Whatever Happened to... Robot Jones?

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Whatever Happened to... Robot Jones?
Logo-robotjones.gif
Genre
Created byGreg Miller
Developed by
  • Mike Stern
  • Greg Miller
Directed by
  • Greg Miller (pilot, Season 1)
  • Rob Renzetti (pilot, Season 1)
  • Steve Socki (Season 2)
Voices of
Theme music composerThe Invisible Car
Opening theme"Do the Robot"
Composers
  • Greg Miller
  • Mike Stern (season 2)
Country of originUnited States
Original languageEnglish
No. of seasons2
No. of episodes13 (and 1 pilot)
Production
Executive producerGreg Miller
Producers
Running time22 minutes
Production companies
DistributorWarner Bros. Television Distribution
Release
Original networkCartoon Network
Picture formatNTSC
Audio formatStereo
Original releaseJune 16, 2000 (2000-06-16) –
November 14, 2003 (2003-11-14)
External links
Website

Whatever Happened to... Robot Jones? (simply known as Robot Jones or WHTRJ?) is an American animated television series created by Greg Miller for Cartoon Network.[1]

The show follows a teenage robot named Robot Jones who attends the fictional suburban Polyneux Middle School in a retrofuturistic 1980s world.[2] In each episode, Robot Jones researches an aspect of human life, which include music, facial hair, gym class, etc. He is guided by his three friends, who go by the nicknames Socks, Mitch, and Cubey. Robot Jones is often smitten with his crush, Shannon Westerburg, a tall, young girl with orthodontic headgear and a prosthesis. In school, Robot Jones interacts with his teachers, Mr. McMcMc, Mr. Workout, and Mrs. Raincoat; the principal, Mr. Madman; and janitor Clancy Q. Sleepyjeans. His arch-rivals, Lenny and Denny Yogman, try to sabotage Jones's research by making school more difficult for him.

Miller's pilot for the series first aired on Cartoon Network on June 16, 2000, as part of a contest called "Voice Your Choice Weekend", in which new series pilots were shown on the network for viewers to decide on which would be the best one to eventually become its own full-fledged series. Despite the Robot Jones pilot coming in second to the Grim & Evil short, Robot Jones was greenlit for its own series, which premiered on July 19, 2002. The titular character's voice in the first season was created with a Microsoft Word 98 text-to-speech function. Beginning with the second season, Robot Jones's voice was dubbed over by child actor Bobby Block, and reruns of the first season were re-dubbed with Block's voice as well. The series ended on November 14, 2003, after 13 episodes and 1 pilot.

Premise[]

Promotional image featuring the series' main characters. From left to right: Cubey, Socks, Robot Jones and Shannon

The series centers on Robot M. Electro Jones Alpha (voiced by a text-to-speech program in the pilot and season 1; Bobby Block in season 2 and season 1 reruns), who is the no. KX8-0 model teenage cyborg automaton robot that lives in a small city in Delaware in a version of the early 1980s where robots are commonplace.[3] Robot attempts to learn of human nature by attending Polyneux Middle School where he makes three new friends: Timothy "Socks" Morton (Kyle Sullivan), a tall boy who loves rock music, Mitch Davis (Gary LeRoi Gray), a headphones-wearing boy whose eyes are hidden by his long hair, and Charles "Cubey" Cubinacle (Myles Jeffrey), a shorter boy who loves video games. He also meets Shannon Westerburg (Grey DeLisle), a girl he becomes attracted to because of her large retainer and metal prosthetic leg.

Each episode has Robot explore a concept faced by average teenagers, such as gym class or competitions. Robot immerses himself in each subject to fully understand it while trying to fit in with his human peers, but this is challenging due to his social ineptitude and others' lack of understanding. As Robot settles in at school, he explores humanoid concepts of his own will. Though the situations he finds himself in are usually at his parents' insistence, others are a result of Robot trying to get closer to Shannon. An example is in "Summer Camp" when Socks convinces Robot to go camping and Robot discovers the ability to feel jealous. Due to his polite nature and short stature, students at his school tend to ignore Robot or are oblivious to his existence. His good grades, poor social skills, and status as a robot are at odds with Principal Madman, a technophobic principal, Mr. McMcMc, a jealous and insecure math teacher, and Lenny and Denny Yogman, two genius twin brothers. At the end of an episode, Robot reads a "data log entry" about what he learned that day and what conclusions he has arrived at on humanity.

