Rocko’s Modern Life: 90s Nick’s Finest
This is my third time binge watching the entire series of Rocko’s Modern Life as part of my NickJournals binge watch quest. However, since I previously attempted to review every episode on DeviantART to prepare for the tv movie, I never published the first season review as it was draft only. Rather than just copy and paste it, I’m just going to restate my opinions in shorter words. Without any further ado, let’s start reviewing this wonderful cartoon. Episodes are listed in production order, not broadcast order
Season 1
Watching the first season of Rocko, and comparing it to the later seasons is like night and day. Like Rugrats first season, it’s almost entirely focused on the protagonist. It’s also full of adult comedy, as most jokes will definitely make children confused at what’s going on. The theme song is very different than the one composed by the B52’s in later seasons. I like both versions, but I can’t help notice a charm to the original version since it’s more lively (Rocko saying a few words like “good as new” and yelling out Spunky’s name). Despite the difference, season 1 is still pretty good. We start off with two episodes that are watchable, but are held back for the same reason. They can be a bit repetitive with the slapstick since they both revolve on Rocko’s misfortune. But they have their fair share of hilarious moments, such as the frog with an attitude, Rocko using a bulldozer in order to win a game, the hippo lady (just the way she says “HOW DARE YOU!” in a deep voice is hilarious) and going to a nude beach means you have to be censored. I will say this that I prefer the carnival episode more since I can have a fun (or miserable) time playing carnival activities, as I’m not much of a beachgoer myself. Besides, we’re not getting too much Rocko solo episode after this season ends anyway, so too much of having solo Rocko adventures will get boring quickly. A Sucker for the Suck-O-Matic focuses more on a personal problem of having a crappy vacuum cleaner. It turns out being hypnotized on a tv ad can convince you on buying a fancy new vacuum cleaner. In Rocko’s Modern Life style, the cleaner is far too powerful and starts to get out of control. Another good installment, but not relatable enough for me to consider it good. It’s a pretty bizarre episode to say the least considering how it started and ended. Canned tackled the importance of workforce. It also introduced Filburt the turtle and the Bigheads. Filburt is just a stranger during the first season and isn’t officially established as Rocko’s friend yet. Bev had a short role in the episode and there’s a scene where Rocko unwillingly called her as part of a not so kid friendly job. Ed, on the other hand, plays a bigger role as he serves as Rocko’s boss for just one episode and things don’t go well as planned. It’s the first episode I can officially consider great although the running gag with the spiders got old pretty fast and the ending don’t help matters much. Rocko’s Happy Sack is another Rocko solo adventure where he goes grocery shopping and have to meet the deadline of a sale. But grocery day became a dangerous day of him as he went through a lot of trouble just to buy foods. And we see the hippo lady again although the line delivery of “HOW DARE YOU” isn’t as priceless as last time. It plays out very similar to the beach episode unsurprisingly except that it’s set at a grocery store, but I will say this was the better episode due to having more memorable scenes. The most satisfying moment was when Rocko got really upset at Filburt for changing the price of his grocery and downright threatened him of doing something not nice if he didn’t get his way. It’s interesting to think this was before they considered official friends. Flu-in-u-Enza is one of the weakest episodes for the season. You know how I feel about sick day episode, they normally don’t interest me and this show don’t it differently than other examples it’s been done in animation. So of course, there’s some gross moments and the germs aren’t not really engaging characters. Not much else to say about this episode. Moving on to the first Heffer episode of the series, Who’s for Dinner is special for reasons. We meet his parents, who are a different species from him (a bunch of a wolves as opposed to a steer, hence their last name Wolfe). Not to mention, when Heffer started breaking down after learning he’s adopted, we get an outstanding performance from Tom Kenny, who was a new voice actor at the time and most of his line delivery during the early episodes of the show were noticeably flat. But this episode established him as one of the greatest voice actors and proved that despite voicing a bunch of goofy characters, can pull off emotional voice work when needed. It’s a really great episode, and it’s the first episode where Rocko plays a supporting role, and therefore, the slapstick is substituted for character development. Love Spanked is a Valentine’s