"A Robot for All Seasons" is a special half-hour Christmas-themed episode of the Nickelodeon animated series My Life as a Teenage Robot, and also the first episode to air in its second season (though it is the season's sixth episode in production order). It was originally broadcast as part of Nick's Ha-Ha Holidays on December 8, 2004.
Synopsis[]
Santa with the show's main characters.
On Christmas Eve, a robotic Santa zips by hundreds of homes around the world, leaving presents for the children. The robot turns out to be Jenny, who took over the role of Santa Claus after the latter got into a mysterious accident that broke every bone in his body. Jenny returns to the North Pole and she, along with Dr. Wakeman, Brad, Tuck and Sheldon, celebrate Christmas by having a day-long feast with Santa at his palace. Afterward, they decide to spend the day after checking out the after-Christmas sales at the Tremorton mall.
At the mall, Jenny meets Todd Sweeney, a gloomy child in a suit, who is depressed about not getting what he wanted for Christmas. Believing she missed his house while helping Santa deliver toys, Jenny tries to make it up by asking him what he wants for Christmas. Impressed with her transforming gadgets (which she used to help Tuck get past a crowd of people and to the toy store), Todd decides to “buy” her as a live robot action figure, which she agrees to, but only for one day. She soon discovers that Todd comes from an extremely wealthy family, but, as he says, "Money can't buy happiness."
Todd puts Jenny under his control.
At his mansion, Todd puts an antenna on Jenny’s head, and she pretends to be his robot servant. She is surprised to see Todd’s many toys, originally believing he never gets anything for Christmas. Todd says he never gets what he wants, which isn't toys or love, but weapons, much to Jenny's shock. He transforms the living room into an evil laboratory and zaps Jenny with his remote, causing her to pass out.
Sometime later, Jenny reboots and awakens, strapped to a table. She frees herself, and fights past Todd's butlers and security doors, narrowly escaping the mansion. On her way back home, Jenny sees people preparing for Christmas despite it supposedly being the day after. To make things more strange, everyone cowers in fear when they see her, including Tuck. She is then attacked with snowballs by a group of teens led by Brad, and almost short-circuits. She makes it back home, where Dr. Wakeman (who is working on a new XJ-10 robot model) is shocked to see her. While initially trying to comfort Jenny, Dr. Wakeman subdues her daughter with a giant electromagnet and calls Skyway Patrol. Feeling betrayed, Jenny escapes and flees to her room, but is attacked by a Skyway Patrol helicarrier. During the aerial attack, Jenny is badly damaged and collapses to the ground. She continues fleeing from the Skyway Patrol, on foot, through the city. She eventually runs into Sheldon, who doesn't react to her with fear or hostility, much to her delight. The two take shelter in the storm sewer, and Jenny asks Sheldon why everyone is acting so strangely. He reveals that she had been gone for almost a year since leaving with Todd, and only came back to destroy all the major holidays from New Years to Thanksgiving for everyone in town, which resulted in her being declared "Public Enemy #1". However, Sheldon believed her actions were either a result of mind control or an evil twin (the former being correct). Jenny then realizes that Todd had been controlling her all this time and sets out to clear her name.
Jenny returns to Todd's mansion and confronts him over making her destroy the holidays. Todd explains that his parents went on a vacation to Bermuda many Christmases ago and soon retired, leaving him alone with his servants, leading to his bitter attitude. He resolves that if he can't enjoy the holidays, then neither will anyone else on Earth. He now plans to ruin Christmas, "the fattest of all the holidays" (as he puts it), by destroying Santa for good. He then takes control of Jenny once more and uses her to travel to the North Pole. Meanwhile, Dr. Wakeman, Brad and Tuck plan to go to the North Pole to stop Jenny from destroying Christmas. Sheldon tries to convince them she's innocent, but to no avail.
At the North Pole, Todd uses Jenny's array of weapons to bypass the elf guards, eventually making it into the palace. A fight ensues between Santa and the mind-controlled Jenny, with the latter triumphing. Todd then reveals himself to Santa as "the boy who destroyed Christmas" and that he was responsible for his injury last year. Before he can finish Santa, and ruin Christmas forever, Jenny suddenly reverts back to her normal self and gives Todd a spanking. Nora, Brad and Tuck soon arrive, but are shocked to see no fighting. Jenny reveals that Sheldon disabled Todd's mind-controlling remote, and she only faked being controlled to get him to confess his misdeeds to Santa, restoring their faith in her. Unfortunately, all of Tremorton’s presents were destroyed in the fight.
In an attempt to fix the damages, Jenny and the others decide to give the kids Todd's unwanted toys and presents, as well as show him the gift of giving rather than receiving presents. When Todd gives a toy to a happy kid, his gloominess literally cracks away and he becomes happy and joyful, reformed. His parents suddenly return, saying they had not retired but were tired and needed a longer vacation, and they wanted to bring back the perfect gift for him. However, Todd realizes and admits they are all he really wants, as Christmas is about family not presents, which they agree to. As a token of gratitude for having never lost faith in her, Jenny gives Sheldon a mistletoe kiss on the cheek, which leaves him literally frozen with shock. The episode ends with everyone, including Todd, singing "We're Spending Christmas with Santa/Jenny" (while Tuck frantically breaks the fourth wall, questioning who they're singing to, and how they managed to sing perfectly without practice).
Song[]
Availability[]
The episode made its home video debut on the Nick Picks: Holiday DVD, distributed by Paramount Home Entertainment on September 26, 2006. It was later made available on the My Life as a Teenage Robot: Season 2 manufacture-on-demand DVD set, sold exclusively on Amazon.com, on December 12, 2011.
September 26, 2006
Cast[]
| Voice actress/actor | Character(s) |
|---|---|
| Janice Kawaye | Jenny Wakeman Singer Elf #2 |
| Chad Doreck | Brad Carbunkle Singer |
| Candi Milo | Nora Wakeman Girl #2 Elf #1 Mrs. Sweeney |
| Audrey Wasilewski | Tuck Carbunkle Girl #1 Round-headed kid |
| Quinton Flynn | Sheldon Lee Mailman Sergeant |
| Jason Marsden | Todd Sweeney Boy #1 Lieutenant |
| Pat Fraley | Santa Claus Skeeves Captain |
| Jess Harnell | Mr. Sweeney Singer |
| Dan Finnerty | Singer |
| Catherine Cavadini | Singer Girl #3 |
Note: Mrs. Claus appears at the beginning, but does not have a speaking part.
External links[]
- My Life as a Teenage Robot Wiki: A Robot for All Seasons
- Nickipedia: A Robot for All Seasons
- "A Robot for All Seasons" at the Internet Movie Database
- "A Robot for All Seasons" recap at TV Tropes