Rachel Bighead (née Ralph Bighead) is a supporting character of Rocko's Modern Life. She is Ed and Bev Bighead's daughter, known for creating The Fatheads.
In Rocko's Modern Life: Static Cling, it's revealed that Rachel is a transgender woman, who works in an ice cream truck.
Personality
Rachel tends to be more stoic than her parents and speaks in a much calmer, lower voice, reminiscent of a monotone. Prior to transitioning, she was very easy to anger and disillusioned with the cartoon business, although unlike her parents, her anger was more pent up. After transitioning, she has become more calm and comfortable in her own skin, and capable of responding to distress more maturely.
Background
Pre-transition Rachel in the 1990s.
Ralph Bighead was disowned by his father Ed for not wanting to work for Conglom-O like him, so he went to Hollo-Wood to become a cartoonist, which had always been his dream. However, he and Ed finally reunite and ended their feud after Rachel attends his parents' wedding anniversary after being informed of the event by Rocko (whom she eventually bases the beaver character of Rolo on).
He rose to fame after creating a cartoon show called The Fatheads (about a married couple, based loosely on his parents). However after several years of his show becoming an hit, he wants to move on from the show. Afterwards, thinking he's out of the cartoon business, his bosses tell him that he must create a new show. In an attempt to get out of his contract, Rachel hires Rocko, Heffer, and Filburt to create an intentionally horrible cartoon called Wacky Delly to have it immediately cancelled (instead, the show becomes a runaway hit, much to his dismay).
After several attempts of creating bad episodes, such as showing a tub of mayo for ten whole minutes, to thunderous applause, Ralph becomes discouraged that he won't ever get out of his contract, and so he finally gets involved in the series and uses Wacky Delly as a platform for deep artistic showcases a la Disney's Fantasia. Shortly after, Wacky Delly is cancelled, and his wish to leave the studio unintentionally comes true. In the end, he finally creates his masterpiece, the world's largest still-life portrait (that being a fruit bowl in the middle of the desert), only to find out that it is not as popular as Wacky Delly originally was.
In Static Cling, it’s revealed that Ralph is now a transgender woman named Rachel and has finally found happiness selling Fatheads popsicles in the desert, and got convinced by Rocko to make a Fatheads special, which she manages to create with a balance between the deeper artistic elements of her Wacky Delly episodes and the lowbrow humor staple of Fatheads and Delly, introducing a baby Fathead based on herself and portraying a demented but heartfelt family dynamic. Initially, Ed is overwhelmed by Rachel's transition and denied that she was a woman, since he was dealing with other changes at the moment. When Ed sees how the new Fatheads special was influenced by happy memories they had together, he realizes that Rachel is still the same person on the inside and reconciles with her. Rocko, Heffer, Filburt, and Bev are immediately accepting of Rachel's identity, with Bev even offering to give Rachel old clothes she's grown out of, however Rocko does not initially enjoy the changes she made to the Fatheads, but eventually comes to accept her vision.
Behind the scenes
Voice
Rachel is voiced by Joe Murray, the show's creator, both before and after Rachel's transition. Doug Lawrence and Martin Olson convinced Murray to voice Rachel, a cartoonist character through which Murray satirized himself.
Murray voicing post-transition Rachel was contested by GLADD, as he is not transgender, however, it was ultimately agreed to let Murray continue to voice Rachel on virtue of her being the same character established in the original show, and providing representation for transgender women with deep voices[1]
Trivia
- Rachel could possibly be based on Murray himself, who is usually calm and quiet, like Rachel. The joke is that unlike Rachel, Murray would never scream.
- Unlike her parents, she has purple hair and a much smaller head.
- Her famous quote "NEVER!" can be heard on Heffer's television in "Mama's Boy".
- To avoid controversy and not make a big spectacle about Rachel's transition arc, the cast and crew teamed up with GLAAD (Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation).
- Rachel's arc was also based on the discovery of some toads being hermaphrodites.