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Robot Chicken is an American adult animated 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, most prominently Green, also provide many of the voices. Senreich, Goldstein, and Root were formerly writers for the popular action figure hobbyist magazine ToyFare. Robot Chicken has won an Annie Award and six Emmy Awards.

Production History[]

Robot Chicken was conceptually preceded by "Twisted ToyFare Theatre", a humorous photo comic-strip appearing in ToyFare: The Toy Magazine. 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; other ideas for the series' name included Junk in the Trunk, The Deep End, and Toyz in the Attic (many of these rejected names would be reworked into episode titles for the first season).

The show was created, written, and produced by Seth Green and Matthew Senreich, and produced by ShadowMachine Films (Seasons 1–5) and Stoopid Buddy Stoodios in association with Stoop!d Monkey, Williams Street, Sony Pictures Digital (Seasons 1–5) and Sony Pictures Television (Seasons 6–10). The series first appeared as Sweet J Presents on the Sony website Screenblast.com in 2001. In the first episode ("Conan's Big Fun"), Conan O'Brien was a featured character, voiced by Family Guy creator Seth MacFarlane (2005–present). 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.

Green and Senreich cited the likes of Monty Python's Flying Circus, Pee-Wee's Playhouse and Kentucky Fried Movie as major influences for Robot Chicken.

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. 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.

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). 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. The Star Wars episode was nominated for a 2008 Emmy Award as Outstanding Animated Program (for Programming Less Than One Hour).

The series was renewed for a 20-episode third season, which ran from August 12, 2007, to October 5, 2008. After an eight-month hiatus during the third season, the show returned on September 7, 2008, to air the remaining 5 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 fifth and sixth season (40 more episodes total). Season five premiered on December 12, 2010. The second group of episodes began broadcasting on October 23, 2011. The 100th episode aired on January 15, 2012. In May 2012, Adult Swim announced they were picking up a sixth season of Robot Chicken, which began airing in September 2012. The seventh season premiered on April 13, 2014. Season eight premiered on October 25, 2015. Season nine premiered on December 10, 2017. Season 10 premiered on September 29, 2019, containing the 200th episode. Season 11 premiered on September 6, 2021.

Following the 2020 cancellation of The Venture Bros., it is Adult Swim's longest running series, both in terms of years and episodes.

Opening Sequence[]

On a dark and stormy night, a mad scientist finds a road-killed chicken, which he takes back to his laboratory to refashion 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!" quoting 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 allusion to A Clockwork Orange); this scene segues into the body of the show, which resembles someone frequently changing TV channels.[citation needed]

In the episode "1987", Michael Ian Black claims in the "Best Robot Chicken Ever" sketch that this sequence tells the viewers that they are the chicken, being forced to watch the skits. Because of all this, the frame story of the Robot Chicken and the Mad Scientist would not continue beyond the opening sequence until the 100th episode entitled "Fight Club Paradise", when the chicken finally makes his escape and later kills the Mad Scientist when he takes his hen wife in response, fighting and killing several characters from previous skits (most of them being implied to be the Mad Scientist's henchmen) in the process.

Beginning in the sixth season, a new opening sequence has been featured with a role reversal after the events of the show's 100th episode. The Robot Chicken comes upon the body of the Mad Scientist, which has been decapitated. He decides to do the same that he 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 background color). He then straps him to the same chair he was strapped to and forces him to watch the same TV monitors while the chicken and his wife share a kiss.

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 robots. Taken to a 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 last season's 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 cyborg animals, as well as a cyborg homeless person. The posse then proceeds to kidnap all (at the time) 5 living US presidents Jimmy Carter, George H.W. Bush, Bill Clinton, George W. Bush, and Barack Obama. The Robot Chicken and the now-reformed Mad Scientist then team up to rescue the presidents, after which, the Mad Scientist punishes his son by forcing him to watch the TV monitors and the Robot Chicken flies away, free. However, it doesn't explain how the Robot Chicken got frozen and the extended version (seen in the Season 8 episode "Garbage Sushi" and the Season 9 episode "3 2 1 2 333, 222, 3...66?") exists where it begins with a destroyed Statue of Liberty buried in snow (referring to the ending scene of Planet of the Apes) when two drones are flying together. Then, a drone scans the frozen Robot Chicken while the wind blows to himself.

