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popculturebuffet · 2 years ago

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Rocko's Modern Life Hutch and Filbert Retrospective: (Rinse and Spit The Big Question/Answer and From Here to Maternity) (Comission for WeirdKev27)

Happy easter all you happy people! This year is an anniversary o-rama isn't it? X-Men, Iron Man, Avengers, John Allison, Legion of Super Heroes and many more. But among them all is one i'm going to be spotlighting a few time this years, a show that dosen't get enough love and deserves all of it: Rocko's Modern Life!

Rocko's Modern Life was created by Joe Murray as one of the earliest nicktoons, and used the wild west nature of those early days to craft what's essentailly an adult animated sitcom on a children's network, a slice of life show about living in your 20's following Rocko, a shy but kind and welcoming australian, his obnoxious but loveable best friend and man child heffer, and their third buddy Filburt, a neuotic turtle who while intially based on a sex criminal, thankfully grew out of that woody allen shape and into his own character. The three navigated all the pitfalls of being in your 20's in the 90's: multiplexes, mean bosses, cranky neighbors, finding out your adopted, health clubs, overextending your credit, crazy buss drivers stalking you to get BACK ON THE BUSSS, kidney removals, your neighbors wife trying to hump you, camping trips, the horrors of riding a plane, getting sent to heck and of course wild pigs.

It was a great show that could be incredibly relatable one minute and entirely bananas the next, and sometimes both at the same time. It was remakrably well done and going back for this set only reminded me why I love it so much.

So for our first look at it this year, we're taking a look at the show's major romantic subplot. It technically had two as Rocko had a longtime crush on his neighbor Melba Toast, but it was less a subplot with any progression and more just him pining for someone who didn't like him back. Honestly I feel bad that Rocko never got a steady relationshpi: he had two that seemed like they might work out and we might get to his fractured love life sometime this year, but the poor guy never got it started.

No the shockingly most consitent relationship on the show was Filburt's with Dr. Hutchison, the love story of a neurotic nerd and a doctor of all trades with a hook. Suprisingly though it's only really the focus of three episodes and an important part of two. We'll be saving kiss me i'm foreign for a later day, but it's remakrable how despite just kinda being there and in a series that didn't focus TOO hard on continuinty, how consitent it is and likeable it comes off. And since I love a good relationship it only seems right to take a nice long look at it and see why it works just in time for Zombie Jesus Day as the last episode happens to involve easter bunnies, jesus mortal enemies. So come with me under the cut for a love story for the ages

Rinse and Spit wasn't an episode I thought much about. I remmebered it sure, it's hard to forget the episode where rocko gets king konged by a giant tooth, but rewatching it this may be one of the shows best. It's just so densely packed with jokes, the second half is so lovingly bonkers, and paula is just so friggin great throughout you can't help but love it. The plot follows Filburt who tries to slasher villian stalk Hefer into taking part in his exam for dental school, and who then baits rocko into it via owing him one from childhood. Said flashback is also great with Filburt being genuinely sweet to his new friend, explaning how he and rocko are so close, the puppy jar, and of course the return of my one and only son

yes, yes you are. I wish he'd shown up more. He is the best of us. It's a good Filbert plot though: he's nervous, out of his depth and sweaty, exactly his wheelhouse with Rocko bein ga good enouraging friend even once he gets out the electrodes.

The real star htough is Hutch who I think makes her debut here. Her origin story is a great one too: Murray was attending a press confrence and was asked why the show had no female role models. Murray naturally for him responded with "people dont' see cartoon characters as role models " and TV shouldn't be used to teach lessons. Which was true for the show and it's goals.. but naturally set the execs into panic mode, askign for Rocko's narcoleptic sister to be added to fill this now needed gap, which he refused. Thankfully for the world and for tv an exec did end up accidently giving him a good idea. She cynically asked for a female character "with a hook". Naturally Joe took this as literally as possible because if you hadn't noticed he's kind of a sarcastic ass and I love it.

What's remarkable.. is he ended up giving them EXACTLY what they wanted through this joke of a response. The writers fell in love with Hutch and thus she became a strong career woman with 80 jobs and degrees, but who was also cheerful and entirley loopy, and could be both without any real contridction. Her weirdness was used fo rjokes, from her unique neck snap, to her hook, but her disability was just as much part of her as it was a fun visual joke. She was someone kids could look up to, someone who was a doctor but still theirselves at the same time while not sacrifcing competence to do so. Honestly out of the cast Hutch seems to be the most together person, without every sacrifcing her having fun to do so. She's not barely scraping by like rocko, reliant off tin cans like her future husband, mooching off whoevers around like heff, or in a miserable dead end job like Mr Bighead. She's just happy and in a career she loves. And that's what we all want right? to be our weird selves and still get to do what we love?

