List of recurring Futurama characters

This is a list of recurring characters appearing in the TV show Futurama.

Zapp Brannigan

Main article: Zapp Brannigan

Zapp Brannigan (voiced by Billy West) is a senior member of the military of the Democratic Order of Planets (D.O.O.P.), although his title varies. Brannigan was first seen in the episode Love's Labours Lost in Space as Captain of the starship Nimbus, where he imprisons Fry, Leela, and Bender for violating "Brannigan's Law" (spoofing Star Trek's Prime Directive).

Zapp has many character traits which establish him as a buffoon. He is generally idiotic, sexist, egotistical, and painfully short-sighted. He will often mispronounce words, such as champagne ("sham-PAGG-nay") and guacamole ("GWACK-a-mole"). Unaware of pity sex, he remains lustful towards Leela. He is known to make catastrophic mistakes (such as destroying D.O.O.P. headquarters in "Brannigan, Begin Again"), yet, in the public eye, he is seen as an established and reputable leader of the Earth's army (Bender's Big Score, among others).

Calculon

Calculon (voiced by Maurice LaMarche) is an acting robot renowned for his melodramatic roles. His most famous role is as the lead character in the long-running robot soap opera All My Circuits, and it is claimed that Calculon received his acting ability from the Robot Devil. Calculon is from the 21st century, having been created as a standard industrial robot called Calculon 1.0. He changes his name and appearance every few decades to conceal his true age, claiming that one of his disguises was David Duchovny. In the episode "The Honking", it is revealed that his first job was as a motorised service arm building the most evil car in existence, Project Satan. Calculon was run over by Project Satan, and became a were-car (the robot equivalent of a werewolf). The curse is broken at the end of the episode, when Project Satan is destroyed. It is revealed in "Bender Should Not Be Allowed on TV" that throughout his entire time on All My Circuits, he has only needed one take for each scene. In "Bend Her", Calculon begins a relationship with Coilette of Robonia, who is actually Bender after undergoing gender reassignment to become a Fembot. He becomes smitten with Coilette, who is merely using him for material gain. Calculon proposes to Coilette, who accepts and then decides that she cannot continue the deception, and subsequently fakes her death at their wedding. In the conclusion of the episode, Coilette undergoes surgery to become a Manbot again, and Calculon makes a film in tribute to Coilette. It is shown in The Beast With A Billion Backs that Calculon is the leader of the League of Robots, a robot supremacy society. Bender cheats in a duel with Calculon, resulting in the loss of one of Calculon's arms and the destruction of the league's headquarters. Calculon subsequently becomes outraged at Bender and resigns from the league, relinquishing the presidency to Bender. In Into The Wild Green Yonder, it is said that his operating system is Windows Vista. However, in re-airings of the movie on Comedy Central, he says his operating system is Windows 7.

Celebrity heads

Various celebrities and historical figures are kept alive as heads in jars of liquids. The technology is crucial to Futurama's connection with 20th and 21st century culture since it allows significant figures from the past to make appearances in the series. This also allows for contemporary celebrities to make guest appearances as themselves.^[1] The technology was invented by Ron Popeil, himself a head.^[2] People seem to be able to be resurrected using this technology, as every U.S. President is found in the "Head Museum"; the most prominent head is that of Richard Nixon who becomes the President of Earth.

Dwight Conrad

Dwight Conrad (voiced by Bumper Robinson in the TV series, Phil LaMarr in the films) is the son of Hermes Conrad and LaBarbara Conrad. He is the close friend of Cubert Farnsworth, and takes after his father in the ways of accounting and bureaucracy.

LaBarbara Conrad

LaBarbara Conrad (voiced by Dawnn Lewis) is the wife of Hermes Conrad and mother of Dwight Conrad. She is the ex-wife of Barbados Slim, the rival of Hermes, who she refers to as "a human Adonis" and "a mahogany god." Hermes is insecure when Barbados is around, and LaBarbara leaves Hermes temporarily in Bender's Big Score to be with Barbados Slim after Hermes loses his body. She often wears clothes that reveal her belly button (like Amy Wong).

Cubert Farnsworth

Main article: Cubert Farnsworth

Cubert Farnsworth is Professor Hubert Farnsworth's clone, which the Professor produced in order to serve as his heir and continue his scientific legacy. He is introduced in the episode "A Clone of My Own", in which he rejects Farnsworth and becomes hostile to the entire Planet Express crew. Professor Farnsworth reveals that he had been lying about his age, and is taken to the Near Death Star for retirement. The crew rescue the professor, and Cubert announces that he will continue the professor's science after all.

Hubert J. Farnsworth created Cubert Farnsworth with the intention that he would continue his work after discovering that his life was wasted with nothing but failed or worthless inventions. Hubert is delighted until he discovers that Cubert's intentions are not as he planned. Cubert wants to do something 'better' with his life and does not accept the responsibility Hubert gives to him. He believes most things that happen to be "Impossible" contrary to the Professor's belief that nothing is impossible. Cubert has an epiphany after getting hit on the head, realizing how the starship engines Hubert invented work, allowing them to be repaired while Hubert is incapacitated. After this, he decides he wants to follow in his "father's" footsteps after all.

'Sweet' Clyde Dixon

'Sweet' Clyde Dixon (voiced by David Herman) is a core member of the current team of Globetrotters, who periodically challenge Earth to a game of basketball for no reason. Dixon is one of "the finest scientific minds in the universe" according to Professor Farnsworth. He has appeared in many episodes:

• "Time Keeps on Slippin'" (3ACV14)
• Bender's Big Score
• Into the Wild Green Yonder (seen in audience)
• "The Prisoner of Benda" (6ACV10)
• "The Silence of the Clamps" (6ACV14)

Elzar

Elzar (voiced by John DiMaggio) is a famous four-armed Neptunian chef with his own New New York restaurant, "Elzar's Fine Cuisine", and television show. Elzar is crass and unpleasant, and has a very high opinion of himself. He never passes up an opportunity to milk money from his customers and fans. He has also been known to steal from his own cash register on occasion. Elzar's favorite cooking implement is his Spice Weasel, a mustelid-like creature which propels a cloud of spices from its snout upon having its body squeezed. Elzar often uses the phrases "Bam!", "knock it up a notch", and "no question." The character of Elzar is a reference to Emeril Lagasse.^[3]

Hattie McDoogal

Hattie McDoogal (voiced by Tress MacNeille) is an old woman who lives alone with her cats and often uses nonsense words and phrases, such as "kerjigger". She briefly serves as the landlady of Fry and Bender, and holds a single share of Planet Express, allowing her the decisive vote for its CEO. She has been married twice, surviving both of them, and often dates. She once hired Kif Kroker as a male escort in a scene parodying Midnight Cowboy. MacNeille also voices the Crazy Cat Lady on The Simpsons, who also is an old woman speaking nonsense, although to a much greater extent.

