| "Fire Dogs" | |
|---|---|
| The Ren & Stimpy Show episode | |
 | |
| Episode no. | Season 1 Episode 8 |
| Directed by | John Kricfalusi |
| Story by | John Kricfalusi |
| Production code | RS-04B |
| Original air date | September 29, 1991 |
"Fire Dogs" is the eighth episode of the first season of The Ren & Stimpy Show. It originally aired on Nickelodeon in the United States on September 29, 1991.
A homeless and starving Ren and Stimpy roam the streets, where Ren devours the last morsel of Stimpy's cat litter; he is horrified to find out despite enjoying it, and breaks Stimpy's litter box much to Stimpy's chagrin. Suddenly the duo find a job notice recruiting dogs by the Fire Department, which allows only Dalmatian dogs for the job. Fortunately, Ren has a bucket of "Dalmatian Paint" that allows both him and Stimpy to be painted the colors of Dalmatian dogs.
The duo apply for the job, only to be attacked violently by the Fire Chief, who had mistaken the duo for circus midgets. While applying for the job, Stimpy lets slip that he's a cat, but Ren saves him by noting his relative stupidity to the Fire Chief. The duo are hired as firefighters, despite Dalmatians being traditionally used as assisting positions. Stimpy looks forward to work, while Ren uses the opportunity to eat and relax, noting that the odds of a fire is quite low, only for them to be assigned their first mission. A fire breaks at an apartment building and the duo are assigned to evacuating the Buttloaves family. Mrs. Buttloaves throws her baby out of the window, who is revealed to be comically obese, but the weight is fairly manageable for the duo. Her horse, revealed to be Mr. Horse, makes the grave mistake of landing on his feet, breaking both of his feet and landing on top of the duo; he is forced to drag himself to safety despite the extreme pain.
Ren and Stimpy try to save Mrs. Buttloaves' increasingly absurd collection of animals, who are all of gigantic stature to the point Ren refuses to hold up the stretcher. When it is time to save Mrs. Buttloaves, Ren rides the ladder to her residence, only to be horrified by the height; Mrs. Buttloaves holds Ren in her mouth as she descends, causing a massive earthquake that destroyed buildings and a crater in place of the original apartment. Grateful for the rescue, she practices cardiopulmonary resuscitation on an unconscious Ren, who mistook it for a kiss and is horrified by her appearance. Stimpy puts out the fire with a massive pile of kitty litter. The duo are rewarded for their bravery with golden fire hydrant helmets, only for Mrs. Buttloaves and some dogs appear nearby, barely holding the urge to urinate.
An "Ask Dr. Stupid" segment airs midway in the episode, where Stimpy answers a boy's question about school in a nonsensical way.
John Kricfalusi stated that "Fire Dogs" was "written in an afternoon" as to fill the quota of episodes ordered for the first season in October 1990. [1] Bob Camp called "Fire Dogs" "a regular cartoon, lots of mayhem and running around and physical humor. It's not the usual bizarre fare". [1] The episode was by all accounts rushed at the Spümcø studio with as little work as done as possible. [1] Instead of being drawn in and painted at the usual sub-contractors for the first season, namely Lacewood Productions in Ottawa or Carbunkle Cartoons in Vancouver, the task was sub-contracted out to Fil-Cartoons at Manila to save costs. [1] Despite the rush, "Fire Dogs" was still finished late. [2] Much of the footage intended for "Fire Dogs" was vandalized beyond repair at Fil-Cartoons, with Kricfalusi and Carbunkle founder Bob Jaques, who worked as animation director on the episode, voicing their displeasure towards their work. [3]
American journalist Thad Komorowski gave the episode four out of five stars. [1] American critic Andy Patrizio praised "Fire Dogs" as an "insane" episode that was his favorite of the first season. [4]
An episode of Ren & Stimpy "Adult Party Cartoon" named "Fire Dogs 2" takes place directly after this episode; the Fire Chief morphs into Ralph Bakshi and invites the duo to stay with him.
Ren & Stimpy "Adult Party Cartoon" is an animated television series created and directed by John Kricfalusi and produced by Spümcø for TNN / Spike TV. The series was developed as a more "extreme" revamp and spin-off of Nickelodeon's The Ren & Stimpy Show, which Spümcø produced the first two seasons. The series premiered on June 26, 2003, and was removed from the network on July 24, after airing only three episodes; the remaining episodes were released on DVD. During its run, Adult Party Cartoon was heavily panned by critics, audiences and fans of the original series. It has been referred to as one of the worst animated series of all time.
