Rocko's Modern Life

Rocko's Modern Life
Title card
Genre	Sitcom, Slapstick, surreal, satire
Format	Animated series
Created by	Joe Murray
Developed by	Nickelodeon
Directed by	Joe Murray Timothy Björklund Roger Chiasson Stephen Hillenburg Mr. Lawrence Jeff "Swampy" Marsh (full list below)
Creative director(s)	Stephen Hillenburg
Voices of	Carlos Alazraqui Tom Kenny Mr. Lawrence Charles Adler Linda Wallem
Theme music composer	Sarah Frost-Goetz
Opening theme	"Rocko's Modern Life" by the B-52's
Composer(s)	Pat Irwin
Country of origin	United States
Language(s)	English
No. of seasons	4
No. of episodes	52 (List of episodes)
Production
Executive producer(s)	Joe Murray Vanessa Coffey Mary Harrington
Producer(s)	Joe Murray
Running time	23-24 minutes (11-12 per episode) (approx.)
Production company(s)	Joe Murray Productions Nickelodeon Productions Games Animation, Inc. MTV Networks International CBS Paramount Television
Broadcast
Original channel	Nickelodeon
Picture format	SD: 4:3, 480i/576i
Audio format	Dolby SR
Original run	September 18, 1993 – November 24, 1996
Chronology
Related shows	SpongeBob SquarePants Camp Lazlo
External links
Website

Rocko's Modern Life is an animated series created by Joe Murray. The show aired for four seasons between 1993 and 1996 on Nickelodeon. Rocko's Modern Life is based around the surreal, parodic adventures of an anthropomorphic wallaby named Rocko, and his life in the city of O-Town. Originally from Australia, the show explores his American life as well as the lives of his friends: the gluttonous steer Heffer, the neurotic turtle Filburt, and Rocko's faithful dog, Spunky. The show is laden with adult humor, including double entendres, innuendos, and satirical social commentary.

Joe Murray initially created the title character for an unpublished comic book series in the late 1980s, and later reluctantly pitched the series to Nickelodeon, who was looking for edgier cartoonists for their new Nicktoons block. The network gave the staff of the program a large amount of creative freedom, the writers targeting both children and adults. The show's animation's stylistically features crooked architecture. In addition, Murray picked a large amount of newcomer voice actors, such as Tom Kenny and Carlos Alazraqui, who have in recent years gone on to become very popular. The show was the fourth Nicktoon to premiere.

Produced by Games Animation and Joe Murray Productions, the show premiered on September 18, 1993 and ended on November 24, 1996. After the show's completion, much of the staff regrouped to work on SpongeBob SquarePants, created by producer Stephen Hillenburg. Rocko's Modern Life generally received positive reviews during its original broadcast run and in recent years has seen renewed praise for sophisticated and subversive humor. The series also has over time developed a devoted following of fans, making many commentators deem it a cult television show.

History

Originally, the character appeared in an unpublished comic book titled Travis. Murray tried selling the comic book in the late 1980s, between illustrating jobs, and did not find success in getting it into production. Many other characters appeared in various sketchbooks. He described the early 1990s animation atmosphere as "ripe for this kind of project. We took some chances that would be hard to do in these crappy times (the 1990s)".^[1] Murray wanted funding for his independent film My Dog Zero, so he wanted Nickelodeon to pre-buy television rights for the series. He presented a pencil test to Nickelodeon, which afterward became interested in buying and financing the show. Murray had never worked in television before.^[2] The industry was coming out of a "rough period" and Murray wanted to "shake things up a bit."^[3]

Linda Simensky, then in charge of animation development in Nickelodeon, described the Nicktoons lineup and concept to Murray. He originally felt skepticism towards the concept of creating a Nicktoon as he disliked television cartoons. Simensky told him that Nicktoons differed from other cartoons. He then told her that he believed that My Dog Zero would not work as a cartoon. He then researched Nickelodeon at the library and found that Nickelodeon's "attitude was different than regular TV."^[4] The cable network providers were "making their own rules": for example, Murray stated that he "didn't write for children," which the executives were fine with.^[5] Murray was unsure at first, but was inspired by independent animation around him, such as Animation Celebration and MTV's Liquid Television, and gave the network a shot.^[5] At the time, Nickelodeon was selling itself as a network based as much around edge as around kids’ entertainment. It aimed to appeal to college students and parents as much as children.^[6]

Murray developed the Rocko character after visiting a zoo in the Bay Area and coming across a wallaby that seemed to be oblivious to the chaos around him.^[3] Murray combed through his sketchbooks, developed the Rocko's Modern Life concept, and submitted it to Nickelodeon, believing that the concept would likely be rejected. Murray felt they would not like the pilot, and he would just collect his sum and begin funding his next independent film.^[5] According to Murray, around three or four months later he had "forgotten about" the concept and was working on My Dog Zero when Simensky informed him that Nickelodeon wanted a pilot episode. Murray said that he was glad that he would get funding for My Dog Zero.^[4] On his website he describes My Dog Zero as "that film that Linda Simensky saw which led me to Rocko."^[7] "Sucker for the Suck-O-Matic" was originally written as the pilot; the executives decided that Heffer Wolfe, one of the characters, would be "a little too weird for test audiences." Murray, instead of removing Heffer from "Sucker for the Suck-O-Matic," decided to write "Trash-O-Madness" as the pilot episode.^[4]

