Futurama season 11, episode 4’s ‘Find the Hidden Story!’ tease is causing fans to develop an itch they cannot scratch. This is because the show never explains the phrase, leaving viewers puzzled!
The classic has updated itself with the modernized world and has included references to trends like crypto and binge-watching, thus proving that Futurama will forever remain timeless.
In fact, it is already getting a reboot for season 12, and that’s possibly just the beginning of ‘modern’ Futurama!
However, the ‘Find the Hidden Story!’ puzzle is making fans go wild. These days, people are trained to notice obscure easter eggs in everything. Episode 4 of Futurama S11 is titled, ‘Parasites Regained,’ where Leela’s pet Nibbler falls ill.
To help their friend, Planet Express shrinks down Magic School Bus to enter the sandy world of Nibbler’s litter box.
However, even the vulture-eyed viewers could not understand the ‘hidden story’ buried in Nibbler’s world.
So, is there an actual hidden meaning, or are the makers trying to double-trick the audience here?
We think Futurama’s curious subtitle is aimed at trolling the wide-eyed fans trying to extract hidden meanings and easter eggs from everything.
Episode 4 marks the long-awaited sequel of a classic fan-favorite episode from the past.
Season 3’s “Parasites Lost,” which pays homage to the 1966 film Fantastic Voyage, shows Fry (Billy West) getting infested with parasitic worms that force the Planet Express crew to miniaturize themselves and eradicate the infestation. “Parasites Regained” replaces Fry with Nibbler and borrows the set-up from Frank Herbert’s Dune to give us the perfect sequel.
The episode starts with Leela taking an ill Nibbler to a vet, who diagnoses him with a case of worms. The crew realizes that if Nibbler doesn’t take his medicines, his superior intellect will be annihilated, and he will be reduced to the brains of a dog.
Unfortunately, curing Nibbler isn’t as straightforward. Professor Farnsworth informs the crew that Nibbler will be reinfected whenever he uses his contaminated litter box. This coerces the crew to shrink themselves and venture into the sands to save their little friend.
The episode is also filled with a barrage of Dune references but doesn’t seemingly deliver on the ‘hidden story’ narrative. This is a tongue-in-cheek masterpiece by the makers, as they have fooled the fans into scouring through every frame to find the reference when there isn’t one!
However, there’s a catch…
On Twitter, one excessively obsessed user managed to manufacture a narrative loosely fitting the subtitle.
Notably, halfway through the episode, Leela realizes that the worms should make Nibbler smarter, as they did for Fry in ‘Parasites Lost.’
Eventually, we discover that the worms are also infested by a sub-parasite, the mites. The viewer theorized, “I guess [the subtitle] was a hint to the mites who were hidden within the worms?”
This is also evident when Leela points out, ‘There are levels within levels within levels. Straight from Nolan’s handbook of mind-benders, isn’t it?
I think that may be involved. But [the creators] are smarter than that. The mites are a direct nod to the things that are supposed to be making us smarter (technology), and making us stupider (social media), but the circle of life bit > ‘kill THAT one’ is definitely part of it.
Futurama has nailed the humor game with its title cards. From day one, they’ve used clever subtitles referencing cinema jokes like “In Hypno-Vision” and “Filmed On Location.”
And, of course, there are witty sci-fi jokes like “This episode has been modified to fit your primitive screen.”
Matt Groening, the genius behind The Simpsons, also uses this technique in his other iconic animated shows.
In every episode’s intro, Bart Simpson leaves a new message on his teacher’s blackboard.
The Simpsons’ opening is full of gags, but that’s not all. Observe as the family squeezes onto their couch at the end, as there’s always a subtle twist related to the upcoming episode.
Futurama does it, too, with witty title card subtitles. While “Find the Hidden Story!” isn’t as cryptic as Gravity Falls, it adds an extra layer of fun.
About Futurama
Futurama is an American animated science-fiction sitcom created by Matt Groening for the Fox Broadcasting Company and later revived by Comedy Central and then Hulu.
The series follows the adventures of the professional slacker Philip J. Fry, who is cryogenically preserved for 1000 years and revived on December 31, 2999. Fry finds work at an interplanetary delivery company, working alongside the one-eyed Leela and the robot Bender.
The series was envisioned by Groening in the mid-1990s while working on The Simpsons; he brought David X. Cohen aboard to develop storylines and characters to pitch the show to Fox
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