"Snowball" is the ninth episode of the first season of Pinky and the Brain.
Before he met Pinky, Brain knew another genetically enhanced rodent, a hamster named Snowball. But Snowball eventually turned evil and was kicked out of the lab, vowing revenge. Years later, he has resurfaced, and stolen Brain's chain letter scheme, to boot! Now Brain finds himself in the unusual position of having to save the world, as opposed to taking it over.
Tropes:
- Bland-Name Product: During Brain's flashback to his childhood, one of the bottles in his cage is labelled "Snipple", a reference to Snapple. Another is labelled "Canal No. 5", parodying Chanel No. 5.
- Brick Joke: At the beginning of the episode, Brain requests a cheque for enough money to afford all the stamps he needs for his plan. At the end, the cheque arrives, and they use it to fix up the lab.
- Bubble Pipe: Snowball uses one after becoming world dictator.
- Call-Back: While cheering on Brain during his fight with Snowball, Pinky calls "Bang! Zoom! Right in the kisser!"
- Chain Letter: The Brain plots to start a chain letter scheme that rewards five minutes of free shopping at the Piggly Wiggly if kept intact, or else the victim gets trampled by angry dik-diks. Embedded is the backwards message "You will bow before the Brain." However, when mail is delivered at Acme Labs shortly after the plan is explained, the mice receive a chain letter with the exact same text, except the backwards message is "You will bow before Snowball."
- Driven to Suicide: A despondent Brain tries to get himself eaten by a cat.
- Faux Horrific: When Pinky realizes he's holding a chain letter, he gasps in horror, immediately drops it, and runs around screaming, "I TOUCHED IT!"
- Food as Bribe: Snowball offers Pinky fudge in an attempt to get the mouse to work for him.
- Hanging by the Fingers: Brain ends up dangling from a cliff during his fight with Snowball.
- Heroic BSoD: Brain enters one when he realises that Snowball has succeeded in taking over the world.
- No Celebrities Were Harmed: Bill Grates, the world's richest nerd, is a parody of Bill Gates. Likewise, his company Microsponge is a parody of Microsoft.
- The Brain and Snowball are operated on by caricatures of actors Eriq La Salle, Julianna Margulies and Anthony Edwards.
- Offscreen Moment of Awesome: Pinky pulling Brain to safety while the latter is wearing his heavy mech suit. It's a reference to the ending of North By Northwest.
- Percussive Maintenance: When the gene splicer malfunctions, one of the scientists tries to fix it by hitting it. It explodes.
- Sarcasm-Blind: Played for Drama. Snowball attempts to get Pinky to work for him by convincing Pinky that Brain is only using him. Later, when Pinky begins to consider Snowball's offer, Brain sarcastically claims that he just keeps Pinky around so he can steal Pinky's brilliant ideas and claim them as his own. Pinky, unable to distinguish that Brain is just being sarcastic again, tearfully accepts Snowball's offer.
- Say My Name: Both Brain and Snowball do this—Brain when he sees Snowball's name on the chain letter he has received, and Snowball when he realises that Brain has foiled his scheme.
- Shopping Cart of Homelessness: A homeless Brain pushes a very small one containing a single soda can.
- Shout-Out:
- In Brain's flashback, he claims that the scientists who made him and Snowball intelligent said that "They could make us faster, stronger, smarter."
- When Brain says that the lab has been sold to the world's richest nerd, Pinky thinks he's talking about Gumby.
- At one point, Pinky is lying in bed holding a snow globe. He whispers "Brain", and lets the snow globe slip from his fingers and fall to the floor, where it shatters.
- The chain letter mentions real-life American supermarket chain Piggly Wiggly.
- Brain foils Snowball's plan by creating a new holiday celebrating game show host Wink Martindale.
- Suspect Is Hatless: Subverted. Pinky's description of Snowball is very nondescript... until he mentions Snowball's tattoo.
- Tempting Fate: At his lowest point, Brain sadly asks himself if things could be any bleaker. Cue a nearby tree getting struck by lightning and falling on him.
