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Rocko's Modern Life

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Rocko's Modern Life
File:Rocko group.jpg
The Rocko's Modern Life cast.
Created byJoe Murray
StarringCarlos Alazraqui
Tom Kenny
Doug Lawrence
Linda Wallem
Charlie Adler
Country of originUSA
No. of episodes52
Production
Running timeapprox. 0:22 (0:11 per episode)
Original release
NetworkNickelodeon
ReleaseSeptember 18, 1993 –
November 24, 1996

Rocko's Modern Life is an American animated television series whose four seasons aired from 1993 to 1996. The show was based around the surreal, parodistic adventures of an anthropomorphic wallaby named Rocko, and his life in the city of O-Town, located on the border of Michigan and Canada. The series was created by Joe Murray. One of Nickelodeon's Nicktoons, it was the fourth series released in the Nicktoons group, and the first to be introduced since the original three were introduced in August 1991. The program was produced by Joe Murray Animation, and occasionally by Games Productions.

The show was renowned by many as one of Nickelodeon's freshest, most offbeat offerings, as well as being laden with suggestive double entendres, innuendo, and social commentary. For this reason, it has become a prominent cult classic. It is also credited for being the precursor to SpongeBob SquarePants, which was created by director Stephen Hillenburg. The show has been credited as being the second Nicktoon to be popular among adults (the first being Ren & Stimpy).[citation needed]

Major Characters

File:Rockospunky.jpg
Rocko James Wallabee

Rocko (voiced by Carlos Alazraqui) is a wallaby who immigrated to the United States from Australia. He is a sensible, moral, and somewhat timid character who enjoys the simple pleasures in life, such as doing his laundry or feeding his dog, Spunky. He is neat, compassionate, and self-conscious. Rocko usually works at "Kind of a Lot o' Comics" (but once worked at Conglom-O where Ed Bighead attempted to make him quit.) and his hobbies include recreational jackhammering and pining for the love of his life, Melba Toast. Due to Rocko's benevolence and non-confrontational personality, he is often taken advantage of by the other characters. Rocko would prefer to live a quiet life, but his reckless friends often throw him into turbulent situations. His most common catchphrase is "_____ Day is a very dangerous day", even once saying "Open Mike night is a very dangerous night". He is often mistaken for a Kangaroo, and occassionally a Beaver.

Heffer Wolfe (voiced by Tom Kenny): Rocko's best friend, a happy-go-lucky and not-too-bright steer whom he met in high school. Heffer loves to eat and party. His favorite food is "Pasture Puffies." Though he is normally portrayed as being jobless, he has worked in a number of professions including a waiter at a coffee shop, a salesman at a tree farm, a greenskeeper at a golf course, a mail carrier, a cashier at a Chokey Chicken restaurant, and a security guard at Conglom-O, which caused him to go insane in a reference to The Shining. Strangely, as his last name suggests, he was raised by a family of wolves who decided not to eat him as a child; his "birthmark" is actually their plotting lines of how to best divide him up into choice dishes. He is often called a "Big fat Cow", a term he objects to by saying "steer."

Filbert Shellbach (voiced by Doug "Mr." Lawrence): Philbert Robert Norbert Wilbert Turtle III, also briefly known as Filburt Shellbach, is Rocko's other best friend, a neurotic turtle wearing Woody Allen-style glasses. He started out as a background character and became a main character in the second season. He lives in a trailer and earns his money by collecting cans "here and there", and has a penchant for "sauce". Filburt has an extremely weak stomach and even the slightest wrong movements can give him nausea. He turned 21 in the second season. He eventually started a family with Doctor Hutchison, a bubbly cat with a hook for a hand. One of their children turned out to bear a strong resemblance to Heffer, thanks to his having sat on their egg during the incubation period. Among Filburt's catchphrases are "Oh fish sticks!", "I'm nauseous... I'm nauseous..", and "Turn the page, wash your hands. And then you turn the page, and then you wash your hands."

Ed Bighead (voiced by Charles Adler): A grumpy old toad who is Rocko's neighbor. He is aggressive towards Rocko and most people. Ed works at the large corporation Conglom-O. His position with the company is usually in middle management, but it can be anything from assembly-line worker to an executive role, depending on the needs of the episode: according to his nameplate at Conglom-O, his job title is "Toad". Ed seems to have very bad luck wherever he goes and thus is very cynical. His catchphrase is "I hate my life."

Bev Bighead (voiced by Charles Adler): Ed's wife, a boisterous redhead who enjoys flirting with other men and speaks with a very gravelly voice. Unlike her husband, she actually enjoys the company of Rocko, Heffer and Philbert. Her favorite bedroom pastime with Ed is to make him crack plates in mid-air with his tongue like clay pigeons. In many ways her character is not unlike Mrs. Roeper of Three's Company.

