My Life as a Teenage Robot -- Episodes 113-114

First Aired: 3 October 2003

"The Return of Raggedy Android" (Episode 113)

Directed by: Rob Renzetti

Plotline

Jenny visited Brad at his new job at the local teen joint, Mezmers. The older, Irishman of a manager (Mr. Mezmer) says robots were not allowed at his shop.

Mrs. Wakeman shows Jenny the new and improved exo skin. Even though the exo skin put itself on Jenny by seemingly attacking her, the results were impressive. This made Jenny want to try going to Mezmers again...this time as a "regular girl."

When "the new" Jenny made it to Mezmers, all the guys went for her and Brad didn't notice her at first. Just as Don Prima, the smoothest guy in school, noticed Jenny's new look, Space Biker Letta and her pet Lenny crashed the joint. Jenny tried to fight the Space Biker herself but the suit prevented her from doing so. After breaking the jukebox, Letta threatened to return and the patrons all left because of the broken jukebox.

Putting away the suit for the night, Jenny went to bed. When she woke up she found that the suit was already on her. She found that the suit was talking to her and told her what a "normal girl" was supposed to do and how to act.

Jenny went back to Mezmers and followed the skin's lead. Brad didn't like this new Jenny. Space Biker Letta returned. She brought some friends with her and they wreaked havoc to the malt shop. Jenny tried to fight the evil Biker Gang but the skin wouldn't let her. Jenny eventually destroyed the suit then kicked some space biker butt. After the Space Bikers left, Brad told Mr. Mezmer that if Jenny was not allowed in the shop then he would quit his job. Despite Mr. Mezmers plead for his patrons to come back, everyone walked away.

Trivia

• This episode showed the first appearance of the local hangout for teenagers, Mezmers.


• Notice how the facade, the entrance, to Mezmers is shaped like a cat's head. The cat is supposed to represent Felix the Cat. The hangout is named after Felix the Cat's presumed creator, Otto Messmer (the origins of Felix the Cat are unknown and nobody knows who exactly created him).


• The concept of Jenny the robot not being allowed at Mezmers alludes to racial segregation before the 1960's.


• This is also the first appearance of the Space Bikers in this series. I've notice some disagreements on the names of the Space Bikers on episode guides of the past to closed-captioning. Here's how I'll spell their names in these guides as follows: Letta (and Lenny), Olga, Sludge, and Tammy.


• When Jenny first went to Mezmers with her new skin, some of the guys offered to buy her a "frosty beverage." Since this is the kids' network, Nickelodeon, they couldn't offer to buy her "a drink" because that might imply an alcoholic beverage, encouraging kids to drink at an early age.


• This episode also starred Grey Delisle as the "second skin." Grey Delisle and Janice Kawaye (Jenny's voice) would work together again in the 2004 Cartoon Network series Hi Hi Puffy AmiYumi as Yumi and Ami, respectively.

Goofs

• When the Space Bikers came back a second time to "crash the party," why was Lenny pouring a drink inside a guy's pants?


• Above the freezer, the sign said "Freze." Why was it spelled like that?

Quotes

Brad: "I can't believe it Jenny. I can't believe I got this job, it's so cool! Mezmers is the coolest hangout in town. State-of-the-Art computerized jukebox, deluxe 5-cushioned booth seating, air-conditioned dance floor, and wall-to wall teenagers."

Jenny: "I can't believe I'm hanging with normal teens!"

Brad: Well why not? With me in charge, you can hang out any time you want.

Jenny: (After getting thrown out of Mezmers the first time, she walks out)"What an ignorant jerk! Who wants to hang out in there anyway? (stops walking)...I do."

Jenny: "Hi!"

Brad: "Oh-ho, hi! What's your name?"

Jenny: "(giggles) Jenny."

Brad: "Jenny, huh?" (inadvertently pults the ice cream toward someone instead of into the shake cup. Person exclaims, "Hey!") "Uh-huh-huh-huh!"

Jenny: (giggles briefly)

Brad: "My best friend's name is Je..." (spills the shake cup on the skin, revealing Jenny's metal arm and hand Jenny responds, "ouch!") Jenny?

Jenny: "Best friend, huh?"

Brad: "Woooow! What happened? You look totally normal."

Jenny: "I know, it's so great! No one looks at me like I'm a freak. It's been bliss!"

Letta: "Ha! Ha! Ha! Did you miss Letta? Now we'll really have some fun."

Olga: "Yeah, Olga is here!"

Sludge: "Sludge is in the house!"

Tammy: "And Tammy!"

Brief pause

Letta: She's new.

TLDR

Jenny wanted to hang out at a joint for teenagers. She couldn't because she was a robot. To look normal, Jenny put on the exo skin. The results exceeded expectations--or did they?

"The Boy Who Cried Robot" (Episode 114)

Directed By: Bob Jaques, Rob Renzetti

Plotline

A mountain climber made his way up the top of a mountain then he fell. A distress signal was sent out and Jenny answered it. While Jenny was on her way to save the mountain climber, she heard and answered a cry from Tuck. Tuck wanted Jenny to meet three of his friends to prove to them that Jenny could do amazing things. After that, Jenny arrived to Mount Milijankaro in time to save the falling climber.

