Episode Recap: The Cryonic Woman

When Fry and Bender discover keys in the Planet Express ship's ignition, they take the rocket for a joy ride. Unbeknownst to them, the Planet Express building is still tethered to the vessel and is trailing behind it…with the crew still inside. Leela and the others are tossed hither and yon as Fry and Bender's wild ride brings them around the world. When the pair land the ship, they discover the heavily damaged building…and their angry and bruised friends. The Professor promptly fires Fry and Bender, and also sacks Leela for leaving the keys in the ignition. Now unemployed, the threesome worry about their future. Leela injects the old career chips into her and Fry's hand. But when they apply for jobs at Applied Cryogenics, Leela realizes she must have accidentally mixed up the chips. Now, Fry has the skills of a cryogenic counselor, and Leela is qualified for the position of delivery boy. Later, Fry and Bender entertain themselves by terrorizing defrostees when they awaken from suspended animation. When they grow bored, they awaken Pauly Shore, who thought he was being reanimated in Los Angeles for the thousandth anniversary screening of one of his films. The next time Fry and Bender open one of the freezing tubes, Fry's 20th century ex-girlfriend, Michelle, steps out. Excited, Michelle runs up and kisses him. Michelle recounts how she wed her boyfriend, Charles. But the union turned sour when Michelle caught Charles kissing a female graduate after she helped put him through law school. Realizing her life was whirling out of control, Michelle had herself frozen. As time passes, Fry and Michelle rekindle their relationship, and enjoy romantic outings throughout the cosmos. But when Fry introduces Michelle to the staff at Planet Express, she reacts with horror, as she has never met a talking lobster man, a Martian or a cyclops before. In private, Michelle tells Fry that his friends are a bunch of freaks, and she describes feeling out of place. She convinces Fry to join her on a journey 1000 years into the future, where all they will have is each other. The pair enter a freezing tube and kiss. When they awaken, they step out into a post-apocalyptic wasteland. It isn't long before Fry and Michelle are captured by a gang of multi-ethnic, laser-toting, eight- year-old kids led by a boy named Butch. When Fry challenges Butch's authority, Butch declares the dispute shall be settled by a death-rolling competition.The boy climbs atop his high-tech jet skateboard. Fry, meanwhile, steps onto a plain, dinky board. Both Fry and Butch grab an end of a bandana. Butch suddenly rockets away, and Fry is yanked after him. During the battle, Butch grows teary-eyed when he scrapes his knee. Fry grabs away the bandana and dances gleefully. Moments later, a soccer mom pulls up in an SUV and collects the children. Afterward, the relationship between Fry and Michelle deteriorates. Fry walks off…and ends up in front of Grauman's Chinese Theater. Unexpectedly, the Planet Express ship drops from the sky. Leela, Bender and the Professor step out. They explain that Fry and Michelle were only frozen for two days. The tube they had entered belonged to Pauly Shore, and it was delivered to a movie screening. When the mistake was realized, the tube was dropped in a Los Angeles ditch. Shortly thereafter, a limo pulls up in front of the theater. The window rolls down…revealing Michelle sitting next to Shore. The crew then heads back to New New York, where Fry asks the Professor to rehire him.