Amy goes for her doctorate, but her thesis is used by intelligent cats as a means to destroy the Earth. With the rest of the company controlled, only Amy and Nibbler can save the day...or can they?
Tropes
- A Day in the Limelight: For Amy and Nibbler.
- Armor-Piercing Question: When Amy suggests using the device the other way to restart Earth's rotation, Wernstrom mockingly points out it would rotate Earth the wrong way. However when Amy asks why that's a problem, he is utterly dumbfounded.
- Artistic License – History: The flashback to Egypt in 3,500 BC shows a domestic dromedary camel. Camels did not arrive in Egypt until 2,500 BC. Also, the Great Sphinx is shown as sand-colored as in modern times, when it should be red with a blue and yellow headdress.
- Bait-and-Switch: When the committee members vote to deny Amy's doctorate, each of them say "nay", setting up for Professor Fisherprice Shpeekenshpell, a Fisher Price See N' Say on a robot body, to say "neigh" when the arrow on his head points to the horse. Instead, he says "DOCTORATE DENIED" in a stern tone when it lands on the horse.
- Cats Are Mean: Combine this trope with Aliens Are Bastards and you get the cats from Thubian-9, who are willing to leave Earth a half-freezing, half-burning planet in order to save their own.
- Continuity Nod: The Planet Express sub-basement, and its pool of molten lava, return as an important setting in the episode.
- Cuteness Proximity:
- Leela towards Nibbler at the beginning. He finds it patronizing.
- How the cats control the company.
- Deceptively Cute Critter: The cats pretend to be adorable house pets, but in reality are scheming to manipulate humans into building a device that will transfer Earth's rotational energy to their home planet.
- Description Cut: In the flashback, the cat leader states that after everything went bad, the top cat scientists "went to work". One is manning (catting?) a giant telescope, while the other... is cleaning itself.
- Disability Immunity: Amy's cat allergy renders her immune to the cats' charms.
- Dude, Where's My Respect?: Nibbler was outed as sapient in the third movie, and would like to be treated as such instead of a pet...though it's implied that he kinda likes it.
- Evil Counterpart Race: Katz and his species fits this trope more than the Brain Spawn did to Nibbler and the Nibblonians. Nibbler even lampshades this a bit twice, first when he realizes that Katz can talk, mirroring how they both Masquerade themselves as pets to hide their true intentions and when he almost gets hypnotized by Katz's cuteness.Nibbler: How ironic. Two hyper-intelligent beings both pretending to be simple house pets!
(later, when he's trying to override Katz's hold over the Planet Express crew)
Nibbler: Aw... (shakes himself) Damn, they are good. - Elmuh Fudd Syndwome: Anywu-... anyone brainwashed by the cats starts tw-... talking like this. Gets taken to incomprehensibility when Amy realizes everyone at Planet Express has been brainwashed.Fry: Just stwoke its fwuffy fwur!
Hermes: Scwatch its fuzzy chin!
Bender: Fweeble its fwoofy pwaw! - "Eureka!" Moment: Amy has one to figure out how to undo the cats' plans. Mocked and lampshaded by the Professor.The Professor: Pfft, you can't suddenly know something just by assembling a committee of words. (Gasp) That's it! I'll assemble your committee!
- Evil Is Petty: Professor Katz ridicules and sabotages Amy's thesis, then steals it to save his own species.Katz: Welcome to academia.
- Fluffy the Terrible: All the cats. Two of the ones named are Mister Winkles and Smudge-Smudge. The cat leader mentions an Obliteron, who masquerades as a hamster.
- Funny Background Event: As Amy gives her presentation on how to save the Earth, Fry's already fallen asleep before she's begun talking.
- Future Imperfect: The fact that a professor managed to figure out cows went "moo" is treated as a huge academic achievement.
- Genius Ditz: Amy is an ABSOLUTE Ditz. However, this reminds us, she IS an engineering graduate student who designs a machine to harness the rotational energy of the Earth. Also, she officially gains her doctorate at the end of the episode, so she is the ultimate Genius Ditz.
- Hypocritical Humor:
- Nibbler claiming that nothing acts cute without an ulterior motive. Even keeping in mind his actions through the entire series, he follows this up by acting cute to trick Amy into changing his diaper.
- "We're not building something sinister, if that's what you're implying! Now come on, Bender, something sinister won't build itself!"
- I Need a Freaking Drink: The night before Amy's presentation, the gang go to the Hip Joint and have a drink to help her relax. And another. And another. And possibly several more.
- Labcoat of Science: Amy begins the episode wearing one while performing SCIENCE. She later has to borrow the Professor's when she shows up half-naked to her doctoral thesis.
- Late-Arrival Spoiler: As confirmed in the third movie, the Planet Express crew all know Nibbler is sapient and can talk.
- Laser-Guided Karma: For trying to steal the Earth's rotation and roasting/freezing the Earth, the cats are left to roast in the day and freeze in the night once again after everyone gets the Earth to rotate backwards.
- Making Love in All the Wrong Places: Amy and Kif get it on on the floor of the Hip Joint. Only one person notices, and that's Hedonism-bot, who asks to join in.
- Mythology Gag. It's not the first time Maurice LaMarche has voiced a small furry creature who schemed to rule the world by stopping the planet's rotation.
- Mix-and-Match Critter: The cat homeworld has chicken-salmon, ideal for the hungry kitty.
- No Celebrities Were Harmed: "Captain Fuzzytoes"' voice is based on actor James Mason.
- "Not Wearing Pants" Dream: Subverted, it's not a dream. Amy has to give a lecture and doesn't realise until she's at the podium that she isn't fully dressed.
- Oh, Crap!: Amy has one early on when she realises she's hungover, and she's got to be on time to display her thesis. On Mars. In ten minutes.
- Poke the Poodle: In-between legitimately screwing over Earth, the cats leave a dead bird in their victims' slipper.
- Ridiculously Cute Critter: Amy's assessment of the cat.Amy: I gotta admit, that is one adorable cat.
- Toilet Humor: After being freed from the Thubians' control, Bender questions why his compartment is "full of sand... and Tootsie-Rolls".
- Well-Intentioned Extremist: Katz and his entourage want their home planet, Thubian-9, to be livable again after it had stopped its rotation next to the sun. Their solution involved stopping Earth's rotation and transmitting it to their planet, almost ending that planet in the process.
- You Can Talk?: Nibbler's reaction to Katz being a talking cat. Katz himself also has this reaction to Nibbler.
