My Three Suns

Not to be confused with My Three Sons.

"My Three Suns"
Futurama episode
Leela fighting the Trisolians
Episode no.	Season one Episode 7
Directed by	Jeffrey Lynch Kevin O'Brien
Written by	J. Stewart Burns
Production code	1ACV07
Original air date	May 4, 1999
Opening caption	"Presented In Double Vision (Where Drunk)"
Opening cartoon	Grampy in Fleischer Studio's The Impractical Joker from 1937
Season one episodes
March 1999 – June 1999 "Space Pilot 3000" "The Series Has Landed" "I, Roommate" "Love's Labours Lost in Space" "Fear of a Bot Planet" "A Fishful of Dollars" "My Three Suns" "A Big Piece of Garbage" "Hell Is Other Robots" "A Flight to Remember" "Mars University" "When Aliens Attack" "Fry and the Slurm Factory"
List of all Futurama episodes

"My Three Suns" is episode seven in season one of Futurama. It originally aired in North America on May 4, 1999. This episode was written by J. Stewart Burns and directed by Jeffrey Lynch and Kevin O'Brien. The plot focuses on Fry as he becomes emperor of an alien world only to find himself in need of rescue when it is discovered that the previous emperor is not really dead.

Plot

Hermes threatens to cut Bender's salary since Bender has no official duties at Planet Express and simply spends his days watching television on the couch. Inspired by the Neptunian TV chef Elzar, Bender decides to become the ship's cook. He, Fry and Leela go shopping for ingredients in Little Neptune. Professor Farnsworth then sends the crew, accompanied by Amy and Dr. Zoidberg, on a delivery to the planet Trisol, a mysterious world in the depths of the Forbidden Zone in the Galaxy of Terror. While Leela objects to going on the delivery simply based on the scary names, the professor claims that said scary names are a false conception of the galaxy. En route Bender serves the crew a meal consisting of salty Neptune slug and salt water.

After the ship lands, Fry is assigned the task of making the delivery trek across the desert under the planet's three blazing suns. When he arrives at the Trisolian palace he finds it empty. Stricken with thirst after eating the slug and drinking the salt water, he grabs a bottle of clear water-like liquid that is sitting on the throne and drinks it. Armed Trisolians, who are revealed to be liquid-based organisms, storm the throne room, revealing that the bottle Fry drank actually contained the emperor. Rather than being punished, Fry is declared the new emperor.

After the crew finds him, Fry chooses Bender as his new prime minister. The high priest informs Fry that as part of the coronation, Fry will have to recite the royal oath. The oath consists mainly of a long list of emperors, in the order that they killed each other and the way they were killed. The oath must be recited from memory on pain of death if he makes a mistake. During the pre-coronation party, Leela informs Fry that the average reign of a Trisolian emperor is only one week, as whoever "drinks" the old emperor is declared the new one. When Fry refuses to listen to her warning, Leela returns to the ship, vowing not to help Fry again. A Trisolian then attempts to "drink" Fry, but is unsuccessful, as Fry is solid.

At the coronation, Fry recites the oath properly, due to having a crib sheet written on his arm, and is sworn in as Fry the Solid. As the suns set, the Trisolians begin to glow — including the previous emperor, still alive inside Fry's stomach. He demands that Fry be cut open and drained.

Fry, Bender, Amy, and Dr. Zoidberg take refuge in the throne room and try to work out a way to extract the emperor without killing Fry.. They decide that crying is the method that suits both Fry and the Emperor, but soon realise that Fry is too "macho" to cry properly. Needing help, Bender calls Leela on Fry's behalf, but gets an inconclusive response. Leela ultimately decides to help Fry in spite of her vow, and fights her way past Trisolian forces in order to reach the palace. Bender notices what is happening and exploits the situation at hand: He lies to Fry by telling him that Leela is dead. This saddens Fry so profoundly that he begins crying. When Leela arrives, she begins beating Fry, causing him to weep in pain, gradually extracting the emperor. Fry takes this as a sign that Leela still cares for him, and thanks her profusely throughout the ordeal. The crew members take turns beating Fry until the emperor is out, who beats Fry as well while thanking him. With the emperor safely outside Fry's body, the crew is allowed to leave, while the emperor beats Fry with a chair.

Broadcast and reception

This episode was rated TV-14 (with no sub-rating letters) on Adult Swim airings and is currently rated TV-14 on Comedy Central airings. On FOX, the rating was TV-PG for violence (V).

In its initial airing, the episode received a Nielsen rating of 5.8/10, placing it 72nd among primetime shows for the week of May 3-9, 1999.^[1]

References

1. ^ "PEOPLES CHOICE.(Illustration)". Broadcasting & Cable (Reed Business Information). 1999-05-17. http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1G1-54672979.html. Retrieved 2009-03-07. 

External links

• "My Three Suns" at the Internet Movie Database
• "My Three Suns" at TV.com
• My Three Suns at The Infosphere.