In the original series pilot, Rocko was colored yellow. His color was changed when a toy merchandising company informed Nick they were interested in marketing dolls but did not want to market Rocko because "They already had a yellow character." Murray changed Rocko's color to beige, and after the pilot aired, the company opted out of producing toys for the series. When the series was in development prior to the release of the first episode, the series had the title The Rocko Show.^[8]

In 1992, two months prior to the production of season 1 of Rocko's Modern Life, Murray's first wife committed suicide.^[9] Murray had often blamed his wife's suicide on the show being picked up. He said "It was always an awful connection because I look at Rocko as such a positive in my life."^[10] Murray felt that he had emotional and physical "unresolved issues" when he moved to Los Angeles. He describes the experience as like participating in "marathon with my pants around my ankles." Murray initially believed that he would create one season, move back to the San Francisco Bay Area, and "clean up the loose ends I had left hanging." Murray said that he felt surprised when Nickelodeon approved new seasons;^[4] Nickelodeon renewed the series for its second season in December 1993.^[11]

After season 3 he decided to hand the project to Stephen Hillenburg, who performed most work for season 4; Murray continued to manage the cartoon.^[4] He said that he would completely leave the production after season 4. He said also that he encouraged the network to continue production, but Nickelodeon eventually decided to cancel the series. He described all fifty-two episodes as "top notch", and in his view the quality of a television show may decline as production continues "when you are dealing with volume."^[4] On his website he said that, "In some ways it succeeded and in some ways failed. All I know it developed its own flavor and an equally original legion of fans."^[1] In a 1997 interview Murray said that he at times wondered if he could re-start the series; he feels the task would be difficult.^[4]

Production

I think what set the [1990's] apart was the fact that the climate was ripe for people taking chances and doing different things. Both Nick and Cartoon Network were able to invest on people who had nothing to lose. Of course, the result of that was that there was a big explosion in the scene. There were big successes—like that yellow sponge that popped up in a big way—and with that success came another era where people aren’t apt to take as many chances because the stakes are too high.

—Series creator Joe Murray in 2011, on being a part of the creative animation scene in the early 1990s.^[3]

The show was jointly produced between Games Animation and Joe Murray Productions. Since Nickelodeon did not have an animation studio, that had to contract out to other studios. After incidents with The Ren & Stimpy Show creator John Kricfalusi, Nickelodeon began to not trust its creators as much and began to form its own studio - Games Animation.^[5] However, Murray recalls that they were still able to get a lot done independently. Murray has likened the independence to that of "Termite Terrace" (Warner Bros. Cartoons) from the 1930s. As Nickelodeon began to have more and more success with its animation cartoons, Murray said the "Termite Terrace" mentality was not working as much.^[5] Producer Mary Harrington made the move from New York City to Los Angeles to set up Games Animation, in order to produce Rocko's Modern Life. The crew first began production on the show in January 1993.^[2] Rocko's Modern Life was Nickelodeon's first in-house animated production.^[2]

Murray's Joe Murray Productions and Games Animation rented office space on Ventura Boulevard in the Studio City neighborhood of the San Fernando Valley region of Los Angeles, California.^[12] The production moved to a different office building on Vineland Avenue in Studio City. Executives did not share space with the creative team.^[13][14] Murray rented a floor in the Writers Guild of America, West building, although the team of Rocko was not a part of the union, which the staff found ironic.^[5] Rough Draft Studios assembled the animation.^[15] According to Murray, as Rocko's Modern Life was his first television series, he did not know about the atmosphere of typical animation studios. Murray said that he opted to operate his studio in a similar manner to the operation of his Saratoga, California studio, which he describes as "Very relaxed."^[4] His cadre included many veterans who, according to him, described the experience as "the most fun they had ever had!" He, saying that the atmosphere was "not my doing," credited his team members for collectively contributing.^[4] Murray described the daily atmosphere at the studio as "very loose," adding that the rules permitted all staff members to use the paging system to make announcements. He stated that one visitor compared the environment of the production studio to "preschool without supervision."^[13][14] Murray stated that 70 people in the United States and over 200 people in South Korea animated the series.^[4]

Rick Bentley of the Ventura County Star said that it was unusual for a cartoon creator to select a wallaby as a main character. Bentley also stated that the Rocko universe was influenced by "everything from Looney Tunes to underground comics."^[16] The staff of the show were fans of outrageous comedy, both animated and not animated. Tom Kenny cited Looney Tunes and SCTV as influences for the show, and also stated "I'm sure if you asked Joe Murray or Mr. Lawrence or any of those guys, especially in terms of animation, the weirdest cartoons would of course be our favorites—those weird ‘30s Fleischer brothers Betty Boop cartoons and stuff like that."^[17]

