RoboRoach

Image
Genre	Animated television series
Runtime	22 minutes (11 minutes per segment)
Creator	J.D. Smith Lila Rose Carolyn Hay
Developer	Andy Knight
Director	Drew Edwards
Voices	Scott Thompson Ted Dykstra
Open Theme	"RoboRoach" performed by Big Rude Jake
Composer	Pure West
Producer	Julie Stall
Executive Producer	Lisa Olfman Joy Rosen
Company	Portfolio Entertainment
Country	Canada
Network	Teletoon
Num Seasons	3
Num Episodes	52 (104 segments)
First Aired	2001-07-16
Last Aired	2004-06-14

Characters

Main

• Ruben "Rube" Roach (Scott Thompson), the second-born and younger of the Roach brothers, has been turned into a "super-bug" thanks to being captured and experimented on before he hopped into an electrical outlet and transformed into RoboRoach, gaining shapeshifting abilities and since that day serving as the superhero of Vexberg. He always thinks of others before himself and never accepts gifts of gratitude, and that's the reason why he and his brother live in poverty. Ruben is also quite childish, naïve and believes almost everything anyone tells him.
• Reginald "Reg" Roach (Ted Dykstra) is the firstborn and eldest of the Roach brothers who always tries to get rich, but always fails. He is overambitious and tries to use his brother's powers to obtain money, but Ruben always turns down reward offers because, as he says: "A good deed is its own reward!". That infuriates Reginald, and he is also quite selfish and bad/ill-tempered. This often causes him a lot of trouble. However, he is still Ruben's big brother regardless and there are times he can cast out his own greed and anger aside just for his big younger brother whenever he believes he might lose his brother and more, showing us he truly cares for his brother and loves him as much as Ruben does for him. His catchphrase is "Why me? Why me? Why, all the time, me?" with slight variations according to the episode.
• Mayor Mierworm is the mayor of Vexburg. She does not like Ruben or Reginald and thinks of them as menaces. Once she even tried to blame them for a crime they never committed, just to get rid of them. As a politician she is not very good, but seemingly Mayor Mierworm gets re-elected quite often.
• Skeeter Jettings is the main reporter in the series and can be found announcing the news on Reginald and Ruben's TV. His name is a spoof on Peter Jennings.
• The Police Chief is RoboRoach's friend and the chief of the police station. Also known for his giggle.
• Doc is the Roach brothers' personal physician.
• Sterling Überbucks is CEO and owner of his company "Überbucks Dynamic Concerns". He and his helper Toadie are always trying to get richer at the cost of anything. Sterling has a nephew Stewie Jr., an evil twin brother named Carling and a great-great-great-grandfather named Sterling Überrucks the Very 1st.

Villains

• Mandible Lecter, a dangerous murderer who kidnaps innocent bugs and eats them.
• Widow Black, a black widow who marries bugs.
• The Exterminator, a war-fanatic with a German accent who is considered to be a mercenary.
• F. Lee Brain, a mad scientist that is bent on conquering the world with the help of his henchman Slug.
• Ms. Conduct "The Disciplinarian", Ruben and Reginald's former teacher.

Episodes

With Teletoon original airdates in parentheses:

Season 1 (2001)

1. Reg Bugs Out / Little Big Mouth (2001-07-16)
2. Pains, Drains, and Robomobiles / Jungle Bugs (2001-07-23)
3. Fitness Bug / Runaway Roaches (2001-07-30)
4. Popsicle Pest / Weakened Gladiators (2001-08-06)
5. Sugar Mommy / X-Pet (2001-08-13)
6. Bedridden Bug / Robo Roach: The Movie (2001-08-20)
7. Two Bugs and a Baby / Überland (2001-08-27)
8. Santa's Bitter Helper / Flushed-Aways (2001-09-03)
9. Robo Watch / Sins of the Teacher (2001-09-10)
10. Rube Awakenings / Battling for Uberbucks (2001-09-17)
11. Bug Tusslers / Death of a Salesbug (2001-09-24)
12. Revenge of the Fleabrain / Ghost Bunglers (2001-10-01)
13. Mite Makes Wrong / Good Deed Day (2001-10-08)

Season 2 (2002)