"Stimpy's Cartoon Show" is the seventh episode of the third season of The Ren & Stimpy Show. It originally aired on Nickelodeon in the United States on January 8, 1994.
"Man's Best Friend" is an episode from the second season of the American animated television series The Ren & Stimpy Show. It was originally intended to air on Nickelodeon on August 22, 1992, as the second half of the second episode of Season 2, but was pulled before airing and replaced by a censored version of "Big House Blues". It eventually aired on the soft launch of Spike TV on June 23, 2003. In the episode, Ren and Stimpy learn about obedience after George Liquor takes them home with him and swears to make them "champions".
"A Visit to Anthony" is the eighteenth and penultimate episode of the second season of The Ren & Stimpy Show. It originally aired on Nickelodeon in the United States on May 8, 1993.
"Ren's Retirement" is the eleventh episode of the third season of The Ren & Stimpy Show. It originally aired on Nickelodeon in the United States on April 2, 1994.
"The Royal Canadian Kilted Yaksmen" is the nineteenth episode and season finale of the second season of The Ren & Stimpy Show. It originally aired on Nickelodeon in the United States on May 23, 1993, and is the final episode to be aired with input from Spümcø.
Robert Paul Jaques is a Canadian-American animator and animation director. He is best known for the television series The Ren & Stimpy Show, The Baby Huey Show and SpongeBob SquarePants. He also was nominated for two Emmys in 1992 and 1993 for his contributions to The Ren & Stimpy Show.
"Stimpy's Invention" is the twelfth episode and series finale of the first season of The Ren & Stimpy Show. It originally aired on Nickelodeon in the United States on February 23, 1992.
"Sven Höek" is the sixth episode of the second season of The Ren & Stimpy Show. It originally aired on Nickelodeon in the United States on November 7, 1992.
"Big House Blues" is a 1990 American animated comedy film produced by Spümcø. Originally screened at a film festival, with a censored version later airing on Nickelodeon, it was succeeded by The Ren & Stimpy Show on the network, to which it serves as a pilot episode.
"Ren's Bitter Half" is the fifteenth episode from the third season of The Ren & Stimpy Show. It originally aired on Nickelodeon in the United States on June 4, 1994.
"Space Madness" is the fifth episode of the first season of The Ren & Stimpy Show. It originally aired on Nickelodeon in the United States on September 8, 1991. Along with "Marooned" and "Black Hole", the episode is part of a loose trilogy in the first season known as the "space episodes", centering around the show-within-the-show, a parody of Star Trek-like science fiction shows titled The Adventures of Commander Höek and Cadet Stimpy.
"Rubber Nipple Salesmen" is the fifth episode of the second season of The Ren & Stimpy Show. It originally aired on Nickelodeon in the United States on August 29, 1992.
"Out West" is the fourth episode of the second season of The Ren & Stimpy Show. It originally aired on Nickelodeon in the United States on August 29, 1992.
"The Boy Who Cried Rat!" is the sixth episode of the first season of The Ren & Stimpy Show. It originally aired on Nickelodeon in the United States on September 8, 1991.
"Dog Show" is the tenth episode of the second season of The Ren & Stimpy Show. It originally aired on Nickelodeon in the United States on December 12, 1992. It is the final appearance of George Liquor in the series, as John Kricfalusi was fired midway through production and reclaimed the rights to the character, utilizing it as Spümcø's mascot.
"Stimpy's Big Day!" is the first episode of the first season of The Ren & Stimpy Show. It originally aired on Nickelodeon in the United States on August 11, 1991.
"The Big Shot!" is the second episode of the first season of The Ren & Stimpy Show. It originally aired on Nickelodeon in the United States on August 11, 1991.
"The Great Outdoors" is the fifteenth episode of the second season of The Ren & Stimpy Show. It originally aired on Nickelodeon in the United States on March 27, 1993.
"Farm Hands" is the seventh episode of the fourth season of The Ren & Stimpy Show. It originally aired on Nickelodeon in the United States on November 5, 1994.
