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Turanga Leela
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Futurama character | |
| Turanga Leela | |
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| Age | 25 |
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| Gender | Female |
| Species | Mutant Human |
| Planet of Origin | Earth, specifically New New York City, New New York |
| Job | Captain of the Planet Express Spaceship. |
| Relatives |
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| First Appearance | Space Pilot 3000 |
| First Line | Good afternoon, sir. |
| Voiced by | Katey Sagal |
Turanga Leela (often referred to simply as Leela) (born A.D. 2975) is the primary female character in the animated television series Futurama. She is voiced by Katey Sagal. On the show, Leela is captain of the Planet Express Ship. She was originally believed to be a Cyclopian alien, but later discovers that she is actually a human sewer-mutant. She is the primary love interest of the series' protagonist, Philip J. Fry. Leela nearly always wears a computerized armband on her wrist.
The writers of Futurama often add minor details as coincidental references, and Leela is no exception. When she worked for the cryogenics lab, she was Officer 1BDI ("one beady eye"). Also, she lives in Apartment 1I ("one eye").
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"Leela" is considered her given name. "Turanga" is her family name, as seen when she addresses a letter to her parents "Turanga Morris and Munda." Her culture uses the family name-given name order (Akin to the naming orders of real life Japanese, Chinese, Korean, Vietnamese, and Hungarian names). An in-show explanation for this is never given; in real life, her name is a pun on Olivier Messiaen's most famous orchestral work, the Turangalîla Symphony.[1] Messiaen stated that the title of the piece derived from two Sanskrit words, turanga and lîla, together meaning roughly "love song and hymn of joy, time, movement, rhythm, life, and death." Her surname was not given until later episodes, and so may be a later idea of the creators. Leela was named by her mother Turanga Munda and her father Turanga Morris.
Lila means purple in Spanish, Swedish, Hungarian, Finnish, German, and some Slavic languages, suggesting her name may be inspired by her hair color, or vice-versa. The name Leela may also be a homage to one of the Doctor's former companions, also named Leela, in the British sci-fi series Doctor Who, of which Matt Groening is a fan.
Leela was born into the society of subterranean mutants who live in the sewers beneath New New York, forbidden to come aboveground because of their genetic abnormalities. Leela was "the least mutated mutant ever born," her eye being the only difference between her and a normal human; her parents deposited her on the steps of the Cookieville Minimum Security Orphanarium in order to spare her the degrading life of a mutant. Leela's mother (calling on her education in Exolinguistics, a field which does not presently exist) attached a note to Leela's blankets in an alien-like script, which translated from alienese, reads "Your parents love you very much"; she stated that, if her degree in the subject was worth "diddly-poop", it would convince the head of the orphanarium that Leela was an alien, as opposed to a mutated human. Her parents closely monitored her youth, periodically intervening to protect her from falling down stairs, leaving birthday presents for her, etc. Leela finally discovers that she and her parents are mutants in the episode "Leela's Homeworld," which came as a surprise as she, too, believed herself to be from an unknown alien species.
As a child, Leela often had to endure childish bullying from other orphans, mainly because of her being a cyclops, as well as for her dental braces. As a teenager, still feeling the torment of being a cyclops, Leela trained in Arcturan Kung-Fu, succeeding despite the misogyny of her teacher, Master Phnog. She developed a lasting crush on a fellow orphanarium inmate, Adlai Atkins. They would later meet as adults, after he had become a successful cosmetic surgeon. As an adult, Leela could be seen as a very attractive woman, except that she has only one eye, the apparent reason for her lack of relationship experience. Leela's first mentioned job was a Cryogenic Counselor, through which she meets Fry. After Fry convinces her to break from the bonds of her job, Leela becomes a Space Captain at Planet Express, piloting the aptly named Planet Express Ship. She is physically very strong.
Due to having a single eye, she lacks stereoscopic vision and therefore has problems with depth perception. In spite of this, she seems to have no difficulty in flying the Planet Express Ship (other than colliding with billboards on a weekly basis in the show's opening sequence). This lack of depth perception was also comically commented on in the episode "A Bicyclops Built for Two", in which a fictional cyclops was estimating the distance of a missile aimed at their planet. He guesses 'A trillion miles?'; however, the missile strikes less than a second afterwards.
