futurama

In 'Futurama,' robots follow 'Bender's Law,' not Asimov's

STANFORD, Calif.--Issac Asimov's famous laws of robotics say machines may never harm humans. In Matt Groening's "Futurama" universe that takes place a millennium later, however, robots have become a bit less literal-minded.

"The three laws of robotics are actually built into many of the robots," said Patric Verrone, co-executive producer of "Futurama." "Some of them just choose to ignore them."

The best known example of "Futurama's" robot taxonomy is Bender, a foul-mouthed, alcoholic, cigar-smoking kleptomaniac who dreams about killing all the humans. But the universe of &… Read more

Warm yourself on Bender's shiny metal belly

Sure, you could go out and get an outdoor heater, but we think we prefer the solution of a U.K. engineer who goes by the name "Rob Halftroll." He built himself a wood stove in the shape of one of our favorite lovable rascals of all time, Bender Bending Rodriguez from "Futurama."

Halftroll started with five old metal gas bottles -- two at 29 pounds, one at 42 pounds, and two big boys at 104 pounds -- and cut them into pieces to form Bender's body and head, welding all the pieces together as he went. Tube steel forms the arms, legs and fingers, and a chimney juts out from behind his head, neatly concealed.

It's actually quite a fiddly and involved process. Our hats have to come off to Halftroll, who did all his bending human style to create a wood-burning heater we'd never, ever be able to stop showing off -- and which, even in spite of itself, would be quite useful to humans. … Read more

Futurama app is heads above the rest

I'll be honest: the most fun I had this weekend was not eating pizza and watching "Cool Hand Luke." It was not sitting on the deck and reading "Game of Thrones" on my Nook Color. It wasn't even playing with my kids (because they're out of town--how shallow do you think I am?!).

No, the best part of my weekend was discovering Futurama Head in a Jar for iOS. This new app lets you design your own heads, "Futurama"-style, then save or share them as you wish.

This isn't a new concept. "The Simpsons" and "South Park" have long offered their own character-building tools (though neither of them builds actual character). Futurama Head in a Jar may not be original, but it's no less welcome.… Read more

World of 'Futurama' rebuilt in Legos

"Futurama" is a show that just won't die. Since premiering in 1999, the animated sci-fi sitcom has been cancelled, revived, syndicated, made into movies, and then revived again on three different networks (new episodes started up last week on Comedy Central) and over a collection of DVDs. Now it's in Legos.

Lego builder and graphic artist Matt De Lanoy has spent more than two years reconstructing the 31st-century world of "Futurama" out of the plastic bricks. The display measures about 5x7 feet and is incredibly detailed; you can tell the man knows his Legos. … Read more