DOUG Movie/TV Shoutouts 05+I wanna try something a little different

This might be my second-to-last edition of DOUG movie/tv shoutouts due to exhausting my examples but I want to continue this series of posts for as long as I can....

Doubly so  coming later on August 11 of this year, since DOUG is turning 35 years old since the show's debut on NICKELODEON on AUGUST 11 1991...

So to create meaningful filler,

I will try a little something different to keep this blogpost interesting but also to compliment the series anniversary.

Don't worry. This Barber is a nice guy:

In the NICK episode DOUG GETS HIS EAR LOWERED, DOUG needs a new Haircut but he procrastinates throughout the episode because he's very picky about how he wants his hair to be trimmed.

How Picky?

Well, He's in BLUFFINGTON, VIRGINIA but his older barber lives in BLOATSBERG.

His old barber goes by the name of ALFRED "AL" SWEENEY

And later on, DOUG gets a surprise

And as it turns out, his new Barber goes by the name of SWEENEY....

Only this time, his new barber's name is JOSEPH "JOE" SWEENEY and he's ALFRED's Cousin.

Satisfied that he can still get his haircut from a family owned business like the SWEENEY's DOUG no longer fears for his own haircut.

Even if most often when we see the top of his head from certain camera angles, his hair is more or less rendered like a crown.

And it later worked out better for DOUG has him becoming JOE's best customer allowed the HAIR SALON to evolve by September 1996 and seriously renovate the property to make it unique for the BARBER....

But where am I getting myself into....

Notice anything about the name SWEENEY?

Despite the fact that JIM JINKINS was making a show aimed for children, maybe he should have doubled his research on the FICTIONAL BARBER's profession because using a name like SWEENEY for a Barber's last name is a little bit morbid for both the NICK and DISNEY series agendas...

Sex sells, especially with Birds:

When DOUG and his sister JUDY distract MRS. STINSON's Parrot SUNFLOWER with a female parrot......

"Come up and see me sometime, big boy."

PUPPET!!!!

*Slams lid of upright Piano*

The bird talks like MAE WEST.

I'm unfamiliar with the actress but I am familiar with this character that the actress served as the inspiration for.

Though I highly doubt that JIM JINKINS was making a reference to the original FLEISCHER STUDIOS character but that's how I feel when I'm reminded of MAE WEST.

Even Security needs to downplay their boredom:

In the episode DOUG'S GREAT BEAT WAR, A security Guard sees past DOUG's disguise 

But notice what he's playing on his Computer?

Seeing as how this might by 1996(Even though the episode aired on mid-1993)

I'm guessing the version of TETRIS he's playing on his computer is this:

TETRIS CLASSIC from SPECTRUM HOLOBYTE 

original DOS version from 1992.

A Disney episode references a musical gig for a British Band:

When CHAP LIPMAN gets sick from all those prawns stuffed into his face after his fight with FLOUNDER,

"Ohhhh... Shrimp treats.... Too many.....Shrimp treats......"

"DON'T YOU KNOW THAT CHAP'S ALLERGIC TO SHRIMP COCKTAIL!!!"

DOUG's father PHIL volunteers to take over BATTERY duties.

And FLOUNDER eventually discovers that PHIL was in a band back in the 1970s.

I've done research and this the part where PHIL mentions he was part of the 1970s band THE PSYCHEDELIC FUZZ, 

This is in reference to an old ENGLISH band called THE PSYCHEDELIC FURS from the 1980s.

And the part of FLOUNDER saying that THE FUZZ was the inspiration for THE BEETS is referencing the famous MUDDY WATERS gig where THE ROLLING STONES allowed WATERS to come aboard for their jamming session just because he was their inspiration.

The Mouse House does not like Comparisons with a cigarette company:

The episode DOUG'S MINOR CATASTROPHE might seem like a controversial episode about DOUG doing drugs but it's not that far-fetched.

The episode is more about DOUG resisting the temptation and having internal procrastinations of  writing a newspaper article of the relaxant drug known as NIC-NACS.

