There's not enough variety in the range of animals that have garnered their own animated series, something that Rocko's Modern Life sought to correct by introducing the surreal adventures of a wallaby. Previously seen in a comic book series of the same name, Rocko is a lovable marsupial from Australia who emigrates to O-Town, USA.

Rocko is shy and reserved, a lovable wallaby, if you will. The series follows his adventures and misadventures as he deals with a certain amount of culture shock and the foibles of his newfound friends, who are all animals. Heffer, for example, is the only steer in a family of wolves, though he is completely oblivious of that fact. Filburt the turtle is a nervous little fellow, who nonetheless courts and marries an erudite cat, named Dr. Hutchinson.

Heffer and Filburt always try to teach Rocko lessons about friendship and loyalty, though it's obvious Rocko doesn't really need the tutoring. The three friends go about their daily business in O-Town and most episodes include Rocko's introduction to an aspect of American life. In true parody humor, however, something always ends up cockeyed with wilder and wilder situations taking shape and bewildering the pudgy wallaby.

O-Town played host to Conglom-O, a huge corporation which employed many characters in town, including Rocko's next-door neighbor, the appropriately named Ed Bighead, a very unpleasant toad. He is prone to screaming outbursts and on at least one occasion, Bighead hatches a plan to destroy Heffer, Rocko and Filburt. Other characters include Spunky, Rocko's moronic dog, the Wolfe family (Heffer's folks), and Bev Bighead, Ed's domineering wife.

The show was filled with double entendres, sexual humor and spoofs of pop culture. The creator of Rocko, Joe Murray, deliberately chose writers with no prior cartoon experience because he wanted to transcend usual animated humor and go for something completely different. The gamble paid off and Rocko's Modern Life drew a huge amount of new fans within a few months of its first airing on Nickelodeon.