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Futurama Reviews: S11E09 -"A New New York Yankee in King Elfo's Court"

In 2014, a year after Futurama’s second cancellation at Comedy Central, Matt Groening’s other show The Simpsons extended an olive branch with a crossover episode called “Simpsorama” -it wasn’t particularly good but it allowed the Futurama characters one more appearance on TV before presumably fading away. Of course, nine years later it got to come back again on Hulu, and now Futurama is in the position to return the favour to Disenchantment, another Groening show that was canceled by Netflix in 2023.
It is fitting, Disenchantment shared a lot of the same writers and voice actors as Futurama, and as a medieval fantasy series functioned as something of a genre counterpart show. So “A New New York Yankee in King Elfo’s Court” doesn’t feel as out-of-place as “Simpsorama” (or the even worse Simpsons-Family Guy crossover); the pitch of both shows is hit quite well. They are still contrasts, but contrasts that gel together amicably.
It begins in the (relatively) ordinary world of Futurama where Fry's job is at risk due to the massive success of Momazon and its 'same-second delivery' times. To get around this and stay in business, the Professor rebuilds his time machine from "The Late Philip J. Fry" to launch "previous day delivery" -delivering items to customers the day before they request them. In a scenario that highly resembles the video demonstration from back in the second episode, the concept and execution appear to be a success- until the Professor, Bender, and Fry find themselves in the time vortex on a collision course with their past selves making the delivery. It doesn't really click logically and neither does Fry's effort to save them by forcing the nob -which is now on a simple backwards-to-forwards lever- into the side of the panel, allowing the machines to veer off each other sideways. The Professor tries to explain what they've done using a slinky, but Fry, Bender, and the audience remain confused. The time travel logistics have a very Doctor Who kind of sensibility here and the best you can do is go along with it. The gang arrive back at their destination but with Fry as a mangled, translucent apparition floating in the air. The Professor's explanation for this is that Fry is trapped sideways in time, unable to fully materialize in his own reality.
He is able to materialize in another reality, albeit seemingly only through dreams. It takes the episode longer than expected but Fry does eventually wind up in Dreamland where in a great Wizard of Oz move he is declared a hero for landing his time machine on the cursed marionette Freckles. It is worth noting that unlike when Futurama crossed over with The Simpsons, the time-frame for this episode is very specific -set at least some time after the end of Disenchantment. That does make it a little bit jarring for folks who haven't seen that show, as it functions just as much as an epilogue, with Elfo on the throne alongside his wife Queen Mop Girl (her name is Miri). Dagmar is imprisoned in a cage off the side of the castle, while Luci is up in Heaven and Bean off living the mermaid life with her girlfriend. Bean and Luci show up before too long though to reunite with Elfo and tour Fry around Dreamland. It does have the effect of diminishing if not outright disregarding the endings for these characters (the sweet one for Bean especially) for the sake of resuming a status quo that Fry can be dropped into. But it is probably a necessary sacrifice for a show that doesn't have the time to reckon with five seasons worth of story beats. It's interesting that in these scenes you can really see the small but significant details in the animation styles of the two shows -Fry really seems out of place in his stronger colour texture and against the more intricate detail of the Disenchantment aesthetic.
These scenes are broken up by Fry re-awakening in his arrested form in his own time, certain that the world of Dreamland isn't just a dream ("it can't be imaginary, I'm not that creative"). But his friends are concerned and eventually the Professor, Bender, and Leela decide to enter his dream, rescue him from his obsessed fixation and determine its tangibility for themselves.
Meanwhile, the show appears to do whatever it can to either encourage viewers to watch or drum up interest for Disenchantment as its trio run through some highlights of the show for Fry and specifically reference the series' pilot episode with a sense of both nostalgia and prideful sentiment. And soon enough the show directly goes back there after Fry is quite easily tricked into letting Dagmar out of her cage and she steals the time machine -or “riding clock” as everyone in Dreamland calls it. Capturing Fry after he has spent a bit of time bonding with Bean, Elfo, and Luci, she forces him to fix it (which he is somehow capable of), and she goes back to Bean's wedding to prevent her from meeting Elfo and Luci. The result is a dystopian present Dreamland where Dagmar is Queen and Bean a prisoner set to be executed. Determined to undo the damage, Fry and Bean team up -she distracts her mother at the execution by arguing with her up to the point she literally executes herself while Fry steals back the machine. After about thirty-seven tries we don't get a chance to see, he sets the timeline right and sends Dagmar off in the time machine into the far future.
Fry is offered a place in Dreamland as part of Bean's crew, but Leela of course keeps him tied to the future. She, Bender, and the Professor are there, in translucent forms themselves now -they were apparently thrown in the dungeon on arrival. Here we see the show run out of steam in real time, contriving that the power of love (a meeting of science and magic) is what can pull Fry holistically back to his time and reality, along with Leela, the Professor, and Bender -and also Luci, who stowed away in Bender.
That is a chaotic pairing I would have loved to see more of. A huge missed opportunity for the Futurama cast apart from Fry -who only come to Dreamland at all for the sake of a plot device and halfhearted resolution. For what it does present though the show manages okay. It can't totally be faulted for not selling Fry's relationship to the Disenchantment trio when there is an ingrained chemistry between those characters that he lacks. "A New New York Yankee in King Elfo's Court" is written by Josh Weinstein, the showrunner of Disenchantment who was also a long-time Futurama (and Simpsons) writer. As such, the characters and world of Disenchantment feel consistent with that show and distinct against this one. It is nice to see them again. At the same time the style and storytelling are very much of the Futurama mold. It forms into an uneven episode but at least a decent crossover.
Now summoning some stray observations:
  • Love Zoidberg's reaction to the remade time machine: “Oh boy, is that the new xbox?”
  • Of course as soon as Fry is in existential distress, Bender starts playing yoyo with his frozen body. On the flip side, I do genuinely love seeing Leela taking care of Fry.
  • Bean is back and she’s tastefully topless, in accordance with Disenchantment's tendency towards casual female nudity.
  • You know when Dagmar takes the time machine, it occurred to me that this episode had the opportunity to turn into a riff on Time After Time. And honestly it would have been fun to see Bean and Elfo in the future. Shame Weinstein didn't think of it.
  • "Kinda like medieval times dinner theatre." I feel like I heard Matt Groening pitch Disenchantment exactly like that in an interview somewhere.
  • I do not get the dream diapers. I do not want to get the dream diapers. The writers get the dream diapers, and that concerns me.
  • Glad we got at least one appearance from King Zøg, and the opportunity for John DiMaggio to say "quit breaking my shiny glittered glass!"
  • "What smells like bubonic plague"
  • Is that Eric Andre scatting over the end credits? A creative way to go out -though it would have been nice for the show to incorporate the Disenchantment theme somewhere.
  • I hope this episode's blatant advertising worked. Disenchantment is an imperfect though charming show, and I certainly think the Futurama audience would appreciate it. The two really are sister series more than either of them really are to The Simpsons.
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