After stupidly destroying the new headquarters for Democratic Order Of Planets, or DOOP, Zapp Brannigan and Kif are drummed out of the service — and into the Planet Express crew, much to Leela's consternation.
Tropes
- Amazon Chaser: While at the DOOP conference, Fry briefly hits on the Amazonian ambassador.
- Artistic License – Law: Lampshaded, when every time something happens in Zapp's trial, the judge declares "I'm going to allow this".
- Artistic License – Physics: Played for Laughs. Despite the fact that Stumbos 4 has a strong enough gravitational force to convert regular pillows to 150 pounds each (or 70kg), working on the planet is depicted as a strenuous inconvenience for the Earthlings, rather than a quickly fatal enterprise. At the very least, the Professor lampshades that they should reasonably by crushed under the weight of their own hair, and a cut scene shows a man who’s short, stout and strong enough to lift the pillows like they’re nothing.
- Buffy Speak: When Fry sends his knight against Bender's bishop in their holographic "chess" game:Fry: Horsey to pointy guy six.
- Call-Back: One of the pieces in Bender and Fry's holographic table game is Murg, the Trisolian high priest from "My Three Suns". Chancellor Gorgak from the same episode later shows up at the new DOOP headquarters, together with one of the Robot Elders and one of the mini-Glurmos.
- Characterization Marches On: In his first appearance, the Hyper-Chicken is depicted as a complete idiot who only asks inadmissible and/or irrelevant questions, and nearly gets the very Open-and-Shut Case against Zapp thrown out via his incompetence. In future episodes, while he's still far from the best lawyer around, he's nowhere near as outright incompetent as depicted here.
- Early-Installment Weirdness:
- Hermes referring to Star Trek openly, in a way that suggests nobody knows about it.
- Kif walking around without gloves on, since his species reproduces through touch. Though this reproductive cycle is only triggered by powerful feelings of love, so as long as he is not in this emotional state then gloves would not be needed.
- Even Evil Has Standards: Invoked but parodied by Zapp with his hatred for the Neutrals—"With enemies at least you know where you stand, but Neutrals? Who knows? It sickens me."
- Extreme Doormat: For whatever reason, Kif goes along with Zapp when they become broke and homeless.
- Funny Background Event: The minute Kif steps out onto the heavy gravity world, his head immediately hits the ground and squishes.
- Homage: Zapp and Kif are thrown out of the military and have to live like hobos on the streets. Zapp dresses up in cowboy leather clothing and hustles on a street corner, to the tune of "Everybody's Talkin' at Me". The entire montage is a straight homage to Midnight Cowboy.
- Hypocritical Humor:Zapp Brannigan: Kif, it's time to begin our life as civilians. That's an order, soldier!
- After a whole episode being the Only Sane Man, at the very end of the episode Leela tells Fry and Bender they're going to mutiny against the Professor when he won't let them have time off.
- I Have This Friend: Said after Zapp asks:Zapp: Let me ask you a serious question, Leela: Does the company that made your bra make a girdle as well?
- Insane Troll Logic:
- Zapp's reasoning for hating neutrals.
- Zapp thinks that crashing the PE ship into the Neutral government's headquarters will get him his commission back. Even Kif points out that his plan makes no sense whatsoever immediately after Zapp says it.
- During the trial, Zapp's cross-examination of Leela consists of getting her to admit to having had sex with him, then asserting that this somehow proves him innocent.
- Improvised Imprisonment: Fry, Bender, and Brannigan mutiny against Leela and lock her in the ship's laundry room.Brannigan: Throw her in the brig.
Fry: We don't have a brig.
Brannigan: Then throw her in the laundry room, which will hereafter be referred to as "the brig". - Kangaroo Court: Zapp's could likely have made a case for a biased jury, seeing as all of them had been injured when he destroyed the space station. (It takes them less than a minute of deliberation to deliver a guilty verdict. Of course, he obviously is guilty.)
- Mean Boss: Leela, in a rare combination with Benevolent Boss. Yes, she is harsh on Fry and Bender, but they are legitimately lazy and stupid, so if she doesn't act mean, they'd never do their job (or screw it up beyond recovery). And she's a damn sight better captain than Zapp would ever be.
- The Mutiny: Zapp convinces Fry and Bender to join one in order to remove Leela as captain of the Planet Express Ship and replace her with him. They later stage a counter-mutiny when Zapp's insane plans threaten to get them all killed. The episode ends thusly:Fry: Leela, I just want you to know that even though you're mean, you're the best captain ever.
Bender: Yeah, you're one dynamite lady. Can we have a week off?
Leela: No.
Fry: Please?
Bender: Come on, Captain.
Leela: Oh, alright.
Farnsworth: (overhearing) No time off!
Fry: Aw, man!
Leela: Let's mutiny! - Never My Fault: Whilst on trial for destroying the DOOP headquarters, Zapp first declares immediately that he's not guilty, then gives a passionate speech about how they can strip him of his rank and medals, but they can't take his dignity, before turning around and declaring "Plus it was mostly Kif's fault". And despite just being court martialed himself, the court actually listens and court-martials Kif as well.
- Notably Quick Deliberation: The jury in Zapp's trial walk into another room to deliberate, then immediately walk back into the courtroom again.
- The Oldest Profession: What Zapp and Kiff are forced to turn to after losing their jobs.
- Ribbon-Cutting Ceremony: Zapp was supposed to cut the ribbon for the new HQ with the oversized novelty scissors the crew was delivering but elected to use his ship's death ray instead. It cuts the ribbon successfully... as well as the entire space-station.
- Sentenced Without Trial: All it took for Kif to get court-martialed as well was for the recently court-martialed Zapp to blame him for destroying DOOP, no trial needed.
- Shout-Out:
- The episode begins with Fry and Bender playing a game of Dejarik.
- Zapp and Kif stroll around to the song "Everybody's Talkin'" dressed as Joe Buck and Ratso Rizzo — with Ratso (Kif) being the prostitute.
- Skewed Priorities:Bender: Leela, save me! And yourself, I guess! And my banjo! [Beat] ...And Fry.
- Take That!: DOOP's old headquarters are situated in New Jersey, with the building being dilapidated and run down.
- Taking You with Me: In one of his biggest moments as a Jerkass, Zapp blames the destruction of the space station on Kif, getting him court-martialed as well.
- With Us or Against Us: Zapp takes it to extremes with his hatred of Neutrals.
- Yank the Dog's Chain: Kif finally gets a captain he likes, with a boss who isn't Zapp, and even manages to laugh again. Just as he starts being happy, Fry and Bender mutiny. Then, Kif's dragged back into working with Zapp.
- You Have Outlived Your Usefulness: Zapp has Fry and Bender mutiny on Leela so that he can be captain—and his first order is to crash the whole ship, crew and all (except for him and Kif, escaping in the only spacesuits) into the Neutral planet!
