"No Pain, No Gain" is an episode of the first season from Rocko's Modern Life. In series' production order, it is the first segment of the seventh episode of the first season, as well as the thirteenth episode overall.[1]
Summary[]
Rocko and Heffer join Flambé Le Flab, an exclusive high-end gym in the city of O-Town, but staying in the building and following the rules is no easy task, thanks to the snobby Chameleon Brothers, Chuck and Leon, who deduct their points for everything from wearing the wrong attire to destroying gym property to not doing the exercises properly.
Plot[]
Rocko is exercising in his house by himself, following instructions given by a creature on television. He begins sweating rapidly. Heffer rings the doorbell. Rocko walks over to the door and opens it. Heffer walks in, but is so large that he cannot fit through the door and eventually breaks through the door. He is so heavy he falls into the floor. Rocko asks if he is okay. Heffer mentions that he has received two passes to the new Health Spa. Rocko imagines himself winning a race after visiting the Health Spa.
Rocko and Heffer go to the Health Spa where Chuck and Leon mention that they have a chart and give points based on how their visitors exercise. They just keep taking points off when Heffer jumps in the pool and causes all of the water to come out. Rocko and Heffer go to an aerobics class. Later, Rocko tries a machine that is labeled "not for beginners" that pulls his eyes out. Next, he tries a Virtual Reality game which gives him the wrong mission. Heffer just keeps eating without even trying to exercise.
After this, the two play basketball, then the pool. Afterwards, the pair are seen in the Sauna, where Heffer accidentally makes Rocko spill his drink on himself, and when Heffer tries to get Rocko a towel, he tears Bev's dress off, causing an embarrassed and naked Mrs. Bighead to run off wearing a piano and plows into the Chameleon Brothers, who then kick Heffer out, but let Rocko stay. Rocko then stands by Heffer saying that if Heffer's not good enough for the Club, then Rocko's not good enough, and the two end up going back to Rocko's House, exercising while eating pizza.
Characters[]
- Rocko Rama
- Heffer Wolfe
- Bev Bighead
- Chuck Chameleon
- Leon Chameleon
- Aerobics Instructor
Music[]
| ( ‣ ) Production music |
| ( • ) Original music |
Trivia[]
- This is the first time Bev appears without Ed.
- The camera shakes slightly during the title card.
- This is the only episode of Rocko's Modern Life to have a celebrity cameo. Richard Simmons provides the voice of the aerobics instructor, who is also caricatured after Simmons.
- This episode contained blood and gore, which isn't usually present in a lot of children's cartoons. When the bull was using the stack machine, he overexerts himself and his arms rip off and bleed. (Though this wasn't the first Nicktoon to show a character bleeding; the Doug episode "Doug's Math Problem," aired two months before this episode, showed the title character bleeding after accidentally cutting himself, albeit more realistically compared to the bull. Blood was also shown in the Rugrats episode The First Cut, and in the SpongeBob SquarePants episode Dying for Pie. Nickelodeon also once aired The Secret of NIMH which also contained blood.)
- Nudity is also shown in the aftermath of Heffer's slam dunk. The gym wall breaks and exposes patrons in the shower.
- This episode's animation seems to be noticeably more fluid than it usually is. There are a lot more movements on the character's bodies, and contains a little more squash and stretch and bounce around the edges than normal.
Cultural references[]
- Rocko's imagine spot of himself winning a race is accompanied by a soundalike of the theme music to Chariots of Fire.
- The choices on the Virtual Rower include Mutiny on the Bounty, Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea, The African Queen, and Deliverance. Rocko selects The African Queen but the machine plays Deliverance instead.
Quotes[]
- TV Instructor: Hey, fatso, let's go! I'm not doing this for my health!
- Heffer: My shorts are chafing me.
- Heffer: The more I eat, the more weight I get to lose.
- Waitress: Will there be anything else, sir?
- Heffer: Yeah, these plastic things won't cut my burrito.
- Banjo Boy: Here comes one of those silly, exercisin' city boys sneakin' up our river.
- Hillbilly: Now, we're gonna make ya squeal, piggy! (holds up a pig and uses a feather to tickle its belly to make it laugh)
- Chuck Chameleon: Tsk tsk. Leon?
- Leon Chameleon: Ja, tsk.
- Chuck Chameleon: That's a tsk all the way!
- Leon Chameleon: Three tsk's.
- Chuck Chameleon: Triple tsk.
- Mrs. Bighead: How about springing for a couple of fruit smoothies, piano man.
- Chuck Chameleon: Holy enchilada!
- Chuck Chameleon: Mrs. Bighead plowed us with a piano.
- Heffer: Care for a slice of pizza?
- Rocko: I'm feeling the burn!
- Heffer: Yeah, just blow on it first. The cheese is really hot.
References[]
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