"The Last Temptation" is the twenty-first and final episode of the fifth season (as well as the series finale) of The Ren & Stimpy Show, and aired on October 20, 1996. This episode never aired on Nickelodeon but rather on MTV. This episode would later air on TeenNick as part of the NickSplat block in 2018.
Characters[]
- Ren
- Stimpy
- Wilbur Cobb
- Mr. Pipe as "The Big Guy"
Summary[]
Ren has a near-death experience and changes his ways. Stimpy, however, becomes corrupted and materialistic after Ren's redemption.
Plot[]
One morning, Ren is getting impatient waiting for his oatmeal. When it arrives, the oatmeal is just a big ball. Ren eats the oatmeal all in one bite, but it gets stuck in his throat and he starts to choke. He cries for Stimpy's help, but Stimpy can't hear him. Ren's face starts to turn blue. He then has a flashback about he and Stimpy's friendship. After the flashback, Ren dies and his soul drifts out of his body and up to Heaven. When he arrives, Wilbur Cobb teaches Ren not to be mean to Stimpy. Later on, Ren's soul floats down to Earth and back in his body. Ren then starts being nice to Stimpy. Ren then cremates his most prized possessions. Ren then tells Stimpy he's been stealing out of his piggy bank and gives Stimpy $1,000,000.
While Stimpy is rich, Ren starts to get jealous. Stimpy buys a lot of stuff. Later on at dinner, Stimpy swallows an entire ham, but it gets stuck in his throat and now he starts to choke. Ren decided to give up his boring virtuous lifestyle he was doing for the past few weeks and thinking of using all of Stimpy's stuff, instead of saving him from choking to death and lied about going to get help. Cobb appears to see that Ren is back doing to his old sinful ways again. Cobb then tells Ren to save his buddy. Ren goes to get help and then saves Stimpy. Wilbur Cobb is proud of Ren and rewards him to spend another 50 years with Stimpy, but takes off with Stimpy's stuff to be "confiscating" upon and the two start to cry like babies, thus ending the episode and the original series.
Production Music[]
- Toccata D Minor – Johann Bach (title card)
- Fashion on Parade – Ronald Hanmer (opening)
- Inferno – Fredric Bayco (oat lumps)
- Set to Pounce – David Farnon [CPM] (Ren’s impatient)
- Bonhomie – George Fenton, John Leach (Stimpy serves oatmeal)
- Fashion on Parade – Ronald Hanmer (“Enjoy your lumps, I’m off to see my stories!”)
- Bits and Pieces – Ronald Hanmer (Ren choking)
- Animal Fair – Trevor Thornton [CPM] (Stimpy watching TV)
- Bits and Pieces – Ronald Hanmer (Ren choking some more)
- Cradle Song (Brahms’ Lullaby) – Johannes Brahms, Fiachra Trench (in the womb)
- Inferno – Hans Conzelmann, Delle Haensch (war flashback)
- Oberlander – Wolfgang Kaltenbach (outhouse)
- Inferno – Hans Conzelmann, Delle Haensch (Stimpy runs for it)
- Dreamy Ghost (TC-16) – William Loose, John Seely [Capitol Hi-Q] (Ren’s soul exits his body)
- Where Danger Lurks – Ronald Hanmer (Stimpy watching TV and crying)
- Dreamy Ghost (TC-16) – William Loose, John Seely [Capitol Hi-Q] (Stimpy laughs at the TV)
- Without Walls B – Mladen Franko (Ren floats upwards)
- Harp Gliss 2 [#21.05] – Otto Sieben (Ren reaches the top of the clouds)
- Whistling Rufus – John Godfrey, James Stewart (bus to purgatory)
- Declamatory Chords – Alan Braden (sting when Ren sits next to a carcass)
- Without Walls B – Mladen Franko (choir music as Ren gets off the bus)
- Toccata D Minor – Johann Bach (organ piece)
- Peter and the Wolf Overture: Cat Theme – Sergei Prokofiev (Wilbur Cobb)
- Easy Come Easy Go – Mike Sunderland (bug rolling cigar)
- Inferno – Fredric Bayco (bug is greedy)
- Canope – Helmuth Brandenburg, Claude Debussy (Wilbur Cobb lectures some more)
- Without Walls B – Mladen Franko; Timpani Roll (e) – Gary Kettel (“Go back, and tend your garden.”)
- Hallelujah Chorus from the Messiah – George Handel (Ren promises not to let Cobb down)
- Crepe Suzette – Cyril Watters (Mr. Pipe appears)
- Vibe Link (a) – Richard Myhill (Ren descends to Earth)
- Military Conflict – Hans Conzelmann, Delle Haensch (Stimpy’s watching TV with corpse Ren)
- Don Pasquale Operatic Chorus – Gaetano Donizetti, George Wilson [CPM] (“Stimpy, I’m back, I’m alive!”)
- Symphony #101 “Clock” 2nd Mvt. – Franz Haydn, Fiachra Trench (Ren throws possessions into the fire)
- Berlin 1945 A – Gregor Narholz; Shock Scenes – Gregor Narholz (Ren mowing lawn at night)
- Orchestral Link 62 – Mike Sunderland (Next Morning)
- Happy Golightly – John Fiddy (“I have something to get off my chest.”)
