Ghost in the Machines story
"Ghost in the Machines" is the nineteenth episode of the sixth season of the animated sitcom Futurama, and originally aired June 30, 2011, on Comedy Central. It aired as the third episode of season 6-B, sixteenth in broadcast order for season 6 overall. The episode was written by Patric M. Verrone and directed by Ray Claffey. American actor Dan Castellaneta guest stars in the episode, voicing the Robot Devil. In the episode Bender, angry at Fry for valuing human life over robot life, kills himself in a suicide booth. Afterwards, he becomes a ghost, and learns from the Robot Devil that he is in limbo, and he cannot leave. Sharing a mutual dislike towards Fry, the Robot Devil offers to return Bender to his old body in exchange for using his new ghostly powers to scare Fry to death. Directed by: Ray Claffey. Story by: Patric M. Verrone.
13 total · 7 major · 6 minor
| Theme | Level | Motivation |
|---|---|---|
| coping with the death of a friend | major | The Planet Express team, especially Fry, grieved over the death of Bender. |
| fear | major | Fry was terrorized by a haunting. |
| friendship | major | Fry and Bender. |
| ghost | major | Bender became a ghost. |
| the afterlife | major | The Christian heaven and hell were parodied with robot versions of heaven and hell. |
| the desire for vengeance | major | Both the Robot Devil and Bender wanted to avenge themselves on Fry. |
| what if I were a ghost | major | Bender died and became a ghost. |
| anti-technology way of life | minor | The Amish planet people used only old fashioned 18th century level technology. |
| choosing who dies and who lives | minor | Fry had to choose between saving a robot and a nerd. |
| digital afterlife | minor | Bender lived on as a program in the cloud after he physically died. |