It’s not unusual for fictional date markers to be flagged by eager fans, whether it was the year that Marty McFly arrived in the future, or a thrilling (albeit inaccurate) science fiction fashion statement.
One Redditor has spotted something a little more obscure, and yet no less special, noting that it was 20 years ago today that Futurama’s Kif gave birth to his and Amy’s batch of wriggling offspring.
One of the key elements of the episode, Kif Gets Knocked Up a Notch, is Amy’s reluctance to enter parenthood at such a young age. She even goes so far as to temporarily abandon Kif shortly before the birth, re-joining him at the last moment to witness the event unfold.
As these tadpole creatures would not leave the water for two decades, the ending serves as something of an amusing deus ex machina resolution, absolving her of any responsibility until a much later date. And yet, somehow, here we are, with a myriad of caveats as noted above.
Indeed, in-universe the date of Jan. 12, 2003, is entirely irrelevant, as the show was set 1,000 years in the future and did not parallel real-world dates with its timeline. More accurately, Amy and Kif won’t be born for several more centuries, let alone their children.
With that being said, Futurama is eying yet another revival on Hulu this year, and though details are not yet clear as to when it will be set, it does offer an opportunity for at least an off-beat reference to be made to the anniversary of Amy becoming a smizmar for the first time.