Murray produced the pilot episode, "Trash-O-Madness", at his studio in Saratoga; he animated half of the episode, and the production occurred entirely in the United States, with animation in Saratoga and processing in San Francisco.^[18] While directing during recording sessions, Murray preferred to be on the stage with the actors instead of "behind glass" in a control room, which he describes as "the norm" while making animated series.^[19] He believes that, due to his lack of experience with children, Rocko's Modern Life "skewed kind of older."^[20] Murray noted, "There's a lot of big kids out there. People went to see 'Roger Rabbit' and saw all these characters they'd grown up with and said, 'Yeah, why don't they have something like that anymore?'"^[21] When he began producing Rocko, he says that his experience in independent films initially led him to attempt to micromanage many details in the production. He said that the approach, when used for production of television shows, was "driving me crazy." This led him to allow for other team members to manage aspects of the Rocko's Modern Life production.^[20] Director and later creative director Stephen Hillenburg met Murray at an animation film festival where he was showing his three short films. Murray hired Hillenburg as a director on the series, making Hillenburg's first job in the animation business as a director.^[22]

Writing style

The writers aimed to create stories that they describe as "strong" and "funny." The writers, including George Maestri and Martin Olson, often presented ideas to Murray while eating hamburgers at Rocky's, a restaurant formerly located on Lankershim in the North Hollywood section of the San Fernando Valley. He took his team members on "writing trips" to places such as Rocky's, the LaBrea Tar Pits, and the wilderness. If he liked the story premises, the writers produced full outlines from the premises. Outlines approved by both him and Nickelodeon became Rocko's Modern Life episodes. Maestri describes some stories as originating from "real life" and some originating from "thin air."^[23][24] Murray stated that each episode of Rocko's Modern Life stemmed from the personal experiences of himself and/or one or more of the directors or writers.^[4] He said that he did not intend to use formulaic writing seen in other cartoons; he desired content that "broke new ground" and "did things that rode the edge," and that could be described as "unexpected." He did not hire writers who had previous experience with writing cartoons, instead hiring writers who worked outside of animation, including improv actors and comic artists. He said that story concepts that "ever smacked close to some formula idea that we had all seen before" received rejection.^[25]

Jeff "Swampy" Marsh, a storyboard writer, says that writers of Rocko's Modern Life targeted children and adults. He cites Rocky and Bullwinkle as an example of another series that contains references indecipherable by children and understood by adults. Aiming for a similar goal, Marsh described the process as "a hard job." According to him, when censors questioned proposed material, sometimes the team disagreed with the opinions of the censors and sometimes the team agreed with the rationale of the censors. He says that "many people" told him that the team "succeeded in this endevour" [sic] and that "many parents I know really enjoyed watching the show with their kids for just this reason."^[26] John Pacenti said the series "seems very much aimed at adults" "for a children's' cartoon."^[27] Marsh believes that the material written by Doug Lawrence stands as an example of a "unique sense of humor." For instance, Marsh credits Lawrence with the "pineapple references" adding that Lawrence believed that pineapples seemed humorous.^[26] The staff drew upon Looney Tunes and the Fleischer cartoons to appeal to wide demographic: having a certain adult sensibility but also enjoyed by kids.^[17]

Animation style

Rocko's Modern Life has been described as similar to that of the output of Warner Bros Cartoons in the Golden Age: a visually driven show heavy on humor, sight gags, and good animation. Instead of a finished script, the animators usually received a three-page outline, requiring them to come up with a majority of the gags and dialogue. The animation team appreciated this approach, with storyboard artist Jeff Myers, formerly of The Simpsons, quoted as saying "The script [at The Simpsons] was carved in stone. Here it's […] more of a challenge and a lot more fun when we're given a rough outline."^[28] Murray's animation lacked parallel lines and featured crooked architecture similar to various Chuck Jones cartoons. In an interview he stated that his design style contributed to the show's "Wonky bent feel."^[4] Jean Prescott of The Sun Herald described the series as "squash-and-stretch."^[29] A 1993 Houston Chronicle article described the series' setting as having a "reality that is 'squashed and stretched' into a twisted version of real life."^[30] The background staff hand-painted backgrounds with Dr. Martin Dyes,^[19] while each episode title card consisted of an original painting.^[19] Linda Simensky said that she asked the creators of Rocko's Modern Life about why the women in the series were drawn to be "top-heavy," the creators told her that they believed that drawing women "the traditional way" was easier. Simensky described the creators as "talented guys" who formed "a boy's club" and added that "we pushed them to be funny, but a lot of their women are stereotypical."^[31]

Music

There are 3 versions of the Rocko's Modern Life theme song. The first and original version can be heard playing throughout season one and was composed by Pat Irwin, who also composed the series' background music. The second version of the theme song was a slightly remixed version of the first and was only used during episodes 8 and 9 of season one. One of the changes included high pitched voices added to the chorus. The third version of the theme song was performed by Kate Pierson and Fred Schneider from The B-52s. They performed the Rocko's Modern Life theme song from Season 2 onwards.

