Talk:Mars University

Changed quote

I changed that quote to "business school." I have no idea why somebody wrote it down as "technical school" unless the line is different outside the US.

Eh. Not that I know of. Someone just screwed up the quote. Good eye. Digital Watches 22:22, 22 July 2006 (UTC)

I originally put it in as business, it looks like on 7/9 somebody changed it to technical. It's not my fault! Thanks for catching it though! Stardust8212 02:38, 24 July 2006 (UTC)

Coney Island Whitefish

From the article: "Coney Island Whitefish" is a slang term for a used condom found lying on a beach.

Not that I doubt the truth of this statement but since I don't recall when this was used in the episode and without that knowledge this seems to be completely unrelated to the article maybe someone could add a note about when this was used in the episode? I'd really appreciate it because otherwise it's sort of a WTF? statement. Thanks --Stardust8212 22:54, 27 September 2006 (UTC)

Fry relates that he dropped out of Coney Island Community College (actually some kind of amusement park ride), and concludes with the phrase "Good old Coney Island College... go Whitefish!" The Mink Ermine Fox 18:42, 7 January 2007 (UTC)

Thanks, I added this detail to the article. Stardust8212 19:01, 7 January 2007 (UTC)

I can second the correct interpretation of 'Coney Island whitefish'. Growing up in the Bronx - New York City - in the late 50s, early 60s, seeing condoms floating by while in the water at Orchard Beach was a common thing. And they were always referred to as 'Coney Island whitefish'. Times have changes a bit. Back then, after stopping at a drive-in hamburger place, we would take all the wrappers and left-over food and just chuck them out the car window while driving away. Well, maybe things haven't changed all that much. I can even remember seeing women taking their young children - on the beach - into the water so they could defecate there. It was truly not uncommon to see both whitefish and feces float by while swimming.

--Aragonzo (talk) 05:55, 12 February 2008 (UTC)

Shout! and Lulu

I've changed the statement in Cultural References that states that Shout! is sung by Lulu. While Lulu did perform a cover of the song, The Isley Brothers are the original creators and I believe the version in the episode is theirs. The Mink Ermine Fox 18:49, 7 January 2007 (UTC)

I'm positive that the version of "Shout!" in the episodes is, in fact, sung by Otis Day and the Knights, just like in Animal House.71.32.82.193 (talk) 04:26, 13 March 2008 (UTC)

Cultural references

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. Also note tat if the reference is "DVD commentary" then it needs to have a citation for both who said it and in which commentary. Thanks! Stardust8212 00:23, 29 August 2007 (UTC)

Cultural references

• The DVD commentary acknowledges that the production team meant to pay tribute to classic college films, including Revenge of the Nerds and National Lampoon's Animal House. Plot items which parody these films include:
  • The subplot around the fraternity Robot House contains many references to the Animal House, including using a ladder to peek into a girl's dormitory, and Bender demanding an eternal loop of the song "Louie Louie".
  • Dean Vernon is named after John Vernon who played Dean Wormer in Animal House and his placing Robot House on "dodeca-tuple secret probation" mirrors Wormer's placing Delta House on "double secret probation".
  • The final montage, showing what happened to various characters, also echoes the final scenes of Animal House.
  • Fat-Bot is a direct parody of Flounder from Animal house, right down to the "ridiculous looking beanie".
  • The regatta parodies a similar plot point used in Revenge of the Nerds where the competition must be won to head the Greek council.
  • The professor teaching 20th Century History is modeled after Kingsfield from "The Paper Chase"
• When Guenter gets the phone number of a girl Fry was flirting with he parodies a line from the film Good Will Hunting.
• When Fry flashes back to his college experience, the prizes for the carnival game include Bart and Homer Simpson dolls.
• Amy's parents attempt to pay for her to get into the Phi Beta Kappa Society, the oldest honor society in the United States.
• "Coney Island Whitefish", the mascot of Fry's previous college, is a slang term for a used condom found lying on a beach.
• Above the entrance to the library, the words Vos Savant is chiseled along with Socrates, referring to Marilyn Vos Savant.
• When the professor describes how people began to plant trees on mars and soon the air became breathable to humans may be a reference to The Martian Chronicles by Ray Bradbury
• The bowler that gives the monkey human intelligence is highly reminiscent of the magic "Kirwood derby" in the Rocky & Bullwinkle adventure Missouri Mish Mash. —Preceding unsigned comment added by WilliamSommerwerck (talk • contribs) 22:03, 20 June 2008 (UTC)

Update - I readded a note about Animal House that I was able to source from the IGN.com ranking. The other items reputedly from the DVD commentary should be readded when they can be attributed to who said them and are in prose as opposed to list form (see Space Pilot 3000 for an example of this). I'm not against this kind of content, we just need to do it properly. Stardust8212 04:15, 22 September 2007 (UTC)

Goddamn you're anal. Why can't you just enjoy the cartoon and have fun with it? I have half a mind to put all that back in the entry. --Iwriteu (talk) 07:18, 18 November 2007 (UTC)

