A Clockwork Origin

"A Clockwork Origin" is the ninety-seventh episode of Futurama, the ninth of the sixth production season and the seventh broadcast season.

The Story
Professor Farnsworth, fed up with Creationists on Earth, moves to a Planetoid to escape the ignorance of humanity. Only to inadvertently create mechanical life which evolved from small cleaner robots designed to clean tainted water on the rock.

Allusions

 * Fry says the Professor's water supply looks like diet, a 21st century soft drink.
 * Scenes in which the crew fights and tries to escape from robot dinosaurs are in reference to the novel turned movie.
 * The "NANDerthal Cave Painting" exhibit at the robot museum is a pun on the, an extinct hominid, and , a data storage medium.
 * The "Ascent of Bot" displayed in the robot museum includes, a robot from the Star Wars movies.
 * The iFad is a reference to Apple's.
 * USB Today is a reference to . USB is presumably a shortening for the United States of Bot or similar.
 * The Superior Gort is a play on words, being a reference to both the and, a robot in the science-fiction film . Gort was designed as part of an interstellar police force created to maintain peace in the universe.

Continuity

 * Cubert uses a hoverboard, previously only seen used by Amy.
 * Hermes finds a fossilised dog and says "uh-oh, another one of Fry's dogs", a reference to "Jurassic Bark" in which the crew finds Fry's old dog Seymour Asses fossilised.
 * Amy accidentally cuts of her finger without making a big fuss about it, much like Fry gets his hands eaten off in "I Dated a Robot".
 * Zoidberg tries to do comedy in front of Cubert. His life-long dream to be a comedian was the main plot to "That's Lobstertainment!".
 * This is the second time the crew is under trial on a planet ruled by robots, the first being in "Fear of a Bot Planet".
 * Bender suggests that a robotic entity could have started life on earth. This might be because he knows of the Galactic Entity ("Godfellas"), which seemed capable of such acts.

Characters

 * Amy
 * Debut: Dr. Banjo
 * Dr. Ben Beeler
 * Bender
 * Brett Blob
 * Cubert
 * Professor Farnsworth
 * Debut: Flying Spaghetti Monster
 * Fry
 * Hermes
 * Hydroponic Farmer
 * Leela
 * Zoidberg