Tuesday, November 16, 2004
"Everybody loves YOU... you're stupid! They always love the stupid one! Nobody ever loves the jerk!"
To add to the ever-growing body of evidence that I am indeed not growing up... my sister bought me the Ren and Stimpy DVD set for my birthday. I have been trying to watch episodes here and there, and I have had a lot of fun doing so. The collection is great, complete with an episode that was never shown (in which Ren attacks his abusive owner with a boat oar, and hits hit over 20 times). I forgot how violent that show was! It is definitely not for kids; which makes me wonder why Nickelodian bothered with it in the first place.
I have a lot of great memories of Ren and Stimpy. It came out just as I was leaving high school, and entering college. We used to record the episodes, then gather in huge groups to watch them over and over. We memorized ever line, every sound, every scene... it was a great time.
When I first got to NCC, no one had VCRs, and there was no cable to be watched. So, I would have Sandy (who I was dating at the time) record the show for me every Saturday night. Then, on weekends that I went home, I would trade her tapes, only to return to Norfolk to share the new episodes with the ever growing Ren and Stimpy cult. We would try to hijack the one accessible VCR on campus to watch the episodes, often to the rude and condencending comments of the more "serious" students. Being a Christian college, we had our share of stuffiness.
Sandy, the supplier of our episodes, also hated the show (and still does) but she fed my addiction. She even made me a "log" doll; it is just what it sounds like. A small chunk of a log, with paper clothes nailed to it. It was a fixture of my dorm room (#325, baby!) for a long time.
Nothing was more fun that being with someone the first time they saw Ren and Stimpy. You have to realize that this was pre-South Park, so the idea of an adult-oriented cartoon was way out there. The best person to watch the shows with was my friend Nate, who more than any of my friends instantly "got" the humor. I am sort of anxious to watch the discs with him. Nate and I obsessed over Ren and Stimpy, and even edited sounds from the show into a slide show he was assembling for a missions class/society.
Ren and Stimpy was a critical rallying point for my group of friends in college. It was the key ingredient in gelling us into an official posse. Ed, Doug, Nate, Kelly, Carlin, Steve, Shane... the only freshman friend of mine who really didn't dig Ren and Stimpy was Paul (I think) and that is cool. He was into Batman, 80's music, Star Wars, and Simpsons, so that was good enough.
Together we would thrill to the rare new episode, and together we would whine when they showed the same four episodes over and over on Nickelodian. We would pour over any interview or article about the show. We would get riled up at Nickelodian for all of their editing and meddling, and were further upset when they fired Spumco/John K. when tension built too high. We felt betrayed as the show was stolen from its creator, and changed into a never ending gross-out. Games Studios never really got the show, and while it had funny moments, it really only shined when John K. was still involved. I remember the sense of disappointment we had when we realized that the episode guide printed in Film Threat magazine would never be fully realized... it contained a lost of all of the storyboards and screenplays that John K. planned on developing (many of which were cannibalized into later episodes, or dropped altogether).
My friend Doug was especially fond of the episode called Stimpy's Fan Club. In the episode, Ren finds that only Stimpy gets fan mail, and has a break down. Stimpy, with good intentions, asks Ren to be the president of his fan club, which only drives him deeper into madness. The end of the episode shows Ren gloating about a letter he receives, on a day that Stimpy receives none. Doug, Nate, Ed, and I would reenact this scene every time mail was put out. It was rare than any of us got mail from home, and when we did, it was a big deal. "Letter for me, letter for me! Nothing for Stimpy!" would be heard in the hallway. When I read a handwritten letter (which isn't very often), I still have flashbacks to those days.
Even my dad was into Ren and Stimpy. He loved the fart jokes, and especially loved the "flying butt pliers" on the 'rasslin episode. It was always a great time when we would make a mass exodus down to CB/Omaha to see a concert, or attend the Feast of Maximum Occupancy (my dad's chili feed), because without fail we'd crack out the Ren and Stimpy tapes. We always had a good time watching those grainy, abused videotapes. Some of the lesser shown episodes were dubbed from other copies, so we had episodes that were 3rd and 4th generation on a $1.99 VHS tape (which had been recorded over and over several times). Needless to say, it is so nice to see the episodes again, but with good picture quality.
By the time the show was "revived" by VH-1, then Spike TV, it was a mere shadow of itself. Many of the edits Nickelodian had made were destructive and final (they disposed of the edited material in many cases). When Spike TV announced a new series, with John K. back at the helm, I was momentarily excited... until I saw Ren and Stimpy Adult Cartoon Party. It was not even the same show. It was heavy on super-gross-out, heavy on blatant homosexual innuendo, and low on cleverness. The dream was over.
