"Rabbot" is the first episode of Aqua Teen Hunger Force. It premiered on December 30th, 2000.
Plot
Cold open
Dr. Weird proclaims he has obtained the funds to build a Rabbot to solve the world's "vegetable problem". His assistant, Steve, says that the funds were supposed to be used to cure diseases and such. Dr. Weird justs tells him to be quiet and introduces the Rabbot, a giant titanic robot rabbit. Dr. Weird tells Steve to spray it in the eyes with French perfume, because that's how it happened to him. After the spraying, the Rabbot gets annoyed and escapes the lab. After he ran away from the lab (jumping actually), he smashes Carl's car.
Main plot
Carl wakes up to find his car crushed. Master Shake comes outside to find out as well, and offers Carl to solve the mystery of Carl's car to make $20. Frylock comes outside and asks how Carl is going to get to work. Carl says he works out of the home, but Shake suggests that Frylock take Carl to work. Frylock lifts Carl up with his eyebeams and Shake tells him to take him to "the home". Frylock lands Carl on the roof, and Shake and Frylock go to Carl's pool to discuss the mystery now known as "Who killed Carl's car?" Shake says with his normal face,"A car cannot be killed! It was murdered!" then in his angry face,"by someone who is jealous of Carl's ability to drive"
In Meatwad's room, Meatwad wakes up, turns on his boombox (which he calls a jambox), and starts dancing. Master Shake crushes the boombox and proclaims that "dancing is forbidden". They then head back to Carl's pool where Shake says that a meteor crushed Carl's car, and they to solve the mystery to get $20 from Carl to spend on candies. Meatwad constantly asks that if he can get in the pool, which Shake declines. Frylock suggests they need to get started on the mystery and Shake is now not wanting to solve the mystery as he originally did and says that it is supposed to snow the next day, though Frylock says for them to do the mystery now. As the garage has trouble opening, Frylock blasts the garage door open. Meatwad pulls them, using their cart, to the Powerpuff Mall where the Rabbot has stolen dozens of bottles on hairspray and sprays it on anything it doesn't smash. Frylock soon figures out that a large quantity of the hairspray is missing. As Frylock says he needs to go back to the lab, Shake gets bored and says that it's a perfume counter and a woman did it. Frylock notices a statue covered in hair. Meatwad, soon after, notices a wall broken in the Rabbot's shape, and Frylock says that it may be a clue.
As the Aqua Teens head downtown, they soon find the Rabbot, who is spraying buildings with the hair-growth formula. Shake goes toward the Rabbot, who sprays him with the hairspray as well. Thinking he is going to die, Shake soon realizes that it was a hair-growth formula and proclaims that he is "beautiful". Frylock tells Shake that that rabbit is the machine that "killed" Carl's car, and that they need to stop it. Shake has a plan: go to Indigo's, a hair salon, and get a perm, but when he gets back, the rabbit is going down. Meatwad goes to his jambox and starts dancing. The Rabbot, who likes the music, gets tamed and starts dancing with Meatwad. Shake comes back disappointed by the perm. Frylock now says the Rabbot is now tamed, but Shake starts to activate his power, only dropping a glob of lime (or possibly pistachio) shake on the ground. The Rabbot once again becomes angry again when Shake tells it to step on the shake and again attacks the Aqua Teens, who end up retreating to Carl's pool. In Carl's pool, Shake talks about topics such as that they need to find new restaurants and nightclubs because of the Rabbot. The episode ends with Carl telling the Aqua Teens to get out of his pool.
In the credits, on the right side of the screen, it shows the Rabbot dancing while the credits are shown on the left side of the screen.
Featured Characters
- Dr. Weird
- Steve
- Rabbot
- Carl
- Shake
- Frylock
- Narrator (Scholly D)
- Meatwad
Rough Cut Pilot
In the original, December 21 "stealth" broadcast of this episode, there were many differences from the final cut. There was no theme song or opening titles, the segues that cut to another scene were also different - instead of Schooly D narrating over some rap music, they showed the old "outer space zoom" segue from the Hanna-Barbera Superfriends cartoon, with the ATHF (instumental) theme music played over it.
In the cold open, after the Rabbot escapes, Dr. Weird says "Unleash the mechanical frog!" and the giant garage door opens again, showing a huge mechanical frog. There was also a scene of Master Shake sitting in the hair salon talking about things he hates. After Meatwad says "everyone likes dancing" it cuts to Shake getting his hair done and saying "..And I HATE dancing. It's one of my LEAST favorite things to do. Other things I hate are work, exercise, people, stupid people—". This stealth broadcast is more tuned up and finished than the "Rabbot - The Original Cut", found on the ATHF Volume 1 DVD and has never been aired since the premiere.
Videos
Aqua Teen Hunger Force The ATHF Attack Rabbot
Aqua Teen Hunger Force Dr. Weird Creates Rabbot
Aqua Teen Hunger Force Take the Meatbridge
Aqua Teen Hunger Force Rabbot Defeats the ATHF
Aqua Teen Hunger Force Rabbot Develops Hair Beams
Aqua Teen Hunger Force - Rabbot (Stealth pilot clip)
Trivia
- "Rabbot" was first broadcast on December 30, 2000, unannounced, at 5:00 AM, almost six months before Adult Swim officially premiered. The show was listed on the official schedule as "Special Programming" and was aired with two episodes of Sealab 2021 and an unfinished Harvey Birdman: Attorney at Law pilot.
- This was re-rated to TV-PG-L in recent reruns.
- The cityscape background seen in every episode from here, as well as the street the group crosses in the Danger Cart, was recycled from the early 90's Hanna-Barbera series SWAT Kats; there it represented the main setting of that show, Megakat City. (Further footage was recycled in Balloonenstein and The Cubing.)
- The hole Rabbot made to escape Dr. Weird's lab is reused in most of the Season 1 cold openings.
- The Rabbot also makes apperances in The Last One, Rabbot Redux, Aqua Teen Hunger Force Colon Movie Film For Theaters and Allen Part Two.
- The full director's cut was included on ATHF Volume One DVD Box Set, as a special feature.
- In the original storyboard for this episode, Space Ghost was going to make an appearance near the end of the episode. This was scrapped for unknown reasons, however, the storyboard can be seen on the Future Wolf III extra in the ATHF Volume Two DVD Box Set.
- Earlier in the episode, Meatwad's jam box was smashed by Master Shake, but later on it was in the street back to its' original form.