| "Insomniac Ren" | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| The Ren & Stimpy Show episode | |||
 | |||
| Episodeno. | Season 4 Episode 18 | ||
| Directed by | Steve Loter | ||
| Story by |
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| Original air date | January 21, 1995 (1995-01-21) | ||
| Guest appearance | |||
| Alan Young as Haggis MacHaggis | |||
| Episode chronology | |||
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| List of episodes | |||
"Insomniac Ren" is the eighteenth episode of the fourth season ofThe Ren & Stimpy Show. It originally aired onNickelodeon in the United States on January 21, 1995.
Ren and Stimpy sleep early so they can wake up early togolf the next day, but Ren is annoyed by Stimpy plucking hiseyelashes, clipping his overgrowntoenails, as well as his cleaning of his eyes and nose; he forces Stimpy to quickly finish his hygienic routine before bed. The toilet overflows and he commands Stimpy to jiggle the handle.
Ren just could not sleep because of Stimpy's childish antics, but he had fallen asleep when Ren tries to scold him. Stimpy initially snores normally, but they eventually get louder and louder, distressing Ren; his attempts to plug Stimpy's nose withsoap and a plunger do not work. He decides to sleep on theliving room, on a longcouch he bought for Stimpy to watch television; the peace and quiet however do more damage, as Ren can hear everything, from the clock ticking and his heartbeat to a mite munching on the couch's fibers. He returns to his room as he cannot handle the multitude of small noises.
As time goes on, Ren continuously becomes more delusional, believing Stimpy to be asleep simply because he's stupid, all whileWiegenlied plays in an ironic way in the background. Stimpy imagines having equally stupid offspring who suckle his body, with an infantile Ren being therunt of the litter who is allowed to suck Stimpy's finger. Ren appears to chastise Stimpy for dreaming and making him unable to sleep, frightening the offspring, after which he beats up Stimpy; Ren has no knowledge of the dream's content and wakes up Stimpy.
Stimpy tries to make Ren a glass of milk, but the refrigerator is nearly empty with only three cockroaches playing cards on a can of sardines. He obtains a mysterious liquid which has a sedative effect on Ren, only for him to vomit them out when he reveals the liquid to becamelsaliva. He then reads Ren a story, which turns out to be a fictitiousEdgar Allan Poe horror novel; Ren had hid himself under the bed, horrified by Stimpy's grotesque storytelling techniques. He decides to sing Ren alullaby as a last resort, dressing up as aone-man band and loudly sings one, making Ren's problem even worse while he sleeps in the middle of the performance.
It is 6 a.m. and Ren is still tortured from his insomnia, breaking hisalarm clock; his friendsMr. Horse,Muddy Mudskipper andHaggis MacHaggis are annoyed by this. Ren offers $5 to everyone who can make him unconscious, which the three friends and Stimpy gladly oblige. They beat Ren into acoma with their golf clubs before going on with their arrangement, ending the episode.[1]
"Insomniac Ren" is the first episode in the series to be directed bySteve Loter, a newcomer with little prior experience in direction. He struggled while working atGames Animation, due to its highly demanding workplace culture, if not as toxic as before series creatorJohn Kricfalusi was fired. This episode is Mr. Horse's first speaking appearance after Kricfalusi's firing, so Billy West replaced him as the character's voice actor.[2]
American journalist Thad Komorowski rated the episode three out of five stars.[1]