Day themed episode where Rocko fall in love with one of his neighbors. However, when it turns out she’s dating another guy, Heffer sets him on a lovematcher search. Things keep backfiring, and Heffer puts him on a dating show. The episode was kinda underwhelming, but seeing Rocko paired up with Heffer was the highlight, though the last couple minutes were a bit messy and the writers didn’t know how to end the plot. Next, we move on to another love themed episode. But this time, it’s Spunky who’s in love and he’s attracted to a mop of all things. So Rocko has to get Spunky to snap out of it by taking to him to a dog psychiatrist. Not much to describe this episode other than the fact that it’s such a ridiculous premise, it worked for how cartoony it was to see a dog fall in love with a mop. Unbalanced Load is as generic as you get for a Rocko focused episode, as it plays out like a few other episodes where he engage in a realistic lifestyle. The only reason why the score is not lower is because the writers try to make it as surreal as possible by doing unrealistic things of doing the laundry. Rocko sure loves accidentally bumping into the hippo lady at the wrong moment. Now we are on what it probably the weakest pairing of the entire show and also the most adult it’s ever been. They’re big reminders that Rocko’s Modern Life was never meant to be a kids show. Considering it mostly contains grownup characters, it makes sense that a lot of the PG jokes occurred during the first season and this episode pairing make it very clear. Leap Frogs is all about Bev trying to seduce Rocko. Bev was very flirtatious during the first season but this episode is when she was at her most flirtatious and it wasn’t towards her own husband. It was a big enough deal for the episode to get banned on tv since this is something that won’t fly well on modern Nickelodeon. Bedfellows on the other hand is a worse segment since it’s a cliched “character stay over at someone’s house and starts to overstay their welcome by being too much of a headache.” Now Heffer is no Patrick Star during the middle seasons of SpongeBob, but his actions here rivaled him without the jerk part (he just constantly making things worse for Rocko). The nudist scene is such a bizarre scene although surprisingly SpongeBob would cover a nude beach episode in one of their spinoffs. Easily my least favorite episode of the show alongside a season 4 episode (but we’ll get to that when I cover the fourth season). It doesn’t offer anything interesting and when I do another binge watch, it will be skipped alongside its sister segment. Now we’re back to having an entertaining episode in No Pain, No Gain where Rocko and Heffer head to the gym where they are being trained by a Richard Simmons lookalike. Workout day is a dangerous day indeed and I can totally relate to the pain they went through the episode. It literally hurts to do physical activities and I can last like 5 minutes doing workouts. Next episode is literally called Who Gives a Buck and I believe they got away with giving it a title for a kids show. Not my cup of tea, but if Heffer wasn’t in it, it would be formatted exactly like other solo Rocko episodes of getting through a mundane task. Jet Scream is what I consider the first amazing episode of the show. Every scene is just a classic to watch. I never been to a plan myself, but if this episode taught me one thing is that you can try to overcome your fear of being on a plane by passing the time on engaging in entertaining activities. I like how the tables have turned for Rocko and Heffer in which the latter enjoys being in a plane while Rocko would rather take the bus instead. Dirty Dog is the first of three episodes featuring parasites living Spunky’s fur. As you can tell, it’s a parody of sitcoms due to the usage of laugh track. Their tiny adventures revolves on their boss coming over for dinner, all happening while Spunky is forced to take a bath. Good episode, but it’s a weird format and this won’t be the last we’ll see of those parasites. Keeping Up with the Bigheads? I'd rather keep up with their lives than the Kardashians, that's for sure. It's basically the sucker episode since it also involves cleaning out Rocko's house, except that it features Ed who tries his hardest to get rid of Rocko all because his garden was ruined. Personally, I find myself preferring this one more because it's funnier and has a more interesting plot. Skid Marks is a hilarious episode for one thing only. The running gag with everyone warning Rocko to not get the fat guy is just hilarious. The scene with the fat cat teacher is another highlight, just the way his lines were delivered with sudden shouts. But yeah, if I was ever in Rocko’s situation like this, I would’ve given up at driving because it seems like a difficult thing to do. The Good, the Bad, and the Wallaby is the very first episode where future Phineas & Ferb creators Dan Povenmire and Swampy Marsh worked together and they were