Behind the line
What it means
Our interpretation.
The dread is in the cheerfulness: Farnsworth's wobbly, delighted tone promises something wonderful while the assignment ahead is usually deadly. That mismatch made it the show's most reliable opening beat, and the line has become everyday shorthand for an announcement that is anything but, usually delivered in a quavering old-man voice.
Context reviewed
In context
Spoilers for FuturamaShow the scene
Professor Hubert J. Farnsworth, the elderly inventor and founder of the Planet Express delivery company in Futurama, opens many episodes by gathering his crew and announcing this. What follows is either a new invention or the company's latest delivery job, which is usually a suicide mission. Voiced by Billy West, the Professor appears in the pilot, "Space Pilot 3000", where he hires Fry, Leela and Bender as his crew. On the rare occasions the news really is good, he reverses the phrase and starts with "Bad news".
Sources (2)
- Wikipedia: Professor FarnsworthCharacterization and ProductionReference checked
- Wikipedia: Space Pilot 3000PlotReference checked
Context reviewed
