Tickled Pinky is the second half of the second episode of the second season of Rocko's Modern Life.
Plot[]
Rocko and Heffer are at the International Jackhammer Expo, where Rocko gives Heffer a tour to show him different kinds of jackhammer. Later, Heffer tries a jackhammer at the Demo Pit, and as Rocko watches in amusement, he suddenly gets an acute pain in his abdomen. Inside Rocko's body, the organs are attending Organ School, where Ms. Pancreas, the teacher, is taking roll of the class. All are present, except for the appendix, who is little more than ill.
Back at the Demo Pit, Rocko grunts in pain and passes out. Heffer shouts out for an ambulance and the Ambulance Beavers arrive, only to take a jackhammer instead, oblivious to Rocko's pain. So Heffer grabs Rocko and runs to the hospital to take him to the front counter. He passes out after running so much and the Ambulance Beavers reappear, carrying the steer on a stretcher and to the Lip-O-Suction Room. Back at the waiting room, Rocko tells the nurse about his severe stomach pain and fills out the forms in deference to the nurse, who calls him "Mr. Help-Me-The-Pain-is-Excruciating," due to Rocko's desperateness to get help, to begin his diagnosis. Rocko is taken to the exam room, where Dr. Hutchison (who is a surgeon now) arrives in to examine the wallaby and tells him that the lightning bolts emerging from his stomach indicate pain and would need wavy blue lines for relief. As she leaves to get them, Dr. Hutchison also tells Rocko that he would need his appendix surgically removed, much to the wallaby's shock.
Later, two other doctors named Dick and Buff also enter and take Rocko to another room, where he lies in bed and watches TV. But every channel he turns it to has things to do with cutting. As a result, he turns off the TV and suddenly feels the excruciating pain in his abdomen. Afterwards, he presses the help button overhead, which the nurses take no notice to. Rocko then desperately makes his way out of the room and goes into the organ storage closet, where he starts having hallucinations and sees a number of removed organs in the jar begging Rocko not to cut them out.
He wakes up the next moment to find himself still lying in bed and sees an appendix named Pinky on the bed depressed of the fact that he has to be isolated from the inside of Rocko's body since all his organ friends are inside there. So in order to make him feel better, Rocko takes his appendix to the carnival. But when the appendix puts Rocko into all sorts of precarious activities, a fed up Rocko has finally had enough and soon, Pinky realizes that it is time for him to go. Rocko and Pinky hug and each tell them that they would miss each other. Later, Rocko wakes up and finds that his appendix has been surgically removed and now in a jar. Back home, a distraught Rocko buries his jarred appendix in the soil and Pinky returns as an angel, along with Rocko's baby teeth and tonsils. They fly to the sky and Rocko waves goodbye. Just then, Heffer, now incredibly thin due to receiving Hipposuction (as he calls it), comes by and his fat is seen as an angel rebuking Heffer for not taking him to the carnival. As the two friends walk away, Rocko tells Heffer how hard it is to let your friends go.
Characters Present[]
- Rocko
- Heffer
- Dr. Hutchison
- Ambulance Beavers
- Pinky
- Seymour
- Buff and Dick
Trivia[]
- Innuendo: When Heffer and Rocko are at the jackhammer festival, the sign for the free trial area says "JACK ALL-U-WANT".
- This episode is referenced by RRBM in "Short Story", and by Filburt in "Pranksters".
- Fourth wall break: Dr. Hutchison is aware that the lightning bolts coming out of Rocko indicate pain and that he needs relief, which is indicated by blue wavy lines in this episode.
- Second appearance of Dr. Hutchison and her first in the second season.
- It's revealed in this episode that Rocko once had his tonsils removed.
- In hospital, nurse calling on PA system is a reference to M.A.S.H. (1970).
- Rocko's list of death-defying requests from Pinky include, "flying over the Andes with a Brazilian soccer team," which is reference to a well-known plane crash in 1972 where the survivors had to resort to cannibalism, eating the passengers that had died during the crash.
