My Life As a Teenage Robot Season Two Review...ish

Teenage Robot Season One Recap/Review




Alriiiight. The stories are bigger, the world building gets deeper, Sheldon is officially part of the main team, some characters get a bit exaggerated AND awesome—it's time for Season Two!

1. A Robot For All Seasons: Obligatory Christmas special because EVERY TV SHOW HAS THIS EVER. If I somehow make my own franchise, I will never have a Christmas special.

Depressive rich kid Todd Sweeney (hrr hrr) tricks Jenny into becoming his robot slave to retaliate against all holidays to make up for his parental abandonment and dissatisfaction for the material goods he's gotten over the years. For a full year, Jenny terrorizes Tremorton until she wakes up next Christmas and realizes the horror she's committed. Everyone she knows and loves is against her with only Sheldon remaining faithful.

Everyone is also an asshole. Jenny is kidnapped the day after Christmas and the flashback shows Brad and Tuck celebrating New Year's Day happily. This is chronologically a week after she's gone missing. Neither one of them look remotely phased that she's suddenly vanished. OH YEAH WE ARE TOTALLY CELEBRATING NEW YEAR'S DAY TO MOURN OUR GOOD FRIEND JENNY. Her mother doesn't seem to give a shit either come Mother's Day (she's out gardening, for pete's sake). Isn't she concerned for her daughter?

Actually, okay, by the latter half of the year, their vindictive reaction and outright hatred for Jenny is reasonable because they had enough of her bullshit by that point. So I can believe Brad amassing an army of teens to attack Jenny on sight (as pathetic as it is; water balloons and pistols don't do a robot destroy get). I definitely understand Nora building an XJ10 to replace and likely stop the former. I get by that point that they consider Jenny a loss cause, but during the earlier months of the year they look like they don't give a shit. Dude, that's callous as all fuck. Some loved ones she has! Sheldon totally deserved that mistletoe kiss.

Also, a possessed Jenny destroying Tremorton—holiday or not—is squandered by using a one-shot moody rich kid. This is a better Vexus/Cluster episode and it's wasted on this holiday special. It's still generally fun to sit through and pretty intense when Sky Patrol starts pursuing a confused Jenny. Also Badass Santa. I love Badass Santa.



2. Future Shock: Tuck looks through Nora's Future Scope only to find his brother will end up decapitated by a menacingly laughing Jenny. Now this is a good episode. You know Jenny would never murder Brad and you know he's not actually going to buy the harp farm, but you still want to know how this happens. Everything is all one, beautifully massive build up and the context makes perfect sense when you reach the end. It's one of my favorite story techniques and an all-around solid episode.

Something I noticed. Despite their tight bond, Jenny and Brad can often be very snippy and nasty to each another. This goes beyond "Friends disses other friends just for shits and giggles because they'll get it" and far into "Why are they still hanging out with each other when they constantly fling insults this severely?" Season One only made it a rare occurrence, but they really ramped it up for Season Two. I like their interaction together and how they make up are often the sweetest moments in the show, but I won't lie when I say their relationship sometimes makes me uncomfortable. (EDIT: I wrote that paragraph before I finished Season Two. It's thankfully not as annoyingly frequent as I feared it would be.)

3. Humiliation 101: Nora teaches science in Jenny's school. The subject? Herself. Knowing the embarrassment of her mother essentially shoving baby photos in front of the whole class, Jenny hopes a big disaster will strike and interrupt it. Nothing does, of course. It gets so bad she desperately calls all the villains she's fought to see if they can create a major shithole. Somehow I love the idea that she has a catalog of phone numbers of all the baddies she's fought. It makes no sense whatsoever for her to even have any of their numbers, but that's what makes it a funny-ass scene. You know she's desperate when Vexus can't even come!

There's a subplot with Brad when he tries to be hero in his own right. Cue badly armored pots and pans and the uncanny ability to pop out of nowhere whenever he thinks the school is in danger. Season One's Brad was mostly a chilled, if not aloof idiot with only occasional hints that he's an adrenaline junkie. Like the vitriolic buddy duo example above, this aspect of his got expanded and stretched to the nth degree. But he gets some hilarious scenes.

