The Itchy & Scratchy & Poochie Show
"The Itchy & Scratchy & Poochie Show"
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Episode Information
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Plot
When the ratings for "Itchy and Scratchy" are dropping, Roger Meyer's Jr. gets a suggestion from Lisa that they should rejuvenate the show with the addition of a new character. They follow the animal enemy chain by going "mouse-cat-dog", and then a new character, Poochie is born.
At the encouragement of his family Homer auditions for the voice of Poochie, which he gets the job. Homer then meets June Bellamy, who does the voices for Itchy and Scratchy. He makes friends with her when he fires back at nerds and engrossed fans at a comic book convention. When his debut cartoon premieres, it gets the worst reviews than ever. For once not being Homer's fault but due to poor writing Poochie prevented the violence that the viewer's love, causing everyone to hate Poochie except for Homer. He overhears the staff saying they should kill him off.
When Roger Meyers Junior say's that Homer is too much trouble and he could be laid off, June Bellamy comes to his defense by putting her foot down. At the next episode's recording, Homer reads his own lines that he prepared about how just because no one likes him, they should give Poochie another chance. But, by the time the episode airs, they have substituted Homers speech with new dialogue saying Poochie has returned to his home planet and died along the way. Everyone is excited about Poochie dying, but Homer isn't but he gets over it. Itchy and Scratchy go back to their basics and their ratings are better than ever.
Quotes
- Troy McCulre: "Ruff, ruff. I'm Poochie the rockin' dog. Hi, I'm Troy McClure. You may remember me from such animated shows as Christmas Ape and Christmas Ape Goes to Summer Camp."
- Homer: "Uh, is this episode going to air live?"
- June: "No, Homer. Very few animated shows broadcast live, it's a terrible strain on the animator's wrists."
- Bart: "Mom! You can hug me while I'm asleep!"
- Marge: "I do."
Trivia
- Many of the Itchy an Scratchy staff members are caricatures of the actual Simpsons staff.
- The addition of Roy is a parody of the actual problem in the show. Since the network adds Poochie to boost ratings, as a joke on the show, Roy is added as an attempt to boost ratings.
- The episode is a commentary on "jumping the shark" - doing outlandish things to a show, like adding a new character, in order to boost ratings and save the show from cancellation.
- June Bellamy, voiced by Simpsons regular Tress MacNellie, could be a reference to veteran voice actress June Foray.
