Recap / Wishbone S 1 E 39 Rushin To The Bone

"And Mr. MacPooch comes down the ramp..."

Originally aired on November 30, 1995.

Wishbone has been chosen as the new Mr. MacPooch, the Scottish-themed canine mascot of a dog food brand. Stardom confuses Wishbone, especially because he is unaccustomed to wearing a costume and having a voice actor. In fact, this unexpected star treatment reminds Wishbone of The Inspector General by Nikolai Gogol.

This is one of the episodes that was written by Mo Rocca.

---

Tropes

• Accidental Misnaming: Mr. LaVista at first refers to Wishbone as "Fishbone."
• Acquired Situational Narcissism: Averted with Wishbone winning the part of Mr. MacPooch, but justified in that Wishbone only did his best at the audition to show off and make Joe happy. He chokes his performance during filming because of the costume he's wearing and his voice actor.
• Actor Allusion: Wishbone's actual voice actor, Larry Brantley, plays the in-universe actor doing Mr. MacPooch's voice.
• Argument of Contradictions:
  Bobchinski: So when the proprietor told us that he was a government official, I said, "ah!"
  Dobchinski: I was I who said, "ah!"
  Bobchinski: I was I!
  Dobchinski: I was I!
  Bobchinski: I was I!
  Dobchinski: I was I!
  Mayor: Very well, you both said, "ah!"
• Be Yourself: This is the message that the episode chooses to pull from The Inspector General.
  Wanda: Believe me when I say I like you just the way you are.
  Wishbone: Thanks, Wanda. I hope she remembers that the next time I dig up her yard.
• Dog Stereotype: The original Mr. MacPooch is a Scottish Terrier, which fits the Scottish theme. It's weird that they would want to replace him with a Jack Russell Terrier, which is a breed of English hunting dog.
• Embarrassingly Dresslike Outfit: Wishbone auditions to be the new "Mr. MacPooch", the ostensibly Scottish mascot for a brand of kibble. He is extremely miffed at having to wear a kilt for the role, repeatedly calling it "a dress".
• Everyone Calls Him "Barkeep": Some of the Inspector General characters are referred to only by their title or position, namely the Mayor, the Judge, and the Postmaster.
• Faint in Shock: The Postmaster seems to be prone to this. The first time he does it is when Wishbone as Osip claims that Hlestakov's rank is "generalissimo." Later, at the end of the adaptation, the Postmaster faints again right after he announces that the real Inspector General has just arrived.
• Full-Name Basis: Mr. LaVista refers to Joe as "Joe Talbot" every time he addresses him.
• The Inspector Is Coming: As in its source material, the Inspector General adaptation concerns a group of corrupt Russian officials who are about to be investigated by a disguised government inspector.
  Mayor: We must look sharp, all of us, for this official in disguise. I hereby decree that bribery must cease!
  Judge: [gasps in shock]
  Mayor: ...until further notice.
  Judge: [breathes a sigh of relief]
• Leaning on the Fourth Wall:
  • When it's mentioned that Wishbone will be wearing a costume:
    Wishbone: Costume? What kind of a dog wears a costume?
  • Wishbone reacts negatively to his in-universe voice actor, who is played by Larry Brantley, his actual voice actor in real life.
    Mr. LaVista: What can I say? That's the dog's voice.
    Wishbone: Oh, no, no, no, that is not my voice, thank you very much.
• Mistaken for Special Guest: This is the basic premise of The Inspector General. In Tsarist Russia, a small town's corrupt officials suck up to low-ranking Hlestakov because they've mistaken him for the government inspector who is coming to investigate them. This trope doesn't actually happen in the contemporary story, but Wishbone thinks that it has after everyone starts calling him "Mr. MacPooch" and giving him the star treatment.
• Nested Story: Instead of directly imagining himself as Osip, Wishbone imagines himself as a Moscow Art Theatre actor who plays Osip.
• Never Work with Children or Animals: Invoked — Wishbone shows he's a tough actor to work with, being a house dog who has never worn an outfit or had a voice actor. Joe realizes this more quickly than Mr. LaVista does and takes Wishbone home, though it means Wishbone is no longer the Mr. MacPooch mascot.
• Pop-Cultural Osmosis Failure: At the start of the episode, Ellen and Wanda are looking at old magazines and reminiscing about Davy Jones. Wishbone doesn't know who that is, presumably because he's a literary dog more interested in nineteenth-century Russian theater and suchlike.
• "The Reason You Suck" Speech : At the end, the Postmaster reads Hlestakov's letter, which basically sums up how each character is like an animal.
• Self-Parody: The shooting of the Mr. MacPooch commercial is very much Wishbone making fun of itself, as Wishbone objects to being dressed in a costume and having his voice provided by a human actor.
• Shout-Out: To Sunset Boulevard:
  Wishbone: All right, Mr. LaVista, I'm ready for my close-up.
• Studio Episode: In the contemporary story, Wishbone gets the part of Mr. MacPooch, with much of the story taking place at the studio where the Mr. MacPooch commercial is supposed to be filmed.
• Suddenly Shouting:
  Hlestakov: [sweetly asking Osip to make his dinner] Oh please, Osip, please?
  Wishbone as Osip: No!
  Hlestakov: [throwing a childish tantrum] BUT I'M HUUUUUN-GRRYYYYY!
• Surprisingly Realistic Outcome: After Wishbone wins the part of Mr. MacPooch, Never Work with Children or Animals is invoked in full force. He takes offense at having to wear a dress (actually a kilt) and at having a voice actor and thus ignores the stage directions.