The episode does however reference something that's up the sleeve in a very sleazy way.

In the episode, BILL BLUFF wants BUD DINK to advertise the NIC-NACs by coming up with a SLOGAN that fits with the new mascot THE NIC NAC YAK.

This offends DINK to a point that he quits his job as a slogan writer for BLUFFCO.

"I'm on a side called HUMAN KIND!!! 

YOU CAN WRITE YOUR OWN SLOGANS FOR A CHANGE...

I QUIT!!!!!!"

This controversy of a using a mascot to advertise DRUGS is actually be referencing this:

This is JOE CAMEL, a Mascot for cigarettes by the RJ REYNOLDS company.

The funny thing is that JOE CAMEL was originally BRITISH as he was originally created by artist NICHOLAS PRICE in 1974 for another cigarette company based in FRANCE and he originally first appeared on the adult Magazine LUI.

But the AMERICAN version which we know more than the original version, was actually taken into the TYRONE ADVERTISING firm in GREENSBORO, NORTH CAROLINA where the original EUROPEAN version of JOE CAMEL was used to celebrate CAMEL CIGARETTE's 75th Anniversary.

In 1988, The American version of JOE CAMEL was later slightly redesigned by MIKE SALISBURY while on contract for an agency MCCANN-ERIKSON NEW YORK with the intention to compete against another company called MARLBORO and compete against their own mascot THE MARLBORO MAN

The idea was to portray JOE CAMEL like one of your OLD-SCHOOL masculine heroes in old action movies like HUMPHREY BOGART or GARY COOPER but the early adverts weren't that successful as most of the audience at the time were not familiar with those faces.

So, it was decided to portray JOE CAMEL like sort of a JAMES BOND kind of character as to commemorate the soon-to-be-released LICENSE TO KILL starring TIMOTHY DALTON.

This campaign proved more successful and the ADs continued on.....

And then came the LAWSUITS:

On December 1991, 

the JOURNAL OF THE AMERICAN MEDICAL ASSOCIATION(JAMA), published a study in which young children were asked to match brand logos with products.

To their shock, the study showed that children aged 6, identified JOE CAMEL with cigarettes at a percentage of 91.3% match, nearly the same amount who match the DISNEY CHANNEL logo with MICKEY MOUSE.

After the publication, SAN FRANCISCO attorney JANET MANGINI took great offence to this publication and in 1992, she sued RJ REYNOLDS over their attempt to sell cigarettes to minors despite the fact that the cigarettes are susposed to be for adults only.

And this soon reached the AMERICAN HEART ASSOCIATION, 

The AMERICAN LUNG ASSOCIATION,

and AMERICAN CANCER SOCIETY 

who wrote letters to the FTC asking RJR to end the JOE CAMEL campaign.

It took 6 years but eventually on JULY 10 1997, RJR pulled the campaign completely.

So I have this feeling that writer MATT STIENGLASS was inspired by the JOE CAMEL character, MANGINI's Lawsuit,  and the FTC Complaint when he and his writers were writing the episode in 1996.

As for how the episode got past DISNEY's Censors,

I'm guessing MICHAEL EISNER and his legion of EXECUTIVES wanted to put the final nail on the coffin towards RJ REYNOLDS over the 1991 JAMA Publication as they they weren't happy about the study making references to THE DISNEY CHANNEL to begin with so they happily approved the episode with no edits just to get back at both RJR & JAMA.

NICHOLAS PRICE has gone on to say the he now regrets creating JOE CAMEL due to the controversies relating to the character as well as suing the original CAMEL Company for not paying properly for the use of the character.

A legacy for a late-singer was referenced in 1997:

In the 1997 episode DOUGAPALOOZA, 

Connie has DOUG dress up as a certain singer:

Might not look like him but the face paint does give me those vibes.

It's tough to imagine that it's been 10 years as of this writing that we lost DAVID BOWIE to his Liver Cancer in January 2016.

I remember being in my final year of High School that year hearing and reading the shocking news about BOWIE's death.

