My Favourite Characters - Phillip J Fry

Futurama is one of my all time favourite comedies and one of the best television shows that I have ever seen, but none of it would work without it's main character, Phillip J Fry. Fry was originally from the 20th century, stuck in a dead end job and going nowhere with his life, that was until he ended up frozen and woke up in the year 3000 where even though his life stayed relatively the same, he was happy and felt like he belonged. He had new friends, was happier with his job and the world was just as silly and strange as he was. On the most basic of levels that make me love Fry is how funny he is, always making me laugh with his idiotic antics, his crazy schemes with Bender and his misunderstandings of 31st century culture. He's a hilarious character played excellently by Billy West, who also plays other excellent characters in the show like Professor Farnsworth, Zapp Brannigan and fan favourite Zoidberg. But Fry is my favourite of his characters because of how relatable he is, even in the wacky world of the year 3000 he still maintains the heart & soul of a 20th century kid, making his problems relatable, his relationships identifiable and him as a whole the audiences anchor and surrogate. Not to mention, he's a total nerd and proud of it, unlike a lot of characters in today's pop culture that tries to glorify being a nerd and either misrepresents them or ends up making fun of them (*cough* Big Bang Theory *cough*) Fry is a blend between the two, still expressing why it's a good thing the way he is, but also acknowledging sometimes being a nerd can be lame, but respectable nonetheless.

But there is still more to him than his stupidity making him funny, it also makes him endearing. He is simple minded, but he's also loyal and focused, what he's good at, he excels at and has actually saved the world a number of times. When I say he's endearing, I mean his connection to his friends and how he cares for them, but the biggest one of all is Leela, a woman he loves so much that he constantly tries to better himself for her, to be the person she deserves, but he doesn't want to do it by cheating, he still wants her to love him for him. It's this commitment and dedication he has to the people he loves the most that makes me love him as a character. This also means that he takes joys in the simple things in life, respecting what he has while he has it and find joy in everything he can. Someone this dumb but this much optimism and potential is something quite admirable.

Fry is the optimist who never stops smiling, he makes his friends laugh and cares for his loved ones, he shows that even if you're not a genius, you can still have the makings of greatness and shows how nerds are cool, yet dorky. I relate to Fry in a lot of ways, if anything he might be one of my most relatable characters yet there is still plenty of him to admire and his dedication to his loved ones inspires me to also better myself for my loved ones. That is why he's one of my all time favourite characters.

-Danny