Hedonismbot

Hedonismbot (voiced by Maurice LaMarche) is a golden robot built in a lounging position that displays the typical characteristics of hedonism and decadence, such as constantly eating from a bowl of grapes on his stomach. He was first seen in "Crimes of the Hot" at the Galapagos Island Robot Party. He has a human servant named Djambi and he has stated that "I too have known unconventional love" with references to doomsday devices. He enjoys having a bath of chocolate, having his nipples rubbed with industrial sandpaper (and a power sander), and seeing how long he can remain entertained during an opera.^[4]

Hypnotoad

The Hypnotoad is a large toad with pulsating, multicolored eyes which emits a loud, ominous buzzing noise. It has the power to hypnotize almost any living thing at will, even mass numbers of creatures. The Hypnotoad first appeared in "The Day the Earth Stood Stupid", in which it hypnotized a flock of sheep to herd themselves into a pen and close the door behind them, the panel of judges to win the pet show and then the audience of the pet show to force their approval of that victory. It later acquired its own television show, Everybody Loves Hypnotoad, in which it hypnotizes the audience. The Futurama: Bender's Big Score DVD includes a full 22-minute episode.^[5][6][7] The episode mainly features the Hypnotoad staring into the camera, occasionally intercut with a laugh track or shots of the exteriors of various locations to indicate a scene change. The finale of the show consists of a voiceover telling the audience that they will wake up remembering nothing and feeling refreshed, and the credits are all attributed to Hypnotoad.

Kif Kroker

Main article: Kif Kroker

Lieutenant Kif Kroker is the long suffering assistant to Captain Zapp Brannigan, and Fourth Lieutenant on the Democratic Order of Planets (DOOP) starship Nimbus. His frustration with Brannigan's arrogance and general incompetence in Season 1 leads him to be a disaffected, indifferent, sardonic lackey, although his personality differs greatly in later seasons. Zapp thinks Kif to be his best friend and loyal confidant, whereas Kif sees Brannigan as an incompetent jerk, going so far as to call him a jackass in "Love's Labours Lost in Space".

Linda

Linda (voiced by Tress MacNeille) is the co-anchor of √2 News with Morbo. She is blissfully unaware of or indifferent to his hatred for humanity, often giggling absentmindedly when he calls for the death of humans. Linda was inspired by Mary Hart of Entertainment Tonight, even hosting a television series with Morbo called Entertainment and Earth Invasion Tonite. She joins Leela and her feministas in Into the Wild Green Yonder due to Morbo being treated better than her by the producers with higher pay and more air time. In "Benderama", it is revealed that she is a severe alcoholic, which may explain her cheerful and seemingly oblivious demeanor.

Mom

Main article: Mom (Futurama)

Mom (voiced by Tress MacNeille), is the main antagonist of the series. Mom is an aggressive, threatening and Machiavellian bully, reminiscent of the Wicked Witch of the West. She manages and owns 99.7% of MomCorp, a large, multi-billion dollar industrial complex with numerous subsidiaries and a monopoly on robot production. Publicly, she retains the corporate image of a sweet, bustling old woman who often slips into the stereotype of a Deep South grandmother; behind the scenes, she removes her fat suit and emerges as a skeleton-thin, malevolent, and foul-mouthed old crow. She has three sons, Walt, Larry and Igner, whom she terrorizes and often employs to do her dirty work. Mom has a romantic history with Hubert J. Farnsworth, who worked at MomCorp as a young(ish) man, and she was previously married to Dr. Ogden Wernstrom.

Morbo

Morbo the Annihilator (voiced by Maurice LaMarche) is the lovable human-hating anchor for √2 News, Entertainment and Alien Invasion Tonight, Good Morning Earth, and other shows on the √2 Television Network. Morbo is an advance scout for a forthcoming alien invasion, but does not bother to be subtle about it, often expressing his contempt and extreme hatred for mankind during live news broadcasts and frequently comments on his species' extremely violent invasion plans. He appears to be using his job to gather information about the human race for the invasion still yet to come. He is good friends with President Richard Nixon, however.^[8] His co-host Linda seems either blissfully ignorant or entirely dismissive of Morbo's hatred and usually responds with an empty-headed laugh to Morbo's contemptuous outbursts. He is married to Mrs. (Fawn) Morbo, another member of his species.

Morbo's character design is similar to the aliens from the 1957 science fiction movie Invasion of the Saucer Men. Maurice LaMarche often points out in DVD commentary that two of the characters he voices, Morbo and Lrrr, "sound nothing alike", as a running gag.^{[citation needed]} LaMarche asserts that Morbo, being a newscaster, has better diction.^{[citation needed]} The pitch of Morbo's voice was digitally altered lower than LaMarche's original recordings, and that in subsequent episodes, LaMarche simply read the voice lower to match the—as David X. Cohen referred to it—"sub-human level" of the altered tone.^{[citation needed]}

Nibbler

Main article: Nibbler (Futurama)

Lord Nibbler (voiced by Frank Welker) masquerades as an innocent, cute and unintelligent pet during most of the series. In reality, he is highly intelligent and capable of communication, but tries to avoid suspicion while he goes about his mission of protecting the Earth in general and Fry in particular from the evil Brainspawn. Nibbler's feces consist of dark matter (as all of his species do), which can be used as starship fuel. It is an extremely dense material, "each pound of which weighs over ten thousand pounds", according to Professor Farnsworth.