An Outdated Foreign Policy is abused by a Rich Green Bastard:

A rather annoying RUNNING GAG that's been abused in some episodes is that ROGER KLOTZ decides to put a double meaning to FINDERS KEEPERS, LOSERS WEEPERS which is to claim ownership of things and quote THE MONROE DOCTORINE.

I'm sure JOE FALLON, who wrote DOUG'S IN DEBT, knew what the MONROE DOCTRINE is all about but for those who are too young, have long since forgotten about it in SCHOOL, etc. here's the gist of this policy:

The MONROE DOCTRINE was an outdated 

U.S Foreign Policy Position from 1823

that opposes European Colonialism in the WESTERN HEMISPHERE and it holds that any intervention in the political affairs of the AMERICAs by foreign powers is a potential hostile act against the UNITED STATES.

The Doctrine was due to the fact that since after 1776 when the U.S declared itself INDEPENDANT from EUROPE after the Revolution, the U.S was getting their fare share of WESTERN HEMISPHERE presence and the U.S under JAMES MONROE needed to do something about that as to prevent expanded territory from being under monarchial rule.

It also ensured that any expansion of territory acquired by the U.S would not be protested.

And it worked, until it was decried as Outdated.

The Doctrine continues to be invoked and questioned at the same time but it's widely denounced by many Countries, including inside the U.S by Democrats and a minority of Republicans as an act of bullying through metaphorical military might.

No references to today's events as I know what you're thinking but I'm not going to draw comparisons here so let's move along to the next part of this blogpost.

A De-Carnivorized plant and the double whammy reference:

In OH BABY,
DOUG has to feed a plant that was purchased by his neighbor BUD DINK. 

"CHEESY!"

That PLANT looks very familiar.

That was a good guess but there's also a similarity to these plants:

Good thing MR. DINK taught his plant to only eat CHEESE because then this wouldn't be possible

Even DINK's wife TIPPI thinks it's a stupid idea to buy a plant from

HOWARD ASHMAN before he died in 1991.

And yes, the 1986 film LITTLE SHOP OF HORRORS is now 40 years old so have at it with this nice celebration.

Even writers prefer FRUIT COMPUTERS:

No.... This is not a reference to GTA's FRUIT COMPUTERS company

Rather, this is referencing how a lot of writers who've moved on to Laptops for their writing often use MACBOOKS to do their writing.

Such as shown below:

Though the name of the computer above is a stretch as it's referencing the APPLE IIc portable computer from the mid 1980s

And that computer not only was barely portable due to needing it's own power supply and separate monitor but by 1997 which is where I got the LEMON IIcx image from, 

Nobody was using the APPLE IIc or it's later 1988 revision IIC PLUS as most writers were using the then newer POWERBOOK Laptops of the time period

That is if they want to....

otherwise, expect to see someone using a COMPAQ ARMADA or IBM THINKPAD in 1997.

Good thing however that the LEMON IIcx in DOUG uses a TFT Active Matrix LCD since in 1997, It be bad if your laptop still used a DSTN PASSIVE MATRIX PANEL.

And now for the surprise:

All the things that DOUG predicted that would happen in the long run, coincidences, and shoutouts by other productions.

(Coincidences 01) The Sleech Lawnmower:

I noticed this when I watched the episode where AL & Moo Sleech dismantle their father's lawnmower.

When I saw that, I gave me JACKASS vibes.

The prank was of course meant to be referencing how Boys in their youth would get back at their parents over silly things so while PHIL MARGERA's lawnmower is all still in one piece, the prank still gave me the same vibes.

Good thing the boys weren't caught in the act unlike SHORT CIRCUIT's JOHNNY 5.

"Piece of cake!!!"

(Coincidences 02) DOUG & FAMILY GUY have an imaginative connection:

I've read on WIKIPEDIA that DOUG as a TV Series may have inspired the writers of FAMILY GUY to do the trademark CUTAWAY Gags.......

