7 Unusual Demands Made By Guest Stars On Futurama

WhatCulture

That's some serious Futurama drama.

Transcript

00:00Futurama is a big hit with some A-list celebrities out there.

00:03Known for its wacky storylines and scientific anomalies, the show clearly attracts a certain

00:08kind of viewer, and occasionally, they happen to be famous.

00:11Of course, when you're famous, people will bend over backwards for you and even write

00:14you into their show.

00:15So, who really wanted to time travel through space, and what demands did they have while

00:20doing so?

00:21In this list, we'll take a look at some of the guest appearances on the show and what

00:24was going on behind the scenes.

00:26Whether it be stars who wanted to appear on the show to boost their presidential campaign,

00:31or stars who wanted to make fun of themselves more, there have been some interesting requests

00:35and demands made while recording this hit animated series.

00:39And so, with that in mind then, I'm Ellie with WhatCulture here with 7 Unusual Demands

00:43Made By Guest Stars On Futurama.

00:467.

00:47Larry Bird Didn't Want To Be A Part Of The Show

00:50This cameo is so much more hilarious when you know the backstory.

00:53The episode follows the story of Leela trying to learn how to pitch for Blurnsball.

00:57While seeking out the help of Hank Aaron the 24th, who actually did agree to voice his

01:02character, the Scooby Doo spoof episode soon turns to Bird and his recorded message is

01:07repeatedly played during his cameo.

01:09One of the funnier entries on this list, this celeb barely spoke a word when recording for

01:13the series.

01:14His lines were, in fact, the same lines, just repeated.

01:17This is due to the fact that the star never actually agreed to be on the show, but rather

01:21called the producers and left a voice note, which was eventually used to voice the cartoon

01:25version of himself.

01:26In the voice note, the basketball player explains how his agent had sent him the script and

01:30he'd read through the lines and immediately decided he wanted to be no part of it.

01:34Groening obviously didn't catch that part of the message and featured the star in the

01:38episode.

01:396.

01:40George Takei Wanted To Be Funnier

01:42George Takei has featured in quite a few episodes of Futurama over the years, but his first

01:47episode is perhaps one of the more iconic occasions the star has appeared.

01:51This episode was one that went down extremely well with the Futurama superfans and supernerds

01:55around the world.

01:56The episode, where No Man Has Gone Before, starts off with Fry learning that Star Trek

02:00has been banned on his home planet, Earth, for a few hundred years.

02:05In an attempt to right this wrong, he tracks down the actors from the show, and thus the

02:08greatest sci-fi animation baby is born.

02:11George Takei featured alongside a number of the original Star Trek cast members, including

02:15William Shatner, Nichelle Nichols, Walter Koenig, as well as Jonathan Frakes from The

02:19Next Generation.

02:20Takei was reportedly a great sport while filming, and made very few demands besides having a

02:25more humorous character.

02:26He hadn't made much of a social media presence for himself, but after the episode started

02:30airing and everyone realised the wicked sense of humour he had, it all changed.

02:34Who would say no to a star asking to have more jokes added in?

02:385.

02:39Ad Rock Wanted To Record Lines Via Telephone

02:42This episode is one of the first times the show had guest appearances from well-known

02:46celebrities.

02:47In true Futurama style, the members of the Beastie Boys show up as heads in jars and

02:51perform a concert.

02:52Backstage, Leela Fry and Bender meet the band.

02:55This brief tangent is interrupted by the Robot Devil as he challenges Bender to a music-off.

03:00The rest of the episode is consumed with Bender and his struggles as he grapples with his

03:04electricity addiction and takes on the Robot Devil, voiced by Dan Castellaneta.

03:08The Beastie Boys do not return during the episode, much to the dismay of the fans.

03:13One of the stranger requests from a guest on the animated series, Beastie Boys' Ad

03:16Rock, claims that they accepted his request to do all of the recordings over the phone.

03:21The episode in which this band feature has only two of the band members' real voices.

03:25Mike, Dee, and Ad Rock were the only two available to do the voices, and so MCA had to be impersonated

03:31by Rock.

03:32Some have questioned his confession, stating that the sound quality was too good to be

03:36a phone call.

03:37Who knows, maybe they accepted the request because two out of the three is better than

03:40only one.

03:414.

03:42Mark Hamill Demanded Not To Voice Bender

03:45Mark Hamill is one of the few guest stars who hasn't played themselves.

