Professor Hubert J. Farnsworth, commonly referred to in-show as either Professor Farnsworth or simply Professor, is a fictional character in the American animated television series Futurama. The mad scientist proprietor of the Planet Express delivery service for whom the main characters work, he is the great (×30) grandnephew and the great (×31) grandson of series protagonist Philip J. Fry because of a time paradox. He alternates between intelligence and amoral senility due to his greatly advanced age of 175. He demonstrates a mastery of any field of science necessary for the series' plots and is suggested to be one of the most brilliant inventors on Earth. However, he falls asleep constantly, and he routinely sends his crews on suicide missions.

Character
A self-described mad scientist, the Professor is a senile, amoral, deranged, and unpredictable old man (160 years old as of "A Clone of My Own") with very thick glasses and a gift for creating doomsday devices and atomic supermen. He has put at least one parallel universe in peril with his inventions and visited dozens more (see "The Farnsworth Parabox").

The Professor teaches at Mars University and has worked for Momcorp on several occasions but spends most of his time inventing ridiculous devices and sending the Planet Express delivery crew on suicide missions. While at Momcorp, he fell in love with the CEO, Mom, only to leave her and Momcorp when she decided to weaponize his "Q.T. McWhiskers" toy. What he is a professor of is never explicitly stated. In the episode "Mars University", when asked what he is teaching, he responds: "The same thing I teach every semester, the mathematics of quantum neutrino fields. I made up the title so no student would dare take it"; however, this declaration has not precluded the professor from demonstrating mastery of whatever field of science is convenient for a given episode's plot, as shown in Bender's Big Score when he proclaims, "I can wire anything directly into anything! I am the Professor!", proceeding to link Hermes' disembodied head to the ship's computer. Approximately 100 years before the series' timeline, he taught a young (not yet Professor) Wernstrom, whom Farnsworth regarded as a prized student. After he returned a pop quiz to Wernstrom with a grade of A-minus (for poor penmanship), the two became bitter rivals (established in "A Big Piece of Garbage").

As Philip J. Fry's great (x30) nephew, it is likely that he is the great (x29) grandson of Yancy Fry, Fry's older brother from the 20th century. This would also make him the great (x28) grandson of Philip J. Fry II, Yancy's son, although his exact shared family members with Fry have not been stated. However, since Fry has become his own grandfather, he is also Fry's direct descendant, specifically his great (x31) grandson.

In "All the Presidents' Heads", he reveals that he is descended from Philo Farnsworth (widely credited as the original inventor of television); Dean Farnsworth, who created the Farnsworth Lantern Test to check for color vision problems in military aviators and sailors; and David Farnsworth, a colonial-era counterfeiter and British agent who was eventually hanged for his crimes.

Many episodes' major plot points are introduced by Farnsworth announcing, "Good news, everyone!"—either to unveil his latest invention or describe the company's latest delivery assignment, which is usually a suicide mission; he acknowledges this in The Beast with a Billion Backs.  On the very few occasions he has actual good news, he often opens with "Bad news, everyone!" After Fry resigns from his job in "Law & Oracle", he states that he only says these phrases to make Fry "feel better about his pointless job." Another is his exclamation, "Sweet zombie Jesus!" He often says "Eh Wha?" when unaware of the situation, or when someone questions a statement he has just made. The Professor often makes mutually contradictory statements just moments apart; this happens especially often when briefing his employees, with the prevailing second statement canceling a much more reassuring first sentence.

The Professor rarely worries about the safety of the crew, viewing them as a means to an end, as evidenced in the first episode. After remarking that he was looking for a new crew for his intergalactic space ship, he was asked "What happened to your old crew?" His response was "Oh, those poor sons of... — but that's not important! What is important is that I need a new crew!" Farnsworth's employees later discover that their predecessors died while gathering not-ordinary honey from Space Bees ("The Sting"). The Professor issues his new crew the previous crew's career chips from a manila envelope labeled "Contents Of Space Wasp's Stomach" ("Space Pilot 3000").