Fast forward to now. The Ren and Stimpy DVDs are out. They say uncut, and for the most part they are. Some edits remain... for instance, there is an odd scene missing from the Haunted House episode (the bloody head fairy scene), and in the Big Baby Scam, there is a scene missing (where the grandpa whistles in the bathtub). But for the most part, the shows are intact, and wonderful. Watching Space Madness was a blast from the past, and it made me smile. Its funny how so many great memories can be liked to a moronic cartoon. : )
If you have never seen the show, you will probably remain unimpressed. Family Guy, The Simpsons, and South Park have both set standards for "adult" cartoons that weren't around back then. Even Spongebob Squarepants has elements of Ren and Stimpy to it. The originality and shock of the show is missing today. But you should watch it, and maybe get a glimpse into what drove college students crazy in the 1991-1993 era. And, maybe you can see a glimpse into Carl's psyche (I'm a little bit "Ren Hoek" in my mind).
Here is a list of my favorite Ren and Stimpy moments:
1) Ren's total melt-down on Stimpy's Fan Club
2) Ren's threatening speech to Sven and Stimpy on "Sven Hoek" episode. "I'm gonna hit ya!"
3) Stimpy's victory speech after the rasslin' match on Mad Dog Hoek.
4) Ren tempting Stimpy's mind with the task of guarding the history-eraser button on Space Madness
5) The horror of learning about "the big sleep" in Big House Blues.
6) Stimpy and Ren dressing up and acting like monkeys in "Monkey See, Monkey Do"
7) Stimpy using the ghost as a bath towel; cleaning "where the sun don't shine" on Haunted House.
8) The whole concept of Muddy Mudskipper... way too out there! I love watching him flop.
9) Powdered Toastman wrecks a jumbo jet into a semi-truck to prevent a kitten from being squished. Now THAT is funny. Especially since he tosses the kitten into traffic when he leaves.
10) The Royal Canadian Kilted Yaksmen theme song. (sung to the tune of My Country Tis of Thee)
I have a lot of great memories of Ren and Stimpy. It came out just as I was leaving high school, and entering college. We used to record the episodes, then gather in huge groups to watch them over and over. We memorized ever line, every sound, every scene... it was a great time.
When I first got to NCC, no one had VCRs, and there was no cable to be watched. So, I would have Sandy (who I was dating at the time) record the show for me every Saturday night. Then, on weekends that I went home, I would trade her tapes, only to return to Norfolk to share the new episodes with the ever growing Ren and Stimpy cult. We would try to hijack the one accessible VCR on campus to watch the episodes, often to the rude and condencending comments of the more "serious" students. Being a Christian college, we had our share of stuffiness.
Sandy, the supplier of our episodes, also hated the show (and still does) but she fed my addiction. She even made me a "log" doll; it is just what it sounds like. A small chunk of a log, with paper clothes nailed to it. It was a fixture of my dorm room (#325, baby!) for a long time.
Nothing was more fun that being with someone the first time they saw Ren and Stimpy. You have to realize that this was pre-South Park, so the idea of an adult-oriented cartoon was way out there. The best person to watch the shows with was my friend Nate, who more than any of my friends instantly "got" the humor. I am sort of anxious to watch the discs with him. Nate and I obsessed over Ren and Stimpy, and even edited sounds from the show into a slide show he was assembling for a missions class/society.
Ren and Stimpy was a critical rallying point for my group of friends in college. It was the key ingredient in gelling us into an official posse. Ed, Doug, Nate, Kelly, Carlin, Steve, Shane... the only freshman friend of mine who really didn't dig Ren and Stimpy was Paul (I think) and that is cool. He was into Batman, 80's music, Star Wars, and Simpsons, so that was good enough.
Together we would thrill to the rare new episode, and together we would whine when they showed the same four episodes over and over on Nickelodian. We would pour over any interview or article about the show. We would get riled up at Nickelodian for all of their editing and meddling, and were further upset when they fired Spumco/John K. when tension built too high. We felt betrayed as the show was stolen from its creator, and changed into a never ending gross-out. Games Studios never really got the show, and while it had funny moments, it really only shined when John K. was still involved. I remember the sense of disappointment we had when we realized that the episode guide printed in Film Threat magazine would never be fully realized... it contained a lost of all of the storyboards and screenplays that John K. planned on developing (many of which were cannibalized into later episodes, or dropped altogether).
My friend Doug was especially fond of the episode called Stimpy's Fan Club. In the episode, Ren finds that only Stimpy gets fan mail, and has a break down. Stimpy, with good intentions, asks Ren to be the president of his fan club, which only drives him deeper into madness. The end of the episode shows Ren gloating about a letter he receives, on a day that Stimpy receives none. Doug, Nate, Ed, and I would reenact this scene every time mail was put out. It was rare than any of us got mail from home, and when we did, it was a big deal. "Letter for me, letter for me! Nothing for Stimpy!" would be heard in the hallway. When I read a handwritten letter (which isn't very often), I still have flashbacks to those days.
