| Birth of a Salesman | |
 | |
| The title card for "Birth of a Salesman". | |
| Episode | 2B |
| Season | 1 |
| Airdate (US) | September 6, 2002 |
| Invention(s) | Willie Loman 3000 |
| Previous | Normal Boy |
| Next | Brobot (episode) |
Birth of a Salesman is the second segment in the second episode in The Adventures of Jimmy Neutron: Boy Genius.
Summary
The episode begins with Jimmy showing his new invention, book gum, to Carl, Sheen, Cindy, and Libby. He explains that the book gum gives you knowledge of an entire book just by chewing a piece of gum. His friends then try out the new invention. When Carl attempts to take more than one piece, Jimmy explains that it is very dangerous to chew more than one piece at a time.
The scene then changes to Mrs. Fowl teaching their class while they are inside the classroom. She tells the students about a candy selling contest that the school will have in order to raise money. The class is uninterested until she mentions that the prize will be a free V.I.P trip to Retroland, at which the students cheer.
Carl, Sheen, and Jimmy are then seen walking down the street. They discussed who they would bring with them to the theme park if they won, and all of them said that they would bring one another. Then, they met up with Cindy and Libby, at which point Cindy claimed that she would win the competition easily. Jimmy then retorts that he will win the contest, and they argue. Then, the two bet on who of the two of them will win, each thinking that they-themselves-will win.
The scene then changes to Jimmy eating dinner with his family while attempting to scientifically gather information that will help him sell candy. Hugh then notices that Jimmy will be selling candy, and begins to give him “advice,” which Jimmy finds very unhelpful. Meanwhile, Cindy is encouraging herself to work hard and beat Jimmy in the competition.
The next day, Jimmy attempts to sell candy, using many different facts about chocolate, as he had done research on it. He does not do well with selling the candy, as people are uninterested in his facts and do not wish to by candy. Cindy, however, is doing very well, as she is using manipulative tactics in order to sell candy. Jimmy then realizes that selling "isn't about superior intellect, it’s all about manipulating emotions".
Then, Jimmy asks Goddard for an opinion on what he should do next. Goddard gives him several opinions, but the one he chooses is for him to "build a better salesman". Jimmy accepts this idea and does so at once. He then tells Carl and Sheen about his new robot, Willie Loman 3000, and his plan to let him do all the selling. They then sit on Jimmy’s front lawn and watch as the new invention makes sales.
Just as Jimmy programmed his robot, the Willie Loman 3000 doesn’t take no for an answer. Because of this, he ends up selling a lot of candy for Jimmy. Although, the robot has been giving away Jimmy’s other inventions, such as Goddard, in order to convince people to buy candy. Because Jimmy does not know this, he then goes and brags about his lead in the competition to Cindy, who was expecting to win easily at that point.
However, once Jimmy left, the new invention began selling more of his inventions, such as his rocket, which was sold to Carl and Sheen. When Cindy notices, she tells Jimmy who immediately runs across the street to stop the robot from selling the entire contents of his lab.
Once Jimmy confronts the robot, it attempts to auction him off. Cindy offers a starting bid, but Sheen outbids her. His parents are horrified and attempt to buy him too, but Cindy outbids them. And, just as he is about to be sold to Cindy, Jimmy has a brain blast. He then gives a handful of book gum to the Willie Loman 3000, offering it to him as free gum. The robot takes it, and suffers and overload from chewing more than one piece at a time.
Then, the scene changes to show them in class once again. Ms. Fowl announces that the candy-selling contest was a tie, and that both Cindy and Jimmy won. They then were told that they would go to Retroland together, which they do begrudgingly. The final scene of the episode is Jimmy and Cindy at Retroland, complaining about how horrible of a time they are having together. Jimmy then offers Cindy some gum, but she declines it harshly, and the episode ends.
Quotes
- Sheen: Tastes... fishy. (starts quoting from Moby-Dick) "Call me Ishmael! Starbuck, it's the great white whale! I'll get you, Moby-Dick!"
- Cindy: Give me a piece of that. (Takes a piece and chews) Hmm... It tastes like fried chicken. (starts quoting from Gone with the Wind) "Oh, Ashley, Oh, Rhett. I don't know nothin' about birthin' no babies."
- (After Miss Fowl announces that Jimmy and Cindy are tied for the grand prize)
- Jimmy: I demand a re-count!
- Cindy: I demand a transfer to another school!
- Jimmy: I am not having fun.
- Carl: Huzzah!
- Jimmy and Sheen: What?
- Carl: Huzzah. Some really goofy way of saying cool!
- Hugh: I'll give you one dollar!
- Cindy: Two dollars!
- The Willy Loman 3000: Two dollars! Going once, going twice....
- Hugh: Eh, too rich for my blood. See ya, Jimmy.
- Judy: Hugh Neutron, you buy our son this instant!
- Hugh: But I only have a dollar!
- Cindy: (singing tauntingly to herself) I'm gonna have so much fun at Retroland. And Neutron won't, 'cause he is lame, and I am not.
- Cindy: Hey Larry, Moe, Shorty. Forget it I'm winning this contest .
- Libby: Yeah Cindy won the girl's class selling cookies three years in a row.
- Cindy: And I could of won it three more times but they forced me to retire! Those merit badge bubble cookie lovin'!!!
Trivia
- The title is a reference to the play and movie Death of a Salesman, and the robot that Jimmy builds is a reference to the play and movie's main protagonist, Willy Loman.
- The books that Sheen, Cindy, and Carl recite lines from are "Moby Dick", "Gone with the Wind", and "Romeo and Juliet".
- The books that Willy recites lines from are "A Tale of Two Cities", "Sherlock Holmes", "Hop On Pop", Harry Potter And The Sorcerer's Stone", and more.
- The book, "Chew on This!" shares a similar plot and several elements from this episode, only it revolves around Sheen trying to win a new Ultra Lord action figure for a reading contest.