The Itchy & Scratchy & Poochie Show
From Wikisimpsons
| The Itchy & Scratchy & Poochie Show | |
| |
| Episode Number | 167 |
| Production Code | 4F12 |
| Original Airdate | Feburary 9, 1997 |
| Blackboard Text | I did not learn everything I need to know in kindergarden. |
| Couch Gag | A parody of The Beatles' Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Heart's Club Band album cover. |
| Special Guest Voices | Alex Rocco as Roger Meyers, Jr. Phil Hartman as Troy McClure. |
| Written By | David X. Cohen |
| Directed By | Steven Dean Moore |
"The Itchy & Scratchy & Poochie Show" is the fourteenth episode of the The Simpsons' eighth season.
[edit] 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. Lisa remarks that new characters are just a desperate effort to boost shows with low ratings, and at this point a character named Roy walks into the living room - It's suggested he has been living with the Simpsons for some time.
Still, at the encouragement of the rest of his family, Homer auditions for the voice of Poochie, and 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 ever. For once this is not Homer's fault, but due to poor writing Poochie prevented the violence that the viewers love, causing everyone to hate Poochie. He overhears the staff saying they should kill him off.
When Roger Meyers Jr. says 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 lines that he wrote himself about how no-one likes him (Poochie) initially, but they should give him another chance. By the time the episode airs, the company have amateurishly 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 except for Homer. He soon gets over his disappointment, Roy declares he is moving out, Itchy and Scratchy go back to their basics and their ratings are better than ever.
