'Futurama' Season 9, Episode 12 Recap '31st Century Fox'

Opening Credits Gag: "Today's Episode Brought to You by the Letter [untranslatable alien symbol]." I'd like to think it's pronounced "EEE-quigarck."

The Highlights: It all starts with the crew losing their uniforms to that pesky Mothzilla, and having to travel to the "Garbage District" for new duds. They find what they were looking for, but Bender finds something even better: a fox hunting outfit.

Since he's Bender, he decides to go on an actual fox hunt, and since Leela is Leela, she decides to protest the cruelty of it. Fry is just sort of along for the ride. Delightfully, Patrick Stewart guest stars as the Huntmaster, who disapproves of Bender from the start for obvious reasons.

The tables turn when the hunters corner the fox and the dogs tear it up, only to reveal that the fox was a robot all along. In fact, so are the dogs and the horses. Leela is suddenly fine with the whole thing, but Bender is now in a tizzy over the cruelty to robot animals.

Here's where things get weird: Bender goes on a PETA-like animal liberation spree, attempting to free robot chickens (not the Adult Swim show) who lay robot eggs, and robot pigs who are turned into robot sausage. I'm confused. Who eats these robot meats? What's the point? Why haven't we heard of robot animals yet?

Bender goes back to free the robot fox before the next race, and locks himself in the cage so that he can deliver a snappy line to the hunters. Unfortunately, that miffs the Huntmaster just enough to make Bender the target of the next hunt, and he is released off into the wild.

Meanwhile, Leela and the rest of the Planet Express crew become angry with their adopted robot fox, as he chews up pretty much everything in the office. He is cute, though, even with his Terminator face.

To make a long story short, eventually it comes down to just Bender and the fox versus the Huntmaster, who turns out to be a robot himself. Everyone is fine with him dying, and everyone gets ice cream. The end.

The Heartstrings: El Zilcho. Those were all reserved for the second part of the finale, apparently.

Notes & Quotes:

- "Oy, such a stereotype."

- "Charming. Now, into the ditch with you."

- "He's crooked, but fair."

- "Today we hunt the most dangerous game, aside from lawn darts."

- "That was my second favorite ankle!"

- "I can't watch... enough!"