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|opentheme = "Robot Chicken" by [[Les Claypool]]
|opentheme = "Robot Chicken" by [[Les Claypool]]
|country = United States
|country = United States
|network = [[Adult Swim]]
|network = [[Cartoon Network]] ([[Adult Swim]])
|picture_format = [[4:3]] [[SDTV]] (2005-2009)<br>[[16:9]] [[HDTV]] (2010-present)
|picture_format = [[4:3]] [[SDTV]] (2005-2009)<br>[[16:9]] [[HDTV]] (2010-present)
|company = [[ShadowMachine Films]]<br>[[Stoopid Monkey]]<br>[[Sony Pictures Digital]]<br>[[Williams Street]]
|company = [[ShadowMachine Films]]<br>[[Stoopid Monkey]]<br>[[Sony Pictures Digital]]<br>[[Williams Street]]

Revision as of 16:44, 6 April 2011

Robot Chicken
File:Robot Chicken.png
The intertitle for Robot Chicken
Created bySeth Green
Matthew Senreich
Voices of(Complete list)
Opening theme"Robot Chicken" by Les Claypool
Country of originUnited States
No. of seasons5
No. of episodes90 (and 5 specials)
(list of episodes)
Production
Running time21-22 minutes
Production companiesShadowMachine Films
Stoopid Monkey
Sony Pictures Digital
Williams Street
Original release
NetworkCartoon Network (Adult Swim)
ReleaseFebruary 20, 2005 (2005-02-20) –
present
Related
MAD

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. Green provides many voices for the show and Senreich, Goldstein and Root were former writers for the popular action figure hobbyist magazine ToyFare.

Series genre and creation

The program is a sketch comedy that parodies a number of pop culture conventions using stop motion animation of toys, action figures, 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 currently airs in the US as a part of Cartoon Network's Adult Swim block, in the United Kingdom and Ireland as part of FX'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 Serie's Adult Swim block and in Latin America on the I.Sat 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] Season 5 premiered on December 12, 2010.

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, as well as more obscure references like anime cartoons and older television programs. 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. Another recurring character is the "nerd"; a dorky middle school kid with broken glasses and a plaid shirt who talks with a lisp, spitting when he says the letter S. So far, every season finale to date has ended with the head of Adult Swim saying that "Robot Chicken is canceled", although it never really stays canceled.

Opening sequence

A Mad Scientist finds 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); as a result, 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.

The first episode of the fifth season debuted a new opening, a parody of 70's style cop shows, though following episodes use the original intro.

Voice cast

Main cast

Besides Seth Green voicing himself and many of the characters for the show, major recurring actors/writers are:

Celebrity guest stars

Among those celebrities that contributed to this show are:

Other voice actors

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

Episodes

Main article: List of Robot Chicken episodes
Series overview
SeasonEpisodesOriginally aired
First airedLast aired
120February 20, 2005 (2005-02-20)July 17, 2005 (2005-07-17)
220April 2, 2006 (2006-04-02)November 19, 2006 (2006-11-19)
320August 12, 2007 (2007-08-12)October 5, 2008 (2008-10-05)
420December 7, 2008 (2008-12-07)December 6, 2009 (2009-12-06)
520December 12, 2010 (2010-12-12)January 15, 2012 (2012-01-15)
620September 17, 2012 (2012-09-17)February 18, 2013 (2013-02-18)
720April 13, 2014 (2014-04-13)December 7, 2014 (2014-12-07)
820October 26, 2015 (2015-10-26)May 15, 2016 (2016-05-15)
920December 10, 2017 (2017-12-10)July 22, 2018 (2018-07-22)
1020September 30, 2019 (2019-09-30)July 27, 2020 (2020-07-27)
1120September 7, 2021 (2021-09-07)April 11, 2022 (2022-04-11)

DVD releases

DVD Name Region 1 Release Date Region 2 Release Date Region 4 Release Date Ep # Discs Additional Information
Season One March 28, 2006 September 29, 2008 April 4, 2007 1-20 3 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.[4]
Season Two: Uncensored September 4, 2007 September 28, 2009 November 11, 2007 21-40 3 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.)[5] 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 January 25, 2010 December 3, 2008 41-60 3 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 TBA 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". Also features various audio commentaries, featuring members of the cast and crew.
Star Wars Episode II July 21, 2009 TBA 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, deleted scenes etc.
Season Four: Uncensored December 15, 2009 August 30, 2010 December 2, 2009 61-80 3 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, Deleted Scenes and Deleted Animations. Plus Commentary on all 20 episodes.

Revolver Entertainment have released the first four seasons (Including the Star Wars specials) in the United Kingdom and Pathé will distributed the Robot Chicken: Star Wars Episode III on DVD.[6] A box set including the first 3 seasons has also been released.[7]

Madman Entertainment have released up to date all Robot Chicken releases in Australia and New Zealand.

See also

References

  1. ^ "G4 - The Screen Savers - Robot Chicken, Constantine, Dark Tip". G4tv.com. 2005-02-16. Retrieved 2010-07-13.
  2. ^ "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.
  3. ^ "Toon Zone - Your Source for Toon News!". News.toonzone.net. 2007-12-13. Retrieved 2010-07-13.
  4. ^ "Robot Chicken - Season 1 Box Set (Region 2) (Pal): DVD". Amazon.co.uk. Retrieved 2010-07-13.
  5. ^ "Robot Chicken - Season 2 Review". TVShowsOnDVD.com. 2007-08-31. Retrieved 2010-07-13.
  6. ^ "sitcomsondvd.co.uk". sitcomsondvd.co.uk. Retrieved 2010-04-27.
  7. ^ "sitcomsondvd.co.uk". sitcomsondvd.co.uk. Retrieved 2010-04-27.
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