Psychologist Dr. David Wheeler (voiced by
John Ritter) runs a rehabilitation clinic for troubled teens that accepts any kids whose parents decide to send them there. Batman investigates when Chelsea Cunningham, who is anything but "troubled", gets sent there by her father after sending an email to the principal protesting this new measure. He learns that Wheeler is brainwashing and torturing the kids sent there and seeks to save everyone and have the place shut down.
Tropes:
- Ain't Too Proud to Beg: Dr. Wheeler drops his pompous attitude and begs for his life once Sean has him at his mercy.
- Bathroom Control: Kids that are sent to Dr. Wheeler's ranch are forced to sit through hours and hours of his lectures and harangues, not even being allowed to go to the bathroom. Bruce calls this an example of classic brainwashing and states that it's been used in cults and on some prisoners of war.
- Batman Gambit: When Terry arrives to visit Chelsea at the ranch, he acts very cagey around his bag which contains his Batsuit around Vincent, the head guard. He does comply with giving his bag to Vincent in the end, but the latter doesn't check the bag. Terry later goes back for it in the storage room once the kids have seen released from their cells.
- Bittersweet Ending: Wheeler has been arrested, his clinic has been shut down, and the kids have been happily reunited with their parents after the ordeal. But all is not right. For one, Chelsea is understandably unwilling to forgive her father for sending her to the clinic. Terry and Bruce watch as Sean, who truly is sick and sadistic, is being sent away.
- Break the Cutie: Most of the kids, but poor Chelsea stands out. Before the clinic she was vivacious and had a cool, yet cordial relationship with Terry. After an extended period in the camp, when Terry sees her again, she's overjoyed to see him, has bags over her eyes from sleep deprivation, is physically and emotionally worn down, and starts crying - begging Terry to get her out. It was clear to her friends and even the audience that Chelsea simply had no reason to be there. The clinic was so traumatic for her that when she's released at the episode's end, she refused to forgive her father for sending her there, in contrast with the reunions with the other kids with their parents.
- Disproportionate Retribution: Chelsea's father sends her to the clinic just because she sent an email saying what she thinks of that place to the principal. Max does mention that the e-mail Chelsea sent was 'the last straw' for her father.
- The Dragon: Vincent, the head of security and enforcer of Wheeler's will.
- Easily Forgiven: Averted with Chelsea and her father at the end of the episode, in contrast to the joyful reunions with the other kids and their parents.
- Felony Misdemeanor: The advertisement for Dr. Wheeler's clinic talks about skipping school and refusing to do homework as if it's the worst thing ever. Chelsea's father sends her to the clinic because she faintly insulted her high school's principal in an email.
- Go Mad from the Isolation: Dr. Wheeler has kids sent to the "ISO" if they step out of line - a chamber that gives no light or sound: complete sensory deprivation. An artistic youth named Adam went there long enough and he was rendered catatonic. Until...
- He's Back!: Although it's a minor character example, Adam returns from his catatonic state during the climax, fighting off one of the guards with his easel. Also counts as The Dog Bites Back.
- Irony: Dr. Wheeler promised his clinic would help troubled kids like Sean Miller, even at the cost of psychologically breaking normal kids like Chelsea. But if Sean still being a troubled kid by the end of it all is any indication, his clinic was never even worth it.
- Jerkass:
- Sean Miller is a sadistic, violent delinquent, to the point where he takes pleasure in the suffering of kids who have been sent to the ISO.
- Dr. Wheeler presents himself to the public as a strict-but-fair disciplinarian giving troubled teens the tough love they need to become productive members of society, but the truth is that he’s nothing more than a petty sadist who takes active pleasure in torturing and brainwashing the kids at his clinic just so he can live out his power fantasies and get paid to do so by the kids’ oblivious parents.
- Wheeler’s henchman, Vincent, is a smug, sadistic thug who has no problem carrying out his boss’ crueler orders.
- Karma Houdini: Hamilton Hill High's principal recommended that Chelsea be sent to Dr. Wheeler's ranch just because she mildly insulted him while e-mailing him what she thought of the place ("UN-SCHWAY!") and gets no punishment for essentially advocating the torture of his students.
