Futurama: “Attack of the Killer Apps” (6.3)

South Park has and advantage over other animated shows, over pretty much all scripted shows actually—it can be made very quickly, and thus comment about contemporary events the moment its creators feel like it. Admittedly, this usually doesn’t result in anything approximating nuanced commentary, especially of late, but it’s still something valuable about the show. Say what you will, but South Park has stayed more relevant than, say, The Simpsons because once in a blue moon this commentary manages to hit on target right as an event is happening.
Futurama has the same long-lead production schedule as The Simpsons and most other animated shows (though this seems to have decreased a bit given its switch-over to computer animation), meaning that jumping onto super-current events can never be its purview. That said, it’s never had a problem tackling broader problems, such as pollution or censorship, and giving things a nice satiric spin a thousand years in the future. “Attack of the Killer App” is one of those episodes, taking a swipe at both the technology that allows us to stay constantly in contact with one another and those updates in general. That it’s out right now with the iPhone 4 in everyone’s minds is merely coincidental—there will always be another big gadget we’re all pining for.
The episode begins with a brief bit on recycling and heading to a “recycling planet” that’s just a scrapyard that’s classically Futurama. Also in the classic Futurama vein it’s dark and disturbing, to the point where everyone involved is convinced that they’d be better off keeping what they have around rather than recycling at all, a sentiment that lasts just a few seconds. At this point, an ad for Mom’s new eyePhone appears on TV and everyone agrees they have to have one.