Doctor Paula Hutchison (voiced by Linda Wallem): A cat with a hook for a hand. Hutchison has managed an amazing variety of professions (she appears to have a different occupation each episode she's in, with doctor being the most common: other characters point this out every time as a running gag). She eventually married Filbert after a two-part episode, in which we learned that cats and turtles do not normally get along. Her catchphrase is her saying "'kay?" while turning her head at an odd angle. Her mother, the "Widow" Hutchinson, was married to a turtle, Paula's dad. Widow Hutchinson has a love/hate relationship with her husband and likes to believe he's dead, though he is not, by constantly dressing in mourning clothes. She has both hands replaced with hooks while her husband doesn't, which explains why Paula has only one hook.

Minor Characters

The Wolfe Family: Heffer's adopted family, all of whom are blue-furred wolves. George is the tempermental father; Virginia the compassionate mother with a nervous facial tic; Hiram is the grandfather (on George's side of the family); Heffer's siblings are his laid-back brother Peter and reactionary sister Cindy. Originally the family intended to fatten Heffer up and eat him, but Virginia's maternal instincts kicked in and she and George raised him as one of their own. Hiram, commonly referred to as simply Grandpa, hates wallabies but thinks Rocko is a beaver.

Ralph Bighead (voiced by Joe Murray): The son of Ed and Bev Bighead, Ralph fell out of favor with his father when he turned down a position at Conglom-O to pursue a career as a cartoonist. Ralph is the creator of The Fatheads, a cartoon-within-a-cartoon frequently watched by Rocko and friends. Ralph and Ed have since resolved their differences, thanks to Rocko's intervention.

Earl: A vicious scientific experimaental dog who resembles a bulldog with punk rocker hair, Earl was originally just the local pest until Bev Bighead adopted him. He has since become the Bigheads' pet, much to Ed's horror.

Chuck and Leon (voiced by Carlos Alazraqui and Tom Kenny): Two chameleons who, like their species, adapt very well to many situations — usually to make a quick buck. They run a variety of businesses throughout the show. Both have pseudo-Swedish accents. They have resemblence to Dave and Pingpong from Camp Lazlo. They are perhaps the most frequent characters to take advantage of Rocko.

Really Really Big Man: an insectoid superhero who lives in O-Town. He is very big and depicted as a kind of Editorial cartoon. He is also Rocko's hero. Besides being, well, really, really big, his superpowers include magic chesthairs and nipples that allow people to see their future. His alter-ego is a female office worker named "Lois Lame" (a parody of Lois Lane), and in this guise Really Really Big Man briefly worked at Kind of a Lot 'o Comics.

Mr. Dupette (voiced by Charles Adler): Originally Rocko's employer at "Mega Lot-O Comics," Mr. Dupette is the chairman of Conglom-O, Mr. Dupette is a duckbilled dinosaur who picks his nose and even has a personal assistant to pick his nose for him sometimes. His official job title (on his office door) is "Slimy Boss." Despite his predilection for firing employees on a whim, Dupette is a softie at heart. He is pro-environment (thanks to Rocko) and secretly enjoys performing as a clown at birthday parties.

Mr. Smitty: Rocko's boss at Kind of a Lot o' Comics, a purple toad with obvious hairplugs who is always seen smoking a cigar and seems to fire Rocko in almost every episode he appears in. His tyrannical nature and short temper are apparently the result of "the green button" on his office chair. He is the only character in the series that Rocko openly dislikes.

Melba Toast: She's the "girl next door", and apparently very, very beautiful, even though the most the audience sees of her is either an arm or her legs. Rocko goes go pieces whenever he sees her. In one episode, she was shown to have a boyfriend, thereby sending any chances Rocko had right down the drain.

Cultural references and innuendo

Main article: Cultural references and innuendo in Rocko's Modern Life

The program is well known for its frequent pop culture references and its subtle and sometimes controversial references to adult subject matter. Innuendo to sexual activity is prevalent in the episode Clean Lovin', in which Spunky falls in love with a mop. Such innuendo caused problems on a few occasions, resulting in censorship of the episodes after their original airing. One such episode, Leap Frogs, in which Bev Bighead tries to seduce Rocko, was removed from the replay schedule entirely. [1] The show also contained several references to masturbation. The restaurant Chokey Chicken (which has a giant choking chicken as a mascot) is a reference to the term "choking the chicken," a slang term for masturbation. The Good, The Bad, and The Wallaby originally featured a scene in which Heffer is hooked up to automatic milking machine. It is implied that he orgasms. Later in the episode Heffer can be seen "breaking up" with the milking machine. Both scenes were cut in reruns. In another episode Rocko and his freinds go camping and Rocko looks for food. He stumbles upon a berry bush and while picking them he accidentaly grabs an animals genitals. In an episode in which Rocko is looking for a means to make money, Heffer suggests that they start a club "like that 'diaretics' guy" alluding to L. Ron Hubbard's Dianetics. The show also has many references to classic movies, such as Citizen Kane and The Wizard of Oz.