It was revealed in "Mobius Dick" that the first crew was ingested by a four-dimensional space whale in 2961, only returning to Earth when rescued by Leela in 3011. This appears to be the only crew the Professor showed some emotion towards, given his purchasing of a monument to honor the 50th year of their disappearance.

He frequently sends his crew on dangerous missions even when he has the foreknowledge that they will probably not make it back alive. His missions are typically those other delivery companies will not take, such as serving subpoenas to Mafia-controlled worlds or casual deliveries to virus-infested planets. Even the commercial that he had produced for his company makes several remarks to this effect, including "When other companies aren't crazy or foolhardy enough…" and "Our crew is replaceable, your package isn't."

In one episode when the crew and his ship are sent off to war, he immediately tries to hire another crew, going so far as to assign them similar character roles; he is clearly surprised to be interrupted by his old crew returning. Even his familial relationship to Fry does not dampen the glee with which he assigns dangerous delivery missions. When asked about the nature of his delivery "business", Farnsworth once clarified that he viewed his company more as "a source of cheap labor, like a family." He also frequently covets his employees' organs and blood; he keeps Amy Wong around because they share a blood type and in "Anthology of Interest II" retrieves a pair of plastic tongs and a box labelled "Leela's organs" when Leela is knocked unconscious. In "How Hermes Requisitioned His Groove Back", he tries to encourage a suicidal Hermes Conrad to kill himself in a way that would not damage his liver because "other people need it".

It is established in the episode "Mother's Day" that the Professor was once Mom's lover and employee. However, they could not maintain their relationship due to Mom's lust for power, prompting them to break up (this reportedly happened three times). When Mom takes control of all the world's robots to cause an uprising, her sons Walt, Larry, and Igner attempt to get the Professor to seduce Mom and retrieve the remote for the robots. They get back together briefly, but break up once more when Mom learns the Professor had been initially using her. It is revealed in Bender's Game that the Professor is the biological father of Mom's youngest son Igner — the one whom Mom despises the most.

Some of his more significant inventions include a hat that advanced a monkey to human-level intelligence, a race of mutant atomic supermen, a wide range of doomsday devices, and a pioneer in the development of the 'modern' robots used in the 31st century.

Production
Professor Farnsworth is voiced by Billy West, using a combination of impressions of Burgess Meredith and Frank Morgan. West has stated that the voice for Farnsworth is meant to be a bit shaky and that when developing the voice he came up with "a combination of all the wizard-type characters you heard when you were a kid, Burgess Meredith and Frank Morgan in The Wizard of Oz." There is a direct nod to this in the episode "Anthology of Interest II", in which the Professor portrays the Wizard of Oz.

Many references to the pulp science fiction magazine Weird Tales indicate the Professor may be named in honor of its editor Farnsworth Wright. Another possibility is that he was named after the American inventor and television pioneer Philo Farnsworth, or after the Colonial American figure David Farnsworth, who appeared in the Futurama episode "All The Presidents' Heads" as an ancestor of the Professor and Philip J. Fry. The Professor's first name Hubert may have been chosen in honor of University of California Philosophy professor Hubert Dreyfus, of whom writer and producer Eric Kaplan was a former student.

Farnsworth's design has been compared to a combination of Mr. Burns, Grampa Simpson, and Professor Frink from Matt Groening's other series, The Simpsons.

In the initial storyboards of "Space Pilot 3000", Fry presumes that the Professor is descended from a supposed sister and a supposed brother-in-law named Eddie Farnsworth. In the first season, Farnsworth excuses his unhelpfulness by saying that he was "already in his pajamas". This was an early attempt at a catchphrase that was abandoned after "The Series Has Landed".

In the "Action Delivery Force" segment of "Reincarnation", Professor Farnsworth is voiced by David Herman.

Legacy 
In 2020, a new species of snake from the Western Ghats of India, Ahaetulla farnsworthi, was named after the character. One of the researchers, Achyuthan Srikanthan, was a fan of the show and character, and the species was named after Farnsworth as a reference to the character's attempts to revive barking snakes from extinction.

