Futurama Season 11 Updates One Of Its Funniest Running Gags For The Black Mirror Era
Contains spoilers for Futurama Season 11, Episode 1 — "The Impossible Stream"
One of the running gags on "Futurama" has always been "The Scary Door," a parody of the Rod Serling anthology series "The Twilight Zone," which features a voiceover parody of Serling's iconic introductions. But for its newest season, the first in a decade, "Futurama" has updated that reference for the spiritual successor to "The Twilight Zone" — none other than "Black Mirror."
As Fry combs through TV shows to watch in the "Futurama" Season 11 premiere, "The Impossible Stream," he comes across a series called "The Scary Mirror," which makes fun of how similar "Black Mirror" is to its predecessor, "The Twilight Zone." Retaining the Rod Serling impersonation, the voiceover by Maurice LaMarche tells us, "You're entering a show that is slightly different from previous, very similar shows. What was once a creepy story about a book is now about an e-reader that's too greasy to hold."
The similarities between "Black Mirror" and "The Twilight Zone" have been noted plenty of times over the years, but "Futurama" hasn't been on the air to comment on it until now.
The Scary Door becomes The Scary Mirror
The idea that "Black Mirror," the sci-fi horror anthology series by Charlie Brooker, is essentially "The Twilight Zone" if it were about technology instead of supernatural occurrences is not a new observation. One viral tweet summed up the vibe of most "Black Mirror" episodes by quipping, "Wot if ya mum ran on batteries."
It only makes sense that "Futurama" would update its long-running "The Twilight Zone" parody to focus on a more up-to-date point of reference, and "Black Mirror" would be the obvious target. And so, "The Scary Door" has become "The Scary Mirror," but the vibes remain mostly the same as before. As LaMarche's voiceover puts it, "That one with the phone call from the Devil? Now, it's a FaceTime call from the Devil. The 'Devil' part didn't change."
Just as "The Twilight Zone" played on society's fears during its time, "Black Mirror" plays on our contemporary fears about the rapidly escalating pace of technological innovation. As the adage goes, any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic. And so, whereas supernatural occurrences provided the disturbing premises for "The Twilight Zone" episodes, inconceivable technology fills that role for "Black Mirror."
Longtime "Futurama" fans will undoubtedly appreciate seeing the show weigh in on the pop culture that's come into vogue since its previous cancelation. The cheeky "Black Mirror" parody is only one of many such references in the jam-packed Season 11 premiere episode.