Why did the Harlem Globetrotters appear in Futurama? The animated sci-fi sitcom has had a number of guest stars, from noted voice actor Tom Kenney to Star Trek's Leonard Nimoy. However, the Harlem Globetrotters are an interesting and somewhat random guest appearance for the show. One might wonder how the famous basketball team ended up making cameos on Futurama.

The Harlem Globetrotters are an American exhibition basketball team created in 1926 by Abe Saperstein. Ironically, the team is based in Chicago, Illinois, yet they were renamed in 1930 as a nod to the cultural connotations of Harlem, a notable Black neighborhood in New York City. The Globetrotters are well-known for their combination of comedy, theatrical performance, and athleticism. They enjoyed a period as one of the most well-known teams, making news in 1948 after beating the Minneapolis Lakers (now the Los Angeles Lakers), but the NBA eventually overtook the Globetrotters in popularity during the 1950s. The Globetrotters' focus on entertainment while still being a solid basketball team has made them a hit with audiences.

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The Harlem Globetrotters' appearance in Futurama is a reference to their popularity in the '70s and '80s. During that weird period of cartoon history, the Globetrotters appeared on several animated shows. The team guest-starred in The New Scooby-Doo Movies, the second installation of Hanna-Barbera's Scooby-Doo series, which ran from 1972 to 1973. Scooby-Doo and Mystery Inc. first meet up with the Globetrotters in "The Ghostly Creep From The Deep," when the two groups get stuck in a swamp and must outwit the Ghost of Redbeard. The Globetrotters returned to solve mysteries with Scooby-Doo and his friends in two more episodes: "The Lochness Mess" and "The Mystery of Haunted Island." The Globetrotters had their own titular animated series from 1970 to 1971, as well as a spinoff, The Super Harlem Globetrotters, in 1979.

 

The world of Futurama takes place in the year 3000, after 20th-century pizza delivery man Philip J. Fry (Billy West) accidentally becomes frozen for a thousand years. In this future, the Globetrotters left Earth at some point for the Globetrotter Planet, which resembles a basketball. The team first appeared in Futurama season 3, episode 14, "Time Keeps On Slipping." The Globetrotters return to Earth and their leader, Ethan "Bubblegum" Tate (Phil LaMarr, who also voices Hermes in Futurama), challenges the planet to a game of basketball "for no reason." Professor Farnsworth accepts the challenge and creates a team of atomic mutants to take on the Globetrotters, though the chronitons needed to accelerate their growth ends up creating a rift in space and time, which the Globetrotters help the Planet Express crew fix. The team makes other cameos throughout the series, with season 7, episode 19, "Saturday Morning Fun Pit," parodying the Globetrotters' Scooby-Doo guest spots.

The Globetrotters' appearances in Futurama are a lot of fun. Their portrayal in the show as great scientific minds elevates their role as more than a random celebrity appearance. It's great that the Globetrotters were brought back multiple times in Futurama throughout its cancellations. It's unknown if the Globetrotters will appear in Hulu's upcoming revival of Futurama, but hopefully, the show can find a way to bring back the fictional versions of the iconic basketball team.

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