Richard Nixon

Richard Nixon (voiced by Billy West) is kept alive as a head in a jar like many other celebrities. He originally resides in the Hall of Presidents in the head museum, but he eventually leaves and becomes the President of Earth, winning by a single vote.^[1] Nixon's administration is marked by a violent and aggressive foreign policy, frequently entering into wars which have little or no purpose. Nixon's head is sometimes accompanied by the headless body of Spiro T. Agnew.

Billy West has commented that he is not impersonating Richard Nixon for the role; he is impersonating Anthony Hopkins in Nixon (with "a little bit of werewolf", his Nixon has a tendency to inject a sound similar to "aroo" into his sentences), and that he, instead of trying to cultivate a good impersonation, cultivates the flaws in his impersonation. Matt Groening also frequently expresses his pleasure that he can continue to poke fun at Nixon 30 or 40 years after he was in office.^[9] Nixon's head was included in TV Squad's list of the five best television appearances by Presidents in animated or puppet form. The character was considered to be particularly interesting because he could be "pure evil" but also command respect and also because "Nixon's head trapped in glass is just really funny."^[10]

Omicronians

The Omicronians are an alien race of the planet Omicron Persei 8.

Lrrr

Lrrr (pronounced /ˈlɜr/;^[11] voiced by Maurice LaMarche) is ruler of the planet Omicron Persei 8^[12] and is currently married to Ndnd /ənˈdʌndə/, his second wife. His first major appearance in the series was in the episode "When Aliens Attack".^[13] Many of Lrrr's actions have been to try and make his father proud, but he has remained largely unsatisfied with his son. This was shown in Into the Wild Green Yonder. In "Lrrreconcilable Ndndifferences", he claims to have murdered his father for his cape. Omicronian young were briefly a fast-food menu item on Earth known as Popplers. This practice ended after Lrrr and Ndnd came to Earth and demanded they be allowed to eat the Earthlings as payback.

Lrrr's character has been described as "ridiculous" by Zack Handlen of The A.V. Club^[13] whereas Sean Gandert of Paste describes the character as a "stock character".^[12] Gandert also describes the character as a "midlife-crisis oaf" who is dumb and lazy in the episode "Lrrreconcilable Ndndifferences".^[12]

Ndnd

Ndnd (pronounced nn-da-NN-da prior to season six, nn-da NN-da in season six,^[11] and voiced by Tress MacNeille) is Lrrr's second wife. She is overbearing and bossy, often nagging Lrrr to eat more heathily and fulfil his duties as supreme ruler of Omicron Persei 8. In "Lrrreconcilable Ndndifferences" she seems entirely unconcerned by Lrrr's infidelity with another Omicronian woman (actually a human trans-species crossdresser), but is deeply upset by him listening to Leela's nagging over her own. Their marital problems also feature heavily in "Spanish Fry".

Petunia

Petunia (voiced by Tress MacNeille) is an elderly woman who wears a revealing pink dress and uses a lot of make-up. She is a chain-smoker and a keen gambler. In the episode "Put Your Head on My Shoulder", Bender sets her up on a Valentine's Day date with Fry after setting up a dating agency. She rejects Fry after learning he does not have a body and is merely a head attached to Amy. Petunia states she can do better than a slot-player when Fry reveals he controls only one arm. Petunia later joins the Feministas in Into the Wild Green Yonder. She has children and used to live in a house with wheels.

Roberto

Roberto (voiced by David Herman) is a criminally insane, psychotic robot who appears to be some kind of stab-bot. His insane acts include targeting the same establishment for robbery three times in a row, killing other robots to provide a disguise, and "practicin' my stabbin'."^[14] There are conflicting reasons for his insanity. In the climatic scene of "Insane in the Mainframe" his dialogue suggests that his parents (namely his mother) were abusive but in Bender's Game he states that his creators were trying to make an insane robot, but "failed". This violent nature is enhanced by a body that David X. Cohen and Matt Groening say is based on the shape of a tombstone.^[14] Roberto appears in Bender's Game as a patient in the institute for insane robots which Bender is committed in. During a group therapy session, he stabs a robot vending machine, causing it to cough up red chocolate bars. He later appears in the alternate reality as a Denethor equivalent in the Middle-earth spoof. He is still insane in this alternate reality, having sent most of his military on a suicide mission against sealife. He briefly becomes sane after he is whacked on the head during a battle, however almost immediately after he is again whacked on the head and becomes insane again. He appears once more in "Proposition Infinity" in the same holding cell that Bender is put in, this time, with a sock instead of his usual knife. He says to Bender, "You ever kill a man with a sock before? It's not hard," as he makes his usual stabbing noise while stabbing the air around Bender with his sock.

Robot Devil

The Robot Devil (voiced by Dan Castellaneta in regular appearances, Maurice LaMarche in "A Tale of Two Santas"), serves as the leader of Robot Hell, which is hidden beneath the "Inferno" ride at the amusement park "Reckless Ted's Funland" in New Jersey. His function is to torment robots who have committed various sins under the practice of Robotology. If a deal is made with the Robot Devil, he appears to have unlimited power and can grant almost any request. The voice acting of the Robot Devil by Dan Castellaneta has been described as a "bravura performance" on his part.^[1] The Robot Devil is available as a build-a-figure from the first three series of Futurama action figures by Toynami.

He first appears in "Hell Is Other Robots", kidnapping Bender and tormenting him until Fry and Leela manage to save Bender. He plays another major role in "The Devil's Hands Are Idle Playthings", in which Fry makes a deal with the Devil to improve his holophonor skills. Fry wins the Robot Devil's hands, though the Robot Devil manages to reverse the trade after setting up a complicated scheme to force Fry into relinquishing them. The character also makes brief cameos in "A Tale of Two Santas" and "Crimes of the Hot". He plays a key role in the Season 6 episode "Ghost in the Machines," offering to reunite Bender's body and spirit if Bender scares Fry to death. This same episode reveals that he keeps several spare bodies in his office and can transfer his spirit to one of these if his body is destroyed.

The Robot Devil appears in the film series on several occasions, most notably The Beast with a Billion Backs, where Bender makes a deal with the Robot Devil exchanging his first-born son for the Armies of Hell. Bender more than happily locates his son and kicks the child into a vat of lava, causing the Robot Devil to comment, "That was pretty brutal, even by my standards." Bender simply replies, "No backsies!" In Bender's Big Score, he conducts the band at Lars and Leela's wedding.

