Hoop Screams
"Hoop Screams"
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The Itchy & Scratchy Show Episode Information
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"Hoop Screams" is an episode of The Itchy & Scratchy Show.
Plot[edit]
Itchy and Scratchy are players on basketball teams composed of mice and cats, respectively. At the opening jump ball, the zebra referee tosses the ball into the air, and Itchy and Scratchy (the centers) jump up as well. Itchy, however, instead of going for the ball, draws a large knife and cuts off Scratchy's head. Another mouse player catches the head and alley-oop passes it to Itchy, who jams the head into the hoop from underneath, wrapping the skin around the rim so it gets stuck.
Then another mouse player (#23) dribbles down the court and makes a flying leap toward the basket. As #23 flies through the air, he pulls the cover off of the ball, revealing that it's actually a bomb with a lit fuse, and dunks the bomb through the hoop where it lodges in Scratchy's head. The head (with the bomb inside) then falls free from the hoop and down the neck of Scratchy's headless corpse. The bomb then explodes, splattering Scratchy's innards everywhere, to tremendous applause from the mice in the crowd. Part of Scratchy's skin, resembling a bloody and torn jersey with "Scratchy 00" on the back, ends up draped over a rafter.
Another cat player watches the scene disapprovingly. Itchy and a mouse player walk up to the cat, and Itchy draws his knife and cuts off the cat player's head. Itchy and the other mouse then carry the cat's headless corpse to just behind the mouse coach, where they tip the body over and let the blood from the stump of the neck pour all over the coach.
References[edit]
- The referee is a zebra, a reference to "zebra" being a common slang term for officials in many sports (due to their generally wearing black-and-white striped uniforms).
- The mouse player #23 is a clear reference to Michael Jordan:
- Jordan wore #23 for most of his playing career.
- Jordan was renowned for his flying slam dunks, particularly for starting his leap for the hoop at the free throw line or beyond.
- The mouse player makes the dunk with his tongue hanging out, another one of Jordan's mannerisms.
- The mice players' pouring blood over their coach is a reference to the "Gatorade shower" custom of players pouring Gatorade or some other liquid over their coach to celebrate a win.