The opening sequence, in which Robot Jones is factory assembled and inserted into a school bus, is an homage to that of 1980s children's show You Can't Do That on Television. When the title of the show is spoken, a group of young children voice the "Whatever Happened to..." part in unison while the "Robot Jones?" part is done by a Macintosh Macintalk voice known as Trinoids. The first season has children speaking out episode titles while season 2 episode titles are spoken by voices of the characters.

Production[]

Greg Miller's original series pilot aired on Cartoon Network on June 8, 2000, in a contest featuring 11 animated shorts to be chosen for a spot on the network's 2000 schedule.[4] During the weekend of August 25–27, 2000, all 11 pilots aired as part of a 52-hour marathon called "Voice Your Choice Weekend", in which viewers would vote for their favorite pilots.[4][5] While Grim & Evil won the contest with 57% of the vote, Robot Jones came in second place with 23% and was given its own series run beginning July 19, 2002.[6][7][8][9]

Robot Jones's animation style can be seen as a throwback to 1970s and 1980s cartoons such as Schoolhouse Rock!, with an intentionally messy and rough look. The series' animation technique is different from most American cartoons from the early 2000s. It was animated with traditional cel animation, at a time when many American cartoons had switched to digital ink and paint.[3] The show was animated at Rough Draft Studios at Seoul, South Korea.

Greg Miller stated in an interview on Facebook that he used a Microsoft Word 98 text-to-speech software on his old Macintosh computer for Robot's voice during production for season one, but after the first season was completed, the executives of Cartoon Network disliked how it sounded.[10] Bobby Block was chosen to take the role of Robot in season two. Robot Jones's text-to-speech voice was also recorded for production of the second season, but because the voice change happened during the production of those episodes, this voice was never dubbed into the final prints. In that interview, he also said that he would want to do a revival of Robot Jones, but it would be up to Cartoon Network.

The aforementioned interview also revealed that the show was originally planned to be about Robot Jones growing up in the style of The Wonder Years only to take over the world in the style of The Terminator, and when asked how the show would have ended, Greg Miller explained it would end in the show's version of the 1990s with Robot Jones rallying a robot army to attack the human race.

Episodes[]

Series overview[]

Season Episodes Originally aired
First aired Last aired
Pilot June 16, 2000 (2000-06-16)
1 6 July 19, 2002 (2002-07-19) September 13, 2002 (2002-09-13)
2 7 October 3, 2003 (2003-10-03) November 14, 2003 (2003-11-14)

Pilot (2000)[]

TitleDirected byWritten byOriginal air date
"Whatever Happened to Robot Jones?"Greg Miller and Rob RenzettiGreg MillerJune 16, 2000 (2000-06-16)[4]

Robot Jones is informed by his parents, Mom Unit and Dad Unit, that he has been put into a human public school that he must now attend. While in math class, he believes that the problems are too easy for him, which results in him getting sent to the principal's office for being condescending to the teacher. Later the same day as all of the school kids are eating lunch, Principal Madman trips on a wire which he later finds out is Robot's charger cable. After finding out it was Robot Jones, he gives him three months detention for tripping him, which angers Robot so much that he starts malfunctioning and firing lasers out of his eyes and scaring 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 with what he calls "high metal content". He then supposes that humans are not all bad and decides to study more on them.

Note: This episode was later aired as the first segment along with "Electric Boogaloo" and "The Groovesicle."

Season 1 (2002)[]

No.
overall		No. in
season		TitleDirected byWritten byStoryboard byOriginal air date
11"P.U. to P.E."
"Vacuum Friend"		Greg MillerGreg MillerKevin Kaliher & Mike SternJuly 19, 2002 (2002-07-19)

"P.U. to P.E.": Robot Jones fears taking a shower in gym class because he thinks he will rust.

