Wrestling and Rodeo to Share Air with Ren and Stimpy

5-19-2002

Anyone older than 14 has to remember Nickelodeon’s hit program, The Ren & Stimpy Show.  Its unique animation and gross-out humor didn’t just put it on the top of the must-watch list for kids, but adults dug it, too.  Well, there’s good news for fans of the bug-eyed Chihuahua and that fat, red cat—they’re on their way back to prime time.  And I’m not talking about obscure hours on VH1, either.  Ren and Stimpy get to strut their stuff (in reruns) on TNN in 2003 in a new animation block geared toward older viewers. 

It gets better—if you’re a Ren & Stimpy fan, that is.  TNN announced it’s in discussions with creator John Kricfalusi to return and pen new material for the gruesome twosome.  Ah, nothing worse than a show overstaying its welcome the first time, only to return for another shot in the limelight, right?  After all, wasn’t R&S canceled by Nickelodeon because it started to suck harder than a Hoover?  Well, hell yeah on the latter query, but there’s a little more to that story, junior.

Here’s the dillio:  In 1990, Johnny K. sold the Ren & Stimpy rights to Nickelodeon and the channel aired the first episode one year later.  Nickelodeon, a cable station for ankle biters, was censoring a lot of the segments because it wanted to keep the content “family friendly.”  I guess they didn’t get the humor.  Ren & Stimpy was a hit with people young and old, but in September 1993, Nickelodeon fired poor John K.—it cited failure to reach deadlines as the reason.  Chris Savino, a former Spumco (John’s studio) layout guy, once said that John K. sometimes disregarded deadlines to improve the episodes.  But in John K.’s defense, “sick” Nick was making him go back and cut out a lot of stuff and write entirely different episodes.  Well, after the firing, Nickelodeon started its own cartoon studio, Games Animations, and made the Ren & Stimpy cartoons itself.  In case you haven’t guessed it, the critically panned episodes of R&S—the ones that caused the viewers to change channels—were craptacular because they were in the hands of Games Animations.  The show was canceled, or as Nick said, it “ended productions” shortly thereafter.

So, as you can conclude, John K. working on new episodes of The Ren & Stimpy Show for TNN is a good thing.  Maybe we’ll even get to see the older episodes in their uncensored glory.  In case you’re wondering, the reason TNN gets to show a Nick-owned cartoon is not because it sold the rights.  TNN and Nickelodeon fall under the same corporate umbrella—Viacom (VH1 does, too).

But wait…like the venerable Hulk Hogan, Ren and Stimpy look geared to play a backup role, where they’re used to draw viewers’ attentions toward all new, original TNN ‘toons—Gary the Rat being the premiere one.  Kelsey Grammer, the dude from Frasier, voices Gary and is a co-executive producer along with writers and creators, Rob and Mark Mullen.

Other shows planned for the TNN block include:

STRIPPERELLA, a show by Stan “The Man” Lee.  You know, the chap who created comic-book icons like the Fantastic Four, the X-Men, the Incredible Hulk and Spider-Man. (Hell yeah!)  This cartoon features a superhero chick who makes a living stripping.

THE IMMIGRANTS, produced by Klasky Csupo Productions, is about a Russian immigrant who befriends a street-smart Mexican immigrant as they try living out the American dream.

JOE DUFFY, a cartoon about an average Joe—uh…no pun intended—who feels he’s cursed with an insane family, including a son in the clergy and a lesbian daughter.  Brought to you by Ed Weinberger, produced by Nelvana Productions.

TNN is hoping its block of new cartoons will increase overall television ratings.  They probably will.  Besides the WWF (TNN’s bread and butter) and Star Trek reruns, there’s nothing on the network that attracts the ratings you can write home to your mama about.

If the cartoons prove to draw good cable ratings, it could be good news for animators.  The major networks have all but abandoned prime-time animation in recent years.