Whatever Happened to Robot Jones? 

In a town set in the retro 1980's, a young robot must collect data on humans and do whatever he can to fit in with them.

Creators:

Greg Miller, Mike Stern

Stars:

Myles Jeffrey, Gary LeRoi Gray, Kyle Sullivan

Cast

Series cast summary:
Myles Jeffrey	...	Cubey 9 episodes, 2002-2003
Gary LeRoi Gray	...	Mitch / ... 4 episodes, 2002-2003
Kyle Sullivan	...	Socks / ... 4 episodes, 2002-2003
Dee Bradley Baker	...	Extra Kids / ... 3 episodes, 2002-2003
Seth Green	...	Various 3 episodes, 2002
Grey Griffin	...	Mom / ... 2 episodes, 2002-2003
Maurice LaMarche	...	Mr. McMcMc / ... 2 episodes, 2002-2003
Jeff Bennett	...	Announcer / ... 2 episodes, 2002
Josh Peck	...	Lenny 2 episodes, 2002
Bobby Block	...	Robot Jones 2 episodes, 2003
Erica Mer	...	Various 2 episodes, 2002
James Arnold Taylor	...	Boy 3 / ... 2 episodes, 2003

Storyline

In the retro-1980's future, robots have become commonplace. Mechanical butlers, electronic plumbers and robo-bartenders are part of everyday life, but Robot Jones is a different kind of machine altogether. He is an experimental prototype designed to interact with humans on a personal level. Though programmed with basic emotions, Robot Jones doesn't quite have a handle on dealing with them and thus, tends to be more overly dramatic and socially awkward than other teenagers. Surrounded by his antiquated and embarrassing robotic family, nerdy friends like "Socks," his crush Shannon and his nemesis Lenny and Denny (the Yogman Twins), Robot Jones conquers the drudgery of the sixth grade where he excels in gym class, runs for class president and dreads open house night at school.

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Plot Keywords:

cartoon network | robot | school | teenager | question mark in title | 

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Genres:

Animation | Comedy | Sci-Fi

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Certificate:

TV-Y

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

July 2002 (USA)

Also Known As:

Jonas, o Robô

Company Credits

Production Co:

Cartoon Network Studios

Technical Specs

Runtime:

30 min

Color:

Color

Did You Know?

Trivia

According to series creator Greg Miller, the original voice of Robot Jones was created with Microsoft Word 98 text-to-voice software. The character's voice was changed to a human, Bobby Block, in the second season. Block's voice was dubbed over the original voice in subsequent season one re-broadcasts.

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Crazy Credits

Robot Jones ... himself

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Connections

Featured in The Sopranos: Cold Cuts (2004)

User Reviews

Funny, but more for adults

I just watched the premier of this show on Cartoon Network last night. I didn't really know what to expect when I turned it on. From what I'd seen in the previews, it looked like the type of cartoon that Nickelodeon is producing right now, many of which (I'll draw a lot of flame for this, I'm sure) are pretty lousy at the moment.

Either way, the show wasn't as bad as I anticipated, but it wasn't as good as I thought it could be. The worst part was probably Robot Jones' monotone synthesized voice, which was funny at first but got really irritating later on. It seemed a bit forced, as if it were a factor that would make or break the cartoon, and it tended to bog things down.

Another problem with the cartoon is the animation, which wasn't anything really great and actually seemed to distract from the rest of the cartoon. It didn't really seem to help the flow of the cartoon or satirize anything. This effect is achieved in the Powerpuff Girls, which makes fun of anime, and in Dexter's Lab, which often shows huge, overexaggerated lab equipment. These "bad backgrounds" in those shows made them funny, but in Robot Jones it looks bad and overdone, especially in "dark" panels (e.g. a lot of hash marks are used for darkness and texture.)

The humor of the cartoon was better than I expected, so I wasn't too disappointed; however, it wasn't nearly as good as it could have been. I had a few chuckles, but it was nothing compared to the hilarious stuff I've seen on other Cartoon Network shows. One other point: at times, the humor almost seemed aimed directly at adults, or at least kids over the age of 7. Since it's a show about kids in middle school, I'm assuming it's intended for that age group anyway. I certainly wouldn't recommend it as a show for very young children to watch. There is some humor in the show that some parents might not even consider appropriate for very young children. There is also the "attention span" factor which should come into play. There are times in the cartoon when there is little or no action to speak of. Additionally, the humor might be funny for adults, but for a kid it might seem like a lot of nonsense that isn't really all that funny.

In conclusion, Robot Jones is neither great nor totally terrible. It's an OK show for one weekend, but it's one I certainly wouldn't recommend watching regularly.