Zapp Brannigan is a fictitious character in the animated sitcom Futurama . He was voiced by Billy West, but was originally intended to be voiced by Phil Hartman, with the West taking over the role after Hartman's death. The character is based on Captain James T. Kirk's Star Trek, played by William Shatner. Executive show producer David X. Cohen described Brannigan as "half Captain Kirk, the real half of William Shatner".
Brannigan is a 25-Star General in the Democratic Order of the Planet, and captain of his mother ship, Nimbus . She was first introduced in the fourth episode of the series, "Love's Labors Lost in Space", where she played the lead role. In that episode, Brannigan becomes enamored with Leela, whom he tries to seduce for the rest of the series. Brannigan is portrayed as a respected military hero in the eyes of his superiors and the general public, but strongly disliked by his own crew, especially the long-suffering in-command, Kif Kroker. Although renowned for his courage and strategic genius, it soon became very clear that he was a sexist, pointless, stupid and often very cowardly and incompetent.
Video Zapp Brannigan
Role in Futurama
Brannigan was a senior military member of the Planet Democratic Order (D.O.O.P.) although his title varied; he has been called the "25-Star General", Captain, "Major General Webelo", "Brigadier Back" and "Commodore 64." Brannigan is widely respected in the military circle because of his many victories over hostile aliens. However, almost all of these victories tend to come from using excessive force to subdue a comic weak opponent, or the use of tactics that depend on large numbers and ignore the safety of his subordinates.
Immediately after her first encounter with him, Leela had sex with her. He mentions this encounter repeatedly in later episodes while remaining convinced that Leela is eager to pursue her even though he (and often violent) opposes the idea.
Brannigan's law prohibits mixing with undeveloped planets, a parody of the Main Instructions of Star Trek. Brannigan himself does not pretend to understand it, he simply imposes it, and even fails to uphold it at least on one occasion. Brannigan's Law is officially called Directive B10.8: 1 . According to Brannigan, "Brannigan's law is like Brannigan's love: hard and fast".
In "Brannigan, Begin Again", Zapp was removed from command and military court, but was restored as captain of the Nimbus during the same episode.
The Nimbus , BP-1729, is the flagship of the D.O.O.P. fleet under the command of Brannigan. The Nimbus is a very large ship, capable of blockading or besieging the entire planet alone, and transporting armies large enough to safeguard the planet, all without the aid of a support ship. This is a parody of Enterprise from Star Trek: The Original Series .
Maps Zapp Brannigan
Character
Creation
Brannigan is based on Captain James T. Kirk, played by William Shatner; Brannigan and Shatner meet face-to-face in the episode "Where No Fan Has Gone Before". The series creators envisioned Brannigan as similar to what Shatner himself would become like a space ship captain. Cohen describes him as "half Captain Kirk, half the real William Shatner", and that the initial premise for the character is "What if the real William Shatner is the Captain of Enterprise instead of Kirk?". In the episode "Amazon Women in the Mood" the audio comment DVD describes Zapp Brannigan's reinterpretation of "Lola" as a spoken word that is spoken as a reference to what William Shatner did with "Rocket Man". Brannigan also wore a belt to appear thinner and in other episodes almost lost his hair, apparently a parody of similar allegations aimed at Shatner. At first Brannigan looked more obese in every scene along the first episode where he appeared, but the animator was so disgusted with his main appearance that the idea was canceled.
Brannigan's DOOP uniform is very similar to Magnus, Robot Fighter but he has no other connection with that character.
Voice
Zapp Brannigan is voiced by Billy West, although he was originally intended to be voiced by Phil Hartman. Hartman insisted on auditing for the role, and "of course, nailing it" according to creator Matt Groening. However, due to Hartman's murder, the West was given a role. In a Groening's Futurama DVD commentary, Groening reveals that Zapp's character and behavior are set in the original West's audition for the character, and any resemblance to Phil Hartman or other famous cartoon characters (Lionel Hutz and Troy McClure) is only accidental. On the other hand, in an interview for the TV Squad website, Billy West stated that his Zapp Brannigan was a replica of Hartman and also "imitate some stupid announcer I know."
References
Source of the article : Wikipedia
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