1. The Flying Roachinis / Cowbugs (2002-09-02)
2. Political Partying / Bugfoot Tetish (2002-09-06)
3. Bugs with Gas / Insectizoids (2002-09-09)
4. Vexburg 500 / Guilty Please (2002-09-13)
5. Family Feud / Robo Reg (2002-09-16)
6. Under the Rainbow / Bed Bug Walking (2002-09-20)
7. Sluggies / Delivery Bugs (2002-09-23)
8. Jockey Shorts / The RoboRoach Show (2002-09-27)
9. The Big Bug Sleep / Prehistoric Pest (2002-09-30)
10. Ruby's Slippers / The President's Brain Is Missing (2002-10-04)
11. Club Dead / Omega Mites (2002-10-07)
12. The Great Reginini / Dustmites Come Home (2002-10-11)
13. The High Cost of Laughing / Loco Hero (2002-10-14)

Season 3 (2003–04)

1. Shuttle Bugs / Rememberizing Rube (2003-09-06)
2. Ship of Foods / Pipe Reams (2003-09-07)
3. CopRoach Academy / Tooth for a Tooth (2003-09-14)
4. Überpops / Ballwashers Championship (2003-09-21)
5. Office Hours / Miss Vexburg (2003-09-28)
6. The Dapper Dandies of Dusty Gulch / Of Lice and a Men (2003-10-05)
7. Spelunkheads / Giggling Island (2003-10-12)
8. Reggie's Hero / Gourmet Rude (2003-10-19)
9. Mystic Warbugs / X Hits the Spot (2003-10-26)
10. The Miracle of Girth / The Purse of the Mummy (2003-11-02)
11. A Pair Au Pairs / Shocking Tales (2003-11-09)
12. Reality Bytes / Debonairhead (2003-11-23)
13. Elves' Night Off / Loose Sleuths (2003-11-30)
14. Death Takes a Half Day / Übertrain (2004-01-03)
15. The Sacrificial Ham / Bug Brother Is Watching (2004-01-04)
16. Space Cadets / Love Bugs (2004-01-11)
17. WereRoach / Remote Control Roach (2004-01-18)
18. No Pain, No Weight Gain / El Regidente (2004-01-25)
19. Sins of the Teacher II / Robo Reunion (2004-02-01)
20. Opposites Detract / Robo Nurse (2004-02-08)
21. Night of the Living Beds / Superhero Sampler (2004-03-07)
22. Reggie's Eleven / Easter Charade (2004-03-14)
23. It's a Mad Mad Mad Reg / Gold Fever (2004-03-21)
24. Spitting Images / Youth Juice (2004-06-12)
25. The Living Bro / The Fly Who Loved Me (2004-06-13)
26. Road To Ubugme / Ticking Time Bug (2004-06-14)

Production

The series is based on true stories about Japanese scientists who implanted cameras and mini-computers in cockroaches and sent them into disaster zones to look for life signs.

A 26-episode fourth season of the show was planned as of early 2003, but was never produced. Disney Media Distribution owns the show's international rights.

Notes

The show Extermination! in the episode "Battling for Uberbucks / Death of a Salesbug" is a play on the reality show Survivor. The episode "Revenge of the Fleabrain" parodies Superman. The episode "Ghost Bunglers" is based on the Ghostbusters film series.

The episode "The Fly Who Loved Me" is based on the 1977 film The Spy Who Loved Me.

References

• www.teletoon.com, 2 February 2002, dead, February 2, 2002
• VOOM's Animania HD Acquires Original HD Series Produced by Portfolio Entertainment - AMC Networks Inc., 7 March 2007, 2016-06-06, 2016-08-06, live
• Meza, Ed, 16 April 2002, Fox Kids Europe nabs 'Roboroach', dead, 10 September 2018, 22 October 2022
• Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission, dead, Television Program Logs, 2016-03-02
• Export Development Canada (EDC) -- ExportWise (Spring 2004) -- From Roaches to Riches, 20 June 2004, dead, June 20, 2004
• Talmadge, Eric, Ultimate Bugging Device Small Step For Roach Is Next Giant Leap For Science | The Spokesman-Review, Spokesman.com, 2019-11-12, 2019-11-12, live
• Portfolio Displays Carl Squared For NATPE | Animation World Network, Awn.com, 2003-01-17, 2020-03-19, 2022-02-25, live

External links