Arthur / What An Idiot

Being kids and all, Arthur and his friends aren’t immune to doing something stupid.

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Season One

"Arthur's Pet Business": To prove that he can handle the responsibility of owning a puppy, Arthur starts a pet business. His first customer is Mrs. Wood, whose dog Perky is in a grumpy mood. We learn that she's pregnant, with at least four puppies, which could well have been the reason for her bad mood, since in a later appearance, Perky is much nicer when she has to be rescued in the woods.
You'd Expect: Mrs. Wood would have realized something was wrong with her darling pup and taken her to the vet. Then she could have advised Arthur that Perky being grumpy isn't personal; she's supporting five dogs at once. In case of any health complications, Arthur could have also taken her to the vet.
Instead: She just drops off Perky with two lists of instructions and bids them both goodbye.
The Result: Arthur does a stellar job taking care of Perky but feels wracked with guilt when it seems no matter what he does, he can't please her. Perky happens to vanish on the day Mrs. Wood is going to pick her up because she went into labor. Fortunately, Earn Your Happy Ending is in full effect; Mrs. Wood thanks Arthur for taking good care of the young mother, paying him as promised, and offering him one of Perky's puppies. This dog ends up being Pal.
To Be Fair: Perky had a tense relationship with the local mailman, who, according to Arthur's father, had nicknamed her "Jaws". It may be that Perky was not just in a bad mood because of her pregnancy, but is instead a picky dog.
"Locked in the Library!"
- Arthur is surprised that Francine takes offense at him calling her a marshmallow. She demands an apology.
  You'd Expect: Francine to explain why it was hurtful, for whatever the reason was, and for Arthur to apologize.
  Instead: Arthur apparently doesn't, and Francine then says through threatening notes and a phone call to D.W. that she's not speaking to him even though they have to work on a project together.
  The Result: They decide to research two different women based on what the librarian tells them, and Arthur is still befuddled at Francine's hypocrisy since she has called him worse things.
- The library is a huge two-story building that closes at five o'clock. Miss Turner reminds Arthur and Francine after giving them book recommendations for their report.
  You'd Expect: The librarians would round up everyone and remind them to shoo them out of the library.
  Instead: No one notices Arthur napping for several hours while he's reading a book. No one tells Francine either.
  The Result: Both Francine and Arthur are locked in, since apparently the doors don't open on the inside or the outside. When they try opening the second-story windows, they find those locked as well. Miss Turner lampshades this when she and the parents go to the library and free them.
- Following this, due to some really bad luck, Arthur and Francine are trapped together. They realize they're trapped in the library until Monday, unless their parents, who know they were meeting at the library, would realize they were locked in, which happens at the end of the episode. Arthur is doubtful but Francine is hopeful while plotting an escape. The telephone doesn't work for outgoing calls, and someone checked out "How to Escape from a Library" from the shelf.
  You'd Expect: Francine and Arthur would put aside their fight and keep trying to work together.
  Instead: The two spend most of the episode fighting, and Francine's attempts to escape backfire. Francine also keeps treating Arthur brusquely, Skewed Priorities and all. They only reconcile when Arthur chews out Francine for being a hypocrite and Francine is touched that he was worried about her when he thought she was screaming.
"Arthur Accused!":
- Arthur collects quarters for a fundraiser, then after the day is over he spends the day at the arcade. But before he goes, he drops the quarters off over by Mrs. MacGrady, who is too distracted by a phone conversation to realize this. The next day, the faculty informs Arthur and Buster that they never got the quarters.
  You'd Expect: Arthur would explain himself and say that Mrs. MacGrady was on the phone and he had to leave in a timely fashion, so he didn't get to tell her. Or at least say that he distinctly remembers dropping the quarters off. Furthermore, you'd also expect Buster to stay quiet during this because he had no involvement in any of this.
  Instead: Buster shoots his mouth off and suggests they were stolen. Okay, not bad yet...then he says Arthur got the high score at pinball. While bringing up the fact that pinball requires quarters to play, and a truckload of them if you want the high score. Buster may be naive, but even he should know better than this.
  The Result: Arthur is wrongly convicted of stealing quarters he never stole, and is under the threat of missing the annual 3rd Grade Picnic all because his best friend couldn't learn to keep his mouth shut. Thankfully, the problem is solved in the nick of time, and even if it hadn't it would have eventually been figured out when everyone inevitably bit into the quarter-filled brownies, but still.
- The solution to the mystery: Mrs. MacGrady inadvertently used the quarters as an ingredient in her brownie mix, largely because the bag looked identical to the one she uses for flour.
  You'd Expect: Mrs. MacGrady, as an experienced chef, would notice hard metallic coins in the batter as the machines stirred it, or while they were in the oven (surely coins baking in batter would have affected the structure of the brownies), or—most egregiously—while she was cutting them into squares.
  Instead: She somehow completely misses the fact, over multiple occasions, that the brownie mix and finished brownies contain the quarters that everyone is looking for.
  The Result: Arthur gets blamed for something he is completely innocent of, and it takes a third-grader—and a ditzy one at that—to realize what happened.
"Arthur Bounces Back": While shopping for coats, Arthur asks for permission to browse the toy store. He then sees a pair of Moon Boots for sale, at ten dollars. His parents tell them they can't afford a toy at that price and he has to earn the money if he wants it.
You'd Expect: Arthur to do what he did back in "Arthur's Pet Business" and start a viable business that interests him. His parents may object to petsitting again but he got a lot of customers last time and eventually managed them. Alternatively, run odd errands for his family which he does later while cleaning out the garage.
Instead: He digs around the house for loose change, goes to beg money from Grandma, and gives up on entrepreneurship after one day of failure.
The Result: Jane has to be the one to suggest that he could clean out the garage and earn a few dollars. During this cleanup, Mrs. Tibble mistakes it for a garage sale and offers to buy a necklace. Arthur can't resist the temptation to sell it, only to find out later that it was a gift from his father to his mother. He then helps Mrs. Tibble with her leaves to earn back the necklace, using the Moon Boots that he purchased.
"Francine Frensky, Superstar": Francine is given the lead of Thomas Edison in the classroom's school play. She's determined to do her best since she never gets a good part. Her determination makes everyone else miserable, however, with how she micromanages everyone and yells at them for not being perfect.
