I'm not asking you whatever happened to Robot Jones? Unless you know, then please tell me. This is about the early 2000's Cartoon Network series with that title. (So funny, I'm sure nobody else has made this joke at all) Whatever Happened to Robot Jones? was created by Greg Miller whom worked on a few other Cartoon Network shows as a writer, storyboard artist, animation layout-ist, and more.
The original pilot aired in 2000 as part of a "Voice your Choice Weekend" where 11 pilots were featured and viewers could vote for their favorites. (There were other factors right, right?) (Source) The pilot got second place after "Grim and Evil" which would become it's own series, but am I just talking about a random pilot then? Well, yes, I'm going to start with that first.
The basic concept is that there are robots (duh) and there's apparently a robot child with robot parents, because that's how that works. The "parents" now want the younger robot to go to a human middle school and learn about humans. (To doom us all?) Robot ,which I think is his first name, doesn't want to go because humans are inefficient (it's because we sleep, isn't it). Robot already acts like a human in some ways so maybe oh my. This begins the plot of what the series would be about a robot "child" going to human middle school to learn about humans through the eyes of our middle schoolers. (Which I'm not sure is the best idea) So the pilot goes through Robot annoying the math teacher because he's a smart robot. (compared to a dumb robot) Robot is in the principal's office and if he slips up again , he gets detention. (That'll teach the robot) Tha to doesn't go well since he gets it anyway and this makes Robot mad, because he has a mood device inside for some reason. Anyway, he doesn't get detention. He doesn't want to see another human again, until he sees a girl with braces, head gear and a prosthetic leg and falls in love. (Robot love the purest love?)
He's been programmed to love/ Copyright Warner
The first thing that gets me is the animation style. It's very dirty not bad, but meaning that it's not what you'd see in the later cartoons even the ones on Cartoon Network at the time, where it has a messier animation style, kind of matching up to the School House Rock cartoons. It was also a hand drawn traditional cell animated series when cartoons had gone more to digital ink and paint. Characters are in full color and so are some objects, but you'll notice the backgrounds are simple back and white, which gives everything else a way to pop out. When Robot goes to the bus, the entire outside is black and white sketches, but the bus and Robot are in full color it really is kind of interesting and unique style. I like it. It also fits its setting since the show also takes place in the 80's, which is interesting, but it was about the time for 80's nostalgia to show up.
Life feels so bleak to me for some reason/Copyright Warner
There are two versions of the pilot, I'll get to that when I talk more about the show. The pilot didn't win, but it did get second and well, and Cartoon Network went, I guess we should make this a series too.
The full series premiered on July 19, 2002.
The first episode I'm looking at has two segments, the standard of these shows, of course. Robot has a mission from his mother to figure out a way to make a friend. That's right Robot has to make a friend. Now, this would be easier, but apparently the kids in the school don't want to befriend a robot (Why not?) Robot finds two guys playing video games and he likes video games too. (Who knew?) Oh there are also two bullies because children's show. They are called the Yogmen twins named Lenny and Denny who I don't think Robot should trust. They are also dressed like Devo, so whip it good. (whoa whoa time out for fun there)
Devo were such mean kids/ Copyright Warner
Robot is convinced to follow them because he's an empty vessel robot. They trick Robot to scan the girl's changing room and wow I'm surprised that made into an episode, Cartoon Network early 2000's was on it's on edge there. Of course, Robot gets in trouble They also make Robot get sprayed with pop which causes him to break dance. The two boys Robot met earlier are bothered by this and go to help Robot. There's another thing to this show that's also fun, there's the homages to comic strips with the big lettering and pop quotes when needed that's a nice addition.
Yougmens also state they want Robot's brain and get Robot away from the two boys. (Ironic, humans want the Robot's brain) It was actually easy to get his "brain" ( a light bulb like thing) Then he later goes to them and finds out they made a robot with his brain to be evil. Poor Robot, even cries. The boys from earlier come back and help him by programming him with a fighting game and is able to fight the other robot to get his "brain" back.
The episode ends with Robot doing a data log segment about what he learned. This episode expands upon the pilot, giving Robot some friends, who's names weren't mentioned in this episode but the named Cubey and Mitch. For note, I looked at Episode 5a here, it feels more like a starting point than episode 1a
Weird way to spell friends/ Copyright Warner
More after the jump
I guess here I'll talk about episode 1a called "PU to PE" this episode shows a little more about the Jones' house and again starting with the idea of the Mom giving Robot a mission to learn for the episode. This is one is about P.E. (yay) It's always fun with cartoons depict P.E as mostly horrifying. So Far, Robot does well, since he's a robot. Here comes the true plot of Robot wondering about showering after gym. Now, this isn't a new plot idea, but the twist here is that he's a robot, and well is he waterproof? Guess not, he runs away. ( I like the joke of the water being scanned and it says 98% H2O) The humans take it as Robot being afraid of being nude and not being afraid of rusting, which is a true concern.
