Whatever Happened to... Robot Jones? (2002–2004)

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.