Futuramaseason 12, episode 9, “The Futurama Mystery Liberry,” features an interesting moment involving a black hole that may seem as though it’s simply included for comedy purposes, but it’s also surprisingly informative. It’s certainly the most different ofall theFuturamaseason 12 episodes so far, but the detective story/science crossover stories aren’t completely out of character in the context of the show’s history. TheFuturamacastis required to voice different versions of their established characters under different names in what are seemingly non-canonical stories.
Matt Groening’s animated sitcom incorporates severaloverused sci-fi tropesand has done so since its inception in 1999. Although certain moments use sci-fi trends in a particularly goofy way, the writers don’t always mask the scenes in question with too much humor.It may seem as thoughFuturamais always taking scientific libertiesin the interest of comedy, but that isn’t always the case - as proven by a few lines of dialogue in “The Futurama Mystery Liberry.”
Leela Being Heard From Inside The Black Hole In Futurama Season 12, Episode 9 Is Based On Real Science
Some sound can actually escape a black hole
The episode consists of three spoofs that reimagine famous detective franchises. The first short story is a spin on the Nancy Drew tales, with Leela in the “title role” as Lancy Trew. When Lancy becomes trapped in a black hole, Tom Snift/Professor Farnsworth explains that “Anything that falls in can never escape. Not even light itself.“Farnsworth immediately backtracks when Amy Wong’s new character hears Lancy’s cries for help, adding on, “A little sound can get out. But that’s it!” The professor’s hasty correction is certainly consistent with his usual character, but both of his statements are actually correct.
I Love That Futurama Season 12 Is Finally Allowing One Of Its Most Underrated Side Characters To Shine
Futurama is full of hilarious side characters, but I love that season 12 gives one of my favorites the opportunity to be seen for much longer.
Now, the scene isn’t entirely accurate. While a black hole has been recorded emitting noise, it’s too low to be heard by the human ear. According toNASA, ripples from the black hole at the center of the Perseus galaxy cluster can be translated into a note “57 octaves below middle C.” So, while Lancy’s holler wouldn’t be audible to her friends outside the black hole, the moment is based on a very real scientific discovery. Interestingly, a version ofNASA’s sonification of a black hole’s sound can also be heard while Lancy is trapped.
Neil deGrasse Tyson’s New Cameo Makes Futurama Season 12’s Astrophysics Joke Even Better
Tyson’s Big Bang joke is comedically simple
Neil deGrasse Tyson is one of the world’s authorities on astrophysics. It’s a broad field of scientific research, but it encompasses black holes. Tyson’s scene in “The Futurama Mystery Liberry” comes near the end of the episode and in a completely different story to the one that features the black hole. His whole shtick during the comedic sequence is a simplistic suggestion of the Big Bang as an explanation for Bender’s seemingly unrelated mystery. It’s very funny, and the presence of an expert like Neil deGrasse Tyson in the same episode as the black hole moment is pretty poetic.
Other Notable Movies & TV Shows Where Neil deGrasse Tyson Plays Himself
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Tyson has appeared as a fictionalized version of himself in several movies and TV shows. He’s voiced himself in animated projects as well as live-action ones. His recent guest spot in the sci-fi sitcom adds him to the list ofcameos from real scientists inFuturama.He has appeared in aFuturama-adjacent animation before, but never in the show proper before now. Other appearances by Tyson include episodes ofStargate: Atlantis,Gravity Falls, andBrooklyn Nine-Nine.
Futurama Has A Reputation For Abiding By Real Scientific Principles
The Futurama writing staff are incredibly qualified to write convincing sci-fi storylines
The black hole gag in “The Futurama Mystery Liberry” isn’t the first time in the show’s history that it has only gently tweaked science facts to turn them into science-fiction. Of course, the show also doesn’t shy away from just making things up, but it doesn’t always do that. Speaking withSlate,Futuramawriter and producer Patric M. Verrone discussed the impressive qualifications boasted by those penning the scripts. It may sound like overkill for a sitcom, but the collection of academics writing the stories has resulted in some truly compelling adventures and concepts.
“[The writing staff] included three PHDs, seven master’s degrees, and more than a half-century of Harvard education. We were easily the most overeducated cartoon writers in history, earning critical acclaim, multiple Emmy Awards, and a worldwide nerd fan base, but we weren’t smart enough to figure out how to avoid cancelation.”
Just as the black hole joke isn’t the show’s first joke based on real science, it would be incredibly surprising if it was also its last. In fact,Futuramaarguably couldn’t be made if it didn’t always have one eye on the laws of physicsthat exist in reality while the other remains focused on the animated sitcom’s absurdist approach to storytelling. So,Futuramawill quietly continue to fold in these complex formulas for simple moments of hidden comedy.
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Beauty and the Bug
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One is Silicon and the Other Gold
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Attack of the Clothes
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Futurama
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Futurama is an animated science fiction series that follows Philip J. Fry, a pizza delivery boy from late-20th-century New York City. He is accidentally cryogenically frozen for a thousand years and becomes an employee at Planet Express, a delivery service in the retro-futuristic 31st century.
