Longtime Rocko fan here, just watched the special. There are some minor SPOILERS in this post for those who still haven't seen it but are interested.
I'll address the elephant in the room that this thread's about first (and this is the main spoiler stuff)--a large part of the second half of the episode involves Ralph Bighead (now known as Rachel Bighead) and Ed Bighead's strained relationship. Ed has trouble coming to terms with Ralph/Rachel's transition. What I like about this story is that it doesn't really demonize Ed or make him into a ridiculous strawman, which would've been easy since Ed has frequently been the antagonist of classic Rocko shows. He's got a pretty layered portrayal here and his arc makes enough sense.
I think Ralph becoming Rachel isn't a bad idea either (even if it screws with the "still life" canon a bit). What I took more issue with is the weird "reverence" this otherwise-irreverent series takes when exploring this concept. When Rachel comes out (literally and figuratively) from the ice cream truck, all Heffer and Filburt say is "Cool!" "That...is...awesome!" which feels...odd. It sounds like pandering, not like two characters we've known since the '90s (and storywise, have been stuck in the '90s).
Rocko's always had moments of sincerity, but it's usually underneath layers of zaniness, and a few of the Rachel storyline's moments lack that zing and start to feel like an after-school special. Reading interviews afterward revealed that there was a GLAAD member helping with some of that storyline or something, so that kind of explains it. The walking on eggshells was tonally off for this show.
They do tie it rather neatly into an overarching plot about "change," though, and even use Rocko as one of the characters resistant to said change, so it usually doesn't feel overtly one-sided or pushy.
There's plenty of Rocko-ness to be found elsewhere though, including a few hidden dirty jokes (including probably the dirtiest Rocko joke near the end) but thankfully no Adult Party Cartoon nonsense--this could reasonably air on Nickelodeon today with no issue. It was consistently funny although one or two really manic, creative set pieces would've been great. One of the best extended jokes to me was the poke at CGI specials and reboots (complete with a ridiculous visual), even if it feels a little off from the "change is okay" theme. And they managed to stuff just about every recurring character in here somewhere, with a few fun twists (like Heffer's Grandpa).
Overall, I liked the special. There were some odd moments and Mr. Dupette continues to be more gross than funny, and the Fathead baby kinda sucked (Rocko was totally right with that one), but all in all a welcome return to O-Town.
