Philip J. Fry I, better known simply as Fry and his alias Lars Fillmore, was a time paradox-duplicate of Fry living under an assumed name. He worked as a technician at the Head Museum, where he met Turanga Leela and briefly dated her, prior to his true identity being revealed. His personality was once said to be Philip I's before he gained some maturity and intelligence.
Bender's Big Score
Fry, while being chased by Nudar, exclaims he hates the future and reading the time travel code on his buttocks with a magnifying glass is sent back to the year 2000. He encounters Bender's time duplicate, and pushes him into the Cryogenic tube before leaving and heading to Panucci's Pizza where he asks for a slice, but lacking money (from that era), he returns to the cryogenic lab to eat I.C. Weiner's pizza from earlier in the night. The pizza was ice cold, so he goes back in time to get it while it was warm, thus creating the time-duplicate Philip I who would eventually become Lars. Philip I watched as his duplicate shoved Bender in the cryogenic tube before approaching his duplicate and complimenting his act. The duplicate thanked him and would ask why he was there, as the original explained why he used the code. After arguing for a while, which unknowingly prevents the duplicate from seeing the pizza being thrown away, the duplicate Philip I left as the original Philip I stayed and would accidentally return to the future after falling into a cryogenic tube with his past self. Duplicate Philip I then headed back to Panucci's, where instead of using the Time Code again, decided to rent the upstairs storage above Panucci's. During this time, the time-duplicate Philip I reintegrated into 21st century life, spending time with his family, delivering pizzas, using his Seven Leaf Clover in Basketball games against his brother Yancy Fry, Jr. and hanging out with his dog Seymour Asses. However, it is clear he misses Leela who when he left the future was with a man named Lars.
By 2003, after three years of pining after a not yet existent Leela, the time-duplicate Philip I decides to move on from his past (his past anyway, as it was the future) and after seeing a commercial gets a job as a whale caretaker with a disoriented narwhal named Leelu at the Old New York Aquarium after seeing a special interest story on the evening news. He stays with her until 2010, when he had to release her into the sea. Philip I decides to try and go after her on a small ship owned by Leroy (Mr. Panucci's cousin). After two years of searching, he finally manages to catch her and bring her aboard the ship.
But like Leela, Leelu wanted to be with another male, a narwhal, instead of Philip I. A now emotionally broken and visibly aging Philip I hesitantly releases the narwhal and returns to Old New York. Before entering he gives a now aged but happy Seymour a final fuss before departing to his apartment. He enters his apartment above a now closed and run down Panucci's Pizza. Bender, being controlled by Nudar and forced to go back in time to kill Philip I, the Robot destroys the building and inadvertently flash fossilizes an aged Seymour in the process.
(On a related side note: In the newly canonized paradox corrected reality, which is officially Philip J. Fry I in the 21st century, Seymour is seen being loved and cared for by Philip I until 2012, when the dog is inadvertently fossilized by Bender's weapon, explaining his proud and upright stance (instead of the broken dog last shown laying down to die at the end of Jurassic Bark.) These chain of events, by causality cancel out the newly replaced "old / original" reality when the once playful, loving and grateful dog was shown inconsolably waiting for Philip I every day outside of Panucci's for 12 years after Philip I was frozen. This part of the dialogue obviously rewrote the idea of Philip I going missing from his old life and Seymour. However, this only delayed his eventual disappearance as Lars in 2012 from the rest of his family. Although Seymour had seen him right throughout his own life and also explains why Seymour was fossilized. It was rumoured that Seymour was given a different ending to his previous one, by this time being with Philip I, as a result of the backlash the ending of Jurassic Bark had received, due to his heartbreaking end and therefore this alternative and eventual ending, was put in place so that Seymour this time spent the last 12 years of his life with Philip J. Fry I where he is forever happy, and thus giving the audience a satisfactory ending to Seymour's character.
In continuation, the inside of the apartment is shown engulfed in flames, burning off Philip I's hair as well as damaging his larynx: causing his voice to deepen. Duplicate Philip J. Fry I then discovers he was Lars Filmore all along after seeing both his newly altered appearance in a mirror and an old picture of Lars and Leela compelling him to run to Applied Cryogenics to be frozen by hitching a ride in his former girlfriend Michelle's tube freezing himself to be with Leela, further correcting the paradox.
When he awakens in the 31st Century, he gets a job at the Head Museum and eventually meets Leela, during which Hermes was decapitated and his body was crushed. After a short courtship they decide to get married, but during the wedding, Hermes, who had a time paradox duplicate body made to win back LaBarbara, was decapitated again by causality. After Farnsworth said that time paradox duplicates of living things are predestined to be doomed, Lars realized what he'd be putting Leela through if he died and called off the wedding.
After the big battle for Earth, Fry tries to get Lars and Leela back together, but the former says that it is impossible. Just before Lars could tell Fry the whole truth, Nudar shows up, having survived Farnsworth's doomday device through use of a doom-proof vest, demands the time code from Lars, threatening to murder Leela. Lars tricks Nudar by pulling out a self destructing Bender paradox out of the freezer, holds him down over Nudar and all three are killed. The explosion then revealed the time tattoo on Lars' buttocks.
At his funeral, his living will video is played and it is officially revealed to all that Lars Filmore was indeed a time paradox duplicate of Philip J. Fry I all along.
He died on December 31st, 3007 or January 1, 3008, depending how you look at it.
Legacy
In July 3011, Fry works as a feeder at the Head Museum and Dr. Cahill mistakes him for Lars (All the Presidents' Heads).
Trivia
- He must be approximately eighteen years older than Philip I (Biological) as he manages to live twelve years in the past between New Years Day 2000 and 2012, and managing to live six more years (3002-3007) until his death on New Years in 3007.
- He apparently worked at a casino.
- He is responsible for his ex-girlfriend Michelle Jenkins being unfrozen in the future.
- Before he was revealed as Philip I's time duplicate, there were subtle hints to Lars' true identity.
- Duplicate Philip I had grown slightly older in the past and grew a beard (which would get thinner as Lars).
- Upon first meeting Leela at the head museum, Leela asks him if she knows him, his response was "Apparently, not". This was because Lars (Fry) of course did know her but she didn't recognize him.
- During his many dates with Leela there were several instances where they nearly got hurt, which is because duplicates always die. Also at the museum, mentioned to Leela that she was the woman who he was waiting for his life which he really did.
- After the time-code was erased from Fry's backside, Nudar and the scammers still detected the code as it was still on Lars.
- During the song Fry unknowingly hinted at it, when he states he bets Leela would love him if he were bald.
- The pen Fry had placed that was out of ink was the exact same one Lars took out of his own pocket.
- At Leela and Lars' wedding, when Professor Farnsworth stated Time Duplicates were always doomed Lars quickly asked "What?!" and he was so intent on calling off the wedding.
- He knew Bender's time-duplicate was frozen and ready to self-destruct even though nobody told him.
- Since he took the place of his counterpart, Philip I's disappearance and his family searching for him never occurred.
Appearances
- Bender's Big Score
- All the Presidents' Heads (mentioned only)