Ren & Stimpy Uncut: Seasons 1 & 2 - Censored bits (1 Viewer)

[John CW]

I've just gotten the new Ren & Stimpy DVD and I was fascinated to learn just how "Uncut" this new collection was. Once I'd got past just how shoddy the picture quality was and how bass heavy the audio was, I noticed a few things.

I've since cross referenced the shows with known cuts made by Nickelodeon during the shows run and I've found that there are a few episodes that remain censored for some reason!

Here's what I've found so far. Sometimes Nickelodeon altered something before the animation was filmed, and so an "uncut" version doesn't even exist. For these I've labelled the episodes as "Broadcast" and they're just the normal broadcast versions, not cut or uncut.

Hope some R&S fans enjoy it!

Thanks!

A lot of information on original cuts was cross-referenced from the excellent Ren & Stimpy archive website! http://victorian.fortunecity.com/russell/105/spumrs.htm

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DISC 1 - SEASON 1


Pilot (8 mins): Big House Blues [On second disc] (UNCUT!)

For the first time since it was broadcast in 1991 we can see the full uncut pilot episode!


Episode 1: Stimpy's Big Day / The Big Shot (CUT!)

The microphone that went into Stimpy's nostril originally went into his mouth. This was deemed too phallic and was changed by Nickelodeon. It's possible that this gag never made it past animatics, as it is still the Nickelodeon version on the DVD. The weirdest cut (apparently made by SpikeTV/Paramount) is the digital removal of Muddy Mudskipper's cigars. Lord knows why, but for whatever reason they're missing here!


Episode 2: Robin Höek / Nurse Stimpy (BROADCAST)

The original ending of Robin Höek had the pair smooching blissfully (until Ren woke up), but Nick nixed it very early on.

There were so many notes and changes made to Nurse Stimpy by Nickelodeon that John K. had his name removed as director of this episode.


Episode 3: Space Madness / The Boy Who Cried Rat (BROADCAST)

Both stories were messed around with by Nickelodeon, but are presented on the DVD in their original finished form.


Episode 4: Fire Dogs / The Littlest Giant (BROADCAST)

Fire Dogs has no known cuts or messing around by Nickelodeon.

Legend has it that the Littlest Giant was concieved to try and calm the nervous Nick execs who thought Ren was too mean to Stimpy.


Episode 5: Marooned / Untamed World (BROADCAST)

No known cuts but Nick messed around with Untamed World, removing bits of the Croco-Stimpy storyboards, which meant it didn't make much sense in its finished form.


Episode 6: Black Hole / Stimpy's Invention (BROADCAST)

Stimpy's Invention: A scene where Stimpy raises his arm, exposing a sweaty armpit from which Ren gleefully licks off the filth didn't make it past the Nick story editors.



DISC 2 - SEASON 2

Episode 7: Ren's Toothache / Rubber Nipple Salesmen (BROADCAST)

Ren and Stimpy weren't allowed to visit George Liquor whilst selling Rubber Nipples door-to-door. The Nick execs immediately cut it from the story the second they found out that Liquor was to gut and scale our Ren and Stimpy like fish!


Episode 8: Sven Höek (UNCUT!)

Completely uncut for the first time anywhere! Including scenes long thought lost! Because it was finished by Nickelodeon after John K. had been fired, it does feature the hideously ugly opening sequence (Bob Camp in lederhosen) that Nick made and John K. can be heard cursing it in the commentary track.


Episode 9: Haunted House / Mad Dog Höek (ALTERED!)

The stories are switched around for some reason and Haunted House has been altered slightly. Two changes have been made. Firstly, the "Psycho" parody is the black & white version (its colour being removed by Nickelodeon, making the parody more ham-fisted), and secondly the Bloody Head Fairy scene is totally removed. Update: This cut appears to be deliberate. Nickelodeon removed the original fairy (George Liquor in a tutu) and replaced him with a character from one of their other shows ("Doug"). As you can imagine, John K. was reportedly happy to see this scene removed.


Episode 10: In The Army / Big House Blues (BROADCAST)

Technically "Big House Blues" is the cut Nickelodeon version, but as you have the option of watching the full uncut version on the DVD it becomes a bonus to have this version as well. As a side note, apparently Bob Camp worked on "In The Army" just so John K. had more spare time to spend getting more complicated episodes right (like "Powdered Toast Man").


Episode 11: Big Baby Scam / Dog Show

Have not checked this episode yet, but Dog Show was famously cut and altered by Nick. The DVD cover bills it as "uncut". Fingers crossed!