Beginning in the tenth season, a new opening sequence has been featured with the Nerd being turned into a cyborg by both the Robot Chicken and the Mad Scientist and being forced to watch the skits while they high five. This is a result of the previous season finale where the Nerd dies from a cliff jump stunt in an attempt to get the show renewed. The letters "TEN" in the title have been also highlighted to mark the show reaching ten seasons. In the 200th episode, as the title is showing, David Lynch shouts "Robot Chicken!" in an off-screen voice.

In the eleventh season, a new opening sequence has been featured with the Mad Scientist launching the Robot Chicken off a space station in a capsule. The capsule then crashes on the ground where the Robot Chicken meets another cyborg chicken, only in an elderly state (with allusion to 2001: A Space Odyssey). The monolith-shaped TVs in the house show a baby Robot Chicken floating through space. Starting with the episode "May Cause a Whole Lotta Scabs", an extended version (which set in a 2.39:1 aspect ratio) exists where it begins with a tribe of hominids watching the skits on the TVs while a hominid version of the Nerd bites a remote control to turn on the TV monitors. Suddenly, a hominid tries to take the remote, but the hominid Nerd kills it and gets the remote back, segueing into the opening sequence.

Characters[]

While Robot Chicken uses a variety of famous real people and fictional characters, it also has original characters created exclusively for the show.

Robot Chicken (voiced by Seth Green) – The show's titular character (although his name is only simply as the "Chicken" according to a maid in the 100th episode). He is a cyborg chicken with a red laser eye. First seen as a roadkill chicken on Highway 9W while he originally lived on Old Man McLauchlin's farm, the Mad Scientist revived him as a cyborg and experiments on him by forcing him to watch sketches on numerous TV monitors. In the 100th episode, he gets freed by a maid and later kills his creator after he kidnaps his wife. He later revived the Mad Scientist as a cyborg and reverses the roles, forcing him to watch sketches.

Cluckerella (voiced by Seth Green) – The Robot Chicken's wife. She wears a dress and has blonde hair and red lipstick. She gets kidnapped by the Mad Scientist during the 100th episode, causing the Robot Chicken to go to the lab and kill him to rescue her. In the Season 7 finale, it is revealed that Cluckerella has left.

The Mad Scientist (voiced by Les Claypool for the laughter and line in the opening and David Lynch for the speaking voice in the Season 10 finale) – A scientist who revived the Robot Chicken. He has wild white hair and a diabolical grin. Starting with Season 3, his real name is revealed to be Fritz Huhnmörder (German for "chicken murderer"), which is seen at the gravestone in the season premiere. He was killed by the Robot Chicken after the events of the 100th episode only for him to be revived as a cyborg in the sixth season's opening sequence, and then gets his revenge by forcing the Mad Scientist to watch the same sketches that he had previously forced the Robot Chicken to watch. In the Season 10 episode "Fila Ogden in: Maggie's Got a Full Load" with the Saturday Night Live-styled opening, the Mad Scientist's nickname is Rick Sanchez, named after another Adult Swim mad scientist character due to his resemblance to the same character. He actually has five kids, in which they include his crazed son, a teenage daughter, an eight-year-old daughter, and infant twins that are a boy and a girl.

Mad Scientist's Son (voiced by Zachary Levi) – The Mad Scientist's 32-year-old twisted son, who steals his cyborg-making tools as part of a plot to kidnap all living US presidents for ransom. However, he ends up being defeated by the Robot Chicken and the Mad Scientist, who then forces him to watch the sketches as punishment. According to the script of the Season 7 finale, it revealed his real name is Tony Huhnmörder-Anderson.

