In October 1993, something magical happened: an unassuming little cartoon called "Rocko's Modern Life" debuted on Nickelodeon. Sure, the premise might have sounded a little bizarre; I mean, how many programs do you know that center around an immigrant Australian wallaby trying to live his modern life with the help of his best friends, the gluttonous steer (NOT a cow, mind you) Heffer and the perpetually nervous turtle, Filburt? Throw in his toad neighbors, the Bigheads, his job as a clerk at Kind-of-a-Lot-O-Comics, and a cast of zany secondary characters, you've got yourself a downright offbeat cartoon. But you can't take "Rocko" at face value. You have to look deeper, watch an episode, and really laugh at the clever-yet-simple jokes that pepper the action.
And don't, under any circumstances, write this off as a kids' show. As you might know, "Rocko" came under fire for its "mature" content; in other words, the series harbors many, many, many inside jokes and innuendoes just below the surface. Just take a look at some episode titles ("Schnit-Heads," "Who Gives a Buck?"), some character/establishment names (Doctor Bendova, the Chokey Chicken fast-food restaurants), and countless other little occurrences throughout every episode.
A stark, unique animation style, one that presents everything at a slight angle, provides a great backdrop for Rocko's adventures, and paints a truly different world that sets the cartoon apart from all others.
And through it all, a surreal sense of humor reigns supreme. On what other cartoon could you find a Museum of Pointy Objects, police activities that include arts-and-crafts, a vacuum with a neutering device, or a family of wolves that adopted a steer?
It certainly didn't deserve to be canceled after only three seasons, but in the fickle world of children's programming (especially on Nickelodeon, a network infamous for canning innovative series and renewing the dreck year after year), it just wasn't prepackaged, marketable, and mainstream enough to work out. But that's what I like best about "Rocko"; it's truly different from anything else you could ever find on television, a little outpost of originality in a TV world full of copycats and clones. Rest assured, you can still enjoy Rocko, Heffer, and the whole gang, provided you have digital cable, on Nickelodeon's all-cartoon outlet Nicktoons TV.
Overall, a ten out of ten, but shave a few points off if you don't automatically crack up when you hear this classic "Rocko" line, courtesy of Heffer: "Hey, Rock, do that funny face you make when you're buying eggs."
