Whatever Happened to Robot Jones?

infobox television
show_name = Whatever Happened to Robot Jones?


caption = The "Robot Jones" intertitle
runtime = 22 minutes approx. (11 minutes per segment)
format = Animated television series
creator = Greg Miller
voices = Dee Bradley Baker
Jeff Bennett
Bobby Block
Greg Cipes
Grey DeLisle
Austin Farmer
Gary LeRoi Gray
Myles Jeffrey
Maurice LaMarche
Jonathan Osser
Josh Peck
Kath Soucie
Austin Stout
Kyle Sullivan
Rip Taylor
David Koechner
country = United States
network = Cartoon Network
first_aired = August 25, 2000 (Pilot); July 19, 2002
last_aired = November 14, 2003
num_episodes = 13
imdb_id = 0312255|

"Whatever Happened to Robot Jones?" (usually shortened to "Robot Jones") was an American animated television series on Cartoon Network that aired from 2002 to 2004. It aired for one year on Cartoon Network in the United Kingdom (2002). The title was probably taken from the novel-turned-movie "What Ever Happened to Baby Jane".

The series was created by Greg Miller, who made a pilot for the series that was aired in 2000 and competed with other pilots to be picked up by the network. While "The Grim Adventures of Billy and Mandy" won the contract, "Robot Jones" still got a run in 2002.

Overview

The protagonist is Robot Jones (1st season: a synthesized voice, actually the Macintalk voice "Junior"; 2nd season: Bobby Block), a short automaton who lives in a small city in the U.S. during the 1980s (apparently—the animation style, clothing, and soundtrack all seem to indicate that decade; "The Breakfast Club" and "Summer School" are similar indications of this 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.

Plot

In each episode, Robot, usually with the help of his friends, gets himself into a situation brought on by his social ineptness 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 each episode, 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, was a homage to the opening sequence of 1980s children's show "You Can't Do That on Television", which started 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 influenced by Paul Coker and Jolly Roger Bradfield.

Cancellation

It was cancelled shortly after production began on its second season due to a sheer lack of support by the Cartoon Network executives in both the Los Angeles and Atlanta headquarters. In fact, episodes in the second season aired at a significantly later time (11pm Eastern) than other premiere shows, and received little to no promotion from the studio.

Now

In 2005 the series returned to television, albeit in a minor role. Episodes of the series can be seen on occasion on "The Cartoon Cartoon Show" on Cartoon Network along with shorts of other series that have ended long ago ("Mike, Lu & Og", "Cow and Chicken", etc.). It was recently airing on Cartoon Network Video, but has been taken off of it as well as taken off of the "Shows" section on Cartoonnetwork.com. It seems that Cartoon Network has chosen to completely abandon it.

Characters

* Robot Electro Jones is the main 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.
* 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
* Mom Unit 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 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 is the shorter guy with dark, straight hair, wears sunglasses and roller skates. He is a video game lover. When Robot got jumbled in "Cube Wars," he helped fixed the situation.
* Mitch Freeman is a lad often seen wearing head phones, 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.
* Lenny and Denny Yogman are the notorious young genius twins of the show. They wear red Devo (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.
* Shannon 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.
* Mr. McMcMc is Robot Jones' math teacher. He's voiced by Rip Taylor.
* 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. He's voiced by Jeff Glenn Bennett.

Macintosh

At the end of the intro of the show where it says "Whatever Happened to Robot Jones?", The "...Robot Jones" part is done by the Macintosh Macintalk voice known as Trinoids. And in the first season, Robot Jones is voiced by the Macintosh Macintalk voice Junior.

Episode list

Season One 2002-2003

Season Two 2003-2004

External links

*
* [http://www.tv.com/whatever-happened-to-robot-jones/show/11350/summary.html "Whatever Happened to Robot Jones" at TV.com] - a description of the show at TV.com
* " [http://www.bcdb.com/cartoons/Other_Studios/C/Cartoon_Network_Studios/Whatever_Happened_to_Robot_Jones_/index.html Whatever Happened to Robot Jones] " at the Big Cartoon DataBase