Airdate: November 4th, 1995
This Pun For Hire: A film noir parody starring the Warners.
Star Truck: The Warners meet the cast of Star Trek.
Go Fish: Wakko plays "Go Fish" with himself.
Multiplication: Yakko sings about multiplication.
This Pun For Hire contains examples of:
- Biting-the-Hand Humor: Yakko takes on Hello Nurse's case, but under one condition.Hello Nurse: What's that?
Yakko: Never put us on against 60 Minutes. We'll get creamed.For context...Both Animaniacs and Pinky and the Brain were scheduled at the time on Kids' WB for Sundays at 7pm, up against the highly rated newsmagazine. This partially contributed to their decline and ultimate cancellation. - The Cameo: Freakazoid! shows up near the beginning. Also, the bird statue is Squit from "Goodfeathers".
- Creator Cameo: Steven Spielberg shows up near the end alongside Jeffery Katzenberg and David Geffen. According to Yakko, they're "the stuff that DreamWorks are made of".
- Hurricane of Puns: Try counting the lines that don't involve puns in this short!
- Lame Pun Reaction: A couple:
- When Hello Nurse says "Why do I always get the booby prize?", Dot replies "I'm not touching that one."
- Later:Minerva Mink: Stay back! I'm packing a heater!
[her suitcase opens up, revealing a miniature radiator]
Dot: Can't argue with that one. It's too stupid.
- No Celebrities Were Harmed: Bette Midler keeps showing up as a Running Gag.
- Noir Episode: Mainly a parody of The Maltese Falcon (1941).
- Porky Pig Pronunciation: When Ralph tries to steal the statue, he says, "Dahhh, by gad sir, I claim it in the name of Matushi— dah, Matushi— dahhh, for Seagrams!"
- Private Eye Monologue: Parodied. The short opens with Yakko narrating. When we see him in his office, he's casually reading from the episode's script.
- Rhymes on a Dime: Yakko, once he's got the case figured out:Yakko: The mink is workin' for Fox, the pair of legs is workin' for Paramount, and the guy who needs rehearsal is workin' for Universal!
Dot: Thank you, Dr. Seuss. - Running Gag:
- "That is absolutely correct!" "Tell her what she's won!"Wakko: A date with me!
- A caricature of Bette Midler bursting into scenes and randomly singing before getting shoved out of the way for Hello Nurse.
- "That is absolutely correct!" "Tell her what she's won!"
- Shout-Out: Somebody slips a Mickey into Yakko's dish.Yakko: Nice try, bub, but I work for Warners.
- Think of the Censors!: In a repeat of a joke from "Turkey Jerky", Minerva asks the Warners to "give [her] the bird".Dot: We can't. It's a family show.
- Waxing Lyrical: At one point, Yakko says, "Tell me your story, sister." Dot responds by quoting lines from Cher's "Gypsies, Tramps and Thieves".
- Whole-Plot Reference: While the short parodies film noir in general, the main plotline is taken from The Maltese Falcon (1941).
- Writer Behind the Times: Hello Nurse, working for Paramount, claims the statue in the name of Gulf+Western. But Gulf+Western had ceased to exist by the time the episode aired. It stopped operating under that name in 1989, becoming Paramount Communications after the movie studio it owned. It was under that name that the company was acquired by Viacom (the owner of Nickelodeon, which eventually reran Animaniacs and spin-off Pinky and the Brain) in 1994. On the other hand, Minerva and Ralph did namedrop the correct owners of the studios they worked for (at least they were correct in 1995; Fox being owned by Rupert Murdoch through News Corporation, and Universal being controlled by Seagram, who had just acquired Universal from Matsushita, who retained a minority stake at the time).
Star Truck contains examples of:
- Crossover Punchline: Pinky and the Brain beam onto the ship at the end.
- Distracted by the Sexy: Dot proposes doing Uhura's infamous fan dance to distract the bad guy. Yakko vetoes the idea.
- Shout-Out: The ship has a third bathroom for Xenomorphs.
- Took a Level in Dumbass: The Spock parody as a result of mind melding with Wakko.
- Weight Woe: Wakko introduces the Scotty parody to donuts and he can't stop eating them, gradually getting fatter throughout the short until he's too big to reach the control panel.
Go Fish contains examples of:
- Shout-Out: Dot tells Yakko that she's "worried about the Beaver".
Multiplication contains examples of:
- Berserk Button: Don't take Dot's cookies unless you want a broken hand.
- Musical Nod: The song is based on Tom Lehrer's "New Math."
- "Shaggy Dog" Story: Even though Yakko teaches the steps of doing long multiplication problems, he ultimately sings that you should "buy a calculator / and study this stuff later".