Got any radish beer?
While looking for unusual objects, Wembley finds a bottle and rubs it, releasing a genie. The Genie refuses to grant any wishes and takes Wembley around, playing pranks on the other Fraggles and encouraging Wembley to "stand up to" them instead of letting them tell him what to do. Wembley, though, feels bad when his friends get mad at him for hanging around with the Genie.Feeling guilty, Wembley collaborates with his friends to imprison the Genie. They succeed, but out of pity, Wembley tells the Genie he'll free him if he leaves the Rock forever. The Genie pretends to agree—but when he's released, he mind controls everyone but Wembley into obeying him. Wembley finally has had enough and demands a wish. The Genie, who has to grant wishes when asked, concedes. He gives Wembley his wishes, fixing everything, including the Genie's personality. Wembley then makes one last wish: for the Genie to be free.
This episode contains examples of:
- Batman Gambit: Wembley bets the Genie that he can't jump through his fingers. The Genie takes the dare and jumps with ease through Wembley's fingers—straight into the bottle, which Wembley had been hiding.
- Bedsheet Ghost: The Genie makes Boober's drying bedsheets float around to scare the latter.
- The Bully: The Genie is this to the Fraggles.
- Call-and-Response Song: The Genie does this with the hypnotized Fraggles in his Cool People Rebel Against Authority-themed Hard Rock song: "Do You Want It?"Genie: Well, do you want it?
Fraggles: No! Get out of our way!
Genie: Well, do you need it?
Fraggles: No! Just take it away!
Genie: Well, do you want it?
Fraggles: No! Gonna live for today!
Genie: Well, do you need it?
Fraggles: No! Get out of our way! - Character Name and the Noun Phrase: The episode's title.
- Cobweb of Disuse: The cave where the Encyclopedia Fragglia is kept has cobwebs clinging to the ceiling... and to some of the furniture as well.
- Costume Porn: The Genie's outfit: he wears a gauzy, multicolored shirt, with lots of rings and earrings.
- "Could Have Avoided This!" Plot: Wembley realizes how much trouble could have been avoided once he's had more than enough of seeing the other Fraggles hypnotized and wishes aloud, in no uncertain terms, for the Genie to stop his bullying.Wembley: STOP! This has gone far enough! Someone's gonna get hurt!
[The only response from the Genie is an evil guffaw.]
Wembley: Well, I let you out of that bottle, and I wish you'd stop all this!
[The Genie suddenly stops laughing and starts speaking in a trancelike tone.]
Genie: Your wish is my command!
Wembley: [oblivious to the Genie's reaction] Oh, yeah! Yeah, yeah. You can't just do what you want to do, not if it wrecks the place or hurts someone. You can't...! [Does a Double Take as the Genie's words start to sink in.] Wha... what'd you say?
Genie: Your wish is my command!
Wembley: My... wish... really? I wish you'd explain.
Genie: I was bound to give you your wishes if you asked for them.
Wembley: You... you mean, all I had to do was stand up for myself?
Genie: Yes, master, that's it... in a nutshell. - Crocodile Tears: The Genie sheds them after he's been put back in the bottle, moving Wembley to take pity on him and free him again.
- Distinction Without a Difference: The Genie denies having stolen Gobo's postcard, instead saying that he "borrowed it on a permanent basis."
- Dude, Not Funny!: Boober's reaction to the bedsheet prank.Boober: Very funny, Wembley! I don't know who your big green friend is, but I'm surprised at you. I could have hurt my leg or... or... broken my tail... or suffered amnesia... not to mention the psychological effects around trust.
- Evil Laugh: The Genie laughs evilly at the Fraggles he's hypnotized.
- Freeing the Genie: Wembley wishes this for the Genie after he shows remorse for his actions.
- Generic Graffiti: At one point, the Genie is seen drawing on a wall.
- Genie in a Bottle: The Genie was trapped in an old bottle when Wembley found him. There was writing on it that said, "Do not rub this bottle", but Wembley, who was rubbing the bottle clean, didn't see the writing until it was too late.
- Great Big Book of Everything: Red and Gobo look up the Genie in the Encyclopedia Fragglia. It lists the Genie as coming from a broken bottle and that his good deeds are stealing, lying, and breaking things. His bad deeds are apparently too awful for Red and Gobo to mention. The name is a shout-out to the Encyclopedia Britannica.
- Heel–Face Turn: The Genie, courtesy of Wembley's Wishplosion.Wembley: I wish I could make you understand the difference between standing up for yourself and just doing whatever you want to do.