DISC 3 - SEASON 2

coming soon!

 

[Jeff Swearingen]

This should be in the TV Shows Forum.

 

[Jeffrey Nelson]

Thank you very much for starting a detailed outline of the cuts and changes...I've been trying to find one on the web for some time now, but the following bit, from elsewhere on this forum, is the best I've found:



And I heard In The Army was cut as well. Reportedly the Bloody Head Fairy was removed by John K. himself, because Nick messed with the original George Liquor concept. Ditto for Grandpa's whistling; originally it was a different tune, but Nick changed it.

Also, there are a bunch of forced fadeouts/fadeins on some of the episodes. HOW could they have mistakenly used the effed-up Spike masters for some of the episodes???

If anyone else has more details of cuts/alterations to the episodes as represented in the "uncut" set, PLEASE post them! Thanks in advance! Perhaps we'll hammer out a definitive list yet...

 

[Tim_Prasuhn]

the "Out West" episode's Hanging song is still missing its intended final line. My memory of the exact wording is fuzzy, but its something like "Y'all bring your kids!"

 

[TonyD]

http://www.hometheaterforum.com/htfo...ghlight=stimpy

theres a thread that also includes a link to a site that has a list of the cuts.

 

[John CW]

And round and round we go! Yup, that's the same site I linked to at the top of this thread!

It'd be great to hammer out a definitive list. I'll add more as I get around to it, thanks for the info you've found already!

I still can't get over how ugly the picture quality is though :frowning: Is it just me?

PS - Sorry for posting this in the wrong forum! :frowning:

 

[Jesse Blough]

"I still can't get over how ugly the picture quality is though Is it just me?"

It's not just you. Check out the episode about Stimpy's Fan Club. During the scene where Ren is reading the fan mail there is a huge glitch along the top of the video. It looks awful. :frowning:

Oh, how we Ren and Stimpy fans have suffered over the years...

 

[Jeffrey Nelson]

"theres a thread that also includes a link to a site that has a list of the cuts."

That site, which hasn't been updated since 1999, doesn't help much with the cuts and fades perpetrated by Spike TV, which is what I'm mainly after.

 

[John CW]

I don't think there were that many, were there? Hmmm. What a shoddy release from Paramount! :frowning:

 

[Joe:C]

I found an interesting post here with the reason there were so many cuts on the set.

 

[John CW]

Thanks for posting that, Joe C! It's nice to know what actually happened, although it's odd that Spike TV made the changes in the first place! I'm sure there's a few Nick edits that made it through the net though and it doesn't explain the second most annoying thing: The actual video quality! :frowning:

Does anyone know why it's so poor?

 

[Kevin Martinez]

When the Set first came out, John K. said that Nickelodeon was responsible for the Edits, and one of his biggest fans actually tried to paint the cut episodes as George Lucas-style DIRECTOR'S CUTS!

These people have been telling us blatant lie after half-truth after fabrication ever since the set first came out, and anything that they say now can be best described as "bovine fecal matter"

 

[Heathen]

Yeah... and the promised Ultimate Edition which was supposed to bring back the uncut versions... Don't forget about that broken promise...

 

[John Pannozzi]

Here's a very in-depth look at the alterations made to the Ren and Stimpy episodes on DVD, it's by David "Lyris" Mackenzie who is involved with the Ultimate Ren & Stimpy set: http://lyris-lite.net/rs/

 

[Kevin Martinez]

Note that Lyris was the guy who tried to pretend that the cuts on the first set were "Director's Cuts"

I also have little confidence the the Ultimate Set will happen

 

[John Pannozzi]

Actually, it was Isaac M. Baranoff (a.k.a. "Thing-Fish") who claimed they were director's cuts, Lyris just repeated what he said.

 

[Dave Scarpa]

I only bought the First Set. I'd probably stay away from the Lost episodes as those Adult Party Cartoon versions are truely Terrible and very unfunny. It was a lesson to be learned that when you're censored, you have to apply some wit to get around the limitations. When you can say and do as you want it was less so.

 

[Ruz-El]

I only bought the 1st 2 sets, not realizing they were as goofed uyp as they are. I'd probably buy the Ultimate set if it ever came out, sort of like how I would buy the complete Pee Wees Playhouse set if it came out.

I well be buying the "Lost Episodes" though. Unlike Dave, I really enjoyed the self indulgance and just plain anger of the ones I was able to catch on spike. I'd also love to see all the web cartoons collected as well, I don't think they are on the Lost Episodes disc.

Oh yeah, complete ripping Friends as well, please.