Leela (Futurama)

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Turanga Leela

Turanga Leela is the primary female character in the television series Futurama. She is a fit, attractive cyclops that captains the Planet Express ship.

Leela grew up in an orphanarium, and for most of her life was unable to find her parents, or any other member of her species. She believed herself to be an alien from another planet, though other than her eye she was quite humanoid in appearance.

Her name is a simple pun on Olivier Messiaen's most famous work, the Turangalila Symphony, famous for its use of the Ondes Martenot, an early electronic musical instrument much used in the themes and incidental music of Science Fiction movie and TV shows.

During the fifth episode of the fourth season, Leela's Homeworld, it was revealed that Leela's parents Turanga Munda and Turanga Morris were actually sewer-dwelling mutants. She was born seeming quite human (except being a cyclops), so they abandoned her on the surface to give her a chance to grow up as a human.

Possessing only one eye has made life difficult for Leela, not because she is less able as a cyclops, but because she has received unfair treatment by her peers, and sometimes even superiors, because of it. Her poor depth perception on account of her one eye is often joked about in the series. She even suffers at the hands of the writers. When she worked for the cryogenics lab she was officer 1BDI ("one beady eye"), and she lives in "apartment 1I".

Leela is portrayed as the most competent and responsible character in Futurama. She captains the Planet Express spaceship, and usually saves the members of her crew when they find themselves in trouble.

Her biggest mistake was sleeping with Zapp Brannigan.

She is voiced by Katey Sagal.

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See also: Turangalila Symphony