I'm blown away by all the love for this video! I wish I could respond to every comment, but - I just did some quick math - as of posting this, about one-third of the comments on my channel are on this video alone. And it's only been out for a day! Thank you all so much. If you're new to my content, I hope you enjoy what you find here!
Watched this video yesterday, enjoyed it tons, saw it pop up again today, looked at the view count, and went "Holy SHIT" lmao. Good for you man. It's a fantastic video and deserves all the views it's getting and more.
I genuinely can't believe this was a controversy in the first place. I was actually on the internet in 1999 when Futurama first aired, and as early as episode 4 airing (the one where NIbbler gets found on the doomed planet) people were already pointing out that he looked like the shadow under the desk in the first episode.
this is the problem with all the disinformation on the internet. even tho it was verified back then, and several people had it on tape, there's so much distrust and lies out there that the automatic response is to just disbelieve it. kudos to this guy for going the extra mile and reconfirming what was already established back then
might be fake memories but I also remember there being so many theories on the shadow and nibbler an I also recall people cheered and celebrated being right
I had taped the first episode when it first aired. After The Why of Fry aired I went back to the tape to see the shadow was there. My mind was blown, but unfortunately no one I knew cared.
I appreciate the extra mile gone by recording it with a camera, and showing it in real time, this ensures no one can claim it was edited in some way, this was a very smart idea to deter people from claiming such things
@@tweer64 true but he went out of his way to make this as credible as possible not saying he couldn't of done that, but he was very on point when making this video, he knew what angles people would try to discredit him, I think to continue to come up with theories about if this was edited or not is just picking at straws at that point
@@redakdal Yeah, I actually don't doubt the validity of the tape. I was just looking for a way it could have been faked as a kind of thought experiment. I don't think it's possible to 100% prove that the tape is real. There will always be that one explanation that some people will use to justify their preconceived notions.
To be fair we have no evidence that the Futurama team doesnt have access to a backwards time machine and would use that extreme power simply to change the pilot to fuck with people.
To be fair we don't have the concrete proof to prove that humans seeing the shadow in the future and assuming it was always in the show, while simultaneously outnumbering the doubters, retroactively placed the shadoe into the past.
Maybe he could work together with people experienced with archiving tapes to get the best possible archive. There are for example tools to work with the raw output from the magnetic reader (forgot the name).
I'm not sure why this was ever a question. Nibbler was introduced in episode 4. Clearly the writers knew that Nibbler was going to be a recurring character when the pilot was being made, and it makes sense that they would have already had his backstory planned out. Maybe if Nibbler had been introduced in season 2, the skepticism would make sense. But as it stands, it's always been wholly believable, and honestly the most likely scenario, that Nibbler's shadow was in the pilot.
Honestly, it's not even like they needed a concrete explanation of what Nibbler actually did anyways. It could have been a fun little easter egg that left open a plotpoint had they gotten additional seasons and wanted to explore it.
People's memories are just way worse than they think, and yet they're still overconfident in how accurate they are and trust their memories over everything else. I saw a reddit thread the other day that had someone insisting that the original theatrical release of Empire Strikes Back didn't say "Episode 5" in the crawl, even after people linked movie reviews from the time mentioning it and BTS video of the crew filming the physical crawl they used.
Yeah that's my recollection too, and they mentioned it a few times before even getting near the scene, would be weird to be so excited for people to see it if it was just something they had cheated in.
@@JohnRNewAccountNumber3 When Wall-E came out there was a totally legit video of Pixar filmmakers claiming they had been working on Wall-E since Toy Story. They made up this fake story about how they came up with the idea at lunch or whatever. Then they were like, "We started hiding Wall-E in all of our movies and no one ever noticed." Then they showed clips of every Pixar movie with Wall-E hidden in the background of some scenes. It's believable to the average person in 2008 before social media or streaming. But the whole thing was obviously super fake and I don't think it was framed as such. Not that the Futurama crew would do something like that, but it's happened.
@@EzaleaGraves Yeah ,I always thought if I was in charge of a massive creative project (book series, tv show, whatever), I would absolutely put a ton of hints, even before I knew what they are for. If I forget to ever explain it, then people can go crazy trying to understand what it means and come up with fun theories, which is cool. I feel like Groening's other show, Disenchanted, is pretty good with this. They put a lot of easter eggs, for seasons far in advanced, in the first few episodes.
The shadow of Nibbler is also present in the workprint for "Space Pilot 3000", so I'm surprised people disputed the shadow's existence in the original version
Why does that surprise you? *plenty* of animated shows revisit previous episodes and add little things that would've gone unnoticed but weren't actually in the previous episode.
I've been getting into Futurama recently and just got to "Why of Fry." I never knew about Nibbler's shadow being in the first episode, so to learn now only that, but all the controversy about it was like stepping into a whole new world. I also appreciate how meticulous you are with everything here to prove that this was real. You're not just making a UA-cam video, you're documenting the truth. Well done.
I guess it depends on which time travel theory you go by lol There could be an infinite number of alternate timelines where both situations happen... Schroedinger's Pilot??? Nibbler is both in the pilot and retconned, but you don't know which one it is for sure until you play the tape... or something like that... 🤯🤯🤯
If it was a retcon, I feel like Nibbler’s shadow would look more like him or move a little more. The fact that it’s still and a little off model makes it more authentic, not that I ever doubted it.
Yeah weirdly Im pretty scrutinous of most shows and their intentions. This was one of the few that I was always like "yeah Matt would probably do that sorta thing" especially if it wasn't fully fleshed out but just sort of and odd ball idea
@@Greendawn-di3dl I mean it makes sense to do regardless just to give the writers more options. If they choose to flesh out that story line, it's already set up for them and if they decide to abandon it and go in another direction, it'll just disappear into the background.
I always thought the shadow also vaguely looked like a small version of Bender, so I assumed the animators made it a bit off so they could have Nibbler or Bender to work with if they wanted to 🤷🏼♀️
Mat Groening's shows are well known for their "VCR gags". He stuffs his shows _full_ of little gags and flavor texts that you probably won't notice on first viewing, and in some cases require the aforementioned VCR and use of the pause button at just the right moments to spot. Nibbler's shadow _actually being there_ in Space Pilot is exactly the sort of thing Groening does. And it's not like Futurama was cheaply animated paper cutouts that could be written a week before airing. Going from the first concept to the first airing would have taken years, and that's plenty of time to roughly block out the show's myth arc.
another pretty incredible "VCR gag" from the simpsons I learned about thanks to the early 90s "Simpsons Magazine" (comics, interviews, games, etc brickabrack) and only recently went to check myself as I forgot about it. From season 2 onwards for quite a few seasons, the fast wipe from town to the Simpsons house is far from just blurry lines. If you go frame by frame you see a huge tableau of a ton of different characters interacting with each other. like several dozen identifiable characters in mid action paused. Things like Otto crashed the schoolbus and the various kids are hopping out the back, oldsters reeling at Patty and Selma sunbathing in swimsuit 2-pieces, etc etc
@@choconado232 I saw a small variety of Simpsons earliest episodes in December and noticed at least two references that could have been foreshadowing Futurama
You poke fun at South Park but even they have "VCR gags". There's an alien hidden in a ton of episodes, though I don't think every single one has them.
There's a few frames in Disenchantment where you can see Fry, Bender, and the Professor in the Professor's time machine. So, that would put Dreamland in the exact same spot as NNYC and part of the same universe. There's also a few other gags from Futurama that show up.
Watching someone struggle with a video cassette player and explain the process to fixing the problem made me feel like a dinosaur. It also made me appreciate the level of attention to detail this man is going through to prove authenticity. They are aware of the modern ability to fake almost anything, far more than I would consider with something like this. Honestly, this video should be considered a perfect example of the work a "digital anthropologist" should be doing. Also, it feels nice not to wonder if the shadow was added for subsequent airings.
Only one I ever mangled that didn't end up happening by accident because of the VHS player was Mighty Ducks 😂 I played that so many times the beginning of the movie would cut out and wouldn't pick back up until he was pulled over for speeding and sentenced to community service @@GuyNamedSean
You know how years ago old English men used to dig up lost treasure to prove a single point, that’s modern preservation I love it a single argument caused this much effort.
One of the very first motion pictures made (The Horse in Motion) allegedly was made because of a bet; the evidence is secondhand and hearsay generally, but there's a fair chance of it being true.
