Originally airing on 14 April 1988, "Quit-It" begins with a very normal family breakfast at the Strawn household. Suddenly, the teenage daughter, Karen (played by Eileen Seeley) yells at her parents for acting strangely and runs out of the house, almost getting run over in the road.
Mickey was the driver, and with Karen's pleading, she takes her to Austin, who meets Karen and her mother and father (played by Jim Mc Mullan) at the same time. Austin agrees to return Karen in time for her birthday party. While on their way, Karen is certain that her whole neighborhood has been replaced by imposters. Austin and Mickey agree to keep an eye on her during the block party to see if she really does need help.
Austin finds a few things off about the adults in the neighborhood, but when they talk to Karen again, she wants to stay. Even more suspicious of the neighborhood, Austin decides to investigate further.
This episode provides examples of:
- Birthday Party Goes Wrong: Karen Strawn has just been released from a mental institution, in time for her birthday, so her parents plan a big neighborhood block party, but she runs off when she thinks her parents have all been replaced. She convinces Austin and Mickey to chaperone her, to make sure she's safe, but they lose sight of her during the party and when they find her again, she doesn't know why they're here. note
- Body Snatcher: The story begins when the guest character begs Austin for help because her parents have been replaced by imposters. Austin figures out she's wrong, but not by much; they've been Brainwashed instead.
- Brainwashed: The neighborhood is acting oddly, something Karen assumes is due to them being replaced, but is actually a form of Subliminal Seduction.
- A Deadly Affair: Julie, the married woman, kills Lou, the married man she's having an affair with. She's been Brainwashed by her son into killing him.
- "Eureka!" Moment:
- Austin provokes Mickey into insulting Lou to figure out why the neighborhood didn't like him. One of the things she mentions is that he was reluctant to talk about children, even with his wife. At that moment, Austin realizes that the kids were in control, and responsible (somehow) for the Brainwashing.
- Another realization hits Austin when Mickey tells him he's been listening to the same song for too long. He checks a cassette from the neighborhood for Subliminal Seduction, finding a message for him specifically.
- "Everybody Laughs" Ending: At the end of the episode, Austin has set up Subliminal Seduction to trick Mickey into complimenting him. She realizes this as she inches her hand closer to his and they both laugh about it.
- Hand Gagging: While kidnapping Karen, to keep her from making a noise, Austin douses a cloth with chloroform to silence her and knock her unconscious.
- Instant Sedation:
- Austin has some chloroform that he brought with him in case he needed to kidnap one of the people living there. He uses it on Karen, who struggles for only a few seconds before falling asleep.
- Karen uses the "Quit-It" pills to put herself to sleep almost instantly, stealing them from her parents.
- Interrupted Suicide: Ten minutes into the episode, Austin sees a pair of kids tell off their fathers. Mr Strawn is told to suck an egg and Mr Baxton is told to shoot himself. He doesn't pay much attention at first, but then he notices Strawn sucking a raw egg and runs to find Baxton before it's too late.
- Kidnapped by an Ally: At the start of the episode, Karen begs Mickey to drive her away from the neighborhood. When they arrive at Serendip, her parents aren't far behind and accuse Austin and Mickey of kidnapping their daughter. Later on, Austin has to actually kidnap Karen because she's been Brainwashed and he wants to figure out how.
- Kidnapped from Behind: Around twenty minutes into the episode, Austin and Mickey try to kidnap Karen while her brother is distracted in the next room, watching television.
- The Namesake: The smoking cure that Baxton is producing is named "Quit-It" and Austin suspects that it may be used to Brainwash the adults in the neighborhood. Subverted because it isn't the drugs, it's the music.
- Omniscient Database: Austin's computer can analyze a microscopic compound in under a minute, so he puts an empty bottle of "Quit-It" to the test. The molecular analysis tells him... the pills had been contained inside a gelatin capsule. He will have to get a sample from the source if he really wants to analyze it.
- Placebo Effect: Baxton has created a new anti-addiction pill, called "Quit-It". When Mickey and Austin are tied up by the adults, they try to convince him to take it, claiming that it will change their lives, cure insecurities, eliminate bad habits, boost ambition, strength, improve their health and intelligence, "anything you want".
- Pop the Tires: During the climax, Rodger and his friends try to attack Austin and Mickey, stabbing one of the car tires to keep them from escaping.
- Red Herring: The "Quit-It" pills, despite being The Namesake and the second thing Austin assumes is responsible for the adults getting Brainwashed, have nothing to do with the resolution, but trying to investigate them does get him in plenty of trouble with the adults.
- Soft Glass: After escaping through a window, Austin is completely unscathed.
- Subliminal Seduction: The adults in this neighborhood have been Brainwashed by their children to obey their orders by listening to music. The Strawn family has been working in advertising, including the music from the ice cream truck.When Austin checks one of his cassettes, he finds the following instructions, "This is a message for Mr Austin James. You love Mickey, Mr James. You think she's the most beautiful woman in the world. Every time you hear this music, you will think you want to marry her and have lots of kids. Bye for now." Austin considers this technique the most powerful form of mind control ever.
- Super Window Jump: After breaking into one of the houses to steal the "Quit-It" drug, Austin is caught by Abbey, who then tells her parents. In order to escape, Austin leaps through a nearby window.
- Teenage Wasteland: Everything about the neighborhood seems normal at first, with polite neighbors and well-maintained lawns. But then Austin notices a teenager yell at their father to "go suck an egg!" and instead of getting angry, he just follows the order. Someone has caused the parents of the neighborhood to become extremely susceptible to suggestions, giving the children complete control.
- The Teetotaler: One of the things that stands out as odd to Austin is that the entire neighborhood adults refuse to drink or smoke (except the one guy who doesn't have any kids). He can even detect the signs of past drug use, but they don't exhibit any withdrawal symptoms. This is interesting enough for him to try investigating what happened.