- Buster is the worst case since his lightbulb costume is plastic and will suffocate him if Brain takes away the air holes according to Francine's demands. Brain and Buster both know this.
  You'd Expect: They would both go to Mr. Ratburn and ask him to overrule Francine. Brain should also report her for screaming at Brain over a costume design disagreement. Mr. Ratburn is stern but fair, as we see at the end of the episode. He would remind Francine that artistic license is acceptable when accounting for actors and students' well-being.
  You'd Also Expect: Brain would tell Francine bluntly that if they design an "incandescent lamp" the way she wants, without air holes, it will kill Buster via suffocation. He's not afraid to drop hard truths when the science supports him.
  Instead: On dress rehearsal day, Brain tries to show Francine that Buster would suffocate and says that his plastic outfit needs air holes. He demonstrates with the actual costume and a blue-faced Buster.
  The Result: Francine ignores Buster choking and compares the costume to her reference picture of a lightbulb. She says the costume is perfect and walks away.
  To Makes Matters Worse: A season 4 episode reveals that Buster has asthma, which would put him at greater risk if something should ever make him suffocate.
  Fortunately: Brain gets Buster out of the modified costume and adds a screen grille instead when they decide to mutiny during dress rehearsal.
- With Binky threatening to pound her, Arthur says he'll talk to Francine and ask her to tone it down. After failing to reach her the night before, on dress rehearsal day, he bluntly tells her that everyone thinks she's being unfair to the rest of the class and they're mad at her.
  You'd Expect: Francine would listen, gather the class before the dress rehearsal starts, and apologize. Arthur is her friend and wouldn't criticize her unless something was wrong.
  Instead: Francine, bolstered by her ego and perfectionist attitude, scoffs and says everyone is jealous because they don't have her potential. The whole class is listening in to Arthur's futile attempts and getting angrier. Binky, Brain, and Muffy vow to teach her a lesson.
  The Result: The cast mutinies during the dress rehearsal: Arthur as a phonograph pretends to be a telephone, Buster squirts her with water, and Binky in a reenactment of the Great Train Robbery fights with the robbers Muffy and Jenna. Rather than go along with the improv, since technically it's keeping the kindergartners entertained, Francine feels humiliated and breaks down in tears afterward. Mr. Ratburn has to mediate to get her to apologize in time for opening night.
"D.W.'s Baby": After the bit where Arthur burps Kate and starts getting along with her, D.W. gets jealous that he's being allowed to take care of Kate. Meanwhile, several months have passed and Arthur's parents want to break her of the habit of waking up at night since she no longer needs round-the-clock feeding. They decide to move her crib into D.W.'s room.
You'd Expect: They'd wait until the habit is broken completely before moving Kate, or that D.W. would get some earplugs or means of sleeping through the night. You'd also expect them to help D.W. in babyproofing the room, and move D.W.'s toys to a place in the room that's far away from the changing table.
Instead: They move the crib into D.W.'s room without breaking the habit or warning her that Kate will still be crying a lot at night. Also, D.W. feels inconvenienced when her toys all smell of dirty diapers and Jane tells her that most of her toys are a choking hazard and need to be cleaned up.
The Result: After several nights of being unable to sleep due to Kate's constant crying, D.W. is understandably grumpy and resentful. She tries to blame several pranks on Kate so that her parents will get rid of the baby, tries to sell Kate at a garage sale, and finally decides to run away. Fortunately, she goes to Grandma Thora, who while humoring her attempt convinces her to turn around and stay to take care of Kate.
"Arthur's Almost Boring Day": Two Played for Laughs examples.
- Mr. Ratburn has assigned his students to write a "short report" on what they'll do over the weekend. Arthur was planning to go to the park with his friends, but with the rain, it's pouring buckets. D.W. takes the opportunity to play with Arthur, offering him a choice of two board games. They get into a fight when D.W. accuses him of not having fun while playing Weasel Rally and goes to get Confuse the Goose. Arthur complains that if he plays that with her and puts it in his report for class, he'll become a laughingstock.
  You'd Expect: David and Jane would tell Arthur he doesn't have to put the game's name in his report; after all, Buster, Binky, and Francine didn't go into details about the wrestling they watched. He could just compromise with D.W.; play what she wants for a bit and then do what he wants with her, such as reading.
  Instead: They suggest that he reads to her.
  The Result: D.W. kvetches and gets into a bad mood because she wanted to play Confuse the Goose with her big brother. This leads to another fight.
- Later, Arthur tries reading a book to D.W. at their parents' suggestion, while they are paying bills. She acts obnoxious about it, so he chases her around making roaring sounds while opening and closing the book, with Pal joining in on the fun. After a few seconds of them running around the coffee table where the Reads are writing checks, David shouts at everyone to freeze. He tells off Arthur for how he's treating a book while Arthur retorts that D.W. doesn't want him to read to her.
  You'd Expect: David and Jane at this point would tell Arthur and D.W. that if they can't play together quietly, they can go to separate parts of the house and play alone. Arthur has plenty of books to read, and D.W. is shown to play Confuse the Goose with Nadine sometimes. It's harsh, but necessary at this point. Arthur's boredom is preventing him from being civil, and D.W. is too bratty to get along.
  Instead: They suggest the kids draw together, asking them to call a truce.
  Predictably: This leads to the kids getting into another fight with D.W. shouting at Arthur for not taking her to the park. Yes, Arthur is just as confused and shouts back that he was not planning on inviting her. Only then does David call Grandma Thora, beg her to watch Arthur and D.W. for a few hours, and shoo them in their raingear to her house. That decision finally gives them a bit of quiet to do work, and Arthur gets some material for his report.
"Arthur's Family Vacation"
- It's the first family trip out to the beach. Dave wants to make good time while driving so they can reach check-in time for the Family Fun Suite.
  You'd Expect: He would stash the car with snacks for the kids, and make sure everyone uses the bathroom before leaving. Driving with a four-year-old, a one-year-old, and an eight-year-old is no picnic. Changing Kate's diaper is one thing, as is traffic, but kids needing food and all is another.
  Instead: Dave takes Arthur and D.W's words that they don't need to use the bathroom at home, and doesn't pack any snacks. D.W. also insists on taking Sharkie, her giant inflatable shark, to the ocean. To humor her, Dave ties Sharkie to the car roof.
