
The release of the new eyePhone leads Bender and Fry to have a "Fastest to 1,000,000 followers" contest, with the loser suffering a fate infinitely worse than death (the winner gets $1, and no, that is not a typo). But Fry soon discovers that the only way he can win is if he reveals Leela's secret shame to the entire world. How will she survive the "Attack of the Killer App"? Episode 3 of the new Futurama revival has the answers, and plenty of jokes if you don't get everyone's fascination with everything i.
Leela's pledge to be more energy-conscious after seeing the effects of Earth's recyclables on the Third World (of the Antares System) lasts only until she hears that MomCorp has released the new eyePhone. She and the rest of the Planet Express crew spend all day in a line to get to the other side of town, where they find that the eyePhone has no choice of carrier and an unchangeable battery (but Fry demands they take his money anyway). With all of New New York now with an eyePhone implanted directly into their eyes (why'd you think it was called an eyePhone?), everybody makes full use of the extra Twitcher service, which allows for sending messages, pictures and video to all their friends - and of course, their followers. Bender and Fry both embark on a contest to reach one million followers before the other. Fry's follower-count languishes in the double-digits (apparently, no one cares about his political views), until he discovers that Leela has a singing Scottish boil (named Susan) on her right buttcheek. She begs him to keep it a secret, but what would you do if faced with a pool full of vomit and diarrhea from a two-headed goat?
There's a subplot here - the evil Mom is shown to be orchestrating events - but it gets lost among layers and layers of pop culture pastiche and parody. There's so much satire of early 21st century trends (not all of them creative - the Susan boil is something I'd expect from Family Guy, and that's a harsh indictment in my book) that I was left wondering when the real story would start. The jokes are funny, but Futurama is a little late in getting onboard with the Twitter or iProduct jokes.
Being Futurama, though, you can't help but love it. The fact that everyone moves on from Leela's boil so quickly (and right to the eyePhone 2.0) suggests that writer Patrick Verrone knew the jokes didn't have a world of staying power, so despite the tired nature of the gags, they don't overstay their welcome. The Susan boil story lagged, but Craig Ferguson was quite entertaining as the Scottish boil (and gratuitous close-ups of Leela's bikini'd butt didn't hurt, either). Fry commands the best scenes in this episode, as when he finds out exactly how well integrated the eyePhone is to the human body, or his selfless (and smelly) act of contrition to Leela. "Attack of the Killer App" signs off with an entertaining, but nothing-to-write-home about 3.5/5.

