Futurama (Comedy Central)

FUTURAMA's premise goes like this: Philip Fry (voiced by Billy West) is a 20th-century pizza boy who makes a delivery to a cryogenic institute, gets frozen, and wakes up in the year 3001. Fry immediately falls in with his distant nephew, Professor Farnsworth (West again); one-eyed ship captain, Leela (Katey Sagal); and their intergalactic delivery crew. He ends up living with kleptomaniac robot Bender (John Di Maggio) and patching together a rag-tag family.

Matt Groening, creator of The Simpsons, is also the mind behind Futurama, which takes place in the year 3001. Though his involvement with Futurama wasn't as consistent as it was with The Simpsons, Groening's influence is undeniably felt. Homer and Bart fans will enjoy seeing characters with familiar features; also familiar are the quick wit and unique plot lines. You never really know where this show is going, but you can expect a great ride.

The characters have a lot of character, which can make watching this series very entertaining. Jokes are funny, ironies are ironic, and all of the peripheral details offer bonus laughs -- even book covers, signs, newspaper headlines, and other bits of media featured in the background carry witticisms. But parents should watch out: Anything and everything can happen, and the series' unpredictable nature results in a broad range of potential red flags.