No Pants Today

"No Pants Today"
The Ren & Stimpy Show episode
Episode no.	Season 3 Episode 4
Directed by	Bob Camp Bill Wray
Story by	Richard Pursel
Production code	RS-302
Original air date	November 26, 1993 (1993-11-26)

No Pants Today is the fourth episode of the third season of The Ren & Stimpy Show. It originally aired on Nickelodeon in the United States on November 26, 1993. It is Bill Wray's first episode as director, having served as a painter for the series from the beginning.

Plot

One morning, Stimpy takes a shower while Ren is sleeping. Afterwards, he suddenly realizes he is naked, asking for his pants despite never owning a pair. Ren chastises him for his stupidity and forces him to go outside.

Stimpy tries to borrow underwear from the Pipe residence, where he nonsensically horrifies a hapless Mrs. Pipe with his nudity. Mr. Pipe chases him away with a hose. He hides in a tree, only for the "neighborhood sadist" Victor to appear cutting down trees with a chainsaw. Claiming to be a "professional bully", he forces Stimpy to be punched in the stomach in exchange for his underwear.

After the bout, Victor brings Stimpy to his father's car, where they verbally abuse him while still tending to their promise; Victor's father gives Stimpy his oversized underwear, ties it with rope as a belt and launches him out of the car as a cruel joke. Laughing at their apparent humiliation of Stimpy, they get distracted and drive off a cliff, killing them both as the car explodes.

Stimpy wakes up and is held ransom by a bull which nonsensically has swollen udders and needs them to keep his udders in control with underpants. Stimpy obliges, to which the bull attempts to thank by running into him and send him on his way, but accidentally sends him to a dark forest. At the forest, various clothed animals mock him for his nudity, only to leave when their leader, a giant bear, gives Stimpy a squirrel to wear, as urban wildlife are most likely to be naked.

Stimpy returns home, where Ren criticizes him for attempting to wear pants, but offers gowns instead; Ren is revealed to be an experienced transvestite, having also convinced Stimpy and the squirrel to dress as females for their humiliation.

Cast

• Ren-voice of Billy West
• Stimpy-voice of Billy West
• Mrs. Pipe-voice of Cheryl Chase
• Mr. Pipe-voice of Billy West
• Bear-voice of Bob Camp
• Victor-voice of Danny Cooksey
• Victor's dad-voice of Charlie Callas
• Cow-voice of Michael Pataki

Production

The story was written at Spümcø by Richard Pursel in 1992 who intended it for the second season under the title "Stimpy That Dirty Little Naked Boy". When the Spümcø lost the contract for The Ren & Stimpy Show, the story was assigned to the Games Animation studio. As Games Animation struggled to finish off the second season, the story for No Pants Today was held off for the third season. Pursel insisted that the original story that he envisioned was not as violent as the final version, which he blamed on Bill Wray's overactive imagination and love of graphic violence. Pursel recalled: "I just remember a lot of Bill's suggestions in writing meetings were, 'and then we break his neck! And then they can get him killed!' But he laughed after he said it". The story was censored by Nickelodeon which removed the scene of Stimpy being dragged down a road by a car and Stimpy being tortured with a butter knife as too extreme.

Reception

American journalist Thad Komorowski gave the episode two out of four stars; he noted that the episode emphasizes Stimpy's torture rather than his humiliation or stupidity, makes the episode incapable of fully achieving its potential.

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.

References

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