Monsters in My Room
Timmy (a very young Seth Green) is a sensitive and peaceful young boy who enjoys observing insects, playing the piano, and collecting stuffed animals. The problem is that his mother Helen (Beth McDonald) has married a thuggish oaf named Biff (Greg Mullavey), who tries to turn the boy into a rough-and-tough sports lover like him. At the same time, Timmy discovers that his bedroom is filled with a number of monsters (a boogeyman in the closet, an octopus under the bed, a buzzsaw behind his dresser, and a witch in the bathroom) that come out at night to scare him. Fortunately for Timmy, he decides to do what Biff advises and toughens himself up to get rid of the monsters.
Tropes:
- Abusive Parents: Though he's eager to bond with Timmy, Biff doesn't understand that what makes him happy doesn't make his stepson happy. Near the end, he gets drunk and threatens to paddle the boy when he calls him weak. We also hear him and Helen arguing outside his door a few times, notably before the monsters come out.
- Big "SHUT UP!": Timmy lets loose a cry of "Stop it!" to finally send the monsters packing.
- Cassandra Truth: Timmy claims that Biff was killed by the monsters in his room while Helen and his visiting relatives think Biff died from heart complications. It's the truth, but Helen still sends him to his now-monster free room when he brings it up.
- Cat Scare: As Timmy checks his closet at one point, a basketball bounces out and startles him as the boogeyman stares from within.
- Christmas Episode: The first half of the episode takes place during Christmas Eve and Christmas Day, as one scene has Timmy opening his presents and getting a stuffed panda from his mother, while Biff gives him a toy gun modeled after the one he had in Vietnam.
- Death Glare: Timmy shoots the boogeyman such a glare when it tries leaving his closet, causing it to retreat back inside and shut the door.
- Earn Your Happy Ending: Timmy conquers his fear of the monsters in his room, and they also help him get Biff out of the picture.
- Establishing Character Moment:
- We first meet Timmy as he's ritualistically turning on his lamp, looking into the closet, and peeking under his bed, showing that he's fearful of the creatures hiding around his bedroom.
- Biff is similarly introduced carelessly throwing a football at the glass box holding Timmy's potato bug and smashing it as a means of inviting him to play catch, and then forces him to clean up the mess, showing that he doesn't care about how Timmy feels and doesn't share his interests.
- He later blares a baseball game on TV while Timmy tries to practice the piano, frustrating him into leaving.
- I Want My Mommy!: Timmy frantically calls for Helen as the monsters attack him at the end of the first act.
- Jerkass: Biff, who wants to turn Timmy into a tough guy instead of a "wimp" and moves in to paddle him when he's insulted.
- Madness Mantra: The monsters in Timmy's room whisper the lyrics of "Drunken Sailor" to him repeatedly after a drunk Biff sings the shanty to him, even manipulating his toys into repeating the melody.
- Maybe Magic, Maybe Mundane: Are the titular monsters real? Or are they manifestations of Timmy's trauma involving Biff?
- Mood Whiplash: After Timmy opens his Christmas presents, the episode cuts to him entering his darkened room and almost getting attacked by the boogeyman in his closet.
- My Friends... and Zoidberg: As he says his prayers before going to bed, Timmy tells God to bless his mother, his extended family, and his neighbors, before making a half-hearted mention of Biff. Halfway through the episode, he does so again, this time not mentioning Biff at all.
- Offscreen Teleportation: Biff appears in Timmy's room after his mother leaves, just as the boy hears footsteps and the sounds of a car pulling up.
- Overly Long Gag: A drunken Biff spends half a minute singing "Drunken Sailor" to Timmy as a means of mimicking/mocking the lullaby Helen sings to him.
- Pun: During his telling off of the monsters, Timmy tells the circular saw from behind the dresser to "buzz off".
- Red Eyes, Take Warning: The octopus under Timmy's bed has such eyes.
- Rule of Scary: The monsters in Timmy's room have no history, and they only pop up to terrorize the boy. It's justified given that monsters in one's room is a common fear for a kid his age.
- Saw Blades of Death: One of the monsters Timmy is frightened of is a giant buzzsaw that emerges from behind his dresser, nestled in the darkest corner of his room.
- Screams Like a Little Girl: At the end of the episode, the bogeyman pokes his head out of the closet, sees Timmy glaring at him, gives a terrified little squeal and ducks back out of sight.
- Shout-Out: Timmy incorporates the phrases "I ain't afraid of no ghosts!" and "Make my day!" in his rant to the monsters.
- Swapped Roles: The end of the episode has Timmy taking a few dozen levels in badass and terrifying the monsters that used to terrify him.
- Tentacled Terror: A giant octopus hides under Timmy's bed, trying to grab him with its tentacles.
- Things That Go "Bump" in the Night: Just as the title says, Timmy has to put up with creatures that hide in his room and come out to torment him when he's alone at night. Thanks to Biff unintentionally toughening the kid up, he eventually gets so fed up with the disturbances that he calls the monsters out. When the enraged Biff enters Timmy's room to abuse him, the monsters proceed to kill him, possibly thinking he's Timmy. At the end of the episode, the trope winds up being inverted, as the monsters are now afraid of the much braver Timmy.
- Title Drop: Timmy shouts the title as the first act ends and the monsters close in on him. At the episode's end, he also puts the title on a warning sign that he hangs outside his door.
- Took a Level in Badass: Having had enough of Biff, Timmy mans up and calls out the monsters in his room, causing them to be just as scared of him as he was of them. He reaches a roadblock when he meets the witch in the bathroom, though.
- The Vietnam Vet: Biff mentions that he was in 'Nam, as his present for Timmy is a replica of the gun he used there.
- Wicked Stepfather: Biff wants to turn Timmy into a macho man instead of a sensitive "momma's boy", and he and Helen occasionally argue about his parenting. At the end of the episode, he nearly spanks Timmy with a paddle after being called weak.
- Wicked Witch: Timmy finds a witch in his bathroom when he tries to go in the middle of the night.
