Robot Chicken

Robot Chicken
Genre Sketch comedy
Parody
Satire
Black comedy
Created by
Voices of
Opening theme "Robot Chicken" by Les Claypool
Ending theme "The Gonk" by Herbert Chappell
Composer(s) Michael Suby (seasons 1–4)
Adam Sanborne (seasons 2–4)
Shawn Patterson (seasons 5–present)
Kevin Manthei
Country of origin United States
No. of seasons 8
No. of episodes 159 (and 10 specials) (list of episodes)
Production
Executive producer(s)
Producer(s)
  • Alex Bulkley
  • Corey Campodonico (2005–12)
Running time 11–12 minutes
Production company(s)
Distributor
Release
Original network Adult Swim
Picture format 4:3 SDTV (2005–09)
16:9 HDTV (2010–present)
Original release February 20, 2005 (2005-02-20) – present
External links
Website video.adultswim.com/robot-chicken/

Robot Chicken is an American stop motion sketch comedy television series, created and executive produced for Adult Swim by Seth Green and Matthew Senreich along with co-head writers Douglas Goldstein and Tom Root. The writers, especially Green, also provide many of the voices. Senreich, Goldstein, and Root were formerly writers for the popular action figure hobbyist magazine ToyFare.[2] Robot Chicken has won an Annie Award and five Emmy Awards.[3][4]

Production history

Robot Chicken is based on "Twisted ToyFare Theater", a humorous photo comic-strip appearing in ToyFare: The Toy Magazine.[5] The show's name was inspired by a dish on the menu at a West Hollywood Chinese restaurant, Kung Pao Bistro, where Green and Senreich had dined; the series originally was intended to be called Junk in the Trunk.[6]

The show was created, written, and produced by Seth Green and Matthew Senreich, and produced by Stoopid Buddy Stoodios (ShadowMachine Films Seasons 1–5) in association with Stoop!d Monkey, Williams Street, and Sony Pictures Television (Sony Pictures Digital Seasons 1–5). The series first appeared as Sweet J Presents on the Sony website Screenblast.com in 2001.[7] In the first episode ("Conan's Big Fun"), Conan O'Brien was a featured character, voiced by Family Guy creator Seth MacFarlane (2005–present).[7][8] Sweet J Presents ended after 12 episodes and moved to Cartoon Network's Adult Swim in 2005 as Robot Chicken, premiering on Sunday, February 20, 2005.

Some television networks and sketch shows rejected Robot Chicken, including Comedy Central, MADtv, Saturday Night Live, and even Cartoon Network. However, someone at Cartoon Network passed the pitch along to Adult Swim, around the same time that Seth MacFarlane told Seth Green and Matthew Senreich to pitch the show to Adult Swim.

The show mocks popular culture, referencing toys, movies, television, games, popular fads, and more obscure references like anime cartoons and older television programs, much in the same vein as comedy sketch shows like Saturday Night Live.[9] It employs stop motion animation of toys, action figures, claymation, and various other objects, such as tongue depressors, The Game of Life pegs, and popsicle sticks.[6]

One particular motif involves the idea of fantastical characters being placed in a more realistic world or situation (such as Stretch Armstrong requiring a corn syrup transplant after losing his abilities because of aging, Optimus Prime performing a prostate cancer PSA for the humans, and Godzilla having problems in the bedroom).[9] The program aired a 30-minute episode dedicated to Star Wars which premiered June 17, 2007, in the US, featuring the voices of Star Wars notables George Lucas, Mark Hamill (from a previous episode), Billy Dee Williams, and Ahmed Best.[10] The Star Wars episode was nominated for a 2008 Emmy Award as Outstanding Animated Program (for Programming Less Than One Hour).

The show airs in the United Kingdom and Ireland as part of Fox and TruTV's Adult Swim block, in Canada on Teletoon's TELETOON at Night block, in Australia on The Comedy Channel's Adult Swim block, in Russia on 2x2's Adult Swim block, in Germany on TNT Series' Adult Swim block, and in Latin America on the I.Sat Adult Swim block (after the Adult Swim block was cancelled from Cartoon Network Latin America in 2008). Many of the show's sketches from Sweet J Presents were redone for Robot Chicken.[7]

