Proof of God #2 - The Return of Zoidberg

The last time I was convinced of God, I had just seen and eaten the best cookie in the history of cookies. At that moment, I was convinced that there simply could not be much better in life than that cookie, but as they say:

Morgan: Why is there yogurt in this hat?
Fry: I can explain that. It used to be milk, and well, time makes fools of us all

This quote comes from one of my top three favorite cartoon series of all times (variably placed at #1 through #3 based on my mood and time of the day), Futurama. For all the meatbags who know nothing to very little about the show, Futurama is a 22 minute (without commercials) per episode compilation of many of the greatest things that TV has to offer. The show was originally aired on FOX from March 28, 1999 to August 10, 2003. FOX cancelled the series back in 2003 after erratically airing the show on different nights and different times. Even as a fan of the show who did not yet own TiVo, it was incredibly difficult time to find the show on TV, especially when it would air after football games that could end 30 minutes early or 90 minutes late. FOX did not do the show any service.

Since its cancellation, the show ran on Cartoon Network's Adult Swim, Comedy Central, and they produced 3 full length DVD movies. The show has always had a moderate and energized fan base, and these people (including me) have grown increasingly crazy since the cancellation and subsequent movies.

Earlier this week, there were rumors that Comedy Central had picked up the show for 13 new episodes to be aired in 2010, and yesterday, someone who makes these things official officially stated that Comedy Central has ordered 26 episodes of the series! 7 full years after cancellation, Futurama is returning to television. This, friends, is amazing. The only rationale I can create for the rebirth of the show is that the same powerful God who created the best cookie ever intervened and took control of the mind of a network executive at Comedy Central. It's the only thing that makes sense. Things often don't work out the right way, but every once in awhile, I feel like life is on my side.

If you have not watched the show in the past, there aren't many things I can recommend higher. If you have unsuccessfully tried to get into the show in the past, the best thing I can recommend is to watch the series in order, on DVD, from the beginning. There is a level of character development and empathy for the various wackos on the show that is best understood through watching the show from the beginning. It is a cartoon set 1,000 years in the future with robots and Slurm and devils and robot devils, but despite all the craziness, there are 2 episodes of the show during which I cried like a little baby. Be careful with the episode called "Jurassic Bark" - you're just going to go and want to hug people you love for like 2 weeks after watching this episode.

As you can probably tell, I'm quite excited. Stay tuned for 2010 at which point I will certainly rave yet again about how excited I am about the return of the show. Thank you robot God.