Mind-Blowing Revelation: Futurama Season 11 Fixes Long-Lost Plot Hole, Unveiling Hidden Secrets!

Summary

Futurama season 11 revives a forgotten plot hole from the original pilot, pointing out that a major mystery still lacks explanation.

The lack of career chips in season 11 highlights a discontinuity issue, as the crew of Planet Express should have been thrown into the sun upon joining DOOP according to the established law.

This absence of career chips in season 11 is probably a result of practical reasons, as they hindered the writers and restricted the opportunity for the characters to explore different professions.

Futurama has consistently maintained its continuity throughout its run, but in season 11, the changes to Planet Express actually bring back an unresolved plot hole from the original pilot. Despite being a sitcom at its core, Futurama surprisingly boasts a significant amount of worldbuilding, with a fictional 31st-century universe that remains consistent across all eleven seasons. While some details have occasionally slipped through the cracks, season 11 of Futurama highlights a significant unresolved mystery that has persisted for over a decade, emphasizing that this particular enigma still lacks an explanation.

Hulu has brought back the beloved Matt Groening sci-fi series, Futurama, for another season after more than ten years since its original ending. In season 11, episode 8, titled "Zapp Gets Cancelled," the focus primarily lies on the relationship between side characters Zapp Brannigan and Kif. However, the Planet Express crew also has a secondary storyline in this episode. After Zapp is dismissed from DOOP, Leela is assigned to assume his military position, leading her, Fry, and Bender to resign from their delivery jobs at Planet Express in favor of the DOOP mission. While this narrative is entertaining, it actually reopens one of the most significant unresolved plot points from Futurama's first season.

Your browser does not support the video tag.

Futurama Season 11 Forgets About The Planet Express Crew's Career Chips

In the early episodes of Futurama, several recurring elements are introduced, and one of the most significant is career chips. Shortly after Fry's arrival in the year 3000, he discovers career chips when a microchip is painfully implanted into his hand. In the 31st century, every resident is obligated to obtain a career chip, which assesses the individual's personality and assigns them a profession based on their aptitude. The show explains that these chips are legally required, and anyone who abandons their assigned job will face a punishment of being launched into the sun.

Futurama's Career Chips & Lore Explained

Career chips are no longer mentioned in Futurama, yet this goes unnoticed as the Planet Express crew rarely ventures into different professions. However, in season 11, episode 8 of Futurama, there is a focus on Leela, Fry, and Bender changing their jobs. If the show were to maintain consistency, as soon as they joined DOOP, the law should have intervened and sent them plunging into the sun. There have been a few instances in the later seasons of Futurama where the concept of career chips seemed to be ignored, but it is most evident in season 11, episode 8, "Zapp Gets Cancelled."

Although the exact year of their implementation remains a mystery, career chips play a significant role in the narrative of Futurama. Surprisingly, many viewers may not recall that Leela did not initially join the Planet Express team in the show's pilot. In fact, she initially served as Fry's Fate Assignment Officer upon his arrival in the 31st century. This implies that without career chips, Leela's journey would have taken an entirely different path. However, it is worth noting that career chips can be altered. Professor Farnsworth secretly exchanges the chips of the current Planet Express crew with those of his former crew, thereby providing Leela and the rest of the team the opportunity to work at the delivery company.

Why Futurama Dropped The Career Chips Gag Established In 1999 Pilot Episode

The reason behind the discontinuation of the career chip gag in Futurama remains a mystery, as no official explanation has been provided. Although the career chips played a significant role in the pilot episode and appeared in three episodes overall, they were not mentioned again until season 2, episode 19, "The Cryonic Woman," where they were still in use. The career chips made a comeback in the Futurama movie, Futurama: Into the Wild Green Yonder, indicating that they were legally enforced until the year 3009.

In the Futurama universe, there is no explanation for the absence of career chips in season 11. However, it is more likely that their omission can be attributed to a real-world reason. While the career chips were initially a comical element in early episodes, they likely became limiting for the writers, preventing the exploration of new occupations for the Planet Express crew. Therefore, it may have been easier to pretend that career chips never existed, allowing for storylines like the one in season 11, episode 8 to unfold.

New episodes of Futurama release Mondays on Hulu.