03:49Instead, this Star Wars actor featured as the rather bland Hanukkah Zombie during the

03:54episode Bender's Big Score.

03:56While some believe this was a waste of a cameo, Hamill was reportedly happy to play any part

04:00in the series.

04:01His demands for the show actually came later on, once the series had already been cancelled

04:06in 2013.

04:08When fans learned that the show would be renewed but without the help of the original voice

04:12of Bender, John DiMaggio, there was a major upset and public reaction from a number of

04:17celebs.

04:18Hamill tweeted out in support of the voice actor, requesting that he be returned to the

04:21show while reassuring fans that he would not be auditioning for the voice of fake Bender.

04:26Hamill is one of many to take a stand in support of the incredible voice actor, so hopefully

04:31Hulu will listen and up the payment so that everyone's favourite pissy robot can return

04:35to our screens, along with the rest of the much-loved team.

04:393.

04:40Stephen Hawking Demanded to Voice Himself

04:43This one made everyone very happy, including the star himself.

04:47To have such an icon appear on the show was a real highlight for the sci-fi enthusiast

04:52behind the scenes, and to have him request to do the recording himself was the cherry

04:56on top.

04:57Unlike when he recorded for Family Guy, Hawking was actually in the studio for the recording

05:01of his lines when he featured on Futurama and The Simpsons.

05:05Because his voice can be replicated on most computers, he wasn't actually needed for

05:10the recording, but he had made a close friend with Matt Groening and the two agreed he would

05:14record it himself.

05:16Hawking was apparently a fan of the show and was more than happy to have a little sci-fi

05:20fun with the team.

05:21He cameoed on the show twice in the episodes Anthology of Interest 1 and Reincarnation,

05:27in which he plays Dungeons and Dragons while trying to save the world and shoots freeze

05:31beams while trying to distract two professors from a fight.

05:35Hawking was definitely at the top of the list for guest stars that had to appear on Futurama,

05:39and his legacy will live on through the animation and comedy that everyone has come to know

05:43and love.

05:442.

05:45Al Gore Demanded To Be Made Fun Of

05:48Perhaps one of the sweetest scores Futurama has ever made in terms of guest stars, Al

05:53Gore voiced himself on the show, even while preparing to run in the elections.

05:57Whether this did more harm than good is uncertain, but he definitely came away with a new audience

06:02of devoted supporters.

06:04Al was a fan of the show, but his family connection is what really sealed the deal.

06:08His daughter, Kristen Gore, was a writer for Futurama across seasons 3 and 4.

06:12While preparing for the role as himself, Al was a great sport and actually requested for

06:16more jokes to be put in that poke fun at things he has said or done in the past.

06:21His line in the show, Invented the Environment, directly mocks how the politician likes to

06:26say he invented the internet.

06:28This move was most probably strictly political, as he wanted everyone to know he's one of

06:32the cool vice presidents who uses comedy to relate to potential supporters.

06:37Definitely one of the more standout guest appearances on the show, and it's amazing

06:40he returned so many times.

06:431.

06:44The Richard Nixon Library Demanded Promo Materials

06:48Despite debuting on TV screens across the world five years after the death of this former

06:53president, Futurama still managed to feature Richard Nixon on the show during the episode

06:58A Head in the Poles, where he uses Bender's body as his own while his head has been preserved

07:03in a jar.

07:04Although it wasn't his own voice, but rather the voice of Billy West, it still ruffled

07:09a few feathers at the Nixon family HQ.

07:11In the show, Nixon is played as himself, but with more of a nightmarish edge and his bold

07:16claims to be President of the Earth.

07:18With the villainous connotation surrounding this portrayal, the Richard Nixon Library

07:22got in contact with the show and requested that he no longer be involved, as they did

07:26not like what the show was doing for his reputation.

07:29A few years later, the Richard Nixon Library had done a full 180 and actually requested

07:34that the creators provide them with some materials so that they could be put on display during

07:38the Nixon in Popular Culture exhibition.

07:40A strange turnaround, but at least everyone's happy now, and the ex-president won't be

07:45rolling in his grave anymore.

07:47And that concludes our list.

07:48If you can think of anything that we missed, then do let us know in the comments below.

07:52And while you're there, don't forget to like and subscribe and tap that notification

07:56bell.

07:57Also, head over to Twitter and follow us there at WhatCulture, and I can be found across

08:00various social medias just by searching Ellie Littlechild.

08:03I've been Ellie with WhatCulture, I hope you have a magical day, and I'll see you

08:07real soon.

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