In defense of the implausability of fry being frozen. Cryogenics _today_ is still kind if a "eh they'll figure it out in the future" deal. We freeze people but we can't unfreeze them. Which makes Frys story even sadder because in all likelihood they _did_ find him. But they couldn't bring him back, they just had to watch their son, their brother, stay frozen in time while the world changed around him.
I would argue that since Nibbler was present from the beginning, that he created an ability to shield the building from destruction, and detection… somehow the building magically had power and stays place during two total planetary aliens attacks/destructions…
@@SirUncleDolan Because we know for sure that wasn't the case. There's multiple episodes that explain that Fry's family accept that he goes missing never to be seen or heard from again. Stories including his Parents, his brother, his dog, old girlfriends, etc. There's also even an episode that retcons those explanations and explains there was a duplicate Fry that lived with his family for a long ass time after he was frozen.
I always felt so clever pointing out Nibbler in the corner of the first episode, I’m so glad that they really were planning ahead. Futurama is one of my favorites.
Tbf seeing some of the comments on the other video and how people will say "well there's no proof" then follow it with "but if you have proof your proof is wrong because it's a rerun" I completely understand the need for it lol
Imagine getting your hands on the VHS, doing the research to authenticate the tape, setting all of it up, putting the tape in and having the film ribbon catch, and fixing it only to realize you have to force fast forward *past* where the shadow would be. That would be the ultimate kick in the teeth. I remember VHSs from when I was a kid and the amount of times they failed. Oof. Thank goodness the previous owner clearly had respect and understood how to preserve such a relic. This was honestly so cool. Futurama is one of my all time favorite shows. Whenever the question of whether or not the Nibbler shadow was present in the pilot comes up in discussion I always thought "Well, it'd be neat if the creators really did think that far ahead, but I have my doubts." To finally get an answer to the question one way or another is awesome to me. Not only that but just getting a chance to look at this bit of lost history of such a classic and great show is such a fun feeling, like having a chance to look at something that belongs in a museum. It's a shame you can't show the full thing on youtube but I hope that there's some way to preserve the footage so it doesn't disappear when the VHS tape finally gives out. This is the first video on your channel I've seen but this alone has made me want to look at the rest of your videos.
I do remember that. Hearing the sound of gears eating into the tape. The video stops. You pray that things are alright when trying to use any of the buttons. The eject does work. The cassette comes out... and a decent amount of the magnetic tape is still inside. And one could see the evolution chart in effect. The primitive pulls and pulls on the tape to remove it... usually snapping the fragile stuff in two. The commoner pulls the machine out and rushes down to the local repair shop, as the machine is clearly broken. The intellect sighs, goes for the tools and performs open case surgery. And the child just cries, "Mom! The machine's broken!" I once had a super important tape on the line. Using the industrial strength models at the school to make a backup of the sole master tape, I stuck the tape in with trust in my heart and prepared to cue up the starting point. My teacher and me hear the machine... ahem... do things. He replies, "When we hear that sound, it means the machine just had lunch." And a once-in-a-lifetime, no undo, no B-Roll master tape... came out unscathed. My heart skipped a few beats, that day. There was money on the line, too.
@@jupreindeer That crunch of the film tape getting crushed in the machinery is a sound that will forever be burned into my brain. Or seeing the glitching and warping of your favorite tape because you watched it dozens of times and its just about to fall apart. I find analog horror videos that overuse that VHS effect so hilarious because it's probably being used by Gen Zs who never even had to experience a real tape degrading in their lives.
Just finished watching and I saw the full version without cuts or blurs, only speedups. I hope someone adds this to wikis and such to stop people arguing about it. Awesone find!
I doubted it when... I dunno, I think it was a video on the Internet saying that they went back and added it in. Maybe it was some other nerd that told me, it was a while ago. I believed that for the longest time and I figured there were folks with the original first season on tape or dvd that could prove it, and I never actually looked for it, since I didn't care enough...
If they had gone back and edited that in years later, surely they would have made the shadow match up better with the actual episode? The shadow looks almost Vampire-esque, unlike the space uniform we see later.
Even as someone skeptical with "facts" on the internet, I probably would have believed you if you just said "heres footage from the original screener pilot showing the shadow." But the fact you recorded it with multiple cameras and even showed the audio syncing up from both to prove nothing was edited for this is beyond commitment! Thank you for your efforts! This should prove without a shadow of a doubt that Nibbler was there from the start. =D
When you had to explain how to manually fast-forward the tape using the hole on the back, I felt my soul leave my body and join my ancestors in the afterlife. Damn, I guess I am old.
Wow, I'm stunned. 100% thought it wasn't going to be there. I started Futurama just a few years ago and when I heard the rumors, I wholeheartedly just decided that it was added in later. Which is why this video is clearly fake. There's no way this evidence is legitimate considering the absurdity of it conflicting with my preconceived notions. Let this be a lessons to all you fakers out there that you can't pull one over on us! /s Great job on putting this internet debate to rest and I extend the sentiment to the writers of Futurama for having such a robust show with incredible foresight. Thank you!
I wasn't ever really doubtful the shadow was there, and yet i still audibly said "holy fuck" the second I saw the shadow on the tape! Amazing video! I really hope it gets circled around all the Futurama communities, the lengths you went through to prove this is impressive!
I had no idea people thought the shadow was added as a retcon. Its been firmly well established that the fry- nibbler plot line was fully planned out before the show went into production
in fairness, shows DO do that Hell, Milo Murphy's law put out several episodes without Cavendish and Dakota entirely, and then re-aired them with those two edited in.
@@KairuHakubi Lends credibility to the theory of a time line split, and some power had to reverse engineer history based on modern day information. And that's how we get the Mandela effect. There was a plot element in Travelers (2016) where an organization was trying to avoid an extinction level event, by sending the minds of operatives into the past. Using a Quantum Computer to "overwrite" the minds of people from that Time period (21st Century), and assume their identities as cover to avoid uncontrolled/unplanned changes to the time line. But the transfer process has to be very precise; basically rearranging atoms, molecules and neurons in the host body's brain. To do that, they rely on archive data about the past, like records, internet data, etc. But it turns out the information is fallible, and subject to misinformation. One operative was transferred into a host with a genetic disorder that affected the brain. The host was picked based on a sparse Social Media profile, among other criteria. Turns out the profile was made as a part of class or program, and they had missed (or did not find) any indication of mental disorder; causing rapid deterioration due to a failure to account for it during the transfer process.
Unfortunately we lost two other plots the nine guy who was everywhere and confirmed to have a plot and Leela's "Thee other" Plot due to the cancellation and the movie season definitely doesn't feel like what they were setting up especially since the old writers weren't there anymore.
People on the internet: Nah, Matt Groening probably didn't think that far ahead when making the show. The show: *Sets up the season 7 episode where Bender is a folk singer in episode two of the show*
20:26 as a Gen Z born in ‘99, I can tell you with the upmost confidence, I was watching movies on vhs back then and still have a working player I use to this day. I hate being labeled the same thing as someone who is in the 8th grade.
As one of the millions who saw it when it aired, I at least found the 30th century fox logo hilarious. I feel like for a while it was a funny thing to do to mess with the producer tag at the beginning of a show or movie if it was a comedy that liked breaking the 4th wall. And it works perfectly.
First, this is an absurd length to go for authentication. Second, not only does this not contain any cuts up through the shadow (Nibbler, robot, don't know, but the shadow is there) but the lack of Fry's VO during the Donkey Kong opening also meshes with my knowledge of the first cut of the episode. Third, repairing cassettes of any type was a critically important skill, and it's dying out because now it's useless. But now that it's authenticated, my response is a Benderesque "Neat."
I had to learn how to repair and splice VHS tapes for my job digitizing home media. Repairing VHS tapes really isn't that difficult. It's those damn MiniDv's that suck to repair.
Can confirm. Only part he skipped was *after* the nibbler shadow until the JFK jr reference, and then again after that until the end. Nothing was skipped before the nibbler shadow.
It's a sci-fi comedy show made by some of the nerdiest writers in existence. Of course they'd add a random weird shadow there just in case they want to do a time travel episode. And it could be anything! An alien, a weird device, a... half-melted Bender.
@@IxodesPersulcatus I mean, in some timelines Bender is there. Sometimes twice. And sometimes Fry twice, if I recall. But not his girlfriend, that was later. Even if half of that turns out to be wrong or movie non-canon, I'm very confused as to how I can remember that and forget basic words I use every day. But I will never forget the Franklinator!
