Son of Stimpy
"Son of Stimpy" (originally titled "Stimpy's First Fart") is the eleventh episode from the second season of "The Ren & Stimpy Show". It originally aired on January 13, 1993. Plot summary. Stimpy flatulates, and he believes that he has given birth. He tells Ren about the incident, but Ren won't believe him. Stimpy pines for his missing offspring which he names "Stinky" and relentlessly tries to find him. He eventually finds the gaseous child and joins Ren for Christmas. Production. The episode's story is credited to John Kricfalusi, Vincent Waller, and Richard Pursel, storyboarded by  Peter Avanzino, and directed by the show's creator John Kricfalusi. John Kricfalusi originally conceived "Son of Stimpy" as a parody and critique of popular Hollywood melodramas ("Bambi", "E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial"), and "fake pathos". He describes the latter as an act of manipulation performed by film directors that involves using audio-visual cues and tricks, mainly music and cinematography, to trigger melancholy emotions in audience members. Kricfalusi, infuriated by this practice, referred to it as "cheap", "contrived", and "a dirty trick", while asserting his belief that real drama should come from engaging characters and believable acting, not from editing  techniques. He also vented his frustration that dramatic features of this type ultimately gain more acclaim and recognition than simpler comedic films, which are generally seen as inferior. When writing this episode, he deliberately gave it the most ridiculous premise he could think of (Stimpy not being able to flatulate a second time) and used as many of the aforementioned filmic tricks as he could think of, to prove how easy it is to force viewers into crying over something that has little to no real substance. Censorship. John Kricfalusi made this episode as an exchange: if he made heartwarming  stories, Nickelodeon would let him make more gross stories. The mistletoe scene, in which Ren tries to lure Stimpy inside by the mistletoe, caused much dispute between Kricfalusi and Nickelodeon who objected to its "homosexual undertones". According to Kricfalusi's commentary on the DVD, Nickelodeon ultimately decided to include the scene after hearing that its removal greatly upset a homosexual Spümcø artist. A short scene where Ren pushes Stimpy's Christmas present towards a picture of him is cut not only from the VHS and all currently aired versions, but it is also missing from the "Season One and Two  DVD. It is however shown on the Nicktoons UK airing, and on the June 2, 2009 airing on MTV2. Nickelodeon cut the part where Stimpy goes to the police to find his missing son", only to be violently thrown out. This was shown when it aired on Spike TV. Reception. In "An Introduction to Film Studies" the episode is used as a case study and comments on the motifs in the episode.The 'Son of God' motif which underpins the cartoon, signalled in its title and its Christmas setting and soundtrack, allies the sacred and profane in a way that  some might find provocative. Kricfalusi does not make this a coherent analogy, however, but self-evidently uses the 'openness' of the animated vocabulary for subversive purposes. A. J. Carson of "tvdvdreviews.com" praised the episode as "pitch-perfect send up of maudlin Christmas specials". In 1993, the episode was nominated for the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Animated Program (for Programming Less Than One Hour) at the 45th Primetime Emmy Awards. In 2007, the episode was ranked No. 96 in the 100 Greatest Nicktoon Episodes Countdown.