4. Last Action Zero: Brad's continued lust for adventure causes him to join Sky Patrol when Jenny keeps harping on him for getting in her way. Just as a reminder that this boy needs to straighten his priorities; he jumps into battle while Jenny is fighting a rock monster. Inside a volcano. Idiot. It's enough for the dumb teen boy to get offended regardless and join the very armed force that considers Jenny a menace to society (basically they think she's an unwanted vigilante).

Sky Patrol only made casual appearances here and there during Season One, so we get an intimidate look at how they function. One word: Paperwork. Everything is paperwork. Getting permission from your superior is paperwork. Getting assigned to a ship is paperwork. I'm pretty sure going to the bathroom involves paperwork. It's seven minutes of Brad filling out triplicates of tree carcasses until he gets fed up and saves Jenny instead of paperworking his way to get permission to do so.

It's an entertaining episode and an excellent world builder, even if this is the only time we see Sky Patrol do this.

5. Mind Over Matter: An electric energy eating vampire light bulb (yeah, I know) causes Jenny to think outside the box to defeat him. How do you stop someone who is a danger to machines everywhere? The episode also poses a very interesting question: how long can Jenny exist before she's considered "obsolete" and discarded?

The message they send didn't really hit me at first and until I brainstormed it a bit more, I thought it was poorly delivered. The moral is that the brain is the best tool to use for any situation. Jenny spends most of the episode too busy upgrading into different forms to find the proper advantage over the lightning freak and I'm sitting here thinking why a rubber suit or a giant wooden robot wouldn't work against an energy sucking monster. Then I realize it's because Jenny has to strategize and utilize it with her brain instead of brawn (Duuuuh, the title explained this, too. Way to go, Stupid Me). Well now it ends up being quite clever and I have to give it props for that.

Although it never really does answer Jenny's worries that one day someone may literally pull the switch on her, but I can't expect deep philosophical and ethical ramifications in this show.

6. Love 'em or Leash 'em: Jenny finally finds a robot exactly like her. Enter YK9 AKA Kenny, a boy robot. Both are madly in love and it looks like it'd be smooth sailing from here, right? Oh silly you, it's not that unpredictable. Sheldon serves as the primary obstacle to try and sabotage the relationship, but fails on every count. He finally succeeds when he discovers Kenny's secret; he's part Robot Dog. To expose that to Jenny, Sheldon wears a cat suit. That he saved from a convention. So he's a furry, apparently.

Yeah, it's as random as it sounds. The general reason is that Kenny's inventor/father Mr. Mogg not only serves as Nora Wakeman's rival, but hinted to be inferior compared to her. So half human-dog robot. Um. Okay. I think this is the only time you see Mr. Mogg which sucks because Nora having a rival would have been good story potential.

This episode kinda sucks.

7. Team Teen Time: Jenny gets help from a trio of extraterrestrials named…some guy and other some guy. I don't remember, but one of them is a tooth paste alien. I think that's all you need to know. None of you care anyway, it's fan favorite Misty you guys want me to gush about, isn't it?

Let's see, she's a rogue alien chick with the ability to read people's minds and see their deepest fears. She hangs around with a bunch of other rogue aliens who travel the galaxies helping those in need in exchange for money. And on top of that, she's got that whole ninja thing down and possesses an appealing character design. Yeah, I totally get why people dig her. She's a Lovable Rogue. Lovable Rogues are awesome.

She's also the only good one because the Team Teens just up and leave Earth in the middle of danger because of prejudice against "normal" non-powered type. The episode provides a decent explanation on why they're pompous and insecure around them and their actions, though hypocritical, has an underlying justification to it. This is also why Misty is an intriguing character, because she's a Neutral Good with much more of a heart than those two jerks she hangs out with, yet she doesn't abandon them by the end of the episode because they are still people who understand her better than anyone else.

She's not a traditional hero by any means and that in turn can provide a number of potential for her character. I totally get it.  



8. Sister Sledgehammer: Okay, the beginning intro is really unnecessary. Tuck and Brad tease Jenny during a soccer match for being a girl because girls don't play sports. Brad, you do remember Season One when you joined a football team with Jenny and kicked an unholy amount of ass, right? Not once did her gender pop up. Come on, guys, this is pointless. They don't even bring it up again until the very end of this episode.