Futurama was literally the smartest show on TV. The writers had multiple PHDs, Master degrees, and over 50 years of combined HARVARD education. They literally invented a mathematical theorem JUST SO AN EPISODE COULD MAKE SENSE... And people DON'T think they could have done something as SIMPLE as pre-plan Nibbler's shadow?
@@Scott...To be fair, you have to have a very high IQ to understand Rick and Morty. The humour is extremely subtle, and without a solid grasp of theoretical physics most of the jokes will go over a typical viewer's head. There's also Rick's nihilistic outlook, which is deftly woven into his characterisation- his personal philosophy draws heavily from Narodnaya Volya literature, for instance. The fans understand this stuff; they have the intellectual capacity to truly appreciate the depths of these jokes, to realise that they're not just funny- they say something deep about LIFE. As a consequence people who dislike Rick & Morty truly ARE idiots- of course they wouldn't appreciate, for instance, the humour in Rick's existential catchphrase "Wubba Lubba Dub Dub," which itself is a cryptic reference to Turgenev's Russian epic Fathers and Sons. I'm smirking right now just imagining one of those addlepated simpletons scratching their heads in confusion as Dan Harmon's genius wit unfolds itself on their television screens. What fools.. how I pity them. 😂 And yes, by the way, i DO have a Rick & Morty tattoo. And no, you cannot see it. It's for the ladies' eyes only- and even then they have to demonstrate that they're within 5 IQ points of my own (preferably lower) beforehand. Nothin personnel kid
This video could have been 5 seconds long, "yep it's there." Instead I was FORCED to sit through an enjoyable, well explained story! I've been subjugated to pleasant things!
Reminds me of my wedding night. Only needed five seconds to get things done. Forced to stretch out the proceedings for 20+ minutes. But not so bad either way.
I just want to say, I appreciate your meticulousness in creating this video. While I personally didn't need it to believe, I'm not that variety of internet person, I really appreciate the amount of work you went through to make this unquestionable.
It’s crazy that while making the pilot they A. Already knew how they would tie the show together B. Include something in the pilot that would obviously require the show to get green lit to pay off C. Include something they choose to not reveal super early in case they got cancelled
D. Not mention the big secret about the insiduous mysterious shadow and how it might be connected to the possible moral flexibility of one of their own at least twice per episode
You did a great job on this that I subscribed, I also fully appreciate the realism of the vhs tape fail that you kept in. I wasn’t lucky enough to catch Futurama until a few years after it aired but I’ve seen almost every episode (except whatever is “new”). Now to binge some of your other content
I never knew this was a debate among futarama die-hards, but the level of execution and the effort to be as transparent as possible to settle the issue is simply beautiful. Gonna go check out some more of your vids now!
The levels of dedication to put this controversy to bed and the measures taken to ensure authenticity and transparency are next level. A real "Bite my shiny metal a$s," moment to the shadow deniers. Good job!!
#1:00 There are two explanations as to why they didn't look for Fry... in the Cryonic Woman (Season 2 Ep 19) Michelle said they his parents called off the search the next day saying that it would be a waste of tax payer's money... then we have the altered continuity from Bender's Big Score (Season 5 Ep 1), where Fry/Lars returned from the future, and it was as though he never froze himself
Thank you! It is AMAZING the lengths you went to in order to answer this question... Subscribed! P.S.-Imagine what you could accomplish if you applied yourself to something useful!
I used to collect Press Kits, that tape certainly looks the part. Probably a T30, not very common on the home market. Screeners were better videos, but pressers generally came with more "candy"
if youre able to rip/up the alternate version of the main theme that'd be cool! never heard it before. weird people would think nibbler was never there, even before this we had more evidence he was than not, considering the most evidence he wasnt there was recollections 20+ years later
Plus nibbler was only properly introduced in episode 4 so at the very minimum they already had some of the plans finalized by the time the pilot finished production. Kinda makes me wonder if in an alternate timeline where the show got cancelled after season 2 there would be fans debating what that mysterious shadow was.
Those people must be from the alternate timeline where it actually *was* retconned... but that also happens to be the same timeline where Futurella actually stayed on-air the entire time, and didn't get cancelled 500 times like it did in this one, so... double-edged sword, I guess? ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
I fully believed that it was added in later, because I watched the original airing and didn't see a shadow. But, I apparently just missed it! Thank you for settling the matter. This was a fascinating and fun journey!
i imagine many people didnt see it in the original airing because of crummy contrast settings on their tvs causing it to get blown out. or whatever the opposite of that is for blacks. blown in??
Truly sickened to see that Futurama mocked (perhaps predicted? perhaps PLANNED?!?!) the death of JFK Jr by implying that he wouldn't be alive in the year 3000. =(
Lol, I knew you were going to have issues with that tape as soon as you showed how crinkled it was. You dealt with that like a champ! That aside, thanks for that. I, for one, appreciate the effort. I recorded it here in Australia when it first aired, but then recorded over it when I got the DVDs. When this whole 'shadowgate' thing started up, I could have sworn it wasn't on that original recording, but this has certainly reinforced to me the fallibility of human memory... well, mine anyway.
The work you put in to make this video is beautiful. Great work on the explaination of your process and the background to getting the tape is excellent.❤
Thats awesome to see that the shadow has always been there. But I do have a theory on why people say the shadow isn't. Old tvs, were dark, and smaller then what we have now, hell my laptop I am using to type this has a better screen and resolution then the most high end top dollar TV back in the 90s/2000s. Meaning that people might have not seen the shadow due to how inferior TVs were at the time.
@@Ericshadowblade on top of that, frame-by-frame viewing on a VCR was pretty bad due to the way in which the frame data was stored on the tape. you almost always had huge artifacts covering a good chunk of the screen unless you had an extremely high-end VCR. combine that with some TVs/VCRs at the time having iffy contrast and it's understandable that people would miss the shadow.
Well.... aside from causing eye cancer, these things had a lousy low definition picture. On a screen like that, you couldn't even make out Amy's obscene tattoo.
Great video, thanks for the research. The only thing i would of mentioned was when you show the original pictures of the tape from the original owner the long back sticker is'nt perfectly stuck on and loosing adhesive in some spots and you say you thought you did that but realized it was like that from the original pictures however when your showing the up close shots the video labels is straighter ( im guessing you pushed the label firmer to the tape to temporary keep it from getting looser ) i only mention this because some might say something bogus but you can see when your putting the tape in the vcr the label is slightly ruffled again. Please make sure to keep that prized gem safe and thanks again :-)
Before "the Why of Fry" aired I thought that shadow was Bender since you can't see the eye and it looks like an antenna. My dad spotted that shadow originally when we watched a taped version of that episode together. I also watched the first airing but didn't notice that shadow at that time.
Thanks for settling that! I didn't start watching Futurama until maybe a couple years after it first aired, first episode I watched was just a random one that was on TV. Later I ended up buying the DVD collection, and upon reaching the episode where you find out the why, I immediately watched the first episode to verify whether the shadow was there or not. To my surprise it was, and I had completely missed that detail on the first watch. I thought that was pretty neat how it was actually there. Just now I seen this video, had no idea there was the possibility that it was added later. But now I have clarification. Awesome video!
I have been wondering about exactly this lately. Cheers for finding an original. Also, "End credits Missing (0:30)" is on there so they can line up run time with a tv schedule
Great video man. Futurama is one of my favorite shows ever, the writing and delivery of the lines is pure comedy Gold. I am soooooo glad that the debate has been put to rest. I really need to get me a VCR again. As a kid my parents had a Panasonic top loader with UHF and VHF knobs. A chunky beast, but loved by me
i just assumed i was arguing with children when they disputed nibbler being there. people my age or older, KNOW and have no interest in why others have a seperate memory of the same thing. either way. i knew it and this was a very interesting way to show the validity of that memory. things like this make me confident in my ability to remember and recall.
@@AnAverageGoblin What? What does this have to do with flat-earthers arguing? It was just the pilot episode, and designs tend to change. Just look at South Park and compare the pilot, the first season, and the second season. If they added it later, why would they have used a slightly different shadow for Nibbler?
This was a find! The discovery is surprising and was the opposite of what I expected. I feel grateful to have seen this. Thank you for tracking this down and settling this mystery.
