The Lesser of Two Evils

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Futurama episode
"The Lesser of Two Evils"

Flexo fights Bender.
Episode no. 19
Prod. code 2ACV06
Airdate February 20, 2000
Writer(s) Eric Horsted
Director Chris Sauve
Opening subtitle The Show that Watches Back
Opening cartoon "Felix the Cat" cartoon from 1920.
Guest star(s) Bob Barker as himself
Season 2
November 1999 – December 2000
  1. I Second That Emotion
  2. Brannigan Begin Again
  3. A Head in the Polls
  4. Xmas Story
  5. Why Must I Be a Crustacean in Love?
  6. The Lesser of Two Evils
  7. Put Your Head on My Shoulder
  8. Raging Bender
  9. A Bicyclops Built for Two
  10. A Clone of My Own
  11. How Hermes Requisitioned His Groove Back
  12. The Deep South
  13. Bender Gets Made
  14. Mother's Day
  15. The Problem with Popplers
  16. Anthology of Interest I
  17. War Is the H-Word
  18. The Honking
  19. The Cryonic Woman
List of all Futurama episodes...

"The Lesser of Two Evils" is episode six in season two of Futurama. It originally aired in North America on February 20, 2000.

Contents

[edit] Plot

While visiting the Past-o-rama theme park, Fry runs over a robot with an uncanny resemblance to Bender. They bring him back to the Planet Express building, where Professor Farnsworth repairs him. The robot's name is Flexo, and like Bender, he is a bending unit. The only physical difference between the two is that Flexo has a goatee. Bender and Flexo hit it off, but Flexo soon begins to grate on Fry's nerves, and suspects him of being evil, despite his behavior being similar to Bender's.

The Professor reveals an atom of the fictional element Jumbonium, which the crew is to deliver to the Miss Universe pageant, to be held on Tova 9. Due to the value of the atom, the Professor hires Flexo as additional security.

Leela assigns Fry, Bender, and Flexo shifts guarding the atom, but when Fry's shift comes up he falls asleep due to staying up during all of Flexo's shift, and the atom is stolen. Fry not only suspects Flexo, but believes he has disguised himself as Bender. After Bender re-establishes his identity, Fry, Leela, and Bender head off to inform pageant host Bob Barker of the theft.

They burst into the contest in pursuit of Flexo, and he and Bender start to fight. At the end of the fight, Bender's chest cavity door is knocked open, revealing the atom. Flexo tells the rest of the crew that he had seen Bender steal the atom and left to inform Bob Barker. Leela learns that Zapp Brannigan is one of the judges.

With the atom recovered, and Flexo accidentally imprisoned for Bender's crime due to Bob Barker's disinterest in his identity, the pageant concludes with a giant paramecium being crowned Miss Universe, only after Leela is mistakenly crowned first due to a miscommunication from Zap.

[edit] Production

In the audio commentary of the show, David X. Cohen states that this episode was the only one to which he gave his artistic input. Halfway through the episode when Fry, Bender and Flexo are at a robot strip club, a robot stripper with a strange gear oriented design can be seen. Cohen claims that he drew the robot himself. [1]

[edit] Characters

Characters making their first appearances in this episode are:

Miss Universe Contestants:

  • Miss Arrakis: A horned, blue humanoid with flippers.
  • Miss Perfect Little: Squat, black creature with tendrils, and many eyes and breasts.
  • Miss Vega 4: A giant purple paramecium, Miss Universe 3000's winner.
  • Miss Heaven: A green energy being.
  • Miss Pluto: A pink haired, blue humanoid.
  • Miss Deamenor: A turquoise, hoofed alien that bears antennae.
  • Miss Methane Planet: Halatina Smogmire, a footless alien consisting of purple methane gas.
  • Miss Earth's Moon: The Crushinator, an enormous pink robot that doubles as a car.
  • Miss Un-named Planet #2856-B: She is green, with orange hair and a trumpet for a nose. Zapp Brannigan apparently likes her.

[edit] References

[edit] External links

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