storyboard/writing partners throughout the show. Their episodes tend to have a unique writing style - they’re a mix of character driven, slapstick, as well as having a musical fare. What I described their style is used in this episode. I don’t care much about the ranch lifestyle, but this was still a fun installment. The next episode is actually a refined version of the pilot. As you may expect for a pilot, it’s a Rocko focused episode. In the original Rocko was originally yellow, but he was recolored. The animation style changes a lot throughout the episode. It can go from being cartoony to normal in seconds. Outside of the behind the scenes stuff, the episode is very heavy on slapstick. Not my favorite episode of the series, but still worth watching for the animation budget alone. Power Trip is the first episode where Filburt plays a big role (as you can tell in the title card credits where the screen is green). His name was revealed for the first time ever, establishing him as part of Rocko’s friend group. It’s a pretty great episode and I enjoyed Carlos Alazraqui’s performance as Rocko the mean boss a lot. And the episode also introduced a Superman parody who is really big and boasts about his nipples. He’s a weird character, but I like his design. We’ll be seeing him again a few more times. To Heck and Back continues the good streak of character driven episodes, where Heffer literally dies and goes to hell. What made this one of season 1’s finest episodes is that Heffer finds the error of his ways and feel genuinely guilty for not being a good friend towards Rocko. The hell segments made it an interesting watch considering Heff and the devil (Peaches) are both voiced by Tom Kenny, so he’s talking to himself to the majority of the episode. The “all just a dream” plot twist don’t ruin the episode that much for me since the show will have a little bit of continuity as we head to the next few seasons. Spitballs and Popcorn Pandeminium are both Rocko+Heffer adventures (seems like we’re slowly moving away from Rocko only focused segments) with a different twist. One is a baseball episode where Rocko wants to get a baseball covered in spit and the other is a movie theater episode. Spitballs sounds gross on paper, but it ends up being a better episode than it sounds. Sports episodes aren’t my favorites, but as long as the story is interesting, I don’t mind watching them. The ending is rather heartwarming. Popcorn Pandemonium is a better segment as it takes a simple plot of going to the movies and make it into an entertaining story where Rocko and Heffer tries to make it to the right theater room but keeps getting into wacky situations. But the funniest part is that Rocko is mistaken as an employee of the movie theater because he just happens to sport the same outfit as the usher. Oh, and it’s a Dan/Swampy episode, so insert obligatory musical number (through a movie preview of all things). Cabin Fever is another decent episode where the focus is that Rocko, Heffer, and the Bigheads have to share a cabin together, much to Ed’s dismay. Half of the episode revolved on Ed trying to get out of the cabin, but to no avail. Considering that he’s an miserable jerk, 99% of the time he deserved his abuse (unlike another grumpy neighbor character). I don’t have much to say about the episode other than the fact that it’s the first episode where Stephen Hillenburg and Mark O’Hare had a story by credit. They would both soon become an important part of Joe Murray’s shows. Finally, we end the season with a day in the limelight for Filburt as he attempts to pass a final exam at the dental school by examining Rocko’s teeth. The episode introduced Dr. Paula Hutchinson, a cat with a hook, and she would become a very important character in Filburt’s life. The reason why she was added to the show is because executives wanted to have a character with a hook for inclusivity. It worked and we will be seeing her again soon. Very good episode and if I say so myself I consider it the superior dental episode from a Nicktoon as it’s less gross (sorry Ren’s Toothache). With season 1 done, let’s recap the season. First half of the season had its fair share of weak story due to the fact that Rocko mostly get the spotlight to himself, hence the title of the show being called Rocko’s Modern Life. While they are not bad or anything, most of them follow the same structure. The characters aren’t fully developed yet, so they are very one-note. The animation quality is inconsistent (especially evident in the trash episode), and the voice work is rather monotonous outside of Rocko and Charlie Alder’s characters (since he was already an experienced voice actor when the show came out). But the humor makes up for it especially with how much envelope they were trying to push. It’s clearly not a TV-G or Y7 rated show, that’s for sure. Second half of the season is where the show starts to find its footing a little bit, but the show won’t get truly great until season 2 rolls around.
