Lethal Inspection

In the episode Bender learns that he suffers from a terminal manufacturing defect, effectively rendering him mortal.

"Lethal Inspection" received positive reviews from critics, who viewed the emotional ending to be a return to form that the season had been missing.

After a reenactment of the "Sith-al War", Bender touts his perfection and "immortality", specifically citing his ability to download a backup copy of himself into a new working body should anything happen to his present one.

Bender soon discovers that he suffers from a terminal manufacturing defect: he is built without a backup unit, making him mortal.

Bender calls Mom's Friendly Robot Company, who created him, and tells her he is defective.

Successful, Hermes uploads false information to the Killbots claiming Bender has been eliminated, which ends their pursuit, before narrowly escaping the burning house.

However, Leela proves to be inept at the job, hiding many incomprehensible alien-language papers in plants in the building.

By the time Bender and Hermes return from Tijuana, the place is in complete chaos, with Scruffy attempting to cook Zoidberg and the ship being repossessed.

Hermes quickly returns Planet Express to good condition in one hour, burning many of the foreign papers in the fireplace, which he assures Leela he often does to make his job easier.

This is a reference to actor and comedian Paul Lynde, who was the regular "center square" on the show.

[5] He deals with the devastating news of his newfound mortality by trying to find the one person who he believes can answer his questions about the reason for his life and why he was allowed to "be born" only to die.

"Lethal Inspection" was down two tenths of a point from the previous week's episode "The Duh-Vinci Code".

In particular, Gallagher noted the highly effective use of the Central Bureaucracy, stating that it allowed the show to use a Douglas Adams-feel.

"[2] Robert Canning of IGN was also pleased with the episode, noting that Hermes' and Bender's team-up worked well and that the ending was cathartic.

It was an episode full of laughs, action and the kind of emotional tug the series has been missing of late.

But this isn't something I think will bother real fans, as that's part of what's given Futurama its cult audience in the first place: that the show gives a damn about its characters.