My Life as a Teenage Robot
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| Genre | |
|---|---|
| Created by | Rob Renzetti |
| Developed by |
|
| Voices of | |
| Composer(s) | James L. Venable |
| Country of origin | United States |
| No. of episodes | 39 (75 segments) (list of episodes) |
| Production | |
| Executive producer(s) | Rob Renzetti Fred Seibert |
| Running time | 23 minutes |
| Distributor | MTV Networks |
| Release | |
| Picture format | NTSC |
| Original release | October 25, 2002 (Australia) August 1, 2003 (United States) – June 16, 2006 (Australia) May 2, 2009 (United States) |
| Chronology | |
| Preceded by | Oh Yeah! Cartoons |
| Other websites | |
| Website | |
My Life as a Teenage Robot, also referred to as simply Teenage Robot or MLaaTR, is an American animated comedy television series. It was created by Rob Renzetti for Nickelodeon. It was produced by Frederator Studios in association with Nickelodeon Animation Studios.[1][2]
Characters
- Jenny Wakeman (voiced by Janice Kawaye) is the main protagonist and titular crime-fighting teenage robot.
- Nora Wakeman (voiced by Candi Milo) is Jenny's mother and creator.
- Brad Carbunkle (voiced by Chad Doreck) is Jenny's best friend and next-door neighbor.
- Tuck Carbunkle (voiced by Audrey Wasilewski) - Brad's 8-year-old little brother.
- Sheldon Lee (voiced by Quinton Flynn)
Overview
Set in the fictional town of Tremorton, My Life as a Teenage Robot (2002 - 2006) follows the adventures of a teenage robot girl named Jenny Wakeman (a.k.a. XJ-9), who was created by her mother Dr. Nora Wakeman and designed to protect Earth, while also striving to live the life of a normal teenage girl.
The show focuses on making lighthearted fun of typical teenage problems and other conventions of the teenage and superhero lives, with a blend of action and comedy sequences.
Despite critical success, My Life as a Teenage Robot was a ratings disappointment.
Season 3 aired in the United States as "never before seen episodes" on Nicktoons Network between 2008 and 2009, three years after their initial production and premiering in other countries. The series is distributed outside in some countries by the Canadian animation studio, Nelvana Limited.
The entire series is available on iTunes, Amazon DVD, and Paramount+.
My Life as a Teenage Robot received mostly positive reviews from critics, being nominated for numerous awards, most prominently one Primetime Emmy Award and eleven Annie Awards.
Episodes
List of My Life as a Teenage Robot episodes
| Season | Episodes | Segments | Year(s) produced | Premiere (Worldwide) | Finale (Worldwide) | Premiere (USA) | Finale (USA) |
| 1 | 13 | 26 | 2002 | October 25, 2002 (AUS) | February 23, 2003 (UK) | August 1, 2003 | February 27, 2004 |
| 2 | 23 | 2004 - 2005 | September 17, 2004 (AUS) | N/A | December 8, 2004 | September 9, 2005 | |
| 3 | 26 | 2005 - 2006 | November 6, 2005 (UK) | June 16, 2006 (AUS) | October 4, 2008 | May 2, 2009 |
Production
The pilot, My Neighbor Was A Teenage Robot, was produced in 1998 for Oh Yeah! Cartoons and premiered on Nickelodeon in the United States on December 4, 1999.
Season 1
Unlike most other Nicktoons, My Life as a Teenage Robot actually premiered internationally.
The series premiered in Australia with the first episodes, "It Came From Next Door" and "Pest Control", on October 25, 2002, the United Kingdom on November 3, 2002, and Mexico on February 7, 2003, before finally debuting in the United States on August 1.
By the time the series had its American premiere, the first season had already finished airing in the United Kingdom, and 11 of the season's 13 half-hour episodes had aired in Australia, as well as 10 in Mexico.
Most of the first season aired in the United States in late 2003, with the last few episodes being delayed to early 2004, ending on February 27 with "The Wonderful World of Wizzly" and "Call Hating", a full year after their worldwide premiere in the United Kingdom. By this time, season 2 was already in production.
