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- "How 'bout "Blotto"? It's witty, it's got street cred. Plus I can keep my monogrammed slippers."
- ―Bender, choosing his Robot Mafia nickname.
"Bender Gets Made" is episode thirteen in Season Two of Futurama. It was originally shown in North America on April 30, 2000.
Plot
The Planet Express crew attends a taping of Elzar's television show, Essence of Elzar, much to the joy of Bender, who aspires to become a chef. Bender's personal admiration for Elzar does not prevent him from disrupting the show to be more of a part of it and when his camera's flashbulb momentarily distracts Elzar, the chef accidentally hits Leela in the eye with his spice weasel.
At Taco Bellevue Hospital, Leela is advised to wear an eye patch for a week, and since Leela has only one eye, the accident makes her temporarily blind. Elzar invites the entire crew to dinner at his restaurant in order to make up for the accident. He presents them with individually tailored dishes and after the dinner, he presents them with a tray of chocolates...with a bill underneath. Unable to pay, facing arrest of the whole crew by URL and Smitty, and not least because it would mean he would get to work with his idol, Bender suggests he work for Elzar to pay back the debt. The crew hasten to praise Bender's qualifications as an employee.
Bender begins working at Elzar's restaurant, Elzar's Fine Cuisine, as a busboy. The three members of the Robot Mafia, the Donbot and his goons Clamps and Joey Mousepad, come to eat at Elzar's. Bender attempts at grifting from them convinces the Donbot member that Bender would be a good prospect. Bender is offered a chance to join the Robot Mafia. Needless to say this is right up Bender's alley and his first few jobs run smoothly. The mafia tell Bender of their plans for a Zuban Cigar heist and recommend that he make sure of an alibi. Bender feigns illness with a video recording, to fool Fry. So, Fry, Leela and Nibbler set out for a delivery. All seems well until the target of the heist comes into view ahead of the mafia ship: the Planet Express ship. With Leela unable to pilot the ship, Fry both fires and steers, but the engines run out of fuel when Clamps clamps the fuel line. The mafia blindfold and tie up Fry and Leela. Bender is now able to move around without them seeing him and changes the setting on his voice modulator to an upper class English accent. The mafia, checking the ship's log, discover that a Robot is part of the crew: Bender's voice changing allows him to feign finding himself and beating himself up. Even Leela's blindfold coming off doesn't blow his cover, since she can only see a blurred silhouette. Bender pledges to stay behind to finish the "doity woik", further convincing the Donbot of his ruthlessness and loyalty. When they fly away, he ties himself up and pretends to have only just regained consciousness. At the Planet Express building, Leela removes her eyepatch and sees the same blurred silhouette, which turns out to be Farnsworth. Tinny Tim delivers Bender's share of the loot and Bender gives him a message to the Donbot: "I'm quitting organized crime. From now on I'll stick to the regular kind" and literally eats the money given from the Robot Mafia.
Alienese
- The text on the ambulance, which brings Leela to the hospital, says "Meat Truck" in Alienese.
Censorship
- The line "Sweet Zombie Jesus", first a subject of controversy in The Deep South, was again censored by Adult Swim when the episode aired there.
Ongoing Themes
Hermes and Zoidberg
When Leela damages the roof of the spaceship hangar, Hermes says to Zoidberg, "That's comin' outta your pay."
Character Arc
This episode revisits Bender's love of cooking.