  The Result: D.W. causes most of the delays: she needs to use the bathroom on the way, she and Arthur want hamburgers, and Sharkie gets loose from the roof and ends up in a truck of cows. By the time Dave makes it to the hotel, the manager tells them that another family got the Family Fun Suite since they missed check-in, and they have to take a replacement room of lesser quality.
"D.W. Gets Lost": For reasons, D.W. wants earrings like her friend Emily does. After a run-in with permanent glue, Jane decides it can't hurt to look at earrings to humor her, without planning to buy anything. She and D.W. go to a giant mall slash supermarket, where one of her clients, Mr. Crosswire, comes to talk about his business and taxes. D.W. gets impatient, but Jane reassures her that it's just going to be for five minutes. They're standing by the mall entrance while Mr. Crosswire prattles on about the family motor business.
You'd Expect: Jane would keep a tight grip on D.W.'s hand. D.W. is known for getting into mischief, as seen in "D.W. Flips" where she caused a mess in the grocery store while practicing her cartwheels. Plus, for pragmatic reasons, anything can happen at the mall.
Instead: Jane stands there without holding onto D.W. and letting her client talk her ear off about Crosswire Motors. She stands there listening out of politeness.
The Result: After a few seconds, D.W. tells Nadine who came along that it's not going to be five minutes. Nadine tries telling her to stay put since that's common sense, but D.W. says she'll just wander away and her mom won't even notice. The two girls walk, and they start going in circles around a giant display. D.W. denies that she's lost, but eventually, she admits she's worried about being trapped in the store forever.
You'd Then Expect: That if D.W. is lost, she would go to a store employee, or the security guard nearby, and explain the situation, asking for directions to the front of the store. D.W. is a preschooler, but she is established as someone who can follow instructions if there is a reason. That is basic security when you are a child in a public place, like a grocery store or Wonder World.
Instead: She sneaks into the security room to try and find a camera where she can find her mom, after climbing on a pig display. When later that Nadine points out that she can ask someone for help, her friend Emily, D.W.'s pride takes over her fear and she says that she's not a baby.
The Result: The security guard comes and chases D.W. out of the room for causing trouble, and she gets further lost in the crowd, while also getting hungry and worrying that she'll starve. Nadine gets through to her by pointing out that sometimes grownups ask others for help, and Emily is not going to judge her. Emily isn't, since her family is making her return the earrings that started the debacle. They ended up turning her ears green.
Fortunately: Emily gives her directions to the front of the store, just as Mr. Crosswire is wrapping up his spiel. Jane never noticed that D.W. was missing, which is a good thing since D.W. would have gotten a tongue-lashing for her violation of common sense. In the end, D.W. realizes that the earrings were not worth it and suggests lunch instead.
"Arthur and the True Francine":
- Francine immediately becomes best friends with the new girl, Muffy Crosswire, in second grade. They have a giant math test on Thursday, three days after Muffy arrives. Francine reminds Muffy about it as they spend time together.
  You'd Expect: Muffy would agree with Francine and study for the test.
  Instead: Muffy, boastful to a fault, claims that she's a math expert and blows off studying. Then on the big test day, she copies off Francine's test. Their teacher, Mr. Marco, sees two identical tests.
- Mr. Marco then sees the test and finds out that one of the girls copied from the other. Muffy immediately puts on an "I didn't cheat" act while Francine gasps and is in shock.
  You'd Expect: Mr. Marco would remember that Francine is an ace student, who has consistently gotten good grades. Fern says as much when the others are talking about it at the Sugar Bowl. Muffy also was disrupting the class with her introductory video about her family.
  Instead: He believes Muffy at face value and punishes Francine with one week's detention.
  The Result: Francine ends her friendship with Muffy because she's furious with her, and Muffy in the meantime is busted for her lie about playing softball well. With that said, Mr. Marco punishes Muffy more harshly for the cheating and the lying when she confesses to him so that Francine can play in the game.
  Fortunately: Character Development sets in; by third grade, Muffy is the one tutoring Buster in math.
- A small one: one year later, after all this, Muffy at a sleepover at Francine's is playing "Truth or Dare". Fern asks her if she's ever told a lie.
  You'd Expect: Muffy to remember this entire episode and talk about it for truth, or talk about something smaller.
  Instead: Muffy puts on a Drama Queen act and claims that she's never told a lie, and the question is insulting.
  The Result: Francine embarrasses her by reminding her of the whole cheating episode.
"Poor Muffy": The carpets in Muffy's house make her sneeze all the time. When the Crosswires argue about where to live while the carpet is getting replaced, Francine offers to let Muffy stay at her house while Mr. and Mrs. Crosswire stay at the mansion. Mrs. Crosswire says it should be fine as long as Francine's family agrees.
You'd Expect: Given that Muffy was raised by the Fiction 500 that she would be polite and gracious as a guest. Mrs. Crosswire for her part seems to be a Reasonable Authority Figure in this episode since she and Muffy agree to let Catherine stay at the mansion and enjoy the Fiction 500 luxuries.
Instead: Muffy can't adjust to Francine's smaller, "downscaled" apartment. She insults Mrs. Frensky's cooking, assumes Mr. Frensky needs a higher-paying job, and shorts out the electricity while trying to run a mini spa. To top it all off, she takes offense when Francine tells her off for playing music so loudly, packs, and makes a big show of leaving.
The Result: Francine hits her Rage Breaking Point at being insulted all week and tells Muffy off, saying she's not allowed to stay because Muffy has been "rude and selfish". Muffy then has to stay at a hotel for the rest of the week until the carpet is fixed, though she has a Jerkass Realization and apologizes to Francine for her bad behavior.
"Meek For A Week": Muffy has bet Francine her new Princess Peach watch that if Francine can be nice for a week, then Francine gets the watch. This is a seemingly perfect plan, and they swear not to tell anyone so that Francine won't receive temptation to be mean. Arthur and Buster worry when Muffy reveals that Francine will be "back to her pushy self" on Saturday afternoon, and they all remember that the time would be after the hockey game. Francine spends the whole time passing the puck to the other team and refusing to check them. Muffy does a Face Palm, realizing her bet is Gone Horribly Right.
You'd Expect: Muffy would call a time out and then tell Francine she's the winner, giving her the watch.