In the commentary for "The Devil's Hands Are Idle Playthings", Castellaneta says the voice is based on a "bad impression of Hans Conried." In the episode "The Silence of the Clamps" he is shown as one of the wedding guests

Robot Santa

Robot Santa (voiced by John Goodman in the first appearance, John DiMaggio in later appearances)^[15] is a robot created in 2801 by The Friendly Robot Company to judge beings as naughty or nice and distribute presents or punishments accordingly. However, due to a programming error, his standards are too high and has judged everyone to be naughty (with the one-time exception of Dr. Zoidberg). This leads him to go on destructive rampages across Earth every Xmas using Christmas-themed weapons, such as grenades shaped like Christmas ornaments, bicycle guns, and T.O.W. missile launchers (a weaponized retort to mistletoe) to punish the "naughty" beings. He resides in a death fortress on Neptune along with a number of Neptunians that act as slave labor for the toy factory.^[16] In Bender's Big Score, he assisted the Earth's population in reclaiming their planet after it was purchased by the devious Scammers, forcing his Neptunian elves to build weapons for an assault and participating personally in the ensuing battle. He is part of an alliance called The Trinity, a trio of holiday-themed madmen, comprising himself, Kwanzabot, and the Chanukah Zombie in the song.

Robot Mafia

The Robot Mafia is a three-member crime syndicate operating out of "Fronty's Meat Market" and "Small Bill's Laundry", who periodically dine at Elzar's, hijack shipments of Zuban cigars, arrange "accidents" for robots who act against them, as well as other unspecified Mafia-related illegal activities. They are made up of:

• The Donbot (voiced by Maurice LaMarche) - The leader of the Robot Mafia. Surprisingly oblivious to various plots against him, particular repeated infractions by Bender, such as but not limited to: having sex with the Donbot's wife, having sex with his daughter, stealing from the Donbot, and literally stealing the Donbot's own foot.
• Joey Mousepad (voiced by John DiMaggio) - A burly goonbot wearing a computer-mouse necklace.
• Clamps (voiced by Maurice LaMarche) - An unstable robot obsessed with using the clamps that act as his hands. In the Season 6 episode "The Silence of the Clamps," a package meant for him lists his full name as Francis X. Clampazzo.

The Donbot, Joey Mousepad and Clamps [along with Flexo] are being made into figures.

Additional family members

The Donbot is married to Fanny, a female robot who has a propeller built into her rear end. She has an affair with Bender during Into the Wild Green Yonder, leading the Donbot to have both of them shot and buried several times. They survived, however, and Fanny returned to her husband. The couple have at least two daughters, including Bella, with whom Bender has a brief relationship during "The Silence of the Clamps." Her body contains a church bell that rings loudly whenever she moves.

Sal

Sal (voiced by John DiMaggio) is a surly, overweight, blue-collar worker with a thick Bronx accent. His first appearance is as a janitor on the Moon in "The Series Has Landed", servicing the machines in the amusement park. He has appeared many times since, always employed in a tedious job which he does not perform well. He is also seen to have a painting on his stomach (in "The Cryonic Woman") and comments that he is "on loan from the Louvre". His trademark is to add an "s" to many words that do not need it: "He's busteds. Gets hims outta heres!" At one point in "The Lost Adventure", it is implied that it is intentional, when he says "I gots an idea. I means, I gots an ideas." David X. Cohen said in a commentary that the writers debate whether Sal frequently changes jobs or has been cloned many times. He was also featured in Bender's Game as the five-time winner of a demolition derby. After losing the derby, he promises to changes his life.

Scruffy

Scruffy (voiced by David Herman) is the Planet Express janitor who appears in many episodes. He generally approaches both his job and the rest of his life with a high level of apathy, as shown in "Parasites Lost", in which he ignores a broken boiler in the Planet Express Headquarters to read a pornographic magazine, and continues to read even after said boiler explodes, declaring "Scruffy's gonna die the way he lived." In "Future Stock", it is revealed that he is deeply fond of the company, and owns four times as much stock as the other employees. Although his co-workers meet him on multiple occasions, they always ask who he is, and he replies with his catchphrase, "I'm Scruffy. The janitor." He is shown several times to read porn magazines like National Pornographic and Zero G Juggs (parodies of actual magazines, National Geographic and Juggs.) The Season 6 episode "The Prisoner of Benda" reveals that he is in love with his robotic wash bucket, but avoids a full relationship. He is murdered by Robot Santa in the non-canonical episode "The Futurama Holiday Spectacular." In "Law & Oracle", it is revealed that Scruffy was brought back to life as a zombie, remarking that "Life and death are a seamless continuum."

Barbados Slim

Barbados Slim (voiced by John DiMaggio) is Hermes' arch-rival. He not only defeated Hermes at the 3004 Olympics to win the gold medal in limbo, but is also the only person ever to win gold medals in both limbo and sex. He was formerly married to LaBarbara Conrad, who still refers to him as a "mahogany god." In Futurama: Bender's Big Score, after Hermes was decapitated in a limboing accident, LaBarbara left him (believing as a head in a jar he would not be able to provide for her) and got back together with Barbados, even going so far as to take his last name (Dwight also took his last name), even though they never re-married and he was never adopted. After Hermes uses his bureaucratic prowess to save Earth from the scammers and wins back LaBarbara (and gets a new body), Slim vows "You have not seen the last of Barbados Slim!" before adding "Now goodbye forever!" As he prepares to leave the bridge, the sliding door malfunctions and goes down halfway. Slim then tries to limbo beneath only for the door to fall and crush his chest.

Officer Smitty

Officer Smitty (voiced by Billy West) was a policeman partnered with URL in New New York. He was sometimes seen with a lightsaber-like nightstick. The two often used excessive force in non-violent circumstances. In one episode, he claimed that he became a cop because his father owned a restaurant, and frequent dine-and-dashers kept it from going regional. Smitty retires later in Season 6 but returns a few episodes later.

