Ok, so which one of you is responsible for this? (Since I started writing the post, I’ve since learned the answer - see below.)
I was watching the 1999 Mars University episode of Futurama some nights back. It’s the one where Professor Farnsworth teaches (among the many excellent lines: “I can’t teach, I’m a professor…”) a course entitled “The Mathematics of Quantum Neutrino Fields”. The above is a shot of him at the board mid-lecture.
Lots of in-jokes for the theoretical physics community. (Sorry to the vast majority of you who don’t (and have no reason to) get it.)
Actually, one of the reasons I love the show is because there’s a huge amount of mathematics and theoretical physics jokes in them. Recall an earlier post, and see some sites I found that mention a few here and here. And science jokes in general. (No wonder Fox killed it - can’t have that many science-informed jokes on prime time network tv. That would be wrong, ‘cos science is scary, you see.)
Turns out that there was a huge amount of science-trained people on the writing staff, and they stayed in contact with their scientist friends (such as David Schiminovich who is responsible for some of the stuff on the board above) for when they needed even more science to sneak in. Excellent. For this and more, here’s an interview with David X. Cohen (trained in physics and chemistry) about this.
Still among the best ever quotes from the show:
Professor: “Nothing is impossible if you can imagine it! That’s what being a scientist is all about!”
Cubert: “No, that’s what being a magical elf is all about.”
Brilliant.
-cvj
On this day on Asymptotia...
- Tastin' - 2009
- Nuts and Bolts - 2007
Don’t you mean wonton burrito meals?
Er…
-cvj
Excellent! Truly my favorite show! I was watching the episode where the crew collects “chronotons” and cause time itself to skip randomly forward. Amazing what the Globetrotters can do!
“Mars University: Knowledge Brings Fear.”
Ha… yes, Bryan, that’s a brilliant one. I talked about it here when I first saw it.
Ah! I forgot about that slogan, Supernova. Thanks for the reminder….
-cvj
My favorite Futurama episode is “Godfellas.” If you don’t recall it, it’s the episode where Bender summarizes his adventures with “first I was God, and then I met God!” One of the best religion and science commentaries I’ve seen.
wow… those are some great jukes from that show! thanks for posting! i’m a sucker for a clever science joke.
Last evening - sad to say I end my night with Futurama - was the one with the quote “That story was preposterous. Stephen Hawking in a pizzeria!” What always amazed me about Futurama was the ability to get all the guest stars they did. How many cartoons can brag about having Steven Hawking, Nichelle Nichols, then VP Al Gore, and Gary Gygax in one episode?
Oh one more line. This is from “War is the H Word” in Season II. Earth is fighting against these Ball creatures. During peace talks, featuring Bender and Henry Kissenger, Bender is getting frustrated and says… “The balls are making me testy!” Just thought that was a funny line.