Instead: She pulls Francine to the side, gives her the watch, and tells her to get mean.
The Result: With the game still in motion, Binky runs into Francine as she is politely offering to wait for the last thirty-seven minutes to get her prize, and accidentally smashes the watch to pieces. This renders The Bet All for Nothing; Francine snaps, reverts to her old self, and vents her anger on the other team. While there's some character development in that Francine lets someone else score a goal, she's understandably fuming when Muffy said she's glad to see Francine back to normal. Francine does tell Muffy that Binky owes her a new watch, and they go to confront him.
"D.W.'s Snow Mystery"
- D.W. has kept a snowball in the freezer for months following a devastating blizzard. She checks on it every day, and one day it's missing. After her mother hears D.W.'s devastated screams and confirms the snowball is no longer in the freezer, D.W. seems to want to blame Arthur, Pal, Buster, or Francine for stealing the snowball. Everyone is confused about how the snowball went missing because it only holds sentimental value for D.W. and Arthur calls it "moldy-old". Buster takes out his detective notepad, notes that the snowball's plate is missing, and asks everyone what happened the day before when D.W. last saw the snowball. D.W. recounts that Grandma Thora and Ms. McGrady came to visit.
  You'd Expect: Everyone would just tell the facts as they were, without going into the dialogue or outlandish accusations. D.W. is one thing since she's four and upset, but no one else has an emotional investment in the story.
  Instead: Arthur and Jane derail D.W.'s account by contradicting her portrayal of the kids' behavior, with Arthur saying D.W. gave Grandma Thora a splitting headache and Jane saying the kids were monkeys. Grandma Thora reels them in by saying everyone was angelic, and confirming that Jane opened the freezer to get ice cream. Francine says she and Buster also came along and she accuses Buster of eating the snowball, without any proof. Buster then implies that she used the snowball to cool her soda, and claims aliens stole the snowball and the plate. (He ends up being closest to the truth.) Eventually, all the kids accuse each other of stealing the snowball, and Thora tries to calm everyone down.
  The Result: No one ever finds out what happened to the snowball. The aliens are Karma Houdini who mistake the snowball for food. Later on, Arthur, to cheer D.W. up makes a new one for her and sneaks it into the freezer without anyone noticing but has to admit the truth.
- Meanwhile, D.W. still doesn't know what happened to her snowball, but the first snow of the year interrupts her tantrum after she accuses everyone of the peculiar theft. Arthur points out this winter may not be the same, but it will still be good.
  You'd Expect: She would just make a new one and put it in the freezer. And not accuse Arthur repeatedly since there is no proof and he had no interest in it.
  Instead: D.W. doesn't make a new snowball. And she keeps believing Arthur was the thief, as does Francine.
  The Result: Every time D.W. tries to accuse Arthur, he easily deflects her and makes her look like a fool. Francine also comes off as worse in an argument when she and Arthur accuse each other of being bad people.
In the episode "Team Trouble", Arthur teams up with Buster and Francine to report on Ancient Rome. After discussing many different ideas, they decide to do a comic book series showcasing the Roman Empire, and each goes home to do their story so they can present their work to each other the next day.
You'd Expect: The three of them would discuss the story they want to tell and do research on Rome before jumping into the project, each one agreeing on what aspect of the story they'd be writing.
Instead: They all meet up the next day with three completely different stories, with Arthur telling a fictional story that involves various monsters from mythology, Francine telling one about the Olympics (founded in Greece, not Rome, as Brain points out), and Buster simply doing a splash panel filled with action scenes and superheroes. All three are utterly dumbfounded to see that their pages are all different, and immediately chew each other out for not all going with their respective ideas.
Compounding It: It's not until Prunella and the Brain read their works that they realize that they had no actual history in their comic, forcing the trio to start their entire project from scratch. Sure, they manage to finish it and recycle the good pieces, but their lack of a plan when they started nearly cost them the grade.
"Arthur's Chickenpox"
- Arthur gets chickenpox, and D.W. is being a giant brat about it. She at first assumes Arthur is Playing Sick, and then wants to play nurse to him after he develops spots. Grandma Thora comes to help and gives Arthur a break while treating his chickenpox. D.W. doesn't get the memo that she's not in charge, Grandma Thora is.
  You'd Expect: Thora would gently but firmly tell D.W. that she's being rude to her brother and that you can't be so mean to someone who is sick.
  Instead: Thora mainly tells D.W. to distract herself, asking her to draw pictures, and ignoring her when she gets dramatic.
  The Result: Out of irony, D.W. then tries Playing Sick and drawing spots on herself to get attention from Grandma Thora. Only then does Thora put her foot down and tell D.W. she's disappointed in her when the red marker washes off in the bath. D.W. then leaves Arthur alone, more preoccupied about her jealousy.
"D.W. Thinks Big":
- Aunt Lucy is getting married. D.W. is excited, but due to being four years old, she's too little to help with any duties. David in another episode found out D.W. can't carry cakes without making a big mess. She still wants to help and have a role, however. Cousin Cora has been designated flower girl, and Arthur is the ring-bearer.
  You'd Expect: Long before the wedding stress starts, that Jane and David would have given D.W. either a role as co-flower girl since tossing flowers is something she can't mess up — whereas Cora manages to hit someone on the head with a flower— or a tiny task that even if she fudges won't mess up the whole wedding.
  Instead: David and Jane tell her bluntly that she's too little and are Innocently Insensitive about her being left out.
  The Result: D.W. in her attempt to help out the grown-ups and find a role accidentally messes with their makeup and shaving cream. It's not until Arthur accidentally loses the wedding ring in the pipe organ that she's of any help.
- With how important the wedding is, Arthur is worried about doing his role well. Cora is a Spoiled Brat who complains about D.W.'s room and toys, and of course, Aunt Lucy is stressed.
  You'd Expect: The Reads to do a wedding rehearsal the day before; they're saving on many costs by having David do the cake, it might make Aunt Lucy feel at least a little better, and it would allow Cora and Arthur to practice to get technical difficulties out of the way. They are only kids.
  Instead: Every guest shows up the night before the wedding, with no rehearsal.
  The Result: Mid-ceremony, Cora yells at a mumbling Arthur to "SMILE" and causes him to lose the wedding ring by accident.
