Whatever Happened to... Robot Jones? (usually shortened to Robot Jones) is an American animated television series that aired on Cartoon Network from 2002 to 2003. The show centers on Robot Jones, a robotic teenager attending a suburban middle school. The show is the 12th series to fall under the Cartoon Cartoons label.
Production
The series was created by cartoonist Greg Miller, who made a pilot for the series that aired in 2000 to compete with other pilots to be picked up by the network. While The Grim Adventures of Billy & Mandy won the contract, Robot Jones still got a run in 2002. After waning support from the network executives, constant time slot changes, and steps to 're-develop' the series, (including re-casting the voice of Robot), Greg Miller left the show out of frustration and Robot Jones was left to air its second, and final season.
In 2005 the series returned to television, albeit in a minor role. Episodes of the series could be seen from time to time on The Cartoon Cartoon Show on Cartoon Network, along with shorts of other series that ended during that time period (Mike, Lu & Og, Cow and Chicken, etc.).
Overview
The protagonist is Robot Jones, a short automaton who lives in a small city in Delaware during the early 1980s apparently—the animation style, clothing, and soundtrack all seem to indicate that decade; Robot attempts to learn of human nature by attending Polyneux Middle School, where he meets three new friends: Socks (Kyle Sullivan), a taller boy with curly blonde hair; Mitch (Gary Leroi Gray), a headphones-wearing boy whose eyes are hidden by his long hair; and Cubey (Myles Jeffrey), a shorter boy with spiked black hair who wears big, square sunglasses and a Pac-Man T-shirt. He also meets Shannon (Grey DeLisle), a girl whom he likes (unrequitedly) for her large orthodontic appliance and metal prosthetic leg.
In each episode, Robot, usually with the help of his friends, gets himself into a situation brought on by his social ineptitude and others' lack of understanding. In some episodes he would be tormented by genius twin brothers (who look nothing alike) Lenny and Denny Yogman (respectively Josh Peck and Austin Stout). At the end of every episode (except "Cube Wars"), Robot makes a data log entry, in which he states conclusions that he has arrived at on humanity.
Opening
The opening sequence of the show, in which Robot Jones is assembled in a factory and then inserted into a schoolbus, is a homage to the opening sequence of 1980s children's show You Can't Do That on Television, which starts with a similar animation of children being assembled in a factory and poured into a schoolbus. The animation style is somewhat similar to that of Schoolhouse Rock!; the artistic style is influenced by Paul Coker and Jolly Roger Bradfield.
At the end of the intro where the title of the show is spoken, the "...Robot Jones" part is done by a Macintosh Macintalk voice known as Trinoids. Robot Jones is voiced by the Macintosh Macintalk voice Junior in the first season and Bobby Block in the second season and re-dubbed the first season episodes featuring Macintalk voice.
Robot Jones can been seen in the background on a drawer in the Dexter's Laboratory episode "OH Brother".
Characters
- Robot Electro Jones is the title character of the series. He is a robot who does whatever he can to fit in the human society which can go awry sometimes. Whenever the day ends he adds to his memory called Data Log Entry something he learns through the experience. His brain is a giant light bulb. He was originally voiced by Macintalk Junior in season one and Bobby Block in season two.
- Dad Unit is Robot's father. Whenever he says something, he says it three times. One example would be "Listen to your mother! Listen to your mother! Listen to your mother!" as said in the inaugural episode. He has one hand, wears a tie and almost has a no-nonsense attitude. He is voiced by Macintalk's 'Ralph' voice, who in recent years has become famous for 'starring' in WALL-E. His voice bears a resemblance to Auto's from WALL-E.
- Mom Unit (voiced by Grey DeLisle) is Robot's mother. She's pink in color and her hands looked like the ends of a gas pump's hose which she uses for giving fuel to her fellow units.
- Timothy "Socks" Morton (voiced by Kyle Sullivan) is the best friend of Robot Jones. He is quite a fanatic to rock music. He has blond curly hair and wears a green jacket.
- Charles "Cubey" Cubinacle (voiced by Myles Jeffrey) is the shorter guy with dark, straight hair, wears sunglasses with window blinds for lenses and roller skates. He is a video game lover. When Robot got jumbled in "Cube Wars," he helped fix the situation.
