In honor of the momentous news that Futurama will again be gracing the airwaves with new episodes, it seems only fitting that this week’s Wednesday Top Ten be about the best episodes from the series’ original run. And while it’s always a pleasure to talk about Futurama, this has been the most difficult top ten list yet for me to compile. There are just so many great episodes!

I’m sure some of you will carp about the absence of “Godfellas” on this list, or be puzzled at the inclusion of “The Farnsworth Parabox” instead of one of many other hilarious episodes, but this is my list; as someone who’s devoted a lot of time to watching Futurama instead of graduating from college or making friends, I feel I’m qualified to make these judgments.

#10: The Farnsworth Parabox

The Professor invents a cardboard box containing an entire parallel—and possibly evil—universe. Virtually every line uttered by every character is hilarious.
GREATEST MOMENT
PROFESSOR: You people and your slight differences disgust me!

#9: The Luck of the Fryrish

In this surprisingly touching episode, Fry learns a thing or two about lucky seven-leaf clovers, his brother, and grave robbing.
GREATEST MOMENT
The Planet Express crew is watching a Behind the Music style show.
WHISKEY AND CIGARETTES BRITISH GUY: Phil came in, right? Strummed out this tune, yeah? And I said, “That’s a number one record.”

#8: Fry and the Slurm Factory

Fry wins a contest and gets to take a tour of the Slurm soda factory, along with the rest of the Planet Express crew. If you suspect that it will be a wondrous, magical factory along the lines of Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory, you are so right.
GREATEST MOMENT
PROFESSOR: Who are those horrible orange creatures over there.
GLURMO: Why those are the Grunka-Lunkas. They work here in the Slurm factory.
PROFESSOR: Tell them I hate them!

#7: Why Must I Be a Crustacean in Love?

Dr. Zoidberg starts totally flipping out for no apparent reason, and as any sci-fi viewer worth his salt knows, when an alien starts doing that it means it’s time for him to return to his home planet to mate. Which is just what he does. And as any sci-fi viewer worth his salt further knows, a fight to the death is very likely to ensue. Which it does.
GREATEST MOMENT
The people of Dr. Zoidberg’s home planet are told to rise for their national anthem, which is then revealed to be the famous Star Trek fight music, which debuted in “Amok Time,” the episode that this masterfully lampoons.

#6: Anthology of Interest II

Three stories for the price of one! Bender becomes human and barfs a lot. Earth is threatened by the space invaders from Space Invaders. Leela finds herself transported to the land of Oz. All in all, a full, rich day.
GREATEST MOMENT
FRY: All right. It’s Saturday night, I have no date, a two-liter bottle of Shasta, and my all Rush mix tape. Let’s rock.

#5: Time Keeps on Slipping

Thanks to the Professor’s experimentation, the universe is experiencing time skips, where everything suddenly jumps forward at an unpredictable rate. It’s up to the Planet Express crew—with a little help from the Harlem Globetrotters—to put everything right.
GREATEST MOMENT
MARV ALBERT: Ladies and gentlemen, something very strange has just happened in this basketball game between space clowns and atomic monsters.

#4: Roswell That Ends Well

Through a confluence of improbable circumstances, the Planet Express crew is thrown backward in time and, wouldn’t you know it, it turns out they’re the aliens that crash landed at Roswell in 1947. Meanwhile, Fry does the nasty in the pasty, knocking boots with his own grandma which is either gross or hot, depending on your preference.
GREATEST MOMENT
PROFESSOR: Yes, we tore the universe a new space-hole, all right. But it’s clenching shut fast.

#3: The Devil’s Hands Are Idle Playthings

Fry makes a deal with the devil so he’ll gain the skills necessary to win over Leela with his holophonor playing. The episode culminates with the entire cast taking part in an operatic extravaganza. Incredible.
GREATEST MOMENT:
HEDONISMBOT: A man writing an opera about a woman? Oh, Sirrah, how deliciously absurd.

#2: Where No Fan Has Gone Before

Oh, man. It’s like you’ve died and gone to nerd heaven. This episode features guest appearances by almost the entire cast of the original Star Trek, playing themselves. The Trek references come at an average of more than two a minute (yes, I counted).
GREATEST MOMENT
BENDER: Can people who hate Star Trek leave?
WALTER KOENIG: Good question.

#1: Jurassic Bark

If you can watch this episode without crying your eyes out then, mister, you’re as dead inside as that aquarium I never clean out. Through stories told in two separate times, we’re introduced to Fry’s loyal dog Seymour, a pup that can sing “Walkin’ on Sunshine” and swim in a vat of tomato sauce with ease and aplomb.
GREATEST MOMENT
The heartbreaking montage that closes the episode, showing the passage of time and making the viewer lose all emotional control.

If You Hated This, You Will Also Totally Hate:

• Futurama Coming Back to TV in 2010, and it Seems Real This Time
• Bender’s Big Score
• The State of Star Trek
• Eric’s Top Ten Star Trek Episodes
• Eric’s Top Ten Next Generation Episodes