"D.W.'s Blankie"
- D.W.'s beloved blanket is missing, and she begs Arthur for help to find it. Arthur wants to go watch some movies that Buster has rented. When he tells D.W. that their parents will help her find the blanket, she threatens to reveal to his friends that he sleeps with a teddy bear, Stanley. It's then revealed that Jane, their mother, had decided to wash the blanket since it is beyond gross due to D.W. never cleaning it.
  You'd Expect: Jane to have told D.W. that her blanket was in the wash long before the start of the day, and for her to have told Dave.
  You'd Also Expect: Arthur would ask his parents if they know where the blanket is so he's off the hook. Then at worst D.W. could spend the day in the basement, watching the laundry dry.
  Instead: Jane doesn't tell anyone. Dave can't reassure D.W. at night when she can't find her blanket still.
  The Result: D.W. drags Arthur along on a fruitless search through town, retracing her steps from going out with Jane the previous day. Arthur ends up missing the movies and is super angry with D.W. about it. Then her nightmares of separation anxiety wake him up. Pal only resolves the issue by rescuing D.W.'s blanket from the wash and bringing it to her, though she's a Jerkass initially because when it's clean, the colors are red and white and not brown and black.
In the episode "Arthur's Lost Dog" while visiting a street carnival Arthur's dog Pal gets lost trying to retrieve a balloon for Kate, who had thrown a temper tantrum when she wasn't able to get one as the man selling them passed by. Pal eventually does get one, and brings it to Kate, even after Arthur fell under the impression that Pal ran away from him intentionally.
You'd Expect: Arthur's parents to have the common sense to realize that it was the balloon Kate had been making such a fuss about, and take the balloon away since they are potentially dangerous to infants.
Instead: It completely blows past them when Kate stops crying the moment she gets her balloon, cluelessly stating, "I guess we'll never know what was bothering her"; even worse, they let her keep playing with it despite the risks involved. Even Pal is dumbfounded.
"The Scare Your Pants Off Club": Mr. and Mrs. Crosswire overreact badly when they think Muffy got a nightmare from reading a Scare Your Pants Off Book. They then launch the campaign Parents Against Weird Stories, or PAWS, to ban the books from libraries and bookstores. Muffy got the nightmares from eating her dad's ice cream and happens to have read all the books, owning all of them.
You'd Expect: Muffy would swallow her pride and confess to her parents what she did. They are stern but not that stern, considering how spoiled she is. While it's obvious she didn't know what they did at the beginning of the episode, due to her waiting in line at the library with her friends to read the newest book, by the middle she very well knows about PAWS and who founded it. By then her friends have started a petition drive to save their books.
You'd Also Expect: Since Muffy has copies of the books that she would lend them out to her friends as an apology until they can convince her parents to change their minds.
Instead: Muffy tries to bribe her friends into stopping their petition drive by inviting them to a party at Wonder World. She also tries to put on a show of indifference about the books and says her party is more important than they are. While Arthur is tempted, he and his friends turn down the bribe and deliver the petition signatures to Mr. Crosswire.
The Result: When the author of the books gets wind of the petition drive and shows up at the PAWS City Hall rally, Muffy embarrasses her parents when in a fit of Squee she reveals she's been carrying all the books in her backpack and takes them out to ask for an autograph. Mr. Crosswire finally admits he overreacted and rescinds the ban when the author, his old English teacher, reads out one of her books and it's not the terrible nightmare-inducing story he thought it was.

Season Two

"Arthur Meets Mr. Rogers"
- Mr. Rogers is a family friend of the Reads, and he's staying with them before visiting Arthur's school the next day. Arthur gets mortified when he tells his friends about the second part, and they say that Mr. Rogers is "for babies".
  You'd Expect: Arthur to realize he shouldn't make a big deal out of it. Mr. Rogers is recognizable but not that recognizable.
  Instead: He acts weird in his attempt to hide Mr. Rogers staying at his house for a night, so that Buster finds out, while Brain and Prunella take notice.
  The Result: Due to Brain, Prunella, and Rubella trying to sneak a look into Arthur's living room, suspecting that he's become a "zombie", Mrs. Tibble mistakes them for burglars in the dark and calls the cops. It comes out on the evening news that Mr. Rogers is staying with the family, meaning that Arthur caused the events due to his paranoia. And it turns out his friends are more awed than mocking when they learn Mr. Rogers stayed at Arthur's house, and are asking questions.
"Lost!"
- Arthur has to go on the bus to attend swimming lessons because his mom has to attend D.W.'s school play and can't take him to the public pool. It's his first time going alone on the bus, with Francine and Buster repeating urban myths they heard about the driver.
  You'd Expect: Dave and Jane to have given Arthur enough money for two fares, for the worst-case scenario, and some common-sense tips like talking to the driver if he needs help.
  Instead: They only give him enough of the fare for an extra quarter, and when Arthur needs help, he feels shy about asking the driver because he feels nervous.
  The Result: A scare for Dave and Jane ensues when they get a phone call saying Arthur never showed up at his swimming lesson. They call the police and the bus company, while a frantic D.W. is left to wait with Pal. Arthur had fallen asleep on the bus and only woke up for the last stop at the edge of town. He doesn't want to bother the bus driver because he doesn't have enough money for another fare, and the nice chef at the diner has to convince him to ask for help since she knows the driver is a Reasonable Authority Figure.
In "Binky Barnes, Art Expert", Buster and Arthur are assigned an art report they must conduct with Binky and then present to the class. When Binky presents them with a modern painting that neither of them understands, claiming that it's been displayed incorrectly, Arthur and Buster fret over Binky and forget to focus on the assignment.
You'd Expect: Arthur and Buster to worry more about their assignment and to have it ready so that when Binky presents they have something else ready to balance out with it. They even compromised with Binky and managed to reach this agreement.
Instead: They focus so much on keeping Binky at bay to spare themselves embarrassment that they have no report to present on the day it is due and as a last resort copy a section of their museum book, which Francine quickly exposes to the teacher in classes. That said, Binky ultimately makes a presentation that exposes the error made with the painting, and the boys are given a second chance to do their report. However, they must still be called out for putting themselves in a bad position regardless of what Binky intended to present.
"The Big Blow-Up": Due to a silly argument about if Francine was out of bounds during soccer practice, Brain and Francine start sabotaging each other's soccer performance because they refuse to work together during games. Arthur and Buster get walloped by the opposing team members and are worried about losing the playoffs. They try to get Francine and Brain to work out their aggression in other sports and try to scare them about losing games. Nothing works.