Soon Jenny got another distress call in Switzerland. A dike was cracking so Jenny tried to fix it. During that time, she heard Tuck calling her. Jenny found a temporary fix and zoomed toward Tuck's call. This time, Tuck had a lot of kids over to see Jenny's awesomeness. They saw what Jenny does. After that, Jenny performed everything Tuck or his audience wished including moving a tree, acting as a pencil sharpener, tuning a radio, performing yardwork duties, and other jobs.

Jenny felt doing all these things for Tuck was really getting out of hand. She went to Brad for help. The bookmobile rolled along and Jenny and Brad got the book The Boy Who Cried Wolf. Despite what his friends said, Tuck was still not convinced that his friends have seen everything Jenny could do. Tuck then sent out another distress call.

When in her room, Jenny and Brad were reading when they heard Tuck's cries. At first, Jenny wanted to ignore him. When she found out what happened to the kid at the end of the story, she decided to answer the cry anyway, despite Brad's recommendation. It all turned out that Tuck was being "attacked" by his friend's dog. Jenny got very angry.

Trivia

• The mountain climber claims the peak "Mt. Milijankaro." This name is similar to Mt. Kilimanjaro in the country of Tanzania in Africa.


• Tuck has two friends called George and Carver. These are African-American boys whose names came from George Washington Carver, an American botanist and inventor.


• Tuck also has a third friend called Lon. This could be a reference to:
  • Lon was named after Lon Chaney, Jr., the star of the 1941 Universal Picture, "The Wolf Man" directed by George Waggner. This is appropriate as Lon has a pet wolf. Or...
  
  
  • Since this episode alluded to a bunch of literature, the name Lon could be from the book Lon Po Po: A Red-Riding Hood Story from China by Ed Young.
  
  
• This episode is chock-full literary references, seeing that the name of this episode alluded to "The Boy Who Cried Wolf," an Aesop Fable. These references will be mentioned in the following bullets.


• There was the Lon Po Po reference mentioned above.


• When Jenny went to go save a village from a leaking dike and the character "snotty boy" puts his finger in the hole to save the town, this is taken from the novel Hans Brinker, or The Silver Skates by Mary Mapes Dodge. This novel popularizes the Dutch boy who does the same thing as "Snotty Boy." He stays there all day and all night until he is found by village adults and the adults make the appropriate repairs to the dike.


• Now that's something I don't see everyday (I don't know about you): A bookmobile!


• The Dunderhead's Guide to Idiocy is similar to the Idiot's Guide and Dummies informational books.


• An older man, named Ed, asked for Catcher in the Rye (novel by J.D. Salinger). Ed was a baseball coach in the book.



Goofs

• In one scene when Tuck called Jenny back so he could show his friends, this show was going to come complete with a ticket booth and stands for where the friends could sit. Did Tuck always have these things? Where did he get these from?


• Not Really a Goof But...When Brad was blocking the window to stop Jenny from answering Tuck's call toward the end of the ep, Brad had two ears on both sides of his head that stuck out. Not Really a Goof but I thought it looked rather odd; something you don't see much.



Quotes

Mountain Climber: "At last, I do hearby claim this peak the highest in all of Asia, for the village of Stickney, Illinois, thus do I claim thee Mount (grunts as he stabs the small flag stick on the snow-covered peak) Milijankaro!"




Lon clears his throat.

Tuck: "Oh, yeah, and this is...what's your name again?"

Lon: "My name is...Lon."

Tuck: "Lon-was telling us about this really cool wolf he's gonna show us later with huge teeth, and big yellow eyes, and horrible sharp claws."

Lon: "And, a blood-curdling howl that pierces the night air like an assassin's dagger."




Kid (pointing to the book mobile): "Look everyone, learrrning!"

Brad: "Ah, perfect timing."

"Amy" (at book mobile): "One History of Electrolysis, please."

Book Mobile Lady: "Here you go, Amy."

"Billy": The Dunderhead's Guide to Idiocy.

Book Mobile Lady: "Enjoy, Billy."

"Ed": "Catcher in the Rye?"

Book Mobile Lady: "Not today, Ed."




Jenny: "Say, how does this story end anyway?"

Brad: "Mmm, I don't know. Maybe the kid gets a ticket for disturbing the peace."

sees a picture of the kid getting eaten by a wolf

Jenny: "He gets a ticket, huh?"




Tuck: "(Jenny finds him screaming in laughter) Oh, hi Jenny. I wanted you to see Lon's dog, Wolfie. He's really part wolf. Isn't that the greatest thing?"

Jenny gets mad and starts to chase Tuck with her lazers.

Tuck: Heeeelllllppp, Jenny! Heeeelllppp! Heeeellllpppp! Jenny's attacking me! Heeellllppp! Heeeeeellllllllllppppp!




TLDR

Tuck wanted to prove to his friends that Jenny was a superhero robot with many neat abilities and features. Should Jenny be flying over every time Tuck calls her?



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