The ratings of "The Itchy & Scratchy Show" plummet, sending producer Roger Meyers, Jr., on a market-research mission to discover the reason. When Lisa tells him that the characters in the show have lost their impact, Meyers creates a new character, Poochie.

Bart and Lisa convince Homer to audition for Poochie's voice. He gets the part and is teamed with June Bellamy, who does the voices of Itchy and Scratchy. Together, they make publicity appearances, fielding questions from nerdy fans.

Poochie's debut is not well received by the show's viewers. When Homer finds out that his character will be killed off, he refuses to cooperate and creates his own lines instead of reading from the script. Homer thinks he has succeeded in convincing Meyers to keep Poochie alive, but in the next episode, the character is edited out.