There's a lot to love about Ren and Stimpy--particularly in the salad days when John K was still in charge, though there are still plenty of good ones post-K--but I'm partial to a good, old-fashioned Ren Hoek freak-out. "In The Army" and "Sven Hoek," in which an enraged Ren pisses on an electric fence and blasts himself into Hell, feature two of my very favorite freak-outs, but "Space Madness" is a tour-de-force of complete psychosis. In the episode, Ren plays a spaceship captain on a 36-year mission to the Crab Nebula, his faithful science officer, Stimpy, by his side. During an entry in the captains log, a device that literally sucks the thoughts out of his head in chunks, Ren mentions the titular condition and seems to fear that it may be coming upon him. However, it is time for Commander Hoek and Cadet Stimpy to take a six year vacation. They start with a quiet meal, but the lack of food choices--they're pretty much stuck with tubes of goo, in flavors geared almost exclusively to felines--sends Ren into a mini-frenzy. Stimpy suggests a calming bath, and it is during this bath that Hoek goes off the deep end:Ren and Stimpy Space Madness by jtechno0550
It is a classic moment from a classic show, and it leads to the complete annihilation of all history thanks to Stimpy's inability to refrain from pushing the History Eraser Button.
The second cartoon in this episode finds Ren and Stimpy in their roles as hungry, homeless vagrants willing to do anything for a quick five bucks. In "The Boy Who Cried Rat," the duo come up with a pretty ingenious plan: Ren will dress up as a mouse, which really doesn't take much more than a pair of Mickey Mouse style overalls and a Mouseketeer cap; sneak into an unsuspecting homeowners previously vermin-less home; and in the morning, Stimpy will show up and present himself as a skilled rodent exterminator. The scam goes rather well, until Stimpy actually catches Ren and is expected to eat him.
Moments I LoveThe commercial for Sugar Frosted Milk, the breakfast treat that murders your cereal apparently.
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Pipe-Smoking Homeowner: Man, that's the ugliest mouse I've ever seen. And he's beating up on our cheese!
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I particularly like the scene in "The Boy Who Cried Rat" where Ren and Stimpy are in the kitchen enjoying sandwiches while continuing to play act that they are engaged in a vicious, life-or-death battle. Slicing the tomato substituting for a violent stabbing is a nice touch.
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Commander Hoek (to his beloved "ice cream bar"): We're not hitchhiking anymore. We're riding!
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The list of chores Ren and Stimpy are expected to do to make up for there mouse infestation ruse: wash the dishes, vacuum the rug, paint the lawn, mow the hedge, and shave the chickens.
