Futurama Renewed for Two More Seasons

Futurama executive producer David X. Cohen announced Saturday that the animated sci-fi series has been renewed for two more seasons. Comedy Central picked-up Futurama in 2005 after FOX had canceled it some time before. Its June 10^th premiere garnered Comedy Central its highest-rated Thursday night airing ever. Futurama also received an Emmy nomination for the episode "The Late Philip J. Fry."

The graphic novel The Simpsons/Futurama Crossover Crisis by series creator and executive producer, Matt Groening, was recently released as well.

© C Harris Lynn, 2011

Wiedlin, Morrison Offer Comic-Con Exclusive Lady Robotika

Lady Robotika's Jane Wiedlin (The Go-Gos) and Bill Morrison (The Simpsons, Futurama) will be on-hand to autograph and discuss their new series, as well as the Comic-Con exclusive, limited edition, Lady Robotika #1 issue (cover by Jim Silke -- featured). Like I said, I'm not posting the entire schedules this year; you can find those on the companies' websites.

Lady Robotika is an existential, possibly absurdist, sci-fi comedy which is more comedic than sci-fi, or sexy, or anything else. Most of the first issue is exposition and it isn't handled very well. Definitely interesting, and recommended for collectors, but your average superhero comics fan probably isn't going to like it very much.

WHO:
Lady Robotika, the inter-galactic rock 'n roll sexy cyborg heroine, is the brainchild of Jane Wiedlin (legendary guitarist for the Go-Go's) and Bill Morrison (Eisner Award-winning creator behind The Simpsons Comics, Futurama Comics, Roswell, Little Green Man, and Heroes Anonymous). The new super-heroine debuted last week to great reviews with Lady Robotika issue #1: "Slaveship to the Stars!"

Grammy Award-winning album art director, and famed comic and pin-up artist, Jim Silke, has created a limited-edition convention-exclusive Lady Robotika cover for "Slaveship to the Stars!," available for the first time during San Diego Comic-Con at the Image Comics booth for $10.

WHAT:
Jane Wiedlin, Bill Morrison, and Jim Silke will be attending San Diego Comic-Con, hosting Lady Robotika autographing/meet & greets, attending various parties/events, and closing out the weekend with a bash at Meltdown Comics in Hollywood.

WHEN & WHERE:
Friday, July 23
Jane Wiedlin, Bill Morrison & Jim Silke autograph-signing
11:00am - Noon
4:00pm - 5:00pm
Image Comics booth #2729.

Saturday, July 24
Jane Wiedlin, Bill Morrison & Jim Silke autograph-signing
3:00pm - 4:00pm
Image Comics booth #2729.

Monday, July 26
Meltdown Comics Annual Comic-Con After-Party
7:00pm - 10:00pm
7522 Sunset Blvd. (Hollywood, CA)

About LADY ROBOTIKA
Lady Robotika is a full-color, 32-page comic published by Shadowline and Image Comics. Earthly rock star Jane Wiedlin is abducted by a rock 'n roll-loving, evil, alien emperor and implanted with nanobots meant to enslave her. His plans backfire as our guitar-slinging heroine learns to control the nanites and transforms into the super-powered cyborg galactic liberator Lady Robotika! With sexy sci-fi rock and roll space adventures to ensue...

© C Harris Lynn, 2010

New Episodes of Futurama Airing Now on Comedy Central

We told you a while back that Futurama's new season, of all new episodes, would start in June, but thanks to all the running-around I've had to do this month, I forgot to remind you. The newest season of the venerable animated series by The Simpson's Matt Groening began last Thursday and continues this Thursday. There will be 12 new episodes this season, and 26 new episodes in all (so far).

Co-Creator, David X. Cohen, returned and acted as voice coach to the original voice cast, all of whom also returned to their former roles. Cohen, who was a physics and computer science student, as well as former Simpsons writer, said Groening chose him because he was the biggest nerd of the writing staff, though he admits there were several in the running.

© C Harris Lynn, 2010

Futurama's New Season Begins Airing in June

A Comedy Central press release notes that this June, 12 new episodes of Futurama featuring all of the original cast will begin airing. Comedy Central won the rights to the show's reruns from [adult swim] nearly five years ago and it was announced that the entire cast had been rehired shortly thereafter. A couple of direct-to-DVD movies were released and later shown on TV in 30-minute slots, but it wasn't until 2009 that the channel announced new shows would air this year.

© C Harris Lynn, 2010

Futurama Flies Again!

It's finally official: Comedy Central ordered an entire season of 26 episodes from formerly FOX' Futurama. While the network secured the rights several years back (from Adult Swim, no less) and it was widely reported that the original cast had been reassembled, only a handful of DVDs emerged. But when Comedy Central started airing reruns of the show, they discovered what Adult Swim already knew: Futurama still puts butts in the seat!

Futurama ran on FOX for five seasons before it was canceled some six years ago. Cartoon Network used it as a prominent piece in its emerging Adult Swim program block before losing the Futurama rights to Comedy Central. Ratings for Adult Swim reruns of Family Guy were high enough that FOX reassembled the original cast of that show and went back into production.

© C Harris Lynn, 2009

First Family Guy, Now Futurama

Proving that FOX has always had a premature cancellation problem, actor Billy West told Anime Supercon attendees that, due to high ratings and DVD sales, the network is angling to bring Futurama back to network TV.

Meanwhile, the next straight-to-DVD title, Into the Wild Green Yonder, drops next Tuesday, the 24^th.

© C Harris Lynn, 2009