Ethan "Bubblegum" Tate

Renowned physicist and leader of the Harlem Globetrotters from the Globetrotter homeworld. Considered to be one of the finest scientific minds in the universe. Voiced by Phil LaMarr.

Tinny Tim

Tinny Tim (voiced by Tress MacNeille) is an ill-fated orphan-bot with a crutch for an arm and one shortened leg, a reference to Tiny Tim in Charles Dickens' A Christmas Carol. He speaks with a British accent and is programmed to beg, sell oil-ade, and write in cute backwards letters on signs. He is shown with the Planet Express crew on both Xmases, and appears to be friends with Dwight and Cubert. In the subtitles of "Bender Should Not Be Allowed on TV", he is called "Tiny Tim-Bot".

Turanga Morris and Munda

Turanga Morris (voiced by David Herman) and Turanga Munda (voiced by Tress MacNeille) are Leela's father and mother. They are sewer mutants who love Leela deeply and try to give her as normal a life as possible by passing her off as an alien and leaving her to be raised in an orphanage. They participate in her life as much as possible from the sewers until Leela finally learns the truth and attempts to form a real relationship. They each have one eye, Morris has a vertically oriented mouth and the ability to shed his skin, and Munda has a lion tail, ungulate legs, and octopus tentacles in place of arms. Their original appearance in "I Second That Emotion" shows them as plain cyclopes like Leela. The plot of "Leela's Homeworld" required the addition of extra mutations to fit with the idea that Leela is able to live a normal life, while they cannot.^[17][18] In the same episode it is also revealed that Munda has a Ph.D. in "exo-linguistics", which allows her to write in "Alienese".

Officer URL

Officer URL (voiced by John DiMaggio) is a robot police officer paired with Smitty. The two often use excessive force in peaceful situations, and make use of various features built into URL, such as a siren, megaphone and violations printer. He also appears in the parody of Cops, called Cop Department. His catchphrase is 'Aww, yeah.'

Walt, Larry and Igner

Main article: Mom (Futurama)#Sons

Walt (voiced by Maurice LaMarche), Larry (David Herman) and Igner (John DiMaggio) are Mom's three sons, who are often on the receiving end of her verbal and physical abuse. It is revealed in Bender's Game that Professor Farnsworth is Igner's father.

Dr. Ogden Wernstrom

Dr. Ogden Wernstrom (voiced by David Herman) is rival of his former college professor, Professor Farnsworth, in the field of science. He resents an "A−" grade given for sloppy penmanship by Farnsworth in 2900, and works for over one hundred years in order to obtain revenge. Farnsworth usually greets him with an angry shaking fist and a long, drawn-out "Weeeerrnnn-strom!" He often competes against Farnsworth in various competitions, such as the Annual Inventors' Symposium, though their rivalry appears to have softened over the years, and have even managed to collaborate with one another every once in a while. Wernstrom also appears to respect some of Farnsworth's decisions if he himself believes them to be right as well, as showed in The Beast with a Billion Backs. In Bender's Game it is revealed that he was once previously married to Mom, and may possibly be the father of Mom's two eldest sons Walt and Larry.

The Season 6 episode "Cold Warriors" reveals that Wernstrom has been appointed Surgeon General of Earth.

Leo and Inez Wong

Leo Wong (voiced by Billy West) and Inez Wong (voiced by Lauren Tom) are the very wealthy parents of Amy Wong. They are human Martians of Chinese descent who own the entire western hemisphere of Mars (which they claim is the best one) and the Wong buggalo ranch. They often pester Amy about their lack of grandchildren and meddle in her love life, trying to find a man to father their grandchild. When Amy and Kif Kroker begin dating, they decide Kif is not man enough for her. They do seem happy, however, when he and Amy have children. Leo is one of the primary villains in Into the Wild Green Yonder.

Minor characters

Al Gore

See also: Al Gore

Al Gore (voiced by himself) appears as a head in a jar during most of his appearances and also appears with his body during scenes involving Fry's time period. He is First Emperor of the Moon and has "ridden the mighty moon worm".^[19] He lives in an elaborate jar; the base is colored silver-white, and possesses several hologram projectors, two small rockets for mobility, a pair of lasers, and is backed with the top of a cape. He plays a role in Futurama: Bender's Big Score,^[20] where he appears in multiple scenes that take place in the past and during the space battle in the future. During one of these scenes, Gore was shown to have won the 2000 Presidential Election, but Bender accidentally destroys the ballots in favor of Gore when hunting for Fry. During the Clinton presidency he is shown to have led the Vice Presidential Action Rangers, a group tasked by the US Constitution to preserve the space-time continuum.

The real-life Gore has said that Futurama is his favorite show. His daughter, Kristin Gore, was a writer for the show in its later seasons.^[19][21] Gore has also voiced the cartoon version of himself in the promotional video, entitled A Terrifying Message from Al Gore for An Inconvenient Truth along with John DiMaggio, the voice of Bender, and Billy West, the narrator.^[22]

Boxy

Boxy is a crude robot only able to communicate by beeping. He is frequently seen in the company of Calculon, and played the role of Calculon's half-brother in the All My Circuits soap opera where his objections sound like he's backing up.^[23]

Brain Slugs

Brain Slugs are small, one-eyed, vaguely sluglike aliens which attach themselves to the heads of sentient beings in order to control them. Brain slugs apparently use this as a method of trapping more "prey", since those beings under brain slug control are driven by the desire to place brain slugs on other beings. It is hinted that the host under the brain slug's control retains awareness of their condition, which Hermes referred to as a "nightmare." The brain slug can be seen in numerous episodes, normally attached to Hermes. For a short time Fry had one attached but according to the professor it "starved to death."

Brainspawn

The Brainspawn (voiced by David Herman) are a race of flying telepathic brains that wish to collect all of the data in the universe and kill all other intelligent beings. They are able to use "stupefaction fields" to render all intelligent beings on a planet too stupid to resist them. This allows them to collect all knowledge on the planet and destroy it. Their main enemies are the Nibblonians, who send Nibbler on a mission to find Fry, the only being resistant to the Brainspawn. Fry lacks the Delta Brainwave, so he is able to repel the Brainspawn when they attack Earth. Fry later sends the Brainspawn and their space station, the Infosphere, into another dimension with a bomb given to him by the Nibblonians.