Season 2
The second season is where the show starts to grow. We get less Rocko heavy focused episodes and more episodes focusing on other characters. The season opens with an interesting story about the Bigheads’ only child working their life as an animator (the Fatheads was their creation). And yes if you’re wondering, I’m not going to refer their kid by their deadname since something important will happen to them in the future. Rachel Bighead is basically Joe Murray in animation form (passionate about cartoons). She has a very deadpan voice created by the creator himself until she starts yelling. It featured a nice moment between Rachel and her parents, and to repay the gesture, the next Fatheads episode featured a Rocko expy. Fun special, though the lack of Heffer (until his little cameo towards the end) was always odd. Pipe Dreams revolved on Heffer breaking a toilet where there’s a fish that spend all night rambling about random things to the point where it annoys the whole town. It’s not an outstanding installment, but it had its moments. Tickled Pinky is an odd episode but it still works because even though it a dream, you get Rocko and his appendix bonding at the carnival, except that the appendix got overboard with its demands. I prefer this segment more than the previous if I'm being honest. The #16 pairs are unique in that Rocko takes a backseat and the spotlight goes primarily to Filburt and Bev in both segments. The Lounge Singer is about Filburt trying to be a jazz singer, but he gets so nervous thinking about performing live on stage. Whenever he sings, it's Tom Kenny trying to do his best Frank Sinatra voice and it's a great performance. It's to be expected when the writing is from Swampy and Dan. It gives a little bit of development of the turtle and he’ll continue to grow as the show goes on. She's the Toad had Bev trying to improve Ed's workplace with the help of Hefner and Filburt after Ed gets nervous. It all goes well and despite the two getting caught up in the act, the credits all went to Bev. I guess the moral for this episode is that women make business decisions better. And it turns out saying “wee wee” makes
Heff laugh. Down the Hatch is the second episode featuring the parasites, and I’ll say this: it’s a slight improvement over their first installment. Instead of playing out like a traditional sitcom episode, it feels more like an adventure. We do see the Fatheads again in this one and a vitamin based from the show serves as the plot device where the parasite thinks it’s a treasure. Road Rash, on the other hand, is perfect from beginning to end. Not only does it make me want to go on road trips and go sight seeing, but it is hilarious. From Heffer trying to make a speech about a rock attraction, the farmer who keeps talking about Ferb (hilarious in hindsight considering who worked on this episode), the excessive annoyance Rocko has with bagpipe music, the fact that they drive in a literal wiener, so much more. Easily in my top 5 favorite episode of the show. Boob Tubed is another classic episode. It showcases the trio getting hooked to television and hilarity ensues. They were actually watching telenovela at one point. Anyone who likes to spend their day offs watching tv on their couch can relate. However, like most other shows stated, TV can actually rot your brains, as proven with Heff, and it could also turns you naked. Community Sentence, while not my favorite installment of the show, is relatable for anyone who is struggling is arriving to work on time. Luckily for me, I don’t have to suffer through the same pain Rocko went through this episode. Mr. Smithy prevented the episode from getting a perfect score because he’s the definition of a really mean and strict boss. At first, he sounded like he care about Rocko’s misfortune of arriving to work late, but as the episode progressed, he just grew more and more annoyed. After finally arriving to work on time, Smitty repaid the gesture by firing him for no reason. Thankfully the episode threw Rocko a bone and decided to punish his boss for his actions. Rocko’s Modern Christmas is the show’s second special and it’s holiday themed. I didn’t watched the episode during my bingeathon so I wanted to save it for December. Hut Sut Raw is The Camping Episode of Rocko, except the characters actually went camping. While SpongeBob’s take on camping was realistic, this one goes for a cartoony take of going on a camp. Things get out of control during the trip and they all started starving themselves to death to the point where they started eating each other. So yeah it’s one weird episode. Kiss Me I’m Foreign is an