TV: Futurama

[XanBcoo]

While it saddens me that it's possible we won't have the amazing talents of some of the original voice actors, it saddens me even more to know people wouldn't watch the show JUST because of this, and not give it a chance.

It's not like you're doing anything better right? I mean, if the original writers and directors are still involved, you can still bet on it being at least decent, MAYBE even better, who knows?

Certainly I have better things to do with my time than watch a sub-par imitation of a good television show.

Having said that, if the original cast can't return (and honestly, they probably will), the writers could always branch out and explore new characters in the same universe. Some other internet people have suggested even focusing on the Professor's old crew members.

There's still a lot they can do without the old cast, so hiring a bunch of no-name imitators to replace the old cast is the worst case scenario.

Its the same reason dubbed anime sucks ass

This is neither a relevant nor intelligent argument. It's not 1995 anymore.

[Vegechan]

I knew trivial wasn't the right word to use, and it would be focused on that.

Listen, all I'm trying to say is that you're making opinions on something that doesn't even exist yet. You don't know what the final product would look like, and you're shutting it out without even giving it a chance. You think that what you have now is so perfect, nothing can possibly be better or be just as good.

If Futurama's cast does change, it's failure will have nothing to do with whether or not they did a good job, but millions of unfair, unbiased opinions that are being too pretentious and closed minded to give something new a chance.

It's entertainment. Why do you have to be so up tight about something that's trying to entertain you?

[Penner]

Only way i can imagine this being somewhat decent without the original cast is if they show a Futurama from a different reality/dimension where their voices are changed, or if they happen to come across some cargo/item or Farnsworth makes some experiment that changes their voices for some reason.

And what the fuck does 1995 have to do with dubbed anime sucking?

I have not seen or heard a single anime where the dubbed version was better or even close to the original voices.
This goes for pretty much every animated thing ive seen, including Pixar, Disney etc.

Granted, this is only my own opinion and others may not feel the same way, but for me the voice of a character plays a huge part in how i see a them and their personality.

[TwisT]

I knew trivial wasn't the right word to use, and it would be focused on that.

Listen, all I'm trying to say is that you're making opinions on something that doesn't even exist yet. You don't know what the final product would look like, and you're shutting it out without even giving it a chance. You think that what you have now is so perfect, nothing can possibly be better or be just as good.

If Futurama's cast does change, it's failure will have nothing to do with whether or not they did a good job, but millions of unfair, unbiased opinions that are being too pretentious and closed minded to give something new a chance.

It's entertainment. Why do you have to be so up tight about something that's trying to entertain you?

Yes we think it's perfect as it is now, and NOTHING CAN be better. You know why? Because their voices ARE their characters. Billy West is Fry, John DiMaggio is Bender and Katey Sagal is Leela. Now if you have never seen Futurama before and these new episodes would be the first you watch, and they have new VA's, then you wouldn't have a problem. And they would become the voices for the characters. Then after a year or so when you have gotten used to those voices you watch the old episodes you would think they where terrible. Because thats not how their supposed to sound. It has nothing to do with performance.

Changing the VA would be just like if they would have switched out an actor on "Friends" for another one playing the same character. Let's say they switch David Schwimmer and puts in Johnny Depp to play Ross at the season premiere for season 6. I don't think many would disagree that Depp is the better when it comes to acting. Would he be a better Ross? No! Because David Schwimmer IS Ross. No one can be better and do a better job no matter how good of an actor or how open minded you are. Only way they can make a actor change work would be if Ross moved away and someone new moved in. Then Johnny Depp wouldn't play Ross. He would play his own character. A good example of that would be "Married with Children" where they replaced Steve with Jefferson. But if they would have replaced the actor playing Steve for another one playing the exact same character, it would have been a disaster.

And even if the new VA's (hopefully we will still get the old once) where still doing a good job so where it was once awesome, it's now just good, the fact that it's different voices might just upset you to such a degree that you won't even be able to enjoy and laugh at the jokes.


As for the comment on the dubbing i can only guess what he meant, but i think the comment about intelligent refers to the fact that it's dubbed. It's two different languages and therefor it serves a purpose and is kind of a bad example. And the 1995 comment might refer to the fact that dubbing anime back then was so low budget it was scary. I have watched anime's from back then that basically was voiced by a single person. A person that sucked at it to begin with, displaying no emotions what so ever in their voices. Well your Swedish so if you ever watched Swedish dubbed Cyborg 009 when you where younger should know what I'm talking about

[XanBcoo]

It's entertainment. Why do you have to be so up tight about something that's trying to entertain you?

Because if it's not good, then it's no longer entertaining, and therefor not worth the time wasted convincing yourself to enjoy it. What's hard to understand about that?

No one's saying they're not going to give it a chance, but more than likely if we don't get the original cast, fans will lose interest because it will not be the same show without the right cast. It would be like watching House with Randy Quaid instead of Hugh Laurie. As I said, a poor imitation. Why even bother?

I have not seen or heard a single anime where the dubbed version was better or even close to the original voices.

Well first of all, you are in no position to judge that since I can assume you don't speak Japanese. You have no idea if the Japanese dub sucks. Unless the English dub is absolutely atrocious in every aspect, then your only reason for thinking dubs suck is because "It's not Japanese", which is a pretty weak argument. Sure it speaks of your preference, but it's hardly a measure of quality.

Also there are mountains of dubbed anime out there (pretty much any series put out by Funimation or ADV right now) that are absolutely brilliant, and this is by no means an unpopular opinion.

There's an existing thread about dubs in the Anime section. Try and read through it: http://forums.gotwoot.net/showthread.php?t=15679

[Vegechan]

No one's saying they're not going to give it a chance

I've still got some hope left that they'll work something out, but if worse comes to worse and we don't see DiMaggio, West or Sagal return, I probably won't watch it.