Even my dad was into Ren and Stimpy. He loved the fart jokes, and especially loved the "flying butt pliers" on the 'rasslin episode. It was always a great time when we would make a mass exodus down to CB/Omaha to see a concert, or attend the Feast of Maximum Occupancy (my dad's chili feed), because without fail we'd crack out the Ren and Stimpy tapes. We always had a good time watching those grainy, abused videotapes. Some of the lesser shown episodes were dubbed from other copies, so we had episodes that were 3rd and 4th generation on a $1.99 VHS tape (which had been recorded over and over several times). Needless to say, it is so nice to see the episodes again, but with good picture quality.
By the time the show was "revived" by VH-1, then Spike TV, it was a mere shadow of itself. Many of the edits Nickelodian had made were destructive and final (they disposed of the edited material in many cases). When Spike TV announced a new series, with John K. back at the helm, I was momentarily excited... until I saw Ren and Stimpy Adult Cartoon Party. It was not even the same show. It was heavy on super-gross-out, heavy on blatant homosexual innuendo, and low on cleverness. The dream was over.
Fast forward to now. The Ren and Stimpy DVDs are out. They say uncut, and for the most part they are. Some edits remain... for instance, there is an odd scene missing from the Haunted House episode (the bloody head fairy scene), and in the Big Baby Scam, there is a scene missing (where the grandpa whistles in the bathtub). But for the most part, the shows are intact, and wonderful. Watching Space Madness was a blast from the past, and it made me smile. Its funny how so many great memories can be liked to a moronic cartoon. : )
If you have never seen the show, you will probably remain unimpressed. Family Guy, The Simpsons, and South Park have both set standards for "adult" cartoons that weren't around back then. Even Spongebob Squarepants has elements of Ren and Stimpy to it. The originality and shock of the show is missing today. But you should watch it, and maybe get a glimpse into what drove college students crazy in the 1991-1993 era. And, maybe you can see a glimpse into Carl's psyche (I'm a little bit "Ren Hoek" in my mind).
Here is a list of my favorite Ren and Stimpy moments:
1) Ren's total melt-down on Stimpy's Fan Club
2) Ren's threatening speech to Sven and Stimpy on "Sven Hoek" episode. "I'm gonna hit ya!"
3) Stimpy's victory speech after the rasslin' match on Mad Dog Hoek.
4) Ren tempting Stimpy's mind with the task of guarding the history-eraser button on Space Madness
5) The horror of learning about "the big sleep" in Big House Blues.
6) Stimpy and Ren dressing up and acting like monkeys in "Monkey See, Monkey Do"
7) Stimpy using the ghost as a bath towel; cleaning "where the sun don't shine" on Haunted House.
8) The whole concept of Muddy Mudskipper... way too out there! I love watching him flop.
9) Powdered Toastman wrecks a jumbo jet into a semi-truck to prevent a kitten from being squished. Now THAT is funny. Especially since he tosses the kitten into traffic when he leaves.
10) The Royal Canadian Kilted Yaksmen theme song. (sung to the tune of My Country Tis of Thee)
Our country reeks of trees
Our yaks are really large
And they smell like rotting beef carcasses
And we have to clean up after them
And our saddle sores are the best
We proudly wear women's' clothing
And searing sand blows up our skirts!
And the buzzards, they soar overhead
And poisonous snakes will devour us whole
And our bones will bleach in the sun
And we will probably go to Hell
And that is our great reward
For being the Ro-oy-oy-al
Canadian Kilted Yaksmen!
See ya!
Comments:
Carl
I have to say that you were not alone watching Ren and Stimpy. My dad was and still is a huge fan. He used sing the songs to us all of the time. We even bought him t-shirts and stuffed animals from the show. I may not have gotten all of the humor at the time, but I can say that I have watched many episodes.
Sara
I have to say that you were not alone watching Ren and Stimpy. My dad was and still is a huge fan. He used sing the songs to us all of the time. We even bought him t-shirts and stuffed animals from the show. I may not have gotten all of the humor at the time, but I can say that I have watched many episodes.
Sara
Wow, what a flashback! You were the supplier of the Ren & Stimpy and I was the Kids in the Hall pusher. Nice mix at a "Christian" college!?!
I can't believe they edited out the severed head fairy scene! I was just talking to someone about it last week. I also can't believe that I know each of the best moments you write about. There's so many moments to share like the "magic nose goblins", Stimpy's first fart (I love it when he calls for Stimpy..."Dad!"), the walrus saying "Call the police", and the lovely song, "It's a Good Day for a Lynchin'".
Thanks for making me smile today with that nice slice of the past..."how I long to lick your creamy center."...
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I can't believe they edited out the severed head fairy scene! I was just talking to someone about it last week. I also can't believe that I know each of the best moments you write about. There's so many moments to share like the "magic nose goblins", Stimpy's first fart (I love it when he calls for Stimpy..."Dad!"), the walrus saying "Call the police", and the lovely song, "It's a Good Day for a Lynchin'".
Thanks for making me smile today with that nice slice of the past..."how I long to lick your creamy center."...