And FOX could option them since they own the rights and allowed the cable deal, but WHO CARES – bottom line is FUTURAMA IS RETURNING TO TV NEXT YEAR!

Not a day after I finished my marathon of all 72 episodes of the Futurama series followed by the 4 direct to internet pirating DVD movies do I go to youtube for an embed code to blog about and see a commenter claim that the series is coming BACK. and what’s this? the comment is only minutes old?

Sure enough, the claim is true. The NY Times reports: Past Emmy winner “Futurama” got axed by Fox network in 2003 after five seasons, but it’s developed such a strong cult following since then on DVD and TV reruns that Comedy Central has picked up the show.” – I immediately called my source at Viacom (parent company of Comedy Central) to ask about this and they said that Cartoon Network tried to grab it but lost a bidding war and also it is not out of the question that FOX, who owns the rights to the show, could air these new episodes on the Fox Network first before sending them to Comedy cable.

“A spokesperson for 20th Century Fox Television confirms that the cable net has ordered  26 new episodes of Matt Groening and David X. Cohen‘s late, great animated series to air beginning in 2010,” reports Mike Ausiello at EW.com

SYNOPSIS: All day long, cheerful cloud people in the sky make baby boys and girls, kittens, puppies, and other creatures and give them to storks for delivery to the expectant parents. However, one lonely gray cloud named Gus sees all of his creations turn into dangerous animals, despite his best efforts. His delivery stork named Peck gets the worst of it, being bitten by a crocodile, butted by a bighorn sheep, and pricked by a porcupine. When Peck sees that his next delivery is to be a baby shark, he grows irritated and more than a little fearful, and flies away. Feeling rejected, despondent, and angry, Gus unleashes a brief thunderstorm, then begins to cry with rain pouring from below him. To Gus’s surprise, Peck soon returns with a football helmet and shoulder pads, created for him by another cloud to keep him safe, proving to the gray cloud that he wasn’t going to be abandoned. Gus instantly cheers up and gives Peck an electric eel to deliver, which still shocks him despite the protective equipment, except this time, Peck remains in fairly high (though slightly frazzled) spirits.

The part that preceded it.

With money to make a pitch to Cartoon Network on the What A Cartoon Show, the series took a cartoonier turn. I watched this in 1996 on Cartoon Network and then again in 2001 where I said “wait ah-min-uuuute” and realized it was the same show as Family Guy.