History Recap / TheSimpsonsS8E14TheItchyAndScratchyAndPoochieShow

* NewJobEpisode: Homer becoming Poochie's voice actor is another add-on to his absurd resumé, though in this case it's done less to set-up another wacky Homer misadventure and more to ensure that at least one of the main characters has some form of involvement in the overall Itchy & Scratchy plotline.

* AnAesop:
** Don't change art in an attempt to please others, because you may end up destroying perfectly good material in the process.
** By following trends, you completely forget the whole purpose of your project. It’s better to be timeless than to be cool.
** New characters can work if you actually put in some effort to fit them into the show’s nature and not rush into things and simply reverting to what worked prior is not necessarily the best solution either as doing the same thing endlessly is just going to isolate audiences as well.

* NoCelebritiesWereHarmed: June Bellamy is a parody of Creator/JuneForay.

* {{Catchphrase}}: This episode marks the first appearance of what would eventually become Comic Book Guy's signature MadLibsCatchphrase: "Worst [thing] ever."

** Later[[invoked]], given his abysmal first appearance, the executives wanted to kill off Poochie. Homer refused, but gave a different speech instead that pleased the workers of the recording room. The executives meddled anyway, additional symptoms would be the abrupt voice change, the coarse animation pulling Poochie offscreen, the animation cell's side being visible, and scribbled text that only said what happened - showing that the illustrators and animators likewise didn't approve of the meddling.

* CousinOliver: {{Parodied|Trope}}. An executive suggested the writers should add a new kid who had "the genius of Lisa but the attitude of Bart". In response, they made this episode. Poochie was created to be a hip new character with "pizzazz". However, he does nothing funny in his first appearance and the audience immediately hates him. The in-universe creators of ''The Itchy & Scratchy Show'' quickly remove Poochie from the show ("I have to go now. My planet needs me.") complete with a notice that he died on the way home. The episode also contains a further parody with Roy, a college aged "cool guy" who is inexplicably living with the Simpsons. Lisa even lampshades the aspect of adding a new character to boost low ratings just before Marge greets Roy for the first time.
* CreatorsApathy: In-universe, the writers of ''Itchy & Scratchy'' have very little interest in making Poochie work and put in the bare minimum of effort incorporating him into the show.

* CriticProof: In-universe, while ''Itchy & Scratchy'' had been enormously popular, critics expected the show to sink for years before Poochie answered their calls, as Kent Brockman gleefully comments.
* CrossDressingVoices: In-universe, Itchy and Scratchy are both voiced by [[ActingForTwo the same woman]].

* RescuedFromTheScrappyHeap: In-Universe. [[ShaggyDogStory Homer tries to do this with Poochie, but sadly fails.]]

* TookTheBadFilmSeriously: In-universe example. Homer tried as hard as he could to make Poochie work, but sadly he just had nothing to work with and the character had already earned everyone's hatred.

* EndOfAnEra: Beginning with the second season, it was an unwritten rule that one episode every season would be dedicated to Itchy and Scratchy. But after this episode, Itchy and Scratchy would become less of a focus. Even in the Season 30 episode "Bart vs. Itchy and Scratchy", the Itchy and Scratchy storyline ends up as a HalfwayPlotSwitch. With the death of Alex Rocco (Roger Meyers, Jr.), it seems less likely that the cat and mouse duo will get another dedicated episode.

-->'''Homer''': Let me ask ''you'' a question. Why would a man whose shirt says "Genius At Work" spend all his time watching a children's cartoon show?
-->'''Doug''': ...[[BreakTheHaughty I withdraw my question]].

--->'''Database''': Uh, excuse me Mr. Simpson. On the ''Itchy & Scratchy'' CD-ROM, is there a way to get out of the dungeon without using the wizard key?
--->'''Homer''': What the hell are you talking about?!
--->'''June''': You're a lifesaver, Homer. I can't deal with these hardcore fans!

* WhatDoYouMeanItWasntMadeOnDrugs: [[invoked]]The use of this trope to mean "anything remotely creative or unrealistic" gets some mocking.
-->'''Otto:''' Whoa, a talking dog! What were you guys smokin' when you came up with that?\\
'''Writer:''' We were eating rotisserie chicken.

Homer holds a big party at the Simpson household for Poochie's debut, which is done with great fanfare. But the character's in-your-face, TotallyRadical style only makes the show worse, leaving the audience disconcerted. Amid the disaster, the studio holds an emergency meeting in which Homer gives some ideas to "improve" Poochie, including more blatant CharacterShilling. However, he finds out by eavesdropping that Myers has resolved to kill off the character. In an attempt to save the new guy, Homer deviates from the script (which involves Itchy and Scratchy killing Poochie) and makes a heartfelt speech in-character pleading to keep him, which moves everybody at the room. The finished episode however ends up having Poochie being killed off in the strangest way possible, including a voice-over by Myers and his cel being lifted, with a claim he died on the way to his home planet (with an affidavit from Krusty that ensures the character can't be revived or used in the franchise in any form in the future). Poochie's demise is met with rejoice, while Homer resolves it was just a showbiz folly. At the end of the episode, Roy, a young man that had been living in the Simpson home during the episode, moves out.