Cookieville Minimum Security Orphanarium residents

The Cookieville Minimum Security Orphanarium houses a large number of orphans, including Leela during her childhood. The orphans often suffer harsh conditions and various disappointing setbacks. It is run by Mr. Vogel, voiced by David Herman, who takes care of the orphans and keeps all records; he is apparently a bureaucrat grade 135 who has not been promoted since about the time Leela was born. Three orphans, Albert, Nina, and Sally, are featured most often. Albert and Nina are voiced by Kath Soucie and Sally is voiced by Nicole St. John. Sally has a third ear on her forehead which she is teased about by the other orphans. She also claims to have a tail. Twelve of the orphans were briefly adopted and later returned by Bender—who adopted them only for the government fund checks—in "The Cyber House Rules".

The Crushinator

The Crushinator (voiced by Maurice LaMarche) is the robot daughter of a farmer on the moon. She is stereotyped as a southern belle and represents Earth's moon in the Ms. Universe Pageant. She first appears in "Episode Two: The Series Has Landed" and also appears in the episodes "Lesser of Two Evils", "Crimes Of The Hot", "Mother's Day", and "The Silence of the Clamps". She briefly appears in the background in Into the Wild Green Yonder. Unlike her sisters, the Crushinator is more machine-like and has a masculine voice. She also has two orange tubes sticking out from her head and can transform into a car.

Father Changstein-El-Gamal

Father Changstein-El-Gamal (voiced by David Herman) is a priest in the First Amalgamated Church, a mixture of many 20th century religions.^{[episode needed]} He wears a bindi on his forehead (Hinduism), wears a mitre and clerical collar (Catholicism) with a taijitu (or yin-yang) symbol on the peak (Taoism), payot (Judaism), an orange wrap (Buddhism) with a shoulder scarf adorned with stars and moons (spiritism). In Bender's Big Score, he uses the phrases "dearly liked" instead of "dearly beloved" and "We are gathered here today before one or more gods, or fewer..." when officiating a wedding.

Flexo

Flexo (voiced by John DiMaggio) is a bending robot who looks and sounds almost exactly like Bender with the exception of having a small triangular metal goatee, a reference to the Star Trek mirror universe. Flexo first meets and befriends Bender in "Lesser of Two Evils". Fry believes Flexo to be an "evil twin" of Bender, though it turns out that Flexo attempts to stop Bender from stealing the expensive crown from the Miss Universe pageant. Flexo is mistaken for Bender and is arrested for that crime. Critics have called Flexo's appearance in this episode one of the "Great Moments" in Futurama.^[24] He returns in "Bendless Love" in which Bender briefly dates Flexo's ex-wife, Anglelyne, and impersonates Flexo. Flexo is targeted by the Robot Mafia because of this. Eventually, he reunites with Anglelyne. He makes a cameo appearance in Into The Wild Green Yonder along with Anglelyne as members of the audience seeing the Encyclopod being "born".

He makes another brief appearance in "Attack of the Killer App" in a garbage bin, where he is found by Bender and tells him that bending robots are now obsolete, though he is ignored. His signature character trait is the way he says something, usually a mild insult, and then immediately retracts it, laughing and saying some variation of "Naw, I'm just kidding... you're all right!" This, apparently, is also reversed when referring to situations or actions that cause him frustration or anger, such as Bender shoving him in one episode, with Flexo responding by saying, "Thanks! I appreciated that... Naw I'm kidding. That was quite annoying."

Guenter

Guenter (voiced by Tress MacNeille with the vocal effects provided by Frank Welker) is an intelligent monkey experiment made by Professor Farnsworth. His intelligence comes from his small hat which uses sunspots to create cognitive radiation. If he is not wearing the hat, he acts like a normal monkey. His main appearance was in Mars University in which he enrolls and becomes Fry's roommate. He is later seen in other episodes in the background, and crowds, not doing anything of importance.

Gypsy-Bot

The Gypsy-Bot (voiced by Tress MacNeille) is a carnival fortune-telling robot. In "Godfellas" the gypsy-bot hints that she does not actually have psychic powers; after Fry asks her a question, she replies,"What am I, psychic?". The gypsy-bot appears earlier in "The Honking", telling Bender he is a werecar; and in "Ghost in the Machines," performing a séance in which Bender's ghost possesses her and causes her head to explode.

Horrible Gelatinous Blob

Horrible Gelatinous (H.G.) Blob (voiced by Maurice LaMarche) is a three-eyed, green, translucent, ill-tempered alien. He first appeared on the season one episode "Episode Two: The Series Has Landed" in a commercial the Professor made for Planet Express. He contemptuously refers to humanoids as "solids" and ridicules their one-way digestive system. According to the episode, The Route of All Evil, the Horrible Gelatinous Blob has a son named Brett Blob, who regularly bullies Cubert and Dwight. In Futurama: Bender's Big Score he, or perhaps a more famous member of his species, is shown to be on the twenty dollar bill.

Hyperchicken

The Hyperchicken (voiced by Maurice LaMarche) is a large blue/green rooster-like attorney with southern mannerisms and a pince-nez perched on his beak. He is a terrible lawyer, and routinely loses cases for the main characters. The hyperchicken is a parody of "folksy" southern lawyers such as Matlock, Atticus Finch, and Looney Tunes character Foghorn Leghorn. In a deleted scene from Into the Wild Green Yonder, he was named Matcluck.

Judge Ron Whitey

Judge Ron Whitey (voiced by Billy West) is a judge and a member of the upperclass of Earth's elite.

Kwanzaabot and Chanukah Zombie

Kwanzaabot and Chanukah Zombie are Robot Santa's Kwanzaa and Hanukkah analogues. Precisely what role they play on their respective holidays is unknown. However, in the episode "A Tale of Two Santas", Kwanzaabot mentions he has been distributing books titled "What the Hell is Kwanzaa?" for 647 years, with little effect. Kwanzaabot and Chanukah Zombie are evidently friendly with Robot Santa, as he calls them for support in Bender's Big Score, and Kwanzaabot invites Bender to join him and the Chanukah Zombie at the B'nai B'rith in "A Tale of Two Santas".

