"Nurse Stimpy" is the fourth episode of the first season of ''

The Ren & Stimpy Show ''The Ren & Stimpy Show'', commonly referred to as simply ''Ren & Stimpy'', is an American animated Comedy film, comedy television series created by John Kricfalusi for Nickelodeon. The series follows the misadventures of Ren Höek, an emotion ...

''. It originally aired on

Nickelodeon Nickelodeon (nicknamed Nick) is an American pay television channel and the flagship property of the Nickelodeon Group, a sub-division of the Paramount Media Networks division of Paramount Global. Launched on April 1, 1979, as the first ca ...

in the United States on August 25, 1991.

Plot

One beautiful morning,

Stimpy Ren Höek and Stimpson J. "Stimpy" Cat are the title characters in the Nickelodeon animated series ''The Ren & Stimpy Show'' and its 2003 spin-off '' Ren & Stimpy "Adult Party Cartoon"''. Series creator John Kricfalusi created the characters ...

wakes up on time and optimistically looks forward for a new day, only to find Ren deathly ill. Concerned by Ren's condition, Stimpy dresses up as Nurse Stimpy in order to nurse Ren back to health, to Ren's chagrin. Stimpy decides to examine Ren, removing his nose which is revealed to be a

bag A bag, also known regionally as a sack, is a common tool in the form of a floppy container, typically made of cloth, leather, bamboo, paper, or plastic. The use of bags predates recorded history, with the earliest bags being lengths of animal s ...

holding a series of items. He ponders using various dangerous items such as a

saw A saw is a tool consisting of a tough blade, Wire saw, wire, or Chainsaw, chain with a hard toothed edge used to cut through material. Various terms are used to describe toothed and abrasive saws. Saws began as serrated materials, and when man ...

and

drill A drill is a tool used for making round holes or driving fasteners. It is fitted with a drill bit for making holes, or a screwdriver bit for securing fasteners. Historically, they were powered by hand, and later mains power, but cordless b ...

, which stresses Ren further. Stimpy puts his nose back in place and instead takes out an

ice cream bar An ice cream bar is a frozen dessert featuring ice cream on a stick. The confection was patented in the US in the 1920s, with one invalidated in 1928. Description An ice cream bar is a frozen dessert on a stick. It features ice cream, disti ...

, which he immediately eats and uses the stick as a

tongue depressor A tongue depressor or spatula is a tool used in medical practice to depress the tongue to allow for examination of the mouth and throat. Hobbyists, artists, teachers and confectionery makers use tongue depressors, which may also be referred to ...

. Disgusted by the sight, Stimpy prompts Ren to reveal his

salivary glands The salivary glands in many vertebrates including mammals are exocrine glands that produce saliva through a system of Duct (anatomy), ducts. Humans have three paired major salivary glands (Parotid gland, parotid, Submandibular gland, submandibula ...

, both comically large and wearing

top hats A top hat (also called a high hat, or, informally, a topper) is a tall, flat-crowned hat traditionally associated with formal wear in Western dress codes, meaning white tie, morning dress, or frock coat. Traditionally made of black silk or som ...

. Stimpy proceeds to use a

sphygmomanometer A sphygmomanometer ( ), also known as a blood pressure monitor, blood pressure machine, or blood pressure gauge, is a device used to measure blood pressure, composed of an inflatable cuff to collapse and then release the artery under the cuff i ...

on Ren, who is inflated and deflated like a balloon. After resting, Stimpy feeds Ren his

medicine Medicine is the science and Praxis (process), practice of caring for patients, managing the Medical diagnosis, diagnosis, prognosis, Preventive medicine, prevention, therapy, treatment, Palliative care, palliation of their injury or disease, ...

. Despite seemingly pouring the entire bottle of medicine onto the floor, Stimpy feeds Ren a gigantic spoonful of medicine. Ren struggles to swallow the medicine due to its unpleasant taste, eventually succeeding after throwing up a small amount. It is revealed that Stimpy bought all-purpose icky-tasty medicine for Ren, and he throws the bottle away before Ren finds out. Four months later, Stimpy visits Ren to rinse his

spleen The spleen (, from Ancient Greek '' σπλήν'', splḗn) is an organ (biology), organ found in almost all vertebrates. Similar in structure to a large lymph node, it acts primarily as a blood filter. The spleen plays important roles in reg ...

