YMMV / Channel Chasers

• Best Known for the Fanservice: The game show scene is this due to Vicky and her rapid aging sequence.
• Fanon Discontinuity: Not for the special itself, but rather everything after it. When The Fairly OddParents! should have ended is a point of contention among the fanbase, but "Channel Chasers" is often held up as one of the best (if not the best) ending points for the series thanks to bringing a close to the very plot point that kick-started the entire series: Timmy's parents realize that they've been neglectful parents and aim to better show love to their son, and also learn that Vicky is a terrible babysitter and decide to fire her (though Timmy hits the Reset Button on that revelation). And while the Distant Finale scene shows Timmy becoming just like his parents in their absent-mindedness (due to the fact that when he becomes an adult, he'll forget that he had fairies), his kids thankfully also have Cosmo and Wanda to watch over them, ending things on a positive note.
• Harsher in Hindsight: Timmy learning that he shouldn't worry about growing up and losing his fairies and enjoy his childhood while it lasts becomes more depressing to watch after a later special, Timmy's Secret Wish!, revealed that Timmy secretly wished for everyone to never age so that he doesn't lose his fairies.
• Hilarious in Hindsight:
  • Apparently, Butch Hartman has a thing for creating specials of his shows that feature an apocalyptic future that's trying to be avoided that also includes the main protagonist encountering a future version of himself, though unlike Danny, Timmy was fortunate enough to encounter a heroic version of himself. It also leads one to wonder who created the more horrible future: Vicky or Dark Danny.
  • Hartman also seems to have a thing for making specials where the parents realize they have been oblivious to their son's struggles, only for Status Quo Is God to kick back in in the series proper.
  • Alec Baldwin as every child's dream companion that must be kept a secret lest he be taken away by his corporate bosses, and the child in question is named Tim…my? A distant epilogue showing the children as adults, having moved on from their childhood adventures? Huh?
• Moral Event Horizon: Vicky crosses this twice in this movie:
  • The first time, when she wrecks the Turners’ house and frames Timmy for it just to see him get punished.
  • Then later on, when she plans to take over the world by going to the Dictator Channel with Timmy’s magical remote.
• One-Scene Wonder: Despite only appearing in the final scene of the special, Tommy and Tammy Turner, Timmy's future children, became pretty popular characters among fans.
• Shallow Parody: Of most anime with Maho Mushi, though Dragon Ball, primarily, since it's the one Maho Mushi's animation and art style is based on. However, the title sounds like a reference to Pokémon (short for "Pocket Monsters"), considering Pokémon was inspired by insect collecting as a hobby, and "Maho Mushi" means "Magic Bug" in Japanese.
• Tough Act to Follow: This is the special that fans agree that is the best one after the first one, and the rest of the specials afterwards don't have the same punch. This is mainly due to the high stakes Timmy deals with in this story.
• Unintentional Period Piece:
  • Many of the shows Timmy travels through would eventually no longer be airing on TV within years, or even months in a few cases, after the TV movie was produced and aired (and some, like the parodies of Fat Albert and the Cosby Kids and The Jetsons were already over years before the show was made). Then there's the portrayal of The History Channel, as a channel that airs dictators, as a jab for a time in the early 2000s where the History Channel was obsessed with Adolf Hitler, to the point where it was even nicknamed "The Hitler Channel." That being said, there are some shows that are still around that were mentioned either on the actual show or on the "If I Lived in TV" deleted scene (such as Sesame Street, The Simpsons, Saturday Night Live, and WWE Smackdown, to name a few examples).
  • The Distant Finale features futuristic-looking buildings and flying cars in the background. Given that it takes place 20 years later, the movie was produced in 2003, and now we are in The New '20s, it's safe to say that we aren't even close from having flying cars any time soon.

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