Ed Good, Rocko Bad is episode 42a of Rocko's Modern Life. In this episode Ed Bighead and Rocko campaign against each other in the race for the office of O-Town's city dog catcher.
Plot[]
Spunky watches a commercial of a movie called Stray Dogs on TV and views the other dogs running outside. He goes through the dog door and joins the other canines to dig up the Bigheads' salmon bush. Ed sees this through the window and calls the pound on the dogs, who run away as Spunky is subsequently captured by the dog catcher minutes later.
Meanwhile, Rocko searches for Spunky and finds his collar on the Bigheads' front lawn. He infers that Spunky is at the dog pound and goes there to bail out his dog. But the dog catcher mistakes Rocko for a dog, even after the latter lucidly says that he is a wallaby, and tosses him in the cell with the other dogs. Rocko finally encounters Spunky and is appalled of the conditions of the cells, as well as how the dogs are being treated, and decides to write a letter to the city about the dog pound. Rocko and Spunky then manage to escape via sewer pipe, which leads to Rocko's house, where he comes across Heffer, who has been inside Rocko's house the whole time. As a result, Rocko tells Heffer that he is about to write a letter to the city about the dog catcher, only for Heffer to tell him that he just retired. Luckily for Rocko, O-Town is holding an election for a new dog catcher and he decides to run for the campaign.
When Rocko asks for the Bigheads' vote for him as dog catcher, Ed, feeling that Rocko would cause O-Town chaos by liberating the dogs, decides to run against Rocko, only for Bev to remind him that he is the most infamous citizen in O-Town. So with the help of the Chameleon brothers, Ed changes his image and the Chameleon brother spread a smear campaign about Rocko being a monster who causes a lot of chaos. During the election, everyone credulously believe the rumors of him and are quick to vote for Ed. When Rocko watches the results on TV with Heffer and Filburt, they discover that Ed had beaten Rocko in the election, as the latter had only two votes (one vote by himself and one vote by Filburt). Heffer sentimentally concedes that he had clandestinely voted for Ed. But Rocko isn't upset, for he is more worried over what will happen to the dogs rather than the election itself. He is later relieved when Filburt tells him that the voters passed a human doggie treatment bill, meaning that the dogs have been offered counseling, obedience training, and a first-class amusement park named K-9 Kingdom. In other words, everyone agreed with Rocko's idea. Furthermore, Ed, the dog catcher, has been relegated to a position as a pooper scooper, much to the toad's disgust.
Characters Featured[]
- Rocko
- Spunky
- Ed Bighead
- Bev Bighead
- Chuck
- Leon
- Heffer
- Filburt
- Woman with Glasses
- Female Horse
- Irving the Dog Catcher
- The Newscaster
- Big Biff Benderhaus (cameo)
Quotes[]
- ”No one will be seated during the neutering sequence” Movie announcer
- Rocko: I'm here to bail out my dog, Spunky.
- Dog Catcher: Spunky? Spunky? What's he in for?
- Rocko: Uh, being a dog?
- Dog Catcher: That's what they all say! "It's not my fault I'm a dog! Society made me that way!"
- Rocko: I'm not a dog!
- Dog Catcher: Yeah, sure, you're a "wilderbeest" or sumpin'.
- English Bulldog: Worst of all, they force us to watch reruns of Mervin the Happy Cat.
- Stray Dog: Somebody neuter me!
- Chuck: You've come to the politically correct place!
- Attack ad: The fall of the Roman Empire... the sinking of the Titanic... And the 1958 Edsel. We don't wanna say that Rocko caused all these things. But it does make you think. Doesn't it?
- Heffer: Rocko! You should be ashamed of yourself!
- Rocko: I didn't cause all those things! I wasn't even alive in 1958!
- Heffer: Vote for Rocko! He's a darn nice fella!
- Rocko: Two votes?! Well, I voted for myself.
- Filburt: And I voted for you. And I'm sure Heffer...
- Heffer: (blushes)
- Rocko: Oh, Heff!
- Heffer: It was a good ad campaign! And he's got such big shoulders!
- Rocko: That's okay, Heff. He almost had me convinced I was bad.
- Filburt: Even though you lost, the voters passed a Humane Doggie Treatment bill.
- Rocko: What does that do?
- Filburt: The state is going to provide the stray dogs with psychological counseling, obedience training, and a first-class amusement park. What's more, the position of dog catcher has been reduced to nothing more than a glorified pooper-scooper!
- Mr. Bighead: I hate my life.
Errors[]
- When Spunky is being put into the truck, he's wearing his collar.
- When Bev is questioning Ed on why he wants to become dog catcher, her shirt is blue.
Trivia[]
- In "Top 100 Greatest Moments in Nicktoon History", the episode was ranked #35 in the countdown.
- The theme music from 'Mervin the Happy Cat' is a KPM stock music track, "Bell Hop" by John Shakespeare, and was also used as the theme music to the British sitcom June and Terry.
- This episode may be an allegory for prison reform.
- This episode was produced as a commentary on the 1996 United States presidential election, and it was shown as part of an election-themed marathon during Nickelodeon's Kids Pick the President campaign.
- The shot of Mr. Bighead on a stage in front of a giant poster of himself is a reference to a similar shot in Citizen Kane.
- The attack ad accuses Rocko of being behind the fall of the Western Roman Empire, the sinking of the Titanic (a favorite target of Rocko writers), and the failure of the Ford Motor Company's Edsel (although the Edsel lasted two years from 1958 until 1960).