IKR?!?! The only reason I can remember what I had for breakfast last week is bc it's the exact same thing I ALWAYS have for breakfast LOL!! (Except for Christmas day when I made - & RUINED - crockpot cinnamon rolls) 😿
A lot of folks commented that this should have been common knowledge and was confirmed in commentary/and interview that Matt had a plan starting out. Well, I'm a relatively casual Futurama fan who didn't know that. I eagerly watched the premier as it aired, as I was already an avid young Simpsons fan but I was only 8 or so, and have no distinct memory of the airing. And starting out watching this video I would have put money on that shadow not being there. So from somebody for whom this video solved a genuine mystery, thank you! There was something so thrilling about seeing that shadow appear, I think I startled my wife with how I sat up and shouted "Oh WOW!" 😂
This is so cool. Thank you for making and sharing the video with us. I used to have a tape that was a combo of some 1999 recording of the pilot taped over for a few minutes at the beginning by footage of me as a newborn, a few months after the pilot did its thing. I haven't been in possession of the tape for years, I would say it's gone for good. I don't know when the recording was actually made in March, or if we had Nibbler's shadow. I'm writing the comment about 1/3 into the video to keep its suspense fresh for a bit.
It's the same with fricken Publix. We don't accept tips. This literally makes the higher ups, managers, and bosses unhappy that their employees under them are trying to get out of poverty and accepting tips from the customer (even if the customer is being nice to help someone out). Literally explains that dead end jobs aren't allowed to have the poor be tipped
I am (was?) a shadow skeptic. This is so hard to believe. But I can't really argue with the evidence... Thank you for finally answering this question I've had for over a year.
@@mrheisenberg83 Hard to believe. Do you pay attention to the stories you read at all, or do you just CONS000ME PRODUCT! Extremely few storytellers actually plan out their stories as far in advance as this indicates.
I like how people are smart enough to make the cryo tanks and have them work....but not when looking for somebody who might be lost in one. But that's the show in a nutshell.
Not sure why this showed up in my algorithm, but really enjoyed the video! Loved how far you went to prove you were being honest. Keep up the good work!
If you're watching this just fast forward to 23:32 because everything before hand is just this guy repeating himself and then learning how to use a VCR
![Lp. Сердце Вселенной #60 РОЖДЕНИЕ ЛОЛОЛОШКИ [Финал] • Майнкрафт](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/YoR0pAV9FVQ/mqdefault.jpg)
I'm blown away by all the love for this video! I wish I could respond to every comment, but - I just did some quick math - as of posting this, about one-third of the comments on my channel are on this video alone. And it's only been out for a day! Thank you all so much. If you're new to my content, I hope you enjoy what you find here!
Futurama fans are legion lol
Why did the label say March 28th when it originally aired on January 1st?
Watched this video yesterday, enjoyed it tons, saw it pop up again today, looked at the view count, and went "Holy SHIT" lmao. Good for you man. It's a fantastic video and deserves all the views it's getting and more.
You got a viral video there, well done! Never heard about the mystery, but love the story now and it's amazing that you solved it!
@@spoonlesscorey1628 Because it aired on March 28th, not January 1st.
I genuinely can't believe this was a controversy in the first place. I was actually on the internet in 1999 when Futurama first aired, and as early as episode 4 airing (the one where NIbbler gets found on the doomed planet) people were already pointing out that he looked like the shadow under the desk in the first episode.
"Sunny little doomed planet"*
this is the problem with all the disinformation on the internet. even tho it was verified back then, and several people had it on tape, there's so much distrust and lies out there that the automatic response is to just disbelieve it.
kudos to this guy for going the extra mile and reconfirming what was already established back then
I never had an opinion one way or another, but i never noticed the shadow myself when i watched it which is weird
might be fake memories but I also remember there being so many theories on the shadow and nibbler an I also recall people cheered and celebrated being right
with an weeb profile pic like that I doubt it
I had taped the first episode when it first aired. After The Why of Fry aired I went back to the tape to see the shadow was there. My mind was blown, but unfortunately no one I knew cared.
I care
That sucks man. For what it's worth, that's dope as hell
Neat
Thats sick to be old enough that you got to do that!! @@almightyk11
Brooo I was the same that I was the only one around who cared...always.
The tape must be fake, it doesnt meet my preconceived ideas about what should be on the tape.
"It's okay. Your tears say more than real evidence ever could-" wait, wrong show.
Beat me to it by only 6 hours!
Ha Ha! Obvious logical fallacy!
I’m laughing at you for your obvious logical fallacy
All these commenters not understanding your sarcasm...lol
The shadow is in an early animatic with extended scenes. People denying it was there are straight-up delusional.
People denying it was there are?
@@IzraelGraves "people denying it was there" is the subject. They *are* straight-up delusional.
I appreciate the extra mile gone by recording it with a camera, and showing it in real time, this ensures no one can claim it was edited in some way, this was a very smart idea to deter people from claiming such things
Assuming the tape he put in was the same as the tape he received.
@@tweer64 true but he went out of his way to make this as credible as possible
not saying he couldn't of done that, but he was very on point when making this video, he knew what angles people would try to discredit him, I think to continue to come up with theories about if this was edited or not is just picking at straws at that point
@@redakdal Yeah, I actually don't doubt the validity of the tape. I was just looking for a way it could have been faked as a kind of thought experiment. I don't think it's possible to 100% prove that the tape is real. There will always be that one explanation that some people will use to justify their preconceived notions.
Im glad they didnt stick with the original name "Main Title Missing" and went with Futurama
Star Schlep would have been alright
I heard "Placeholder" was also a possible name 😂
You so Funny😂😂😂
The original name was "War: What Is It Good For".
@@JohnRNewAccountNumber3 Star Schlep was already taken; it's the parody name for Star Trek in the ALF universe.
Fun fact: Did you know that in the what-if episode where Fry doesn't go to the future, Nibbler's shadow is noticeably absent?
I wonder if that's one of the reasons people think it's not there in the pilot 🤔
It makes so much sense 😮
Naa thats the other no shadow conspiracy, thats also fake!
@@connorgibes709 Probably so. People have it mixed up from seeing both with and without the shadow.
@@GLARebelthis would make so much sense as to why some folks are so adamant! They do remember it missing, just from the wrong episode 🤯
To be fair we have no evidence that the Futurama team doesnt have access to a backwards time machine and would use that extreme power simply to change the pilot to fuck with people.
To be fair we don't have the concrete proof to prove that humans seeing the shadow in the future and assuming it was always in the show, while simultaneously outnumbering the doubters, retroactively placed the shadoe into the past.
"Poppycock! Everyone knows that time machines can only go FORWARD. I don't want to live on this planet anymore."
nah, they won't have one until the year 50 million
Clearly if they've traveled in time, Eleanor Roosevelt would have been shot
@@taste5728 “Darn it, I hit Brian Thompson by mistake.”
It would be really cool to get the entire unedited video on the internet archive, especially a copy of it converted to digital for preservation.
Maybe he could work together with people experienced with archiving tapes to get the best possible archive.
There are for example tools to work with the raw output from the magnetic reader (forgot the name).
@Hartie95 yes! Like the Victorville film archive! Gregg turkington is the contact there.
@@NeonNijahn biggest film collection out there!
... How would it get on IA without being digital...?
@@WreckItRolfe there's hardware that can convert vhs to digital files.
I'm not sure why this was ever a question. Nibbler was introduced in episode 4. Clearly the writers knew that Nibbler was going to be a recurring character when the pilot was being made, and it makes sense that they would have already had his backstory planned out. Maybe if Nibbler had been introduced in season 2, the skepticism would make sense. But as it stands, it's always been wholly believable, and honestly the most likely scenario, that Nibbler's shadow was in the pilot.
Because they changed all sorts of shit.
@@BorormWho is "they"?
Honestly, it's not even like they needed a concrete explanation of what Nibbler actually did anyways. It could have been a fun little easter egg that left open a plotpoint had they gotten additional seasons and wanted to explore it.
People's memories are just way worse than they think, and yet they're still overconfident in how accurate they are and trust their memories over everything else.
I saw a reddit thread the other day that had someone insisting that the original theatrical release of Empire Strikes Back didn't say "Episode 5" in the crawl, even after people linked movie reviews from the time mentioning it and BTS video of the crew filming the physical crawl they used.
I remember the writers being incredibly proud of the Nibbler easteregg in the Audio commentaries.
Yeah that's my recollection too, and they mentioned it a few times before even getting near the scene, would be weird to be so excited for people to see it if it was just something they had cheated in.
It's the kind of thing where even if they didn't know *what* they were gonna do, they knew they wanted to do *something*
And that's cool.