Leela's armband receives no more of a concrete name than her repeated description of it as "this thing I wear on my wrist", and is capable of whatever small things the plot demands. It apparently has a tracker called a "wrist-lojackamator" ("How Hermes Requisitioned His Groove Back"). In "The Luck of the Fryrish", whilst searching through Old New York, Leela states "If we get bored looking, I've got Tetris on this thing". In "The Problem with Popplers", it scans materials to determine if they are edible or not. In "Spanish Fry," it carries an emergency cosmetic laser. It speaks twice and has a female voice. In most episodes, she wears the armband on her right arm, although in one shot in "Space Pilot 3000", she is seen having it on her left arm.
Leela is also known to have a very nosy personality, though this often proves a positive attribute, as her tendency to meddle with Fry's affairs often saves his life.
Leela has an odd-looking pet named Nibbler, which she found on the planet Vergon 6, in the episode "Love's Labours Lost in Space".
In the episode "Kif Gets Knocked Up a Notch" Leela holds Kif's ungloved hand and transfers her DNA to him. This results in him becoming pregnant with her children. However, in Kif's species, biological mothers apparently are considered secondary to the father's smizmar, who is in this case Amy; thus she is considered the "real" mother of Kif and Leela's numerous tadpole-like offspring.
Leela periodically referenced this never-seen ex-boyfriend (it's unclear when exactly they dated or for how long), describing him as uneducated, unambitious, pasty, and hunched, (which Fry calls a 'pretty boy') but finding his musical ability on the saxophone attractive ("The Devil's Hands are Idle Playthings"). He apparently cheated on her and, in "Love and Rocket", Leela unconvincingly insisted that their breakup was mutual, implying that he dumped her. On another occasion, when Fry advised Dr. Zoidberg into tricking a girl into liking him (by pretending to tear up and say "I've never been so happy"), Leela replied she would never fall for that kind of trick, only to run out of the room crying when she realized that all her boyfriends had done that, "even Sean!"
Doug was only seen in "Love's Labours Lost in Space" at the very beginning having dinner with Leela in a fancy restaurant. It was not revealed whether or not he and Leela had been going out for some time or if they had just the one dinner date. Leela liked him at first because he did not care that she was a cyclops. However, after he slurped up an after-dinner mint with his very long lizard-like tongue, Leela immediately disliked him. This is perhaps a clue that the dinner date was their first encounter together.
In the episode "Mars University" it is revealed at the end (in a style parodying the ending of the comedy film Animal House) that Leela wound up going out on a date with the dean of Mars University. Afterwards, he never called her back.
When Leela found herself on the Nimbus, she met celebrated space captain Zapp Brannigan. Initially somewhat attracted to him, Leela quickly discovered that he was actually a "pompous dimwit" when he arrested her and her crew for technical violation of "Brannigan's law".
Zapp then summoned her to his overly lush quarters, which he called his "lovenasium", where he attempted to seduce her. Leela was completely unimpressed; however, when her forthright rebuff reduced him to tears, Leela stayed longer and got drunk from "shampagen", where she unknowingly slept with him. Upon awakening to find herself in Zapp's bed, Leela was mortified. Zapp, however, was delighted at his "romantic conquest" and gloated mercilessly, serene in his delusional self-image (in the episode "Brannigan Begin Again", he confessed that Leela was "The only woman who ever loved me...physically").
Throughout the series, Zapp bragged about his night with Leela and tried to entice her into dates and romantic encounters. Leela remained unswayingly disdainful of him and avoided or attacked him whenever possible.
Bender also harasses Leela about her relationship with Zapp, and Bender is often rebuked for it.
In the episode "A Bicyclops Built for Two", Leela had a brief relationship with (and indeed almost married) a shapeshifter named Alcazar who had posed as another cyclops and claimed to be the last other member of her "alien species". After seducing her, with her motivated in large part by a desire to preserve the cyclops race, his behavior became loutish. The relationship became a parody of the TV series Married... with Children, in which Katey Sagal starred as Peggy Bundy. Leela is even drawn with an outfit typical of Peggy's, and she addresses Alcazar as "Aaaallll", as Peggy had addressed her TV husband, Al Bundy.
