Double Header/Scotsman in Space
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Double Header/Scotsman in Space is an episode of Ren & Stimpy from the 4th season.
Double Header
Air date: January 7th, 1995.
Story by: Bob Camp & Jim Gomez
Storyboard by: Tom McGrath
BG Color Design: Ramone Zibach
Directed by: Michael Kim
Ren has had it with Stimpy's unbearable company, and decides to send him away on a one-way ticket to Ursa Minor. A mortified Stimpy pleads with Ren for forgiveness, but all is cut short when Stimpy's bus runs the both of them down.
Ren and Stimpy wake up in hospital after extensive surgery, and the former is horrified to discover that in order for their lives to have been saved the two of them have been fused together.
Finding it hard to adjust to the new situation - in particular having to endure Stimpy's fondness for early morning children's television - Ren is forced to smuggle Stimpy into work under his coat. His top-secret factory job involves dropping nuclear content into missiles, and Stimpy is unable to resist pulling the lever during Ren's break. The resulting explosion sees Ren fired and humiliated by his scorched boss.
The duo attempt to find work, and are snapped up as a novelty geek act by a carnival. Ren woefully caters to the masses by biting the heads off chickens, while Stimpy is perfectly content with the situation. After being driven to madness by his surroundings, Ren lashes out at the other carnival freaks, until Stimpy scolds him and helps him realise just how lucky they are to have anyplace to live at all. Ren apologises, resolving to try harder - and the two are crushed again, this time by the fallen Ursa Minor. Back in hospital, having been worked on yet again, Ren finds himself grafted onto the least fortunate area of Stimpy's body one could imagine.
Notes and Trivia:
- Ren's boss makes his first appearance in this episode - he would later return in the fifth season episode 'Who's Stupid Now?'.
- When Ren apologises for his outburst his voice becomes an impression of John Merrick, as performed by John Hurt in the 1980 David Lynch tearjerker 'The Elephant Man'.
- 'Hey! It's That Guy!': That Guy returns as Ren and Stimpy's employer at the carnival, complete with conjoined foetus.
- In this episode Ursa Minor (which translates as 'Small Bear') is depicted as a single meteor - in reality it is in fact an entire constellation.
- When Stimpy asks what it was he ever did wrong, Ren flashes back to a montage of clips from previous episodes. These include 'Stimpy's Invention', 'A Visit To Anthony', 'Sven Hoek', 'Son Of Stimpy' and 'Ren's Bitter Half'.
The Scotsman In Space
Air date: January 7th, 1995.
Story by Bob Camp, Jim Gomez, Bill Wray
Storyboard by Stephen DeStefano
BG Color Design by Scott Wills
Directed by Bob Camp
Commander Höek is once again falling prey to the menace of space madness, and finds himself plagued by nightmarish visions of a shadowy figure outside the ship. When Stimpy condescendingly tries to placate him, Ren flips out and threatens the life of a masochistic fly. Before things spiral too far out of control, Stimpy also sees the mysterious figure - it is, in fact, Haggis MacHaggis, floating through space in search of his lost sheep. They bring him on board as per the rules of the Federation Primetime Directive, and try to determine his unusual language with their universal translators.
Misinterpreting his story as a request for food, they prepare a simulated Scottish meal to help him feel at home. He takes umbrage, however, when his haggis is served without chutney. He pulls a tantrum and the duo are forced to subdue him - they then take him to be dissected. After extensive butt, brain and teeth tests, they attempt to get a close look at Haggis's wallet, which is umbilically attached to his body. He awakens and furiously chastises Ren and Stimpy, before mistaking them for his sheep.
Haggis takes them down to the ship's meadow level despite Ren's protests, and forces them to graze. Months pass, and the two are shorn and put to work, crafting garments made from their own inexplicably-developed woollen coats.
Back on the upper deck, all three prepare for a nice breakfast, but Haggis is driven to his grave by the sight of overcooked eggs. With the Scotsman dead, his wallet is available for the taking, and when Ren dusts it off it bursts open to reveal the Dead-Space-Scot-Genie. The benevolent character offers to grant Ren whatsoever he desires, and fulfills the chihuahua's request for beautiful women and all the world's money. Stimpy pleads with Ren for a chance to make a wish for himself, and upon getting permission promptly gets the both of them killed.
Notes and Trivia:
- This is the first all-Games interpretation of the 'Commander Höek and Cadet Stimpy' adventures. The three previous intergalactic adventures of the duo - 'Space Madness', 'Marooned' and 'Black Hole' - were made by Spumco and all featured in the first season. This episode therefore is probably the best comparative example of the different approach Games took when making the show.
- The opening scene in which Ren records his thoughts through a hose specifically refers back to the season one episode 'Space Madness'.
- At the beginning of the episode, Stimpy is (badly) playing a game called 'Bonk The Weasel', a reference to the classic carnival game 'Whack-A-Mole'.
- The ending in which Ren and Stimpy rub Haggis's dusty purse and bring forth a genie is an homage to the legendary anthology 'The Book of One Thousand and One Nights' - specifically the tale 'Aladdin's Lamp'.
- While Stimpy tries to comfort Ren with a 'nice hot coffee rubdown', the chihuahua's inner monologue become distinctly British (is this dialogue a reference to anything?).
- Ren's final line in the episode is 'What are ya?'. According to the DVD commentary for the episode 'My Shiny Friend', 'What are ya?' was a catchphrase of John Kricfalusi's when Spumco were in charge of 'Ren & Stimpy'.