She also gets great character stuff: sh'es clearly into filbert, but refuses to go out with him till the crisis is past and shames him into actually getting back to fixing the mistake he made.. in this case a giant tooth abuducting his best friend, gladly asks him out once it's over, and rejects him from denstitry because well.. giant tooth monster. There's never a moment she's not great.

Rocko also gets one or two great btis: being forced into a "and now kiss' situation with hutch, and when filburt has a shot to save them "He's my best friend but he can't throw. I'd say we're done for". Just the casual way he says it. These eps reminded me that rocko himself is really underated as while he's often the straight man, and a very good one, he can be just as funny himself at times.

Filburt also gets to shine a little: his using a childhood promise, electrodes (which hutch seems to be INNN to) and his phallic chimney sweep dreams at the end all work. Overall this isn't a really deep or character based episode.. but it is relaly fucking hilarious and it'll always have that

The Big Question… is my faviorite episode of the show. It's the one I go back to the most, and has some of my all time faviorite gags which kev kindly screencapped for me. While I do most of mine I can't acess paramount+ on my pc, so he gladly made them for me.

The Big Question also took an uphill battle to get made: not the biggest i've seen in animation, i've seen way bigger fights.. but it was still one. See some execs simply prefer a looser status quo for shows: continuity is fine to a point, btu they want them playable in any order. Obviously they've relaxed ont his a bit as more recent comedies for kids like say craig of the creek, harvey beaks or big city greens still have a pretty rich continuity and ocasionally story arcs. Their just still episodic. It's still just a bit as while seralized shows exist, execs seem antsy about them, see it being the excuse for the owl house's cancelation.

So naturally when the writers pitched Filburt and Hutch, who had been together about a season, marying, they had to FIGHT to get them to agree with it. Me I don't see what the big deal is as it's a very slight change. They live together now probably… and? It dosen't really effect what kinds of stories they can tell an dat most a kid will go "Wait they got married?!" if it get sbrought up..t hen want to see what they missed. I can say this as a kid who often missed big plot point episodes, especially with avatar and badly wanted to know what i'd missed..or simply wasn't aware I missed anything till much later. It seems weird to get upset over when it dosen't hurt the show and the show HAD continuity once or twice before, with Rachel Bighead getting a sequel episode. It's also maddening to think this hatred of episodes having gasp continuity and arcs has NOT gone away. Kids.. like this stuff. I latched onto KND and Danny PHantom in part due to their ongoing soap operas. Amont my niece and nephews, my older nephews love anime, my younger nephew binged avatar all by himself and trollhunters too and my niece has binged gravity falls multiple time. Kids, at least a lot of them, love arc based story telling and plots. They love the fact these thigns pay off.. because most people do. It's how narrative storytelling often works. So seeing these two get married isn't some big GASP THEY'LL BE CONFUSED MOMENT but both a big awe and a desire to see how it happened. HOw it happened is also fun as filbert is neurotic about it!

We also get a nice contrast in their support from Rocko and Heifer: Heifer being.. Heifer… is both genuinely supportive and that one friend you wanted to shove out of a moving vehicle often. He'll troll filburt during a practice session one minute, and help him break into Hutch's old high school in matching stealth outfits the next. It shows while the two's main purpose as friends is to fight, see one of the very episodes today as an example, and have poor rocko serve as referee or just roll his eyes, Heifer DOES care about hima nd want to help

Rocko however shwos some of his best here: he's genuinely supportive.. but also fed up with Filburt's nonseense, constantlly encourging him to

And needling Filburt's attempts to keep putting off his proposal due to nerves. He's harsh sure.. but Filburt needs that. As someone with anxiety I relate to being trapped in your own insecurity and self doubt, so I get Filburt NEEDING that push to do what he truly wants to do but is sipmly too nauseous to pull off. It's a geninely sweet dynamic and i'ts also nice to see Rocko who the universe commonly bats around like a cat with a fairly intresting toy, be the assertive once for once and actually help drive the plot. It also works well as you never get the sense Filburt dosen't want to marry hutch just that his own self loathing and neurosis are an obstacle , one he does almost overcome to propose.. but she beats him to it, which I also like as it fits Paula's positve go getter personality and proves WHY the two, despite being polar oppisites works: he likely grounds her enthusasim while still being genuinely sweet and supportive, and she helps give him the confidence he lacks and genuinely supports him with not a speck of condecsenmsion. She's probably the only person in the series who both won't take Filburt's bullshit.. but also belivies in him. Even Rocko dosen't on most days, and he's our own marsupial jesus. The plot also works well for both it's emotinal core.. and jokes. Paula is hanging around with her good buddy Tiger, and being a traditionally handsome cat man, seriously his arms my god, it nicely sends Hutch spinning> We the audience can probably guess that their just friends because Paula Hutchison isn't a cheater and can you know.. have healthy inter gender friendships. But he's not relaly the obstacle here: the guys just THINK he's one. Filburt is his own worst enemy, he kicks the living shit out of .. he.

