The fifth episode of the third season of Rocko's Modern Life.
Nothing To Sneeze At
Bev Bighead discovers the wonders of smell after accidentally getting plastic surgery.
Old Fogey Froggy
Ed Bighead goes through a mid-life crisis after getting turned down for a promotion.
"Nothing To Sneeze At" provides examples of:
- Artistic License – Biology: Despite being a reptile, Filburt has contracted an amphibian disease.
- Big "WHAT?!": Ed's reaction when Dr. Hutchinson mistakenly implies that Bev died.Dr. Hutchinson: Mr. Bighead?Ed: Yes?Dr. Hutchinson: I'm afraid we couldn't save her.Ed: WHAT?! (The color literally drains out of Ed's body)Dr. Hutchinson: Oh! I meant her nose! We couldn't save her nose.
- Body Horror: Bev's head is hideously swollen and bloated after she eats the infected mosquito, to the point she takes up practically the entire bed looking like Jabba the Hutt.
- Color Failure: After Mrs. Bighead catches Pete's cold and her nose becomes infected, Mr. Bighead takes her to the hospital. When Dr. Hutchison says she couldn't save his wife, the color melts off a shocked Mr. Bighead, just before Dr. Hutchison clarifies that she meant to say it was actually Mrs. Bighead's nose she couldn't save.
- Desk Sweep of Passion: Mrs. Bighead comes down with a case of Amphibial Blothal Blaticitis after eating an infected mosquito, and requires a tonsillectomy. She also gets a new nose put on (despite being a toad), because someone else's order got attached to hers. She ends up liking the new nose, gets her hair done and buys a new dress, and goes to visit her husband at work. Ed is delighted to see her, and pushes everything off his desk. They don't end up doing it, not only because this is (allegedly) a kids' show, but also because Bev can smell Ed now... and he smells bad.
- "Eureka!" Moment: When Mrs. Bighead goes to a meeting about Nose Crises, Pete, the founder who has the biggest nose of them all, tries to flirt with Mrs. Bighead, but sneezes on her due to having a cold, causing her nose to become infected, leaving her unable to smell anything.Mrs. Bighead: Oh no! Now my nose is sick! (smiles) My nose is sick!
- Freudian Slip:Bev: I just need some time to stink! [slams the door, then opens it again] No! I mean think!
- Gag Nose: Pete, the founder of Nose Crisis has the biggest nose of them all.
- Happily Married: Despite their quarrels, the Bigheads do genuinely love each other. In this episode, when Mrs. Bighead gets a new nose, Mr. Bighead was devastated because he stank, and, losing the nose brought him and his wife closer.
- I Want My Beloved to Be Happy: When Ed realizes his body odor is making it impossible for Bev to be near him thanks to her new nose, he would rather she find someone else to be with rather than deny her the joy her nose has otherwise brought her no matter how much he loves her. Thankfully, Bev loses the nose after it gets infected, but it shows how far Ed would go for Bev's happiness.
- Mood Whiplash: When Mrs. Bighead leaves her house crying because her husband's stench is driving the two of them apart, she briefly pauses to smell the crickets on a summer evening, then continues crying afterwards.
- Mosquito Miscreants: At the beginning of this episode, a mosquito drinks Filburt's blood as Dr. Hutchison reveals the turtle to be infected with Amphibial Blothal Bloaticitis. The infected mosquito then makes its way to Bev, who eats it, getting her sick.
- Oh, No... Not Again!: Bev's reaction when Pete, who has a cold, sneezes on her, making her sick for the second time in the episode.Bev: (Deadpans) Just what I need; another illness.
- Post–Wake-Up Realization: Mr. Bighead wakes up and doesn't realize his wife has swollen from sickness until after he walks a few feet away from the bed.
- Screams Like a Little Girl: Mr. Bighead screams this way after seeing his wife swelled up with green glob.
- Shown Their Work: The mosquito that drinks Filburt's blood is drawn with a bow on its head to indicate it's female, since only female mosquitos drink blood.
- Status Quo Is God: Mrs. Bighead gets a nose in this episode when she accidentally gets plastic surgery. By the end of the episode, her nose becomes infected from Pete's cold and has to be removed.
- Talking with Signs: At the end of the episode, when Mrs. Bighead has to get her infected nose surgically removed, Mr. Bighead cheers her up with a bunch of novelty noses he bought. One of which has a beaker with a mouse inside it that holds up a sign that says "Hubba Hubba".
"Old Fogey Froggy" provides examples of:
- Big Honking Traffic Jam: On his way to work in the (then)-present daynote , one forms behind Mr. Bighead as he drives slowly to work, with the drivers behind him insulting him.
- Broken Bird: Mr. Bighead. A flashback at the beginning of this episode showed that he was once a happy go-getter, but being stuck in the same job and routine for 30 years without a promotion sapped his will to live.
- Broken Glass Penalty: When Mr. Bighead plays baseball with Rocko, Heffer, and Filburt in an attempt to feel young again, he accidentally breaks Rocko's window.
- Buried Alive: To snap Mr. Bighead out of his depression, Rocko, Heffer, Filburt, and Mrs. Bighead are about to bury him alive (along with a bag of garbage) in a garbage can and cover him with cement before he finally snaps out of it.
- Everybody Cries: A fake crying variant briefly occurs when Rocko, Heffer, Filburt, and Mrs. Bighead pretend to cry while holding a fake funeral for Mr. Bighead to cure his midlife crisis.
- Growing Up Sucks: As often as Mr. Bighead is depicted as a grouchy Jerkass, there are a number of episodes that show a more humble side to him and just how he came to be so bitter, this being one of them. In this episode, he's feeling the stress of age and not looking like the toad he once was, so he tries to feel young again by hanging out with Rocko and his friends. The old-timer's speech to Rocko on why seniors are so grumpy in "Cruisin'" can easily apply to Mr. Bighead; he isn't the way he is without reason.
- Here We Go Again!: Near the beginning of this episode, Mr. Dupette calls Mr. Bighead into his office, then turns him down for a promotion, giving said promotion to a mail boy, because Mr. Bighead's too old. At the end of the episode, Mr. Dupette calls Mr. Bighead into his office again, once again turning him down for a promotion, this time giving it to someone even older than him, saying that he acts too young for his age.
- Hollywood Mid-Life Crisis: Ed starts going through one after he's passed over for a promotion in favor of someone younger, compounded by how he's felt broken down and worn out for what's implied to have been a few weeks by that point.
- I Was Quite the Looker: The Bigheads were shown to both be very attractive-looking in a flashback to when they were first married that plays at the beginning of this episode.
- O.O.C. Is Serious Business: When Rocko, Heffer, and Filburt play a game of baseball, Filburt accidentally hits Rocko's baseball onto Mr. Bighead's yard. The three all assume the worst, but to their surprise, Mr. Bighead tells them he loves baseball and asks if he can play with them.
- Soundtrack Dissonance: An in-universe example; Heffer and Filburt hum "Here Comes the Bride" as they carry Mr. Bighead to the backyard to bury him.
- We Want Our Jerk Back!: Mr. Bighead begins to get on Rocko, Heffer, and Filburt's nerves when he starts to hang out with them, to the point where the three actually prefer him the way he was before.
- Yank the Dog's Chain: Twice over, as Mr. Dupette tells Ed there's a promotion available...and gives it to someone else.
