On Saturday, Ballroom 20 certainly did not disappoint fans of animated TV shows. The early afternoon panels in that room included FUTURAMA, THE SIMPSONS, FAMILY GUY, and AMERICAN DAD.

The session for FUTURAMA opened with a clip from this season’s finale, “Reincarnation,” which isn't scheduled to air until September 8, 2011. But it’s not the end of the show -- fans were reminded that Comedy Central has renewed FUTURAMA for two more seasons. With so many jokes coming from the panelists, it was difficult to ascertain what was real and what was for laughs, but future storylines possibly include Planet Express getting a new soda machine that Bender will impregnate, Hermes becoming a cyborg to increase his efficiency, and the Professor’s parents still being alive.

All iPhone and iPod Touch users were encouraged to check out the "Head-in-a-Jar Creator" App, which was released and demo’d during the panel. You can create males, females, robots, and aliens, with plenty of options for face shape, hairstyle, mouth, and more. FUTURAMA Monopoly will also be released soon.

The just-released FUTURAMA "Head-in-a-Jar" App for the iPhone and iPod Touch,

allows users to create and personalize their own heads.

Each panelist started by mentioning what other projects they’re currently working on, ranging from Billy West and Maurice LaMarche voicing Elmer Fudd and Yosemite Sam, respectively, on THE LOONEY TUNES SHOW to John DiMaggio’s plethora of voicework (ADVENTURE TIME, THE PROBLEM SOLVERZ, KICK BUTTOWSKI and more) and Katey Segal’s Emmy-deserving portrayal of Gemma on SONS OF ANARCHY.

John DiMaggio, who is the voice of FUTURAMA'S Bender (third from left),

is also the voice of Jake on ADVENTURE TIME and Alfe on THE PROBLEM SOLVERZ.

The panel ended with a “drawing smackdown,” with creator Matt Groening and storyboard artist/director Peter Avanzino both sketching Bender. Groening jokingly noted that he’d been using his left hand as a little bit of a handicap, and promptly cranked out five different sketches of Bender while Avanzino focused on a single drawing. The audience preferred Groening’s, and FUTURAMA-costumed audience members received the drawings afterward.

THE SIMPSONS session began with two very short, spoof-type clips before announcing some of the guests for the upcoming season. Kiefer Sutherland, Jane Lynch, Ted Nugent, and Joan Rivers are among the voices for the show’s 23rd season. As none of the actors were present, the audience’s questions primarily related to the writing of the show and what might be in future episodes. Some of the upcoming storylines this season include a Christmas episode that will show the Simpson family 30 years in the future and another episode has the family visiting their seventh continent. While Sideshow Bob is not in the upcoming season, he may still appear in the future. Fans were also reminded that they need to catch the very beginning of episodes when they air, as there will be some memorable couch scenes.

Regarding the writing of THE SIMPSONS, the attendees asked about the series and the movie as well as possible related projects in the future. When a fan asked why there were no musical numbers in the movie, writer/producer Al Jean said that there were two, but they were cut. Jean also shared that it is particularly difficult to write dialogue for fan-favorite character Ralph Wiggum. And, while no plans are in the works, Jean would love to work on a Broadway musical for THE SIMPSONS. Groening also hopes that maybe there will be a crossover between "Life in Hell" (his weekly comic strip) and THE SIMPSONS. And, when the new season premieres, there will be no tricks regarding the Nedna relationship. As a reminder, last season’s finale asked fans to go online and vote "pro" or "no" to the Ned Flanders/Edna Krabappel romance. Toward the end of the panel, one young fan asked how the panelists would vote, with “pro” being the popular response.

The majority of THE SIMPSONS panelists voted "pro" for Nedna,

the Ned Flanders/Edna Krabappel romance. When the new season premieres,

find out whether America voted "pro" or "no."

The FAMILY GUY session really impressed its audience with all of the revelations about the future of the series. With the short clips shown, the audience learned that Meg will be turning eighteen, Stewie will drive and wreck Brian’s car, some SIMPSONS characters will appear as a jury, and Cleveland will return at least once. Plus, the Griffins will win the lottery, Peter will befriend a dolphin (voiced by Ricky Gervais), Stewie and Brian will travel back in time to the pilot episode, Quagmire will be raped in prison by Peter, Lois will kidnap a child, and there will be another viewer-mail episode.

Inevitably, one fan asked about the possibility of a FAMILY GUY movie, to which creator Seth MacFarlane replied that there have been meetings, they know what it’s going to be, but they just haven’t had time to do it. The entire panel was asked to name their favorite bit, and the responses elicited a lot of laughter throughout the room. The replies receiving the biggest reactions included Alex Borstein (voice of Lois Griffin) choosing the ipecac moment, Patrick Warburton (voice of Joe Swanson) mentioning the scene where Alec Baldwin is breastfeeding his brothers, and Seth Green (voice of Chris Griffin) selecting a scene from the episode where the family develops superpowers and Chris (who can produce fire) gets back at a bully by saying “Well burn for it!” 

Patrick Warburton, the voice of Joe Swanson, revealed his favorite

FAMILY GUY scene -- Alec Baldwin breastfeeding his three brothers.

More than anything, the audience laughed most uproariously when the panelists purposely interacted with the sign-language interpreter. Borstein and Green in particular had a lot of fun saying words just to see how they are interpreted and signed. They repeatedly mentioned things like “shit,” “bullshit,” and “floppy hobo penis,” imitating the signs after they saw how they were done. And, when the translator changed during the panel, Borstein and Green tried their antics again, noting the nuances in how the signs changed, again erupting the audience into hysterics. 

AMERICAN DAD treated its fans to the longest clip of the day, though the first scene was black-and-white sketches while the second and third were in color, which is the only way FOX would allow it to be screened. The main story in the episode is Stan buying a talking hot tub (voiced by Cee Lo Green) and how that purchase affects the family.

During the audience’s Q&A segment of the panel, viewers were told that other upcoming storylines include Roger’s planet sending a ship to retrieve him, a Klaus-centric episode (the term “Dr. Klaustus” was briefly mentioned), and a dissection of Roger. A CD may also be released containing the full versions of the songs in the screened episode. One of the final questions came from a child who asked why Klaus has an accent. MacFarlane said that he originally intended for the fish be French, but nothing was clicking in the auditions. When Dee Bradley Baker read for the part, MacFarlane remembered a German accent he did at a FAMILY GUY audition and asked him to read with that. It was the first read that made those in the room laugh, so they just changed the fish to be German!

AMERICAN DAD co-creator Seth MacFarlane revealed that Klaus

was originally supposed to have a French instead of a German accent.

Amy K. Bredemeyer is the founder and editor of the television blog TheTalkingBox. She has an MA in Theatre from Florida State University, and is a freelance dramaturg in the San Francisco Bay Area.