Each individual episode debuted in the United States more than a full year (August 2003 to February 2004) after it was ready to air (July 2002 to November 2002).
This would become all too common later in the series' run, and starting in season 2, coupled with the additional issue of episodes premiering in America out of their intended order. This came to a head in season 3, which didn't air in the United States for three years (2008 - 2009) after initial production and their worldwide premieres.
It is unknown why the American premiere was delayed to August 2003 when the entire first season was ready to air in 2002, though it could be that Nickelodeon felt that the show was too edgy to air in 2002, so soon after the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks in New York City.
Season 2
The season was meant to premiere in the United States on October 1, 2004 with "Victim of Fashion", airing in its intended order. However, decisions by the network caused the premiere to be delayed to December with "A Robot For All Seasons" and the episodes to air out of order.
Like the first season, season 2 premiered in Australia first, with "Victim of Fashion" on September 17, 2004. The same episode also first aired in Canada on October 4, beginning the season's run in that country ahead of the United States as well. The season also premiered in the United Kingdom ahead of the United States, on October 31.
By the time season 2 premiered in the United States on December 8, 2004, half of the season had already aired in Australia and the United Kingdom.
After airing "A Robot For All Seasons" in December, five more half-hour episodes were burned out in the United States the week of January 24-28, 2005. After that, one more episode pairing aired in March, and another in June, before the season finale "Escape from Cluster Prime" on August 12.
Despite this, several more episodes produced before "Escape From Cluster Prime" were delayed until September in the United States, including "Victim of Fashion", the first episode produced for the season.
This causes several continuity errors when viewed in American airing order, for example the episode "Designing Women", which was produced well before "Escape From Cluster Prime", but aired in the United States after the fact.
By the time the second season finished its run in the United States on September 9, production of the third season was already well underway.
Season 3
Perhaps the most infamous and well-known delay of My Life as a Teenage Robot is that the third and final season aired in the United States three years after it was produced (from 2008 to 2009), as well as airing in a large number of countries before its own.
Episodes were leaked in the United States throughout 2006 and 2007 thanks to said international premieres, often being ripped on websites like The Pirate Bay.
The season had its world premiere in the United Kingdom on November 6, 2005, followed by Australia and Canada in December 2005, Japan in January 2006, Mexico in April 2006, and Germany in September 2006.
The season, and thus the series, ended its run in Australia on June 16, 2006 with the final episodes "Samurai Vac" and "Turncoats", in Australia the following month, Germany in October 2006, Mexico in November, followed by Japan and Canada in 2007.
The season first aired in the United States on October 4, 2008 with the episodes "Weapons of Mass Distraction" and "There's No Place Like Home School", and finished airing on May 2, 2009 with "Samurai Vac" and "Turncoats", thus officially ending the series' run in its home country. This final episode pairing didn't air on Nickelodeon, instead airing on its sister network, Nicktoons. The season aired in the United States three years after it was produced and aired in other countries.
Airing
Reception
My Life as a Teenage Robot received a generally positive reception from critics and the general public. As of June 2018, it holds a 7.0/10 rating on the Internet Movie Database and an 8.2/10 rating on TV.com.
Animation note
The font used for the title card, and for the end credits is ITC Anna. However, the letters A, B, E, H, K and R were modified.
Availability
On December 12, 2011, all three seasons of My Life as a Teenage Robot were released on DVD at Amazon CreateSpace, and later eBay.
Escape from Cluster Prime is absent from the season 2 DVD, however it is on the season 3 DVD.
On February 5, 2012, Magna Home Entertainment released all three seasons of My Life as a Teenage Robot as a single DVD set in Australia.
Until 2021, the full series was available for streaming on Hulu. Since 2021, it has been available on Paramount+.
References
- ↑ Heffley, Lynne (August 1, 2003). "'Teenage Robot' bolts to Nick's spinoff club". Los Angeles Times. https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2003-aug-01-et-tips1-story.html. Retrieved March 17, 2020.
- ↑ "Oh Yeah! Cartoons". Frederator. Archived from the original on September 23, 2019. Retrieved March 17, 2020.