"Double Header" is the fourteenth episode of the fourth season of ''

The Ren & Stimpy Show ''The Ren & Stimpy Show'', commonly referred to as simply ''Ren & Stimpy'', is an American animated Comedy film, comedy television series created by John Kricfalusi for Nickelodeon. The series follows the misadventures of Ren Höek, an emotion ...

''. It originally aired on

Nickelodeon Nickelodeon (nicknamed Nick) is an American pay television channel and the flagship property of the Nickelodeon Group, a sub-division of the Paramount Media Networks division of Paramount Global. Launched on April 1, 1979, as the first ca ...

in the United States on January 7, 1995.

Plot

Ren and Stimpy are at a

bus station A bus station, bus depot, or bus interchange is a structure where city buses or intercity buses stop to pick up and drop off passengers. A bus station is larger than a bus stop, which is usually simply a place on the roadside, where buses can st ...

late at night. Ren demands to be taken farther than humanly possible until the employee points out that the last station is the

Ursa Minor Ursa Minor (, contrasting with Ursa Major), also known as the Little Bear, is a constellation located in the far northern celestial hemisphere, northern sky. As with the Great Bear, the tail of the Little Bear may also be seen as the handle of ...

. It is revealed that Ren bought a one-way ticket to the constellation for Stimpy to make him leave forever; Stimpy refuses to let go of Ren's leg after hearing his reasoning, not knowing what he did wrong. Ren remembers incidents where Stimpy produces a living fart, shaves his fur and places a mind-controlling helmet on him, grows an extra buttock, wharfs hairballs on him and gets brain damage from being kicked by Mr. Horse. Ren abusively yells at Stimpy his opinions when the bus to Ursa Minor runs them over, despite trying to brake. Ren wakes up to see a doctor resembling Dr. Scratchansniff from ''

Animaniacs ''Animaniacs'' is an American Animated series, animated Comedy television, comedy Musical film, musical television series created by Tom Ruegger and produced by Warner Bros. Television Animation. It originally aired on Fox Broadcasting Company ...

'' sawing on his body while a nurse hammers him into unconsciousness. When they wake up, it is revealed that they are at a shady "discount hospital" where they were successfully revived... by being fused together. Ren realizes this when he realizes his right hand is Stimpy's The taxi driver who drives them home is shocked at the sight of the fused being. At night, Ren struggles to sleep due to Stimpy's loud snoring. At 4 a.m., Stimpy wakes up to watch his favorite television series ''Stomper Room''. When Stimpy reveals it is Sunday, Ren immediately goes to work at this time; he is late and is berated by his boss, with Stimpy's foolishness further angering him. Ren starts his assignment, manufacturing

nuclear bombs A nuclear weapon is an explosive device that derives its destructive force from nuclear reactions, either fission (fission or atomic bomb) or a combination of fission and fusion reactions (thermonuclear weapon), producing a nuclear explo ...

at a secret factory, whom he had spent thirteen years in

night school A night school is an adult learning school that holds classes in the evening or at night to accommodate people who work during the day. A community college or university may hold night school classes that admit undergraduates. Italy The scuol ...

to qualify and pays well enough to feed them both. During a 10-second break, Stimpy foolishly pulls the lever at a red light signal, dropping

radioactive Radioactive decay (also known as nuclear decay, radioactivity, radioactive disintegration, or nuclear disintegration) is the process by which an unstable atomic nucleus loses energy by radiation. A material containing unstable nuclei is conside ...

material and blowing up the factory. The duo are unharmed, but Ren's boss fires them and recommends them to go to a

freak show A freak show is an exhibition of biological rarities, referred to in popular culture as "Freak, freaks of nature". Typical features would be physically unusual Human#Anatomy and physiology, humans, such as those uncommonly large or small, t ...

while slowly dying of radioactive poisoning. At the freak show, the Salesman, who is responsible for recruits, asks them for their qualifications, noting that being a fused being is not enough; he himself is a pair of

conjoined twins Conjoined twins, popularly referred to as Siamese twins, are twins joined '' in utero''. It is a very rare phenomenon, estimated to occur in anywhere between one in 50,000 births to one in 200,000 births, with a somewhat higher incidence in south ...

