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| “ | The longest journey starts with but a single step | „ |
| ~ Robot Jones |
Robot Electro Jones, also known as Robot Jonez Model KX8 (Child Unit), is the titular protagonist of the Cartoon Network TV show Whatever Happened to... Robot Jones? A TV show included in Cartoon Network's Cartoon Cartoons (Cartoon Cartoon Friday) block. He learns new things every day in life and keeps each life lesson in his Data Log Entry archives. He attends Polyneux Middle School in Delaware, USA.
In the TV show he is voiced by Microsoft's text-to-speech Word 98 'Junior' voice which is credited as just 'himself' in the end credits for season 1 episodes and Bobby Block (season 2 and season 1 re-recordings). In Crossover Nexus he is voiced by 'Junior' again.
About
His TV show came in 2nd place for Cartoon’s Networks Big Pick event, losing to Grim & Evil (which later became The Grim Adventures of Billy & Mandy).
Robot Jones made his first ever appearance in the pilot episode which was released in 2000. Greg Miller went through many character designs for Robot until he decided on the final one. He officially appeared in episode 1 of the first season which aired on 19th July 2002.
Background
In the opening credits it appears that before the pilot episode, either in the 1980s or 1970s Robot was assembled in a JNZ Robotics factory by JNZ Robotics workers as seen in the opening titles of the TV show however this hasn't been shown in an episode in a way which would further prove that this is how he came to be. A family was then built for Robot. He was programmed to store and collect data on human behaviour but the true reason on why that kind of information is wanted is unclear. He is specifically a KX8, as he claims to be in the episode "Jealousy". Very little of Robot's early life is known, other than the fact that he enjoyed playing chess with Gramps Unit as shown in "House Party". Robot spends a lot of his time at the arcade when he isn’t at school. Robot's age is unknown, but he is likely programmed to be the age equivalent of a human adolescent thereby fitting in with the middle schoolers he is observing. The pupils in Polyneux Middle School initially feared Robot when he first unexpectedly emerged, but now they barely acknowledge him most of the time, mainly due to his very short stature, for being a robot and not a human and for acting very differently compared to the others of his age group.
Robot always tries to make as many friends as he can but unfortunately, most of the students don’t return the favour. In response to this Robot considers humans as 'inconsiderate'. He usually hangs around with his good friends Socks, Cubey and Mitch, who like, respect and gladly accept Robot into their friendship group. The four boys get along very well and go everywhere together. Most commonly they visit Nob's Arcade.
He has a big crush on Shannon Westerburg, mainly due to her having a metallic leg and a very large orthodontic appliance surrounding her head making her appear half-robot.
In each episode, Robot, sometimes prompted to by his parents, explores a concept average teenagers usually face in their everyday lives such as Math challenges or getting a job.
Profile
Likes: Attention, respect, being popular, hanging out with his friends, Nob's Arcade, punk rock music, video games, The Gigawatts, Shannon, drinking super coolers, skateboarding, arcade games (specifically racing and shooting games).
Dislikes: Being told to go to school, his parents embarrassing him in public, competitions, being yelled at, being called a dork, being laughed at, Finkman.
Quotes
- "Zombies!"
- "All systems are go"
- "Data Log Entry..."
- "Greetings humans"
- "Work is for suckers"
- "If at first you don’t succeed, try try again"
- "Today I learned about— Oh who am I kidding?"
- "But if your friend needs to be plugged in, make sure you have an extension cord".
- "I have found humans to be short-tempered, irritable, and just generally unstable. But the female of the species is quite a strange phenomenon".
Heroic Acts
Robot exposed Principal Madman as framing him for his misdeeds, saved Shannon from a bear and rescued Mitch, Cubey and Socks who were trapped inside a television amalgamation that the Yogman Twins had created (the Yogstrosity). In the episode "Math Challenge" he let Mr Mcmcmc. win the math challenge in order to make him happy and to avoid being put into detention by Mr. Mcmcmc. again. This resulted in Mr. Mcmcmc. being awarded the math challenge trophy.
Physical Appearance
Robot is a primarily gray robot with blue joints. Robot's head and body are separate and blocky in shape. His body or 'chassis' is painted with a red stripe to indicate a "shirt" and a black stripe on the lower part to indicate "pants". He frequently removes this chassis when serviced, but curiously not when recharging. His head consists of two big luminous yellow eyes with gold pupils and a rectangular, black mouth which will sometimes show three (to five) white teeth depending on the episode, and a pink tongue. His eyes function as cameras with night vision and X-ray vision while his mouth provides a variety of functions. There are speakers behind his mouth which enable him to talk. He has microphones near his "ears" which enable him to listen. Also on the side of his head are yellow, removable, headphone-like, antennae on either side of his head that function as his "ears". The top of his head consists of a large, bright, halogen-style light bulb which functions as his "brain". He is partially still able to function without this brain and can be reprogrammed with alternate software. His feet resemble boots. His neck, arms, and legs have the capability of stretching. Curiously in some episodes he is shown with a neck but in other episodes he's displayed clearly without one.