At first Murray wanted Paul Sumares to perform the theme song since Sumares created most of the music found in My Dog Zero. Murray wanted the same style in My Dog Zero exhibited in Rocko's Modern Life. Nickelodeon wanted a person with more experience.^[8] According to Sumares, believing for the request to be a long shot, Murray asked for Danny Elfman and felt stunned when Nickelodeon decided to honor his request by asking Elfman to perform.^[8] According to Murray, Elfman, his first choice, was booked. Therefore he chose the B-52's, his second choice.^[8] According to Sumares Murray decided to use the B-52's instead of Elfman. Murray states that the difference between the stories "could just be a recollection conflict, because Paul is a brilliant amazing guy."^[8] Murray also sought Alan Silvestri. According to Sumares Viacom did not want to use Silvestri as the organization wanted a band "slightly older kids could identify with."^[8]

Pat Irwin, a veteran of many bands, including the New York-based instrumental group the Raybeats, and, a side gig, the B-52s, spent five years as a music director on the series. Leading a six-piece combo, Irwin brought together musicians such as trombonist Art Baron and drummer Kevin Norton.^[32]

Plot

Main article: List of Rocko's Modern Life episodes

The plot follows the life of a wallaby, Rocko, who has immigrated to America from Australia. In America, he is faced with various problems and challenges involving his pals who try to teach him what it means to be a good friend. Many of the locations in the television show Rocko's Modern Life have the letter "O" for example O-Town and Conglom-O. When asked about the use of "O" in his show Murray said,

I always got a big kick out of the businesses that were 'House-O-Paint', or 'Ton-O-Noodles', because their names seemed to homogenize what they sold, and strip the products of true individuality and stress volume ... and we all know, the American dream is volume! So what better company to create volume than 'Conglom-O', and since a majority of the town worked at Conglom-O, it should be called 'O' Town. I also wanted the town to be 'anytown' USA, and I used to love sports players with a big ZERO on their back. It was funny to me.^[4]

The plot locations included the following:

• O-Town is the town in which Rocko lives, apparently located near the Great Lakes.
• Chokey Chicken is a favorite restaurant/hang-out place for Rocko, Heffer, and Filburt. At some point during the fourth season the restaurant was renamed "Chewy Chicken" due to the former name referring to a euphemism for masturbation (i.e., "choking the chicken"), though earlier episodes continued to air with the "Chokey Chicken" name. It's a parody of KFC.
• Conglom-O Corporation is the biggest company in town; it even runs City Hall. Mr. Dupette, who has very peculiar ways to see if the employees are fit to work there, manages Conglom-O. Conglom-O does not seem to have a specific purpose or product—it is a giant company that manufactures many products. Conglom-O's slogan is always shown beneath its name. The slogan is "We own you," revealing in a later musical episode that they own everything in O-Town. When Ed Bighead was shown to work at Conglom-O in 1961, the slogan stated "We Will Own You" (alluding to the future of megacorporations). The illustration that appears with the logo and on top of the official Conglom-O Corp. skyscraper is a martini glass with the earth in place of an olive.
• Heck is where "bad people" go when they die. Run by Peaches, it is where Heffer is doomed to eternal suffering.
• Holl-o-Wood is a town that resembles the Hollywood section of Los Angeles, California.
• Kind of a Lot O' Comics is a comic book store where Rocko works. His boss, Mr. Smitty, is a cruel toad who only concentrates on selling comics. Rocko, however, is very nice and giving. For example, when a customer sneezed all over a comic, Rocko gave him a fresh copy and did not charge him for the previous comic.

Characters

Main article: List of Rocko's Modern Life characters

All the characters in the Rocko's Modern Life series are animals. There is a wide range of species, and the vast majority of them are also mentally unstable. Murray said that he matched personalities of his characters to the various animals in the series to form a "social caricature".^[20] Rocko, the protagonist, is a wallaby who encounters various dilemmas and situations regarding otherwise mundane aspects of life. His best friend Heffer Wolfe is fat and enthusiastic cow, while Filburt the turtle often feels uncomfortable or disturbed.

• Carlos Alazraqui as the voice of Rocko, Spunky, Leon Chameleon, Squirmy The Ringworm and Granny Rocko.
• Tom Kenny as the voice of Heffer Wolfe, Chuck Chameleon, Mr. Smitty, Really Really Big Man, Bloatman "Bloaty" Tick, Peaches, Heffbert Turtle, Rocko's singing voice, Filbert's singing voice, and various males
• Mr. Lawrence as the voice of Filburt Turtle, Shellbert Turtle, and Peter Wolfe
• Linda Wallem as the voice of Dr. Paula Hutchison, Mrs. Virginia Wolfe, Grandma Wolfe, Cindy Wolfe, Tammy the Pig, Missy Turtle, Karen Chicken, Winifred Wolfe, Judge, Nurse Tammy Mouse, Miss Pancreas, Claudette, Elkie, Queen Marie Antoinette, and various females
• Charlie Adler as the voice of Ed Bighead, Gladys The Hippo Lady, Mr. George Wolfe, Grandpa Wolfe, Bev Bighead, Mr. Dupette, Mr. and Mrs. Fathead and various males
• Joe Murray as the voice of himself and Ralph Bighead

