Original air date: 9/10/2004 (produced in 2002)
Episode number: 41
"Shelf Life" is the third episode of season four of The Fairly OddParents.
Timmy wishes Tom Sawyer out of his book to help him with his book report, but Tom is less than willing to comply. He chases Tom, who stole Cosmo's wand, through several other classic books to stop him from reaching a physics book.
Tropes:
- Berserk Button: Don't. Make. Fun. Of. Rat's. SHOES. As The Rat in Spats book shows, the otherwise pleasant titular character will literally stomp down on anyone who ridicules his signature footwear. Tom Sawyer learns this the hard way in the climax.
- Beware the Nice Ones: The eponymous Rat in Spats seems affable, but as noted above, he will become enraged the moment someone (e.g., Tom Sawyer) makes fun of his shoes.The Rat In Spats: WHAT DID YOU SAY ABOUT MY SHOES, PUNK?!
- Dog Walks You: A recurring part of the mob chasing after Elmer is a large dog dragging along a young girl.
- Dumbass Has a Point: Chester planning to flunk is pretty stupid, but since the cast is always in the 5th grade, it really doesn't make a difference.
- Intrepid Fictioneer: The current page image.
- Laser-Guided Karma: AJ rubs it in Timmy's face that he's already finished his book report weeks ago and it is apparently so successful it will get made into a movie, so he can enjoy the carnival while Timmy is forced to do research due to blowing his report off until the last moment. AJ is later among the numerous classmates that failed their reports after the books were all changed by Tom Sawyer and Timmy. This is subverted with Chester though, who also rubbed going to the carnival in Timmy's face, but since he already planned to flunk the report and stopped caring about it he doesn't really suffer any consequences.
- Library Episode: A majority of this episode's events take place in the Dimmsdale Public Library.
- Nerds Love Tough Schoolwork: Elmer is the only one to react positively to the book report assignment, to the chagrin of his classmates. An angry mob of students chases him several times throughout the episode.Elmer: [tied to a sign reading “I ♥ BOOKS] All I said was, “it sounded like fun!”
Sanjay: He said it again! GET HIM!!! - Oh, Crap!: Timmy and Wanda both realize that the last book Tom is heading for is Astrophysics for Morons, and anything that Tom changes in that book will have effects on the real world.
- Place Worse Than Death: Tom Sawyer speaks of Missouri like it is this. One of the main reasons he refuses to go back to his book is because it's Missouri in there and he continuously screams that he "ain't goin' back to Missouri".Tom: As they say in Missouri: "I ain't goin' back to Missouri"!
- Pop-Cultural Osmosis: The episode's depiction of Frankenstein is more in line with the 1931 movie than the original novel.
- Protagonist-Centered Morality: After Timmy defeats Tom Sawyer, he decides to leave all the changes Tom made to the various books until after the reports are all graded, so he is the only student in class to pass. This is presented as a good thing by the narrative.
- Ridiculous Procrastinator: Timmy. Despite his initial claims, he ultimately holds off starting his book report until the very last day of summer vacation.Wanda: You’re going to blow it off until the last minute, aren’t you?
Timmy: Of course I’m not going to blow it off until the last minute. I just can’t wait to spend the entire summer exploring the wonder of books!
[cue montage of Timmy playing with books — for fetch, as bowling pins, jet skis, and so on — before cutting to the front of the library three months later]
Timmy: I can’t believe I blew it off until the last minute! - Screw This, I'm Outta Here: When Tom says that he wants one of Timmy’s fairies to keep him company while Timmy’s at the street fair, Wanda immediately declines and poofs herself to the “All Men are Morons” section.
- Shout-Out: Tom turns Jason and the Argonauts into Jason and the Pussycats.
- Something We Forgot: Wanda feels like they forgot something, and sure enough, they forgot that Sherlock Holmes was still out of his book.
- Status Quo Is God: Defied, at least temporarily. Timmy holds back his customary "everything back to normal" wish long enough for him to get a passing grade on the book report — and for his classmates to fail.Mr. Crocker: A.J.! Everybody knows the book is called "Moby Duck!" There's no whale in it! F!!!
- This Is Gonna Suck: Tom's reaction right before an enraged Rat squashes him under the sole of his shoe.Tom: That's gonna leave a mark!
- Throw the Dog a Bone: Though it came about in part due to Protagonist-Centered Morality, this is one of the few times Timmy gets a passing grade. Crocker acknowledges that his report on who would win in a fight between Tom Sawyer and The Rat In Spats was perfect, and although he says he despises Timmy he has no choice but to give him an A+. This might not seem like much but there have been previous episodes where Crocker purposely fails Timmy regardless of the work he puts in.
- The Unreveal: At the end of the episode, Sherlock Holmes reveals the names of Timmy's parents... right as a book shuts on the scene and the resulting sound effect obscures the revelation.
- Uranus Is Showing: While discussing the various ways Tom could mess up the book Astrophysics for Morons:Wanda: He could turn Uranus into… oh my gosh! We’ve got to stop him!
- You Wanna Get Sued?: Before Wanda states that Tom Sawyer changed The Three Musketeers to The Three Mouseketeers, Timmy immediately tells her to stop.
