Talk:When Aliens Attack

message: Isn't the References section for citing the source of information in the article, not for listing pop culture references? That section should become Trivia if so. Canonymous 23:16, 21 September 2006 (UTC)
thread_title:  References section 

message: One of the "goofs" says that there is a 1001-year difference between the broadcast and the attack, but it should only take 1000 years.  That's not necessarily  problem; even faster-than-light ships need time to move.--DoctorWorm 02:48, 28 December 2006 (UTC)
replies: text: Actually TV stations broadcast electromagnetic radiation which is essentially light (photons) but at a different frequency than visible light. So yes television signals travel at the speed of light (3.0 * 10^8 m/s).  At least they do in the real world, who knows for sure about the laws of physics in Futurama! Bemis269 (talk) 23:17, 28 January 2009 (UTC)
thread_title:  Not necessarily a goof 

message: An airing on Adult Swim today (April 3, 2007) cut Fry's line about it being Pepsi spilt on the console rather than Coke (immediately going from Amy's line to the end of Fry's line, "I would think."). Any reason why they would do this? Is it notable to put in the article? --DarkfireTaimatsu 06:56, 3 April 2007 (UTC)
replies: text: A subsequent airing tonight (June 5, 2007) replaces "Pepsi" with "Beer" this time around. --DarkfireTaimatsu 06:55, 5 June 2007 (UTC)
thread_title:  Coke/Pepsi 

message: I deleted two :
# "At the end where the survivors emerge after the aliens depart, there is a clown that bears a striking resemblance to Krusty The Klown." -> No it doesn't, they're just two clowns drawn by Matt Groening.
# The Scary Door is a reference to The Twilight Zone. -> Yes, but it doesn't appear in this episode.
213.214.32.52 18:00, 8 August 2007 (UTC)
thread_title:  Removed cultural references 

message: As I recently brought up at the wikiproject (here) it is time we did something about the cultural references sections. I am moving all unsourced references to the talk pages for the time being in hopes of creating a better, more thoroughly sourced article. Please discuss this action at the wikiproject link above so as not to split it over 72 different talk pages. The information removed from the article follows. Stardust8212 01:05, 29 August 2007 (UTC)
thread_title:  Cultural references 

message: *The title is a reference to the Fox series When Animals Attack!.
*The show "Single Female Lawyer", as well as the main character's name "Jenny McNeal", are parodies of Ally McBeal.
*When the technician at the control booth of WNYW offers to let Fry watch the show, he replies "ah, I don't know, that's a chick show. I prefer programs of the genre World's Blankiest Blank". This is a reference to such reality shows as World's Wildest Police Videos.
*The big pullback from Earth, through space to Omicron Persei VIII is a parody of a similar scene in Contact.
*The big pullback also briefly shows the Voyager spacecraft
*When Leela parks the hovercar, a vehicle similar to that of the 60's Batmobile from Batman can be seen.
*The scene with the monuments being destroyed is a parody of the film Independence Day, especially the destruction of the White House.
*Zapp's speech about practicing bed making is a parody of the film Full Metal Jacket.
*The Earth forces accidentally destroy the Hubble Telescope instead of the alien mothership, though the telescope looks nothing like the real Hubble Telescope. 
*The scene where Zapp Brannigan is briefing his pilots before attacking the Omicronians is a parody of the scene from Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope where Jan Dodonna briefs the Rebel pilots before attacking the Death Star. In addition, the scene where the Planet Express ship flies on screen with other star fighters mimics the opening of the Battle of Yavin. Also some of the battle resembles the Battle of Naboo from Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace, especially when the Hubble Telescope explodes in resemblance to the explosion of the Trade Federation Droid Control Ship. If one is to go frame by frame as the camera zooms from earth to Omicron Persei 8, he can see the death star.
** The notion that the battle with the Omicronians is a parody of The Phantom Menace has some support:    Cy3 (talk) 00:37, 8 March 2009 (UTC)
thread_title: Cultural references

message: This episode, along with all other episodes from season one, is being reviewed to determine whether it currently satisfies Wikipedia's various policies in guidelines. All editors are welcome and encouraged to contribute to the discussion at Wikipedia talk:WikiProject Futurama/Season 1 review. Stardust8212 18:47, 27 January 2008 (UTC)
thread_title:  Episode review 

message: This episode of Futurama bears a striking similarity to the plot of a highly regarded short story written in 1984 by Andrew Weiner called "Distant Signals".  In his story, an ET comes to Earth to have a cancelled show continued, however an attack is not threatened by the aliens.  "Distant Signals" is included in a book called "The Norton Book of Science Fiction", compiled  and edited in part by the very well known Ursula K. Leguin in 1993, well prior to the creation of the Futurama episode.  This book served as the main text for a college class I took on Sci Fi literature, and is critically acclaimed, and reasonably popular.  I think it's likely that this story served as inspiration for the creation of the episode.  Without any proof however, does the existence of this story become trivia and thereby not includable?  I don't own the DVD's and don't know if there's a commentary track that might mention this.  If true it would be helpful in showing how Futurama is an amalgam of popular Sci Fi culture.
What do you all think?  Bemis269 (talk) 23:37, 28 January 2009 (UTC)
replies: text: Yep. It's a strikingly similar to the 1985 "Distant Signals" episode (#30) of Tales from the Darkside, which was based on the sci-fi story you mention. This story had a human-looking visitor from a planet 20 light-years distant from Earth paying to have a final episode written for a canceled detective TV show. It's possible that this Darkside episode was the inspiration for the Futurama episode. — Loadmaster (talk) 03:30, 6 May 2012 (UTC)
thread_title:  Episode based on Classic Sci Fi story? 

message: Can we add an article When Aliens Attack (National Geographic Channel) I think that that article needs to be created to avoid confusion between the two. Thanks! DatNuttyWikipedian (talk) 06:15, 18 April 2016 (UTC)
thread_title:  There is another Title of the same name