@@JohnRNewAccountNumber3 When Wall-E came out there was a totally legit video of Pixar filmmakers claiming they had been working on Wall-E since Toy Story. They made up this fake story about how they came up with the idea at lunch or whatever. Then they were like, "We started hiding Wall-E in all of our movies and no one ever noticed." Then they showed clips of every Pixar movie with Wall-E hidden in the background of some scenes. It's believable to the average person in 2008 before social media or streaming. But the whole thing was obviously super fake and I don't think it was framed as such. Not that the Futurama crew would do something like that, but it's happened.
@@EzaleaGraves Yeah ,I always thought if I was in charge of a massive creative project (book series, tv show, whatever), I would absolutely put a ton of hints, even before I knew what they are for. If I forget to ever explain it, then people can go crazy trying to understand what it means and come up with fun theories, which is cool.
I feel like Groening's other show, Disenchanted, is pretty good with this. They put a lot of easter eggs, for seasons far in advanced, in the first few episodes.
@@sean-qw1ve one piece is so golden at this. They forshadow something hundreds of episodes beforehand 😂
The shadow of Nibbler is also present in the workprint for "Space Pilot 3000", so I'm surprised people disputed the shadow's existence in the original version
Some people thought it was added to the version of the work print added to the dvd for some reason
Why does that surprise you? *plenty* of animated shows revisit previous episodes and add little things that would've gone unnoticed but weren't actually in the previous episode.
It surprises him because insisting that they would also add it to the work print is an extra layer of idiocy @@PhotriusPyrelus
@@PhotriusPyrelus name two
Exactly lol, name two instances of what you claim is so common lolol
4:50
Man, that guy wrote a giant paragraph of crap as 'proof' of something that turned out to be total headcanon.
yea it's crazy
kinda makes you think about what you see posted, huh?
Behold the power of the Nerd Headcannon,
dudes just be wasting electrons on some nonsense paragraphs.
Autism is a hell of a drug. (and I say that as someone who is autistic myself -- I've found myself doing similar things, depending on the subject)
I've been getting into Futurama recently and just got to "Why of Fry." I never knew about Nibbler's shadow being in the first episode, so to learn now only that, but all the controversy about it was like stepping into a whole new world. I also appreciate how meticulous you are with everything here to prove that this was real. You're not just making a UA-cam video, you're documenting the truth. Well done.
24:21 answer 🎉
Thank you. After the first two minutes I was losing patience.
Aspie needed to pad for views
Yeah decent video but way too much filler
Too late, but thanks anyway lol
@jimmytvfclassic lol
The tape is clearly fake. It's obvious that nibbler traveled back in time to put himself into the pilot tape after the fact.
I guess it depends on which time travel theory you go by lol
There could be an infinite number of alternate timelines where both situations happen...
Schroedinger's Pilot??? Nibbler is both in the pilot and retconned, but you don't know which one it is for sure until you play the tape... or something like that... 🤯🤯🤯
@Belltower_Basement Well done. **DiClaprio gif**
INDUBITABLY
“I did not travel back in time. My people lack that ability!”
-Lord Nibbler, Emissary of Earth, Home of the pizza bagel-
Spare me your space age techobabble, Attila the Hun!
If it was a retcon, I feel like Nibbler’s shadow would look more like him or move a little more. The fact that it’s still and a little off model makes it more authentic, not that I ever doubted it.
It makes sense, the writers had an idea that Fry was pushed into the tube, but hadn’t quite decided how the story was going to work.
Yeah weirdly Im pretty scrutinous of most shows and their intentions. This was one of the few that I was always like "yeah Matt would probably do that sorta thing" especially if it wasn't fully fleshed out but just sort of and odd ball idea
@@Greendawn-di3dl I mean it makes sense to do regardless just to give the writers more options. If they choose to flesh out that story line, it's already set up for them and if they decide to abandon it and go in another direction, it'll just disappear into the background.
@@GlutenEruption exactly. I'm sure there's a ton of gags that just haven't had uses.
I always thought the shadow also vaguely looked like a small version of Bender, so I assumed the animators made it a bit off so they could have Nibbler or Bender to work with if they wanted to 🤷🏼♀️
Mat Groening's shows are well known for their "VCR gags". He stuffs his shows _full_ of little gags and flavor texts that you probably won't notice on first viewing, and in some cases require the aforementioned VCR and use of the pause button at just the right moments to spot.
Nibbler's shadow _actually being there_ in Space Pilot is exactly the sort of thing Groening does. And it's not like Futurama was cheaply animated paper cutouts that could be written a week before airing. Going from the first concept to the first airing would have taken years, and that's plenty of time to roughly block out the show's myth arc.
another pretty incredible "VCR gag" from the simpsons I learned about thanks to the early 90s "Simpsons Magazine" (comics, interviews, games, etc brickabrack) and only recently went to check myself as I forgot about it. From season 2 onwards for quite a few seasons, the fast wipe from town to the Simpsons house is far from just blurry lines. If you go frame by frame you see a huge tableau of a ton of different characters interacting with each other. like several dozen identifiable characters in mid action paused. Things like Otto crashed the schoolbus and the various kids are hopping out the back, oldsters reeling at Patty and Selma sunbathing in swimsuit 2-pieces, etc etc
@@choconado232 I saw a small variety of Simpsons earliest episodes in December and noticed at least two references that could have been foreshadowing Futurama
You poke fun at South Park but even they have "VCR gags". There's an alien hidden in a ton of episodes, though I don't think every single one has them.
There's a few frames in Disenchantment where you can see Fry, Bender, and the Professor in the Professor's time machine. So, that would put Dreamland in the exact same spot as NNYC and part of the same universe. There's also a few other gags from Futurama that show up.
Watching someone struggle with a video cassette player and explain the process to fixing the problem made me feel like a dinosaur.
It also made me appreciate the level of attention to detail this man is going through to prove authenticity. They are aware of the modern ability to fake almost anything, far more than I would consider with something like this. Honestly, this video should be considered a perfect example of the work a "digital anthropologist" should be doing.
Also, it feels nice not to wonder if the shadow was added for subsequent airings.
It made me feel like magic because I never mangled a tape growing up. I even had tapes that melted in a hot car, but never mangled one.
Only one I ever mangled that didn't end up happening by accident because of the VHS player was Mighty Ducks 😂 I played that so many times the beginning of the movie would cut out and wouldn't pick back up until he was pulled over for speeding and sentenced to community service @@GuyNamedSean
@@GuyNamedSean VHS players aren't what they used to be. Aging parts and typical wear mean it's a lot more likely for tapes to get mangled these days.
It's also a great illustration of why analog media is a pain in the ass and shouldn't be idealized.
You know how years ago old English men used to dig up lost treasure to prove a single point, that’s modern preservation I love it a single argument caused this much effort.
I wish they would bring back the Pith Helmets
One of the very first motion pictures made (The Horse in Motion) allegedly was made because of a bet; the evidence is secondhand and hearsay generally, but there's a fair chance of it being true.
@@MisterGunpowder257 coincidentally, nibblers shadow is also visible in that.
In defense of the implausability of fry being frozen. Cryogenics _today_ is still kind if a "eh they'll figure it out in the future" deal. We freeze people but we can't unfreeze them.
Which makes Frys story even sadder because in all likelihood they _did_ find him. But they couldn't bring him back, they just had to watch their son, their brother, stay frozen in time while the world changed around him.
I am convinced that the whole freezing ordeal was/is just a way around euthanasia laws.
@@VanBourner I'm actually surprised I haven't heard that idea more
I would argue that since Nibbler was present from the beginning, that he created an ability to shield the building from destruction, and detection… somehow the building magically had power and stays place during two total planetary aliens attacks/destructions…
@@SirUncleDolan Because we know for sure that wasn't the case. There's multiple episodes that explain that Fry's family accept that he goes missing never to be seen or heard from again. Stories including his Parents, his brother, his dog, old girlfriends, etc. There's also even an episode that retcons those explanations and explains there was a duplicate Fry that lived with his family for a long ass time after he was frozen.
@@VanBourner love it. Keep it expensive til we solve the thawing part.
I always felt so clever pointing out Nibbler in the corner of the first episode, I’m so glad that they really were planning ahead. Futurama is one of my favorites.
I love how the majority of the video is just 20 minutes of verification and authentication
Tbf seeing some of the comments on the other video and how people will say "well there's no proof" then follow it with "but if you have proof your proof is wrong because it's a rerun" I completely understand the need for it lol
Imagine getting your hands on the VHS, doing the research to authenticate the tape, setting all of it up, putting the tape in and having the film ribbon catch, and fixing it only to realize you have to force fast forward *past* where the shadow would be. That would be the ultimate kick in the teeth. I remember VHSs from when I was a kid and the amount of times they failed. Oof. Thank goodness the previous owner clearly had respect and understood how to preserve such a relic.