"Vacuum Friend": Robot Jones befriends a vacuum cleaner after thinking humans and robots cannot be friends.
22"Cube Wars"
"Sickness"		Greg MillerGreg Miller, Kevin Kaliher, and Mike BellKevin Kaliher and Mike BellJuly 26, 2002 (2002-07-26)

"Cube Wars": Everyone becomes obsessed with solving their Rubik's Revenge (called Wonder Cubes on the show), but Robot Jones' superior mind allows him to solve it almost instantly. The Yogmans sabotage Robot's cube, however, and he begins to malfunction.

"Sickness": The Yogmans prank Robot Jones by inserting a virus-filled floppy disk in Robot's disk drive, and he becomes very ill.
33"Parents"
"Embarrassment"		Greg MillerGreg Miller, Dave Smith, and Paul TibbittDave Smith and Paul TibbittAugust 2, 2002 (2002-08-02)

"Parents": Robot Jones must bring his parents to parent-teacher night at the middle school. When his parents embarrass him, Robot Jones attempts to manually override them to control their behavior, but fails.

"Embarrassment": Robot Jones wants to ask out Shannon to the Harvest Dance, but his nervousness causes his exhaust to malfunction whenever he gets near her.
44"Politics"
"Growth Spurts"		Greg MillerGreg MillerKevin Kaliher & Mike SternAugust 9, 2002 (2002-08-09)

"Politics": Robot Jones runs for student council president.

"Growth Spurts": Robot Jones modifies himself to be tall enough to be on the basketball team.
55"Electric Boogaloo"
"The Groovesicle"		Greg Miller and Rob RenzettiGreg MillerGreg Miller & Mike SternAugust 24, 2002 (2002-08-24) (Electric Boogaloo)[11]
September 6, 2002 (2002-09-06) (The Groovesicle)

"Electric Boogaloo": Lenny and Denny Yogman try to trick Robot Jones into being his friend so they can steal his brain.

"The Groovesicle": Robot Jones and Socks watch an episode of "The Groovesicle", a music video TV series featuring a performance by a band called "The Lavender Fudge Experience".
66"Jealousy"
"Scantron Love"		Greg MillerGreg Miller, Clay Morrow and Walt DohrnClay Morrow and Walt DohrnSeptember 13, 2002 (2002-09-13)

"Jealousy": Robot Jones feels jealousy towards an android named Finkman, who manages to make Shannon fall for him (as well as the rest of the school).

"Scantron Love": Robot befriends the school's Scantron machine in order to get the answers for his history tests, and soon passes out the answers to the rest of the students in class.

Season 2 (2003)[]

No.
overall		No. in
season		TitleDirected byWritten byStoryboard byOriginal air date
71"Gender"
"Math Challenge"		Steve SockiGreg Miller, Kevin Kaliher, and Charlie BeanKevin Kaliher and Charlie BeanOctober 3, 2003 (2003-10-03)

"Gender": Robot Jones struggles to understand the differences between human boys and girls.

"Math Challenge": Mr. McMcMc challenges Robot Jones to a math competition to determine who is the smarter one of the two.

Note:This the first episode to use the voice actor Bobby Block to play Robot Jones.
82"Family Vacation"
"Hair"		Steve SockiGreg Miller and Chuck KleinChuck KleinOctober 10, 2003 (2003-10-10)

"Family Vacation": Socks goes on a spring break vacation together with Robot and his family, but Robot's parents have an unusual idea of what a vacation entails.

"Hair": Seeing other boys in school with hair makes Robot want hair of his own to impress Shannon, but he must find a creative way to generate some on his metallic body.
93"Garage Band"
"Work"		Steve SockiGreg Miller, Brian Larsen, & Mike SternBrian Larsen & Mike SternOctober 17, 2003 (2003-10-17)

"Garage Band": After witnessing girls at their school get excited for a garage band, Robot, Socks, Cubey, and Mitch decide to form a band of their own. But they focus more on being cool rather than actually practicing their instruments, which confuses Robot as to what being in band is about.

"Work": Robot Jones gets a job at JNZ to make extra money, but finds it increasingly difficult to stay awake juggling a job, school, and time at the arcade with friends.
104"The Yogmans Strike Back"
"Hookie 101"		Steve SockiGreg Miller, Kevin Kaliher, and Charlie BeanKevin Kaliher and Charlie BeanOctober 24, 2003 (2003-10-24)

"The Yogmans Strike Back": After another failed attempts to corner Robot, the Yogmans hypnotize Robot's friends and turn them into an amalgamation robot called the "Yogstrosity".