Fry had been suspicious of Alcazar all along and interrupted Alcazar's and Leela's wedding ceremony by revealing Alcazar's master plan: to find and marry five lonely alien females to be his wives and tend to his five palaces. Fry brought the other four brides to the wedding, and they and Leela assaulted Alcazar until he revealed his true insect-like form. After he explained everything, Leela asked him why he did not change form in "the one place that counts."
The name "Alcazar" is a pun on the word "Alcázar", the name of the Royal Castle in Seville. The false history of the cyclops race given by Alcazar, including a brilliant scientist who placed his infant child in a rocket ship sent to Earth while his home planet was being destroyed, is a parody of the origin of Superman.
When recollecting on her crush on him from childhood, Leela meets and dates Adlai, who is portrayed to be a normal man. As a cosmetic surgeon, he offers and performs an operation to give her a normal appearance with a second eye, although the second eye would be cosmetic and nonfunctional. Leela willingly dates Adlai simply to appear "normal" and also because he would be the only respectable decent man that she has had the chance to date.
Adlai is portrayed as a normal "average" guy whose life revolves around mundane, dispassionate activities and mannerisms such as toning down Hawaiian shirts to grey tones, flat directness, and doing jigsaw puzzles of pacifier factories.
After wanting to adopt a three-eared orphan from Bender, she discovers that Adlai is too interested in making everything "normal," seemingly unable to accept things the way they truly are; so Leela forces him to undo the surgery and make her a cyclops again ("The Cyber House Rules").
Leela dated the Mayor's Aide after he wooed her by demonstrating his power. However, after a chance encounter with children from her old orphanarium, Leela realized that Chaz was far too interested in the power of his position. She decided to prematurely end the date by shoving his badge in his mouth after he denied the orphans the use of an ice rink ("The Why of Fry").
In "Where No Fan Has Gone Before", Leela and William Shatner make out after they realized that they're just pawns in a diabolic game of checkers of Melllvar.
Throughout the series, Fry attempts to begin a romantic relationship with Leela. Although these advances were initially rejected, by the final season, it is implied that they will end up together. Though she and Fry had several intimate moments throughout the series, they have yet to consummate the relationship, although they came close several times and have kissed (and hugged) on a few occasions. In addition:
- In the episode "Anthology of Interest I," the What-If Machine invented by Professor Hubert Farnsworth reveals that Fry and Leela would have had sex (she turned the lights off, Fry says "I really like it") if Leela were more impulsive, instead of killing him like she did the entire cast, including her beloved Nibbler.
- In the episode "Time Keeps on Slippin'", after rejecting Fry's amateurish advances, she confesses to Dr. Zoidberg, "Fry is very sweet, but he's so immature. I love his boyish charm, but I hate his childishness." Later, the two get married, but due to the phenomenon of time randomly skipping, they are unable to remember what led them to do so, and though Fry wanted to stay together, Leela divorced him (which they also cannot fully recall). Later in the episode, Fry discovers that he had "moved the stars themselves to write her a love note in the sky" and won Leela's heart so she would marry him. The love note (made from actual stars, moved to form letters by a "bad-ass gravity pump") is destroyed by an implosion before Leela gets a chance to see it.
- When they traveled to a parallel universe in the episode "The Farnsworth Parabox," it was revealed that the parallel Fry and Leela were married. This is explained by the fact that Leela once flipped a coin to decide whether or not to date Fry; since all coin flips were the opposite results between dimensions (everything else worked exactly the same in this dimension, other than hair color [or shell color, in the case of Zoidberg and Bender]), the "real" Leela's coin flip influenced her not to go on the date, while the alternate version of Leela did go on the date and began a long-term relationship with Fry afterwards. The implication is that had she gone on that date, she would have also married the "real" Fry.
- In the episode "Parasites Lost," Fry, benefiting from increased intellect thanks to a super-intelligent worm infestation, is able to properly tell Leela that he loves her and she appears to reciprocate. Unfortunately, Fry, concerned that Leela loves him more for what the worms did than for his true self, subsequently rids himself of the parasites and goes back to being his usual self with Leela, who promptly gives him the cold shoulder.
- During the cruise on the Titanic in the episode "A Flight to Remember," Fry poses as Leela's fiancée in order to save her from Zapp Brannigan's advances. However, he also poses as Amy Wong's boyfriend as well, a fact which causes Leela to become jealous. Fry lets her know that their fake relationship means much more to him than than the one between him and Amy.
