The Robot Spy is the eighth episode of the 1960's Jonny Quest.
Premise[]
Dr. Zin uses a spider-like robot to spy and collect data on Dr. Quest's latest experiment.
Synopsis[]
Out at sea, a ship picks up a blip on its radar, and presume it's a UFO. Two fighter jets from the Quest Laboratory sent out to intercept, but the UFO dips underwater. They return to base at night, while Dr. Quest is working on his Para-Power Ray cannon, which can drain power from and disable an entire army.
The unidentified craft crash-lands in the desert nearby the lab, and a soldier on guard duty alerts the Quests. They witness a giant four-legged arachnid-esque robot inside, Dr. Zin's creation, open its single crimson eye for a moment, and then they take it back to the lab's garage, where the soldier is put on guard duty. He hears odd noises inside the garage, and gets knocked out by Zin's robot spy. Then, the robot, while the Quests are sleeping, knocks the door guard unconscious, and makes for the Para-Power Ray. It uses its hidden antennae to gain the cannon's information, and is caught in the act by the now-alert family. Zin then tells them about his plan through the robot's eye, and then tries to make an escape.
The laboratory's garrison is awoken, and they attack the escaping droid with rifles and machine guns, while Benton prepares the Para-Power Ray for a blast against it. Nothing seems to stop the spy, even salvos of napalm from flamethrowers or even a barrage of volleys of shells from an M60 main battle tank. It's getting away in its carrier ship, which is lifting off. But, the Quests start blasting it with the ray cannon, and it falls from the sky at high altitude, exploding on impact with the ground. But, Dr. Quest seemed disappointed, because the robot was destroyed: the Para-Power Ray cannon was supposed to disable it, not destroy it like a mere artillery piece. But, Dr. Zin sends a final message via the surviving eye, threatening the party of a future confrontation.
Appearances[]
Characters[]
Main characters:
Supporting characters:
- None
Villains:
Other characters:
- Entrance guard (single appearance)
- Tom (single appearance)
- Sergeant (single appearance)
- Jones (single appearance)
- Dr. Zin's servant(single appearance).
Locations[]
- United States
- Military facility
- Quest Laboratory
- Motor pool
- Military facility
- Dr. Zin's castle headquarters
Objects[]
- Robot spy
- Para-Power Ray
Vehicles[]
- Jeep
Cast[]
| Tim Matthieson | Jonny Quest |
|---|---|
| Danny Bravo | Hadji |
| Don Messick | Dr. Benton Quest Bandit |
| Mike Road | Race Bannon |
| Vic Perrin | Dr. Zin |
Notes/trivia[]
- The concept of a spider-like robot being transported by spacecraft was used 50 years later in the 2004 Pixar film, The Incredibles.
- The robot spy also makes an appearance in the intro, where it's purple with a normal eye (black pupil and white scelera), instead of black with a red eye. Also, the battle takes place in a desert in broad daylight, rather than outside the lab in the dark.
- The episode was adapted into a Japanese audio drama and manga booklet released in 1965.
- An episode of The Real Adventures of Jonny Quest titled The Robot Spies brings back Zin's robot spiders.
Goofs[]
- When Dr. Quest and Race check the storage building, Dr. Quest's voice says, "And the door's open", but Race's mouth is moving.
Home media[]
Jonny Quest: The Complete First Season DVD released on August 15, 2006 by Warner Home Video.
Jonny Quest: The Complete First Season (Hanna-Barbera Diamond Collection) DVD released on June 6, 2017 by Warner Home Video.- Jonny Quest: The Complete Original Series Blu-ray Disc released on June 11, 2019 by Warner Archive Collection.