Such as this one below:

That might be a stretch because the format is dramatically different between the two because how DOUG does it's imagination spots is that it's a transition from the reality to the character's imagination and so forth.

And it's often what the character thinks.

FAMILY GUY's on the other hand is more or less literally cutting away from the main story to whatever the character is saying and often they make no sense to the plot.

And this can get on some people's nerves when the writers do this.

To quote CLEVELAND BROWN, 

"I hate when they cut away from the story for some random bullshit."

(References 01) The Bloody Head Fairy:

In the original broadcast of Ren & Stimpy's HAUNTED HOUSE,

A fairy comes along to collect a severed head and place a coin in REN's ear

And guess who that fairy looks like?

Why is DOUG in REN & STIMPY?

Connections.

The episode was originally susposed to be for TINY TOONS ADVENTURES but when that story got nowhere with the writers on that show, HAUNTED HOUSE was salvaged and made into a REN & STIMPY episode.

The fairy was susposed to be based on ELMUR FUDD in it's TINY TOONS rough drafts but when it became a STIMPY episode, the Fairy was susposed to be based on GEORGE LIQUOR but as we all know, NICKELODEON abhorred Mr. LIQUOR so when JOHN K. and SPUMCO were fired and the show transferred to GAMES, 

After their STIMPY CAMEOS were excised from 

DOUG IS QUIALMAN/DOUG'S ON LEFT FIELD,

GAMES decided to get back at JUMBO for removing the CAMEOS as well as make an inside joke at NICK's expense as NICK originally had more financial faith in DOUG but the viewers preferred RUGRATS & STIMPY which may have contributed to DOUG moving to DISNEY but that was more or less blamed on VIACOM's SUMNER REDSTONE acquiring PARAMOUNT and then freezing JUMBO's budget than anything else.\

Naturally, JOHN K was not happy with this cameo so he had it removed on the earlier PARAMOUNT DVDs in the mid-2000s.

NICK on the other hand would preserve the scene in later airings but the episode is not available on PARAMOUNT+ due to that stupid copyright holding with WARNER MUSIC due to a usage of music from RAYMOND SCOTT.

(References 02) DUDE, THAT JOKE IS NOT FUNNIE!!!!:

APRIL 17 2016, 

ROBOT CHICKEN aired a segment in the episode YOGURT IN THE BAG and it's here where we see our SWEATER-VESTED Kid make his attempt at STANDUP Comedy:

What's notable about this CAMEO is that BILLY WEST returns to do the voice.

My guess was that SETH GREEN despised THOMAS LYONS Guts after the man who replaced West portrayed a CORRUPT LIBERTY CITY COP so he felt WEST was a better fit so that's what happened.

But seeing as it's been literal years since WEST performed the voice, it does sound slightly deeper but no less nasal than FRY on FUTURAMA.

DOUG would later appear in other ROBOT CHICKEN sketches but WEST doesn't return to those segments. Instead, DOUG is portrayed by either SETH GREEN or PATTON OSWALT.

But WEST is the only FUNNIE we get to hear...... at least for blocking out the voice in the head of a angst-ridden youth turned Corrupt Cop.

And these 3 are admittingly corrupt

But in a Good way.

(References 03) The Law Firm in L.A:

A little more recent but this may have taken viewers by surprise quite a bit when they saw this billboard in the CHIP & DALE movie back in 2022

As it turns out, If DOUG decided not to become a Corrupt Cop in New York, he could have become an excellent Lawyer with a new PORKCHOP at his side.....

And I like the slogan "YOUR INJURY IS NOT FUNNIE."

And DISNEY did not have to pay PARAMOUNT any crap since they've owned the characters since 1996 so have at it.

Though I did find it funny(NO PUN INTENDED) that the Billboard uses stock art from the NICK SERIES.

But then again, I'm guessing once DISNEY and SKYDANCE clear everything with them legal issues and finally let DOUG in the CHIBIVERSE, he'll be wearing his old NICK SERIES clothes for that particular appearance.

I want to continue these posts in the future but finding references both inward and outward is going to be difficult.