That said we do get a nice supporting antagon ist who really dosen't stop our heroes for long but eats all the screentime she has, with Kevin Meany doing an awesome job: The Wido Hutchison. Mrs. Hutchison.. is a racist asshole, beliving turtle on cat marriage is bad and wanting to stop it. She's more scary than funny especially since pricks like this exist in real life. What makes her funny is the contrast of her dead serious if hammy demeanor, with the wackier rest of the cast. My faviorite moments of the episode all come from the gang reacting to her.. and to her LIFTING ROCKO'S CAR AND THROWING IT. Observe

The last one is one I quote a lot and i'll likely get a LOT of use out of that image. The fact Rocko thinks that means anything is adorable. The episode, while defined more by filburt's journey and the heartwarming ending, really does have a lot of good jokes: Rocko's only disguise bein ga hat, the guys using a BOMB as part of the plan, and Tiger just casually holding rocko during the ending. A ship the series should have explored frankly, but eh it was the 90's and all. The ending swerve of hutch proposing and having gotten tiger's help is sweet, as is the fact Filburt still gives her the engagment hook he was going to propose with and the two telling each other "i love you" is so freaking sweet for a show so deranged. Speaking of which

This one was a two parter and a dang good one, though each episdoe feels like a complete short in it's own right. The Big Answer is heavier on the jokes, but keeps the nice character introspectiion and gives Hutch some needed autonomy. She's firm she's into filburt and why she likes him, and backs it up with a defiant kay.. and it also deals with the thorny subject that her mom just.. isn't "kay" with it. That no matter how hard she tries her mom is activelya gainst this and only helping because she loves her daughter, but can't love her enough to stop being a racist bitter ass. Her reasons for being so bitter are given context here, as we find out her father was a turtle, something she knew but never thought the rest of the cast needed to know, and just kinda.. left. Like Hutch speaks to him familiarly enough she clearly still sees him, he just left her and she's understandably pissed, even if her racisim is less so.

We also get our requisite wild bachelor party, complete with characters we don't know which leads to a great gag of "who are those guys"

And our heroes hyjacking an icecream plane and of course Filburt's classic cry of "and my frien'ds australian". The sugar bender is fantastic, flawless, no notes.

Where it leads is also great; Rocko trying to prevent a modern race war is suprisingly darkly funny, with the incidting incdient being filburts unsettling aunt who splashes water on the cats.. and while it's a very Jerkass Heifer moment, the weird swerve of him just.. being on the cats side works both for the sheer out of nowhere ness. and because if you think about it the cow raised by wolves who fights with filburt on a dime taking the predators side in this actually makes complete sense. The ending double punch of them already being married and the hilarity of hutch's dad, "CHARGE MAGNOLIA CHARGE!", really sells th eep. The previous one is better, but this one's still pretty sweet

From Here to Maternity is from the final season and sees the two have kids. And it's an episode that's very much front and backloaded. The middle is just Filburt being an overly masculine jerkass who assume she'll have a cisgender son and who bullies hef for daring to think ti's a girl despite hef you know, sitting on his eggs for him to keep them warm, something Filburt physcially can't do. It just gets exausting after a while and only Rocko's weak "I'm in jail joke" and getting stuck there hwen they move on really works.

The front and back thougH? Fucking fantastic. The opening with our heroes racing the stork is just comedy gold, from Filburt's mania, to him FLIPING AND REVERSING the car to drive it after him, to the stork for no reason deciding not to let filburt just.. beat him and instead taking his glasses to make sure he looses.

But Filburt missing his wife giving birth still works as he was such a dick to the stork to outrun him, you don't feel too bad and the babies hadn't hatched anyway. The gag about hutch having to go right into surgery is both so her and so funny.

The last act though.. is delightfuly batshit. The reveal the lamaze class is a secret front for easter bunnies is delightfully out of left field but still fits the world, Rocko simply having to put his ears up higher to sneak in is an all time great gag, and our heroes landing in jail is great. The ending is also shockingly funny: while the babies hatching is sweet, we get some great gags to quickly take it form sweet to comedy gold: Filburt asserting he's unconcious from the shock with Hutch having none of it and directly standing on him to make her point, and the Heifer resembling baby following rocko around instead, even past the credits is both adorable and makes way more sense than it has any right to. I don't have a ton to say about from here to materinity but the top and bottom are so strong even a week middle can't stop this one from being enjoyable.

So that was Hutch and Filbert and honestly? I had less to say thann I thought. The two are cute , functional and really support one another. There's not much depth.. but that's because the point of these episodes is mostly jokes. There's some introspection, btu the relationship itself is really just two people who ballance one another being sweet. For a 90's sitcom, you can't ask too much more, and what we get is fantastic. Check these episodes out on paramount plus and we'll be seeing mor eof rocko's modern life in the future.

#easter #rocko's modern life #nickleodeon #rocko rama #heifer wolfe #filburt turtle #paula hutchison #kevin meany #animation #90 #s #ships

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