This was honestly so cool. Futurama is one of my all time favorite shows. Whenever the question of whether or not the Nibbler shadow was present in the pilot comes up in discussion I always thought "Well, it'd be neat if the creators really did think that far ahead, but I have my doubts." To finally get an answer to the question one way or another is awesome to me. Not only that but just getting a chance to look at this bit of lost history of such a classic and great show is such a fun feeling, like having a chance to look at something that belongs in a museum. It's a shame you can't show the full thing on youtube but I hope that there's some way to preserve the footage so it doesn't disappear when the VHS tape finally gives out. This is the first video on your channel I've seen but this alone has made me want to look at the rest of your videos.
I do remember that. Hearing the sound of gears eating into the tape. The video stops. You pray that things are alright when trying to use any of the buttons. The eject does work. The cassette comes out... and a decent amount of the magnetic tape is still inside. And one could see the evolution chart in effect. The primitive pulls and pulls on the tape to remove it... usually snapping the fragile stuff in two. The commoner pulls the machine out and rushes down to the local repair shop, as the machine is clearly broken. The intellect sighs, goes for the tools and performs open case surgery. And the child just cries, "Mom! The machine's broken!"
I once had a super important tape on the line. Using the industrial strength models at the school to make a backup of the sole master tape, I stuck the tape in with trust in my heart and prepared to cue up the starting point. My teacher and me hear the machine... ahem... do things. He replies, "When we hear that sound, it means the machine just had lunch." And a once-in-a-lifetime, no undo, no B-Roll master tape... came out unscathed. My heart skipped a few beats, that day. There was money on the line, too.
@@jupreindeer That crunch of the film tape getting crushed in the machinery is a sound that will forever be burned into my brain. Or seeing the glitching and warping of your favorite tape because you watched it dozens of times and its just about to fall apart. I find analog horror videos that overuse that VHS effect so hilarious because it's probably being used by Gen Zs who never even had to experience a real tape degrading in their lives.
Just finished watching and I saw the full version without cuts or blurs, only speedups.
I hope someone adds this to wikis and such to stop people arguing about it. Awesone find!
I never doubted that Nibbler was there from the beginning. Thanks for confirming.
I doubted it when... I dunno, I think it was a video on the Internet saying that they went back and added it in. Maybe it was some other nerd that told me, it was a while ago. I believed that for the longest time and I figured there were folks with the original first season on tape or dvd that could prove it, and I never actually looked for it, since I didn't care enough...
Thanks for saving me time
If they had gone back and edited that in years later, surely they would have made the shadow match up better with the actual episode? The shadow looks almost Vampire-esque, unlike the space uniform we see later.
I am so happy to watch a 30 minute video about a tv show I spent my whole childhood watching, This was a great piece of media history. Great job!
Even as someone skeptical with "facts" on the internet, I probably would have believed you if you just said "heres footage from the original screener pilot showing the shadow."
But the fact you recorded it with multiple cameras and even showed the audio syncing up from both to prove nothing was edited for this is beyond commitment! Thank you for your efforts!
This should prove without a shadow of a doubt that Nibbler was there from the start. =D
I.C. what you did there 😉
@@ronnydarko9046found nibbler’s alt
I thought it's a bit unnecessary to use two cams and have the video run 30 minutes
@@S4NSE Perhaps, but people who don't care can fast forward, whereas the sceptics can see the whole thing and confirm its legitimacy.
Nibbler was there befrore the start and after the end.
When you had to explain how to manually fast-forward the tape using the hole on the back, I felt my soul leave my body and join my ancestors in the afterlife. Damn, I guess I am old.
While this isn't another episode of overthinking futurama, it certainly has the spirit.
He spent the better part of two years making it. How is it NOT overthinking?
@@The-Maestro-Bob-Cobb your brain isn't normal
@@The-Maestro-Bob-Cobb I'll bet you've never seen someone put a VHS into a VCR at all.
Edit was to fix some typos.
Wow, I'm stunned. 100% thought it wasn't going to be there. I started Futurama just a few years ago and when I heard the rumors, I wholeheartedly just decided that it was added in later. Which is why this video is clearly fake. There's no way this evidence is legitimate considering the absurdity of it conflicting with my preconceived notions. Let this be a lessons to all you fakers out there that you can't pull one over on us! /s
Great job on putting this internet debate to rest and I extend the sentiment to the writers of Futurama for having such a robust show with incredible foresight. Thank you!
Too many comments for mine to get noticed, but I must say how much I appreciate the effort that you put into proving the veracity of your method
i noticed you
I wasn't ever really doubtful the shadow was there, and yet i still audibly said "holy fuck" the second I saw the shadow on the tape!
Amazing video! I really hope it gets circled around all the Futurama communities, the lengths you went through to prove this is impressive!
I honestly thought it wouldn't be there. So, yea, I got really psyched when it was. Made my day already.
I had no idea people thought the shadow was added as a retcon. Its been firmly well established that the fry- nibbler plot line was fully planned out before the show went into production
It's talked about in the dvd commentary for the pilot and the episode it becomes relevant.
People also believe that vaccines cause autism even though it's been discredited by every reputable doctor and scientist. People are dumb.
in fairness, shows DO do that
Hell, Milo Murphy's law put out several episodes without Cavendish and Dakota entirely, and then re-aired them with those two edited in.
@@KairuHakubi Lends credibility to the theory of a time line split, and some power had to reverse engineer history based on modern day information. And that's how we get the Mandela effect.
There was a plot element in Travelers (2016) where an organization was trying to avoid an extinction level event, by sending the minds of operatives into the past. Using a Quantum Computer to "overwrite" the minds of people from that Time period (21st Century), and assume their identities as cover to avoid uncontrolled/unplanned changes to the time line. But the transfer process has to be very precise; basically rearranging atoms, molecules and neurons in the host body's brain. To do that, they rely on archive data about the past, like records, internet data, etc. But it turns out the information is fallible, and subject to misinformation. One operative was transferred into a host with a genetic disorder that affected the brain. The host was picked based on a sparse Social Media profile, among other criteria. Turns out the profile was made as a part of class or program, and they had missed (or did not find) any indication of mental disorder; causing rapid deterioration due to a failure to account for it during the transfer process.
Unfortunately we lost two other plots the nine guy who was everywhere and confirmed to have a plot and Leela's "Thee other" Plot due to the cancellation and the movie season definitely doesn't feel like what they were setting up especially since the old writers weren't there anymore.
I'm sure I watched the original when it originally aired, but I cannot fathom the idea of claiming to remember whether the shadow was there or not.
well-adjusted adult behavior
This is why Mandella Effects exist.
People are so sure of themselves and unwilling to admit that their memories are fallible.
People on the internet: Nah, Matt Groening probably didn't think that far ahead when making the show.
The show: *Sets up the season 7 episode where Bender is a folk singer in episode two of the show*
yeah... no. That's just them making an episode as a callback to a previous joke, very different from a setup
She'll be comin' 'round the mountain when she comes......
Okay maybe not that far ahead, I feel like that's more of a callback than anything, but there was definitely some forethought with this show.
Moew like the season 3 episode where it's basically the dame thing
Reasons I think the tape is fake:
1st. Didn't match preconceived ideas
2nd. I said so
Your argument is invalid, I'll take my trophy in gold.
20:26 as a Gen Z born in ‘99, I can tell you with the upmost confidence, I was watching movies on vhs back then and still have a working player I use to this day. I hate being labeled the same thing as someone who is in the 8th grade.
Its ok you can still disguise as a millennial late to the party.
Honestly, I like the line "Radio City Mutant Hall" better regardless of the circumstances that caused it to change.
Oh man, I was thinking how funny JFK Jr. airport was.
As one of the millions who saw it when it aired, I at least found the 30th century fox logo hilarious. I feel like for a while it was a funny thing to do to mess with the producer tag at the beginning of a show or movie if it was a comedy that liked breaking the 4th wall. And it works perfectly.
First, this is an absurd length to go for authentication. Second, not only does this not contain any cuts up through the shadow (Nibbler, robot, don't know, but the shadow is there) but the lack of Fry's VO during the Donkey Kong opening also meshes with my knowledge of the first cut of the episode. Third, repairing cassettes of any type was a critically important skill, and it's dying out because now it's useless.
