Futurama: The Why of Fry

When Leela gets swept off her feet by Chaz, an aide to the Mayor, Fry falls into a deep funk thinking that she could never like a non-important guy. Adding to Fry's funk, a bizarre genetic abnormality is discovered that qualifies him for a mission to save the universe. While on this mission, we learn what really happened on Dec. 31, 1999, the night Fry was frozen. Meanwhile, Chaz leaves a bad impression while on a skating date with Leela, causing her to realize that Fry means much more to her than she ever knew.

Episode Info

Episode number: 5x8
Production Number: 4ACV10
Airdate: Sunday April 06th, 2003

Director: Wesley Archer
Writer: David X. Cohen (1)

Alternate Airdates:

UK (Sky1)

Jul 15, 2011

Currently 7.8/10

7.8/10 (4 Votes cast)

Guest Stars

Nicole St. John
voiced Sally

Recurring

Bob Odenkirk
voiced Chaz

Main Cast

Katey Sagal voiced Turanga Leela, Various	Billy West voiced Philip J. Fry, Professor Hubert Farnsworth, Dr. John Zoidberg, Zapp Brannigan, Leo Wong, Various
John DiMaggio voiced Bender Bending Rodriguez (Bending Unit 22), Various	Lauren Tom voiced Amy Wong, Inez Wong, Various
Tress MacNeille voiced Mom, Linda the Newscaster, Various	Frank Welker voiced Nibbler, Various
Phil LaMarr voiced Hermes Conrad, Lionel Preacherbot, Various	Maurice LaMarche voiced Kif Kroker, Morbo, Walt, Raoul, Various
David Herman voiced Mayor Poopenmayer, Professor Ogden Wernstrum, Scruffy, Turanga Morris, Larry, Dwayne, Various

Recap

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Episode Notes

Opening theme promotion: Dancing Space Potatoes? You Bet!

Opening theme cartoon: Unknown

Alien code: When Fry goes to Nibler's home world, we see the same building we saw in "The Day The Earth Stood Stupid." The towers out front still have Alien Code #2 on them, but don't say the same thing. When translated it reads: "Fuzzy Wuzzy."

In "Space Pilot 3000" when Fry is about to fall into the cryo freezing chamber, Nibbler's shadow can be seen from the trash can under the desk Fry is sitting at. In "Jurassic Bark" when they show a flashback to Fry going into the chamber, we see Nibbler's eye stalk sticking out of the trash can. This episode answers the question to why Nibbler was there when Fry was frozen.

DVD commentary for this episode reveals that despite how nicely it ties together, Fry being his own grandfather was not originally intended as an explanation for why he lacks the delta brain wave, and was used as the explanation in this episode.