Social Status
Robot is usually neither popular nor unpopular at school, but in some episodes he is criticized more often than favoured. Almost every pupil in the school barely notices him. In some episodes he becomes popular by accident.
In the episode "Parents" Robot Jones was seen as a hero by the students in his class after his parents accidentally blew up Polyneux Middle School, therefore causing the children to be forced to stay off school for multiple months until the school was rebuilt.
The children in Polyneux Middle School really liked Robot for handing them the answers for the History tests in the episode "Scantron Love".
Robot also became famous in the episode "School Newspaper" since his newspapers made fun of Principal Madman. At first Robot didn’t realise what his newspapers were about and the newspapers were edited without his permission after he took the pictures of Principal Madman.
Personality
| “ | But one thing was always constant: Robot was a punk. | „ |
| ~ Greg Miller, the creator of Robot Jones |
Robot is mainly grave, critical, ambitious, ill-tempered, proud, reckless, vulnerable, unlucky, and stubborn, but he is also fairly friendly and has been shown as selfless and loyal on some occasions. Robot was intended to act like an adolescent. This is evidenced when he reacts excitedly every time he hears the words 'video games' being mentioned, is willing to impress girls, sometimes throws parties, works hard at school and enjoys to visit the arcade. He finds humans 'inconsiderate' and 'inefficient'. He often disobeys his parents and likes to be independent. Robot is shown to be quite mature for his age, and is even more mature than his eccentric parents. He's more mature than the other students at Polyneux Middle School.
Robot is shown as being affectionate in some episodes. In "Hookie 101" he gave his father Dad Unit a big hug and in "House Party" he hugged Gramps Unit.
He often pushes himself too hard, for example in the episode "Popularity" where he was extremely competitive and injured other middle school students by his forced and clumsy dance moves.
He's ignored for his complex style of speech. For example, if Robot tells a joke it results in other children failing to understand it then walk away from him uninterested. Sometimes Robot can be easily offended, but at other times he can be left unfazed by the offences, and tends to hold grudges on some occasions. He takes things too literally, often resulting in him being laughed at. He is frequently bullied for being different and often called a 'Dork' by Polyneux Middle School students.
Robot is possibly one of the most intelligent students in the school, being very good at solving the most advanced and detailed Math problems and equations, but he lacks in English class, specifically in writing composition. He is very polite and quite shy at times, especially when he is around Shannon. In some situations he talks loudly because The Modern Robot's Rules of Conduct instructs him to do so.
He displays a selfless side to his personality in the episode "Summer Camp" when he saved Shannon's life from a wild bear and washed her clothes for her afterwards. He further displays this side when he saves Mitch, Socks and Cubey in "The Yogmans Strike Back".
Robot displays a great amount of confusion and emotional instability towards the usual things in life. Unfortunately he is unable to calm himself down. The 'system overloads' often cause Robot to explode, therefore hurting everyone around him. Robot's basic emotional programming leads him to frequent overheating and bizarre outbursts when overwhelmed with complex emotions.
Robot has a different personality in season 2 compared to the one he has in season 1. One of the differences is that he is less shy.
There is also a mischievous side to his personality. He can be very delusional and maniacal at times. He became insane due to him having an unhealthy obsession of trying to be 'efficient' by enforcing strict rules on everybody, including his closest friends, and controlling the school in the episode "Safety Patrol". In the episode "Politics" Robot wanted to be treated as a ruler and a god. In the episode "Family Vacation", he is shown with a violent temper that he has little control of. Robot loses his temper while playing an arcade game at Nob’s Arcade and ends up breaking the arcade machine.
Relationships
Socks Morton
They both share an interest in rock music and go to Nob’s Arcade together. Socks tries his best to mentor Robot, but he can fail to understand him sometimes. Overall he is a pretty good friend to Robot, but he rejects him occasionally. They usually get along really well despite having their multiple differences, but they can argue from time to time. Though he typically mentors and provides Robot with reassurance as best as he can, he has a realistic cap to his understanding, and can lose his temper with Robot, as shown in "Family Vacation" . In his first appearance in the Pilot, he was a student in Mr. McMcMc's class who commented positively on Robot challenging the Math teacher Mr. McMcMc., and had no name at the time. Unlike Mitch and Cubey, it’s never been revealed on how he became Robot's friend, let alone his closest. It’s rather peculiar that the two would be seen together and managing to get along, since Socks is the most popular student in the school, while Robot is usually seen as a nobody. The two had a disagreement in the episode "Vacuum Friend" but forgave each other in the end then went to the arcade.
