Original air date: 11/21/1993
The eighth episode of the first season of Rocko's Modern Life.
Jet Scream
Rocko and Heffer travel by plane to a comic book convention in Las Vegas.
Dirty Dog
When Rocko tries to give a reluctant Spunky a bath, it interferes with an important dinner hosted by Bloaty and Squirmy, a pair of parasites living on Spunky's body.
"Jet Scream" provides examples of:
- The Alleged Car: The Alleged Plane Rocko and Heffer boards on despite the fancier First Class on the inside.
- Bait-and-Switch:
- This episode begins with what looks like explorers in the arctic, but it is later revealed to be the illustration on the cover of a book Heffer is reading, and that the snow and frost is coming from Rocko's freezer.
- Heffer fiddles with the air conditioner that causes Rocko to go from freezing into a solid ice cube when Heffer set it to cold to being melted along with his eyes when Heffer set it to heat. When Heffer is about to press the third button much to Rocko's dismay while pleading him to not do it, he presses it... nothing happens to Rocko... since the button causes the co-pilot to be launched off the plane.
- After Rocko becomes fed up with the bratty kid and puts him in his overhead department, the other passengers look at him like he is some sick fiend... and abruptly cheer.
- Casual Danger Dialogue: The airplane pilot delivers news about severe plane damage in a very calm manner:Pilot: No need to panic; we just temporarily lost power to our, uh, right engine.
(the plane goes in-between two mountains and loses both its wings)
Pilot: Oops. - Clip Its Wings: The plane loses both its wings when it flies between two mountains.
- Crash Course Landing: As a result of losing both its wings, the plane begins to go into a dive. It approaches the airport, where the workers lay out a bullseye for it to land on.
- Disgusting Public Toilet: When Rocko waits for a bathroom to be vacant, a skunk exits one of the bathrooms and says, "Hey, bub, it's all yours!".
- Ejection Seat: Heffer pressing an overhead button somehow launched the co-pilot from the plane.
- Episode on a Plane: In this episode, Rocko and Heffer travel by airplane to a comic book convention in Las Vegas. Heffer is reluctant at first because he's never rode on a plane before, but Rocko assures him that flying is one of the safest forms of travel. By the end of the episode, Heffer has a wonderful time, while Rocko has had enough of flying and decides to take the rest of the trip by bus.
- Food as Bribe: Rocko convinces a reluctant Heffer to join him on the airplane by telling him they serve complimentary finger foods.
- Fun with Flushing: While in the airplane's bathroom, Rocko washes his hands, and puts the paper towel in the toilet, ignoring the sign telling him not to. When Rocko flushes the toilet, the plane goes into a dive until Rocko takes the towel out. When Rocko gets out of the bathroom, the other passengers glare angrily at him.
- Harmless Electrocution: Inverted. After Rocko is zapped by the electric forcefield through an entrance to first class at an attempt to chase after Heffer (who strangely was not affected by the electricity after making his way through), the former is shown returning to his seat burnt to a black crisp while his shirt is the one that took the least of the damage.
- Here We Go Again!: At the end of the episode, Rocko decides to take the rest of the trip by bus, only to find out that the airplane pilot is now his bus driver, and the bratty kid is one of the passengers.
- Hourglass Plot: At the beginning of the episode, Heffer was hesitant to fly while Rocko tried to assure him that it was a perfectly safe way to travel. After their experience on the plane, Heffer likes flying while Rocko decides to stick to ground traveling.
- Improvised Parachute: This episode's title card depicts Rocko and Heffer skydiving. Rocko uses his shirt as a parachute, and Heffer uses an udder warmer.
- Inflating Body Gag: Rocko's head inflates when the bratty kid plugs his headphones into a slot that fills his head with air.
- Kids Are Cruel: Rocko is antagonized by an obnoxious kid who pulls his seat forward and pulls Rocko's serving tray away, then crushes him with the seat, then he runs down the aisle hitting other passengers' chairs with a ruler and plugs Rocko's headphones into a slot that fills his head with air. Rocko finally gets tired of him and puts him in his overhead compartment. The other passengers look at Rocko angrily, then cheer.
- Meaningful Name:
- The flight attendant tells Dr. Klepto Maniac to put the white courtesy phone back.
- Dereg Airlines get this due to the plane that Rocko and Heffer boards on doesn't look like it's up to par with regulations.