The Nerd (voiced by Seth Green) – A 26-year-old nerdy man (although that's debatable since he still goes to high school and lives with his parents) with square-framed glasses who lisps. He appears in many episodes and often ends up in wild situations in famous media. Although his name was mentioned as "Gary" in the Season 1 episode "Joint Point", recent Adult Swim commercials for some later episodes give his name as "Arthur Kensington, Jr.". He dies in the Season 9 finale only for him to get revived as a cyborg in the tenth season's opening sequence. Despite the Nerd is being as a cyborg to watch the same sketches (until the Season 10 finale, where the Mad Scientist wheels him inside a crate to the warehouse in a post-credits scene, a la Raiders of the Lost Ark) in the show's universe, his alive appearance was still used in the sketches, specials and other media.

Bitch Pudding (voiced by Katee Sackhoff) – A fictitious addition to the Strawberry Shortcake universe, Bitch Pudding is a foul-mouthed, crass and violent 18-year-old woman and a former resident of Pastryville who has a penchant for insulting, tormenting, and sometimes even killing others. In her debut appearance in the Season 4 episode "P.S. Yes, in That Way", she seems to be 8 years old for early episodes, but in later episodes to show her as a young adult when she gets a growth spurt. In Season 7, Bitch Pudding became the first of the series' recurring characters to have their own special, titled the "Bitch Pudding Special".

Unicorn (voiced by George Lowe) – A white homosexual unicorn who is a complete pervert. In his debut appearance in the Season 2 episode "Suck It", he appears before the Nerd, who had just daydreamed about unicorns being real. When his magic horn is polished, it gives "magical unicorn mayonnaise".

Mo-Larr: Eternian Dentist (voiced by Michael Ian Black) – A fictional addition to the cast for the show's Masters of the Universe parodies. Mo-Larr is the resident dentist of Eternia. He is willing to resort to drastic measures in order to perform his dental work on unwilling patients such as Skeletor, even going so far as to ensnare Beast Man in dental floss and stick a dental drill into Grizzlor's eye. In the Season 5 episode "Terms of Endaredevil", his full name is revealed to be Moe Larrstein.

Composite Santa Claus (voiced by Christian Slater) – A genocidal monster who is half Santa Claus, half snowman, and is based on Composite Superman. In the Season 4 episode "In a DVD Factory", his backstory is revealed: he has been created by a diabolical scientist from the combined DNA of Santa and Frosty the Snowman. After he awakens, he shoots the scientist and his two assistants with an automatic rifle, killing the latter two, and goes on a rampage, waging war on all non-Gentile religions.

Little Drummer Boy (voiced by Seth Green) – An anime-style drummer whose drums can summon demons when beaten.

Humping Robot – A mute robot looking for love, who is first seen humping a washing machine in the Season 1 episode "Atta Toy". He has also been seen humping church bells, jukeboxes, and slot machines, among other metallic objects. In the Season 3 episode "Werewolf vs. Unicorn", he revealed to be a husband, father and a veteran from his unknown robotic family, according to the gravestone.

Daniel a.k.a. "Gyro-Robo" (voiced by Seth Green) – A negative-minded teenage nerd who hosts a web series (entitled the "Gyro-Robo News Hour") where he complains about inaccuracies in media – and not even Robot Chicken is immune from his criticism. He masturbates frequently and is often targeted by the local bully, Munson.

Munson (voiced by Breckin Meyer) – A jerkish teenager who bullies nerds, especially Daniel.

Gary the Stormtrooper (voiced by Donald Faison) – A fictional addition to the cast for the show's Star Wars parodies. Gary is a clumsy, bit incompetent and well-meaning 29-year-old stormtrooper and the resident of Alderaan who usually messes things up due to his clumsiness. Despite that, he is able to make his work right. In the special Robot Chicken: Star Wars Episode II, he revealed to be a married family man who lives with his wife Beverly (voiced by Rachael Leigh Cook) and his young daughter Jessica (voiced by Adrianne Palicki), who according to his wife, hardly ever sees him due to his work; but is making efforts to be involved more in her life.

Aliens (voiced by Seth Green, Breckin Meyer, and Adam Talbott) – A race of wacky grey aliens who have a tendency to bungle their plans and efforts, usually resulting in them letting out a frustrated scream of "Dammit, dammit, dammit!".

