That's some serious Futurama drama.
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00:00Futurama is a big hit with some A-list celebrities out there.
00:03Known for its wacky storylines and scientific anomalies,
00:06the show clearly attracts a certain kind of viewer,
00:09and occasionally they happen to be famous.
00:11Of course, when you're famous, people will bend over backwards for you
00:14and even write you into their show.
00:16So who really wanted to time travel through space,
00:18and what demands did they have while doing so?
00:21In this list, we'll take a look at some of the guest appearances on the show
00:24and what was going on behind the scenes.
00:26Whether it be stars who wanted to appear on the show to boost their presidential campaign,
00:30or stars who wanted to make fun of themselves more,
00:33there have been some interesting requests and demands made while recording this hit animated series.
00:39And so with that in mind then, I'm Ellie with WhatCulture here
00:42with seven unusual demands made by guest stars on Futurama.
00:46Number 7. Larry Bird didn't want to be a part of the show.
00:50This cameo is so much more hilarious when you know the backstory.
00:53The episode follows the story of Leela trying to learn how to pitch for Blurnsball.
00:57While seeking out the help of Hank Aaron the 24th,
01:00who actually did agree to voice his character,
01:03the Scooby-Doo spoof episode soon turns to Bird
01:05and his recorded message is repeatedly played during his cameo.
01:09One of the funnier entries on this list,
01:11this celeb barely spoke a word when recording for the series.
01:14His lines were in fact the same lines, just repeated.
01:17This is due to the fact that the star never actually agreed to be on the show,
01:20but rather called the producers and left a voice note,
01:23which was eventually used to voice the cartoon version of himself.
01:26In the voice note, the basketball player explains how his agent had sent him the script
01:30and he'd read through the lines and immediately decided he wanted to be no part of it.
01:34Graining obviously didn't catch that part of the message and featured the star in the episode.
01:39Number 6. George Takei wanted to be funnier.
01:42George Takei has featured in quite a few episodes of Futurama over the years,
01:46but his first episode is perhaps one of the more iconic occasions the star has appeared.
01:50This episode was one that went down extremely well with the Futurama superfans
01:54and supernerds around the world.
01:56The episode, where no man has gone before,
01:58starts off with Fry learning that Star Trek has been banned on his home planet,
02:02Earth, for a few hundred years.
02:04In an attempt to right this wrong, he tracks down the actors from the show,
02:08and thus the greatest sci-fi animation, Baby, is born.
02:11George Takei featured alongside a number of the original Star Trek cast members,
02:15including William Shatner, Nichelle Nichols, Walter Koenig,
02:18as well as Jonathan Frakes from The Next Generation.
02:20Takei was reportedly a great sport while filming and made very few demands
02:24besides having a more humorous character.
02:26He hadn't made much of a social media presence for himself,
02:29but after the episode started airing and everyone realized the wicked sense of humor he had,
02:33it all changed.
02:34Who would say no to a star asking to have more jokes added in?
02:38Number 5. Ad Rock wanted to record lines via telephone.
02:41This episode is one of the first times the show had guest appearances from well-known celebrities.
02:47In true Futurama style, the members of the Beastie Boys show up as heads in jars and perform a concert.
02:52Backstage, Leela Fry and Bender meet the band.
02:55This brief tangent is interrupted by the robot devil as he challenges Bender to a music off.
03:00The rest of the episode is consumed with Bender and his struggles
03:03as he grapples with his electricity addiction
03:05and takes on the robot devil, voiced by Dan Castellaneta.
03:08The Beastie Boys do not return during the episode, much to the dismay of the fans.
03:12One of the stranger requests from a guest on the animated series,
03:15Beastie Boys Ad Rock claims that they accepted his request to do all of the recordings over the phone.
03:21The episode in which this band feature has only two of the band members' real voices.
03:25Mike D and Ad Rock were the only two available to do the voices,
03:29and so MCA had to be impersonated by Rock.
03:32Some have questioned his confession, stating that the sound quality was too good to be a phone call.
03:36Who knows, maybe they accepted the request because two out of the three is better than only one.
03:41Number 4. Mark Hamill demanded not to voice Bender
03:45Mark Hamill is one of the few guest stars who hasn't played themselves.
03:49Instead, this Star Wars actor featured as the rather bland Hanukkah zombie
03:53during the episode Bender's Big Score.