- Mitch Freeman (voiced by Gary LeRoi Gray) is a lad often seen wearing headphones, a red sweater and sandals. His eyes are obscured by his long hair. He and Cubey made their first appearances in "Electric Boogaloo", the second episode. In "Scantron Love", his last name was Davis.
- Lenny and Denny Yogman are the notorious young genius twins of the show. They wear red hats that resembles the 1980s band Devo's energy dome hats, yellow shirts and black sneakers. Lenny is tall while Denny is short. They do whatever they can to take Robot's brain. Lenny is voiced by Josh Peck and Denny is voiced by Austin Stout.
- Shannon Westerburg is a girl in the school. Robot loves her because she has more mechanical attachments than any human he has ever seen, specifically a large orthodontic appliance and a prosthetic leg. She is unaware that Robot has a crush on her and typically finds him more of an annoyance than anything else. Shannon talks with a lisp. She is voiced by Grey DeLisle.
- Mr. McMcMc is Robot Jones' math teacher. He is voiced by Maurice LaMarche in the pilot and Rip Taylor in the series.
- Clancy Q. Sleepyjeans is the school janitor. He's voiced by David Koechner.
- Principal Madman is the principal of Polyneux Middle School. His mustache resembles that of Adolf Hitler's; as such, he is very tyrannical to his students. He is voiced by Maurice LaMarche in the pilot and Jeff Glen Bennett in the series.
- James is the owner of Nob's Arkaid, where Robot and his friends hang out. In "Hookie 101", it is revealed that he has a discount on game tokens during school. He is voiced by Gedde Watanabe.
- Gramps Unit is Robot Jones' Grandfather. He obviously first appeared in "Vacuum Friend". Gramps Unit sounds like Robot Jones' father, but isn't Robot Jones' father. Gramps Unit could be the dad of either Dad Unit or Mom Unit. Gramps Unit is voiced by Macintalk's Zarvox.
- Episodes
| Season | Episodes | Originally aired | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Season premiere | Season finale | ||
| Pilot | 1 | August 25, 2000 | |
| 1 | 6 | June 25, 2002 | September 13, 2002 |
| 2 | 7 | October 3, 2003 | November 14, 2003 |
Pilot: 2000[]
| Title | Original airdate |
|---|---|
| "Whatever Happened to Robot Jones?" | August 25, 2000 |
| Robot Jones learns that he has been put into a human public school that he must now attend. Well in class, he believes that the problems are too easy which results in him getting sent to the principles office for being a smart alec to the teacher. Later the same day as all of the school kids are eating lunch, the principle trips on a wire which he later finds out is Robots charger cable. After finding out it was Robot Jones, he gives him three months detention for tripping him, which angers Robot Jones so much that he starts malfunctioning and scares away everyone. Later, he rants about the humans in the hallway and almost gives up completely on them, until he develops a crush on a girl who is wearing braces. He then realizes that humans are not all that bad and that he needs to study more on them. | |
Season 1: 2002[]
| # | Segment A | Segment B | Original air date |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Electric Boogaloo | Groovesicle | June 25, 2002 |
| 2 | PU To P.E. | Vacuum Friend | July 19, 2002 |
| 3 | Cube Wars | Sickness | July 26, 2002 |
| 4 | Parents | Embarrassment | August 2, 2002 |
| 5 | Politics | Growth Spurts | August 9, 2002 |
| 6 | Jealousy | Scantron Love | September 13, 2002 |
Season 2: 2003[]
| # | Segment A | Segment B | Original air date |
|---|---|---|---|
| 7 | Gender | Math Challenge | October 3, 2003 |
| 8 | Family Vacation | Hair | October 10, 2003 |
| 9 | The Garage Band | Work Order | October 17, 2003 |
| 10 | The Yogmans Strike Back | Hookie 101 | October 24, 2003 |
| 11 | House Party | School Newspaper | October 31, 2003 |
| 12 | Safety Patrol | Popularity | November 7, 2003 |
| 13 | Summer Camp | Rules of Dating | November 14, 2003 |
Copyright: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Whatever_Happened_to..._Robot_Jones%3F
http://cartoonnetwork.wikia.com/wiki/Whatever_Happened_to..._Robot_Jones%3F
Whatever Happened To Robot Jones? (THEME)
Shows Intro