The long running era of the Saturday morning cartoon has officially ended, but no one can stop you from fulfilling your true weekend calling. Cartoons and Saturday mornings were made for each other and no one can tell us otherwise. It is to that end that we maintain vigil, bringing you animated selections each Saturday morning until the internet dies, or until we run out, good thing there’s always reruns.
“Rocko’s Modern Life” Created by Joe Murray, starring Carlos Alazraqui, Tom Kenny, Charles Adler, Doug Lawrence, Joe Murray, and Linda Wallem; Run time: 30 minutes; Originally aired September 18, 1993.
The character of Rocko first began as a comic book character in an unpublished series created by Joe Murray in the late 80s. During the early nineties Nickelodeon was looking for new series that were a bit edgier than most of what they had done before, with the exception of “The Ren & Stimpy Show” which was still in production.
Murray pitched the character to Nickelodeon where it ran for 52 episodes.
As a kid “Rocko’s Modern Life” appealed to me because it hit the sweet spot between kids entertainment and edgier adult content. While I enjoyed “Ren & Stimpy” it sometimes felt a little far gone for me and Rocko dialed it back just enough to get back in my youthful comfort zone while still employing gross out animation and crude humor.
The story follows the titular character, a wallaby, as well as his best friend Heffer Wolfe, a cow raised by wolves, and a turtle called Filbert.
The show’s creator was originally skeptical about creating a cartoon for Nickelodeon but was assured by executives that Nicktoons weren’t like ordinary cartoons and that his sentiments would fit in just fine stating that he wouldn’t have to “write for children.”
The character of Rocko was created when Murray visited a zoo and saw a wallaby that seemed oblivious to the chaos around him. This one interaction gives a pretty solid basis for the entire series, a wallaby surrounded by, but not impeded by, complete and utter chaos.
Jeff “Swampy” Marsh was a storyboard writer on the show, he described the experience as difficult, stating that there was pretty consistent back and forth with censors wanting material changed or removed. Though he said the relationship of the writers with the censors was good and they worked together to find a common ground that appealed to both kids and adults. Marsh later went on to be one of the principal creators behind “Phineas and Ferb” another show that lives in the wonderland between childhood and adulthood, though without being so edgy.
“Rocko’s Modern Life” had mixed reviews from critics with some saying that it was smart and progressive, while others say it was a feeble attempt at capturing the success of “Ren & Stimpy.” Both are right to a degree, but there’s no denying that Rocko has had a lasting legacy and ardent fans even today. It also helped launch the careers of many of the industry’s biggest names, including Swamy Marsh, Dan Povenmire, and Tom Kenny. When the show finally ended after four season, much of the cast and crew regrouped on “Spongebob Squarepants” and also returned for Murray’s next series “Camp Lazlo” which employed the same animation style and similar characters in camp setting.