It's Probing Day, where the Tallest review the schemes being hatched by Invader-class Irkens across the galaxy. Knowing this, Zim calls them up and demands an interview, revealing the experiment he wanted to show them - a variable time stasis field that he built, along with a captive Dib. And as Zim gleefully shifts a ranting Dib through fast, slow, and normal speeds, the time-stasis field seems to be working...right up till it explodes.
Fortunately for Zim, the time-stasis field infuses itself with the explosion, slowing it down to less than walking pace. Un-fortunately for Zim, the Tallest will be calling in soon, and the mess from the explosion (and the explosion itself) is not something he wants them to see. So what does he do? Well, first he tries to transport it to the city cesspool, planning to dampen it out under endless tons of raw sewage. But when that doesn't work out, what's his next plan?
Why, to cancel the stasis field, under the assumption that after he does that, the explosion will be over! The fact that the explosion could still wipe out his base if it detonates in the city doesn't seem to occur to Zim, even when the Computer and GIR both point out the inherent flaws to this plan.
Meanwhile, Dib - still affected by the time-stasis field, and moving at a snail's pace - is trying to find help after being dumped out of the base during the initial explosion. And unluckily for him, he ends up being instrumental to Zim's ill-conceived plan...
Tropes
- All for Nothing: Zim's so desperate to get rid of the explosion so he can finish Probing Day when the Tallest call back. They check back on him just in time to see the explosion consuming his base, and decide that that's that.
- Bad Boss: The Tallest, as per usual, tend to get pummel-happy with Invaders who don't present their schemes for conquest in a way that pleases them. And, of course, they don't mind much when Zim's experiment blows up in his face.
- Big "NO!": Zim lets out a loud "NOOO!" at the end after his base is destroyed and he missed The Tallest calling back, thus ruining his chance of passing Probing Day.
- Big "SHUT UP!": Zim, in response to GIR's attempts to reason with him.Zim: Do not question ZIM!!!
- Buffy Speak: "But if the big 'splody goes fast, won't it get all bad?"
- The Cameo: Iggins from "Game Slave 2" shows up, being busted by a police officer for loitering.
- Color Coded Timestop: Zim's stasis field turns anything affected by it green. While time doesn't stop, per se, things do get slowed down to the point where a city-engulfing explosion expands so slowly that people can outrun it by walking.
- Creepy Crossdresser: Zim's disguise for transporting the gradually-expanding explosion (by this point the size of a boulder) consists of a large dress draped over the explosion, with himself standing on a hover-platform above it. With the dress hiding all of this, Zim throws on a wig and some makeup to look like a giant old lady.
- Didn't Think This Through: Zim. He wants to get rid of the explosion by making it happen quickly, despite the fact that this will destroy his base.
- Disaster Dominoes: Dib running across the crosswalk at slow-motion speed causes a driver to swerve to avoid hitting him...which leads into a multiple-car pileup...
- ...Including a van that's transporting "Morbidly Obese Baby Dolls," whose top-mounted baby model rips off and goes bouncing into a nearby park...
- ...Where it runs over a lady who was pushing an old man's wheelchair...
- ...And the old man, unable to stop his wheelchair, goes zooming over a clifftop and into the woods below...
- ...Where he gets his fall broken by landing on a guy who apparently peddles black-market meats...
- ...In the ensuing crash, said meats go flying everywhere, and one of them gets grabbed by a stray dog...
- ...Who promptly carries the steak all the way to the city cesspool, where Zim freaks out at the sight of the dog with meat and swerves, causing the explosion to run wild.
- Dumbass Has a Point: Even GIR warns Zim against his plan. Of course, Zim doesn't listen.
- Failed Attempt at Drama: Multiple times, people see the massive explosion bearing down on them, and yell for others to run like hell...only to realize how slow the time-shifted explosion is expanding, and admitting that it's okay to take their time.
- Faux Horrific: "Aaah! Dog with meat! Dog with meat!!"
- Freeze-Frame Bonus: We get to watch through Dib's POV as he spots a cop across the street. Given how fast everything seems to be moving from his perspective, we catch quick glimpses of multiple people passing on that side of the road...including a pigeon landing on the sidewalk and making a nest before flying off, a lady meeting a friend, and the appearance of a cow.