When I'm watching the show I have fun with it, when I'm working on Wikipedia I have a whole different set of concerns. With all the Hullaballoo going on around episode articles, including a pending request for arbitration, my only concern here is to help these articles meet policies and guidelines so that they aren't redirected wholesale as has happened to countless other television series in the last months. Adding a laundry list of unsourced trivia does not help this goal. Stardust8212 16:06, 18 November 2007 (UTC)

I object to your removal of my Good Will Hunting cultural reference comment. How does one get a source for a movie scene? Anyone who's seen the movie will be aware of the connection, as it's a (relatively) famous scene.71.32.82.193 (talk) 04:34, 13 March 2008 (UTC)

The point is that someone besides the fans has pointed this connection out and noted it's significance, it's part of Wikipedia's policy on verifiablility. That I know it's true and you know it's true doesn't mean anything unless we have a reliable source. The best way to get a source is to find the information in a newspaper, magazine article or book. This includes online articles that are from reasonably reputable sources not including other wikis (even wikipedia), imdb or fansites. It's hard to find the kind of references Wikipedia requires for this type of information, I know because I have looked. I recommend looking at articles like Space Pilot 3000 and Hell Is Other Robots for good examples of what to look for to source this information. Good luck, as I've said before I want there to be sources so this info can be included. Stardust8212 00:04, 17 March 2008 (UTC)

I guess I disagree with your interpretation of verifiability in this context. I'll use a different CR that never made it back to the article as a comparison: "The professor teaching 20th Century History is modeled after Kingsfield from The Paper Chase" is a matter of interpretation, since the 20th Century History professor's name isn't Kingsfield, he doesn't use the same dialogue, etc. This is the sort of thing (interpretation) that needs a verifiable source. The parody of the Good Will Hunting scene, however, is different; rather than in being interpretive, it's an observation that for the duration of that interaction between Guenther and Fry, the script is identical to that of the movie, except for the type of fruit being changed. There's only one kind of source that makes this verifiable: the actual original movie script, which is extremely unlikely to have been published anywhere. Failing that, perhaps one could cite the DVD of the movie? I don't know. But requiring an independent commentator to have made the same observation is unnecessary, as it's not a matter of interpretation. Whatever source can be found that isn't a script or transcript of Good Will Hunting is exactly as qualified as you or I am to make that statement.Choiniej (talk) 19:52, 17 April 2008 (UTC)

I've been carefully considering my response to this question and trying to decide exactly how to approach this issue. I don't have my thoughts gathered just yet but I did notice that this weeks Wikipedia Signpost has an interesting view on this issue as The Simpsons wikiproject is handling it. See Wikipedia:Wikipedia Signpost/2008-04-21/WikiProject report. Stardust8212 02:50, 25 April 2008 (UTC)

It's a tough issue, and certainly one that deserves a lot of thought and deliberation, especially in cases of shows like Futurama, which rely at least moderately on cultural references for their humor. I'm looking forward to reading what you think about this issue; if you're interested, I expanded my thoughts about this on the talk page to a recent South Park episode. Maybe in the end, disputable and unsourced CRs will just have to find a home on talk pages; after all, statement in articles do need to be of an encyclopedic nature (something I often forget, I think). Choiniej (talk) 18:16, 25 April 2008 (UTC)

Flowers for Algernon

This storyline has a lot of references that seem similar to the storyline of Flowers for Algernon. What does everyone else think? Imasleepviking ( talk ) 02:59, 31 January 2008 (UTC)

Rho?

ERR? If it was "Epsilon Rho Rho" the initials would be "EPP", not "ERR"... Jmlk17 07:04, 21 November 2007 (UTC)

That's true but in the show I'm pretty sure they show the initials as "ERR", a joke on "error". I may be mistaken though. Stardust8212 12:59, 21 November 2007 (UTC)

This is not a mistake. A "rho" is a greek R. The greek P is a pi. Thus, $\epsilon \rho \rho$, in latin characters, would best be written as ERR. I have removed this section, as it makes no sense.Dr bab (talk) 14:49, 2 March 2009 (UTC)

I know that this is really old, but I gotta comment, as the last statement just above is actually the incorrect one.

The greek letter "rho" IS represented by the latin letter of P and p

    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rho

The greek letter "pi" IS NOT the latin letter of P, but instead is represented by two vertical bars with a horizontal bar sitting on top of them, kinda like a segment of Stonehenge. And the lower case version is the same, but looks almost like cursive, and anyone who knows basic algebra or geometry will recognize the character used as the mathematical value of "pi".

    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pi_(letter)

I also think that characters were used intentionally as they were in this episode, in order to go for the obvious joke.

Fgoron2000 (talk) 05:02, 25 June 2017 (UTC)

Episode review

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)

Waiting for Godot

Is it notable enough to add to the article that Guenter needs his bowler hat to think and act like a human, and Lucky from Waiting for Godot also needs to be wearing his bowler hat to 'think'?- User:Zedxclon. —Preceding undated comment added 22:38, 7 April 2009 (UTC).

I don't think so. Sounds like a coincidence. Lots42 (talk) 08:34, 8 April 2009 (UTC)