Thankfully, the majority of "Sister Sledgehammer" makes up for it. Smytus ("DESTROYER OF WOOOORLDS") returns and successfully captures Jenny. He brainwashes her and turn her into a giant machine (well, more like clumps of Cluster minions gather around her to form into one) to wreck havoc on her loved ones. Enter XJ1 through 8 to save their fallen sister. It's just as enticing as the last time they made their appearance, though most of their personality quips have to share time with onscreen action. Eh, ain't like any one of them are filled with depth or something.

Too bad Smytus isn't as hammy as his last appearance. He doesn't even say "DESTROYER OF WOOORLDS!" Though he does pull off a hammy "MWAHAHAHAHAHAHA" before quickly ending it with a subtle _"Bye. Much funnier than it sounds.

9. Pajama Party Prankpalooza: Sky Patrol is on Nora's ass because of her vigilante daughter. Jenny wants to go to the Crust cousins' slumber party until Nora vetoes it but mooooooooooooooom I wanna go to the slumber party please please please please. Shut up, shut up, shut up.

There's a nice character development bit in the beginning concerning Jenny's attitude towards the two. Throughout Season One, Jenny remained unaware and naïve that those two bitches would want to have anything to do with her. It's also probably a form of denial because she desperately wants to fit in. This episode has Jenny wising up and realizing there's a scheme involved when they invite her to their sleepover. Jenny only accepts because her shallow teenage brain couldn't resist. And thus, schemes are to be had and yadda yadda. It's an okay episode.

10. Dancing With My Shell: Sheldon convinces Jenny to ask the Silver Shell out to the Sadie Hawkins Dance. There he plans to woo Jenny and reveal who he truly is and oh my God I hate Sheldon. NEXT. (_{I will give Sheldon credit for finally trying to tell Jenny the truth, if not in an overblown romantic fashion.})

11. Around the World in Eight Pieces: The first time I saw this, I thought it was the best episode ever. Cluster member Krackus—an old senile robot whose inventions breaks apart as much as his mind—manages to split Jenny into pieces and scatter them over the world. Brad, Tuck, and Sheldon steals Wakeman's airship and trot the Earth to find them all. It's a frantic, fast-paced episode that keeps you on your toes with a unique plot.  All four of them get a chance to shine and the episode is a perfect embodiment of Adventuuuure!!! This episode should have gotten the half hour treatment.

It is still the best goddamn episode ever.

Also, this is an absurdly funny scene.




12. Armagedroid: Whoa, the mood in this episode got really dark. Jenny gets creamed by Armagedroid, a REALLY, REALLY, REALLY BIG ROBOT.

He was built twenty years ago by Nora (who is revealed to be a former Sky Patrol volunteer) to stop an alien invasion by dismantling any weapons. When they won, Armagedroid started doing the same on Earth, killing anyone who disobeyed and got in his way. Nora suspected he had a one-track mind, but successfully tricked him into trapping himself in the center of the Earth. Now he's escaped and doing the same damn thing and motherfucker, is it damn distressing. Jenny gets the shit kicked out of her and though we know she'll live, her condition is treated with utmost seriousness and a sense of hopelessness.

This is a fantastic mother/daughter episode. The beginning of "Armagedroid" is standard MLAATR in tone and familiarity; daughter disses mother, mother lectures her, daughter doesn't obey. Then it dips into depressing territory when Jenny gets her ass whooped, filling Nora with guilt. It's also a shining example of how far she's come with her child that XJ9 is no longer just a robot designed for world saving—she is Jenny. It's a very sweet story, though the running gag at the end went on way too long. Also it neatly explains why Nora was so hellbent on keeping Jenny locked in her house prior to the first episode. If people freaked out over the giant robot twenty years back, what would they think when they see another supercharged machinery waltzing around with guns blazing?

I also loved the flashback montage when Nora explains Armagadroid's origins. Each sequence opens up like the cover of old-timey posters and magazine covers from the 1930s and they're all extremely creative. Also we find out Nora is a redhead which is the same color Jenny donned when she had that exo-suit. Granted, the suit itself is redheaded, but I'd like to think the mother/daughter hair color scheme was intentional.

13. Killgore: A little sentient wind-up toy robot wants to join the Clusters and to do that, he'll defeat Jenny. Cue 11 minutes of the world's most annoying midget popping up every goddamn where to spook Jenny into surrender. This is an inane episode and ties with "Pest Control" for Worst. Episode. Ever.  Also, Killgore sounds like Omi which I find amusing. (Yes, I'm aware they share the same voice actress.)

