My Life as a Teenage Robot

Template:Infobox television show

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 File:"My Life As A Teenage Robot" Theme Song (HQ) Episode Opening Credits Nick Animation
***My Life as a Teenage Robot*** is an animated television series, produced by Frederator Studios for Nickelodeon and distributed by Nelvana Limited outside of the US. It is the ninth television series of the Adventure Cartoon Society.

The series follows the adventures of a 16-year-old robot girl named Jenny Wakeman (a.k.a. XJ-9), who was created by her mother Dr. Nora Wakeman and designed to protect Earth while also trying to live the life of a normal teenage girl.

Nickelodeon debuted the series on August 1, 2003 at 8:30 PM. But despite critical success, the series was a ratings disappointment. After the series was cancelled, later episodes of the series started airing as "never before seen episodes" on the Nicktoons Network. The series is distributed outside the United States by the Canadian animation studio, Nelvana Limited.

The series was based on the *Oh Yeah! Cartoons* short "My Neighbor was a Teenage Robot" which was aired on January 5, 1999 and created by Rob Renzetti. The show first aired on August 1, 2003 and ended on May 2, 2009. It won a Primetime Emmy Award and Eleven Annie Awards.

## Plot

XJ-9 (or Jenny, as she calls herself) is a highly sophisticated battle robot created by Dr. Norene Wakeman to be a defender of Earth. Despite enjoying her superhero life, Jenny also wants to fit in and live the life of a normal teenage girl. Jenny and Wakeman live in the fictional futuristic town of Tremorton, and live next door to Jenny's best friends Brad and Tuck Carbunkle.

At school, Jenny has an ongoing rivalry with the Crust Cousins, Brit and Tiff, the popular girls in school. She also met and became a close friend to Sheldon Lee, a somewhat stereotypical but very intelligent geek who is madly in love with her.

Adding to her trouble is that Jenny is constantly being dogged by the all-robotic Cluster Empire, whose queen, Vexus, wants her to join their world of robots (by force if necessary).

The show often focuses on making lighthearted fun of typical teenage problems and other conventions of the teenage and superhero lives, mixed up with a blend of action and comedy sequences.

## Characters

Main article: List of My Life as a Teenage Robot characters
### Main

* Jenny Wakeman (voiced by Janice Kawaye) - Jenny is the main protagonist and the "teenage robot" to which the title refers, a state-of-the-art automaton created by Nora Wakeman five years prior to the series, though she was designed as a 16-year-old girl. Though XJ-9 was designed to be Earth's protector, armed to the teeth with a wide range of weapons (which include devices and transformations), she desires to live the life of a normal teenager and often makes this desire quite apparent to her friends and creator. Jenny's personality is often friendly and optimistic, though this also comes with being rather naïve as to her surroundings.
* Brad Carbunkle (voiced by Chad Doreck) - Bradley Carbunkle is Jenny's best friend and next-door neighbor. He's usually seen as outgoing and adventurous, and is the first actual friend Jenny ever made. Although he usually tends to cause more trouble than he prevents, he means well and tries to help Jenny in any way he can. Bradley likes to think of himself as a "ladies' man", but he's almost anything but that. Nearly every girl Brad hits on rejects him, and it's a rare sight for any girl to truly show any interest in him. He was originally voiced by Melissa Denton in the pilot episode.
* Tuck Carbunkle (voiced by Audrey Wasilewski) - Brad's 7-year-old little brother, Tucker "Tuck" Cornelius Carbunkle is usually tagging along with his brother and Jenny, though his aptitude for adventure is significantly less than Brad's. This can be chalked up to his many childish fears, among them the dark and giant wheels. Despite initial fears of Jenny, Tuck has since warmed up to her as a friend. Tuck has proven to be more clever than he looks on several occasions, often sweet-talking Jenny into doing favors for him.
* Sheldon Lee (voiced by Quinton Flynn) - Sheldon is Jenny's geeky friend and admirer. Though not as heavily featured as the rest of the main cast, Sheldon arguably qualifies as a core member of the group. Sheldon had fallen in love with Jenny when she saved him from the bullies in class one time. However, no matter what he tries, Jenny still refuses his romantic advances; though they are still close friends, and Jenny has shown affection for Sheldon many times (even kissing him in two episodes). Being skilled in robotics, Sheldon has created gadgets and modifications for Jenny, as well as doing minor repair work. He has even done more extreme modifications when requested by XJ9, usually when Dr. Wakeman refuses to do them herself.
* Nora Wakeman (voiced by Candi Milo) - Noreen "Nora" Wakeman is an elderly spinster robotics scientist and the one who built Jenny, who often simply refers to her as "Mother" or "Mom". Though Nora does indeed love her "daughter", she'll often butt into her personal life and is known to call on her at the most awkward moments. She also has a difficult time with modern-day slang and other teenage fads, earning Jenny's annoyance on many occasions. Despite being only human, Nora shows no reluctance in fighting when necessary. In her youth, Nora was a shining officer of Skyway Patrol before retiring to Tremorton. Even in her advanced years, Nora is still very able, and can even hold her own in a fight against Vexus.

## Episodes

Main article: My Life as a Teenage Robot episode list

 **Pilot** | 0
 **1** | 13
 **2** | 12

## Broadcast history

* Nickelodeon (August 1, 2003-April 26, 2009)
* Nicktoons Network/NickToons (April 3, 2006-May 16, 2016)
* Paramount+ (November 10, 2020-present)
* TeenNick (March 27, 2021-September 19, 2021)

## Merchandise

Jenny is a playable character in both the console and Nintendo DS versions of *Nicktoons: Attack of the Toybots*. She, Dr. Wakeman, Brad, Tuck, and Sheldon also have several cameos in *Nicktoons: Freeze Frame Frenzy*.

*My Life as a Teenage Robot* merchandise is purchasable at Frederator's Official Store.

### DVDs

Main article: My Life as a Teenage Robot videography

Select episodes of the series were featured on the *Nick Picks* DVD series from 2005 to 2007. Eventually, the complete series was made available on three manufacture-on-demand season DVD sets, released on Template:W in December 2011. Unfortunately, the season sets were discontinued on June 4, 2021.

## References

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