J is For Genius

J is for Genius is the 69th episode of 6teen and the 15th episode of the third season. It aired in Canada on February 3, 2008, and in the United States on December 4, 2008. When Jonesy discovers that his friends think Nikki is the one taking the lead in their relationship, and that they think Nikki is smarter than him, he challenges her to an IQ test. Meanwhile, Jen has a substitute boss at the Penalty Box while Coach Halder is away on vacation, and Jude begins watching a television series aimed at women.

Main Plot
The group's hanging around the table when Jen realizes that she and the rest of the gang are only her friends are a year away from applying to colleges. She asks Nikki if she and Jonesy are planning on going to the same university, to which Jonesy takes offense, as he has autonomy as well. But it's nothing personal on Jen's part, though; it's just that the group regards Nikki as the "go-to person" in their relationship. Nikki then steers the conversation back on track by saying that she'd like to go to Banting University, but she's not sure Jonesy could get in. Jonesy is offended by the insinuation that he's not smart enough to get into the same school as Nikki, and challenges Nikki to an IQ test to prove which one of them is smarter.

In preparation for the test, Jonesy revs himself up on coffee. Nikki doesn't think that the caffeine will help, but Jonesy isn't worried. When Wyatt asks him why this is, Jonesy replies that he has a philosophy: confidence makes up for smarts, so if he's confident, he'll be able to pass the test. Wyatt doesn't really believe his friend, but he's willing to see how things go down.

When test time comes around, Nikki proves that she doesn't trust her boyfriend by having Caitlin check him for all possible methods of cheating. Jonesy is offended by this mistreatment, but doesn't do anything about it, as he has to write the test. As it starts, Jen tries to tell her friends about her amazing new boss Jane, but is silenced when Nikki shushes her.

After two hours, the test is over, but Jonesy is still writing. Nikki stops him, though, and turns his test in before mocking him over what she perceives as his victory. Jonesy has an ace up his sleeve, though, as he soon heads for the restroom and buys a false test from Wayne. Unfortunately for his plans, Wyatt walks into the bathroom in the middle of the transaction, but Jonesy manages to convince Wyatt not to say anything. Wyatt is still confused, though, as the test was already turned in; in response to this point, Jonesy laughs and points out that Nikki was watching him like a hawk during the test, so he'd have to think outside the box. His plan? The bait-and-switch. He walks into the testing center and flirts with a girl, who responds by swishing her hair into the testing administrator's face, causing the administrator to lose her glasses and drop the tests. While the girl helps find the administrator's glasses, Jonesy picks up the tests and swaps out his real test for Wayne's fake. He then hands the tests back to the administrator and walks away.

When they get their results back, Nikki is overjoyed, as she landed in the top five percent. Jonesy does better then she does, however, as he scores in the top one percent. Nikki nearly faints when she hears this, but Jen is sure there must have been a mistake. Jonesy denies this, however, as the proof is there in black and white: Jonesy is a certified genius.

By the time Nikki begins work, she still hasn't gotten over the shock of finding out that Jonesy may be smarter than her. To make matters worse, Jonesy comes in dressed in a tweed jacket and brags that Darth called him up and offered him a job at Things That Beep just for his IQ. Nikki is shocked, especially since Jonesy doesn't know anything about computers, but Jonesy points out that as a genius he's more than qualified to learn on the job.

When Nikki drops by the Big Squeeze later, she finds that Caitlin and Jen are arguing over Jen's obsession over Jane, driven by Jane's style of complimenting her employees rather than yelling at them. After Jen leaves in a huff, they see Jane walk by with another Penalty Box employee and offering compliments, which prompts Caitlin to say that Jane is cheating on Jen. This statement causes Jude to blurt out his anguish that everybody is cheating: Jonesy on his IQ test, characters in his TV show, and now Jen's boss on Jen. The first one draws Nikki's attention, and when she puts him under duress, Jude reveals that he found out from Wyatt. Nikki then begins to plan to expose Jonesy as a fraud.

It seems as though Nikki won't have to do anything, however, as Jonesy appears to be failing miserably at his job at Things That Beep. When he sends a customer away with the instructions to ignore her problem, Darth walks over–but then compliments Jonesy and hands him an envelope. In the envelope is an invitation to a meeting of a club of poetic genius–a club that includes among its membership Darth, Julie, and Chrissy. Soon, though, the club reveals that it isn't quite sold on Jonesy's abilities, and that they have set up an exceedingly hard math problem for him to solve, just so that he can prove himself to the group.

Jonesy is unable to answer the question, and when he writes down a wrong answer, Nikki steps out and reveals that she set up the whole thing. Jonesy is impressed, but wants to know why; when Nikki reveals that it's because he cheated, he admits that she's good at scamming. Nikki wants him to admit that she got him, but Jonesy points out that he got her first, and they eventually decide that they're even and hug.

The next day, the gang has gathered around the usual table. Jen points out that Jonesy isn't a genius, but Jonesy countered that he was able to fool everyone, which takes some intelligence. The other members of the group then reflect on the ways in which they're gifted–except for Nikki, who is miffed because Kristen actually got a higher score than her on the IQ test.

Sub-Plot One: Jen's New Boss
When Jen walks into work, she finds that Coach Halder is going on vacation to Los Cabos, so to replace him he's tapped a friend of his named Jane to be the temporary manager of the store. Jen is impressed by Jane's list of accomplishments, and becomes more enthralled when Jane, instead of yelling at and punishing her, offers advice and compliments. Soon, Jen begins styling her hair like Jane and acting exactly like her, which creeps out her friends. Eventually, though, Coach Halder comes back and Jane leaves. Jen is heartbroken, but starts to regain her own personality as she separates herself from the woman she had come idolize.

