Djinn, No Chaser
Danny Squires (Charles Levin), currently committed to a mental institution, tells the unseen Dr. Vellman (and by extension, us) about how he and his new wife Connie (Colleen Camp) were searching for furniture for their apartment. They happened to witness a strange tent full of strange items magically appear in an empty lot, where Connie came across an old lamp. When the lamp is rubbed later that night, a powerful genie, Jan Bin Jan (Kareem Abdul-Jabbar), speaks from within it, voicing his fury at being trapped in his confined space for 10,000 years. Ignoring the genie's feelings, Danny tries to get his wishes granted, prompting the genie in question to torture his new "master" with various plagues, preventing him and Connie from leaving the apartment.
Tropes:
- Bait-and-Switch: When he hears Jan hurling insults again, Danny promptly makes a run for it back to the safety of the asylum. He's stopped when he learns that Jan became much nicer since he was freed, and was merely voicing his frustration with the tailors who made a mistake with his new suit.
- Boring, but Practical: How does Connie finally free Jan after 10,000 years? A can opener. The genie even lampshades that such an obvious solution was overlooked because can openers didn't exist back then.
- Bullying a Dragon: Even after hearing the reason as to why he's such a grump, and that he'd maybe grant his wishes if he were freed, Danny offers no sympathy to Jan and immediately demands a wish for money, right after threatening to toss the lamp into the incinerator. Cue a rainstorm manifesting in the apartment as Jan laughs uproariously.
- Collector of the Strange: Danny is shown to possess a collection of duck statues, which Jan destroys in his rage.
- Covered in Gunge: Jan fills the Squires' apartment with all sorts of fungus and slime, to the point where Danny lampshades how he was "heavy in the slime".
- Deadpan Snarker: Danny and Connie are equally snarky to one another, hence why they're meant to be.
- Denser and Wackier: This is the first episode of the series to fully commit itself to zany, wacky, over-the-top comedy, trying to play itself as the pilot to a sitcom or something. It goes so overboard with trying to be funny, in fact, that many reviewers have actually found it painfully unfunny.
- Dirty Coward: After being driven to insanity by Jan, Danny learns that only Connie wanted/rubbed his lamp, and he can always divorce her if he wants to. He fakes hallucinating abusive people from his past, and with Connie's consent, has himself committed to escape his wrath. While locked up, he expresses extreme regret with his cowardice and checks himself out to return home.
- Fourth Wall Psych: The framing device of the episode has Danny telling the story to Dr. Vellman, the unseen doctor who's interviewing him. Since this doctor is never heard speaking either, Danny is basically telling us, the audience, his story.
- Happy Ending: Jan is finally freed from his lamp, and he becomes a much nicer person toward the Squires, who heal their relationship problems in the meantime, redecorating their apartment and happily granting their wishes.
- Heel–Face Turn: Danny spends the majority of the episode behaving like a jackass, but sometime after he's committed, he deeply regrets how he abandoned his new wife with the genie that's been tormenting him nonstop.
- How We Got Here: Danny rants and raves to the camera while committed, detailing the circumstances that led to this whole thing.
- Jackass Genie: At first, Jan torments Danny and Connie nonstop (well, mostly Danny) to be a jerk, but it's soon revealed that he was only lashing out because he's pissed about spending the last 10,000 years crammed into his itty-bitty living space (which no doubt gave him a pretty big crick in the neck). When Connie frees him, he becomes much nicer towards her and Danny.
- The Little Shop That Wasn't There Yesterday: The Squires find Jan's lamp in a Middle-Eastern tent that suddenly appears completely out of nowhere in an empty lot, and disappears after they step out and walk away. In keeping with the ridiculous nature of the episode, they lampshade the whole thing to themselves.
- Loud Sleeper Gag: Jan proves himself to be a heavy snorer during the Time Skip, snoozing loud enough that he can be heard from within the lamp.
- Motor Mouth: Danny, especially as he's narrating.
- Mundane Solution: In the time Danny was locked up, Connie was able to free Jan from his lamp... with a can opener.
- Nature Is Not Nice: Jan keeps Danny from leaving the apartment by conjuring vicious animals in the hallway.Danny: (over the sound of an elephants' trumpet) HOW'D HE GET ELEPHANTS ON THE THIRD FLOOR?!
- No Indoor Voice: Jan, who spouts Ali Baba-esque insults to the Squires from his lamp. He briefly lowers the volume on Connie's behalf, but it doesn't last long.
- Our Genies Are Different: Jan, the genie that the Squires come into ownership of, has no desire to grant their wishes, deciding instead to torture them with severe weather, vicious animals, and a lot of slime. When he's let out, he takes the form of a very large man and becomes quite nicer to the pair.
- Product Placement: A Coca-Cola "Coke is it!" billboard can clearly be seen in the lot where the magic tent ends up.
- Shout-Out: Connie likens Jan's possible size to that of the genie from The Thief of Bagdad (1940).
- Spanner in the Works: The sorcerer who originally forced Jan into his lamp 10,000 years ago, which pissed the guy off because he "knew nothing of molecular compression".
- Statuesque Stunner: Once he's freed, Jan is shown to tower above Danny and Connie.
- Stock Sound Effects: The springs in the Squires' couch produce very noticeable "boing" sounds as they tear through the upholstery at one point.
- Time Skip: After Jan first makes it rain in their apartment, the episode (via Danny's narration) skips to a week later, to where the Squires are miserably cleaning their plagued and wrecked apartment.
- Took a Level in Kindness: When he's finally released from the lamp, Jan becomes far more benevolent to his masters, redecorating their apartment for them and willing to become their friend.
- Volleying Insults: Danny and Mohandus the shopkeeper in the tent haggle over the price of Jan's lamp, quickly degrading into hurling insults at one another.
- Wicked Cultured: Jan is shown to be a distinguished and friendly guy when he is finally released, able to see and witness firsthand how much the world has changed in 10,000 years.
- World of Ham: Everyone's absolutely nuts in this episode, fitting its sitcom approach.