Which one is the PE Teacher? / Copyright Warner
The gym teacher isn't not very bright, he also thinks that the robot is a) wearing clothes b) is afraid not because of being a machine, so his agenda is to do anything to the robot in the showers and the show becomes Tom and Jerry. There's also a nightmare sequence which horrifying more than you think understanding a robot to be killed by showers would be. The episode ends with him getting a shower which apparently he is not rusting but apparently electrocutes the other students and knocks out half to the town's power some how.
I guess I'll talk about the change of voice from the pilot and season 1 versus season 2 and the re-dubbing of the pilot. The original voice of Robot Jones was actually text to speech software from Microsoft Word 98. The people in charge at CN didn't like it so they asked the crew to find a voice actor , that being Bobby Block. Then the pilot and season 1 were re-dubbed with Bobby Block's lines. (source)
With the story order, it's kind of interesting that there's an episode about Robot seeking friendship (episode 1b) before doing it again later. This one, he befriends a vacuum cleaner because of course. I will add that in the series proper, the backgrounds do add more color but still keep the black and white for certain things. It even fits more to the "School House Rock" look. Meanwhile, he does make a friend with a boy named Socks.
I'll let the E.T refrence pass this time/ Copyright Warner
You can see what the show is doing from my talking about these episodes Robot is kind of like a kid who's learning things about life but with more fish out of water experience since most humans have at least experience of being human. (I think)
The series also has a very 80's minded set to it, and one of the most 80's episodes has got to be one about a Rubik's cube, though not called that because you know, why. That's Episode 2a, "Cube Wars" it's funny that the robots are watching TV for some reason that makes me laugh. So the episode is about competition. Cubey (get it?) brings in a wonder cube (copyright safe) for our plot.
Return the Cube/ Copyright Warner
Even though the show is in the 80's the character clothing doesn't seem to be to excessively parodying the 80's it infuses 80's fashions without sticking out too much, again a nice touch, I mention here. (Yeah why didn't mention that earlier) Robot is trying to study how humans compete so he watches the humans try to figure out how to do it. Apparently the cube has become a big fad at school now. He changes his mind to solve it for Shannon, the girl he likes, and everyone is impressed that a machine is able to figure out something.
There's also a competition to find out who's the fastest cuber (it's a word now) in the school and that winner goes to be in the world competition. They make the TV show a parody of "That's Incredible!" and that's great! Cubey and Mitch encourage Robot to do it. We need the villains to come in and that's the twins again.
I'm disturbed and I need to hide / Copyright Warner
Their idea is cheating. I have to say these characters stand out pretty well, they are bog standard bad kids, they are very smart and use their smartness for their devious plans. I also like how they are characterized with their oddness and snake hissing. Their plan is to take a cube and change two color stickers around and that way Robot could never finish it. (Glad nobody will check the cubes)
Denny distracts everyone to switch the cubes and Robot can't solve the cube and starts to malfunction and Cubey decides to help Robot by fixing his head which also ended up like a giant Wonder Cube. (What is this world? ) The show make a reference to the 1980's animated series about a living Rubix cube.(Which I have written about before, holy wow) Oh, he was just high. (what?)
Robot figures out the cube and comes in last because the Yogmen brothers won. The real thing that happened is Robot learns about anger. (Good for him)
Episode 4a, is called "Politics" (uhhh) It starts with the idea a student council election and they are on field trip to a hall of Presidents to learn about US presidents which are done in robot stuff so that makes him think that presidents were robots. (Uhhhh) This makes him want to run the universe. (calm down there sir)
He wouldn't be that bad/ Copyright Warner
He downloads information about politics, I'm glad he downloaded 80's information, if he downloaded now, he would have grabbed Twitter and started killing everyone. (That's not even a joke, why didn't you make a joke, why?!) Robot being Robot decides to run for president and his slogans are probably not winners.
"Robots are Superior to Humans" Oooh/ Copyright Warner
Socks helps him as a campaign manger but even he can't help this one day train to sadness. Robot takes the idea of reinventing an image literally and now wears a robot Abe Lincoln head and tries to wrongly state Abe Lincoln words. (he has no qualms about decapitating a robot though, so that's news) He sets off fireworks in the auditorium and everyone has to run out. Guess what? He loses. I guess his bad campaign was bad. 
George Washington? What are you doing here? /Copyright Warner
The episode is funny though, I think it's funny and a funny take on the school election episodes. It uses Robot's not understanding much about humans well.
The first season was 6 episodes or 12 segments. That ran in 2002, season2 came out in 2003.
Like with season 1, I will be sampling through some episodes.
