"Leap Frogs" is an episode of the first season from Rocko's Modern Life. In series' production order, it is the first segment of the sixth episode of the first season, as well as the eleventh episode overall.[1]
Summary[]
Feeling unloved by her husband Ed, Bev Bighead invites Rocko over to do chores for her and tries to seduce him.
Plot[]
It's night time. Bev is about to go to sleep and yells for Ed to come to bed. Ed tells her that he is waxing his lips. Bev looks through a photo album full of images of her and Ed together. She feels unloved by her husband. Ed gets into bed as Cupid shoots his arrows at him. The arrows do not work. It is morning, and Cupid has spent the whole night shooting arrows at Ed. It did not work. Cupid is angered and flies off.
Ed walks off to work. Bev still feels unloved so she laments about it. She looks outside at Rocko mowing his land and tells herself how she just wants some appreciation from a man. Mrs. Bighead then gets an idea: to invite Rocko over to fix a few things around the house and get him to appreciate her. She walks over to Rocko and compliments him on his hard work in his yard. She brings him inside and asks if he would like to earn money.
Bev tells Rocko that the VCR has not been working correctly lately. Rocko fixes the problem by plugging the machine in. He and Bev watch an educational program about the mating methods of toads. However it stops working again so Bev goes to check for the solution, but her eyes get sucked into the VCR. She pulls herself free only that her eyes are out. Rocko uses the remote to rewind the eyes back to the socket. Next, Bev tells Rocko that a spider is in the bathroom and asks him to shoo it away. Rocko walks into the bathroom and spots a large spider on the toilet. He shuts the door.
Bev makes Rocko a glass of lemonade with Spanish fly. Rocko puckers up after taking a sip as it is sour. Bev tells him she will get some sugar, while Rocko insists he just needs water. She gets kicked by the moose who serves her latte in the fridge into the blender where two flies blend her up. Bev asks Rocko if he could finish zipping the zipper on her red dress. Rocko tries, but rips it in half. Bev blushes as the two remaining parts of the dress rip off, making Rocko zip up his eyes. Bev is in her bedroom and asks Rocko if he likes her eyes. Rocko is afraid to disappoint her, so he says yes. He touches them, then Bev asks Rocko to give her a foot massage. The stench flings Rocko into the ceiling fan, shaving his fur. Then, Bev ends up getting caught in the ceiling fan, and she is so dizzy, she vomits on Rocko.
It's time for Rocko to go home. After he hands his shirt for Bev to wash, Bev gives Rocko his money. Ed walks in the door to his house and sees Bev giving Rocko money and kissing him. Rocko tells Ed it is not what he thinks and literally falls apart. Ed gets furious at him for seeing his wife in her bathrobe, but asks if it's awful, making Bev tear up. Rocko makes a speech to Ed that he's lucky to have Bev for a wife and runs back to his house after he kisses Bev's hand. At night, Ed apologizes to Bev and tells her to "bring out the plates", patching up their relationship. Bev takes out a box of plates and throws them in the air. Ed uses his tongue to break them. They laugh before getting their tongues stuck together.
Characters[]
Controversy[]
Despite rumors saying this episode was banned after two airings, this episode was in syndication up until January 1997. Sometime afterwards, it was banned from airing in the United States and Canada due to its sexual humor. It was also banned from early New Zealand broadcasts. While Nicktoons TV aired this episode in 2002 with no censorship (and for the first time since 1997), NickRewind has never aired this episode and was replaced with "Wallaby on Wheels" for airings during the show's run on that late night programming block, although it is included in the NickRewind On Demand rotation. Currently, this episode is available on DVD, and various digital streaming services, including Vudu, Amazon Prime, Google Play, iTunes, and Paramount+. This episode was also available to stream on Netflix until May 31, 2013.
Trivia[]
- This is the first episode where Spunky doesn't appear.
- This is the first episode where Rocko can be seen wearing shorts. The second was "Sand in Your Navel".
Continuity[]
- A clip of Ed and Bev breaking plates from this episode was later shown in the season 3 episode "Camera Shy".
Cultural references[]
- Bev's line "I just want to be loved, is that so wrong?" was made famous by comedian Jon Lovitz on a Saturday Night Live skit in the 1980s. In the skit, Lovitz was impersonating actor Harvey Fierstein, who was also the inspiration for Bev's voice.
- When Rocko is seen raking the leaves, an acoustic guitar riff is heard reminiscent of the opening of the Simon & Garfunkel song "Mrs. Robinson" from The Graduate, which has a similar plot.
Innuendos[]
- When Bev puts spanish fly in lemonade, it's a euphemism for an Aphrodisiac.
- Moral: Do not commit adultery.
Quotes[]
- (Mr. Bighead gets hit by Cupid's arrow)
- Mr. Bighead: (seductively) Bev...
- Mrs. Bighead: Yes, Ed...
- Mr. Bighead: We're almost out of mouthwash.
- Female Frog: (in nature documentary) Frank, get away from me.
- Rocko: Very educational.
- Spider on toilet: (Yiddish accent) Hey! Vad iz dis, a sideshow?!
- Mr. Fly 1: Hey, Mr. Fly, what's red and green and goes 100 miles an hour?
- Mr. Fly 2: I don't know, Mr. Fly, what is red and green and goes 100 miles an hour?
- (They turn on the blender and Mrs. Bighead spins around.)
- Mr. Fly and Mr. Fly: Yuk yuk yuk yuk yuk yuk!
- Mr. Bighead: (angrily) You saw my wife in her bathrobe?! (sadly) Isn't it awful?
References[]
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