The Wiki of a Teenage Robot
Register
Advertisement

I Was A Preschool Dropout is the second half of the eighth episode of season 1.

The episode was produced in 2002 and premiered worldwide on December 15, 2002 in the United Kingdom and on Nickelodeon in the United States on October 3, 2003.

Synopsis[]

Having been found to have only been activated for five years, the school system declares that Jenny has to be moved into a grade level that matches her "age". Now Jenny finds herself in a new situation... kindergarten.

Plot[]

What Are You, Five?[]

I Was a Preschool Dropout (2002) begins with Brad riding his bike to school while singing a song called "Minky Momo", since the song is stuck in his head and he can't stand it. When he meets up with Jenny, he reveals it was popular six years ago and when asked if she remembered it being a hit, Jenny reveals that she was built only five years ago. Brad then asks Jenny about things that she wouldn't remember, having happened prior to her construction.

Unknown to them, Vice Principal Razinski overheard their conversation and mistook it as a meaning that Jenny's mental age was five years old and a five year old is going to high school. He sends school officials to send Jenny off to kindergarten, and Brad promises to call Jenny's mother to do something about it.

Back to Kindergarten[]

Jenny arrives at Kindergarten and tried to explain that the whole situation must have been a mistake, but the teacher, Ms. Binky, doesn't seem to understand that while Jenny was technically built five years ago, she was designed as a teenager. She introduces her to the whole class, and the kids laugh that she is "all metal-ly". They start the day with the alphabet, but the teacher doesn't focus her attention to Jenny, instead to the other students. When Ms. Binky asked a boy named Gerald what began with the letter O, Jenny, annoyed she wasn't picked, said every word that came to mind, ridiculing Gerald afterwards.

Ms. Binky sternly tells Jenny that "It's not about whose right or wrong, it's trying our best to get along!" When the class plays make-believe, Jenny is told to be the dog, much to her disapproval. Alex decides to be the robot, which Jenny declares that she should pretend to be the robot since she actually is one. After giving off a robotic dance, Jenny angrily says "This is so stupid!".

Ms. Binky gives Jenny another stern scolding and threatens to hold her back to preschool should anymore mishaps happen again. It's recess time, but the kids don't make things any easier. Alex throws a ball at the back of Jenny's head, but Ms. Binky does nothing about it and continues to scowl at Jenny to behave.

Whenever Jenny asks to play with a group of kids, they reject her and mock her for saying "stupid", which is followed by the ball hitting Jenny again. When Jenny asks if there was any room for Gerald to make mud pies, Gerald offers one, but Jenny is once again hit in the head with the ball, and is made into a laughing stock in front of the whole class, even Gerald.

Jenny has had enough of being mistreated by the toddlers and throws the ball at each and every kid in the playground. Ms. Binky, infuriated by Jenny's actions, declares that she doesn't belong to school at all. However, the kids find Jenny cool and want her to read a bedtime story, which she agrees to do. When the kids are asleep, Ms. Binky seems to have a change of heart for Jenny and allows her to sleep.

A Happy Ending?[]

At that moment, Nora arrives explaining the error while waking the whole class in the process. She shows Ms. Binky diagrams that while Jenny was created five years ago, but was designed as a teenager. Convinced, Ms. Binky decides to let Jenny go. But the kids are sad that she had to leave, and Jenny didn't want to either. However, she is forced out and is heard crying while Kevin remarks "Man, what a baby!".

Quotes[]

  • Brad: "I forgot you were only five years old. Wow, so you don't remember the blizzard of '24? Or the Alpha Centauri landing?" (Jenny answers 'nope' to both)
Kindergarten Deliverer: Don't worry, we're taking you to a place with all the cookies you can eat!
Jenny: ...But I don't eat.
Jenny: This ... is ... so ... STUPID!!! (everyone gasps)
Amber: She said the s-word!
Jenny: Me? I'm a high school student. A nap in the middle of the day sounds ... pretty good.
Jenny: No! Stop! Wait! I changed my mind! I don’t want to go! I wanna stay! I’m only 5 years old! (cries)

Trivia[]

  • Like most episodes of the series, this episode premiered in a handful of countries before the United States.
    • This episode premiered in the United Kingdom on December 15, 2002.
    • This episode premiered in Australia on May 16, 2003.
    • This episode premiered in Mexico on June 20, 2003.
  • The title of the episode implies that Jenny was sent back to preschool, but she was actually sent to kindergarten.
  • When Alex said "I am the robot", he danced the 'robot', a very old dance imitating a robot's movement.
  • Given that Jenny agrees she doesn't remember the Blizzard of '24 (probably at least 2024, though it could also be 2124 or more) which had to have taken place more than five years ago, this implies the current year is at least 2029 or 2129 or higher. Given that Brad is a teenager in high school, and he is implying he DOES remember it, most likely it's not more than fifteen years ago.
    • Jenny tells Brad she was only born five years ago (from their time) and Brad then begins to list a number of events that all happened at that time. One of these was "Super Bowl 100".
      Given that 2002, the year the series and episode were made, was also the year of the 36th Super Bowl, and in-series five years had passed since "Super Bowl 100", this would make the show take place in 2071.
      Add 64 to 36 to get Super Bowl 100, which makes the year 2066 (2002 + 64), plus five years since Super Bowl 100 makes it 2071.
  • Alpha Centauri is the closest star and planetary system to the Earth's planetary system, located approximately 4.37 light years away. This implies that humans have achieved huge advances in spaceship technology by this time, which could explain why it became a target for alien invasions.
    • This is further backed up by Brad mentioning the Neptune Olympics.

Production Notes[]

102015 2002viacom

  • Although this episode premiered in the United States on October 3, 2003, it was actually produced in 2002 according to the credits, as with every other season 1 episode.
    • This episode was finished in September of 2002.[1]
      • This episode (and every episode up to This Time With Feeling) was added to the United States Copyright Office on December 13, 2002.
  • In the early production stages of this episode, it was originally titled "Back to Preschool."
  • The first draft of this episode's script is dated June 19, 2002.
    • The second draft is dated June 21, 2002.
      • The script was finalized on June 25, 2002.
  • The episode's production code is 102-015.

A chart showing the time between production and broadcast of each individual episode of season 1 (2002).

Gallery[]

Credits[]

Sibling Tsunami / I Was a Preschool Dropout (credits)

References[]

Advertisement