Mom Unit and Dad Unit
His parents care greatly about him, as does Robot, but he dislikes it when they urge him to go to school and refuses to obey their orders.
Gramps Unit
Gramps Unit is Robot’s grandfather figure. On some occasions he seeks him for advice when Mom Unit and Dad Unit aren’t present in the household. They played chess together. Robot Jones and Gramps Unit get along well and Gramps Unit saved Robot from getting into trouble in the episode "House Party".
Shannon Westerburg
Robot has been deeply in love with Shannon since his first day of school. She is known for having a prosthetic leg and a very large retainer surrounding her head, making her appear to be very mechanical for a human, and Robot sees these physical traits as her most attractive features. Overall they appear to share a complex, complicated and indeterminable relationship. Shannon usually finds Robot Jones to be a nuisance and is often offensive towards him. Robot has tutored her in Math. Robot is very loyal and would be willing to do anything for Shannon. He saved her life before she got eaten by a bear, as shown in the episode "Summer Camp". Strangely after Robot saved her life she didn’t display any form of thankfulness and instead made a fuss about the state of her clothes, however in "House Party" she treated Robot with gratefulness. In "House Party" she showed a romantic interest in him and she was even willing to get very close to him. In the episode "Garage Band" Shannon appeared to be fond of Robot. While she is usually not fond of Robot in most episodes, she is not nearly as hostile compared to the Yogman Twins. They have been shown as having a close relationship in certain episodes (such as "Garage Band" and "House Party") but a not so pleasant relationship in other episodes (for example "Summer Camp", "The Rules of Dating", "Jealousy" and many other episodes). Their relationship is mainly one-sided. Shannon seems to be unaware of Robot’s feelings for her. Throughout the whole series Robot never got the chance to admit his love for her. They were very close to kissing in the episode "House Party". Shannon sometimes fears Robot and presumedly she is worried about her reputation being ruined by being around Robot. She gave Robot a kiss on the cheek in "Popularity", regardless of her interest in Robot’s fake lookalike.
Mitch & Cubey
Mitch and Cubey are the first two students that Robot befriended. They became friends in the episode "Electric Boogaloo" and share a close relationship. The two friends think that Robot is cool and warned Robot about the Yogman Twins when they suddenly appeared behind Robot.
Pam
Like Shannon, Pam is usually rude and critical towards Robot. In the first part of the episode "Gender" Pam is nasty towards Robot but later she is very supportive towards him. They develop a good relationship and eventually became friends. She went searching for him worriedly at the end of "Gender".
Principal Madman
Principal Madman is the child-like, strict and temperamental principal of Polyneux Middle School. Being a technophobe, Madman hates Robot and struggles to trust him. He often yells at him. Despite Robot being pleasant and polite towards the school principal, Mr. Madman wants to do anything he can to get Robot into trouble and give him countless detentions.
Yogman Twins
The twins are often able to successfully manipulate Robot and embarrass him in public. They bully Jones often. They made Jones extremely angry in the episode "Cube Wars". They see Robot Jones as a nobody and find pleasure in mocking him. The three are enemies.
Finkman
Finkman is a foreign exchange student Android (or 'Foreign Exchange Unit’ as he proudly refers to himself by). Finkman is extremely arrogant, treats Robot badly, and is quick to dismiss Robot, so in response Jones despises him. Robot Jones is very envious of Finkman because he stole Shannon from him in the episode "Jealousy". He continues to maintain a cold grudge towards Finkman.
Notes
Trivia
- Robot's full name was confirmed in the episode House Party.
- Robot made his first appearance in years when he had a cameo role in the OK K.O.! Let’s Be Heroes crossover episode Crossover Nexus. It is unknown when he'll return again.
- Greg Miller thinks that Robot went from being a protagonist to an antagonist. The planned ending of Whatever Happened to... Robot Jones? Was for Robot to destroy the human race. [3]
- In the TV series Robot's joints are blue-gray, in Crossover Nexus they are pale gray and in the Cartoon Network 20th Anniversary promo they are jet black.
- Many fan artists make one of Robot’s eyes bigger than the other.