- In the episode "The Sting," Leela experiences a series of lucid dreams after Fry accidentally "dies". At first they seem to only indicate her feelings of guilt, since Fry "perished" saving Leela's life (this implies that Fry was probably brave enough to "sacrifice" himself). In the very last one, before she awakes, Fry tells her to never give up through a picture of him on her bedside table and then admits that, though he never told her before, he loves her. The end of the episode reveals that Leela had in fact been in a coma for the majority of the episode's events and was dreaming; in real life, a healthy Fry had been speaking to her by her bedside for a solid two weeks (this indicates that they both were hospitalized in time).
- In "Insane in the Mainframe" Leela tried to "remind Fry of his humanity only the way a woman can" by kissing him. However, the plan failed.
- They are seen together at the end of "Love and Rocket" before being joined by Zoidberg.
- Fry buys a gift (a pet parrot) for Leela (which later escapes and is destroyed by Robot Santa) in "Xmas Story". They also almost kiss when they find themselves under the mistletoe when being chased by Robot Santa.
- Teenage Fry visits Teenage Leela and dates her in "Teenage Mutant Leela's Hurdles."
- Fry admits in "The Why of Fry" that Leela is the only valuable thing to him. Nibbler cryptically states that, "She must be the other...You must not give up on her!" However, Nibbler then modified Fry's memory, and the series was cancelled before the meaning of this prophecy was ever explored. When Fry returns to the Planet Express headquarters after this experience, Leela and Bender had just finished removing the head of Chaz from a photo of Chaz and Leela. As Leela holds up the newly altered photo, Fry walks into the room, his head replacing Chaz's in the photo from Leela's perspective. Fry then gives Leela a flower and she kisses him. When the credits of the show roll, Fry is heard shouting an enthusiastic "Yes!".
- At the end of "The Devil's Hands are Idle Playthings," after Fry's opera is ultimately a failure, Leela still remains to see it end after being touched by Fry's intentions in making the opera for her. He finishes by playing his holophonor and generating a rudimentary hologram of Fry and Leela walking off, hand in hand.
- In issue #21 of Futurama Comics, Leela and Fry nearly kiss because Fry thinks his last day may be spent stuck with Zapp. However, they are interrupted by aliens. (Note that the comics are of uncertain canonicity)
- In Bender's Big Score it turns out that Fry and Leela's relationship has not changed and they are still not together. When Leela starts going out with Lars, Fry is at first jelaous but eventually decides that what is most important to him is to see Leela happy. After Lars and Leela break up Fry attempts to set them back up together.
As an older time paradox clone of Fry, he was more attractive, mature, confident and smarter than Fry. Lars and Leela were almost married until Hermes' paradox body was killed. Lars knew from that point on that since he was a paradox clone, he would eventually die too. He did not want that death to hurt Leela, so he canceled the wedding. In his will, he stated that he really is Fry's paradox clone. Lars' first and only appearance was in Bender's Big Score. He was killed by Bender's self-destruct mechanism. Leela is sorrowful at his funeral, but acknowledges to the real Fry that Lars was a good man before giving Fry a small peck on the cheek.
Leela has given pieces of the man she would want to have in several Futurama episodes. Her perfect man in her eye is someone who is bold, self-confident, a snappy dresser, has fewer than 5 eyes (Love's Labours Lost in Space), is a politician (The Route of All Evil, when she tells Cubert and Dwight "If you were my kids you'd get quite a talking to...from your father...after he got home from The Senate"), and has musical talent (The Devil's Hands are Idle Playthings).
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| Media | Episodes (by Broadcast Order) · Comic books · Video game · DVD movies |
| Main characters | Philip J. Fry · Turanga Leela · Bender B. Rodríguez · Professor Hubert J. Farnsworth · Doctor John Zoidberg · Hermes Conrad · Amy Wong |
| Recurring characters | Zapp Brannigan · Kif Kroker · Nibbler · Cubert Farnsworth · Calculon · Mom · Recurring human characters · Recurring robot characters · Recurring alien characters |
| Politics and religion | United States of Earth · Religion in Futurama |
| Technology | Cryonics · Nimbus · Planet Express Ship · Robots in Futurama · Suicide booth |
| Other | Planet Express Corporation · Chroniton · List of guest stars on Futurama · List of Futurama crew |