In retrospect, I suppose that audiences just weren’t ready for ‘Futurama’ initially. At the time, it was perceived as a close cousin to ‘The Simpsons’, but the humor was a mile-a-minute and much more cerebral. It was before ‘Family Guy’ (which was killed and later resuscitated by FOX) and before the late night mega-success Adult Swim (where you can currently see reruns). The show was always well-received but the ratings always went to more easily-digestible sitcoms .

Back when news surfaced that ‘Futurama’ was to return to Fox, expectations were high; the world has progressed so rapidly in the show’s cancelled years, lending ample opportunity for the writers to lampoon whatever the hell they want… this time with an eager audience on the receiving.

Newsarama.com caught up with Phil Lamarr, one of the show’s voice actors, who had this to say concerning to rebirth of an animated cult sitcom:

“We started last fall. Fall of 2009…the new episodes, in my opinion, are the best yet. They’re really, really funny. Some of them are really, really thoughtful as well. The guys have come back to the show with renewed energy. The writers and producers. And they’re happy to be back, and know the world and the characters so well that they’re able to…it feels like they’re better at it. They’re able to do more with it than they were before.”

You can read the interview in its entirety here.