Episode Recap: Crimes of the Hot

When the weather turns hot, Fry and the others gather in the Planet Express conference room, where the Professor screens an old movie about the dangers of global warming…and how “handsome politicians” came up with the solution of dropping ice cubes in the ocean to help cool the climate. But as greenhouse gasses built up over time, it took more and more ice cubes to keep the problem under control. Moment’s later, Richard Nixon’s head appears on the giant video screen. Nixon hires the Planet Express crew to deliver the ice, the only sufficient source of which is located on Halley’s Comet. But when the crew lands on the comet, they discover that it has been mined clean. 

With Halley’s Comet stripped of precious ice, the Earth experiences devastating global warming. A television news report documents the effect of a warmer climate on African turtles, which have migrated to Holland in search of cooler homes. Bender feels a great sympathy for the turtles, which, like himself, sometimes fall on their backs and can’t get up. Bender flies to Holland, rescues one of the creatures and returns with it. A passing civil defense truck announces an upcoming conference on global warming in Kyoto, Japan. Scientists are urged to attend. The Planet Express crew urges the Professor to attend. The meeting in Kyoto is hosted by Al Gore’s head, who offers a bag of moon sapphires as reward to anyone who can solve the global warming problem. Professor Wersntrom unveils his plan to reflect the rays of the sun back into space with the aid of a gigantic mirror orbiting the Earth. But when a tiny meteor strikes the mirror, its position shifts and a deadly ray of heat sweeps over the Earth, causing everyone to run for their lives. When the professor addresses the group, he details how, years earlier, he developed the first truly useful robots by sacrificing fuel economy. As a result, robots have been spewing forth pollutants for years, exacerbating the greenhouse effect. Wernstrom concludes that robots everywhere must be destroyed. 

Back at Planet Express, Bender receives an animated card from Richard Nixon, who invites robots to attend a party on the isolated Galaspagos Islands. Zoidberg realizes it’s a trick to lure robots to the same location so they can be deactivated. Resigned, Bender heads for the exit, explaining that he’s willing to sacrifice his life so his beloved turtle can live. Once the robots are on the island, Nixon boards a nearby helicopter and flies towards the space mirror, which is now outfitted with large antennas. As Nixon prepares to fire an electromagnetic pulse at the islands, Bender says his final goodbyes to the turtle…unaware that a nearby robot equipped with a microphone is broadcasting his words. Realizing they’re about to die, the robots panic and run around frantically. Suddenly, the Planet Express ship lands on the island and the Professor addresses the robots. He tells them that if they vent their gases simultaneously, the force should thrust the Earth further from the sun, cooling its temperature. The plan works…and the Earth moves away from the sun. When Nixon’s electromagnetic pulse is fired, it misses the Earth and continues off into space. Later, the Professor is awarded a medal for helping save the Earth.