Original air date: 12/19/1993
The eleventh episode of the first season of Rocko's Modern Life.
Power Trip
Rocko takes over for Mr. Smitty at Kind-Of-A-Lot-O-Comics and hires Filburt to help out, but before long the power goes to his head, jeopardizing their friendship.
To Heck and Back
Heffer has a near-death experience after choking on a chicken bone at Chokey Chicken.
"Power Trip" provides examples of:
- Bad Boss:
- Rocko becomes one as the result of disobeying Mr. Smitty's wishes to not press the green button on his chair. He constantly sends Filburt to Mr. Smitty's office to tell him to sell Really Really Big Man comics without giving the latter a proper chance to do so, and eventually fires him, sending him out into the streets to get run over by traffic. It takes Really Really Big Man to show Rocko the error of his ways.
- Mr. Smitty himself is a very cruel boss to Rocko, proven when he orders Rocko to fire Filburt despite all the money they made selling Really Really Big Man comics. When Rocko refuses, Smitty fires Rocko.
- Big "NO!": Done by Filburt twice in this episode, first when he sees Rocko suddenly looking like Mr. Smitty, and again a few seconds later when Rocko fires him and sends him tumbling down the stairs.
- Buy or Get Lost: Mr. Smitty and Bad Future Rocko both yell "Buy or get out!" at a customer reading a comic book.
- Black Comedy: This episode begins with Really Really Big Man accidentally hurling his sidekick Jimmy into the sun.
- Cigar Chomper: Rocko takes up smoking cigars when he starts acting and looking more and more like Mr. Smitty.
- Crush Parade: After Rocko goes crazy with power and fires Filburt, Filburt ends up in the street, where he is run over by a marching band, cars, a cruise liner, a bullet train, and a Raiders of the Lost Ark-style stray boulder.
- A Day in the Limelight: This episode focuses primarily on Filburt, who would later go on to be a more prominent character and Rocko's second best friend.
- Demon Head: Mr. Smitty when yelling "Buy or get out!" at a customer; also Rocko in the Bad Future Really Really Big Man shows him.
- Disguised in Drag: Really Really Big Man's alter-ego has him cross-dress as an office worker named "Lois Lame".
- Expy: This episode marks the first appearance of Really Really Big Man, a parody of Superman.
- George Jetson Job Security: Mr. Smitty fires Rocko when Rocko refuses to fire Filburt under his demands despite all the money they made. Rocko is back to working at Kind-Of-A-Lot-O-Comics in later episodes.
- Hurl It into the Sun: Really Really Big Man attempts to do this to a nuclear warhead while showing it to Jimmy, but accidentally hurls Jimmy into the sun.
- Ironic Echo: In the opening of the episode, Rocko sees Mr. Smitty yell "Buy or get out!" at a customer and calls him a "smoldering old toad" under his breath. Later, when Really Really Big Man shows Rocko his future, the scene replays with Rocko in Smitty's place.
- My God, What Have I Done?: Rocko goes through one of these moments when Really Really Big Man shows him what he did to Filburt, and what will happen if he continues to be as awful a boss as Mr. Smitty.
- Schmuck Bait: When Mr. Smitty leaves Rocko in charge of Kind-Of-A-Lot-O Comics, he warns Rocko not to touch the green button. Rocko doesn't listen and presses the button, and it causes him to become as mean a boss as Mr. Smitty.
- Stuff Blowing Up: Rocko and Filburt manage to sell so many autographed issues of Really Really Big Man and make so much money, it causes the cash register to explode.
- Terrible Interviewees Montage: When Rocko becomes the temporary manager of Kind-Of-A-Lot-O Comics, he goes through one to find a new assistant before eventually hiring Filburt. Given the surreal nature of the show, this quickly degenerates beyond the usual weirdos and has an alien snapping its claws, a worm crawling across the table, a giant pair of dentures, and a hovering face made of eggs and bacon.
- Ungrateful Bastard: Mr. Smitty doesn't thank Rocko and Filburt when they raised a lot of money to repair the comic book store, and Rocko gets fired along with Filburt when the former refuses to fire the latter under Smitty's demands.
- Yet Another Christmas Carol: A non-holiday example, with Rocko becoming a greedy boss who keeps bossing Filburt around, friendship be damned. Really Really Big Man shows up to remind Rocko of how Rocko and Filburt used to be friends. Then he shows Rocko what the future will be if he doesn't repent. Rocko sees himself in the future mistreating a customer the same way Rocko's boss did at the beginning of the episode, leading to Rocko seeing the error of his ways ala Ebenezer Scrooge, reverting back to normal and restoring his friendship with Filburt.
"To Heck and Back" provides examples of:
- Abnormal Limb Rotation Range: Peaches does this in a Shout-Out to The Exorcist.