14. A Pain In My Sidekick: Sheldon is a much better character in Season Two. Mostly this is because he's now a part of Jenny's group of friends, so he's given ample opportunities to wander around having adventures and getting into shenanigans that stretches his character and situation beyond his annoying crush on Jenny.

"A Pain In My Sidekick" is a Tuck-centric, but it provides something for Sheldon to do that isn't Jenny-related. When Tuck finds out he's the Silver Shell (specifically an elaborated lie that Sheldon made up that managed to keep his secret intact that still works around what Tuck saw), Sheldon builds him his own superhero robot suit; the adorably inapt Tin Can. The rest of the episode is Tuck trying in vain to save the world while poor Sheldon tries his damnest to keep the kid alive. It's a good conflict that does Sheldon justice.

15. Crash Pad Crash: Jenny gets her own place because she's sick of mommy interfering in her life. Jenny throws lots of parties, Nora tries not to butt in so she can learn from her own mistakes, and life lessons are to be had, blah de blah blah. I did enjoy Nora's segments though; she tries so hard not to jump in. ^_^



16. Escape From Cluster Prime: According to Wikipedia, this one-hour special aired riiiight here. I'm assuming this is correct, but I've heard people say this was meant to air at the end of Season Two. Frankly, I think that'd been more appropriate. My Life As A Teenage Robot is a superhero adventure that's a little on the sedated side. Fighting and action happens, but never with the sense of epic that other series do better. This isn't a detriment to the show because there's something enticing about its humbleness (though again, it does lack some "oomph" as a result).

"Escape From Cluster Prime" is all epic and it's glorious. If there ever is an episode that deserves to air as the final one, this is it. In fact, I don't think this should even be a Season Two finale—this is the type that belongs as a series finale. This is The Big One and it's a damn shame it only occurs in the middle of Season Two.

Tremorton's three hundredth celebration is ruined by Jenny's showboating. Jenny's inability to fit in has always been a crucial part of her character—if not the defining aspect—so when she ends up in Cluster Prime, she is shocked to find it isn't as evil and oppressive as Jenny pictured a world where Vexus rules is. It's a perfectly nice planet of robots that has everything Jenny needs and desires. She quickly befriends Vega (Vexus' daughter) who serves as Jenny's counterpart and I only say this because her best friends are robot counterparts of Brad, Sheldon, and Tuck. It gets to a point where Jenny soon wonders why she'd ever want to leave. The only downside is the propaganda the planet spreads of the "evil XJ9" (elaborately drawn so other robots won't immediately figure out and point fingers at Jenny). Otherwise, life is peachy!



With Jenny absent, Earth is under attack by the Cluster! ...Or will be. Vexus keeps holding the invasion at bay until Jenny comes. It speaks a lot about her character that she considers Jenny a worthy rival that she will hold an entire army in place until she gets here. It must eat inside her that she cannot get Jenny to join Cluster Prime that she'd hold propaganda pieces just to denounce her. I'm going to assume this is the only reason why she took all the gold chips from her people that powers their weapons, but Vega's attitude seem to implore this has been going on for a very long time. Jenny's only existed for five years and even less in public. It's kinda flimsy, but not a complete detriment to the episode.

If Vexus is the most compelling villain, Smytus is the baddie who at least has his head on straight and makes better decisions (he's gotten more and more serious in each passing episode and this is the pinnacle). Vexus wants to wait for Jenny to arrive? He says fuck that and sends the army anyway and shit really gets interesting from there. Also, Smytus totally suicide bombed himself. I know he makes subsequent appearances in future episodes, but this is why "Escape From Cluster Prime" should have been a finale—it was a perfect way for him to go.



Every character gets their moment to shine. Tuck not really and Sheldon is merely okay (at best, we find out his genius background extends beyond machinery). The two biggest badassery comes from Brad and Nora. Nora has previously been established as a former Sky Patrol, but until now, we never got to see her in action (since she's retired and all). She proves she still has her moves despite the decades. Props, this human woman went toe-to-toe against Vexus. Brad may be the biggest surprise. He's known to burst headfirst into danger with only a meager chance of actually succeeding, but the revolution he starts and his absolute refusal to give up for Jenny's sake is awesome. He's probably the biggest highlight of the episode and by the time he reunites with Jenny, it's something you wanted to see.