- Last-Second Chance: Terry offers Sean a way to gain freedom from the ranch, and to get it shut down. Sean initially couldn't care less, since they'll just send him to another youth center. However, Terry points out that he can use the opportunity to change that and present himself as more than a problem child. It seems to work, but later he reveals that he just went along with it because he was hoping he’d get a chance to get revenge on Dr. Wheeler.
- Laughing Mad: Sean. Three times.
- Make It Look Like an Accident: Dr. Wheeler wants to simulate a crash to get rid of Terry, but Vincent recognizes him as a fighter, so Wheeler recommends that he be put into ISO along with Sean.
- Media Scaremongering: After one wayward kid is arrested speeding with a truck across Gotham, his example is being used as part of a commercial advertising a new clinic to rehabilitate kids like him, and others who skip school...or don't do their homework. The parents, sufficiently scared, start sending their kids there by the truckload, to the point where there are few students left in Hamilton Hill High School.
- Psycho Psychologist: Dr. David Wheeler presents himself as a psychologist specializing in rehabilitating wayward youths into productive members of society. What he really is, is a sadistic authoritarian disciplinarian who runs his 'clinic' like a prison and spends hours giving lectures belittling the teenagers, depriving them of sleep, and treating the ones who step out of line with sensory deprivation in the "ISO chamber", all meant to break their wills and turn them into obedient drones.
- "The Reason You Suck" Speech: Deconstructed. Dr. Wheeler gives his students this for hours on end during his "classes", constantly haranguing them, calling them worthless without him, and refuses to even let them sleep or go to the bathroom. It's implied that the kids at the ranch go through this every day. Bruce identifies these as brainwashing techniques, similar to those used in cults and on some prisoners of war. Batman is disgusted that Wheeler is doing this to kids.
- Redemption Rejection: Terry tried to persuade Sean to help him, and give himself an opportunity to turn himself around by helping shut down the ranch. They team up, and Sean helps in liberating the kids. But then he goes straight for Dr. Wheeler, and despite Batman's pleads to take the opportunity to make himself a hero, Sean laughs in his face and tries to throw Dr. Wheeler off a ledge.
- Revenge Before Reason: Sean, after helping free the kids at the ranch and discredit Dr. Wheeler, tries to murder him by throwing him off a roof for trying to give him the ISO treatment. Batman tries to convince not to, saying that he’ll be seen as a hero and that Dr. Wheeler will go to jail anyway. Sean doesn't care, and throws him off. It's instantly rendered moot when Batman saves Wheeler and Sean promptly gets arrested - his final grimace at the end shows he's left very upset at his failed revenge, having nothing to show for it but imprisonment.
- Save the Villain: During the climax, Batman saves Dr. Wheeler from a really troubled teenager.
- The Sociopath:
- Sean Miller, the psychotic teenage delinquent.
- Dr. Wheeler is hardly any better, as he thinks nothing of torturing innocent teenagers for the sake of lining his pockets and stroking his ego.
- Spanner in the Works: When Terry went into the clinic to build a case against Dr. David Wheeler and collect evidence, Sean Miller sneaks up on him and starts a fight that alerts the guards and Dr. Wheeler. This manages to get both Terry and Sean thrown into a cell, and Terry's video camera confiscated.
- This Is Unforgivable!: Rather understandably, Chelsea refuses to forgive her father for leaving her at Dr. Wheeler's mercy to punish her for a minor offense.
- Villain with Good Publicity: Dr. David Wheeler is viewed by the parents of Gotham as a brilliant psychologist turning dysfunctional delinquents into productive members of society. Nothing could be further from the truth.
- Wardens Are Evil: Dr. Wheeler claims to care about the "troubled youths" that concerned parents send to his clinic, but he runs the place like a Hellhole Prison where he tortures teenagers (most of whom haven't actually done anything all that wrong) for fun and profit.
- Would Hurt a Child: Dr. Wheeler is guilty of this, psychologically.
