Season 8 Episode 2 - Children of a Lesser Bog [Discussion and Spoilers]

I love how the 3 kids are basically Bart, Lisa and Maggie.

For me, it was okay. But it won't truely feel like home until a Bender episode gets to shine.

Told you.

Its the same jokes and the same characters. Feels like no time has passed at all since previous season. I'm not sure if thats a good or a bad thing. On one hand I was hoping they evolved a bit more, on the other hand any changes would have launched the ire of those who expect stuff to stay the same. On a third sewer-mutant hand they tried doing different with Disenchanted, I loved that they did, but it failed.

Actually, Leela feels different now, dumber like the rest of them. If anything she's devolved. It kinda makes sense because why else would she want to be with a guy like Fry, but the show seems to have lost the voice of reason, the only sane one.
- Yeah I found that annoying. Leela being drunk and saying 'I must have been drunk'.

Anyone else think the writing in this episode was weak? The characters felt so fundamentally different and the jokes felt so lazy compared to the previous seasons. I’m staying optimistic about the rest of the season but this one left me pretty disappointed. I’d hate to see bender headed in the ‘jackass homer’ direction

Bender has always been a massive jerkass though. That's his character.
Yeah, same. Both episodes so far have been disappointing. I'm not too optimistic about the rest of the season at this point, but I'll be watching them all and hoping for at least one solid good one.
- I’m glad I’m not alone in feeling that way The worst scene for me was when they were making the candy (a plot point that went nowhere). The professor’s “diabetic coma!” line followed by “It’s too sweet, better add more sugar” from Fry is just so lazy. The dialogue is just mirroring the action and not adding anything and the jokes are just garbage
- It’s quite stark when you go back and do a rewatch of the early seasons. I’m still enjoying the episodes and all the fan service, but it feels like the characters are second to the random jokes jumping a bit all over the place.
  
  I’m still having fun though!
I can't really say what it is exactly aside from it didn't have much energy and wit. I do like the stakes are lower. My favourite episodes are low-key episodes that's not about the universe ending (aside from a few of the best ones). But by lowering your stakes we need more from our characters.

I thought this episode was very enjoyable. I loved the kids' personalities and connections with all their family members. The scene with the Grand-Midwife with the emergence of the spawn was my favorite along with the tardigrades. I am happy to see some of the non-main characters in the spotlight, although I know many folks may disagree. Overall am happy with the quality of this season. It is difficult to compare to other seasons as each one is a representation of their time and the amount of time that occurred between each season.

Completely agreed. I'm enjoying it more than Season 7, so I'll take that as a win.

Are we gonna see Kif and Amy’s/Leela’s kids? Could be a nice callback episode!

in the description on hulu it says we're gonna meet them. really intrigued where the creators are gonna go with this
- I watched the original episode recently. It's a great callback to it, because even in it they mention "in 20 years they will sprout legs and come onto land as children".
  
  Well, 20 years would have been January of this year.

When I was rewatching in prep for the new season I did the math on when the original episode came out and wondered if we'd see the kids this season.

I had to look it up... British

Although these days I'm finding I don't recall as much as I used to, I might have known about it in my past.

Are leela and fry married or not

I think they are just dating now
Not, as far as I'm aware.
The only marriage they had was during the "Time Keeps on Slipping" episode with the Globetrotters, but they were divorced shortly thereafter in the next scene. Otherwise, I don't recall a proper marriage or anything that would signify that status.
- remember in the last episode when time was stopped. They got engaged before the time button broke and after it broke they got married. so they should still remember being engaged

Just a stupid platform for jokes instead of a universe where unexpected things happen and stories are compelling. And they are bad jokes that sacrifice themselves to either be relevant to current meme ideas or to be like the original Futurama episodes.

May I ask, what Futurama episode do you feel is the best representation of what is a good, compelling story? Just trying to understand your personal expectations from past seasons. I personally enjoy the tie-ins to pop-culture, though I understand how many folks might disagree, but I feel every season seems to have their own connections to what events were relevant during their creation.
- @Awa @SamboT
  
  I love the high concept stuff.
  
  Suicide booths
  
  Robotic Santa judging everyone naughty
  
  Trees down
  
  The parabox
  
  The thousand-year-old TV broadcast
  
  We're fine on Coke syrup
  
  The high points of the show for me are every time they whip something out that's simple and straightforward but you look at it and go I never in a million years would have thought of it; Yes that makes perfect sense and I would expect to see that.
- Sorry I'm not going to put a lot of effort into this but just check out the plot if "kif gets knocked up" from season 4. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kif_Gets_Knocked_Up_a_Notch
  
  The universe events like getting a delivery job. The character emotions changing the plot unpredictably. The new direction of the episode where the viewer doesn't know what will happen next.
  
  Versus this episode: open episode in planet express building and start with a few jokes and then kif walks in and says what the rest of episode will be about.
  
  Gotta say though, Zapf Brannigan will always be funny. Bless him.
- The Sting
  
  Writing. Direction. Character growth. Humor. Action. Adventure. Slice of life.
  
  Best Futurama episode ever.

Why hulu is airing it so early?

Yes.