I know that's just one person here, but I've seen many similar things being said by friends and other places online.

And I'm not arguing that the voices make the characters, that's not the case at all. I understand that the new show voices could be very different. All I'm saying is that you need to give things a chance before you make such strong opinions about it.

Also, I've lost some respect for the original cast. While I don't know how much less they were offered, they need to realize this isn't a network studio. Even mediocre rated shows on networks stations still have better ratings then some of the best rated cable shows. The show won't be getting as much exposure, therefore won't be making as much money as it used to.

But they want more money. Again, we don't have details, but it just seems like they are expecting too much...

EDIT Oh, and the whole "All dubbed anime are bad" thing just solidifies my point that just because something is different from the original doesn't mean it's bad. I personally prefer watching Fullmetal Alchemist and Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex in English, even though I saw the japanese ones first.

Also, I'd like to use Naruto as an example of something that's ticking me off about "Subs vs Dubs." Believe it. So many people make fun of this, constantly, and use it as proof as to why the Naruto dub is bad. Except, most of them don't understand or realize (I have no idea why) that it's just their best attempt to translate "Dattebayo" which Naruto says MUCH more in the Japanese version than he says "Believe it!" in the English.

It all comes down to this. You can recognize bad voice acting in English because it's your language. You can hear the inflection, tone, and variance in their voice to know if they are doing a good job. But suddenly, when you change it to a different language, it becomes difficult to pick up on all the subtleties. I'm sure someone is going to say "I can pick those up and you're wrong!" but I still feel this is the primary cause for the "Japanese is better than English" mantra.

[XanBcoo]

I know that's just one person here, but I've seen many similar things being said by friends and other places online.

I think that was meant more as a "I won't watch it regularly" than as a "I won't even give it a chance". I think most of us here are excited that there will be more Futurama, but would rather have the genuine article rather than a cheap imitation.

In any case, there's a good chance this will be resolved favorably. Just not soon.

It all comes down to this. You can recognize bad voice acting in English because it's your language. You can hear the inflection, tone, and variance in their voice to know if they are doing a good job. But suddenly, when you change it to a different language, it becomes difficult to pick up on all the subtleties.

Yeah, I made this point in one of the many Dub/Sub threads. No one knows just how good or bad the Japanese actors may sound, but regard it as "better" because they don't really speak the language. People hear a line in a dub and suddenly think it sounds ridiculous, when really it was always ridiculous.

Also you're right about the Naruto thing. Actually he hasn't said "Believe it" since season 1.

[Testarossa Autodrive]

Indeed. That statement I made, "I probably won't watch it," holds an important key word - probably. Of course I would watch it the first one or two times (depending on my first reaction). I mean, I'd at least give it a try, but I really don't believe in the idea that "you've heard it once before, grown used to it and therefore your opinion is biased now that it's changed". In fact, language isn't as important to me as long as the acting sounds believable and the voice of the character fits.

There are many English anime/cartoons I just really don't care for simply because the characters weren't cast properly (that or they did a bad job). And there are some foreign cartoon/anime that I'd much prefer listening to it in its original language.

The reason why I would be so disappointed to see Fry and the other major players is because, for one, they are those characters. And two, I truly do believe they are good voice actors. They took those characters and they gave them life. And seriously, who didn't grow up with Billy West and not love the guy? Doug? Ren and Stimpy? You can't tell me you'd have not been disappointed to see Stimpy recasted...right? D:

[Penner]

Things are looking better and better!

Three of the holdout cast members of "Futurama" have signed new contracts with 20th Century Fox TV to continue voicing their characters as the show reboots on Comedy Central.

Katey Sagal, Tress MacNeille and Maurice LaMarche have agreed to resume on the show.

The studio is "hopeful" that Billy West (Philip J. Fry) and John Di Maggio (Bender) will shortly sign contracts to return also.

The makeup wasn't entirely unexpected. At Comic-Con last week, exec producer Matt Groening voiced support for the actors, and signed autographs with some of the cast.

"We love our 'Futurama' actors. And we hope that Fox and the actors can come to an agreement as soon as possible," Groening said.

Source: Here

[enkoujin]

I just finished watching the fourth movie and I feel that, as good as it seems, a new season of Futurama would antagonize the "climax" (at the end of the fourth movie) the series had its foundations based on. Whilst I would like to see the writers back in action on episodes with their fanciful witty humor, it was a pleasant ride we had with the movies released thus far.

[UChessmaster]

Trivial? The voice actors basically MAKE the characters, without them its not the same show, no matter how much effort they put in it.

Its the same reason dubbed anime sucks ass.

It would be like watching The Simpsons without their original voices.. a complete and utter suckfest.

Ever considered the posibility of the potential new voice actors being... you know... better?

[Testarossa Autodrive]

Ever considered the posibility of the potential new voice actors being... you know... better?

Yes, it's entirely possible, but that's not always the case. I can admit, however, when something is better.

[Raven]

Good news, everyone!

[LaZie]

Awesome news indeed! Glad they're returning. It just wouldn't feel like Futurama without them.

[XanBcoo]

Please don't let this be a view into the What If Machine.

Looks like I was wrong about this not being resolved soon. I'm happy.

[Penner]

Excellent!

[Penner]

New episodes of Futurama to premiere in June

w00t w00t ^^

[Penner]

'Futurama' exclusive: Exec producer David X. Cohen previews the return

[Death BOO Z]

I like the episode about time travel idea. there has to be a joke about L.A, and then a couple of future hitchikers.
one month left to kickstart the season... COME' ON!!

[Penner]

'Futurama' premiere clip, and a full-series recap (7min long) narrated by 'Zapp Brannigan'