Other Characters

• Pinky the Appendix("Tickled Pinky")
• Frank Hutchison ("The Big Answer")
• Widow Hutchison ("The Big Question", "The Big Answer")
• Gib Hootsen ("The Good, The Bad, and The Wallaby")
• Mortimer Khan ("Feisty Geist")
• Madam Doreeno ("Feisty Geist")
• Wild Pig ("Skid Marks", "Zanzibar", "Rinse and Spit")
• Dingo/ Fifi Noo-Noo (
• The Unicorn (
• Crazy Aunt Gretchen Turtle ("Sugar Frosted Frights", "The Big Answer")
• Dr. Bendova ("Flu-In-You-Enza")
• Gordon The Foot ("Rinse and Spit")
• The Hopping Hessian ("Sugar Frosted Frights")
• Dave ("
• Melba Toest ("Clean Loving"
• Bladder

Crew

Murray selected several newcomer voice actors for the roles.^[16]

• Joe Murray: creator, executive producer, writer, story editor (Seasons 1–3)
• Andy Houts: project coordinator
• Stephen Hillenburg: producer, storyboard director, writer, creative director
• Derek Drymon: storyboard artist, writer
• Doug Lawrence: storyboard director, writer
• Dan Povenmire: storyboard director, writer
• Swampy Marsh: storyboard director, writer
• Timothy Berglund (aka Timothy Björklund): storyboard director, writer
• Martin Olson: writer
• George Maestri: writer
• Kevin Stalker: writer
• Gary Conrad and Merriwether Williams: writer
• Vince Calandra: writer
• Tim Hill: story editor (on Season 4 only)
• Mark O'Hare: storyboard artist
• Steven E. Gordon: storyboard artist
• Robert Hughes: animation director
• Antoine Guilbaud: storyboard artist
• Tom Yasumi: animation timer, animation director
• Danny Antonucci: storyboard artist
• Jeff Myers: storyboard director
• Kevin O' Brien: storyboard artist
• Joe Suggs: storyboard artist
• Conrad Vernon: storyboard artist
• Bert Ring: storyboard artist
• Nathan Clark: animation timer
• Alan Smart: animation director
• George Chilatas: animation director
• Nick Jennings: storyboard artist
• Pete Michels: animation director
• Chris Savino: animation artist
• Howy Parkins: animation director
• Roger Chiassen: writer/storyboard director
• Robert McNally Scull: writer/storyboard artist
• Pat Irwin: music composer

Writers

• Tim Hill: 36 episodes, 1994–1996
• Martin Olson: 33 episodes, 1993–1996
• George Maestri: 32 episodes, 1993–1996
• Stephen Hillenburg: 27 episodes, 1993–1996
• Mark O'Hare: 25 episodes, 1993–1996
• Robert McNally-Scull: 24 episodes, 1993–1996
• Joe Murray: 23 episodes, 1993–1995
• Jeff "Swampy" Marsh: 23 episodes, 1993–1996
• Jeff Meyer: 22 episodes, 1993–1996
• Dan Povenmire: 22 episodes, 1993–1996
• Doug Lawrence: 20 episodes, 1993–1995
• Timothy Berglund: 18 episodes, 1993–1995
• Vince Calandra: 13 episodes, 1993–1994
• Derek Drymon: 7 episodes, 1996
• Rob Porter: 7 episodes, 1996
• John McIntyre: 6 episodes, 1996
• Roger Chiasson: 4 episodes, 1993
• Nick Jennings: 4 episodes, 1993
• Kevin O'brian: 3 episodes, 1993
• Ron Hauge: 3 episodes, 1993
• Don Spencer: 3 episodes, 1993
• Conrad Vernon: 2 episodes, 1993
• Carlos Alazraqui: 2 episodes, 1994–1995
• Nichole Poinski: 1 episode, 1993
• Raymond Johnson: 1 episode, 1993
• Joe D. Suggs: 1 episode, 1993
• Andy Houts: 1 episodes, 1993
• Veronica Alicino: 1 episode, 1996
• Antoine Guilbaud: 1 episode, 1996

Reception

Murray said that the cartoon "resonated" with people because the scenarios depicted in the cartoon involving "the neurosis, the daily chores of everyday life" were based on Murray's own experiences "breaking out into the world" after leaving school.^[33] The show was first debuted in a preview on September 18, 1993, and officially premiered the following morning, to join Nickelodeon's Sunday morning animation block.^[34] On September 18, the series' first night of airing, Rocko's Modern Life received a 3.0 in ratings. By January 31, 1994 the series' audience grew by 65%.^[11] Rocko's Modern Life, was at the time the network's highest-rated cartoon launch ever.^[35] There was a brief period in 1993 when the network received numerous complaints from members of a religious group that Ren & Stimpy and Rocko's Modern Life were too adult-oriented to be shown to kids on Sunday mornings. They wanted the shows moved to a different time slot. The network was polite but did not make the programming change.^[36]

Initial reviews of Rocko's Modern Life were positive. The Miami Herald ran an article about series that were "rais[ing] the standards for children's programming," singling out Rocko's Modern Life as "definitely worth a look."^[37] Jennifer Mangan of the Chicago Tribune likened the series to The Simpsons, noting the show as another example of adult animation that is "not for kids."^[38] Newsday highlighted the show's "twisted sight gags.^[34] Ted Drozdowski of The Boston Phoenix stated in the "Eye pleasers" article that he enjoyed Rocko's Modern Life because of "jovial excitement," "good-hearted outrage," "humanity," and "pushy animated characterizations."^[39] However, not all reviews were positive. Ken Tucker of Entertainment Weekly described the series as "a witless rip-off of Ren & Stimpy: mucus jokes without the redeeming surrealism or contempt for authority."^[40] Charles Solomon of the Los Angeles Times called the series "rock bottom" and a "tasteless attempt to capture the Ren & Stimpy audience," mostly expressing displeasure at the crass humor.^[41]

