Fox executives didn’t get off to the best start when they ruthlessly recast “Futurama” at the last minute. Since that moment, there was ongoing tension between the “Futurama” staff and the network, which ultimately canceled the series in 2003. It has since returned in various incarnations, but 2003 saw the end of “Futurama” on Fox.

Happily, though, the show did manage to get a few digs in before its cancellation. “The Simpsons,” having faced intervention from Fox on several occasions, had taken numerous shots at the network throughout its run, lampooning former Fox owner Rupert Murdoch and even killing the Fox censor during a “Treehouse of Horror” cold open. But “Futurama” went further, with an entire episode devoted to sending up the mechanics of network TV and censorship.

Season 4, episode 6, “Bender Should Not Be Allowed on TV,” aired on August 3, 2003. In the installment, Bender lands a part of the sitcom “All My Circuits” but quickly draws the ire of the public for his boorish and inappropriate behavior. After Bender sees first-hand how his antics encouraged children to steal his own belongings, the foul-mouthed robot joins Hermes and Professor Farnsworth’s campaign group, Fathers Against Rude Television (FART), and protests against his own casting. It all ends with Bender giving a speech while on-air, in which he claims “all the blame rests with the parents” and confronting viewers with the question, “Have you ever tried simply turning off the TV, sitting down with your children, and hitting them?”

According to Matt Groening, the entire episode was a response to network interference and Fox’s incessant attempts to change aspects of “Futurama.”