Sub-Plot Two: Booty and the Borough
Jude and Wyatt are hanging out in Underground Video, looking for a good film, when Jude pulls out some DVDs of the TV show Booty and the Borough out of his backpack. Wyatt is shocked that he has it, as it's a TV series aimed at girls, but Jude tells Wyatt that his mom watches it and just wanted him to return it. When Jude checks the back cover, though, he realizes that there's sex in the show, and decides to watch it himself.

Jude then spends the next few hours trying to find a place to watch it. He starts with Taj Mahome Video, but gets kicked out for not being a paying customer. He then tries the stockroom of the Penalty Box, but Jen and Jane kick him out so he can work. Finally, he tries Mall Security headquarters, and is successful until Ron comes back. Jude barely escapes, but he leaves the DVD in Ron's monitor.

Soon, Ron begins watching the show and becomes hooked. Jude creeps in and watches with him, and soon they begin to bond over the show. They watch all of the DVDs and then part. When Jude's friends ask him why he was being so chummy with the rent-a-cop, he tells them that they bonded–which prompts his friends (sans Nikki) to leap on him so that they can get the DVDs away from him, as they're making him act weird.

Quotes
Nikki: (sarcastic) Gasp! Circles into triangular form? Oh, fun! Jen: That's what I said! Chrissy: Is there a size after small? Nikki: (to herself) It's...it's just not possible. Kirsten: I didn't think so. Chrissy: 'Jonesy Garcia: Top one per cent tile.' Nikki: (snatching the card) Uh, Mr. Genius, you spelled 'percentile' wrong. Chrissy: (rereading) 'Per cent tile.' Looks okay to me. Nikki: What did you just say? Jude: Mr. Handsome is cheating on Carla? Nikki: "No no no, before that! Jude: (nervous) Umm...the part where I accidentally let it slip after Wyatt swore me to secrecy that Jonesy cheated on his IQ test? Nikki: That's the part! Ugh! Jonesy has gone too far this time! Darth: WRONG! The answer is x to the power of ten! Nikki was right; you are a rebel impostor! Jonesy: Nikki? You did this? Nikki: I set you up, Poindexter! You're not a genius, and I just proved it! Jonesy: But why? Nikki: Because you cheated! Jonesy: I'm gonna kill Wyatt! Nikki: Did you really think there was such a thing as the Poetic Geniuses, and that Chrissy's smart enough to be one of them? Jonesy: Yeah, but I got you first! Nikki: Yeah, but I got you better! (pauses) Fine, let's call it even. (They hug.) Jonesy: (laughing) Was smart enough to fool all of you. Jonesy: (laughing) She's just mad because Kristen beat her by two points on the IQ test. Nikki: She must have cheated!
 * Jude: Babies have it made! Boobs and candy!
 * Nikki: (after Jonesy burps) Ah, the sound of hot air escaping an empty brain cavity.
 * Jude: Dude! There's sex in H-E-R-E! (He realizes what he said and laughs.) I spelled the wrong word.
 * Jen: Love to stay and chat, but Jane's gonna show me how to stack golf balls into a pyramid.
 * Jonesy: I'M THE SMARTEST! I'M THE SMARTEST! I'M THE SMARTEST! I'M THE SMARTEST!
 * Kirsten: She's doing it wrong! It goes extra extra small, extra small, small...what comes after small?
 * Jonesy: (handing Chrissy a card) "Here you go, ladies."
 * Jude: Everyone's cheating! First, Jonesy on his IQ test, then Mr. Handsome on Carla, now Jane!
 * Jonesy: Nana always said forty-seven was the answer to all of life's mysteries... (He writes "47" in the answer box. Darth immediately smacks his marker away.)
 * Nikki: Just admit that I got you!"
 * Jen: I love you step-bro, but a genius, you are not.
 * Caitlin: Nikki, are you okay?

Trivia
Reason for firing: Nikki found out that Jonesy lied about being a genius, then showed his results to his boss, resulting in termination from his job.
 * Jonesy's job: IT adviser at Things That Beep

Episode connections

 * This episode marks the second time Jonesy has worked at Things That Beep, with the first instance taking place in the episode "The Five Finger Discount".
 * The Taj Mahome employee that kicks Jude out of the video booth is identical to the sarcastic British judge in Idol Time at the Mall, though with a different, non-British voice.

Errors

 * The man named Paulo, who originally appeared in the episode "Prank'd" reappears in this episode, but he's instead called "Harold".
 * Darth refers to Jonesy as a "Rebel impostor." However, earlier in the episode, he marked that Jonesy had the "Jedi gift." As the Rebels are often Jedi knights, and Darth Vader's forces are known as Siths, it seems that Darth is confusing his Star Wars mythology.

Cultural references

 * Jonesy pointing to a janitor during the geniuses' meeting saying that he might be able to solve the equation is a reference to the movie Good Will Hunting.
 * Banting University, the college Nikki mentions at the beginning of the episode, is a fictional college in the world of the Canadian TV series Degrassi.
 * Nikki may want to major in political science when she's in college, because when she was talking about Banting University, she mentions that "they have an amazing poly-sci program" ("poly-sci" being a shortened way of saying "political science").
 * The movies Wyatt looks at inside Underground Video are called Pirates of the Penguin Sea, Dumber and Dumbest 4: The Dumbening, and I Talk to Dead Cats. The former two titles are a pun on Pirates of the Carribean and Dumb and Dumber.
 * Booty and the Borough is a parody of Sex and the City, an American TV series that ran from 1998 to 2004.
 * Jude's mother is apparently a fan of Booty and the Borough.