, with the other twin dead at birth as its head was fused into the Salesman. Stimpy tries to wharf a

hairball A hairball is a small collection of hair or fur formed in the stomach of animals, and uncommonly in humans, that is occasionally vomiting, vomited up when it becomes too big. Hairballs are primarily a tight elongated cylinder of packed fur, but ...

, which is spit from Ren's mouth and impressing the Salesman. They are exhibited as "Siamese Geeks", with Ren chasing viewers away by yelling, only for them to return after munching on a chicken's head. They are sent to their lunch break; Ren sees a man with another mouth at the back of his face eat a

submarine sandwich A submarine sandwich, commonly known as a sub, is a type of American cold or hot sandwich made from a submarine roll (an elongated bread roll) that is split lengthwise and filled with meats, cheeses, vegetables, and condiments. Although "subma ...

while a man-

snake Snakes are elongated limbless reptiles of the suborder Serpentes (). Cladistically squamates, snakes are ectothermic, amniote vertebrates covered in overlapping scales much like other members of the group. Many species of snakes have s ...

hybrid eats an

egg An egg is an organic vessel grown by an animal to carry a possibly fertilized egg cell (a zygote) and to incubate from it an embryo within the egg until the embryo has become an animal fetus that can survive on its own, at which point the ...

he had left over. Ren finally snaps after hearing the other exhibited people being at peace with being calling "freaks", which he cannot handle. The others are concerned at his immense rage and denial of the situation, only to accept it after Stimpy comforts him. Unfortunately, Ursa Minor comes crashing down and flattens the duo. The duo are saved again at the same "discount hospital" where the surgeon saves their lives again, but with Ren imprinted on Stimpy's back due to the seriousness of the accident. He trembles in fear when Stimpy enjoys his lunch of barbecued

Boston baked beans Boston baked beans are a variety of baked beans, sweetened with molasses, and flavored with salt pork or bacon. History Native Americans in the United States, Native Americans had made corn bread and baked beans. The Pilgrim (Plymouth Colony), ...

, ending the episode when Stimpy farts.

Cast

* Ren – Voice of

Billy West William Richard Werstine (born 1952), known professionally as Billy West, is an American voice actor, comedian, radio personality, impressionist and musician. His voice roles include Bugs Bunny in the 1996 film ''Space Jam'', the title characte ...

* Stimpy – Voice of Billy West * Salesman – Voice of Billy West

Production

The episode was directed by Michael Kim, a former protege of series creator

John Kricfalusi Michael John Kricfalusi ( ; born September 9, 1955), known professionally as John K., is a Canadian illustrator, blogger, and former animator and voice actor. He is the creator of the animated television series ''The Ren & Stimpy Show'', which ...

, with showrunner

Bob Camp Robert Frank Camp (born February 7, 1956) is an American animator, writer, cartoonist, comic book artist, storyboard artist, director, and producer. He is best known for founding Spümcø and his work for developing and serving as a showrunner ...

and Jim Gomez writing the script. Kim and storyboarder Tom McGrath intended the episode to be a tribute to

David Lynch David Keith Lynch (January 20, 1946 – January 16, 2025) was an American filmmaker, visual artist, musician, and actor. Widely considered one of the greatest filmmakers of all time, Lynch was often called a "visionary" and received acclaim f ...

, adding elements of ''

The Elephant Man Joseph Carey Merrick (5 August 1862 – 11 April 1890) was an English man known for his severe physical deformities. He was first exhibited at a freak show under the stage name "The Elephant Man", and then went to live at the London Hospital, ...

'' to the story. The episode contrasts with Kim's previous episode '' Ren's Bitter Half'', where Ren and Stimpy's relationship when they are too close is examined compared to that of them being split and distanced.

Reception

American journalist Thad Komorowski rated the episode four and a half out of five stars, noting it to be a satisfying and cohesive episode and brilliant tribute to David Lynch while calling it one of the greatest episodes in the series to be produced by

Games Animation Nickelodeon Animation Studio Inc. (also known as Nickelodeon Animation Studios or Nick Animation and credited as Nickelodeon Productions on-screen) is an American animation studio owned by Paramount Global through the Nickelodeon Group. It has c ...

Books and articles

* *

References

{{The Ren & Stimpy Show 1995 American television episodes The Ren & Stimpy Show episodes Television episodes about body image Television episodes about nuclear war and weapons Television episodes about nuclear accidents Television episodes about friendship Television episodes pulled from general rotation