Ren and Stimpy

Since I'm on a Nickelodeon kick, I might as well put in my two cents on Ren and Stimpy. Now, I watched this show religiously as a kid (I don't know why, but I did). Looking back, that show is really creepy, curt, scarring, and freaky. Apparently the show was created from the creators experience during his college years. What the hell happened during those years to create this crazy, weird show?

It's interesting to see the relationship between two pets, a neurotic chihuaha named Ren and a fat, stupid cat named Stimpy. When I looked the characters up on Wikipedia, they mentioned that Ren has a medical condition called dyspepsia: characterized by indigestion with chronic or recurrent pain in the upper abdomen, upper abdominal fullness and feeling full earlier than expected with eating. It can be accompanied by bloating, belching, nausea or heartburn. Is this what caused him to be so psychotic?

I just think that the show was very inappropriate for children. There was a lot of violence, name-calling, and too much toilet humor. Stimpy even spoke to and collected his boogers (the nose goblins). Ren was a terrible example of how to control his temper and anger. His face would get all red and he would act uncontrollably, acting out with violence and nasty words. He had no tolerance for Stimpy who was less intelligent than him. Why are those good examples to expose to your children?

Now I am not one of those people who thinks that sheltering children is the best way to go; I just think this show goes too far. I can't believe that my father used to watch this with me! They would sing about pissing on electric fences, they would praise Powdered Toast Man who shot cinnamon out of his butt, they blew up things, chewed on soap, etc. Yuck, gross.

Their Christmas special was even terribly depressing! Has anyone ever seen it? It's the long episode where Stimpy gives birth to his son, a fart, named Stinky. Stinky eventually leaves home and almost freezes to death in the snow on Christmas as Stimpy becomes depressed that he left. Eventually they reunite, but it's really depressing. I have it on videotape; I received it as a Christmas present. We actually used to watch it around Christmastime--God knows why.

But, Ren and Stimpy did have some good memories. I loved singing the Log Song. I don't know the purpoes of it, but I can still sing it to this day. I did like Powdered Toast Man and his adventures.

Anyway, what did you think of Ren and Stimpy? Frightening or amusing?