See also

Philip J. Fry

References

Futurama characters
Fictional atheists and agnostics
Fictional inventors
Fictional mad scientists
Fictional scientists in television
Fictional professors
Fictional business executives
Fictional Nobel laureates
Fictional characters from New York City
Fictional characters with dementia
Television characters introduced in 1999
Animated characters introduced in 1999
Atheism in television
Male characters in animated series
Characters created by Matt Groening
Crossover characters in television
휴버트 J. 판스워스 교수(Professor Hubert J. Farnsworth, 보통 간단하게 판스워스 교수)는 미국의 애니메이션 퓨처라마에 등장하는 등장인물이며 빌리 웨스트가 목소리를 맡았다. 판스워스 교수는 플래닛 익스프레스의 경영자이며, 필립 J. 프라이의 32대 손이다.

판스워드 교수의 간단한 연혁 
작중의 판스워드 교수는 매드 사이언티스트다. 퓨처라마의 제작진은 판스워스 교수의 이름을 전자식 텔레비전을 발명한 필로 판스워스(Philo Farnsworth)의 성과, 시리즈 초기의 작가인 에릭 카플란이 예전에 공부했던 캘리포니아 대학교의 철학교수인 휴버트 드레퓌스에서 따왔다고 한다. 판스워스 교수는 늙고, 도덕관념이 존재하지 않으며, 혼란스러운 면도 있으며, 최후의 날 기계라든가 원자 슈퍼맨등을 만들어 내는 예측할 수 없는 노인이다. 판스워스 교수는 자신이 발명한 발명품으로 인해 최소한 하나의 평행우주를 위험에 빠트렸으며, 평행우주를 12개이상 만들기도 하였다.

판스워스 교수는 화성 대학교의 전임교수이며, 또한 맘의 회사에서 몇년동안 일하기도 하였다. 그러나 대부분의 시간을 이상한 기계를 발명하거나 그의 회사 직원들을 자살 행위로 몰아넣는 일을 하고 있다. 맘의 회사에서 일할 때 판스워스 교수는 맘과 사랑에 빠졌으나, 그녀와의 입장차이로 인하여 회사를 관두게 된다. 판스워스 교수의 전공분야는 정확하게 밝혀진 것이 없으며, 여러 에피소드에서 판스워스 교수는 다양한 과학적인 지식을 갖고 있는 것으로 보인다. 화성대학교에서 판스워스 교수는 양자 뉴트리오 부문에 대한 수학강좌를 가르치지만, 학생들이 절대로 수강하지 않도록 과목의 이름을 어렵게 만든다.

처음에 판스워스 교수는 프라이의 오래된(30대까지 내려오는) 사촌이자 자손이어서 20세기의 필립 J. 프라이의 형인 얀시 프라이의 손자의 후손으로 보였으나, 프라이가 자신의 할아버지가 되는 상황이 발생했기 때문에, 판스워스 교수는 프라이의 직접적인 후손이 되었다. 판스워스 교수는 안경을 벗는 모습이 보이지 않으나, Morther's Day 에피소드에서 판스워드 교수는 백내장을 가지고 있는 것처럼 보인다.

특성 
판스워드 교수는 그의 유행어인 "Good News, Everyone"을 가지고 있다. 이 말은 매우 나쁜 소식이거나 혹은 자살 임무를 안내하는 것일수 있으며, 몇몇 상황에서는 바뀌기도 한다. 이 말이 좋은 뜻이 아닐수 있음에 대해서 교수는 인정하고 있다. 다른 감탄사론, "Sweet Zombie Jesus!"가 있으며, 교수가 방심한 상황이거나, 작품에 대한 다른 사람의 질문에 대한 답변으로 "Wha?"라 답변하기도 한다. 판스워스 교수는 브리핑하는 상황에 종종 서로 모순된 진술을 한다. 예를 들어, Duh-Vinci Code 에피소드에서 교수는 자신이 아킬레스의 뒷꿈치를 사지 못한 이유가 자신이 먼저 샀기 때문이라고 말하는 것을 볼 수 있다.

판스워스 박사는 또한 여러개의 최후의 날 기계를 만들었으며, 시간이 건너뜀을 막기 위해서 성운을 폭파 시키기도 하였으며, 벤더의 에너지원으로 사용되기도 하였다.