Common Sense Media reviewer Andrea Graham, whose review is posted on Go.com, describes Rocko's Modern Life as "somewhat edgy" and gave the series four out of five stars. Graham also warned parents to watch for "innuendos."^[42]

Awards

Timothy J. Borquez, Patrick Foley, Michael Giesler, Michael A. Gollorn, William B. Griggs, Tom Jeager, Gregory LaPlante, Timothy Mertens, and Kenneth Young of Rocko's Modern Life received a 1993 Daytime Emmy Award for "Outstanding Achievement in Film Sound Editing."^[43]

George Maestri was nominated for a CableACE Award for his Rocko's Modern Life writing.^[44][45]

The series won an Environmental Media Award in 1996 for the episode "Zanzibar!".^[46] The award was accepted by the episode's writers, Dan Povenmire and Jeff "Swampy" Marsh, future creators of the hit Disney animated series,"Phineas and Ferb" .^[47]

Broadcast history

Rocko's Modern Life aired on Nickelodeon from 1993 until 2004. The show was briefly syndicated to local stations by Nickelodeon during 1995 and 1996.^[48]

In the summer of 2006, Rocko's Modern Life came back to Nickelodeon as part of the Nick Rewind block. Reruns of Rocko's Modern Life currently air on Nicktoons TV and Nick Canada.

MTV picked up Rocko's Modern Life from sister station Nickelodeon in early 1994 in an attempt to lure Beavis and Butt-head viewers.^[40] In Malaysia Rocko's Modern Life aired in MetroVision around 1997.^[49] In the early 2000s Nickelodeon Japan marketed the show along with The Ren and Stimpy Show.^[50]

In Australia, it was shown on Nickelodeon in the late 1990s and there have been reruns of episodes late at night throughout the years. The show was also shown on ABC Kids during the early 2000s.^[51] It was also shown on Ukrainian channel ICTV: Rocko's Modern Life on ICTV. Rocko's Modern Life was one of the seminal premieres on Nickelodeon Canada, the network's Canadian extension launched in November 2009.^[52]

Rocko's Modern Life aired as a part of The '90s Are All That on TeenNick from September 5, 2011-September 23, 2011.^[53]

Legacy

The fourth Nicktoon to debut, Rocko’s boasts a sizable cult fan-base to this day.^[6] Tom Kenny cited Rocko's Modern Life as vital in him learning how to do voiceover for animation. He recalled that seeing Charlie Adler have a two-way conversation with himself as the Bigheads without any edits was "dazzling."^[17] It was a very early job for Mr. Lawrence.

Many members of the Rocko's Modern Life staff have, in recent years, gone on to become incredibly successful. Stephen Hillenburg later went on to pitch a new series to Nickelodeon in 1998, regarding which Murray said "If it goes well, it'll be a blessing to us all."^[4] The network bought the pitch and SpongeBob SquarePants premiered the following year, becoming an enormous popular, critical and financial success. Hillenburg stated that he "learned a great deal about writing and producing animation for TV" from his time on Rocko's Modern Life and noted that "a lot of people came off of Rocko that work on SpongeBob." Tom Kenny, who voiced Heffer Wolfe, performs the voice of the title character, SpongeBob.^[54] Two writers for the series, Dan Povenmire and Jeff "Swampy" Marsh, went on to create Phineas and Ferb for the Disney Channel; the show became a ratings success and received numerous award nominations.^[55] When Murray returned with a new animated series, Camp Lazlo, in 2005, much of the former staff of Rocko's Modern Life joined him.^[20] Murray stated that "We always kept in touch and they told me to look them up if I ever did another project," adding that the crew already knew his sensibilities and an extra decade worth of experience. Carlos Alazraqui, who played Rocko, also ended up playing the main character of Lazlo.^[20] Derek Drymon and Nick Jennings, both part of the staff, went on to be responsible for the tone and visual looks of a lot of very successful animated series that came later.^[17]

In recent years, the show has seen renewed acclaim. Brahna Siegelberg of Slate said that the aspect that was most compelling was that the show had "a really poignant critique of the materialist demands of American life." She added that she "realized that Rocko was really a show about how to navigate the adult world; one that could be appreciated by kids for its slapstick humor and absurdity, but had even more to say to young adults—like me."^[56] IGN called the show a prime example of the "sophisticated, intelligent brand of children's programming" during Nickelodeon's golden age.^[57] The A.V. Club also called the show "one of the best series" from that era, praising the show's "impressive commitment to expressive character acting, well-drawn sight gags, and cartoony jokes that play with the form’s slapstick strengths."^[6] New York compared the series' humor, in retrospect, to that of Office Space (1999) and praised the subversive, anti-corporate stories.^[58]