- Aesop Amnesia: Right after coming out of his food-related near-death experience, Heffer asks Rocko if they can go to another restaurant. In a deep voice, Rocko screams "HAVE YOU LEARNED NOTHING?!" and takes off his face, revealing himself to be Peaches in a mask.
- Alliterative Name: Chokey Chicken.
- All Just a Dream: Played with; after Rocko presumably saved Heffer from the clutches of Peaches in Heck, as they leave to go to the movies and Heffer asks if they can stop at another fast food place, Rocko suddenly says in Peaches' booming voice "Have you learned NOTHING?" and pulls off his Latex Perfection mask to reveal Peaches' cackling milk-squirting udder head. Heffer then wakes up in his room from the dream (in Catapult Nightmare fashion), feeling he should lay off exercising. As Heffer looks out the window and sees it's a beautiful day, his house unmasks to reveal Peaches's evilly-laughing head, and Heffer wakes up again inside a snack box, screaming.
- Ate It All: One of the flashbacks Peaches shows Heffer is of his grandfather's birthday, where he ate the cake before Grandpa could blow out the candle. The cake is shown intact, down to the still-lit candle, inside his stomach.
- Big Eater: Heffer's status as this is greatly emphasized in this episode. When he and Rocko first go to Chokey Chicken, Heffer orders a large amount of food (and leaves Rocko to pay the bill). When he chokes on a chicken bone and suffers a near-death experience, he is sent to Heck for his gluttony, where Peaches shows him a montage of the times his gluttony hurt his family and friends, especially Rocko.
- Black Comedy: The episode opens on a chicken applying for a job at Chokey Chicken. She is accepted and goes through a door. She comes out as a headless defeathered carcass on the food assembly line.
- Deadpan Snarker: Peaches is one around Heffer when the latter mocks his name.Heffer: Peaches?
Peaches: Okay, Heffer. Oh, that's a good name! - Dream Within a Dream: Heffer choking on a chicken bone and waking up in his workout clothes are both dreams.
- Faux Horrific: Heffer only realizes where he is when he asks for the remote to the TV from Heck, and Peaches replies that there is none, which causes Heff to scream in horror. The next thing Peaches shows Heffer to scare him is his paddleball.
- Fire and Brimstone Hell: Heck at first appears like this, but then Peaches turns off the display, revealing a plain blue featureless void. He says the fire and brimstone stuff is just for the tourists.
- Forced to Watch: Heffer's punishment is to watch Rocko get lost inside his stomach until he dies of starvation; and once it's over, it'll be shown again and again for eternity.
- Fully Automatic Clip Show: While in Heck, Peaches shows Heffer a montage of Rocko scolding Heffer for eating large amounts of food and leaving none for him (and in one case, Spunky).
- Here We Go Again!: The episode ends with Heffer and Rocko going to Chokey Chicken and Karen the chicken getting her job interview there, where presumably the events of the episode will loop.
- Inherently Funny Words: Heffer finds the word "Heck" funny, saying he loves it when people say it.
- Is There a Doctor in the House?: Rocko says it when Heffer starts choking. It turns out everyone else at the restaurant is a doctor, but they all ignore him.
- Manly Tears: Heffer cries these when Peaches shows him the times his gluttony hurt his family and friends.
- Near-Death Experience: Heffer has one when he chokes on a chicken bone, where he is sent to Heck for gluttony.
- Number of the Beast: The Stinger is Peaches playing with a paddleball. With mounting anticipation he counts "663, 664, 665..." and then misses and has to start over again.
- Seven Deadly Sins: During his near-death experience, Heffer is sent to Heck for gluttony, which as Peaches points out, is one of the Seven Deadly Sins. While in Heck, Peaches shows Heffer a montage of the times his gluttony hurt his family and friends.
- Think of the Censors!: When Heffer arrives at Heck, he sees a sign that says "WELCOME TO HECK, A FRIENDLY COMMUNITY". Underneath the C and the K are Ls. In a later scene, when Heffer asks Peaches "Heck? Isn't it supposed to be...", Peaches clamps his hand over Heffer's mouth and says "Censors!"
- Tom the Dark Lord: The bovine Satanic overlord of Heck, who has a bizarrely terrifyingly grotesque set of udders for a skull, is named... Peaches. Unfortunately for him, Peaches isn't really a name that instills fear into people. Heffer even finds the name funny, much to Peaches' ire.
- Voice of the Legion: Peaches occasionally speaks like this, like when he tells Heffer "THERE IS NO REMOTE!"
- Winged Soul Flies Off at Death: As Rocko tries to revive Heffer with chest compressions, Hef's soul is literally farted out of his body and flies off to Heaven. But as he reaches the Pearly Gates, his wings suddenly melt away and are replaced by weights, which send him plummeting down to Heck.
- Wingding Eyes: Lampshaded.Rocko: Heffer, you've got X's for eyes! What in blazes does that mean?
- Womb Level: Rocko goes inside Heffer's stomach to extract the chicken bone caught in Heffer's throat.