From his first appearance, Kwanzaabot has been voiced by rapper Coolio. Although Chanukah Zombie had been mentioned, he did not appear onscreen until Bender's Big Score, in which he is voiced by Mark Hamill and in a reference to Hamill's famous role in Star Wars, pilots a jewel-encrusted TIE Fighter.

Malfunctioning Eddie

Malfunctioning Eddie (voiced by David Herman) is a robot that runs a hovercar dealership. His character refers to the real life electronics chain Crazy Eddie, and its mascot of the same name. It turned out that Malfunctioning Eddie's prices were so low that he really was insane. He had an exploding problem associated with surprise in "Insane in the Mainframe".

Master Phnog

Phnog (voiced by David Herman) is an Arcturan kung-fu master who was Leela's childhood Arcturan kung-fu instructor. He is green, has a head that resembles that of a fly, and is an unapologetic male chauvinist. He ruined Leela's dream of competing in the Arcturan kung-fu junior championships when she was in the orphanarium. Phnog was seen in "Raging Bender".

Michelle

Michelle (voiced by Kath Soucie in the first appearance, Sarah Silverman in the second appearance) is Fry's on and off girlfriend from the 20th century. She dumps Fry shortly before he is frozen New Year's Eve for a man named Constantine (called Charles in "The Cryonic Woman", whom she later marries). They eventually split up, and she decides to freeze herself to try again in the distant future. She wakes up in 3002, meets Fry again, and restarts her relationship with him. However, she fails to fit into the 31st century life to which Fry has become so accustomed, and so asks him to freeze himself with her for another thousand years. This plan fails, as does the rekindled relationship, so Fry leaves her. She later is shown in a limousine with the recently unfrozen Pauly Shore and later seen holding his hand in Proposition Infinity.

In Bender's Big Score, it is revealed that Michelle had been frozen roughly 736 years longer than she had actually intended, a result of Fry (as Lars) using her cryotube to return to the future and be with Leela. This, along with the fact that Fry had accidentally broken off part of Michelle's hair while climbing into her cryotube, was not mentioned or shown in Michelle's previous appearances. She was one of the many people seen on the date with Yivo in "The Beast With a Billion Backs."

Nibblonians

The Nibblonians are an ancient race that came into existence 17 years before the moment of the Big Bang. They have extremely long life spans, eat animals whole to fill their stomachs, which are thousands of times larger than themselves, and excrete extremely dense and potent dark matter. Despite their nature, other beings find their small stature to be extremely adorable. Their arch-enemy is the Brainspawn. They believe Fry is the only hope of the universe in that he can stop the Brainspawn due to his lack of the Delta brainwave. The main Nibblonians in the series are Nibbler, Ken, voiced by Billy West, and Fiona, voiced by Tress MacNeille.

Number Nine Man

The Number 9 Man (or just Number 9 or simply Nine, voiced by David Herman) is a cameo character appearing in the first and second production seasons of Futurama.

The Number Nine Man reappeared in Bender's Big Score and Into the Wild Green Yonder, where it was revealed he was the Grand Curator of the Legion of Mad Fellows. When Nine became grand curator is unknown, but the audio commentary of Into the Wild Green Yonder hints that he was in the Legion prior to the year 3000. As grand curator (which is essentially a knowledgeable leader) of the Legion, he becomes the story teller for Philip J. Fry's mission to possibly end the epic long battle between two ancient races, as they by 3009 have noticed that the Chi have been re-emerging.

Mr. Panucci

Mr. Panucci (voiced by John DiMaggio) is the surly, Italian-American owner of Panucci's Pizza where Fry worked before getting frozen. Although in the first episode it appears that he does not like Fry that much, it is shown in later episodes that he had a strong friendship with and acted as a father figure to Fry. It is revealed in Bender's Big Score that he likes Fry because Fry's life is so horrible it helps Panucci feel better about himself. Panucci is noticeably upset when Fry goes missing and he takes responsibility for Fry's pet dog Seymour.

In Bender's Big Score, Fry creates a time paradox by going back in time and living out his old life and thus continues working at Panucci's Pizza. Shortly after he arrives Panucci fires him because he did not get the money from the customer the previous night (since it was a prank call made by Nibbler). Fry asks Panucci if he can live in Panucci's upstairs storeroom, which Panucci allows.

Pazuzu

Pazuzu (voiced by David Herman) is a gargoyle who Professor Farnsworth owned and put through college. He has a French accent and a son. He initially appears in "Teenage Mutant Leela's Hurdles", where he escapes from the Professor. He returns at the end of the episode to rescue the Professor and "earn his freedom." He later appears in Beast With a Billion Backs, rescuing the Professor and Wernstrom from prison and informing the Professor that he has one wish left.

Mayor C. Randall Poopenmeyer

Mayor C. Randall Poopenmeyer (Voiced by David Herman) is the mayor of New New York. He is often depicted as a corrupt and incompetent politician. He first appeared in the season 1 episode A Big Piece of Garbage.

Randy

Randy (voiced by John DiMaggio) is the man in pink. He is stereotypically gay and has an effeminate voice. Originally, he is depicted with blond hair, but sometimes appears with brown hair. John DiMaggio says he is his favorite character to voice. The original design for Randy was very different. He was originally an old man in a mob, with his name in the script for "I, Roommate" literally "Man in Mob". DiMaggio changed the voice and therefore the character.^[25]

Reverend Lionel Preacherbot

Reverend Lionel Preacherbot (voiced by Phil LaMarr) is a preacher at the Temple of Robotology. He presides over weddings and funerals of robots and humans. His speech patterns, accent, and mannerisms are modeled on those of stereotypical African-American Evangelical preachers.^[26]

In the episode "Hell is Other Robots" (S01E09), Preacherbot encourages Bender to give up his addiction to recreational electricity (i.e. 'jacking on') in favour of the Church of Robotology, to which Bender replies; "Do I preach to you while you're laying stoned in the gutter?". During the Season 6 episode "Ghost in the Machines," Preacherbot performs an exorcism on the Planet Express headquarters in order to drive off Bender's ghost, which has begun to possess various machinery in an attempt to kill Fry.