- Glad I Thought of It: Sort of. Zim asks the computer for a solution to the time-expanding explosion, and gets told the explosion could be dampened somehow. Before the computer can finish the suggestion, however, Zim jumps ahead and decides that means dropping the explosion in the city cesspool.Computer: The explosion could be dampened, perhaps...Zim: The city cesspool! Of course! Of course! We'll drown this thing in garbage, and then get back here before the Tallest call back!Computer: I didn't say anything about the city cesspool -Zim: YES! Ingenious! Come, GIR!
- Going to Give It More Energy: Zim's ultimate plan to "get rid" of the explosion basically amounts to this - namely, launching the similarly time-shifted Dib into the explosion, causing a chain reaction that restores it to a normal-speed explosion...which then obliterates the city, and Zim's base with it.
- Living MacGuffin: Dib, after being affected by the time-stasis field, is required by Zim for his plan to accelerate the explosion back to normal speed.
- Made of Iron: Dib, after being flung into the time-shifted explosion - and thus, ending up at ground zero of the ensuing kaboom - shows up at the end, little worse for the wear besides being charred, battered, and generally annoyed with Zim.Dib: (To Zim) You jerk. (He promptly faints)
- Major Injury Underreaction: Upon being ordered to remove the (at the time) tiny explosion sphere, GIR tries to pick it up and promptly gets one of his arms disintegrated. GIR being GIR, he doesn't react as most people would...GIR: Yaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay! It burns!
- Motor Mouth: At the beginning, Zim cranks the stasis field to "fast" mode, causing Dib's threats to shift from super-slow to super-fast.
- Noodle Incident: We never see what exactly happens while Zim and GIR are trying to transport the time-shifted explosion to the Voot Runner, but Zim's panicked yelling makes it clear that it was not a smooth transition.
- Oh, Crap!: Twice from Zim. First, when the computer shows him how big the time-shifted explosion's going to get, and second when he actually succeeds in canceling out its slow-field...resulting in it barreling down on his base, giving him about a split-second to realize his stupidity.
- Outrun the Fireball: Pretty easy to do, given how slowly it expands.
- Pet the Dog: Despite Zim basically interrupting the schedule that the Tallest have for Probing Day (and, of course, the fact that he's not actually an Invader), Red agrees to humor him and let him show off his experiment.
- Ramping: Used for comedic effect when Zim has Dib in suspended time stasis, speeding up and slowing down Dib's speech for his own amusement."You'll never get away with this, Zim! I'm going to e x p o s e y o u forthehorriblealienmenacethatyouare and scoop your insides out!"
- Sickly Green Glow: The effect of the time stasis field bathes anything affected by it in an eerie green hue, as demonstrated by Dib when he's trying to find help.
- Smart Ball: GIR holds it in the climax to emphasize just how much Zim is Too Dumb to Live. When Zim makes his plan to speed the explosion back up to normal to make it go away, even GIR knows this is a bad idea and that it won't fix anything.
- Spanner in the Works: Zim's initial plan of using the Voot Runner to carry the explosion to the city cesspool probably would have worked if he hadn't asked GIR to fly the Voot Cruiser to him in the landing bay, while he held the explosion with industrial gauntlets. Long story short, it doesn't work out.
- Sphere of Destruction: The explosion takes the form of a perfect, glowing sphere while under the effects of the time stasis field. It starts out the size of a marble, but it ends up growing pretty large by the time Zim cancels the slow effect.
- Too Dumb to Live: Zim, full-stop. His initial plan to submerge the explosion in the city cesspool was one thing, but making the explosion return to normal speed in the belief that it'll go away quicker does not account for the fact that, well...it's still going to happen in range of Zim's base. Dib, The Computer and, EVEN GIR, tell him this is a horrible idea.
- Unusually Uninteresting Sight: The Tallest aren't too concerned when Zim is apparently destroyed when his containment tube explodes. Though this could be chalked up to their Lack of Empathy for Zim it is surprising they aren't celebrating his apparent death. They decide to check if he's still alive at the end just in time to see him consumed by the giant explosion, which just leaves them confused.
