AI turns Futurama into a 1980s live action sitcom and the results are eerie
Topics: Film and TV, Technology, Artificial Intelligence
Katherine Sidnell
Featured Image Credit: Suburban Garden/YouTube
Topics: Film and TV, Technology, Artificial Intelligence
AI might be the tool of the future, but for now people are finding much more creative ways to use it.
This includes fans reimagining their favorite franchises in different time periods and settings.
In fact, one tech-savvy viewer has reimagined Futurama as a 1980s family sitcom as the results are, um, eerie to say the least.
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The AI art has a deeply nostalgic feel, with the images spliced together to make a new opening sequence similar to Full House or Married with Children.
Created using Midjourney and then edited by YouTuber Suburban Garde, the Futurama fan art is anything but wholesome as it is scarily realistic.
Gone is Fry’s iconic quiff and Leela’s single eye, both of which have been replaced with hair-raising dos.
Even Bender is sporting a bedazzled denim jacket, as the robot chugs his beer at the Planet Express building.
Since it was uploaded to YouTube, the video has gained over a million views on the video-sharing platform.
While the reimagined opening is incredibly well done, some fans have found it a bit creepy - especially with its rendering of alien, Dr Zoidberg.
The crustacean-like creature has been portrayed as an actor wearing a foam-style suit, similar to 80s sci-fi B-movies.
It’s so realistic that one creeped-out fan wrote in the comments: “How do I feel nostalgia for a show that never existed?”
Others agreed, with another adding: “The crazy thing is the AI does is all for you. No drawing, no actual actors to play this all done by a program.”
Understandably, the YouTuber is counting down the days until we’ll have AI videos and said: “It's going to be weird when AI progresses to the point where they actually can animate this, especially the live action.”
However, other fans of the noughties’ series were impressed with how the AI managed to capture their favorite characters.
One commenter praised the video, saying: “Was waiting for Zoidberg. Was not disappointed. Extra points for Kif.”
Some were also impressed with Bender’s snazzy and deeply nostalgic accessory, with another fan writing: “Like how they gave Bender a jean jacket.”
Another user even joked that they could even ‘hear’ laugh tracks, which would have been added to the robot’s sassy quips.
Though such a series never existed, the video has made viewers feel like they’ve fallen through time - just as Fry did.
Someone even wrote: “These are so great. It's like getting vintage TV from a parallel universe.”
We couldn’t agree more.