Stupid Sidekick Union

"Stupid Sidekick Union"
The Ren & Stimpy Show episode
Episode no.	Season 5 Episode 2
Directed by	Ron Hughart (uncredited)
Written by	Bob Camp Jim Gomez
Production code	RS-423
Original air date	March 18, 1995 (1995-03-18)
Episode chronology
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"Stupid Sidekick Union" is the second episode of the fifth season of The Ren & Stimpy Show . It originally aired on Nickelodeon in the United States on March 18, 1995.

Plot

Ren and Stimpy star in their own show. Stimpy feigns stupidity while Ren abuses him regularly as planned. Stimpy receives a phone call in the middle of an episode, immediately denying Ren the right to beat him up as he, a "stupid" sidekick, had joined a labor union named "Stupid Sidekick Union 6+7⁄8". He reverts to his real-life personality, a disgruntled and more intelligent individual while Ren acts like he does in the show. Ren refuses to sign Stimpy's contract to get approval to hit him while Stimpy walks out, but not before Ren seizes his blue nose, which was in fact a prop. ^[1]

Ren mockingly calls the union for a sidekick, only for them to send an intellectually disabled strikebreaker named Tex who has a log for a brain. He reluctantly hires Tex, which on their first episode summons a stampede of buffalos and brands Ren's buttocks with a branding iron. Tex is recruited by Stimpy into the union. ^[1]

More strikebreakers including Myron (former sidekick of Haggis MacHaggis) joining the casting call. A wiener is the first to be rejected, with more to come, only for a baboon to win the job for intimidating Ren. Their first episode consists of the baboon mauling Ren after he is angered by a wildebeest carcass placed by the baboon. The last applicant, a classic actor, is hired for being experienced but walks out due to Stimpy's role not fitting his expertise. Ren decides to star on the show on his own, when Stimpy, thinly disguised as a girl, begs Ren to sign an autograph, which is in fact the contract. Ren sees through the trick (but not Stimpy's disguise) and signs "George Washington" on it. This in fact endorses the contract and forces all employers to hire their sidekicks, at the expense that they adhere to their sidekick's requests before assaulting them. Ren is relegated to the secondary role of "The Stimpy & Ren Show", asking for Stimpy's permission and paying him to slap him; he does not hesitate to slap as much as he wants, even if Stimpy considers it to be "overtime" and demands more money, ending the episode. ^[1]

Cast

• Ren – Voice of Billy West
• Stimpy – Voice of Billy West

Production

The episode was directed by Ron Hughart, but he was uncredited as storyboarder Tom McGrath was rewarded the role for competently improving on the episode. Stephen DeStefano also served as storyboarder but most of his ideas were unused and he was also uncredited. ^[2]

Reception

American journalist Thad Komorowski gave the episode three out of five stars, noting that Stimpy's out of character cruelty ruined it from being a classic episode. ^[3]

Books and articles

• Dobbs, G. Michael (2015). Escape – How Animation Broke into the Mainstream in the 1990s. Orlando: BearManor Media. ISBN   978-1593931100.
• Komorowski, Thad (2017). Sick Little Monkeys: The Unauthorized Ren & Stimpy Story. Albany, Georgia: BearManor Media. ISBN   978-1629331836.

Reference

1. Komorowski 2017, pp. 403–404.
2. Komorowski 2017, p. 287.
3. Komorowski 2017, p. 404.