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The Ren & Stimpy Show

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TV Series

The Resume

    (August 11, 1991-December 16, 1995)
    Aired on Nickelodeon
    Created by John Kricfalusi
    Produced by Spümcø Company and, later, Games Animation
    Voice-work provided John Kricfalusi and Billy West
    Developed by John Kricfalusi, Bob Camp, Jim Smith, Lynne Naylor, and Vanessa Coffey
    Summary: Chronicles the gross and bizarre misadventures of Ren Höek, an intensely hyperactive, greedy Chihuahua, and Stimson 'Stimpy' J. Cat, a fun-loving bubbly empty-headed cat
    Stock characters included Mr. Horse, Powdered Toast Man, Muddy Mudskipper the Fish, and Wilbur Cobb
    Often featured music recording and voice work by Frank Zappa

Why The Ren & Stimpy Show might be annoying:

    Two words: George. Liquor.
    Happy Happy Joy Joy Happy Happy Joy Joy...
    Even die-hard fans have a helluva hard time pronouncing Ren's last name.
    The Ren and Stimpy characters and their voices were patterned after Peter Lorre and Larry Fine respectively.
    Gilbert Gottfried guest starred as Jerry the lint-loaf-hating Belly Button Elf (actually a giant pork chop in disguise).
    It frequently played annoying-as-hell mock advertisements for a lame, fake toy - log (which rolls over your neighbor's dog).
    Like Rocko's Modern Life, it was naively marketed as a kid's show, but contained adult-related humor and hidden sexual innuendo (Powdered Toast Man contained enough gay sex references to warrant inclusion in the Urban Dictionary).
    However, unlike the highly methodical Rocko, it followed virtually no continuity, with many episodes making little or no sense.
    Many episodes were disturbing even for adult audiences, e.g. Ren/Stimpy going to Hell for 'whizzing on the electric fence,' Mr. Horse turning out to be into sexual-walrus-bondage in 'Rubber Nipples' ('call the poliiiice...')
    The most repulsive and whacked out stock character might have been Wilbur Cobb, a decaying and senile geriatric with a fetish for G-strings.
    Predictably Kricfalusi clashed frequently with conservative censors who edited many episodes heavily. After several altercations, Kricfalusi parted ways with the show in 1993, at which point many fans believe the show 'jumped the shark.'
    An attempt was made by Kricfalusi and Spike TV to revive the show on a network geared toward adult-audiences in 2003, but it was cancelled after only six episodes with little fanfare.

Why The Ren & Stimpy Show might not be annoying:

    It gave both kids and adults some of the most memorable comedic toon moments of the 90s.
    It may have been the first kids' cartoon show to develop a following without a merchandising plan already in place.
    It ranked #12 in Wizard Magazine's 100 Greatest Toons (Oct. 2001).
    It ranked #31 in TV Guide's Top 50 Greatest Cartoon Characters of All Time (2002).
    It was nominated for an Outstanding Animated Series Emmy in three consecutive years (1992-1994).
    It may have beaten Modern Family by twenty years in depicting an openly gay couple (in some episodes they were clearly married).
    Most all major gross-out-humorcartoon shows owe their existence to Ren & Stimpy (it also preceded the more popular Simpsons by four months).
    Its popularity resulted in several successful novelty albums, including one titled, 'You Eediot!' with a cover parodying the Beatles' Abbey Road album cover.
    Ren's famous catchphrase 'You Eediot!' is actually homage to Peter Lorre's epic meltdown at Sydney Greenstreet at the end of 'The Maltese Falcon.'
    It frequently utilized the classical music of composers Debussy, Verdi, Beethoven, Dvorak, Mozart, and Wagner.
    The crusty, cigar-munching variety show host Muddy Mudskipper was clear homage to jilted ex-vaudevillians like Jimmy Durante, Ned Sparks, and, most obviously, George Burns.
    Some episodes could be surprisingly, if oddly, poignant, e.g. Ren & Stimpy narrowly escaping being euthanized by the dogcatcher, Stimpy developing a parental love for his 'lost fart'.
    Along with Rocko, 'Rugrats,' 'Doug,' and All That it is considered part of the Golden Age of Nickelodeon's programming.

Credit: BoyWiththeGreenHair


Featured in the following Annoying Collections:

Year In Review:

    In 2023, Out of 15 Votes: 33.33% Annoying
    In 2022, Out of 171 Votes: 54.97% Annoying
    In 2021, Out of 8 Votes: 75.00% Annoying
    In 2020, Out of 94 Votes: 41.49% Annoying
    In 2019, Out of 4 Votes: 25.00% Annoying
    In 2018, Out of 4 Votes: 50.0% Annoying
    In 2017, Out of 5 Votes: 40.0% Annoying
    In 2016, Out of 275 Votes: 57.09% Annoying
    In 2015, Out of 415 Votes: 52.29% Annoying