Premiere | February 20, 2005 |
Finale | April 11, 2022 |
Seasons | 11 |
Episodes | 220 |
Robot Chicken is an American stop motion animated television series created and executive produced by Seth Green and Matthew Senreich along with co-Head Writers Douglas Goldstein and Tom Root. The show premiered February 20, 2005 on Adult Swim.
The program is a sketch comedy that parodies a number of pop culture conventions using stop motion animation of toys, action figures, dolls, and claymation](usually for special effects) and various other objects, such as tongue depressors and The Game of Life pegs. 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, although the series originally was intended to be titled "Junk in the Trunk".[1]
The show premiered on Sunday, February 20, 2005. It is produced by Stoopid Monkey, ShadowMachine Films, Williams Street, and Sony Pictures Digital, and airs in the US on Adult Swim, in the United Kingdom and Ireland as part of Bravo's Adult Swim block, in Canada on Teletoon's Detour]block, in Australia on The Comedy Channel's Adult Swim block, in Russia on 2x2's Adult Swim block, in Germany on TNT Serie's Adult Swim block and in Latin America on the I.Sat ]]Adult Swim (Latin America)|Adult Swim]] block (after being cancelled from Latin Cartoon Network's Adult Swim block in 2008 for unknown reasons).
The series was renewed for a 20-episode third season, which ran from August 12, 2007 to September 28, 2008. After an eight month hiatus, during the third season, the show returned on August 31, 2008 to air the remaining five episodes. The series was renewed for a fourth season which premiered on December 7, 2008 and ended September 20, 2009. In early 2010, the show was renewed for a 5th and 6th season (40 more episodes total).[2]
In 2007 Robot Chicken was the highest rated original show on Adult Swim and the second highest on the network (after Family Guy).[3]
Overview[]
The show focuses on mocking pop culture, referencing toys, films, television, and popular fads. One particular motif often 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, and Godzilla having problems in the bedroom). The program even had 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. (The Star Wars episode was nominated for a 2008 Emmy Award: Outstanding Animated Program (for Programming Less Than One Hour)). Another recurring segment is "Hilarious Bloopers", a parody of the Bob Saget era of America's Funniest Home Videos featuring the host constantly moving around in various exaggerated, disjointed motions. Unlike that show, this skit ends with the host using various household methods of suicide.
Opening Sequence[]
The opening sequence begins with a Mad Scientist finding a road-killed chicken, which he takes back to his laboratory to re-fashion into a cyborg. The Mad Scientist then straps the re-animated Robot Chicken into a chair, uses calipers to hold its eyes open, and forces it to watch a bank of television monitors (an allusion to A Clockwork Orange); this scene segues into the body of the show. (In the episode "1987", Michael Ian Black claims that this sequence tells the viewer that they are the Robot Chicken, being forced to watch the skits.) The show does not actually focus on the Robot chicken. Midway through the opening sequence, the titular chicken turns its 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!" in typical Frankenstein fashion. Claypool also composed and performed the show's theme song.
Cast[]
Besides Seth Green voicing himself and many of the characters for the show, major recurring actors/writers are:
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Robot Chicken Celebrity Guest Stars[]
Among those celebrities that contributed to this show are:
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Williams Street executives Mike Lazzo and Keith Crofford have also lent their voices to the show on occasions revolving around season premieres.