The series was renewed for a 20-episode third season, which ran from August 1, 2007, to September 28, 2008.[7] After an eight-month hiatus during the third season, the show returned on August 31, 2008, to air the remaining 5 episodes.[7] The series was renewed for a fourth season which premiered on December 7, 2008, and ended September 20, 2009.[7] In early 2010, the show was renewed for a fifth and sixth season (40 more episodes total).[11] Season 5 premiered on December 12, 2010.[7] The second group of episodes began broadcasting on October 23, 2011. The 100th episode aired on January 15, 2012.[7] In May 2012, Adult Swim announced they were picking up a sixth season of Robot Chicken, which began airing in September 2012.[12] The seventh season premiered on April 13, 2014. Season 8 premiered on October 25, 2015.[13] Season 9 premieres in Fall 2017.[14]

Opening sequence

On a stormy night, a mad scientist finds a road-killed chicken, which he takes back to his laboratory to re-fashion into a cyborg. Midway through the opening sequence, the titular chicken turns his laser eye towards the camera, and the title appears amidst the "laser effects" as Les Claypool of Primus can be heard screaming "It's alive!" à la Frankenstein. Claypool also composed and performed the show's theme song. The mad scientist then straps the re-animated Robot Chicken into a chair, uses calipers to hold his eyes open, and forces him to watch a bank of television monitors (with allusions to A Clockwork Orange and Watchmen); this scene segues into the body of the show, which resembles someone frequently changing TV channels.

In the episode "1987", Michael Ian Black claims that this sequence tells the viewers that they are the chicken, being forced to watch the skits. As a result, the show does not actually focus on the robot chicken until the 100th episode, when he finally makes his escape and later kills the mad scientist when he takes his hen girlfriend, Cluckerella.

Beginning in the sixth season, a new opening sequence has been featured with a role reversal. The chicken comes upon the body of the scientist, which has been decapitated. He decides to do to the scientist what the scientist did to him: add robotic parts to him, turn him into a cyborg, and give him a laser eye (although he gives the scientist a blue eye instead of a red one, which necessitates a change in the title's background color), then strap him to the same chair he was strapped to and force him to watch the same TV monitors while the chicken and his girlfriend share a kiss.[15]

Beginning in the eighth season, a new opening sequence has been featured with the Robot Chicken being uncovered in snow frozen in a block of ice by cyborgs. Taken back to the futuristic laboratory, the Robot Chicken is taken out of suspended animation by a masked scientist, revealed to be a descendant of the mad scientist who first reanimated the Robot Chicken. The descendant mad scientist then proceeds to force the Robot Chicken to watch a wall of projected images with different shows, as his ancestor did before him. This new opening was necessary following the plot of the episode "Chipotle Miserables", in which the mad scientist's son rips out his father's remaining eye to open a door controlled by an optical biometric reader, and then creates a posse of reanimated half-cyborg animals, as well as a cyborg homeless person. The posse then proceeds to kidnap all 5 living Presidents Jimmy Carter, George H.W. Bush, Bill Clinton, George W. Bush, and Barack Obama. The Robot Chicken and Mad Scientist then team up to rescue the presidents, after which, the Robot Chicken flies away, free.

Recurring sketches

The show features several recurring sketches. Some of the more predominant ones include:

Episodes

Season Episodes Originally aired
First aired Last aired
1 20 February 20, 2005 July 18, 2005
2 20 April 2, 2006 November 19, 2006
3 20 August 12, 2007 October 5, 2008
4 20 December 7, 2008 December 6, 2009
5 20 December 12, 2010 January 15, 2012
6 20 September 16, 2012 February 17, 2013
7 19 April 13, 2014 August 17, 2014
8 20 October 25, 2015 May 15, 2016
Specials 2005, 2007–2010, 2012–2015

Voice cast

Main cast

Main and major recurring actors/writers are:

Celebrity guest stars

Among those celebrities who have contributed to this show are:

Other voice actors

Besides the celebrities above, many famous voice actors work on this series including:

Home releases

DVD title Release date Ep # Discs
Region 1 Region 2 Region 4
Season One March 28, 2006 September 29, 2006 April 4, 2007 1–20 2
This two-disc boxset includes all 20 episodes from Season 1 in production order. While it contains many sketches that were edited from the TV airings, several of the original Sony Screenblast webtoons, and the words "Jesus" and "Christ" as an oath unbleeped (though "fuck" and "shit" are still censored out), the episodes are not all uncut. One particular segment that featured the Teen Titans meeting Beavis and Butt-head was omitted from the DVD because of legal problems. The Voltron/You Got Served sketch shown on the DVD has a replacement song because of legal issues over the song that was used on the TV version. At a performance of Family Guy Live in Chicago, during the Q&A session that ends each performance, Seth Green was asked how they came up with the name Robot Chicken. He explained that the title of each episode was a name Adult Swim rejected for the name of the show. A Region 2 version of the set was released in the UK on September 29, 2008.[17] Three edited shorts from Sweet J Presents were included on the Robot Chicken Season 1 DVD boxset.[8]
Season Two September 4, 2007 September 28, 2009 November 11, 2007 21–40 2
This two-disc boxset includes all 20 episodes from Season 2 in production order and uncensored, with the words "fuck" and "shit" uncensored (except for one instance in the episode "Easter Basket" in the Lego sketch). It is currently available for download on iTunes (though the episode "Veggies for Sloth" is absent because of copyright issues involving the "Archie's Final Destination" segment).[18] Seth Green stated at Comic-Con 2006 that the second DVD set will contain the "Beavis and Butt-head Meet the Teen Titans" sketch, which had been removed from the first DVD set because of copyright issues. However, the sketch is absent from the DVD (although it is available on iTunes). Bonus features include the Christmas special. A secret Nerf gun fight can be found on the disc 1 extras menu and pushing "up" over the extras and set-up items on the menu reveals more special features.
Star Wars Special July 22, 2008 August 11, 2008 August 6, 2008 1 1
This single DVD features the Star Wars special in its TV-edited version (i.e. with bleeps in place of profane words) and several extras about the crew and their work on the special, including a photo gallery, alternate audio, and an easter egg demonstrating the crew's difficulty in composing a proper musical score for the sketch "Empire on Ice". It also features various audio commentaries, featuring members of the cast and crew.
Season Three October 7, 2008 January 25, 2010 December 3, 2008 41–60 2
This two-disc boxset includes all 20 episodes from Season 3 in production order. This DVD is uncensored, except for the "Cat in the Hat" sketch from episode 7 on Disc 1. It also intentionally censored in episode 5 in the "Law and Order" KFC sketch. This DVD has special features such as deleted scenes and animatics. It also includes commentary for all of the episodes and has "Chicken Nuggets" commentary for episodes 1 and 3–5. The bonus features also include a gag reel and audio takes.
Star Wars Episode II July 21, 2009 July 27, 2009 August 5, 2009 1 1
This single DVD features the main Star Wars special extras, including normal Robot Chicken episodes and common DVD extras; "The Making Of"; and deleted scenes.
Season Four December 15, 2009 August 30, 2010 December 2, 2009 61–80 2
This two disc boxset includes all 20 episodes from Season 4 in production order. The special features include "Chicken Nuggets", San Diego Comic-Con '08 Panel, "Day in the Life", New York Comic-Con '09 Panel, video blogs, an Australia Visit, Alternate Audio, deleted scenes and deleted animations, and commentary on all 20 episodes.
Star Wars Episode III July 12, 2011 July 4, 2011 August 3, 2011 1 1
Interview with George Lucas, "Chicken Nuggets" (sketch by sketch video commentary), Behind the Scenes, Voice Recording Featurette, Star Wars Celebration V Robot Chicken Panel, Skywalker Ranch Premiere Trip, Writer’s Room Featurette, Deleted Animatics w/video intros, Audio Commentaries.
Season Five October 25, 2011 TBA November 30, 2011 81–100 2
This two-disc boxset includes all 20 episodes from Season 5 in production order. Nine of the episodes were previously unaired before DVD release. The set includes commentary on all episodes, "Chicken Nuggets" on a few episodes, and a featurette on Episode 100. Deleted scenes and deleted animations are also included. Among the deleted scenes are the sketches "Beavis and Butt-head Meet the Teen Titans" (deleted from Season 1 due to copyright issues) and the "Riverdale: Final Destination" sketch (deleted from Season 2 sets).
DC Comics Special July 9, 2013 TBA September 18, 2013 1 1
The Making of the RCDC Special, RCDC's Aquaman Origin Story, Chicken Nuggets, Writers' Commentary, Actors' Commentary, DC Entertainment Tour, Stoopid Alter Egos, Outtakes, Cut Sketches, 5.2 Questions.
Season Six October 8, 2013 TBA November 20, 2013 101–120 2
This two-disc boxset includes all 20 episodes from Season 6 in production order. Special features include commentary on every episode, deleted animatics, featurettes, deleted scenes, channel flips and "Chicken Nuggets".
Christmas Specials November 18, 2014 TBA TBA 6 1
This DVD contains 6 Christmas-themed episodes: "Robot Chicken's Christmas Special", "Robot Chicken's Half-Assed Christmas Special", "Dear Consumer (Robot Chicken's Full-Assed Christmas Special)", "Robot Chicken's DP Christmas Special", "Robot Chicken's ATM Christmas Special" and "Born Again Virgin Christmas Special". Special features include commentaries, deleted scenes, deleted animatics and "long-forgotten" promos.
Season Seven July 21, 2015 TBA September 16, 2015 121–139 2
This two-disc boxset includes all 19 episodes from Season 7 in production order. Special features include commentary on every episode, a bonus Christmas special titled "Lots of Holidays but Don't Worry Christmas is Still in There Too so Pull the Stick Out of Your Ass Fox News Special" with commentary, featurettes and cut sketches.