Censorship

Rocko's Modern Life has been noted for its racy humor.^[59] Adults made up more than one-fifth of the audience for the show during its run.^[60] The series contained numerous adult innuendos, such as Rocko's brief stint as a telephone operator: the instructions on the wall behind him helpfully remind all employees to "Be Hot, Be Naughty, and Be Courteous" while he flatly repeats "Oh baby" into the receiver.^[61] In "The Good, the Bad and the Wallaby", Heffer encounters a milking machine and finds pleasure, although only his reactions are shown onscreen.^[62] According to writer/director Jeff "Swampy" Marsh, the scene was originally supposed to have hearts appearing in Heffer's eyes at the climactic moment. Sure it wasn't going to make it, they described the scene to Nickelodeon censors anyway: "We described the scene, and then waited for the axe to fall, but all they said was 'can you change the hearts to stars?', we said sure, and it went in." The scene, as well as a scene showing Heffer's break-up with the machine, were later removed.^[63]

There were at least two occurrences of immediate censorship of the series. The original broadcast of the segment "Road Rash" featured a scene in which Rocko and Heffer stop at a seedy motel (the "No-Tell Motel") advertising "hourly rates" and ask the oriental-horse desk clerk for a room, who implies the two will be engaging in intercourse: "All night? [whistles] Wheeeooo! Okay."^[62][63] The first airing of "Hut Sut Raw" included a scene in which Rocko is picking berries; upon picking one lower on the bush, a bear rushes out whimpering and grasping his crotch.^[61] Both scenes were edited by Nickelodeon after their first broadcasts. In addition, the restaurant named "Chokey Chicken" (a term for masturbation) was renamed "Chewy Chicken" for the series' fourth season.^[62] As the series entered reruns after cancellation, more scenes were cut. The entire episode "Leap Frogs", in which Bev Bighead attempts to seduce Rocko, was skipped.^[63]

When Shout! Factory announced a retail release for the series' first season, there were concerns on whether Nickelodeon would allow Shout! to release the series complete with some of the racier humor that the network eventually cut out for reruns.^[64] During production, Shout! Factory only received materials from sources that were edited for broadcast.^[59] In the end, both scenes from "The Good, the Bad and the Wallaby" appeared censored.^[59][65]

Home Releases/DVD Releases

Fans have requested that Nickelodeon produce a DVD collection of the series for years. Murray has often got e-mails from fans, and his top question was "When will Rocko be on DVD?"^[5] Prior to the official DVD releases, Murray stated that he had not heard of any plans for a DVD release and that there are several illegal DVD releases of the series sold on eBay. He commented, "But at least someone is trying to give Rocko fans what they want. Because Nickelodeon sure isn't doing it."^[66] Murray worked with his legal team to regain the rights, so that an official DVD can be released.^[67]

The first home video release of the series in the United States was in February 1995, when selected episodes were released on VHS by Sony Wonder.^[68] Sony Wonder used Rocko's Modern Life, alongside releases from Ren & Stimpy and Are You Afraid of the Dark?, as "leading brands" in order for the company to break into the market.^[69] Paramount Home Entertainment later re-released the tapes in 1997 and 1998.^[70][71]

In July 2008, Rocko's Modern Life was added to the iTunes Store as a part of the "Nick Rewind" collection, in four "Best of" volumes.^[72] Eventually, in August 2008, Nickelodeon joined forces with CreateSpace, part of the Amazon.com Inc. group of companies, to make a number of animated and live-action shows available on DVD, many for the first time. The DVDs were published via CreateSpace DVD on Demand, a service that manufactures discs as soon as customers order them on Amazon.com. Rocko's Modern Life was available in two "Best of" collections, released September 5, 2008.^[73][74]

In March 2011, Shout Factory announced that they were going to release Season 1 in an official box set on June 21, 2011. The two-disc set received relatively positive reviews, only receiving criticism for video quality and the lack of bonus features.^[65] According to Joe Muarry's website, he has struck a deal with Shout! Factory to create the artwork for the Season 2 set and special features are still pending.^[75] On November 3, 2011, it was announced that the second season will be released on February 7, 2012.^[76]

All four seasons are available in streaming format on Netflix.