나이와 죽음 
판스워스 교수는 병안에 들어있는 머리와, 냉동된 인간을 제외하곤 지구에서 살고 있는 가장 나이많은 사람중 한명이다. Teenage Mutant Leela's Hurdles 에피소드에서 그의 나이는 161세로 나오게 된다. 그의 클론인 큐버트 판스워스는 플래닛 익스프레스를 자기 손에 넣을때, 교수가 탈세를 위해서 법적으로 죽었다고 주장하였다. 교수는 "공원 도랑에서 자고 있었는데, 그들이 날 죽은걸로 쳤다고"주장하였다. Bender's Game 에피소드에선 165살로 나온다.

인간관계 
판스워스 교수는 배달원의 안전에 대해 별로 중요하게 생각하지 않으며, 첫 번째 에피소드에서 새로운 배달원들이 예전 배달원들이 어찌 되었는지 물어볼때 교수는 "오 그 불쌍한 사람들... 그러나 그건 별로 중요하지 않아요! 중요한건 난 새로운 배달원이 필요했다는 거지!"라고 말한다. 교수는 종종 다른 배달회사에선 절대로 하지 않을 일에 그의 배달원들을 투입시킨다. 예를 들어 마피아가 지배하는 세계에 소환장을 배달해준다던가, 사람을 죽이는 로봇이 점령한 행성에 소포를 배달한다든지 말이다. 플래닛 익스프레스의 슬로건은 다음과 같다. "우리 배달원들은 바꿀수 있지만, 당신의 화물은 그렇지 않습니다"

또한 회사원들을 자신의 내장이라든가 혈액 대체품으로 생각하는 경향이 있다. 에이미 왕을 계속 인턴으로 붙잡아 두는건 그와 같은 혈액형이기 때문이며, 허미스 콘라드가 자살하려고 하던 에피소드에선 자살 하더라도 간엔 피해를 입히지 말라고 하며, 투랑가 릴라가 기절한 에피소드에선 장기를 적출하려고 통을 들고 오기까지 했다.

판스워스 교수는 맘의 애인이자 고용인이었으나, 두사람간의 의견차로 인해서 깨지게 된다. 한 에피소드에서 잠시 합쳐졌다가 다시 또 깨지게 된다. Bender's Game 에피소드에서 교수는 제일 싫어하는 맘의 아들인 이그너의 생부라는 것을 알게 된다.

재정 
판스워스 교수는 실험비를 충당하려고 회사를 차렸지만, 정작 회사는 파산위기이다. 왜냐하면 배달부인 프라이와 릴라, 벤더가 개인적 사정이라든가 너무 위험한 곳이던가, 아님 지루하다든가 해서 짐을 버리고 오는 경우가 있기 때문이다. 이런 재난과 회사가 파산위기임에도 불구하고 교수는 여전히 그가 실험을 계속 하며, 실험으로 망가진 것들에 대한 비용을 지불하고 있다. 교수는 고급 식당에 가서 밥을 먹거나 황금으로 기계를 만드는 등으로 볼때 어마어마한 재산이 있는 것으로 보인다.

수상 
판스워스 교수는 시리즈에서 중요한 발명품으로 선구자가 되곤 하는데, 모든 근대식 로봇을 디자인하였으며, 암흑 물질을 우주선 연료로 만들기도 한다. 판스워스 교수는 지구 온난화와 리처드 닉슨의 악한 계획을 저지해서 받은 오염 메달(메달에서 연기가 나온다)을 받기도 하였으며, 뉴뉴욕을 쓰레기 유성으로부터 구하여 발명가 협회로부터 상을 받기도 하였다. 또한 판스워스 교수의 제자이자 라이벌인 오그던 원스트롬은 판스워스 교수가 필즈 메달을 수상하였다고 한다. 그러나 Duh-Vinci Code와 The Prisoner of Benda의 수학적인 부분에서는 끙끙대는 모습을 보여준다.

참고 문헌 

퓨처라마의 등장인물
매드 사이언티스트
1999년 창조된 가공인물