Genie: Your wish is my command. [A Beat.] I suddenly understand. Dear, dear Fraggles, I wish now to apologize to anyone of you whom I may have offended, scared, inconvenienced, or bamboozled. - I Lied: The Genie about leaving the Rock forever.
- Intangibility: The Genie can walk through walls. Wembley can, too, when he's with him.
- It's All My Fault: Wembley takes the blame for having released the Genie—twice.
- Jackass Genie: The titular genie. However, he does give Wembley his wishes when Wembley stands his ground.
- Ladies and Germs: Doc says this word for word as part of his pathetic comedy act he's written for Talent Night at the Captain's Inn.
- Make a Wish: Wembley makes several when he realizes the Genie has to grant wishes when asked.
- Malicious Misnaming: Downplayed. The Genie sometimes calls Wembley "Wem," to the latter's slight annoyance.
- Manipulative Bastard: The Genie, who uses crocodile tears to get Wembley to go along with him.
- Mass Hypnosis: The Genie does this to everyone but Wembley. He breaks the spell when Wembley wishes him to.
- Mass Transformation: The Genie turns the hypnotized Fraggles into a mindless army, complete with uniforms.
- May It Never Happen Again: Once the Genie's imprisoned, the Fraggles plan to bury the bottle. Wembley, though, takes pity on him and lets him out.
- Must Make Amends: The first time Wembley frees the Genie, he collaborates with his friends to put him back in the bottle. The second time, Wembley stands his ground, demands his wishes, and makes the Genie free the other Fraggles and fix everything he broke.
- My God, What Have I Done?:
- Wembley, when the Genie tells him he lied about leaving the Rock forever.
- Gobo, when he accidentally breaks the bottle, not knowing the Genie's been released again, and thinks he's killed him.
- The Only One: Wembley is the only one who doesn't fall victim to the Genie's mind control.
- Rotten Rock & Roll: The Genie hypnotizes all the Fraggles but Wembley, then leads them in a Cool People Rebel Against Authority-themed Hard Rock song: "Do You Want It?"
- Running Gag: The Genie keeps offering Wembley a handshake, then pulling his hand away at the last minute.Genie: [laughs] Oh, boy, that trick still works after all these ages!
- Sealed Evil in a Can: The Genie, who hypnotizes all of Wembley's friends when Wembley lets him out of the bottle the second time.
- Sizeshifter: The Genie can make himself shrink or grow.
- Smug Snake: The Genie.Wembley: You're not half as tough as you think are!
Genie: I'm even tougher. - Snarking Thanks: When Wembley lets the genie out of the bottle the second time...Genie: [extending his hand to Wembley] Oh, thanks... [Pulls his hand away before Wembley can shake it] ...for nothing! [Gives an Evil Laugh and flies off.]
- Super-Strength: The Genie is strong enough to throw a boulder.
- Sympathy for the Devil: After the Fraggles imprison the Genie in the bottle, Wembley takes pity on him and lets him out instead of burying the bottle, like they'd planned.
- The Teetotaler: When the Genie is drinking radish beer and offers Wembley some, he refuses.Wembley: And you shouldn't be drinking that stuff, either! It's bad for you.
Genie: Gimme a break, Wem! You're too much of a goody-goody. - Toxic Friend Influence: The Genie encourages Wembley to hang out with him and play pranks. When Gobo advises Wembley not to go along with it, the Genie urges Wembley to "stand up to" the other Fraggles instead of letting them tell him what to do.
- Transformation Discretion Shot: Exaggerated. After hypnotizing everyone but Wembley, the Genie begins singing "Do You Want It?" Midway through the song, there's a cut to the mesmerized Fraggles suddenly standing with their arms to their sides and wearing army-like uniforms.
- Villain Has a Point: When Gobo warns Wembley not to hang around with the Genie...Genie: Wembley, let me ask you a question.
Wembley: Uh-huh...?
Genie This Goo-Goo here...
Gobo: Gobo!
Genie: Uh, Goo-Goo, Go-Go, whatever. Would you say a lot of times he tells you what to do?
Wembley: Well... yeah. All the time.
Gobo: That's right.
Wembley: Yeah!
Genie: Then, Wembley, it's time you stood up for yourself! - Villain Song: The Genie's song: "Do You Want It?"
- Wishplosion: Wembley brings about the Genie's Heel–Face Turn with this.