Revolver Entertainment have released the first four seasons and all three Star Wars specials in the United Kingdom.[19] A box set including the first 3 seasons and a box set including all three Star Wars specials have also been released.[20]

Madman Entertainment has released all Robot Chicken seasons and specials to date in Australia and New Zealand.

International

See also

References

  1. ↑ Goldberg, Lesley (December 2, 2011). "'Robot Chicken' Duo Launch Animation Studio: Seth Green and Matthew Senreich pact with Buddy Systems to create Stoopid Buddy Stoodios and will produce tribute episode to DC Comics universe.". Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved March 7, 2012.
  2. ↑ "R.I.P. ToyFare Magazine 1997–2011". Actionfigures.about.com. Retrieved 2013-07-26.
  3. ↑ "Emmys – Robot Chicken". Emmys - Official website. Retrieved 2013-05-02.
  4. ↑ "Annie Awards: 'Wreck-It-Ralph' Wins 5 Including Feature, Robot Chicken 'DC Comics Special' TV, 'Paperman' Best Short Awards Winners 2013". Deadline. Retrieved 2013-05-02.
  5. ↑ "Before Robot Chicken: Twisted ToyFare Theatre Takes on DC Comics". Comicbook.com. 2012-09-09. Retrieved 2013-07-26.
  6. 1 2 "Video Games, Game Reviews & News". G4tv.com. 2005-02-16. Retrieved 2013-07-26.
  7. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 The New York Times
  8. 1 2 Robot Chicken: Sweet J Presents (Summary)
  9. 1 2 "Seth Green Interview". askmen.com. Retrieved 2013-05-02.
  10. ↑ Mike Snider (June 13, 2007). "'Robot Chicken' digs its satirical talons into 'Star Wars'". USA Today. Retrieved 2008-11-02.
  11. ↑ "Robot Chicken Gets Unprecedented Two-Season, 40 Episode Pick-Up - TV Ratings, Nielsen Ratings, Television Show Ratings". TVbytheNumbers.com. 2010-01-21. Retrieved 2010-04-27.
  12. ↑ "Breaking News - "Robot Chicken" Season 6 Kicks Off on Sept 9th at Midnight!". TheFutonCritic.com. 2012-08-16. Retrieved 2013-07-26.
  13. ↑ "Robot Chicken Season 8 begins writing". League of Buddies. Stoopid Buddy Productions. 2015. Retrieved 20 May 2015.
  14. ↑ "Adult Swim on Facebook". Facebook. April 12, 2017. Retrieved April 12, 2017.
  15. ↑ "Robot Chicken Opening - Robot Chicken - Adult Swim Video". Video.adultswim.com. Retrieved 2013-07-26.
  16. 1 2 Seijas, Casey (2010-07-13). "Robot Chicken SDCC 2010 Exclusive 'Convention Nerd'". UGO.com. Archived from the original on January 17, 2013. Retrieved 2013-07-26.
  17. ↑ "Robot Chicken - Season 1 Box Set (Region 2) (Pal): DVD". Amazon.co.uk. Retrieved 2010-07-13.
  18. ↑ "Robot Chicken - Season 2 Review". TVShowsOnDVD.com. 2007-08-31. Retrieved 2010-07-13.
  19. ↑ "sitcomsondvd.co.uk". sitcomsondvd.co.uk. Retrieved 2010-04-27.
  20. ↑ "sitcomsondvd.co.uk". sitcomsondvd.co.uk. Retrieved 2010-04-27.
  21. ↑ "It's lights, camera, action figures". The Age. Melbourne. March 6, 2008.
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