Starting with episode 2a: Gender. The one thing I notice is the animation style has changed some more where essentially everything is colored in now, and there's no more white space. The look is still hand drawn to cell animation, and still has a very classic look. It seemed to adjust more over the first season and season 2 is where it settle into doing it like this. This episode is about Robot looking at the boys' bathroom and girls' bathroom and wondering why there are different ones. Cubey calls him into the boys' bathroom. The boys start talking about girls and there's apparently there's a guy named Steve who lives in a stall apparently.
I don't want to know why the calendar in there/ Copyright Warner
Anyway, Robot is now afraid of girls. Now, there's electives announcement that have been picked for the students, I think that was the joke. The episode also shows a girl happy she got something noted that boys would seem to like, and boy liking a class that would be thought of girly. The teacher decides to mess with Robot for some reason and decides to not put Robot in the class with Socks and Mitch but Home ec. Everyone starts laughing at him. Robot is nervous but thankfully Jimmy is there so he can be somewhat less annoyed.
Boy! It's hurts sew good , hmm what? / Copyright Warner
Meanwhile, Pam and Stacey (I think how it's spelled) need help with their project since he's good at sewing and stuff.( Unlike Alexa who just tells you stuff and expect you to do it) Robot Jones concludes that girls aren't dangerous after all. He tells the boys he had fun in the class and it seems he his having fun the girls. Cubey then calls him a girl. Robot is confused now, he wonders if he's a girl because he likes doing both. Later he goes into the girls room and they give him a make over.
I'm saying nothing/ Copyright Warner
There's a callback to another episode where the girls use Robot to spy on the boys bathroom through his x-ray viewers.(You literally see skeletons) Socks, Cubey, and Mitch think that Robot has been brain washed (can you do that with a Robot?) and take Robot back to try and un brain wash him. (can you do that too?) The girls break into the boys' room and try to get Robot back (can they do that:?) They go searching for Robot and I'm glad the Pam wondering who her secret admirer could be plot was solved.
true love will not happen/Copyright Warner
Robot decides that boys and girls are the same in that they are bickering, leaky (yes), and in efficient humans. He's not wrong.
As stated above, season 2 was the first season where they replaced the Windows voice with Bobby Block, that starts with episode 1b. Like I said, the other episodes were later redone with the new voice.
Let's go to episode 2b "Hair". He tries to impress Shannon by opening up her locker that was stuck for her. She gets distracted by some boy who she seems to like because he has hair everywhere (power) This makes Robot curious about the human body and hair growth. (Also 8th grade boy has hair on his back oh my) Now he wants to impress Shannon , of course, and thinks that he should try to grow his own hair some how
.
Perry the Robot/ Copyright Warner
.
Remember those magnet toys where you could put "hair" on someone on their face? He does that with his own body and it actually freaks out Shannon not impresses her. Also the guys laugh at him because it does look kind of strange. (I guess)
Like make PC not War/ Copyright Warner
So instead he gets mad and decides that he will instead just make everyone hairless and makes everyone in the school hairless. oops. He gets in trouble for that.
Only time we see Mitch's eyes/ Copyright Warner
Since, I don't have memories of the show, it was fun to re-watch the episodes and see what it was about. It's a fun series, it has an off kilter feeling to it, a little bit of edge, but fun and does it's own thing. There was no episode that I felt wasn't at least somewhat good, being short helps it I guess. Sadly, this show only has about 13 episodes or 26 segments, It ended in 2003, reran for a bit but withered away from Cartoon Network's consciousness.
I will say the Bobby Block digitalized voice works better than the Microsoft voice it gives Robot a little more character and you can connect (ha) with him more than with the other voice. The show takes the school environment and makes it pretty fun to see. Even for the time , the show has it's own animation style that sticks out against it's contemporaries on Cartoon Network and other channels. Since this was 2002 -03 CN it would kind of stick out against the older cartoons they were airing too.
I do wonder if the show was too slice of life and didn't have anything viewers at the time didn't really see to make it sound out, against a) other CN shows, b) Nickelodeon shows like Spongebob. It doesn't feel like an Early 2000's show by it's humor and writing. (Also please watch this)
Found an on old review comparing it to the work of Paul Coker Jr., an American illustrator who worked on Mad Magazine and in Rankin Bass specials. I can see that, the characters (minus Robot) would fit in well with the Frosty kids. I've done a couple things already about Cartoon Network shows that just kind of didn't hit the popularity lexicon and just drift away. I think that also has to do with Cartoon Network having, by default, to focus on more toons than say Nick so , there was more room for shows to slip through the cracks. I enjoyed what I saw. Though I will say I am glad someone in the staff of "OK KO, Let's be Heroes" remembers the show.
You're watching CARTOON Network
Otherwise, I guess we'll never find out whatever happened to Robot Jones? (Boo! )
That's it for now , tune in next time when we help Robot Jones take over the world.
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