Sewer mutants

Sewer mutants are humans mutated by years of pollution and radioactive waste poured into the sewers under New New York. Because they are considered genetically inferior they were forbidden by law to travel to the surface without special permission (until the events of "The Mutants Are Revolting"), so they reside in a community made out of objects flushed down toilets. Among the more prominent mutants in the series are Dwayne, Raoul and Vyolet. Dwayne (voiced by David Herman) is a mutant with two noses and a large forehead. Raoul (voiced by Maurice LaMarche) is the "Supreme Mutant", the democratically elected leader of the sewer mutants. His most notable mutation is a third arm, which in his first appearance had grown in place of his right ear but above it in later appearances. Vyolet (voiced by Tress MacNeille) is a chain-smoking mutant with gills and a pig nose; she seems to be romantically involved with Raoul.

Stephen Hawking

Stephen Hawking (voiced by himself) made a guest appearance in the episode "Anthology of Interest I" as a member of the Vice Presidential Action Rangers, who guard the space-time continuum. Along with Hawking at the end of the twentieth century they include Al Gore, Nichelle Nichols, Gary Gygax, and their summer intern Deep Blue. He first appears as a customer at the pizzeria where Fry mistakenly believes him to have invented gravity for which Hawking accepts credit ("Yeah, sure. Why not?"). After learning of Fry's inter-dimensional experience, he arranges for him to be kidnapped by the VPAR. He also appeared in The Beast with a Billion Backs as his own head in a flying jar leading a scientific convention organized to study and discuss a tear in the universe. He says that despite writing a book about it, he has no idea what it is, although he has already cashed the check he got for writing it. Apparently he has the ability to shoot lasers that stun people from his eyes; he himself is surprised, remarking, "I didn't know I could do that" after stunning Professor Farnsworth and Professor Wernstrom.

Hawking provided his own "voice" for this appearance, and is characterised the same way as in The Simpsons.

References

1. ^ ^{a b c} Booker, M. Keith. Drawn to Television: Prime-Time Animation from The Flintstones to Family Guy. pp. 115–124. 
2. ^ "A Big Piece of Garbage"
3. ^ Cohen, David X (2003). Futurama season 1 DVD commentary for the episode "My Three Suns" (DVD). 20th Century Fox. 
4. ^ The Devil's Hands are Idle Playthings
5. ^ DVDtalk .com, Review: Futurama: Bender's Big Score
6. ^ CHUD.com, A film site for the brilliant
7. ^ TVshowsondvd.com, Futurama DVD news: Press Release for Futurama - Bender's Big Score
8. ^ "A Head in the Polls"
9. ^ Groening, Matt (2002). Futurama season 1 DVD commentary for the episode "Space Pilot 3000" (DVD). 20th Century Fox. "If I could have known back then that in 1999 I would still get to make fun of [Nixon]..." 
10. ^ Finley, Adam (2006-02-20). "The Five: Presidents' Day Spectacular!". http://www.tvsquad.com/2006/02/20/the-five-presidents-day-spectacular/. Retrieved 2008-02-09. 
11. ^ ^{a b} Phonetic approximations as found in the 2010 episode "Lrrreconcilable Ndndifferences" (imdb.com [retrieved 26 Aug 2010])
12. ^ ^{a b c} Gandert, Sean (August 27, 2010). "Futurama Review: "Lrrreconcilable Ndndifferences" (6.11)". Paste. http://www.pastemagazine.com/articles/2010/08/futurama-review-lrrreconcilable-ndndifferences-611.html. Retrieved 2010-08-27. 
13. ^ ^{a b} Handlen, Zack (August 26, 2010). "Lrrreconciliable Ndndifferences". The A.V. Club. http://www.avclub.com/articles/lrrreconciliable-ndndifferences,44417/. Retrieved 2010-08-27. 
14. ^ ^{a b} "Insane in the Mainframe". Bill Odenkirk (writer). Futurama. Fox Broadcasting Company. 2001-04-08. No. 43, season 3.
15. ^ Sciullo, Maria (November 29, 2007). "TV on DVD: 'Futurama: Bender's Big Score' and 'Ice Road Truckers: The Complete Season One'". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/07333/837581-120.stm. Retrieved 9 June 2010. 
16. ^ Nettles, John (2005-08-23). "Futurama Monster Robot Maniac Fun Collection". http://www.popmatters.com/tv/reviews/f/futurama-monster-robot-maniac.shtml. Retrieved 2007-11-30. 
17. ^ Cohen, David X (2003). Futurama season 4 DVD commentary for the episode "Leela's Homeworld" (DVD). 20th Century Fox. 
18. ^ Gore, Kristin (2003). Futurama season 4 DVD commentary for the episode "Leela's Homeworld" (DVD). 20th Century Fox. 
19. ^ ^{a b} "Al Gore reprises role on 'Futurama' cartoon". Associated Press. November 8, 2002. http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/features/20021108-1750-ca-people-gore.html. Retrieved 2007-06-06. 
20. ^ Zulkey, Jack (June 7, 2007). "Al Gore, The Futurama President". Huffington Post. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/jack-zulkey/al-gore-the-futurama_b_51200.html. Retrieved 2007-06-08. 
21. ^ "Veep guest stars in TV cartoon". USA Today. Associated Press. May 22, 2000. http://www.usatoday.com/news/opinion/e1831.htm. Retrieved 2007-06-06. 
22. ^ David X. Cohen, Al Gore and Matt Groening (2007). Futurama: Bender's Big Score DVD commentary for "A Terrifying Message From Al Gore" (DVD). 20th Century Fox. 
23. ^ "I, Roommate". Eric Horsted (writer). Futurama. Fox Broadcasting Company. 1999-04-06. No. 3, season 1.
24. ^ Hofstede, David. 5000 Episodes and No Commercials: The Ultimate Guide to TV Shows on DVD. Back Stage Books. p. 120. 
25. ^ Futurama Season 2, Episode 9 - "Why Must I be a Crustacean in Love?" episode commentary
26. ^ Pinsky, Mark (2003). The Gospel According to the Simpsons. Bigger and possibly even Better! edition. pp. 229–235. ISBN 978-0-664-23265-8.