But now that it's authenticated, my response is a Benderesque "Neat."
📸
The DK intro started after Fry's VO. The damage to the tape made him have to skip it
Eh, "neat" is okay, but "amazing" would be neat.
I had to learn how to repair and splice VHS tapes for my job digitizing home media. Repairing VHS tapes really isn't that difficult. It's those damn MiniDv's that suck to repair.
Interesting. This guy went back in time and replaced this screener tape with a fake copy from nowadays. I can't believe it.
23:58 proof that none of us have a life
You see why the BerenstEIN Bears BS persists.
He did in fact showed the whole opening with sped up parts on first release, just confirming in case it gets forced blurred or cut by UA-cam
*show
@@x808drifterpeople don't do this anymore...
Can confirm. Only part he skipped was *after* the nibbler shadow until the JFK jr reference, and then again after that until the end. Nothing was skipped before the nibbler shadow.
Ditto
It's a sci-fi comedy show made by some of the nerdiest writers in existence.
Of course they'd add a random weird shadow there just in case they want to do a time travel episode.
And it could be anything! An alien, a weird device, a... half-melted Bender.
I think that’s the most pertinent point. The shadow was there, but there’s no reason it had to be Nibbler.
Yeah, the bender and/or robot reference seems more likely.
@@IxodesPersulcatus I mean, in some timelines Bender is there. Sometimes twice. And sometimes Fry twice, if I recall. But not his girlfriend, that was later.
Even if half of that turns out to be wrong or movie non-canon, I'm very confused as to how I can remember that and forget basic words I use every day. But I will never forget the Franklinator!
Okay… but they made it nibbler and intentionally made Nibbler look like the shadow. Point deboonked.
Futurama was literally the smartest show on TV. The writers had multiple PHDs, Master degrees, and over 50 years of combined HARVARD education.
They literally invented a mathematical theorem JUST SO AN EPISODE COULD MAKE SENSE... And people DON'T think they could have done something as SIMPLE as pre-plan Nibbler's shadow?
Futurama writing is what Rick & Morty writing thinks it is
@@Scott... Futurama writing is what Rick & Morty writing has wet dreams of being
@@Scott...To be fair, you have to have a very high IQ to understand Rick and Morty. The humour is extremely subtle, and without a solid grasp of theoretical physics most of the jokes will go over a typical viewer's head. There's also Rick's nihilistic outlook, which is deftly woven into his characterisation- his personal philosophy draws heavily from Narodnaya Volya literature, for instance. The fans understand this stuff; they have the intellectual capacity to truly appreciate the depths of these jokes, to realise that they're not just funny- they say something deep about LIFE. As a consequence people who dislike Rick & Morty truly ARE idiots- of course they wouldn't appreciate, for instance, the humour in Rick's existential catchphrase "Wubba Lubba Dub Dub," which itself is a cryptic reference to Turgenev's Russian epic Fathers and Sons. I'm smirking right now just imagining one of those addlepated simpletons scratching their heads in confusion as Dan Harmon's genius wit unfolds itself on their television screens. What fools.. how I pity them. 😂
And yes, by the way, i DO have a Rick & Morty tattoo. And no, you cannot see it. It's for the ladies' eyes only- and even then they have to demonstrate that they're within 5 IQ points of my own (preferably lower) beforehand. Nothin personnel kid
Which theorem? Is it related to the video Mathologer did on the body/soul swapping plot?
@@wompastompa3692Yes, that one.
This video could have been 5 seconds long, "yep it's there." Instead I was FORCED to sit through an enjoyable, well explained story! I've been subjugated to pleasant things!
I.C. Video
Reminds me of my wedding night.
Only needed five seconds to get things done. Forced to stretch out the proceedings for 20+ minutes. But not so bad either way.
I just want to say, I appreciate your meticulousness in creating this video. While I personally didn't need it to believe, I'm not that variety of internet person, I really appreciate the amount of work you went through to make this unquestionable.
It’s crazy that while making the pilot they
A. Already knew how they would tie the show together
B. Include something in the pilot that would obviously require the show to get green lit to pay off
C. Include something they choose to not reveal super early in case they got cancelled
in case they got cancelled 😂 nice one.
How many times did they get cancelled?
@@friendlyneighbourhoodsteve4087 I think cancellation more refers to permanent closure.
B! Nail! Final answer!
@@friendlyneighbourhoodsteve4087 I meant like not paying it off during the first season
D. Not mention the big secret about the insiduous mysterious shadow and how it might be connected to the possible moral flexibility of one of their own at least twice per episode
if you can put this whole VHS recording on internet archive
yeah he really should, before it degrades any further
Got to see the unblurred version, neat!
You did a great job on this that I subscribed, I also fully appreciate the realism of the vhs tape fail that you kept in. I wasn’t lucky enough to catch Futurama until a few years after it aired but I’ve seen almost every episode (except whatever is “new”). Now to binge some of your other content
I never knew this was a debate among futarama die-hards, but the level of execution and the effort to be as transparent as possible to settle the issue is simply beautiful. Gonna go check out some more of your vids now!
Never heard of this debate before this video. Still, this was exactly the content needed to resolve the dispute. Great work.
The levels of dedication to put this controversy to bed and the measures taken to ensure authenticity and transparency are next level. A real "Bite my shiny metal a$s," moment to the shadow deniers. Good job!!
#1:00 There are two explanations as to why they didn't look for Fry... in the Cryonic Woman (Season 2 Ep 19) Michelle said they his parents called off the search the next day saying that it would be a waste of tax payer's money... then we have the altered continuity from Bender's Big Score (Season 5 Ep 1), where Fry/Lars returned from the future, and it was as though he never froze himself
Thank you! It is AMAZING the lengths you went to in order to answer this question... Subscribed! P.S.-Imagine what you could accomplish if you applied yourself to something useful!
Dude, you’re the best. Thank you for answering the question. I didn’t even think to ask your UA-cam skills are amazing BTW.
I used to collect Press Kits, that tape certainly looks the part. Probably a T30, not very common on the home market.
Screeners were better videos, but pressers generally came with more "candy"
if youre able to rip/up the alternate version of the main theme that'd be cool! never heard it before.
weird people would think nibbler was never there, even before this we had more evidence he was than not, considering the most evidence he wasnt there was recollections 20+ years later
Plus nibbler was only properly introduced in episode 4 so at the very minimum they already had some of the plans finalized by the time the pilot finished production. Kinda makes me wonder if in an alternate timeline where the show got cancelled after season 2 there would be fans debating what that mysterious shadow was.
Those people must be from the alternate timeline where it actually *was* retconned... but that also happens to be the same timeline where Futurella actually stayed on-air the entire time, and didn't get cancelled 500 times like it did in this one, so... double-edged sword, I guess? ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
i was here immediately when this video was released, there were no cuts or blurs, only speedups as mentioned
I can verify this. No cuts or blues, only speed ups.
Yeah, I can verify too.
Same
I don't believe you guys, I'm going to need to see an unreleased preview screener as proof
Same. That's the first time I've heard the original line before it got re-dubbed, too. Neat.
Love the video. Extremely thorough, even showing the editing. Bravo my friend.
13:40 Fun fact, the latinamerican spanish dub actually uses the original JFK Jr. joke.
I fully believed that it was added in later, because I watched the original airing and didn't see a shadow. But, I apparently just missed it! Thank you for settling the matter. This was a fascinating and fun journey!
i imagine many people didnt see it in the original airing because of crummy contrast settings on their tvs causing it to get blown out. or whatever the opposite of that is for blacks. blown in??
@@coyo_t I’d imagine most people never realized it because they weren’t looking for it too.
Nobody ever saw Nibbler at that point. There's no way *ANYBODY* could recognize his shadow.
@@coyo_t When you can't see detail in darker areas it's called crushed blacks
Someone find the guy who made the wall of text post 4:57, you just know they're on suicide watch right now
Truly sickened to see that Futurama mocked (perhaps predicted? perhaps PLANNED?!?!) the death of JFK Jr by implying that he wouldn't be alive in the year 3000. =(
It's not surprising though, given the relation to The Simpsons which is known for "predicting" the future.
@@eKalb33 - Ah yes, the predictive power of Real Life Actually Just Being Quite Repetitive.
it was the plane thing. bit on-the-nose (like how he landed)
Lol, I knew you were going to have issues with that tape as soon as you showed how crinkled it was. You dealt with that like a champ!