"Hookie 101": Robot, Socks, Cubey, and Mitch all play hookie.
115"House Party"
"School Newspaper"		Steve SockiGreg Miller and William ReissWilliam ReissOctober 31, 2003 (2003-10-31)

"House Party": Robot Jones throws a big party at his house while his parents are away, but worries about getting caught by Gramps Unit, who dislikes humans.

"School Newspaper": On Madman's order, Robot Jones gets a job for the school newspaper and ends up writing stories that embarrass the principal.
126"Safety Patrol"
"Popularity"		Steve SockiGreg MillerGreg Miller & Mike SternNovember 7, 2003 (2003-11-07)

"Safety Patrol": When Robot Jones is put on the school's safety patrol, his programming for perfection causes him to go overboard with enforcing the rules.

"Popularity": Robot Jones sends a decoy version of himself to school so that he can attend a robotics expo, but the decoy ends up becoming popular with his classmates.
137"Summer Camp"
"Rules of Dating"		Steve SockiGreg Miller, Chris Reccardi & Paul TibbittChris Reccardi and Paul TibbittNovember 14, 2003 (2003-11-14)

"Summer Camp": Despite disliking the outdoors, Robot Jones tries to impress Shannon by showing off his nature skills at a summer camp.

"Rules of Dating": Robot attempts to impress Shannon, but his efforts are marred by restrictions enforced on him by the "Laws of Robotics".

Broadcast[]

After production ceased on Robot Jones, it aired in syndication before being removed from Cartoon Network's schedule, but episodes were available online on Cartoon Network Video for a short period.

From 2005 to 2006, Robot Jones reran sporadically on The Cartoon Cartoon Show, along with segments of other Cartoon Cartoons from that time period.

Reruns began airing on Cartoon Network's Latin-American sister network Tooncast in 2015.

Robot Jones made a cameo appearance on the OK K.O.! Let's Be Heroes episode "Crossover Nexus" that aired October 8, 2018, along with other Cartoon Network characters from current and ended shows. This marks the first appearance of Robot Jones's character since the show's cancellation and the first time since the first season where the character's voice was provided by the Microsoft Word 98 text-to-speech programmed voice.

See also[]

References[]

  1. ^ Perlmutter, David (2018). The Encyclopedia of American Animated Television Shows. Rowman & Littlefield. pp. 689–690. ISBN 978-1538103739.
  2. ^ Erickson, Hal (2005). Television Cartoon Shows: An Illustrated Encyclopedia, 1949 Through 2003 (2nd ed.). McFarland & Co. pp. 900–901. ISBN 978-1476665993.
  3. ^ a b Sissario, Ben (July 14, 2002). "FOR YOUNG VIEWERS; A Retro Robot Who's Big for His Age". The New York Times. Archived from the original on 5 October 2013. Retrieved 2 December 2012.
  4. ^ a b c DeMott, Rick (May 10, 2000). "Cartoon Network Navigates 10 New Pilots". Animation World Network. Retrieved 2013-01-25.
  5. ^ Schultz, Paul (July 30, 2000). "An Animated Election". NY Daily News. Retrieved 2 December 2012.
  6. ^ Dempsey, John (August 29, 2000). "'Billy & Mandy' beats out 'Robot,' 'Longhair' to get greenlight". Variety. Archived from the original on October 3, 2013. Retrieved 2013-05-31.
  7. ^ DeMott, Rick (August 28, 2000). "Only One Grim Survivor Of Cartoon Network's Voice Your Choice Weekend". Animation World Network. Archived from the original on October 1, 2012. Retrieved 2013-01-25.
  8. ^ Macmillan, Alissa (February 22, 2001). "'toon Net Sets 2 New Series". NY Daily News. Archived from the original on 9 May 2012. Retrieved 2 December 2012.
  9. ^ Owen, Rob (July 11, 2002). "'Robot' premieres". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Block Communications. Archived from the original on 31 January 2013. Retrieved 2 December 2012.
  10. ^ https://www.facebook.com/OperationRobotJones/posts/555286887825999
  11. ^ "Talkback: WSF 8/24/02 (Robot Jones)". Anime Superhero.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)

External links[]

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