Rejoince, 90s kids! The nostalgia train has added another car! For the 20th anniversary of Rocko’s Modern Life, Nickelodeon is airing a one-hour special called Rocko’s Modern Life: Static Cling.
This modern take on O-Town, as the trailer suggests, will drop Rocko, along with his friends Heffer and Filburt, into the 21st century (after they’ve spent 20 years in space). Planned obsolescence and demand for the latest and greatest technology (in this case, the “O-Phone”) leads to hype and stampedes, and there’s a certain coffeeshop chain on every corner. Energy drinks (and their much-debated side effects) are hawked with zeal by women in can-shaped trucks, media has shifted from paper to on-demand format, and food trucks’ popularity has soared.
And don’t forget the constant surveillance!
As was the theme in the original series, Rocko seems to get the worst that modern life has to offer, suffering culture shock and over-caffeination. His bowels are unable to handle our modern habit of “remixed” food, and 3-D films leave him with a whale of a headache.
Indeed, to someone from the 1990s, the 21st Century would be overwhelming and even dangerous. I, for one, look forward to watching the hapless Rocko navigate these changes with his usual anxiety.
Rocko’s Modern Life: Static Cling is set to air sometime in 2018. The Wikipedia entry is being updated with new information as it’s released.