episode that is surprisingly topical to this day. Rocko is from Australia so he gets a reminder that he’s getting deported unless he married someone. Because of how corrupt this country is these days, the idea of a foreigner living in USA feels like its against the law unless they get certified a citizen. Enter Filburt, one of Rocko’s closest friend to ask and marry him. There are some ambitiously gay moments, but they are played out in comedic matter. Therefore, we get a bunch of hilarious moments with Filburt playing the role of a wife (and for some reason, a female judge kept bothering him). However, the whole thing is one big misunderstanding. In the end, it’s the judge and the deportation guy that ends up getting married. Next up, we have an episode that doesn't really take advantage of its 22 minute length and therefore, it suffers from poor pacing and random plot. Rocko and Heffer go on a cruise trip with Heff's grandpa and crazy stuff happens there. Just not my cup of tea and as a result, I considered it my least favorite season 2 episode. Born to Spawn perfectly tackled the concept of growing up. Uniform Behavior showcased how getting too involved with a job can corrupts someone's mind and Heffer was simply being the bad cop. Hair Licked revolves around Rocko trying to look perfect for picture day. Very slow at times, but still decent. Gutter Balls is a bowling episode and they are always entertaining. Junk Junk Junkies has Rocko trying to pay off a pizza man while having a garage sale. Day of the Flecko is an episode mostly set at night, and it featured Rocko trying to get some shuteye, but a bunch of noises keep interrupting him. Very relatable for the insomniac. Snowballs is a very entertaining episode due to its winter themed. Frog’s Best Friend revolves on Ed having a dog. If I’m being honest, the lack of Rocko isn’t the reason why I’m not too big on this episode, but rather it just feels a bit repetitive. Short Story and Eye Capades are both about Rocko’s insecurities of his height and vision. I think the former is slightly better due to the way it was executed. Also, Joe Murray had a little cameo reminding Rocko about being off model. Season 2 is already an improvement despite a few weaker spots, but let’s what the next season have to offer.
Season 3
Season 3 explored more on the show’s strengths during the previous season. In production order, it starts off with two Halloween stories. They are fun episodes, but I had more of a blast with Sugar Frosted Frights. Filburt is reluctant to celebrate Halloween, but he goes on a sugar rush during trick or treating. Despite the disjointed ending, it's still an amazing episode. Ed is Dead: A Thriller is an interesting episode where Rocko believes Bev killed her husband. But it turns out Ed was getting a wart removal the whole time. Bye Bye Birdie is a bird sitting episode where Rocko has to look after Filburt's pet bird. After a series of bothering everyone in town, Heffer sits on the bird and accidentally killed him. Ehh, it's decent, but not one of my faves. Though it ends on a weird note - the bird mated with the monkey and she gave birth to bird/monkey hybrids. Belch of Destiny is about Heff's time as scout member and discovering an ability to belch. His dad doesn't approve of his talents, but in the end he accepts his dream as he has a gross talent as well. It's a stepup from the previous Heffer focused episodes imo. It ends on a much nicer note. The Emperor's New Joe is unusual in that it focused on the two chameleon brothers. They opened their own coffee shop and after Rocko disapproved of their coffee, they tell him their backstory. Apparently, all the familiar characters are playing different roles (like an anthology) with Heff playing the role of the czar. It's very complicated, but I enjoyed it for giving the chameleon some development. And it seems like in the show's world, they invented coffee. Schnit-Heads is another episode title that substitute a swear word. It's about Heff selling sausage. Very simple plot, but as a sausage, this episode is enough to make anyone crave for one. It went on a different direction in the final few minutes, but it's still executed nicely. Now we have an episode that plays out like a precursor to SpongeBob (co-written/directed by Hillenburg). Not only does it involved aquatic life in some way, but this episode played a bunch of APM tracks that would also be later used in SpongeBob. And we do see some aquatic creatures as well. Such an interesting episode for sure, considering its theme. Camera Shy also used an APM track in its title card. It's like the sequel to Boob Tubed, except that