Cast and crew

  • Crew
  • Cast
  • Carlos Alazraqui as Rocko James Wallabee/Spunky/Leon/Granny Rocko
  • Tom Kenny as Heffer Wolfe/Chuck/Mr. Bighead/Mr. Smitty/Really Really Big Man/Peaches/Various males
  • Mr. Lawrence as Philbert Robert Norbert Wilbert Turtle III/Peter Wolf
  • Linda Wallem as Dr. Hutchison/Mrs. Virginia Wolf/Grandma Wolf/Cindy Wolf/Tammy the Pig/Various females
  • Charlie Adler as Ed Bighead/Gladys/Mr. George Wolf/Grandpa Wolf/Bev Bighead/Mr. Dupette
  • Joe Murray as Ralph Bighead
  • Kevin Meaney as Mother Hutchison (appeared in two episodes)
  • Nancy Cartwright as Mrs. Fathead/Philbert's mother

Trivia

  • Heffer first appeared (with the MTV logo branded on his butt) in a 1989 MTV station ID that Murray animated. [citation needed]
  • The episode "Leap Frogs" was eventually banned due to sexual innuendo (Bev Bighead tries to seduce Rocko) during the show's rerun cycle on Nick, replaced with "Wallaby on Wheels". It is, however, sometimes shown on Nicktoons TV.
  • When "Wallaby on Wheels" replaced "Leap Frogs," Nickelodeon stopped airing "Heff in a Handbasket", an episode where Heffer appears on the game show "Triple 6", attempting to win 666 points. The episode, ostensibly pulled due to its Satanic overtones, has been seen on Nicktoons TV reruns.
  • The series' last episodes, "Turkey Time" and "Floundering Fathers," were not intended to be the last episodes. After they were aired, the show's status was put on hiatus—and cancelled a week after that. [citation needed]
  • One of the more well-known things about the show was that The B-52's did the opening theme song for seasons two and later. [citation needed]
  • The creator of the series, Murray, has since moved on and is now currently working on a new 2005 show, Camp Lazlo, featuring two Rocko alumni, producer Mark O'Hare and writer Martin Olson, the father of singer Olivia Olson.
  • Aside from Joe Murray's original cast of characters, director-writers Doug "Mr." Lawrence and Stephen Hillenberg, and writer Martin Olson created several new recurring characters. Olson contributed six characters, including Bloaty & Squirmy, the parasites on Rocko's dog Spunky, and Ralph Bighead, a cartoonist-within-a-cartoon who (in "I Have No Son") created a surreal show called "The Fatheads."
  • Mr. Lawrence and Martin Olson convinced Joe Murray to voice "Ralph Bighead," a cartoonist character through which Murray satirized himself.
  • Rocko was originally supposed to have an older sister named Magdalene, but she was dropped out of protest against political correctness. Joe Murray had not yet introduced her in the first season, and abandoned the character entirely when Nickelodeon executives, under pressure from feminist critics who derided the cartoon for being centered around the antics of three male friends, demanded a stronger female character be included in the show. His sister did appear in flashbacks in select episodes, though she was a younger character than had been originally envisioned. [citation needed]
  • Rocko made his first computer appearance on the Nickelodeon 3D Movie Maker CD Rom Game. He also has a platformer/puzzle game available for the SNES entitled Rocko's Modern Life: Spunky's Dangerous Day.
  • Rocko's original color was golden yellow. This was changed to avoid a copyright problem involving a pre-existing golden yellow kangaroo that was the mascot for an Australian company. [citation needed]
  • Some episode lists mistakenly pair "Heff in a Handbasket" with "Floundering Fathers," and "Turkey Time" with "Wallaby on Wheels." [citation needed]
  • Marvel Comics published a comic book based on Rocko's Modern Life. The comic lasted seven issues.
  • Many alumni of the show have moved on to other acclaimed shows: Steven Hillenburg and Derek Drymon both created SpongeBob SquarePants, while Dan Povenmire works on Family Guy.
  • In "Rinse and Spit," Philbert begins singing about how he would like to be a chimney sweep, "leaping from rooftop to rooftop," in a spoof of Monty Python's "Lumberjack" sketch. Another Python spoof occurs in "Ed Good, Rocko Bad," where Mr. Bighead is being weighed on a scale with a chicken, reminescent to the witch-hunting scene with the duck.
  • In Carnival Knowledge the word "Hell" can be clearly seen on a sign that says "Elevator to Hell" even though in the later episodes like Heff in a Handbasket, it would be referred to as "heck".
  • Much like Doug's "Banging on the Trash Can" song, "R-E-C-Y-C-L-E" from episode "Zanzibar" has entered pop culture.
  • In the episode Junk Junkies, when after Rocko sold the "G.I. Jimbo" to a action figure freak, when he went away, you can still see G.I. Jimbo sitting on the table after it was sold.
  • Lazlo, the main character in Camp Lazlo, appears as a female in one episode of Rocko's Modern Life.
  • Both Carlos Alazraqui (Rocko) and Tom Kenny (Heffer) lent their voice talent to do Spyro the Dragon's voice on separate occasions.

See also

List of Rocko's Modern Life episodes

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