03:55While some believe this was a waste of a cameo,
03:58Hamill was reportedly happy to play any part in the series.
04:01His demands for the show actually came later on,
04:04once the series had already been cancelled in 2013.
04:07When fans learned that the show would be renewed,
04:10but without the help of the original voice of Bender, John DiMaggio,
04:13there was a major upset and public reaction from a number of celebs.
04:17Hamill tweeted out in support of the voice actor,
04:20requesting that he be returned to the show while reassuring fans
04:23that he would not be auditioning for the voice of fake Bender.
04:26Hamill is one of many to take a stand in support of the incredible voice actor,
04:30so hopefully Hulu will listen and up the payment
04:33so that everyone's favourite pissy robot can return to our screens,
04:36along with the rest of the much-loved team.
04:393. Stephen Hawking demanded to voice himself
04:42This one made everyone very happy, including the star himself.
04:47To have such an icon appear on the show was a real highlight
04:50for the sci-fi enthusiast behind the scenes,
04:53and to have him request to do the recording himself was the cherry on top.
04:57Unlike when he recorded for Family Guy,
04:59Hawking was actually in the studio for the recording of his lines
05:02when he featured on Futurama and The Simpsons.
05:05As his voice can be replicated on most computers,
05:08he wasn't actually needed for the recording,
05:10but he had made a close friend with Matt Groening,
05:13and the two agreed he would record it himself.
05:15Hawking was apparently a fan of the show,
05:17and was more than happy to have a little sci-fi fun with the team.
05:21He cameoed on the show twice in the episodes Anthology of Interest 1 and Reincarnation,
05:26in which he plays Dungeons & Dragons while trying to save the world,
05:30and shoots freeze beams while trying to distract two professors from a fight.
05:34Hawking was definitely at the top of the list for guest stars that had to appear on Futurama,
05:38and his legacy will live on through the animation and comedy that everyone has come to know and love.
05:442. Al Gore demanded to be made fun of
05:48Perhaps one of the sweetest scores Futurama has ever made in terms of guest stars.
05:52Al Gore voiced himself on the show, even while preparing to run in the elections.
05:57Whether this did more harm than good is uncertain,
06:00but he definitely came away with a new audience of devoted supporters.
06:03Al was a fan of the show, but his family connection is what really sealed the deal.
06:08His daughter, Kristen Gore, was a writer for Futurama across seasons 3 and 4.
06:12While preparing for the role as himself, Al was a great sport,
06:15and actually requested for more jokes to be put in that poke fun at things that he has said or done in the past.
06:21His line in the show, Invented the Environment,
06:24directly mocks how the politician likes to say he invented the internet.
06:28This move was most probably strictly political,
06:30as he wanted everyone to know he's one of the cool vice presidents
06:33who uses comedy to relate to potential supporters.
06:36Definitely one of the more standout guest appearances on the show,
06:39and it's amazing he returned so many times.
06:431. The Richard Nixon Library Demanded Promo Materials
06:47Despite debuting on TV screens across the world five years after the death of this former president,
06:54Futurama still managed to feature Richard Nixon on the show during the episode A Head in the Poles,
07:00where he uses Bender's body as his own while his head has been preserved in a jar.
07:04Although it wasn't his own voice, but rather the voice of Billy West,
07:08it still ruffled a few feathers at the Nixon family HQ.
07:11In the show, Nixon is played as himself, but with more of a nightmarish edge
07:15and his bold claims to be president of the earth.
07:18With the villainous connotation surrounding this portrayal,
07:21the Richard Nixon Library got in contact with the show
07:24and requested that he no longer be involved,
07:26as they did not like what the show was doing for his reputation.
07:29A few years later, the Richard Nixon Library had done a full 180
07:33and actually requested that the creators provide them with some materials
07:36so that they could be put on display during the Nixon in Popular Culture exhibition.
07:41A strange turnaround, but at least everyone's happy now
07:43and the ex-president won't be rolling in his grave anymore.
07:47And that concludes our list.
07:48If you can think of anything that we missed,
07:50then do let us know in the comments below.
07:52And while you're there, don't forget to like and subscribe
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07:56Also, head over to Twitter and follow us there at WhatCulture
07:59and I can be found across various social medias
08:01just by searching Ellie Littlechild.
08:03I've been Ellie with WhatCulture.
08:05I hope you have a magical day and I'll see you real soon.