sense. But robots? Nope.

You would think that because Cohen is such a fan of robots, it would make sense that he'd own a Roomba. But he doesn't. He laughs that Matt Groening gives him shit for this fact (if anyone should have a Roomba, it would be Cohen).

Is there any Futurama left to tell? Cohen thinks so. Besides further expanding on Fry's origin story, he's got plans to make the Planet Express crew exhibits in an alien zoo (among other things). However, beyond little ideas here and there, what's currently occupying Cohen's mind is how to escape from the crazy corner they've painted themselves into at the end of Green Yonder. Given Fox's recent interest in bringing back the show for another season on television (50/50 chance!), it's one mess Cohen will likely have to bend his way out of.

As for the Roomba, if Cohen ever were to get one, he'd name it Browser.

Are you excited for the for the movie? All signs point to it being great, and I'm going to (hopefully) be seeing a screening of it tonight in LA. Will report back afterwards! [Futurama: Into the Wild Green Yonder on Blu-ray]

I've seen some high quality DIVX clips of Futurama before, but when viewing the characters on Blu-ray, the word "perfect" comes to mind (much because you can appreciate the slight imperfections in model outlines). I simply can't imagine Futurama looking better than it does in 1080p. But it's the worthwhile set of extras that makes the disc so desirable.

I particularly enjoyed watching the show's artists draw various characters and explain the process of drafting Zoidberg, Leela and Bender step by step. The short Blooper Reel was also a lot of fun, just to watch the actors create the voices of their cartoon counterparts. And of course you get other bonuses like a full commentary with much of the cast, though everyone gets along so well that it sort of becomes an inside joke fest.

Other releases of the week...

— A Christmas Story (Ultimate Collector's Edition) (Warner)
— The Colt (Echo Bridge)
— Futurama: Bender's Game (Fox)
— Get Smart (2008) (Warner)
— Gunnin' for That #1 Spot (Music Distribution)
— Henry Poole is Here (Anchor Bay)
— IMAX: Extreme (National Geographic)
— Monster's Ball (Lionsgate)
— NBA Champions 2007-2008 (Warner)
— O.A.R.: Live from Madison Square Garden (Summit)
— Planet of the Apes (1968) (Fox)
— Planet of the Apes: 40-Year Evolution Blu-ray Collection (Fox)
— Transsiberian (First Look)
— Universal Soldier (Lionsgate)
— Vexille (FUNimation)
— Warren Miller's Playground (Shout Factory)

[highdef digest]

You can get Beast With a Billion Backs here, and expect to see the third DVD, Bender's Game, out towards the end of the year, as it is currently in post-production. [YouTube and Wired]

Unfortunately, it's made by LEGO aficionado Pepa Quin, and not by our favorite Danish company. Fortunately, he included a hypnoto*HUMANS FROM LEGO, MAKE AN OFFICIAL LEGO FUTURAMA LINE NOW* [Brothers Brick]

...carbonated and non-carbonated soft drinks; fruit drinks; fruit juices; mineral and aerated water; bottled drinking water; energy drinks; syrups and powders for making soft drinks and other beverages, namely soft drinks, fruit drinks and tea; coffee-flavored soft drinks; Ramune (Japanese soda pops); powders used in the preparation of isotonic sports drinks and sports beverages.

While the trademark filing could be defensive in nature, preventing others from marketing Slurms of their own, our stomachs are aflutter at the possibility of ingesting some giant slug ass juice. Who wants to lose some teeth? [trademork via bbgadgets]

Inspired from a Futurama episode in which Bender did actually brew beer (Season 3, Episode 12: The Route of All Evil, for those of you keeping track at home), this contraption is a labor of love that's been under construction since this summer. It's really a work of art, looking like it stepped right off the screen. Inside its stomach is the brewing mechanisms and in its head is a functioning computer that plays Bender sayings on command. It even features a cigar that lights up thanks to a handy pen light/felt contraption. And, of course, it brews beer in its belly, which makes it that much better. Totally worth six months of work if you ask me. Be sure to check out the website to see all the detail that went into making Beer Brewing Bender a reality. [Project page]

• Cryogenic Tube (Want): Imaging freezing yourself until Metal Gear Solid 4 comes out, or sticking your dying dog Seymore into stasis until modern science becomes modern enough to fix whatever ails him? The only downside is that your friends and/or wife will get older while you stay the same age.

• Suicide Booth (Do Not Want): We'd hate to be Superman with his pants down trying to change into his suit in one of these things.

• What If Machine (Want): Imagine a machine that could tell you what would happen if you did something. Well you wouldn't have to imagine if you had a What If Machine.

• Farnsworth Parabox (Do Not Want): A box that lets you travel to an exact opposite dimension as yourself could be fun, what with the perfectly symmetrical violence and all. But if you're not careful, you could be traveling to all kinds of weird parallel universes that have evil versions of you, people with boxes as heads, or even stoners.

• Scooty Puff Junior (Do Not Want): Scooty Puff Junior Suuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuu...

• Holophoner (Want): Besides being pretty much the hardest instrument ever, you can make a woman fall in love with you just by playing it really, really well (more so than any other instrument). Play it well and you'll make an action/adventure epic with just the air in your lungs and the fingers on your hand. Play it poorly and you'll scare the crap out of kids at your recital. Good day, ma'am.

• Torgo's Executive Powder (Want): Made of the ground-up remains of Fox Network Executives, Torgo's Executive Powder is great for whatever ails you. We probably wouldn't use the powder—either on our crotches or elsewhere—but it's good to see the execs who cancelled Futurama get what's coming to them.

• Bender (Undecided): Having a robot for a best friend may sound good on the surface, but one that tries to kill you, steals your money, calls you a robosexual, stabs you, punches you in the gut, makes fun of your wiener, and makes you sleep in the closet isn't quite what we're looking for. But hey, he's still Bender, who's the funniest robot we've ever seen, so he's got that going for him.

And for those of you who are wondering if the movie's any good? Yes! It's loaded with tons of in-jokes for fans that have seen every episode (like us). Go order your copy now. Don't make us get Hypnotoad.

"What's the secret of time travel doing on Fry's ass?"
"It was bound to be somewhere." [via digg]

Comedy Central will be showing the 16 episodes. Not much is known about them, apart from a few juicy tidbits from Bender's Big Score. Apparently it involves nudist aliens and the secret of time travel - which apparently has something to do with Fry's buttock. [TV Squad via Slashdot]

You may not like the radio, but any cash given to Groening should be used to allow him to spend his time on Futurama instead of working on the Simpsons Movie or any other Simpsons project. – Jason Chen

Product Page [Target via Chip Chick]

If these test work—which they look like they do, the monkeys are feeding themselves successfully—you too can lop off your own arm, stroll into the emergency room, and feel confident that they'll replace your missing appendage with the robotic equivalent. No wait! We mean in a couple of years! – Jason Chen

MOnkey Controls Robotic Arm With Mind [Random Good Stuff]

I was waiting for someone else to announce the show's return to television so I wouldn't get clobbered if I had any information that was inaccurate!

Yes— what Katey said is true so there is every reason now (with no
reservations) to go nuts.I'm glad to go back to work on my favorite show!
I'm sure I'll be on a bunch of shows to promote this.I've never seen Craig
Ferguson—what's his story?
Futurama lives!

Billy

Then again, what could be more gadgety than an awesome show about the future! – Jason Chen

Bonus Video: Billy West (Fry), John DiMaggio (Bender), and Al Gore promote Gore's new movie.

Billy West (scroll down to a post by "billywest")

Information Page [Via Techeblog]