Krusty confronts Roger Myers when the ratings for Itchy & Scratchy cartoons suddenly plummet. He gives Myers one last chance to make improvements before canceling the shorts for good. Myers responds by performing marketing research. Bart, Lisa, and several other children are placed in a room containing a one-way mirror and a television monitor. After screening an Itchy & Scratchy cartoon, Lisa tells Myers the show is as good as ever, but the characters have lost their impact (as the shorts have been on the air for so long). Myers decides to rejuvenate the cartoons by introducing an entirely new character brimming with hip attitude. But the character, Poochie the Dog, is designed by committee.

While reading the newspaper one morning, Homer notices an open casting call for the voice of Poochie. He decides to try out for the role, but Myers immediately rejects him. Mocking and sarcastic, Homer gives Myers a piece of his mind. When Myer’s hears Homer’s attitude, he gives him the job. At the recording studio, Homer meets June Bellamy, the woman who provides the voices of Itchy and Scratchy. The pair make a publicity appearance at a comic book store, where they field questions from nerdy customers.

A large crowd gathers at the Simpson home to watch the premiere episode of “Itchy & Scratchy & Poochie Show.” But it soon becomes apparent that the new, “hipper” approach makes the cartoon unbearable. Homer approaches Myers with a list of suggestions on how to save the show. Afterward, he overhears a conversation between Krusty and network executives—and realizes producers intend to kill off the character. Angered, Homer refuses to lend his voice to a script in which Poochie dies. Instead, he provides his own dialogue. He asks viewers to find a place in their hearts for a dog nobody wanted. But when the cartoon finally airs, Homer realizes he was the victim of a double-cross: Myers replaced Homer’s voice with his own, and had his writers kill off Poochie.