* WorldOfJerkass: There really are no good people involved in the episode's take on the entertainment industry. The executives are self-important morons chasing big numbers, eager to get involved in the creative process while having no creativity whatsoever and [[NeverMyFault blaming other people for mistakes of their own making]]. The focus groups are blatantly predatory and deceitful agencies that lead their audiences and produce almost no useful information. The writers are overqualified layabouts with no interest in anything but finishing their easy jobs and getting in their paychecks rather than trying to uplift the garbage they're handed. The fanbase comprises of entitled whiners who claim to be loyal followers even as they breathe down the necks of the creative team and pounce on them angrily the moment they make a mistake. The closest thing to good people are the voice actors, but even then, Homer's genuine passion in the role of Poochie and his desire to see the character redeemed often comes across as fairly delusional, and he's obviously a usually unpleasant person outside of this episode.

** Later [[invoked]], given his abysmal first appearance, the executives wanted to kill off Poochie. Homer refused, but gave a different speech instead that pleased the workers of the recording room. The executives meddled anyway, additional symptoms would be the abrupt voice change, the coarse animation pulling Poochie offscreen, the animation cell's side being visible, and scribbled text that only said what happened - showing that the illustrators and animators likewise didn't approve of the meddling.

** Thoroughly defied by Poochie -- the executives even asked a lawyer to make legal documents expressively forbidding from ever using Poochie again. Later episodes make it a straight example by having him [[TheBusCameBack return]] via background {{cameo}}s.

* BarefootCartoonAnimal / FullyDressedCartoonAnimal: Poochie's design alternates between the two; the former in his concept drawings and the show's intro and the latter in the episode itself where he's seen with shoes on.

* TheyWastedAPerfectlyGoodPlot: InUniverse. The ''Itchy & Scratchy'' episode grinds to a halt as Poochie acts all cool and in-your-face.
-->'''Milhouse:''' ''[crying]'' When are they gonna get to the fireworks factory?!

*** On top of that, the actual creation of the new character is ''very'' half-assed. Meyers insists on the character being a dog to complete the "mouse-cat-dog" trident (which the writers say is predictable) and the name they go with is "Poochie", which Meyers simply threw out randomly as an example. And finally, Meyers insisted on Poochie having attitude "like sunglasses", as such the character becomes a walking example of outdated 90s cliches.

* [[{{ExecutiveMeddling}} Executive Meddling]]: InUniverse. The episode as a whole is a major TakeThat towards this.
** For starters, the producer Roger Meyers along with other executives decide to create a new character in order to rejuvinate and increase the ratings of ''Itchy & Scratchy''. A character who is hip, has "pizazz" and attitude. Of course, the actual writers & animators of ''Itchy & Scratchy'' tell them that its not a good idea since the cartoon has a specific dynamic, and adding a new character would disrupt the show. But [[IgnoredExpert the executives dismiss their notions]] and enforce the new character anyway.

* OverlyNarrowSuperlative: Implied when Flanders says "I can honestly say that was the best episode of Impy and Chimpy I've ever seen."

Homer is chosen to voice Poochie, a dog character created to liven up the ''Itchy & Scratchy'' show, but the new addition is universally hated. Lindsay Naegle makes her debut as an executive at the I&S studio.

* MisplacedRetribution: Nelson punches ''Bart'', who didn't contribute to ''Itchy & Scratchy & Poochie'', after seeing its JustForFun/{{egregious}} debut.

* CatchPhrase: This episode marks the first appearance of what would eventually become Comic Book Guy's signature MadLibsCatchPhrase: "Worst [thing] ever."

** This is the first appearance of Comic Book Guy's MadLibsCatchPhrase. "Worst. Episode. ''Ever''".

** For starters, the producer Roger Meyers along with other executives decide to create a new character in order to rejuvinate and increase the ratings of Itchy & Scratchy. A character who is hip, has "pizazz" and attitude. Of course, the actual writers & animators of Itchy & Scratchy tell them that its not a good idea since the cartoon has a specific dynamic, and adding a new character would disrupt the show. But [[IgnoredExpert the executives dismiss their notions]] and enforce the new character anyway.

* ExecutiveMeddling: Really the episode as a whole is a major TakeThat towards this.

* ExecutiveMeddling: [[invoked]] Given his abysmal first appearance, the executives wanted to kill off Poochie. Homer refused, but gave a different speech instead that pleased the workers of the recording room. The executives meddled anyway, additional symptoms would be the abrupt voice change, the coarse animation pulling Poochie offscreen, the animation cell's side being visible, and scribbled text that only said what happened - showing that the illustrators and animators likewise didn't approve of the meddling.

* AndThereWasMuchRejoicing: The kids in Krusty's studio audience are ''ecstatic'' when it's confirmed that Poochie is KilledOffForReal.