really tough lesbian sort of character". She was changed to provide a better contrast between her and Leela. In the season four episode "Kif Gets Knocked Up a Notch", in which Amy's boyfriend Kif becomes pregnant, there was some disagreement among the writers as to whether Amy should be the real mother of his children. It was eventually decided that having Amy be the mother and reject the children would make her too unlikeable. Secondary characters Zapp Brannigan Zapp Brannigan (voiced by Billy West) is a 25-Star general in the military of the Democratic Order Of Planets (D.O.O.P.), although his title varies. Brannigan was first seen in the episode "Love's Labours Lost in Space" as Captain of the starship Nimbus, where he imprisons Fry, Leela and Bender for violating "Brannigan's Law". Zapp is generally incompetent, egotistical, boorish, vain, cowardly, sexist and short-sighted. He will often mispronounce words, such as champagne ("sham-PAGG-Enn") and guacamole ("GWACK-a-mole") in the episodes "Love's Labours Lost in Space" and "The Problem with Popplers" (respectively). Soon after first meeting him, Leela has sex with him out of pity. He mentions this encounter repeatedly in later episodes while remaining convinced that Leela lusts after him despite her opposition to the idea. He is known to make catastrophic mistakes (such as destroying D.O.O.P. headquarters in "Brannigan, Begin Again"), yet, in the public eye, he is seen as an established and reputable leader of the Earth's army. Though viewed publicly as a respected hero for his numerous military victories, almost all of these victories are against comically weak opponents or achieved through tactics that wantonly disregard the safety of his own soldiers. The character is based on the Star Trek captain James T. Kirk, played by William Shatner. The show's executive producer David X. Cohen has described Brannigan as "half Captain Kirk, half actual William Shatner". Zapp is voiced by Billy West, though he was originally intended to be voiced by Phil Hartman. Hartman insisted on auditioning for the role, and "of course, just nailed it" according to creator Matt Groening. However, after Hartman was murdered on May 28, 1998, West was given the role. On a Futurama DVD commentary, Groening reveals that Zapp's character and mannerisms were established in West's original audition for the character, and any similarity to Phil Hartman or his other well known cartoon characters (Lionel Hutz and Troy McClure) is simply coincidence. On the other