Futurama Season 11 Episode 3 Review: How the West Was 1010001
This piece was written during the 2023 WGA and SAG-AFTRA strikes. Without the labor of the writers and actors currently on strike, the series being covered here wouldn’t exist.
Futurama Season 11 Episode 3, “How the West Was 1010001,” is a charming, clever send-up of country Western genre tropes. It’s reminiscent of previous parody episodes.
This third episode of the season was written by Matt Groening, David X. Cohen, and Ken Keeler. As with Futurama Season 11 Episode 1, “The Impossible Stream,” this latest installment smartly pokes fun at modern technology.
“How the West Was 1010001” makes fun of cryptocurrency and Bitcoin, holding nothing back regarding the confusion and how people don’t even know what to make of it.
At one point, Leela even calls the Old West-like town they are in “Cryptocountry.”
An episode about cryptocurrency could have very quickly been bland and lazy, but this outing is far from that. Like “The Impossible Stream,” this one is hardly subtle regarding its satirizing. However, Futurama has rarely been known for its subtlety.
While the previous two episodes have mainly shown us places we’d already seen, this time, we visit a new place very much stylized like the Old West — similar to how the moon has been portrayed on Futurama, but not too similar.
“How the West Was 1010001” is the perfect excuse for Bender to lean into his folk/country tendencies.
Long-time fans of Futurama are well aware of his not-so-secret desire to be a folk singer, and on this episode, he even sings a song about his ass while atop a donkey.
The writers go all in with the genre cliches, featuring stand-offs, saloons that double as brothels, mining for valuable metals, and more. There’s also some dizzying animation in the stand-off, which ends [seemingly] as abruptly as is typical in films/shows of the genre.
This episode sees the return of several beloved characters, including the Borax Kid, Roberto, Dwight, and the Robot Mafia.
Roberto has been a staple of Futurama since the show’s earliest years and is always entertaining. While it’s hard to believe that this insane robot would willingly seek out anger management therapy, his personality fits right into the cowboy western set-up of the episode.
Hermes gets much more screen time during “How the West Was 1010001” than in the previous two episodes. Like with Futurama Season 11 Episode 2, “Children of a Lesser Bog,” the third episode depicts family dynamics: this time, Hermes and his son, Dwight (also LaMarr).
While “How the West Was 1010001” is less emotional, a father-son relationship is one we don’t see too often on Futurama.
Of course, it’s easy to predict that Dwight’s typically apathetic teen will have a change of heart, but it works well in the space of this episode.
While Dwight getting trampled leads him to reconnect with his dad, this somewhat violent moment — coupled with the plethora of gun violence — may be disconcerting to some. Any violence on Futurama has led to [mostly] comedic effect.
In addition, Fry is mainly stuck with one-liners and other moments that showcase his low levels of intelligence. While it’s frustrating to see the character reduced to being the Borax Kid’s sidekick, he does become a hero toward the end.
Also, Leela gets to be flirty and makes Fry jealous, though it’s unclear at this point whether or not Fry and Leela are together. And, yet, Fry’s reactions to Leela and the Borax Kid’s flirting stay true to his long-held feelings for Leela.
As with other episodes of Futurama, “How the West Was 1010001” features a twist whose rather far-fetched nature works primarily due to the eccentric tone of the show.
Overall, it’s a nostalgic return to the show’s skill at commenting on modern technology in a futuristic environment.
Stray Observations:
- Tress MacNeille’s Miss Delilah is a delightful new character who experiences wild mood swings and is, unfortunately, one we may never see again.
- Professor Farnworth’s line, “I’m already in my pajamas,” was repeated at least once in an earlier episode; clearly, he hasn’t changed.
- It was disappointing to see the Robot Mafia only return briefly at the beginning and end of the episode, so hopefully, they’ll be featured more prominently in a future episode.
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Alyssa Christian
Experienced writer and editor passionate about movies, TV, and all other forms of entertainment. Also, a vegan and animal lover, actor, and musician.
One thought on “Futurama Season 11 Episode 3 Review: How the West Was 1010001”
This episode was all over the place. It felt like it was trying way too hard. The ending was too abrupt and had too many unnecessary and uninteresting loose ends to tie up. 0 star garbage episode.
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