That aside, thanks for that. I, for one, appreciate the effort. I recorded it here in Australia when it first aired, but then recorded over it when I got the DVDs. When this whole 'shadowgate' thing started up, I could have sworn it wasn't on that original recording, but this has certainly reinforced to me the fallibility of human memory... well, mine anyway.
The work you put in to make this video is beautiful. Great work on the explaination of your process and the background to getting the tape is excellent.❤
Thank you so much!
Great video! I really appreciate the lengths you went to to prove its authenticity. Again, really enjoyed this. Great work!
Holy shit. I thought for years they retconned it. But no, it was there from the beginning
Thats awesome to see that the shadow has always been there. But I do have a theory on why people say the shadow isn't.
Old tvs, were dark, and smaller then what we have now, hell my laptop I am using to type this has a better screen and resolution then the most high end top dollar TV back in the 90s/2000s. Meaning that people might have not seen the shadow due to how inferior TVs were at the time.
Its also a blink and you miss it scene and not a lot of people had access to frame by frame software
Also, no one was looking for Nibbler at the time, no one knew who the character was, why he'd be there, or what he looked like.
That's a really good point. I would have originally watched it on a little 15-16" old school fat-screen telly with pretty horrendous resolution.
@@Ericshadowblade on top of that, frame-by-frame viewing on a VCR was pretty bad due to the way in which the frame data was stored on the tape. you almost always had huge artifacts covering a good chunk of the screen unless you had an extremely high-end VCR. combine that with some TVs/VCRs at the time having iffy contrast and it's understandable that people would miss the shadow.
Well.... aside from causing eye cancer, these things had a lousy low definition picture. On a screen like that, you couldn't even make out Amy's obscene tattoo.
I'm here due to my nerdiness. I apologize for nothing.
Great video, thanks for the research. The only thing i would of mentioned was when you show the original pictures of the tape from the original owner the long back sticker is'nt perfectly stuck on and loosing adhesive in some spots and you say you thought you did that but realized it was like that from the original pictures however when your showing the up close shots the video labels is straighter ( im guessing you pushed the label firmer to the tape to temporary keep it from getting looser ) i only mention this because some might say something bogus but you can see when your putting the tape in the vcr the label is slightly ruffled again. Please make sure to keep that prized gem safe and thanks again :-)
I could've never predicted this would become your most popular video. Still underrated though. Any video of yours below 500k is a crime
Wow. Thank you!
14:16 they were so busy asking if they COULD add the shadow, they didn’t stop to ask if they DID add the shadow
So glad we got an answer. How did we even doubt it would be here.
Before "the Why of Fry" aired I thought that shadow was Bender since you can't see the eye and it looks like an antenna. My dad spotted that shadow originally when we watched a taped version of that episode together. I also watched the first airing but didn't notice that shadow at that time.
Thanks for settling that! I didn't start watching Futurama until maybe a couple years after it first aired, first episode I watched was just a random one that was on TV. Later I ended up buying the DVD collection, and upon reaching the episode where you find out the why, I immediately watched the first episode to verify whether the shadow was there or not. To my surprise it was, and I had completely missed that detail on the first watch. I thought that was pretty neat how it was actually there. Just now I seen this video, had no idea there was the possibility that it was added later. But now I have clarification. Awesome video!
You are a legend at padding this video out.
I have been wondering about exactly this lately.
Cheers for finding an original.
Also, "End credits Missing (0:30)" is on there so they can line up run time with a tv schedule
I did not realize this was a controversy Glad you could solve this mystery
I just realized "I always thought by this point in my life I'd be the one making the crank calls." is a joke since he's in his 20s.
I’ve wondered about this for years. But never quite enough to look into it myself. Thanks for making all this effort!
Great video man. Futurama is one of my favorite shows ever, the writing and delivery of the lines is pure comedy Gold. I am soooooo glad that the debate has been put to rest. I really need to get me a VCR again. As a kid my parents had a Panasonic top loader with UHF and VHF knobs. A chunky beast, but loved by me
i just assumed i was arguing with children when they disputed nibbler being there. people my age or older, KNOW and have no interest in why others have a seperate memory of the same thing.
either way. i knew it and this was a very interesting way to show the validity of that memory. things like this make me confident in my ability to remember and recall.
I like the info but this could have been a 3 minute video without the nonsense.
yeah this was drawn out forever for no real reason, there was so much time spent that added no information
I think it is pretty clear from shadow itself
You can see, that the shadow does not perfectly match todays Nibbler
And Marge Simpson was going to be some kind of bunny being in disguise. Details will tend to change.
same energy as when flat earthers deny evidence of the earth being round.
@@AnAverageGoblin What? What does this have to do with flat-earthers arguing? It was just the pilot episode, and designs tend to change. Just look at South Park and compare the pilot, the first season, and the second season.
If they added it later, why would they have used a slightly different shadow for Nibbler?
I really appreciate the effort taken to verify this and it is very awesome to know that was part of the episode from the very beginning.
This was a find! The discovery is surprising and was the opposite of what I expected. I feel grateful to have seen this. Thank you for tracking this down and settling this mystery.
I remember seeing the shadow the first time it aired in my area. I had no idea people disputed that it was there until now.
Damn, Imagine if the tape actually got damaged trying to record it
That was a close call
Lucky he used such a high end late model VCR. It would have been a different story if it was a cheap or older model without snag sensors lol
@@luciandragos8556 Late time VCRs all use cheap ass reading heads. That said, yeah.. the snag sensors were amazing :D
Wow! It's so incredible that they had the dedication to go back and edit all recordings of the pilot to add the shadow in after the fact!
IKR?!?!
The only reason I can remember what I had for breakfast last week is bc it's the exact same thing I ALWAYS have for breakfast LOL!!
(Except for Christmas day when I made - & RUINED - crockpot cinnamon rolls)
😿
in fact they even used a time machine. hahhahahha
A lot of folks commented that this should have been common knowledge and was confirmed in commentary/and interview that Matt had a plan starting out.
Well, I'm a relatively casual Futurama fan who didn't know that. I eagerly watched the premier as it aired, as I was already an avid young Simpsons fan but I was only 8 or so, and have no distinct memory of the airing. And starting out watching this video I would have put money on that shadow not being there. So from somebody for whom this video solved a genuine mystery, thank you! There was something so thrilling about seeing that shadow appear, I think I startled my wife with how I sat up and shouted "Oh WOW!" 😂
This is so cool. Thank you for making and sharing the video with us.
I used to have a tape that was a combo of some 1999 recording of the pilot taped over for a few minutes at the beginning by footage of me as a newborn, a few months after the pilot did its thing. I haven't been in possession of the tape for years, I would say it's gone for good. I don't know when the recording was actually made in March, or if we had Nibbler's shadow. I'm writing the comment about 1/3 into the video to keep its suspense fresh for a bit.
I personally get House M.D. Pilot DVD vibes from this. I don't know the intended audience for that one, but it did have an online feedback box.
That "Do not tip the delivery boy" joke made me rage on the inside of my outside. Which, topologically speaking, is my outside!!
Wait was this always the intent of the joke? I never thought of the double meaning of 'tipping' in when reading it before
@@sammowastaken I feel like it probably wasn't the intention, but I could see it having been pointed out in the writer's room.
It's the same with fricken Publix. We don't accept tips.
This literally makes the higher ups, managers, and bosses unhappy that their employees under them are trying to get out of poverty and accepting tips from the customer (even if the customer is being nice to help someone out). Literally explains that dead end jobs aren't allowed to have the poor be tipped
I am (was?) a shadow skeptic. This is so hard to believe. But I can't really argue with the evidence...
Thank you for finally answering this question I've had for over a year.
Is it hard to believe or is it hard to be proven wrong? I don't find this hard to believe at all.
Lmfao mfs like you still saying (was?) even after ALL this evidence are why mfs go to such extremes to show evidence 😂
@@mrheisenberg83 Hard to believe. Do you pay attention to the stories you read at all, or do you just CONS000ME PRODUCT! Extremely few storytellers actually plan out their stories as far in advance as this indicates.
How is it hard to believe? Nibbler gets introduced in episode 4. Clearly they already had this planned.
I like how people are smart enough to make the cryo tanks and have them work....but not when looking for somebody who might be lost in one. But that's the show in a nutshell.
Not sure why this showed up in my algorithm, but really enjoyed the video! Loved how far you went to prove you were being honest. Keep up the good work!
If you're watching this just fast forward to 23:32 because everything before hand is just this guy repeating himself and then learning how to use a VCR