Original air date: 5/10/2005 (produced in 2004)
Episode number: 65b
Timmy gets a good Samaritan streak going for him, by painting a backdrop for a school ballet play directed by Professor Bickles, gifting AJ with a hi-tech PC, and prettying his house's lawn. Somehow, this gets him scolded for not following everything to the letter. Angry that no one appreciates his good deeds, Timmy wishes he was never born. Now out of everyone's life, Timmy decides to see the impact he caused to the world... only to find out everyone benefits from Timmy not existing. Due to how wishes work, Jorgen von Strangle is the only one that recognizes Timmy, who shows him how nice the world is without him before eventually trying to erase him out of existence.
This episodes contains examples of:
- Anti-Villain: Jorgen von Strangle, acting as a Type III (Well-Intentioned Anti-Villain). Impersonating The Grim Reaper, he strikes a deal with Timmy on which, if he doesn't find someone who lives miserably without him, he'll let Jorgen send him to a dimension where he is Retgone. Jorgen agrees and decides to show Timmy how good the world is without him being born, not only to humilliate him on the way, but to teach him the meaning of making good deeds for people without expecting gratefulness in exchange before undoing his wish.
- "Better if Not Born" Plot: Timmy realizes that absolutely everyone seems to benefit from him not existing... and that other children who have made this wish have their own hell-dimension.
- Mom and Dad would be rich parents with a daughter instead of a son as intended.
- Vicky wouldn't have been a Babysitter from Hell; she would've been a cheerful assistant to Dr. Bender.
- Francis would've been a star jockey instead of a mean bully.
- Chester would've had Cosmo and Wanda, and had a perfect set of teeth.
- Mr. Crocker wouldn't have become a crazed fairy hunter.
- AJ would've went straight to college with a full head of hair.
- Elmer wouldn't have had a boil.
- Comedic Sociopathy: From Jorgen, no less.
- At the start of the wish, he tells Timmy he wanted to show him "how miserable everyone's life was without him". Timmy then points out to him his parents were living well, leading Jorgen to lament nobody understands his great sense of humor.
- Near the end of the wish, Jorgen suffocates in laughing gas before falling to the hell-like dimension. He then emerges seemingly normal, declaring "laughing gas doesn't make him laugh, but pain does", followed by him poofing Binky on the scene and hurting his nose.
- Once he's about to undo Timmy's wish, he yells to him he actually failed to understand the lesson. This scares Timmy beyond straight, making him clarify it was a joke.
- At the very end of the episode, Cosmo and Wanda are confused to why Timmy learned his lesson without their help, and Cosmo says maybe Timmy was better off without them. A cacti-transformed Jorgen appears to them and says "Don't get my hopes up", scaring Cosmo.
- Crazy-Prepared: Once Timmy sees how well Vicky lives had he never been born, he steals her laughing gas so that, when Jorgen throws him to the hell-like dimension and end his existence, he can escape and turn the tables on him.
- Don't Fear the Reaper: Jorgen impersonates the one and only Death in this episode, but although he threatens Timmy to throw him to a dimension for kids whose wish for inexistence made the world better, he decides to teach him a lesson in not expecting gratefulness for his good deeds all the time, and grants him the wish of not wishing he wasn't born.
- Dude, Where's My Respect?: No matter what Timmy does, no one gives him any sort of respect or appreciation whatsoever.
- The Grim Reaper: Invoked by Jorgen, who dresses up the part, and whose large wand is meant to evoke the Reaper's scythe.
- Hell: An interpretation of it in The Dimension Of Kids Who Improved The World By Wishing They Were Never Born, a dimension whose name is exactly what it implies.
- I'll Take That as a Compliment: When Timmy mistakes Jorgen for The Grim Reaper, the former implies "flattery would not help Timmy".
- It's a Wonderful Plot: Arguably one of the harshest examples and subversions in all media. Timmy wishes he was never born, but this changes the world for the very best, as virtually everyone lives happily without him. However, this is an alternate dimension Jorgen Von Strangle shows Timmy to secretly teach him a lesson. In order of how good everyone's life is...