You'd Expect: By this point, Arthur and Buster would either get the entire team or their coach to intervene. They're not the only ones suffering; Francine and Brain are letting their entire team suffer from a ridiculous grudge. Also, having an adult involved may cause the pair to have a Jerkass Realization.
Instead: They try to have Francine and Brain write letters to each other about their feelings; when the letters end up insulting, Arthur and Buster forge nicer ones.
The Result: Francine and Brain figure out that the letters were faked, especially since Buster can't spell "soccer", and while they make up, they say they're mad at Arthur and Buster.
"Buster Baxter, Cat Saver"
- Buster tries a new fish stick ice cream that Brain's parents have made. It ends up luring a Cat Up a Tree down and into his arms. The cat owner thanks him and takes him to his mother, who's a journalist, to call Buster a hero.
  You'd Expect: Bitsy to accept the thanks and be done with it. As Buster tells it, the cat ate up all his ice cream.
  Instead: She makes her son the top of the headlines using her connections with the press.
  The Result: Buster gets Acquired Situational Narcissism from being called a "cat saver" and treated as the hottest thing in town. Arthur tries to reason with him, only for Buster to refuse to listen. To bruise Buster's ego, Arthur and his friends have to stage a similar incident where Buster fails to save a toy cat.
In the episode "Play It Again, D.W." Arthur is driven crazy when D.W. constantly plays her "Crazy Bus" CD single. At one point (when he's trying to concentrate to do his homework), he yells at D.W., saying that he'll wreck the CD if she continues playing it. She tattles to her parents.
You'd Expect: Mom and Dad to come up with a compromise for Arthur and D.W: Arthur should not touch D.W.'s things and D.W. should give Crazy Bus a rest once in a while. Or, given that Arthur is trying to focus on his schoolwork, Jane and David might even side with Arthur and take away the CD for a few days. They could also ask D.W. to only play the CD in a separate area from Arthur at a low enough volume, so that Arthur won't be disturbed. Heck, considering the parents have used ear plugs during the episode, because even they got tired of Crazy Bus, they could've offered Arthur ear plugs as well.
Instead: They side with D.W. and ground Arthur.
Later: D.W. can't find the CD and tells her parents that Arthur hid it.
You'd Then Expect: Mom and Dad to lecture D.W. that it's not right to accuse when you have a grudge against someone and to help her look for the CD.
Instead: They believe her story and confront Arthur for stealing it. With that said, they have enough sense to not punish him since there's no evidence that he did such a thing, and D.W. is the one who keeps bothering him. Keep in mind that D.W. already got him in trouble for doing absolutely nothing except threatening to break the CD so he can have some peace.
Compounding It: Throughout the entire episode, D.W. has been playing the song full blast and is noted by Arthur to have played it over five hundred times in a week. No matter how much she disrupts anybody they don't once discipline her, even though Arthur is totally in the right to complain that she's overdoing it and making it difficult for him to focus on anything else. Instead, they indulge her habit with a ticket to Crazy Bus Live, which they force Arthur to attend with them, and simply apply earplugs rather than telling her to take a break. It's only at the very end of the episode that they say anything, but by then, since they have let D.W. play it at Arthur's complete expense for so long, it barely even qualifies as a slap on the wrist.
"Buster Hits the Books"
- Mr. Ratburn has assigned book reports for everyone to do, and he has high standards. It turns out Buster has been getting by "reading" books by watching their TV adaptations and writing about them.
  You'd Expect: During the period in which the series is set — 1990s — Buster would rely on the library to help him find proper film adaptations, and he'd prepare for it ahead of time.
  Alternatively: Buster could get by using audiobooks, since those count as reading.
  Instead: For his book report, Buster watches a monster movie and writes about it. At the last minute. When he cheerfully tells Arthur the day reports are due, Arthur has to point out the obvious: not ALL movies are based on books. They find out that the monster movie was never published when they go check with Miss Turner at the library.
  The Result: Buster goes to confess to Mr. Ratburn in private, who decides to give Buster an extension 'til Friday since Buster did technically write a report, just not one on a book. Arthur thinks this is great news, only for Buster to confess he's never finished an entire book, not even the Scare Your Pants Off books.
- Buster needs to read a book in three to four days for his report. Francine suggests he start with something easy, and Arthur believes Buster should read something that he will enjoy. Arthur lends him "Curse of the Jumping Peanut", the latest Scare Your Pants Off book, only for Buster to admit he could only read to page two. Francine and Arthur then agree to find an easy book, at a younger reading level, at the library.
  You'd Expect: Buster to put in the effort to find a book at the library he will like, and that he can finish in a rush. It's his report, after all, and his grade.
  Instead: Buster lets Francine and Arthur choose various stories. Each time, he finds a reason to stop reading and goof off.
  The Result: Arthur quite rightfully lets Buster have it the day the extension is due when Buster admits he couldn't finish a simple picture book about the color blue. It's only by dumb luck that he lent Robin Hood to Buster that Buster read more than half of it the night before and wrote his report on that instead; Mr. Ratburn lightly chides him for not finishing the book and having a cliffhanger report, but assures him that he passed. Buster admits to Arthur that he should have picked something that he liked in the first place, which would have saved him a lot of trouble.
"Love Notes For Muffy"
- When the science fair is going on at school, Brain and Francine present projects that are well-researched and relevant. Even Arthur shows Hidden Depths with a growth formula for vines. Then Muffy presents the equivalent of an EasyBake oven that she didn't build herself, and uses to present snacks to the judges, who are older students. Francine and Brain notice, and are dismayed that she essentially bribed them.
  You'd Expect: They would go make a formal complaint to Mr. Ratburn. After all, he wasn't the one that was bribed with the treats and despite his Sweet Tooth, he could agree that it wasn't fair. He could also reassure them, as he does at the end of the episode, that snacks won't be factored into the final judging.
  Instead: Brain and Francine plot to get "revenge" on Muffy by sneaking her fake love notes from a secret admirer.
