Fans get their wish again with the release of the second of four straight-to-video films based on the Matt Groening’s short-lived, though much beloved, Futurama. Taking off from Bender’s Big Score, The Beast with a Billion Backs sees the crew of the spaceship Planet Express ship explore the tear in the universe and come back with some surprising, and gender confusing findings. But similarly to their last outing, I’ve found that the Futurama gang is a bit rusty in getting back into their easy brand of smart alec, self-referential, sci-fi comedy. Still, under the opinion that average Futurama is better than no Futurama, it’s still a good outing with great comedy potential.

Numerous events are happening in this Futurama. Aside from the gang’s exploration of the tear in the universe, there’s also Amy and Kif’s wedding, Fry’s romantic entanglements with a girl that has four other, live-in boyfriends and Bender’s stalking of soap star Calculon and subsequent induction into the mysterious League of Robots. When Fry realizes that his girlfriend (voiced by Brittany Murphy) is incapable of non-group dating, he enters an alternative universe through the tear and finds a tentacled alien named Yivo (David Cross) that wants to find another universe to love. Using Fry to gather followers, its tentacles quite literally, and grossly as it turns out, touches everyone in the universe and only Leela (Katey Segal) can save the day.

Along the way, just about all your favourite characters make an appearance from the Robot Devil to Zapp Brannigan, Morbo, the Wongs, Hedonismbot and Richard Nixon’s head. Prof. Farnsworth’s rivalry with Dr. Wernstrom makes a return appearance as they play Deathball with their crews for the right to explore the tear. (Wernstrom’s team is, of course, made up of a group of grad students competing for a letter of reference.) Both Farnsworth’s flirtation with cannibalism and disregard for the safety of his crew is touched upon as well as Zap’s gross incompetence and never ending lust despite the immediate danger of a situation (not to mention his fondness for valour).

The problem though is that these DVD films feel like one, long extended episode rather then a movie, or worse than that like they’re three or four episodes of the show sewn together in an overarching narrative (which they actually are I think). As a result their ebbs and flows go from set-up, to joke, to resolution over and over again, making portions of Beast seem to drag out as you get ready for the next gag. And even then, it just kind of felt that this was a rerun: the problem’s identified by Farnsworth, Nixon decides to attack, Zapp is put in command but blows it, the people of Earth are turned into mindless drones and Leela has to save the day. All of these are shades of episodes like “Brannigan, Begin Again,” “Bender Gets Made” and “The Day the Earth Stood Stupid.”

But what it comes down to is the question: Does Futurama still have the funny? It does actually and there are several quality scenes and one-liners: from Farnswroth’s invite to take a meeting to the calamitorium to Zap’s command post at the Times Square Appleby’s where he makes a log on Stardate: Year of the Tiger. Stuff like the angry, three-eyed zebra and the 2-D Tunnel of Love are inspired, but Bender’s bizarre pirate revenge squad made up of a robot army of the damned seemed kind of tired and Stephen Hawking’s cameo kind of obvious. Yet, when it’s all said and done, there are more than enough laughs to be had and otherwise, it’s just good to have this wonderful show back in any form. I just hope that Futurama finds its space legs before the next disc and gets over this ocean madness.