- His parents have the girl they always wanted, are rich thanks to her success, and don't neglect her.
- Francis is not a bully but rather a successful football player for Dimmsdale's school.
- Crocker is an impressive teacher at a university where the students love him, and he isn't obsessed about fairy godparents because the events of The Secret Origin of Denzel Crocker were retconned with Timmy's absence.
- AJ has an afro and graduated from high school at the age of five, so he's in Crocker's class.
- Chester, who doesn't need to wear brackets, lives in a much wider trailer in the trailer park, and Cosmo and Wanda are his godparents, meaning he is no longer miserable.
- Vicky is a nurse who gives children laughing gas to mitigate the pain from the dentist.
- Elmer has no boil.
- Professor Bickles' Waterworld musical was apparently very successful.
- The Chicago Cubs finally won the World Series.
- Jerkass Has a Point: Cosmo scolds Timmy for not cleaning his fishbowl, indicating him where he left dirty... which is actually every single part of the fishbowl.
- Jet Pack: How Timmy uses the laughing gas cylinder to escape hell and turn the tables on Jorgen.
- No Good Deed Goes Unpunished: Downplayed. Timmy makes good deeds for Professor Bickles, AJ and his parents, but everyone scolds him for not doing them well.
- The Oath-Breaker: Timmy strikes a deal with Jorgen that, if he finds someone who lives miserable without him, he'd bring him back to life, but if not, he'd go to hell (in the literal sense). However, he goes back on his deal, letting Jorgen throw him to hell and then emerging back with help of a laughing gas cylinder to turn the tables on Jorgen. Though according to the former, he saw the broken promise coming.
- Overly Long Name: The Dimension Of Kids Who Improved The World By Wishing They Were Never Born. Even Jorgen lampshades how long the name is.Jorgen: Man, that's a mouthful!
- Rage Breaking Point: After putting up with everyone criticising his deeds, Timmy finally snaps when Cosmo starts complaining about the fishbowl still being dirty.
- Running Gag:
- "[X] is...", followed by Timmy reciting three adjectives to describe his good deed, only for people to say the deed wasn't good.
- "KEVIN, FORGIVE ME!"
- Timmy implying someone out there is suffering because he was never born, followed by Jorgen saying "Not exactly".
- Secret Test of Character: Jorgan reveals he had been secretly testing Timmy to learn how to appreciate himself, not for trying to do things to feel appreciated, but because he's supposed to do the right thing.
- Shout-Out:
- Professor Bickles' ballet production of Waterworld is an adaptation of the 1995 film of the same name.
- The PC's models, "XK-90" and "XK-91", are a reference to the Jaguar XK
, a line of cars produced in the '90s. - The university where Crocker teaches his students is a Dimmsdale branch of Harvard University.
- One of the students at the aforementioned university blinks at Crocker, and her eyelids have "love you" written on them◊, a reference to Raiders of the Lost Ark.
- Ungrateful Bastard: In order...
- When Professor Bickles sees the backdrop Timmy painted for his musical, he indicates Timmy that the clouds he painted were too puffy and that the water was teal and not violet blue, acting like it ruined the entire play.
- AJ tells Timmy that the hi-tech PC Timmy gave to him was obsolete, showing him a latest model "with knobs". The only thing he thanks him for is the new high-tech doorstop... that doesn't work.
- Timmy's parents chastise him for "ruining" the lawn by prettying it the day the competition for the Worst Lawn was being held. This makes Dinkleberg win the 1st prize, angering Timmy's dad, and Timmy's mom cuts part of the bush because "her butt wasn't that big".
- Cosmo telling Timmy he didn't clean his fishbowl well, leaving dirty spots everywhere.
- Voluntary Shapeshifting: Jorgen transforms into a cacti to blend in with the world while he's with Timmy.