- One of the organs in a jar is a pipe organ.
Cultural References[]
- The other names on the triage sign are Groucho, Harpo, and Zeppo. This is a reference to the Marx Brothers.
- The title card is a homage to the title card of the 1947 Tom & Jerry short, "Part Time Pal".
- The phrase “Ah, get bent!” Is also one of Bart Simpson’s catchphrases from the Teen/Adult cartoon, The Simpsons.
- The animation director for this episode, Pete Michels, also worked for The Simpsons.
- Pinky wanting to drive a school bus through a wall of TVs with a live stick of dynamite strapped to his head comes from the Plasmatics music video for "The Damned".
Errors[]
- Despite losing his fat in this episode, Heffer still remains fat in other episodes.
- When Dr. Hutchison asks Rocko what's wrong with him, Rocko's stomach is paler than usual.
Censorship[]
Those scenes were cut by Channel 4 and TVNZ when they first aired this episode.
At The Jackhammer Festival[]
- Rocko: Ride 'em, Heff!
- Heffer:
(Laughing again while going on one of the jackhammers) - Rocko: (begins to cringe in pain)
At Organ School in Rocko's body[]
Bladder: (raises hand) Miss. Pancreas.Mrs. Pancreas: Yes, BladderBladder: Can I go to the bathroom?Mrs. Pancreas: (after the other kid organs laughed at Bladder) You'll have to wait until after roll call
Back At the Jackhammer Festival[]
- Rocko:
Heff,I don't feel to-(gag, choke and keel over) Mother. Heffer:Rocko, Rocko, are you all right. Somebody call an ambulance.
(Later, after the ambulance leaves)
Heffer:(sigh) I Hate it when that happened. (gasp) Don't Worry Rocko.(leaving the Jackhammer Festival) I'll save you(Heffer goes the past the car falling from the bridge into the ground and through the cue at the start of the race) Excuse me, pardon me, one side, behind you! (gunshot) Honk! Honk! (he gets green water from a marathon booth and straight to the hospital)
At the Hospital[]
- Heffer: Wounded wallaby! (drops Rocko) EMERGENCY!
(panting) I'm too fat! (passes out) Nurse: Pick up in reception; too fat.Beavers: (coming out of the operating room with a stretcher) Hup! Hup! Hup! Hup! Hup! (rolls Heffer onto the stretcher and start dragging him off) Hup...hup....hup...hup...hup (Goes into the Operating Room)Nurse: (in the operation room) Dear Lord! Get me that sucker! Stat! (slurping sound)
Quotes[]
- Receptionist: Now, what can I do for you?
- Rocko: I think I've got a problem with my stomach.
- Receptionist: Oh, we think we have a problem with our stomach, huh? Well, why don't you let someone with a medical degree make that call, shall we?
- Receptionist: Okay, Mister... "Help Me The Pain Is Excruciating", the doctor will see you now. Mr. Excruciating?
- Dr. Hutchison: Rocko?
- Rocko: Dr. Hutchison? I thought you were a dentist.
- Dr. Hutchison: I was, but I got tired of always looking "down in the mouth"! (giggles) Dental humor!
- Nurse: Hey, Tammy, could you get that?
- Receptionist: (playing with a Rubik's cube) Yeah, yeah, in a minute. I almost got this thing.
- King's Colon: Don't be cruel, man. Don't be cruel.
- Pinky: Gee, Rocko, that was really fun. But what I'd really like to do is drive a flaming bus through a wall of TVs with a stick of dynamite strapped to my head.
- Rocko: That's it! The carnival? Fine. The rollercoaster? Okay. But then the bungee jumping, The Wall of Death, flying over The Andes with the Brazilian soccer team...
- Rocko: Who's that?
- Heffer: That's my fat.
- Heffer's fat: I didn't even get to go to the carnival!
- Rocko: Y'know, Heff, sometimes you lose friends before you even knew you had them.
- Heffer: Yeah, but it's better that they go. I've got toenail clippings that have been haunting me for years.