"Decision 3012" is the third episode in the seventhseason of the American animated television series Futurama, and the 117th episode of the series overall. It originally aired on Comedy Central on June 27, 2012. The episode was written by Patric M. Verrone and directed by Dwayne Carey-Hill. The plot is a parody of the Birther Movement.
As the episode started with an extended intro, it begins as Bender jumps off the Planet Express Ship after seeing an ad for free beer. As Earth's election time nears, President Richard Nixon's Head builds his reelection campaign platform on the promise to order the construction of a "Dyson fence" around the southern part of the Solar System, which will keep out illegal extraterrestrial aliens. Leela, angered at Nixon's non-existent competition, tries to become involved by attending a debate of the other candidates. Although most of them simply cater to the crowd, she finds one, Senator Chris Travers, who appears honest and with strong ideals counter to Nixon, most of which are ridiculed by the audience. She later finds him alone at his campaign headquarters, attacking his own posters in despair. She attempts to encourage him, and becomes his campaign manager.
Leela's efforts soon put Travers in the spotlight as a front-running candidate, quickly gaining momentum. Nixon discreetly employs Bender to try to find dirt about Travers' background. Bender struggles to find any blemish on Travers' history, eventually coming across that his middle name is "Zaxxar", which Nixon claims is an alien-sounding name, and demands that Travers show his "Earth certificate". Travers states that he is Earth-born, having been born in a hospital in Kenya, but refuses to show the certificate. As the populace swing back in favor of Nixon, Leela takes it upon herself to retrieve the certificate, with Fry and Bender's help.
At the hospital, they are unable to find any record and learn Travers is waiting there for them. He reveals that he has no Earth certificate because he has not been born yet — he is a time traveler from 3028 who be born in this hospital tomorrow. He explains that in the future, with the fence erected, there are no aliens to do the menial work on Earth, resulting in Earth's economy to collapse, and starvation and civil unrest become common around the globe. Nixon then eliminates the remaining working class by turning them into canned "SoylentMajority" and assigns their tasks to the robots. The robots, led by Bender, stage an uprising and turn against humanity. Travers, only 15 years old, was sent back in time (using a copy of the time travel code from Futurama: Bender's Big Score) and spent the last several years becoming the best candidate to run against Nixon to prevent this future from happening. Leela realizes that this is a compelling story and arranges for Travers' birth to be broadcast live to the world to prove definitively that he was born on Earth.
Travers soon handily defeats Nixon at the election. However, while giving his victory speech, he begins to glitch away; Bender points out that because Nixon lost the election, the robot uprising will never happen, thus preventing Travers from being given a reason to be sent back in time in the first place. A temporal paradox occurs, Travers is erased from time and all the events of the episode are undone. Now running unopposed, Nixon proclaims an uncontested victory while Leela and the Planet Express crew forget all about Travers.
ReceptionEdit
Zack Handlen from The A.V. Club gave the episode a B+, focusing on the episode's social commentary. Handlen remarked, "It seems to be saying something, only it isn’t really, but you still kind of care a little. And also there are robots."[1]
ReferencesEdit
^Handlen, Zack (June 27, 2012). "Futurama: "Decision 3012"". The A.V. Club. Retrieved February 15, 2022.
"Decision 3012" at the Infosphere, the Futurama Wiki.
"Richard_Nixon" at the Infosphere, the Futurama Wiki.
October 15, 2023
decision, 3012, third, episode, seventh, season, american, animated, television, series, futurama, 117th, episode, series, overall, originally, aired, comedy, central, june, 2012, episode, written, patric, verrone, directed, dwayne, carey, hill, plot, parody, . Decision 3012 is the third episode in the seventh season of the American animated television series Futurama and the 117th episode of the series overall It originally aired on Comedy Central on June 27 2012 The episode was written by Patric M Verrone and directed by Dwayne Carey Hill The plot is a parody of the Birther Movement Decision 3012 Futurama episodeEpisode no Season 7Episode 3Directed byDwayne Carey HillWritten byPatric M VerroneProduction code7ACV03Original air dateJune 27 2012 2012 06 27 Episode featuresOpening captionMade From 100 Recycled PixelsOpening cartoon The Family Album 1930 Episode chronology Previous A Farewell to Arms Next The Thief of Baghead Futurama season 7 List of episodes Contents 1 Plot 2 Reception 3 References 4 External linksPlot EditAs the episode started with an extended intro it begins as Bender jumps off the Planet Express Ship after seeing an ad for free beer As Earth s election time nears President Richard Nixon s Head builds his reelection campaign platform on the promise to order the construction of a Dyson fence around the southern part of the Solar System which will keep out illegal extraterrestrial aliens Leela angered at Nixon s non existent competition tries to become involved by attending a debate of the other candidates Although most of them simply cater to the crowd she finds one Senator Chris Travers who appears honest and with strong ideals counter to Nixon most of which are ridiculed by the audience She later finds him alone at his campaign headquarters attacking his own posters in despair She attempts to encourage him and becomes his campaign manager Leela s efforts soon put Travers in the spotlight as a front running candidate quickly gaining momentum Nixon discreetly employs Bender to try to find dirt about Travers background Bender struggles to find any blemish on Travers history eventually coming across that his middle name is Zaxxar which Nixon claims is an alien sounding name and demands that Travers show his Earth certificate Travers states that he is Earth born having been born in a hospital in Kenya but refuses to show the certificate As the populace swing back in favor of Nixon Leela takes it upon herself to retrieve the certificate with Fry and Bender s help At the hospital they are unable to find any record and learn Travers is waiting there for them He reveals that he has no Earth certificate because he has not been born yet he is a time traveler from 3028 who be born in this hospital tomorrow He explains that in the future with the fence erected there are no aliens to do the menial work on Earth resulting in Earth s economy to collapse and starvation and civil unrest become common around the globe Nixon then eliminates the remaining working class by turning them into canned Soylent Majority and assigns their tasks to the robots The robots led by Bender stage an uprising and turn against humanity Travers only 15 years old was sent back in time using a copy of the time travel code from Futurama Bender s Big Score and spent the last several years becoming the best candidate to run against Nixon to prevent this future from happening Leela realizes that this is a compelling story and arranges for Travers birth to be broadcast live to the world to prove definitively that he was born on Earth Travers soon handily defeats Nixon at the election However while giving his victory speech he begins to glitch away Bender points out that because Nixon lost the election the robot uprising will never happen thus preventing Travers from being given a reason to be sent back in time in the first place A temporal paradox occurs Travers is erased from time and all the events of the episode are undone Now running unopposed Nixon proclaims an uncontested victory while Leela and the Planet Express crew forget all about Travers Reception EditZack Handlen from The A V Club gave the episode a B focusing on the episode s social commentary Handlen remarked It seems to be saying something only it isn t really but you still kind of care a little And also there are robots 1 References Edit Handlen Zack June 27 2012 Futurama Decision 3012 The A V Club Retrieved February 15 2022 External links Edit Decision 3012 at IMDb Decision 3012 at the Infosphere the Futurama Wiki Richard Nixon at the Infosphere the Futurama Wiki Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Decision 3012 amp oldid 1157788620, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
