"Children of a Lesser Bog" was such a sweet episode--well, for the most part. Animals and insects (and Zoidberg) eating most of the children at the beginning was pretty dark. I realize that the writers didn't want thirty kids running around, but that scene caught me off guard. Still, reducing the number of kids to three allowed Kif and Amy to form close, loving bonds with them.
One of the issues that I had with the Comedy Central run was an overreliance on shock humor and "awkwaaard" scenes, so I've enjoyed watching Futurama return to the goofy, laugh-out-loud humor that made the show famous. The CC episodes also had a lot of pacing issues, but this episode had perfect timing. Believe me, I was counting down the minutes, hoping the writers wouldn't rush the ending.
Lauren Tom gave a great performance. Amy's voice has so much emotion as she cries, worries and makes sacrifices for her children. She had to mature pretty quickly--she'd forgotten all about the kids until her calendar suddenly reminded her--and she was up for the challenge.
I also loved the sweet moment between Amy and Leela. I hated the "Amy and Leela secretly hate each other because they're women" narrative that stretched all the way back to the original run and was afraid it would continue when Amy showed jealousy toward Leela. But instead, Amy apologized and told Leela that she knew she'd be a great mother if she ended up with the kids.
The kids gravitating toward Leela was a smart touch. She DID give them her DNA! Like Kif and Amy, she struggled with the responsibility of suddenly having three kids, but she did her best.
I did notice that Fry was barely in this episode. Some of Leela's jokes sounded like they'd be better suited for Fry, like when she was sucking the jelly out of a doughnut with a straw. As others have pointed out, Fry sounds a little rough--to be fair, Billy West is 71--so I wonder if that's why he's taken a backseat.
In any case, I've enjoyed seeing characters from older seasons return. This time, it was the whale biologist. These cameos don't seem like nostalgia bait; instead, they're loving callbacks.
The plot wasn't anything mindblowing--a couple has to deal with the challenges of suddenly raising kids has been done a million times--but the writing was so sweet, funny and charming that I didn't even notice. "I, Roommate" from season one also has a cliche plot, and it's one of my favorite episodes.
We're only two episodes in, but I feel like we're watching both the series and the characters grow up. Futurama is still a little dark and cynical, but it's taking on a sweeter tone without being corny. This is what I wanted from the Comedy Central run, and we're finally getting there.
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