Robot Chicken Non-Celebrity Voice Acting[]
Besides the celebrities above, many famous voice actors work on this series including:
- Michael Benyaer
- Bob Bergen
- Jim Cummings
- Jeannie Elias
- Bill Farmer
- Keith Ferguson
- Quinton Flynn
- Danny Goldman
- Mike Henry
- Tom Kane
- George Lowe
- Roger L. Jackson
- Patrick Pinney
- Bill Ratner
- Adam Reed
- Susan Silo
- Danny Smith
- Dana Snyder
- Stephen Stanton
- Cree Summer
- Fred Tatasciore
- Frank Welker
Robot Chicken Episodes[]
Template:Main
Season | Episodes | Originally Aired | DVD Release Date |
---|---|---|---|
Season 1 | 20 | 2005 | March 28, 2006 [4] |
Season 2 | 20 | 2006 | September 4, 2007 [5] |
Season 3 | 20 | 2007–2008 | October 7, 2008 [6] |
Season 4 | 20 | 2008–2009 | December 15, 2009 |
Season 5 | 20 | 2010 | December 12, 2010 |
Season 6 | 20 | 2012-2013 | September 16, 2012 |
Season 7 | 20 | 2014 | April 13, 2014 |
Robot Chicken DVD Releases[]
Title | Release date | Episodes | |
---|---|---|---|
"Season One" | March 28, 2006 | 1–20 | |
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. 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.[7] | |||
"Season Two: Uncensored" | September 4, 2007 | 21–40 | |
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.)[8] 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. | |||
"Season Three: Uncensored" | October 7, 2008 [6] | 41–60 | |
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 Special " | July 22, 2008 | n.a. | |
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". | |||
" Star Wars Episode II " | July 21, 2009 | n.a. | |
This single DVD features the main Star Wars special extras, including normal Robot Chicken episodes and common DVD extras; The Making Of, deleted scenes etc. | |||
"Season Four: Uncensored" | December 15, 2009 [6] | 61–80 | |
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, Australia Visit, Alternate Audio, Deleteded Scenes and Deleted Animations. Plus Commentary on all 20 episodes. |
Revolver Entertainment have released the first three seasons (Including the Star Wars specials) in the United Kingdom.[9] A box set including the first 3 seasons has also been released.[10]
Robot Chicken Cross References[]
In the Family Guy episode "Blue Harvest," at the end of the story, Chris Griffin (voiced by Robot Chicken creator Seth Green) accuses Peter (voiced by Family Guy creator Seth MacFarlane) of stealing the Star Wars special idea from the Robot Chicken Star Wars special. This sparks a discussion in which Peter denigrates and insults Robot Chicken, claiming that it is not a real, legitimate, show (as it is a show about action figures, dolls and plushes, is stop motion and has a fifteen minute run time). This prompts Chris to call his father "a real jerk" and walk out of the room. Seth Green also made an appearance on World Wrestling Entertainment's RAW brand promoting Robot Chicken while being a "Guest Host."
Robot Chicken was again shown in Family Guy, in the 8th season premiere "Road to the Multivers]," where Stewie Griffin and Brian Griffin travel to a "Robot Chicken" universe, and are portrayed as two of the show's characters. Peter Griffin and Chris Griffin sit on a couch watching TV, when four frequent characters from the show enter. Right before Stewie and Brian leave the dimension, Stewie asks Robot Chicken Chris "How does it feel to be on a major network for 30 seconds?" to which Robot Chicken Chris responds: "fuck you!" However, when the episode first aired on Adult Swim, Robot Chicken Chris was muted and only said "You!" before Stewie and Brian left.
Family Guy again mentioned Robot Chicken at the end of their second Star Wars special, "Something, Something, Something, Dark Side", in a conversation very similar to that in Blue Harvest but ended up in Peter threatening to tell the story of Without a Paddle (a film starring Seth Green which got bad reviews) that caused Chris to swear at his dad and leave the room.
See Also[]
- Sweet J Presents
- Titan Maximum
References[]
- ^ "Robot Chicken Gets Unprecedented Two-Season, 40 Episode Pick-Up - TV Ratings, Nielsen Ratings, Television Show Ratings". TVbytheNumbers.com. 2010-01-21. http://tvbythenumbers.com/2010/01/21/robot-chicken-gets-unprecedented-two-season-40-episode-pick-up/39625. Retrieved 2010-04-27.
- ^ Toon Zone - Your Source for Toon News!
- ^ Release date for season 1 Amazon.com
- ^ Release date for season 2 Amazon.com
- ^ a b c Robot Chicken DVD news: Announcement for Robot Chicken - Season 3 | TVShowsOnDVD.com
- ^ Amazon.co.uk: Robot Chicken - Season 1 Box Set (Region 2) (Pal): DVD
- ^ Robot Chicken - Season 2 Review | TVShowsOnDVD.com
- ^ "sitcomsondvd.co.uk". sitcomsondvd.co.uk. http://sitcomsondvd.co.uk/dvds/dvd/511/Robot-Chicken-Season-1/. Retrieved 2010-04-27.
- ^ "sitcomsondvd.co.uk". sitcomsondvd.co.uk. http://sitcomsondvd.co.uk/dvds/dvd/513/Robot-Chicken-Seasons-1-3/. Retrieved 2010-04-27.
Robot Chicken External Links[]
See the Robot Chicken Wiki to get more information about Robot Chicken.