Bloopers Host (voiced by Jamie Kaler) – The host of the "Bloopers!" sketches, which parodies the early years of America's Funniest Home Videos, substituting home videos for humorous television and film outtakes (although home videos have been shown on two occasions, the latter of which are from his own life). At the end of almost every sketch he appears in, he commits suicide in various ways, including hanging himself, swallowing whiskey and pills, putting a toaster in a bathtub, and suffocating himself with a plastic bag.

Gummy Bear (voiced by Michelle Trachtenberg) – An anthropomorphic gummy bear who is doomed to scream in pain from stepping on a bear trap. In her debut appearance in the Season 3 episode "Tapping a Hero", she doesn't mind the taste of her own leg after she bites it off to free herself only to step on another bear trap again.

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 17, 2012 February 18, 2013
7 20 April 13, 2014 December 7, 2014
8 20 October 26, 2015 May 15, 2016
9 20 December 10, 2017 July 22, 2018
10 20 September 30, 2019 July 27, 2020
11 20 September 7, 2021 TBA

voice cast[]

Besides all the celebrities and many famous voice actors who have contributed to this show, main and major recurring actors/writers are:


syndication[]

All Robot Chicken episodes from seasons 1 through 11 are available on HBO Max. The second half of the eleventh season has since aired but has yet to be added to streaming.

home media[]

DVD title Release date Ep # Discs
Region 1 Region 2 Region 4
The Complete First Season March 28, 2006 September 29, 2008 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.[1] Three edited shorts from Sweet J Presents were included on the Robot Chicken Season 1 DVD boxset.[2]
The Complete Second Season 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).[3] Seth Green stated at Comic-Con 2006 that the second DVD set will contain the "Beavis and Butt-Head Join 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.
The Complete Third Season 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.
The Complete Fourth Season 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", a San Diego Comic-Con '08 panel, "Day in the Life", a New York Comic-Con '09 panel, video blogs, "Australia Visit", alternate audio, deleted scenes, 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.
The Complete Fifth Season 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 the 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 Join Teen Titans" (deleted from Season 1 due to copyright issues) and the "Archie's 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.
DC Comics Special 2: Villains in Paradise October 14, 2014 TBA February 18, 2015 1 1
The second set of specials parodying DC Superheroes. Special features include the making of RCDC2VIP, "Bad Hair, Musical Numbers and Sequels", "The Ones That Got Away", "20 Questions", "Chicken Nuggets", cut animatics, cut sketches, actors' commentary and writers' commentary.
The Complete Sixth Season 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.
Star Wars Trilogy TBA December 4, 2015 February 4, 2015 3 3
The Complete Seventh Season July 21, 2015 December 11, 2020 September 16, 2015 121–140 2
This two-disc boxset includes all 20 episodes from Season 7 in production order. Special features include commentary on every episode, featurettes and cut sketches.
Robot Chicken DC Comics Special (collection) March 2018 December 2, 2016 June 20, 2018 3 3
The Robot Chicken Walking Dead Special: Look Who's Walking March 27, 2018 TBA August 15, 2018 1 1
Inside the Robot Chicken Walking Dead Special: Look Who's Walking, Cut Sketches, Commentary, Sketches to Die For, Bawkward, Behind the Screams.
The Complete Eighth Season TBA March 26, 2021 April 17, 2019 141–160 2
The Complete Ninth Season TBA March 15, 2019 May 22, 2019 161–180 2

Revolver Entertainment have released the first four seasons and all three Star Wars specials on DVD in the United Kingdom.[4] A box set including the first 3 seasons and a box set including all three Star Wars specials have also been released.[5]

references[]

  1. "Robot Chicken – Season 1 Box Set (Region 2) (Pal): DVD". Amazon.co.uk.
  2. Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; no text was provided for refs named tvcom1
  3. "Robot Chicken – Season 2 Review". TVShowsOnDVD.com (2007-08-31).
  4. "sitcomsondvd.co.uk". sitcomsondvd.co.uk. [permanent dead link]
  5. "sitcomsondvd.co.uk". sitcomsondvd.co.uk.

external links[]

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