  The Result: The scheme unravels in a week; Muffy asks Fern to find out who sent her the note, and Fern reveals she figured it out long ago that Francine and Brain were behind the prank. While she doesn't tell Muffy who it is, to give Francine and Brain a chance to confess and apologize, Muffy realizes that it has to be someone in their class since Fern would need a reason to protect them. She asks Rattles to help her with a counter-prank.
  To Make Matters Worse: Mr. Ratburn reveals that Muffy didn't win the science fair trophy in their grade! Francine did, for examining how unhealthy cafeteria food is for the students. Brain does a Face Palm as he realizes how unnecessary the prank was.
"D.W. Blows the Whistle":
- D.W. receives a whistle in preschool and uses it to save a boy from getting hit by a car. She soon lets being a "safety expert" get to her head and begins annoying the whole family by blowing the whistle on them for trivial things such as bathing without a life preserver or reading a magazine without wearing gloves.
  You'd Expect: Jane and David would warn D.W. that reporting a false emergency is Crying Wolf and they'll have to confiscate the whistle if she keeps being a "tattletale" rather than using her brain to spot real danger. You'd also expect them to explain what real danger was, and that the whistle was only for emergencies, since due to her young age, she might not have known.
  Instead: They think verbally telling her off would do the trick.
  The Result: D.W. predictably can't decide what is safe or dangerous and annoys Arthur's friends.
- Arthur in the meantime is preparing to participate in a go-cart derby. He's worried D.W. will ruin it by blowing her whistle, and his friends strongly hint at him not to bring D.W. It turns out his parents are working that day and he has to take her for the first part, while they'll come later to watch him. Arthur begs them to get a babysitter because D.W. with her whistle will disrupt the race.
  You'd Expect: Jane and David would realize that Arthur has a point and at least try to get a last-minute babysitter. D.W. has proven irresponsible with the whistle and Arthur can't possibly watch D.W. and race at the same time.
  Instead: They insist that Arthur take her along, and warn D.W. not to bother Arthur unnecessarily.
  The Result: On the day, Arthur tells D.W. to wait in a corner of the racetrack and not cause any trouble while he gets ready for the race. An irate D.W., trying to see over the crowd so she can warn them about danger, climbs a tree, only to get stuck when she reaches too high and drops her whistle. Even though the fire department gets her down without a problem, Jane tells her off for doing something so dangerous because she could have been killed.
In "Arthur's Knee", Arthur and the Brain are creating a life-sized Roman chariot for a school project, and Arthur is frustrated that they don't have the bicycle wheel needed to replace the one that they broke, so he decides to improvise.
You'd Expect: Arthur would ask his parents for some help in finding another wheel or to get a ride to the bike shop. Or to wait for Brain to come back to discuss another way to fix their chariot.
Instead: Arthur takes D.W. to the city dump with him to steal a wheel off an abandoned bike, even though they are forbidden to go and know it's a dangerous place.
You'd Then Expect: Arthur or D.W. to find Oliver Frensky who is a sanitation worker and works at the dump and ask him if he can locate an old bicycle tire for them.
Instead: They sneak into the dump through a hole in the fence.
The Result: It goes about as well as you'd expect, with Arthur ruining his clothes and cutting his knee on a lima bean can coming out of the pit, risking an infection that he later needs treatment for; he never gets the wheel he intended to bring home. Fittingly enough, after a trip to the doctor's he's grounded for his foolish actions.
"Water and the Brain": Muffy feels hurt when Brain turns down an invitation to her pool party at a water park. He keeps giving various excuses to her and everyone else why he doesn't participate in water-based activities. Eventually, Arthur figures out that Brain has a phobia of water and swimming. Binky finds out right when he's about to pelt Brain with water balloons and starts crying Tears of Remorse. They resolve to help him attend Muffy's party.
You'd Expect: He and Binky would tell Muffy, who in turn would reveal that Brain could do what he does at the end of the episode: wait on a pool chair outside the water park rides with towels.
Instead: They spend the whole episode trying to cure Brain of his phobia, using crude exposure therapy. It doesn't work, though Brain is gracious and thanks to them for trying to help.
"Arthur Vs the Very Mean Crossing Guard": Arthur and the Brain are surprised to see a new crossing guard filling in for the usual one, and even more surprised when he asks for a crossing fee. He then says they can pay him later but would send his goons coming if they took too long.
You'd Expect: Arthur and Brain to report this to the school or their parents right away, as they had no idea that the guard was just messing with them. Or for them to realize that the entire thing was a joke as his warnings become more and more outlandish.
Instead: They completely fall for the entire thing and don't make any mention of it to any adult until days after the fact, where they finally do spill it to Grandma Thora who proceeds to clear up this misunderstanding. Sure they may be just kids, but Arthur and Brain have both been shown to be generally more intelligent than this, and there was no reason for holding this as a secret from their parents except for not wanting to force them to pay on their behalf.
Compounding It: D.W. of all people is the one to point out how ridiculous the entire thing is. Furthermore, the crossing guard himself never realized that the kids were taking every word of this seriously, and continued to pile on his over-the-top warnings in a manner that to children sounded pretty darned serious.
Fortunately: The crossing guard Ted apologizes when he realizes he scared Arthur and Brain, and later on the three can banter about it.
In "Arthur's Mystery Envelope", Mr. Haney calls Arthur to his office to hand him a manilla envelope. The envelope contains Mrs. Read's tax returns.
You'd Expect: That he would tell Arthur, at the absolute least, that it's important information for his parents and that it doesn't concern him, and at least reassure him that he isn't in trouble or anything. Even if he didn't want to give out all the details, he should at least know that it's very important information and that it could be hugely problematic if it doesn't reach the receiver, and that Arthur could easily take it the wrong way considering being called to the principal's is always seen as bad news for a student.
Instead: Mr. Haney tells him absolutely nothing about the envelope other than that it's for his mother, and just sends him off. This leads to Arthur speculating all sorts of things the envelope could contain and wonders if he is better off not delivering it to his mother like he was told, and even goes so far to throw it away out of fear it contains something really bad. It does get delivered in the end, but Mr. Haney's lack of communication almost ends up causing a very costly mistake.
In "D.W.'s Very Bad Mood", D.W. throws a violent temper tantrum that lasts for several days just because she didn't get invited to a classmate's birthday party. Through all this, she screams at the top of her lungs, insults her brother and parents, slams the doors through the house all through the night, among other things.
