The original incarnation of Rocko’s Modern Life was markedly different to the one that made it onto Nickelodeon. The show wasn’t without the occasional moment of controversy during its run though – here are 18 Things You Never Knew About Rocko’s Modern Life. Running for four seasons and 52 episodes, Rocko’s Modern Life has retained a cult status matched by few other series and helped pave the way for similarly surreal animated shows like Spongebob Squarepants, which actually featured some of the same voice actors and animators. Rocko’s Modern Life was smart too, blending kid-friendly cartoon animation with biting satire, social commentary, and some surprisingly adult humor.

There was Heffer the comfort-eating steer, Filburt the neurotic Woody Allen-esque turtle, and Rocko’s faithful dog Spunky. Rocko’s Modern Life premiered on September 18, 1993, and soon developed a cult following, thanks to Rocko and his memorable cast of supporting characters. Studio chiefs evidently saw something in Murray’s premise, which tapped into the Nicktoons mantra for providing edgy animation that appealed to both kids and adults alike. The misadventures of the anthropomorphic Australian-immigrant wallaby named Rocko, set in the fictional world of O-Town, originally started life as an unpublished comic book series back in the late 1980s.īut with Nickelodeon eager to follow up on the success of Nicktoons animated series like The Ren & Stimpy Show, Murray was encouraged to pitch the show to the network. Joe Murray never originally intended to make Rocko’s Modern Life into a cartoon series.

Rocko modern life rocko toy plush