History YMMV / RockosModernLife

* {{Anvilicious}}: The Boom! Studios comic book leans towards a rather overbearing anti-consumerism and anti-corporations angle in its final arc, with Conglom-O depicted as a bunch of greedy jerks who can't stop manipulating people into buying their useless products until they're poor, the consumers retaliating to [[EngineeredPublicConfession the CEO of Conglom-O's being tricked into publicly calling them easily manipulated idiots]] by burning down Conglom-O, the entire town descending into anarchy because of this, and all the chaos apparently being depicted ''as a good thing''.

** In one episode there's a plumber named Dr. Phil. In the fourth ''Film/ScaryMovie'' Dr. Phil claims he's really an electrician.

** The second episode of the series (6th in production order) "Leap Frogs" deals with Bev Bighead feeling neglected by Ed, her needs aren’t met anymore. So she decides to release that pent-up sorrow by seducing Rocko. The topic of sexual harassment is handled very well here, even in a cartoonishly exaggerated way. At the time it was rare to show a man being harassed by a woman in scenarios not played for comedy, and while comedy still exists? The point is this all makes Rocko very uncomfortable, with Bev being forced to explain her feelings to Ed when they're caught in a compromising position.

* WhatAnIdiot:
** Heffer. For example, in "A Sucker for the Suck-O-Matic", the gang is at the mercy of a monster vacuum cleaner with no means of escape, and [[HopeSpot only catches a break when said vacuum chokes on a potato chip]]. Heffer's first action? ''[[TooDumbToLive Remove the potato chip.]]''
** Rocko has his moments as well. For example, in the episode "Scrubbin' Down Under", he struggles to get a chunk of spinach out from between his teeth. His final attempt to do so involves ''[[TooDumbToLive using a jackhammer]]''. Predictably, he ends up in the hospital.

* CargoShip: ''Canon:'' Spunky's forbidden romance with a mop. The Psychiatrist is shown later to be wining and dining said mop. And how does Spunky get over it? [[spoiler:He falls in love with a fire hydrant!]] ''Static Cling'' takes his mop obsession UpToEleven with him watching a 10-hour video of mops and ordering several mops through express delivery.

** In the episode "Gutter Balls", Rocko, Heffer and Filburt's bowling team is named "The Losers". 22 years later, "The Losers" would become the name of a team in ''WebAnimation/BattleForBFDI''.

%% ** The name of Filbert's pet bird in "Bye Bye, Birdie." See FriendlyFandoms above.

* UncannyValley: Handsome Mr. Bighead from "Put Out To Pasture". He has a 1950s movie star face on a toad's green-skinned head/body. RuleOfFunny as it is, you're somewhat ''thankful'' that he was left with his "regular" face after that mishap with a blender.

-->'''Rocko:'' Oh cobblers! Heff's been sucked!

** Rachel Bighead due to being a self-portrait of the series' creator, Joe Murray (who also voiced the character). Rachel's shows, WesternAnimation/MeetTheFatheads and JustForFun/WackyDelly are well-liked among viewers. [[spoiler:Her coming out in ''Static Cling'' both increased her popularity tenfold and was thematically relevant]].

* EnsembleDarkhorse:

** Rachel Bighead due to being a self-portrait of the series' creator, Joe Murray (who also voiced the character). Bighead's shows, WesternAnimation/MeetTheFatheads and JustForFun/WackyDelly are well-liked among viewers. [[spoiler:Her coming out in ''Static Cling'' both increased her popularity tenfold and was thematically relevant]].

* AccidentalInnuendo: Several viewers interpreted the character Crappie Jack's name to be another innuendo. While this show is no stranger to these kinds of jokes, a crappie is an [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crappie actual fish]], and the character in question was a sailor/fisherman (though this was almost certainly intended to be a DoubleEntendre).

** In "Kiss Me I'm Foreign," was Filbert taking his role as Rocko's fake wife too seriously, or was he just playing it up because he knew the department of immigration would be watching?

** Heffer is in a children’s scout troop. Not only would Joe Murray’s [[WesternAnimation/CampLazlo next show]] be about scouting, but Heffer would turn out to be the real scoutmaster in the last episode of the show.

** In "Kiss Me I'm Foreign," was Filbert taking his roll as Rocko's fake wife too seriously, or was he just playing it up because he knew the department of immigration would be watching?

* FunnyAneurysmMoment: Heffer's eating habits are ''mostly'' PlayedForLaughs, but then you realize that that aspect of the character was [[WriteWhatYouKnow inspired by]] Joe Murray's struggle during his teen years with [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Binge_eating binge eating]].

* HarsherInHindsight: O-Town being all rainy on Christmas Eve in "Rocko's Modern Christmas" and Ed's comment on how it hasn't snowed on Christmas in O-Town for decades becomes a lot more relevant after the 1990s, as [[DreamingOfAWhiteChristmas very few areas in the USA generally have snow around Christmas nowadays]] due to global warming.

** The second episode of the series (6th in production order) "Leap Frogs" deals with Bev Bighead feeling neglected by Ed, her needs aren’t met anymore. So she decides to release that pent-up sorrow by seducing Rocko. The topic of sexual harassment is handled very well here, even in a cartoonishly exaggerated way. At the time it was rare to show a man being harassed by a woman in scenarios not played for comedy, and while comedy still exists? The point is this all makes Rocko very uncomfortable, with Bev being forced to explain her feelings to Ed when they’re caught in a compromising position.

** The second episode of the series (6th in production order) "Leap Frogs" deals with Bev Bighead feeling neglected by Ed, her needs aren’t met anymore. So she decides to release that pent-up sorrow by seducing Rocko. The topic of sexual harassment is handled very well here, even in a cartoonishly exaggerated way. At the time it was rare to show a man being harassed by a woman in scenarios not played for comedy, and while comedy still exists? The point is this all makes Rocko very uncomfortable, with Bev being put in a position to explain her feelings to Ed when they’re caught in a compromising position.

** Heffer is still be in a children’s scout troop. Not only would Joe Murray’s [[WesternAnimation/CampLazlo next show]] be about scouting, but Heffer would turn out to be the real scoutmaster in the last episode of the show.

** In one episode, Filburt has a tube of a toothpaste-like substance called "[[Anime/SpiritedAway Spirit Away]]". It's also funny if you're a ''VideoGame/{{Touhou}}'' fan, as Ran has a spell card called "Yukari's Spiriting Away".

* NarmCharm:
** This is the whole reason "Zanzibar" is a musical. While Joe Murray is a self-proclaimed environmentalist, he was reluctant to do an episode about the environment out of fear that it would be [[{{Anvilicious}} too sentimental or pushy]]. The other writers convinced him that a MusicalEpisode would allow them to be tongue in cheek without harming their message, with Murray's only condition being that Rocko wouldn't sing, lest it be ''too'' silly.
** The intro is supposed to show us Rocko getting pushed around, but the theme song is just so awesome, you just don’t care.
** The show in general. The adult moments are effective, but at the same time, they fit perfectly well into the show’s bizarre and zany nature. Thats right, folks. The show cleverly dives into adult situations without becoming DarkerAndEdgier.

*** "[[WebVideo/TheReviewReviewer YouTube is better than that! [adult swim] ]] ''[[WebVideo/TheReviewReviewer on the hand...]]''"

** With ''Static Cling'' revealing that [[spoiler:the Bigheads' child]] is now a {{transgender}} woman, her debut episode being titled "[[spoiler:I Have No Son]]" takes on a new meaning.