Commuted Sentence is episode 18b of Rocko's Modern Life. In this episode, Rocko's car gets impounded thanks to Heffer and he has to rely on public transportation to get to and from work.
Plot[]
Ferb McGib, an eagle journalist, is seen through the news flying a helicopter explaining the traffic on the freeway. After the news, Rocko is then seen in his car in the traffic still impatient and trying to get to work on time. When he asks the police beaver the cause of the traffic, the police beaver tells him that one of the street lines came off and the construction workers are trying to re-glue it back on the asphalt. Later on, Rocko is revealed to have finally made it through the traffic, but faces a new problem: the parking spaces are all occupied, making it more difficult for him to get to work on time. When he finally finds an empty parking spot, a driver parks there, and the driver is revealed to be Mr. Smitty, who lives next door to the Kind of a Lot-O-Comics. He compels Rocko to drive five blocks away in the high-crime area, which is in poor condition, much to Rocko's misfortune. Rocko quickly goes to the comic store and ends up a minute late. Mr. Smitty orders Rocko into his office and tells him that time is money.
The next day, Rocko is seen driving his car to work and comes across a "Don't even think about parking here" sign, where he unwillingly gets a ticket for it. He again shows up to work a minute late. The next day, Rocko finally finds a perfect parking spot and leaves to work. Heffer then shows up walking through the street and drops his ketchup onto the edge of the sidewalk. He ends up smearing the ketchup against the edge with his sandwich and walks away. A tow truck, thinking that Rocko's car is parked on the red line, tows the car away. Later, at Kind of a Lot-O-Comics, Rocko gets a call form his car, who is impounded, prompting to Rocko to go to the car lot to bail his car out. However, he has to pay $4700 to bail him out and he doesn't have enough. Rocko is back at his house telling Heffer the bad news and states that in order to get to work, he has to relegate himself to public transportation.
The next day, Rocko takes a taxi cab, but only has two dollars. So he is sent back to his house and now has to take a bus, where he gets drooled on by a passenger sitting adjacent to him. He ends up late for work again. The next day, he takes a subway, which stops and goes a delay due to "police activity" (where the police do arts and crafts right in front of the train). Rocko ends up late for work yet again.
The next day, Rocko finally rides his bicycle, but ends up getting attacked by Earl and falls into the water. When he walks to work, Rocko tries to explain the situation to Mr. Smitty, but the boss ignores his excuse and tells him that the next time he's late again, he will be fired. Rocko is later seen at his house telling Heffer about this and says that "Sometimes, I think it would be a lot safer to get shot out of a cannon," prompting Heffer to get the idea. The next day, he gets a cannon and shoot Rocko out of it. However, the wallaby only ends up at Semper Pointus instead. When Rocko looks at his watch, he finds that it is only one minute until nine o'clock and that he still has time to make it to work. Unfortunately, by the time he does make it, Mr. Smitty fires him anyway.
Rocko is seen sitting against the curb of the sidewalk moping because he doesn't have a job and can't afford to bail his car out. But his disappointment soon dissipates when he is offered a job at the tow truck company and tows Mr. Smitty's car, which is parking in a "No Parking" zone. Rocko makes enough money to bail his car out of the impound lot and rides away with it. Then, the eagle reporter is now back on the helicopter after his helicopter crash earlier in the episode reporting that there is nobody on the road due to their cars getting impounded, including Mr. Smitty's.
Characters[]
- Rocko
- Mr. Smitty
- Heffer
- Rita
- Taxi driver
- Earl
- The Newscaster
- Edward Bighead (cameo)
- Rocko's Car
Trivia[]
- One of the equations on Mr. Smitty's projection is the square root of MC Hammer.
- The title card is a reference to the movie Metropolis.
- When Rocko gets in the cab and is disgusted by the smell, he looks like Rolo at the end of "I Have No Son".
- The signs on the cab say "No barfiing", "Windows don't work", "No eatin beans", "Driver arrives no driver license", "Shut up!", "I don't give no change", "Do not sniff", and "No air".
- Rocko accidentally crashes into "Cafe Swampy", a nod to writer, director, and storyboard artist Jeff 'Swampy' Marsh.
Errors[]
- During the beginning of the episode, the on-screen graphic for the news program moves along with the helicopter.
- When Rocko takes the subway, the commuters that trample Rocko while entering the station and boarding the train are are lizard-like characters, resembling the Conglom-O Lizards. Inside the subway train, the other passengers are all various animals and the lizard-like commuters don't appear inside the train at all.
- The police beaver multiplies 5 to 42 and gets 4,700. 5 times 42 is actually 210.
Quotes[]
- Ferb McGibbins: This is Ferb McGibbins your fly in the eye traffic reporter, and, as usual, it is a mess down there! Might as well just park and walk.
- Newscaster: Ferb, if I may interrupt, who is flying the helicopter at this moment?
- Ferb McGibbins: Well, Dale, I, uh, er... AAAAAAHHH!!! (his helicopter comes crashing down)
- Newscaster: And now for... Wait! This just in: Commuters can expect longer delays than usual this morning, due to an accident on Route 1 involving a... helicopter?
- Rocko: Excuse me, officer, what's the problem?
- Beaver Policeman: One of those little reflective bumps came unglued. We've got a crew working on it right now.
- Construction worker: Uh, anyone got any glue?
- Rocko: Mr. Smitty, how'd you get here so early? Traffic coming in was terrible.
- Mr. Smitty: I just live next door!
- Mr. Smitty: What is this, huh?
- Rocko: A clock?
- Mr. Smitty: And what does it tell us, hmmm?
- Rocko: Time?
- Mr. Smitty: And how do we get a clock? Hmm?
- Rocko: Go to a clock store?
- Mr. Smitty: And?
- Rocko: Buy one?
- Mr. Smitty: With what?!?!
- Rocko: Money?
- Mr. Smitty: (Shouts, breaks the stick) MONEY!!! (calmly) Good. So any MORON can see that time equals... What? Huh?
- Rocko: Money?
- Mr. Smitty: I CAN'T HEAR YOU!!!
- Rocko: M-Money?
- Mr. Smitty: Hmmm?
- Rocko: MONEY, SIR!!! TIME IS MONEY!!!
- Mr. Smitty: I hope it won't be necessary to have this... chat again, hmm?
- Cab driver: Y'know, you look like a nice boy. Kinda like my son, 'cept he has no money. HEY, GET OUTTA THE WAY!! Always "Dad, give me money", "Dad, give me money", "Give me, give me, give me money". What? What? You. You look like you have money.
- Rocko: Actually, uh, I don't have much money. In fact, I was wondering how much two dollars would get me. (cab stops, then backs up) Uh, with tip? (cab backs up some more and drops Rocko off)
- Subway announcer: We're sorry for the delay, but the train has stopped due to police activity.
- Rocko: Police activity?
- Subway announcer: And today's police activity is: arts and crafts!
- (whistle blows)
- Policeman: What?! I'm paintin' eggs here!
- Mailman: You know... since I got laid off from the post office, I've been feeling a little... disgruntled.
- (everyone on the subway runs away from him)
- Mailman: (swinging on one of the handlebars, now with a Southern drawl) Hoo-wee! Now I got some swingin' room!
- Ferb McGibbins: This is Ferb McGibbins, your eye in the sky, back from the hospital and months of painful rehabilitation. Later commute than usual this morning, there is hardly anyone on the road. But it's a different story down at the impound lot.
- Mr. Smitty: I want my car back and I want it NOW!
- Beaver Policeman: Let's take a look at this chart here, shall we?