It's all the right kinds of action with plenty of amazing moments from the primary characters. It's bombastic in a show not really known for it. I haven't watched most of Season Three's episodes as of this writing (and I may alter this a bit after I do), but I don't think I'll change my mind on this after I watched them all: "Escape From Cluster Prime" should have been the series finale.

17. Victim of Fashion: Jenny competes with the Crust Cousins to see who can outfashion each other. It's an eleven minute story that somehow got the half hour treatment. I imagine the only reason it was stretched to a full 22 minutes was to provide breathing space for the animators because they have to doodle so many outfits in one episode. We're talking three characters each possessing an arsenal of 5-7 different clothes. That's nuts. Kudos to the drawing crew for punching all these out, especially Jenny's who has the benefit of literally expanding her clothes into even more elaborate pieces. It's thin on plot, but the lover of fictional fashion in me adored the visuals and style that went into this.

Oh, if you're curious, this is my favorite outfit:




18. Designing Woman: Sheldon steals XJ9's blueprints to try and woo Jenny, but Vexus steals it from him. Honestly, Vexus turning into a teenage robot is unnecessary as it doesn't really amount to a whole lot that she couldn't simply sneak in and grab herself. Sheldon sneaking into Wakeman's house is creative and neat, but otherwise it's another "Bleh, creepy romance Sheldon episode." It's even more questionable when you realize he only stole the prints to figure out a way to get Jenny to love nerds like him. Was he…Was he planning to alter her programming or something? Oh God.

19. Robot Riot: Tuck enters Jenny into a robot fighting tournament. Barebones.

20.  Bradventure: Brad goes on his own adventure when he feels overshadowed by Jenny. It would have just been a meh episode if not for Melody. Sadly, her chemistry and interaction with Brad aren't really that good. They meet a grand total of ten seconds before the plot kicks in and they have to react to that, so any potential romance build up ends up really clumsy. However, she is still a very interesting character once we find out what she is: an android. This will be neat. _{Note: I already saw the Season Three episode where she reappears, but I'm keeping tension, damn it.}

This is also why "Escape From Cluster Prime" would have worked a lot better as a finale; Brad's badass moment is kind of tainted with an episode like this because it feels anticlimactic. It would have been nice to see a gradual build up of Brad's adventurous side that would lead to the stuff he pulls in the one-hour special.

21. Mama Drama: Jenny suspects Nora's new boyfriend because he looks and sounds blatantly evil (after a certain point, his diabolical laughter gets very tiresome). He's revealed to be a nice guy, but dumps Nora when he realizes how messed up her family is. Feh, I think Nora is better off, that dude was unhealthily obsessed with her. Eh, it's a plot twist I saw coming.



22. Toying with Jenny: Evil Jenny toys, but they're oh so cute! Krackus is still damn hilarious. Good episode, though the whole "Jenny-ignores-her-friends-until-she-learns-a-lesson" is a bit downplayed. It's there, but feels like a subplot that only arbitrarily connects with the A story. I think the episode needed more reaction from Brad and Tuck for feeling abandoned when Jenny ditches them for her sudden rise in popularity. And this isn't getting into the question on why she's suddenly a superstar in Tremorton when everyone knows her at this point.

23. Teenage Mutant Ninja Troubles: Misty returns after disbanding from her team. This is a great episode that explores the fundamental differences between Jenny and Misty. Living a carefree life, Misty has no issues using her powers to get back at others. Jenny does and constantly chides and questions her for it. It's a good character exploration, but it's wasted on a superficial plot where most of the moral dilemmas involve pulling pranks on the Crust cousins. This needed something more epic (which I know we get in Season Three if I remember). For people who really dislike the Crust cousins though, this is karmic justice.


Welp, managed to make it this far, might as well dive into Season Three.

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Discovery (A Transformers Animated Fancomic): Read the entire thing here. More updated as the series progresses. Placed there for archival purpose.

Chess Piece (A Danny Phantom Fancomic):
An AU Danny Phantom comic. It's been canceled, but for those morbidly curious to read this convoluted train wreck, the link is here.



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