- Medium-Shift Gag: At one point, Rocko and Heffer become Picasso-esque artwork versions of themselves.
- Metal Detector Checkpoint: Rocko is stripped down to his underwear after setting off the metal detector. This after several characters with metal in their persons (including a chainsaw-wielding maniac and a Tin Man) go through without the machine going off.
- Only One Finds It Fun: After the plane lands on the bullseye, the other passengers quickly disembark on the emergency ramp. Heffer on the other hand continuously slides down it like a kid on a slide.
- Plane Awful Flight: Rocko endures every bad plane flight cliche (prior to 9/11 and the resulting changes) known to man, from losing his luggage (it ended up on another planet) to dealing with a bratty kid (the passengers cheer when an exasperated Rocko stuffs him in an overhead bin) to the plane going into a dive.
- Potty Emergency: During the flight, Rocko had to use the bathroom, but unfortunately had to wait due to them all being occupied. Even worse, the flight attendant offered him a drink while he waited.
- Punny Name: At the airport, the flight attendant calls for Mr. Bob Foreapples and Dr. Klepto Maniac.
- 13 Is Unlucky: The plane Rocko and Heffer boards on is Flight 1313, hinting that the plane trip will be anything but safe and pleasant.
- Tranquil Fury: Having reached his limit with that bratty kid who kept running up and down the aisles, Rocko calmly grabs him by the neck and shoves him into the overhead compartment with one hand.
"Dirty Dog" provides examples of:
- Alliterative Title: Dirty Dog.
- Artistic License – Biology: Despite the name, ringworm infection is not caused by a parasitic worm, let alone one with a hoop-like anatomical structure. It's actually caused by a fungus. Additionally, Squirmy is claimed to be an intestinal parasite. Real ringworm is actually a skin condition.
- Astronomic Zoom: This episode opens in space, with Earth scratching itself before zooming into Rocko's neighborhood.
- Dinner with the Boss: Played with in that it's not done with any of the main characters, but rather Bloaty and Squirmy, whose lives spoof old sitcoms. Bloaty hosts a dinner for Mr. Ick in the hopes of earning a promotion.
- Explain, Explain... Oh, Crap!: While drinking a dog sweat toast to the roast louse that will solidify Bloaty's promotion, the parasite duo smell something burning.Bloaty: Say, what's that rancid smell?
Squirmy: I don't know. Smells kinda like burnt roast.
Bloaty: (Screaming) THE ROAST!
Squirmy: Oh, I forgot about that. - Expy: Bloaty and Squirmy are clearly meant to be Ralph Cramden and Ed Norton, while the amoebas are Lucy and Ricky Ricardo.
- Fat and Skinny: Bloaty is the fat guy, and Squirmy is the skinny guy.
- Flea Episode: This episode focuses on Bloaty the Tick and Squirmy the Ringworm, a pair of parasites who live on Spunky.
- George Jetson Job Security: Bloaty's boss, Mr. Ick exaggerates this trope to ridiculous extremes. Every time he speaks, he says, "You're fired", and then corrects himself. ("You're fired! ...I mean, good evening." "You're fired! ...I mean, pass the salt.")
- Hates Baths: Spunky's dislike of baths is what sets off this episode's plot.
- Laugh Track: In a parody of sitcoms, a laugh track plays whenever the episode focuses on Bloaty and Squirmy.
- Recursive Reality: Most of the episode focuses on parasites living on Spunky's body, but the end reveals a second parasite world on one of the parasites. The opening, in which the Earth scratches itself, foreshadows this by suggesting that Rocko and his friends are themselves parasites.
- Shout-Out: Bloaty and Squirmy's theme song is a pastiche of The Patty Duke Show.
- Sitcom Homage Episode: Whenever the show focuses on Bloaty and Squirmy, complete with Laugh Track and a hoary Dinner with the Boss plotline.
- Slippery Soap: While trying to bathe Spunky, Rocko slips on a bar of soap, which bounces off the door and hits him in the face.
- Spit Take: Bloaty does this when he finds out that his can of Plasma Cola expired last month.
- Sure, Let's Go with That: After Mr. Ick survives Spunky's brushing, he asks what happened. Bloaty and Squirmy tell him that he enjoyed his dinner so much, he scarfed it down fast.
- Trail of Bread Crumbs: Rocko lays a trail of wafers to lead Spunky into the bathroom.