, only for Ren to smell badly as he had not bathed in weeks. Stimpy helps Ren bathe, which he initially found to be unpleasant but eventually enjoys. A crowd led by Mr. Horse peeks into the house. A day later, Ren thanks Stimpy for his good deeds, only to find out that their bath had been publicized for absolutely no reason, prompting Ren to faint in shock. Stimpy sees this as a relapse of his illness. Weeks go by as Stimpy gets increasingly serious and desperate on his attempts to save Ren, as Ren's situation gradually gets more serious. Stimpy eventually has a

nervous breakdown A mental disorder, also referred to as a mental illness, a mental health condition, or a psychiatric disability, is a behavioral or mental pattern that causes significant distress or impairment of personal functioning. A mental disorder is ...

caused by

overworking Overwork, also known as excessive work or work overload, is an occupational condition characterized by working excessively, frequently at the expense of the worker's physical and mental health. It includes working beyond one's capacity, leading t ...

and constantly drinking

coffee Coffee is a beverage brewed from roasted, ground coffee beans. Darkly colored, bitter, and slightly acidic, coffee has a stimulating effect on humans, primarily due to its caffeine content, but decaffeinated coffee is also commercially a ...

. After an unknown period of time, Ren wakes up cured, only to find Stimpy becoming as sickly as he had been earlier. He dresses up as Nurse Ren, to Stimpy's chagrin. A segment after the episode features Ren waving goodbye, with Stimpy introducing his Magical Nose Goblins before doing the same.

Cast

*Ren – voice of

John Kricfalusi Michael John Kricfalusi ( ; born September 9, 1955), known professionally as John K., is a Canadian illustrator, blogger, and former animator and voice actor. He is the creator of the animated television series ''The Ren & Stimpy Show'', which ...

*Stimpy – voice of

Billy West William Richard Werstine (born 1952), known professionally as Billy West, is an American voice actor, comedian, radio personality, impressionist and musician. His voice roles include Bugs Bunny in the 1996 film ''Space Jam'', the title characte ...

Production

The episode had a troubled production, with the script being rewritten five times. The storyboard work for "Nurse Stimpy" was done by

Chris Reccardi Christopher Joseph Reccardi (November 24, 1964 – May 2, 2019) was an American animator, artist, writer, producer, director, and musician. He worked on numerous animated television series, including ''The Ren & Stimpy Show'', '' Samurai Jack'', ...

while

Bob Camp Robert Frank Camp (born February 7, 1956) is an American animator, writer, cartoonist, comic book artist, storyboard artist, director, and producer. He is best known for founding Spümcø and his work for developing and serving as a showrunner ...

did the layout, with the rest of the work being done by

Lacewood Productions Lacewood Productions was a Canadian animation studio and production company based in Ottawa, Ontario.Wise, Wyndham (2001), p. 9. ''Take One's Essential Guide to Canadian Filmmaking''. . University of Toronto Press. Accessed April 14, 2007. Founde ...

Ottawa Ottawa is the capital city of Canada. It is located in the southern Ontario, southern portion of the province of Ontario, at the confluence of the Ottawa River and the Rideau River. Ottawa borders Gatineau, Gatineau, Quebec, and forms the cor ...

did not disapprove of Lacewood's animation, despite turning out to be much worse than that of the first two episodes; he rather disliked the entire episode so much he used a pseudonym for the director's credit. In a 1993 interview, Kricfalusi called the episode "ugly". Bob Camp compared the episode's quality to that of a

Hanna-Barbera Hanna-Barbera Cartoons, Inc. ( ; formerly known as H-B Enterprises, Hanna-Barbera Productions, Inc. and H-B Production Co.), simply and commonly known as Hanna-Barbera, was an American animation studio and production company, which was acti ...

production at the episode's premiere.

Reception

American journalist Thad Komorowski gave the episode two out of five stars, writing that "Nurse Stimpy" is "merely an exhibition of toilet humor".

Books

* *

References

{{The Ren & Stimpy Show 1991 American television episodes The Ren & Stimpy Show episodes Works about nursing