- Lonely Soul – John Fox (Ren makes a confession)
- Funeral March – Gary Kettel (Ren gives Stimpy a bag of money)
- Travellin’ On (b) – Graham Preskett (“A million bucks?!”)
- Showtime (a) – Robert Sharples (later…)
- Temple Dance – George Fenton, John Leach (Ren meditating)
- Twang Bar Blues 1 – Steve Byrd (Stimpy driving around the house)
- Berlin 1945 A – Gregor Narholz; Shock Scenes – Gregor Narholz (Ren mowing lawn again)
- Main Street – Alec Gould (“Care to join us for a dip?”)
- Berlin 1945 A – Gregor Narholz; Shock Scenes – Gregor Narholz (“Go swimming in the pious pool of sorrow!”)
- Main Street – Alec Gould (“Okay, Ren!”)
- Pictures of India – Klaus Wuesthoff (Ren whipping himself at the table)
- Beethoven: Minuet – Lee Ashley [OGM] (Stimpy eating a good meal)
- Berlin 1945 A – Gregor Narholz; Shock Scenes – Gregor Narholz (“You mark my words, Mr. Greedy Glutton…”)
- Beethoven: Minuet – Lee Ashley [OGM] (“Okay, suit yourself.”)
- Bits and Pieces – Ronald Hanmer (Stimpy’s choking)
- Comic Tension (c) – Dick Walter; Without Walls B – Mladen Franko (Ren looks at all the possessions)
- Elusive – Len Stevens (“I’ll, uh, go for help!”)
- The Promised Land – Kay Rudd (Ren runs into Wilbur Cobb)
- Peter and the Wolf Overture: Cat Theme – Sergei Prokofiev (ending)
Trivia/Goofs[]
- The title card is a reference to the painting "The Creation of Adam".
- This ended up being the last episode of the original Nickelodeon version of The Ren & Stimpy Show, as it would be revived on Spike TV in 2003 for an adult-themed reboot.
- This also marks the last episode of the original series to be animated with digital ink-and-paint, although when counting "Adult Party Cartoon" and the 2024 revival, digital ink-and-paint would be the norm for the franchise from this point onward.
- This is the last episode to be 11 minutes long until "Renhattan" in 2024.
- This episode was originally going to be titled "The Last Temptation of Ren".
- However, in the Latin American dub, it's called "La Última Tentación de Ren" which means "The Last Temptation of Ren".
- This episode, along with its sister episode "Sammy and Me", are the unofficial series finale of the original series, as they were initially pulled from the schedule in 1995 (with this one, it was due to all the religious references and lampooning), and instead premiered on MTV in 1996. The originally intended series finale was "A Scooter for Yaksmas", airing in the original December 16, 1995 timeslot as planned.
- Another episode that didn't air because the original show ended is "Man's Best Friend". This episode wasn't aired on television until 2003, where it served as the start of Adult Party Cartoon.
- The lifestyle Ren adopts is somewhat similar to Buddhism.
- This episode is similar to the Rocko’s Modern Life episode “To Heck And Back” and the SpongeBob SquarePants episode “Born Again Krabs”.
- This episode aired on TeenNick as part of the NickSplat block in January 2018 along with the other episode "Reverend Jack."
- After dying in the episode "Galoot Wranglers", Wilbur Cobb is now seen as a gardener in Purgatory, giving Ren a second chance without the Big Guy's consent.
- Ren and Stimpy have a "role switching" part in this episode like in "Who's Stupid Now?". Ren, the more selfish, self-centered, greedy, sinful, and psychotic of the two becomes more humble and virtuous after his near-death experience with Wilbur Cobb (who he mistakes as "The Big Guy" during his temporary visit in Heaven). Stimpy, the more humble, sweet-natured, gentle, innocent, and generous one becomes greedy, selfish, corrupted, and materialistic after Ren gives him $1,000,000.
- This episode shows Wilbur Cobb as a hypocrite. Cobb told Ren during his near-death experience to give up all worldly goods and live a more virtuous/selfless life, but after Ren was forced to save Stimpy's life from chocking on a whole ham, Cobb took all of Stimpy's worldly goods, which he bought by "ill-gotten gains" to be "confiscated" upon, which he really took them for himself. This makes Ren regret the virtuous and selfless lifestyle he adopted during the past few weeks.
- This was the last episode where Billy West provides the voice of Ren or Stimpy, as he would refuse to work on Adult Party Cartoon, and instead, provides the voice for Stimpy's cameo on a Drawn Together episode, The Lemon-AIDS Walk, then he will reprise his role to voice the duo starting from Screentime". John Kricfalusi would reprise his role of Ren from seasons 1 and 2, while Stimpy would be voiced by Eric Bauza.
- When Stimpy is choking, he makes the same sounds he does in Double Header when he does the same action and Eat My Cookies when is sleeping after eat.
Production Notes[]
- Although this episode premiered on October 20, 1996, it was actually produced in 1995 according to the credits.