it's about Heff and Filburt recording videos of Rocko's life. I don't enjoy it as much as that one, but it has just as much entertaining scenes. Now we head on to the double Bighead pairing. First segment is about Bev developing a disease and she gets her a nose job, which changed her life. However, she went from liking it to hating it. Another episode that would be used for a SpongeBob episode. It starts off on a gross note, but it does a decent job at showcasing Bev’s pain of sense of smell. The next segment is about Ed suffering through a midlife crisis. So he decided to blend in with the younger lifestyle by hanging out with Rocko and friends, but he ends up being too clingy. It’s the better segment since I tend to enjoy the midlife crisis plots and had a good portrayal of Ed. Maniac Mechanic is about Rocko trying to get his car fixed. There’s a Frankenstein parody scene where Filburt acts like a mad scientist. Then, he fixed Rocko’s car and it went off by itself with Heff going on the ride. Very funny episode and it seems like cars are actual living beings. Rocko’s Happy Vermin is a solo Rocko episode (as evident by the blue background in the title card) and it serves as a sequel to the previous time Flecko was ruining Rocko’s night. I don’t enjoy this one as much as the previous episode, but it’s okay. Just feels a bit slow. Fortune Cookie is yet another episode that would later be used for a SpongeBob episode. Here, it's about Filburt suffering from bad luck. It's a cliched plot, but you can feel for Filburt for constantly suffering from misfortune everywhere he goes. The whole thing with the power man is weird since the word nipple was said a few times. But the episode takes on a weird direction during the final minutes as the world becomes ripped apart and then Filburt gets himself a happy ending. Dear John is about Rocko getting his kitchen fixed, but the beaver guy keeps making things worse (and he's a literal hyena). The highlight had to be Rocko reacting to his house being turned into a literal bathroom. Speaking Terms is an episode where Rocko and Heffer got into a fight for forgetting Rocko's birthday and so they tell their side of the story on a talk show. Honestly this was a hilarious episode, especially with how they portrayed their story (it's drawn in this very crude art style). It ends on a very bizarre note, with the sci Fi elements and all. Tooth and Nail concerns Rocko's nail biting habits. It's a totally relatable episode for all the nail biters out there. Wacky Deli is without a doubt one of the greatest cartoon episodes of all time. It needs to be seen to be believed. It's just 22 minutes of the process of making a cartoon and the whole thing is something that still holds up nearly 30 years later since there have been shows that went on longer than it needs to due to their popularity. Both parts are equally perfect from start to end. Next up we have a two parter of Filburt asking Dr. Hutchinson to marry him. While the previous special is obviously superior, this one was just as exciting to watch due to the fact that the status quo plays a role. They went from two strangers who met each other during a dental exam. An Elker for Heffer has Heff going on a date with an elf, but things get awkward when his wolf family tried eating her due to family traditions. Good episode, but I feel like the plot was losing steam during the last few minutes and it just ended abruptly. Scrubbing Down Under has Rocko receiving an award, but he had something stuck on his teeth, He attempts to get rid of the spinach, but to no avail. It's basically Ren's Toothache done right as it's more educational on oral care without grossing out the audience that much. Zanzibar, as you expect from the writing credits (Povenmire and Marsh's involvement) is a musical episode where half of the lines are sung. I won't consider it a favorite, but the songs were catchy and it's also educational as it taught viewers about taking care of the environment. We end the season with a weaker than average installment where there's literally no dialogue (outside of one scene). It played out like a silent cartoon and while the visuals are good, I'm not too keen on the lack of verbal lines.
Season 4
Murray left the show, leaving Stephen Hillenburg in charge of the final season as a producer/creative director. It is notably a step down in quality, but it still seasons 2 and 3's strengths while the flaws it had were still utilized better the first season (characterization and plot being weaker in some aspects). I won’t review every episode separately here because this journal is growing long
Static Cling
Conclusion
