Line #13 Recap/FuturamaS4E14ObsoletelyFabulous


1	[[quoteright:960:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/903636.jpg]]
2
3	''[[CouchGag You can't prove it won't happen]]''
4
5	When Bender proves to be incompatible with the 1-X Robot Professor Farnsworth bought, he's sent in to be upgraded. But rather than have his mind changed, Bender breaks out and ends up on a deserted island with other obsolete robots.
6
7	!!Tropes
8
9	* AllJustADream: Everything that happened after Bender is put in the upgrade machine is just a dream. Upon learning this, Bender starts to wonder if anything in his life is real.
10	* AlwaysSomeoneBetter: Bender becomes envious of the new Robot 1-X, as it does all the tasks in the Planet Express swimmingly.
11	-->'''Bender:''' I could've done that [cleaned Nibbler's litter box] if you'd asked me!
12	-->'''Leela:''' I asked you 5 minutes ago.
13	* AssShove: Bender tries to plug a blender into a pig's nose, only to say "Hey, ''I'' should be mad at ''you''! Now turn around!"
14	* BigWhat: One of the Cartridge Unit's tapes is just him shouting "WHAT?!". He uses this when Bender reveals his plan to attack the human world.
15	* BluntNo: The upgrade operator bluntly shuts down Bender's questioning of reality at the end.
16	* CymbalBangingMonkey: One of the obsolete robots is a cymbal-banging monkey toy.
17	* DudeNotFunny: Leela ''laughs'' when Bender tells them he's scared of the new Robot 1-X replacing him. Of course, the rest of the crew is ''not'' amused.
18	* FaceOfAThug: Farnsworth and Wernstrom's Killbots.
19	* GettingSmiliesPaintedOnYourSoul: From the outside, the upgrade that makes the older robots like the new 1-X robot looks like this.
20	* HumansAreTheRealMonsters: Farnsworth and Wernstrom show off their killbots, then get in an old man slap-fight. Their killbots regret their violence and go for a paddle-boat ride.
21	* HypocriticalHumor:
22	** Bender refuses to use the robot scratching post because he has "some dignity", which he says while he's wearing robot dealie-boppers. Later on, he uses the scratching post anyway.
23	** Bender also criticizes the idea of watching a snail crawling around as the dumbest thing he's ever heard. Cut to Bender excitedly doing just that.
24	** When Bender rages on how technology has only brought him misery, Cartridge Unit, using a "[[CaptainObvious State the Obvious]]" cartridge, points out that he ''is'' technology, being more advanced than anything else on the island. This is what prompts Bender to downgrade himself.
25	* {{Irony}}: Farnsworth and Wernstrom's killbots are disgusted by their creators' hatred, and leave them to go take a paddleboat ride.
26	* IslandHelpMessage: Bender makes one with rocks after he gets stranded on the island. He's one rock short of completing the P in "HELP" because he used up all the other rocks to make a much longer message that precedes the "HELP".
27	-->TO WHOM IT MAY CONCERN: I, BENDER, BID YOU HELLO! YOU DON'T KNOW ME, THOUGH YOU MAY HAVE HEARD OF ME, BUT THAT'S NOT THE POINT. LONG STORY SHORT... I NEED HELF
28	* LargeHam: Lisa the water-wheel robot panics very loudly whenever she thinks her water wheel has run out.
29	-->''I'll never make it this time! This is the end!''
30	-->''No! I want to live!''
31	* LateToThePunchline:
32	-->'''Announcer:''' And now, the woman who "Mom"-opolizes the robot industry... \
33	'''Fry:''' I get it! \
34	'''Announcer:''' Mom! \
35	'''Fry:''' Oh... ''now'' I get it!
36	* LotusEaterMachine: The upgrade is actually one of these, meant to show robots who receive it how Robot 1-X can help them.
37	* MindScrew: The ending.
38	* MyFriendsAndZoidberg: [[TropeNamer The trope name]] comes from this episode's dialogue.
39	-->'''Bender:''' Save my friends! And Zoidberg!
40	* NoIndoorVoice: The robot nanny, mixed with being deep and evil. Notably, the baby it's taking care of isn't bothered in the least.
41	-->'''Robot Nanny:''' SLEEP, LITTLE DUMPLING. I HAVE REPLACED YOUR MOTHER.
42	* NotTheFallThatKillsYou: 1-X catches Bender a few feet away from the sidewalk after he falls.
43	* PokeThePoodle: Among the acts of rebellion committed by the obsolete robots is smashing the nightlight at the orphanarium.
44	* RageAgainstTheHeavens: "CURSE YOU, MERCIFUL POSEIDON!"
45	* ShoutOut:
46	** The waterwheel robot is named LISA. WordOfGod says that she's not named after [[WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons that Lisa]], but rather the Lisa computer by Apple. The dumb robot is called Sinclair, after the Sinclair ZX Spectrum computers, which had incredibly limited memory (especially by modern standards).
47	** The Cartridge Unit is inspired by the [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2-XL 2-XL robot toy]] which used 8-track tapes to "talk" to the user. Later models used cassette tapes.
48	** The title is a reference to British sitcom ''Series/AbsolutelyFabulous''.
49	* SkewedPriorities: While he and the rest of the crew are surrounded by flames, Hermes is more concerned about the fuel going to waste.
50	-->'''Hermes:''' Bender, hurry! This fuel's expensive! (''beat'') Also, we're dying!
51	* StatusQuoIsGod: 1-X will never appear again.
52	* StrawLuddite: Parodied in that it's '''[[{{Irony}} Bender]]''' who becomes one of these, as he grows to hate technology over the course of his LotusEaterMachine treatment.
53	* TheSoulless: A soul detector at the robot expo doesn't react when Bender, or any other robot, walks through it.
54	* TheTapeKnewYouWouldSayThat: Cartridge Unit has a satchel full of cartridges that he uses to talk, and despite being pre-recordings, they manage to fit every such occasion.
55	* TemptingFate: Bender, talking about Robot 1-X, says it made him "look like a pile of crap". The Professor agrees.
56	-->'''Professor:''' Indeed, that's why I bought one to help around the office.
57	-->'''Bender:''' Eep!
58	** Another example while Bender is sailing into the distance:
59	--->'''Bender''': Oh merciful Poseidon, take pity on this mechanical mariner! ''(storm clouds gather and thunder rumbles)'' [[ThisIsGonnaSuck Oh jeez]].
60	* UnnecessarilyCreepyRobot: The nanny-bot provides the page image and quote.
61	* WholePlotReference: From the moment Bender goes in the upgrade machine the episode is ''Film/TotalRecall1990'' in terms of AllJustADream.

Context Recap / FuturamaS4E14ObsoletelyFabulous