GIR (Invader Zim)
GIR is one of the main characters from the
animated television series Invader Zim. He is
Zim's robot slave, a "modified"
S.I.R. (Standard-Issue Information Retrieval) unit.
Almighty Tallest, to prevent the waste of a good, working unit on Zim, created it from garbage and spare parts, and his
CPU is apparently made out of a screw, two "monies" (the currency unit of the show), a marble (possibly a super ball or gumball), and a paper clip. In an interview in Nickelodeon Magazine, Vasquez claims his body was made from old S.I.R. parts and a frozen yogurt machine. To everyone's surprise, GIR actually
boots and is technically functional, but his practical functionality is far from the standard S.I.R. unit. GIR is voiced by
Rosearik Rikki Simons.
GIR is
Zim's stupid, unfocused robot slave, easily influenced and impossible to fully control. He is incapable of focusing attention on important things for long periods of time and often speaks with no relevant coherent thought in mind (see quotes link below), making him completely useless, or even disastrous. He is a "modified"
S.I.R. (Standard-Issue Information Retrieval) unit, but nobody knows what the "G" in GIR stands for (several fans think GIR stands for Garbage Idiot Robot or Garbage-Issue Information Retrieval, but
Jhonen Vasquez has said that the "G" doesn't stand for anything). Occasionally he reverts to normal S.I.R. behavior, during which time his cyan components (sometimes only his eyes) become red and voice becomes much deeper, but these periods are normally short-lived. As a robot, GIR technically has no gender, but he is usually referred to as being male, typically by Zim, although he loves using Women's makeup. However, in the episode Mysterious Mysteries, he(?) is referred to as a she, although it is because GIR claims that he was "the chubby lady hidin' in the bushes." GIR's normal disguise is a shoddy green dog suit, though he occasionally forgets to wear it in front of humans. He is infatuated with Earth culture and
Gaz, the sister of Zim's enemy,
Dib.
GIR's personality is essentially much like that of a dog or little brother. His main interests are sleeping, dancing, watching TV (in particular, the
Scary Monkey show), eating, and aimlessly rolling on the floor. He cooks occasionally, making goodies including
mashed potatoes and
waffles, and often uses unusual ingredients such as peanuts, bacon, and soap. He once made soap and bacon (quoted when Zim says "Why is there bacon in the soap!?!" GIR replies "I made it myself!"). His favorite food is assumed to be
tacos and a chocolate bubble gum slushie, as well as
biscuits(shown in the episode "planet jackers" where GIR repeatedly says "Let's make biscuits!"). He usually cooks only for himself, as Zim finds human food to be disgusting. However, in the episode
Zim Eats Waffles, Zim was attempting to develop an immunity to human food, and he was shown eating the waffles GIR concocted throughout the episode (although GIR used ingredients not typically found in human food, which may explain why he can eat it). GIR apparently eats solely for pleasure, as he is a
robot and likely does not need food. He gets along well with others, and his best friend (other than Zim) is a pig, named "Pig", who sometimes "visits" with GIR at Zim's house, and can even be heard driving a motorcycle after GIR says goodbye to him. One of his commonly used phrases is "I don't know".
Jhonen Vasquez mentions in the Invader Zim DVD commentary that much of GIR's personality is simply attributed to the fact that he is a largely
hedonistic character. Regardless of what Zim and others want of him, he will probably do anything that makes him feel good, no matter how crazy, if left to his own devices. Vasquez and the cast of the show have expressed that they dislike how some people consider GIR "cute", using the scene from
Bestest Friend (GIR walks up to where Keef has been thrown out, and looks like he's going to comfort him, but he just takes his bacon) as an example. Curiously, GIR is not utterly selfish and devoid of conscience, as he does do what Zim wants of him from time to time and often expresses his love for his master in ways that may make sense only to himself, like the random hugging sessions in
Germs and
Rise of the Zitboy.
In the episode
GIR Goes Crazy and Stuff, Zim uses a program locking machine set on a "dangerously high level" in an attempt to lock GIR in "Duty Mode" to make him a more efficient and obedient servant. These extended lucid periods, however, reveal to GIR Zim's overall incompetence. Duty Mode GIR subsequently tries to eliminate Zim, who he deems a threat to the mission. In the end, Zim realizes that a super-intelligent robot that hates him is a larger burden than a stupid robot that loves him, so he reverts GIR back to his former, normal self. Ironically, it is possible that a normal S.I.R. unit would also have become as rebellious as Duty Mode GIR and possibly killed Zim.
Also, Defective S.I.R. Units, as observed in
MegaDoomer, appear to act similar to GIR's normal behavior, yet they stay red, and do not change to cyan. Perhaps it is because they are constantly firing weapons, while GIR does not.
The
Game Boy Advance game
Nicktoons: Freeze Frame Frenzy refers to
GIR Goes Crazy and Stuff: In the
Danny Phantom stage, Zim, the main villain in the game (unlocked by getting 100% in the album), confronts his rebellious
Helga robot and mentions that "using GIR's code was a really bad idea." This implies that non-S.I.R. robots could rebel with GIR's programming. Realistically though, the game should not be looked at as being too related to the show.
Zim and GIR
At the start of the series, Zim deemed GIR his "robot slave." Throughout most of the earlier episodes, Zim and GIR's relationship was established as master and servant (indeed, GIR usually refers to Zim as "Master" and "My lord"). Later on, however, Zim refers to GIR as his sidekick.
Their relationship is oddly complex for a children's series. While Zim initially wished that GIR were operational, and though he often shouts at him and blames him for his failures, he regularly expresses concern for GIR's safety and treats him affectionately. For instance in the Halloween episode Zim hopes that Gir is okay on his own against the "candy zombies."Although Zim is frequently frustrated by GIR's incompetence, he takes no steps to deactivate or get rid of GIR (but he does try to replace him in the episode
Nubs of Doom). One reason Zim may keep GIR around is because he is the only friend Zim has.
Bloody GIR is an
Easter Egg visible in several episodes of the series. To see him, one would likely need a DVD player capable of viewing screens frame by frame.
Bloody Gir Boy:
The most visible instance of bloody GIR is in the opening sequence of
Mortos der Soulstealer. The image is evident for at least two frames in the end of one of the pipes that snakes out of Zim's house. Bloody GIR has also been sighted in
Bad, Bad Rubber Piggy as the last pig goes through the "space time object replacement device". He has also been seen in the Voot Cruiser sequence in the opening of
Plague of Babies. He is seen looking in the window of the Voot at the left hand corner of the screen several times, some more noticeable than others. One of the least known and least visible bloody GIR is in the episode
Tak, the Hideous New Girl. When Tak's ship is falling from space, wait until just before it crashes and the screen turns almost completely white, bloody GIR's head is just barely visiable in the middle of the screen.
The existence of bloody GIR has been confirmed by director
Steve Ressel in interviews. The frames were reportedly scattered throughout the episodes following
Bad, Bad Rubber Piggy by Ressel and Chris Graham.
Bloody GIR was born when Nickelodeon refused to allow a scene involving GIR covered with blood. Out of comic spite, a frame of the forbidden image was hidden in several episodes.
