It’s better than bad - it’s good! It’s time to get goopy, gacky, and all kinds of wacky, as Sam invites resident millennial Kit back on the pod to talk through two of Nickelodeon’s earliest animated efforts and their vibrant history in games. How close did Ren & Stimpy get to capturing the anarchic spirit of the show? How much content was cut from the Rugrats’ premiere 3D outing? And how many times can we say the words “lost media” before it loses all meaning? Whatever the answers, one thing’s clear - a gamer’s gotta do what a gamer’s gotta do. Gaming, that is.

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Topics discussed: The Ren & Stimpy Show (Veediots!, Stimpy’s Invention, Fire Dogs, Time Warp); Rugrats: Search for Reptar, Rugrats in Paris, Rugrats: Studio Tour, Totally Angelica!

Also mentioned: Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth, Pokémon Red Nuzlocke, Rayman Redemption, Connie and the Essence of Chaos, Sonic P-06, Sonic SMS Remake, Corn Kidz 64, Tiny Terry’s Turbo Trip; Doug’s Big Game, Smiling Friends, Stan Lee’s Stripperella, Cans Without Labels, Kickstarter, Indivisible, Omori; The Rugrats Movie (Game Boy), n-Space (developer), Duke Nukem: Time To Kill / Land of the Babes, Heroes of Ruin

Music used:

“Gay Activity” [as heard in “Ren & Stimpy Production Music”] - Clive Richardson
"lead past evil leavs" [as heard in “Corn Kidz 64”] - Gammis
Fire Station - The Ren & Stimpy Show: Fire Dogs
Dog Pound Hop - The Ren & Stimpy Show: Time Warp
“Take Me There” [from “The Rugrats Movie”] - Blackstreet and Mya (ft. Mase & Blinky Blink)
Training - Rugrats: Search for Reptar
Happy Happy Joy Joy - The Ren & Stimpy Show

Further reading:

“Sick Little Monkeys: The Unauthorized Ren & Stimpy Story” (Thad Komorowski, 2017) [ISBN: 1629331821]: https://books.google.co.uk/books?id=YRqKDwAAQBAJ
“Cans Without Labels” (John Kricfalusi, 2019): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xSZqX5Io6AY
"Rugrats: Search for Reptar" original design document (1997): https://archive.org/details/rugrats-design/mode/2up?view=theater
“THQ, Sony Team in Rugrats Marketing Bonanza” - IGN (1998): https://www.ign.com/articles/1998/12/04/thq-sony-team-in-rugrats-marketing-bonanza
Nickelodeon Animation Podcast with Arlene Klasky (2017): https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/arlene-klasky/id1112655996?i=1000369921438&mt=2
"Rugrats at 30: Grown-Up and Revolutionary" – Pop History (2021): https://pophistory.club/analysis/rugrats-at-30-grown-up-and-revolutionary