DVD name	Release date	Discs	Episodes	Cover art
Best of... Volume 1	November 16, 2008	2	Disc 1 Episode 1a – "Carnival Knowledge" (June 12, 1993) Episode 1b – "Sand In The Navel" (June 12, 1993) Episode 2a – "A Sucker for the Suck-O-Matic" (July 1, 1993) Episode 2b – "Canned" (July 1, 1993) Episode 3a – "Rocko's Happy Sack" (July 16, 1993) Episode 3b – "Flu-in-u-enza" (July 16, 1993) Disc 2 Episode 4a – "Who's For Dinner" (August 20, 1993) Episode 4b – "Love Spanked" (August 20, 1993) Episode 5a – "Clean Lovin" (August 21, 1993) Episode 5b – "Unbalanced Load" (August 21, 1993) Episode 6a – "Leap Frogs" (September 22, 1993) Episode 6b – "Bedfellows" (September 22, 1993)
Best of... Volume 2	December 12, 2008	2	Disc 1 Episode 7a – "No Pain, No Gain" (March 2, 1993) Episode 7b – "Who Gives A Buck?" (March 2, 1993) Episode 8a – "Jet Scream" (February 12, 1993) Episode 8b – "Dirty Dog" (February 12, 1993) Episode 9a – "Keeping Up with the Bigheads" (March 6, 1993) Episode 9b – "Skid Marks" (March 6, 1993) Disc 2 Episode 10a – "The Good, The Bad, and the Wallaby" (October 23, 1993) Episode 10b – "Trash-O-Madness" (April 22, 1993) Episode 11a – "Power Trip" (May 1, 1993) Episode 11b – "To Heck and Back" (May 1, 1993) Episode 12a – "Spitballs" (November 23, 1993) Episode 12b – "Popcorn Pandemonium" (November 23, 1993) Episode 13a – "Cabin Fever" (December 31, 1993) Episode 13b – "Rinse And Spit" (December 31, 1993)
Best of... Volume 3	October 24, 2009	2	Disc 1 Episode 14a – "Hair Licked" (March 2, 1994) Episode 14b – "The Lounge Singer" (March 2, 1994) Episode 15a – "She's the Toad" (March 23, 1994) Episode 15b – "Boob Tubed" (March 23, 1994) Episode 16a – "Commuted Sentence" (April 21, 1994) Disc 2 Episode 16b – "Hut Sut Raw" (April 21, 1994) Episode 17a – "Kiss Me I'm Foreign" (April 21, 1994) Episode 18 – "Cruisin' (Parts 1-2)" (May 2, 1994) Episode 19a – "Born to Spawn" (July 6, 1994) Episode 19b – "Uniform Behavior" (July 6, 1994) Episode 20a-20b – "Gutter Balls" (August 24, 1994)

DVD Name	Ep#	Release date	# of Disc
Season 1	13	June 21, 2011	2
Season 2	13	February 7, 2012	2
Season 3	13	TBA	2
Season 4	13	TBA	2

Marvel Comics series

During Tom DeFalco's Editor-in-Chief career, Marvel Comics produced a seven-issue comic book series based on the television series.^[77] Marvel published the series from June 1994 to December 1994 with monthly releases.

Nickelodeon approached Marvel, asking the company to produce comic book series for Rocko's Modern Life and Ren and Stimpy. Marvel purchased the license for Rocko from Nickelodeon. The staff created the comics, and Susan Luposniak, a Nickelodeon employee,^[78] examined the comics before they were released.^[79] Joe Murray said in a December 2, 2008 blog entry that he drew some of the pages in the comic book series.^[80]

The comics contain stories not seen in the television show. In addition, the comic book series omits some television show characters and places, while some original places and characters appear in the comics. John "Lewie" Lewandowski wrote all of the stories except for one; Joey Cavalieri wrote "Beaten by a Club," the second story of Issue #4.

Troy Little, a resident of Monroe, Oregon, wrote to Marvel requesting that the title for the comic's letters column should be "That's Life." In Issue 3, published in August 1994, the editors decided to use the title for the comic's "Letters to the Editor" section.^[78][79] In Issue 5, published in October 1994, the editors stated that they still received suggestions for the title for the comic even though the editors had decided on using "That's Life" by Issue 3.^[81]

Merchandise

By January 31, 1994 Nickelodeon received ten "licensing partners" for merchandise for the series.^[11] Hardee's distributed Rocko toys.^[82] Viacom New Media released one game based on the show, Rocko's Modern Life: Spunky's Dangerous Day, in the United States for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System. In addition, Nickelodeon 3-D Movie Maker features various characters from the show. Rocko also appeared in the game Nicktoons: Attack of the Toybots. Nick.com created two free online games featuring Rocko, using Shockwave Flash (which requires the Shockwave plugin).^[83][84] Hot Topic has been selling Rocko's Modern Life merchandise such as t-shirts, wrist bands, key chains and other items as part of their Nick Classic line.

Nickelodeon's website safety guide

In the late 1990s and early-to-mid 2000s^[85][86] Nickelodeon used Rocko's Modern Life characters in several short comics collected under the title "A Byte-Size Online Safety Guide" explaining netiquette, internet security, and internet safety to readers of Nick.com.

See also

	Nickelodeon portal
	Television portal
	Animation portal

• Camp Lazlo

References

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2. ^ ^{a b c} Neuwirth 2003, p. 252
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5. ^ ^{a b c d e f g} Tom Racine. Episode 124 - Joe Murray talltalefeatures.com. Tall Tale Radio. (July 9, 2011). Podcast accessed on July 19, 2011.
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86. ^ "A Byte-Size Online Safety Guide" as of April 3, 2005, Nickelodeon

External links

• Rocko at Nickelodeon Australia website
• Rocko at Nickelodeon UK website (Archive)
• Rocko at Nicktoons UK website (Archive)
• Archive of Nickelodeon Southeast Asia Rocko's Modern Life website (Archive)
• Rockos Modernes Leben (Germany)
• Rocko's Modern Life at the Internet Movie Database
• Rocko's Modern Life at TV.com
• Rocko's Modern Life at the Big Cartoon DataBase
• Rocko's Modern Life FAQ - Includes interviews with "Rocko" creator, and production staff
• "Rocko's Modern Life" (Archive) at Nick.com
• Image of Rocko crew in one photograph
• Joe Murray's Blog