No, really. I did.

You see, I have this (unhealthy, as Jess would say) obsession with Futurama like you wouldn’t believe. Ever since the show first aired back in 1999, I’ve been hooked. I honestly don’t know if I dislike anything about it. The characters, the actors, the storyline, the animation…it all works together, and works together well.

However, with that all said, I do have a favorite character from the show. No, not Bender, not lovable Zoidberg, or even Professor Farnsworth.

Why Philip J. Fry? Well, I really can’t pinpoint any one reason for choosing him, other than the simple fact that, in a way, if I was a cartoon character, he would be the closet to which I can relate.

I’ve always wanted to name my son after my grandfather on my dad’s side, Justin. It wasn’t until a few years ago, back when Fox was contemplating bringing the show back from being cancelled, that I started to think about the name Philip if I had a son.

You see, according to the Infosphere Futurama Wiki page for Philip J. Fry, the J has no special meaning or name. It’s just an initial. So, I thought, why not Philip Justin? It’s not a bad name at all, and I get the small satisfaction that my son is named after my favorite cartoon character. Luckily, after much begging and whining and pleading, Jess finally agreed to allow the name. Ok, maybe I didn’t do all that.

So there you have it. It’s not complicated and, unlike most babies being born lately, my son can grow up knowing he wasn’t named after a sparkling vampire.

That’s just wrong.

And now, a video montage of Philip J. Fry from random episodes of Futurama.