The Honking

"The Honking" is the thirty-first episode of Futurama, the eighteenth of the second production season and the first of the third broadcast season. It aired 5 November, 2000 on FOX. Bender becomes cursed and starts haunting his friends during the night, in search for the origin of the Were-Car, they end up in a final battle against Project Satan.

Act I: "Pardon me, my good simpleton..."
When Bender's Uncle Vladimir dies, the staff of Planet Express go to the funeral at his castle in Thermostadt. Vladimir has left Bender the castle in his will, they spend the night. The castle is haunted by robot ghosts. Bender runs scared from the castle and the Professor finds a logical explanation for the ghosts. Bender is run over by a car.

Act II: "You are a Were-Car!"
Bender has nightmares about the car. A car is seen chasing down some squatters. The next day, Bender awakens in Impound Lot 136 with no memory of the previous night and covered in transmission fluid. Bender seeks advice on the situation from the Gypsy and learns that he is now a Were-Car, doomed to become a car each night and eventually kill his best friend. He must kill the original Were-Car to remove the curse. Leela and Fry weld Bender to the wall of his apartment then leave, Bender transforms and chases Leela. This upsets Fry, who takes it as a sign that Bender does not consider him his best friend (as the Gypsy warned them that Bender would ultimately kill his best friend under the curse).

Act III: "Many robots are stupid and violent."
Bender, returns to normal and Fry tells him that he hurt his feelings. They attempt to track down the original Were-Car, with Fry still upset he's not Bender's best friend, and reach Calculon, who reveals his past as a construction robot in 2019 and tells them where to find the car, Project Satan. At the automotive lab, Bender transforms and tries to kill Fry, which cheers Fry up. Project Satan falls into an incinerator and melts to death, curing Bender.

Trivia

 * Headstones in the graveyard read
 * Blimf Hovermayor of Thermostadt "I Will Rise Again"
 * THE RED LeBARON (a mixture of the WWI german pilot and the Chrysler produced automobile)
 * Vladimir 2790-3001 Efficient Husband and Father.
 * The numbers on the wall 0101100101 the number 357 in binary. But in the mirror we see 1010011010, which is 666, which could mean Bender has Hexakosioihexekontahexaphobia, fear of the number 666.
 * Calculon is over a thousand years old having been Acting Unit 0.8, Thespomat, David Duchovny, Calculon 1.0 (a robot construction arm) and others.
 * This is the first time that Bender says butt instead of ass.

Quotes

 * Fry: Bender's supposed to murder his closest friend, which I thought was me. But he went straight for you! He didn't even try to second-degree murder me! Leela: Could you give me some help? I think Bender crushed my foot. Fry: Stop rubbing it in!
 * Gypsy: You have nothing to worry about. Except a nightmarish life of unremitting horror. Bender: Pfew!
 * Lawyer: And to my loving nephew Bender, assuming he's not responsible for my death, I leave my castle. Bender: Yes! Let's stay there tonight! Lawyer: On condition that he spends one night within its walls. Bender: Aw, man, there's always a catch!
 * Farnsworth: Just as I suspected. These robots were buried in improperly-shielded coffins. Their programming leaked into the castles wiring through this old, abandoned modem allowing them to project themselves as holograms. Hermes: Of course! It was so obvious! Farnsworth: Yes, that sequence of words I said made perfect sense.
 * Sal: We're all scared, it's the human condition. Why do you think i put on this tough guy facade?

Outside References

 * The painting with moving eyes is of Commodore LXIV, a reference to the Commodore 64 computers.
 * Likewise Tandy's shirt "Euro TRaSh-80" is in reference to the TRS-80 known by users as the Trash-80.
 * Ghosts seen in the castle includes the Windows logo and a flying toaster from the Windows screen savers.
 * The sound heard when laughing starts and when the binary written blood appears is the Windows 98.
 * The idea of a message on a wall that only makes sense when viewed in a mirror is a reference to the novel and movie, The Shining.

Goofs

 * Calculon claims to have been David Duchovny, but his head can be seen in a jar in the pilot episode. Additionally, the third comic, which was released after this episode aired, features an advertisement selling heads in jars including that of Duchovny.
 * For a few seconds when the Planet Express crew is seen searching Paris for Project Satan, the Eiffel Tower is seen stationary. However, in a later episode, the tower is seen hovering.
 * When the crew return from Thermostadt to New New York they pass the Statue of Liberty, holding a torch, while in the pilot episode she held a tube for the city transport system.

Characters

 * Amy
 * Bender
 * Calculon
 * Fry
 * Debut: Gypsy
 * Hermes
 * Leela
 * Preacherbot
 * Prof. Farnsworth
 * Debut: Project Satan
 * Sal
 * Debut: Tandy
 * Debut: Uncle Vladimir
 * Debut: "You-there"
 * Zoidberg

Episode Credits

 * Writer
 * Ken Keeler
 * Director
 * Susie Dietter
 * Voice Actors
 * Billy West
 * Katey Sagal
 * John DiMaggio
 * Tress MacNeille
 * Maurice LaMarche
 * David Herman
 * Lauren Tom
 * Phil LaMarr
 * Frank Welker
 * DVD Commentary
 * Matt Groening
 * David X. Cohen
 * Rich Moore
 * Ken Keeler
 * Susan Dietter
 * John DiMaggio
 * Billy West