You'd Expect: David and Jane to discipline her for her disruptive behavior, and to stop her from disrupting everybody's sleep at night, which includes the baby's.
Instead: While they do call her out for being a brat, they do not punish her in any meaningful way, forcing Arthur to enlist Francine's help in finding out what's wrong with her. And even then, she faces no consequences for her obnoxious behavior, instead getting rewarded with an invitation to Francine's party. Francine did manage to talk some sense back into her, but D.W. still faced nothing for her actions.
In "Grandma Thora Appreciation Day", Arthur and D.W. decide to throw Thora a party to lift her spirits back up, and they insist on doing all of the work by themselves without any help from their parents. Their party plans end up changing when Arthur's friends overhear his plans and guilt-trip him into inviting them too, so the two young kids go grocery shopping all by themselves, relying on D.W.'s shopping list when Arthur misplaces his.
You'd Expect: Mrs. Read to accompany them into the store as she doesn't think they should go about their shopping alone, being young and having little of their own money.
Or: Arthur to ignore D.W.'s list as she clearly can't write despite her insistence that it is perfectly legible.
Instead: The kids persist on their desire to shop alone and Arthur just goes ahead with D.W.'s list of scribbles anyway. And since candy is the only thing she felt they needed, they spend all of their money on that, and Arthur never bothered to stop and remember what else he intended to buy.
Compounding It: Despite her insistence that she wrote her list perfectly, D.W. later reminds Arthur that she indeed can't write when they forget to write Grandma's phone number to invite her to the party.
"How the Cookie Crumbles": The gang helps Muffy create a new cookie recipe for an upcoming competition. Muffy ends up winning due to their teamwork, but she takes all the credit much to the chagrin of everyone else involved. When they confront her, she claims that due to owning the oven and entering the contests, they have no leverage over her and You're Just Jealous. Francine has mentioned that Muffy wanted to win to preserve her reputation as a winner who doesn't need nepotism, due to Mr. Crosswire being the judge last year.
You'd Expect: They would go to Buster's mother and tell her the whole story. They'd be a primary source. A scandal with an annual festival would be worth hitting the papers, and Muffy's reputation would be indelibly ruined on learning that she lied about doing the cookies herself. A nasty thing to do? Yes. Necessary to show that Muffy is a Consummate Liar and hasn't learned from when she copied off Francine in second grade? Yes.
Instead: The kids plan to make their cookies, knowing Muffy doesn't have the recipe since she didn't bother writing it down. Didn't Think This Through comes into play in that they don't have access to Muffy's wealthy resources or the capital needed to take down a new product line.
- After they already get frustrated and nearly cut all ties with her, she realizes she never wrote down the recipe. When she can't piece it back together by memory, she goes back to Arthur, Binky, and Francine asking for it. Of course, they just happen to have it in their hand when she drops by. She gives a Backhanded Apology in an attempt to be contrite.
  You'd Expect: That they would see her Never My Fault attitude and refuse to give Muffy the recipe because she's been a terrible friend up to this point unless she vows to give them the proper credit they deserve. This would require her to face consequences for her actions and learn that it's better to have friends than fame, and to put others before herself.
  Instead: They blindly give the recipe to her anyway, assuming she's going to have a change of heart by default and barely even considering she may just continue to leech off of them. Sure, she does end up having a change of heart by the end after talking with her father, but their risky move almost led to them losing an important part of their friend group.

Season Three

"D.W. All Fired Up": Ms. Morgan announces to the preschool class that soon they will be having their first fire drill. After explaining that they will perform it so they know what to do in case there's a fire, D.W. misinterprets it as their school will catch on fire soon and she gets nervous.
You'd Expect: When D.W. asks Ms. Morgan that she'd like to get the info about the impending fire drill cleared up, Ms. Morgan would reassure her saying that there will not be an actual fire and that a fire drill is just for practice and there is nothing to worry about.
Instead: Ms. Morgan just tells D.W. that they will learn about fire safety all week, and that "all your questions will be answered."
The Result: D.W. starts worrying about the impending fire drill, thinking the school will be set on fire while they are in class. The Tibbles take advantage of this and help fuel her fear, and D.W. has a nightmare about fires, sets off the Read house's smoke alarms in the middle of the night as an attempt at self-reassurance, and fakes being sick so she can skip school and miss the fire drill. It isn't until a couple of days later when Ms. Morgan finally tells Jane about D.W. being afraid of the impending fire drill that the Read family takes it into their own hands to reassure D.W. that fire drills are not dangerous, and soon all is well and D.W. handles the fire drill smoothly.
"Sue Ellen And The Brainosaurus": It's time for group projects on animals, and Sue Ellen is paired with Brain. After they agree to host a presentation on the T.Rex, Brain starts shutting her out of the actual work and insists on doing everything. While Sue Ellen at first worries that Brain is overworking himself, she gets insulted on realizing that he's being condescending.
You'd Expect: They would compromise, with Brain being the genius that he is; Brain can work on the model, and Sue Ellen can read up on the dinosaurs for their report.
Instead: Brain keeps having Imagine Spots of Sue Ellen messing up their project and, rather than talk it out with her, finishes the model and tells her they won't get a good grade unless he does everything.
The Result: Sue Ellen hits her Rage Breaking Point, calls him a "report-hog" and lets him fall in the mud when he's carrying the model to school. Brain goes to vent to Francine, who laughs and points out that he's being a condescending ass that doesn't trust anyone else. Only then do he and Sue Ellen apologize to each other, and Sue Ellen uses their report to talk about archaeological digs, with the model being in pieces in the mud. Everyone is impressed, and they get an A together.
"Binky Rules": Lampshaded. A band manager for Binky the band, not Binky the kid, was in charge of promoting them. The band was already gaining an audience on the radio. Visual promotion is the next step.
You'd Expect: He would ask the team to either put up posters identifying the band, or ask for permission to use graffiti chalk from the Elwood City buildings owners and managers.
Instead: He tells the graffiti team to spread the news around town, without specifying they should probably check with the storefront owners.
The Result: The graffiti team accidentally frames Binky the kid by spraying, "BINKY RULES" all over the school, and not noticing when the graffiti is washed away the next day. When Buster and Fern, who were investigating to clear Binky's name, alert the manager after seeing the team in action near the hardware store, he's very apologetic, admitting this was his fault. The manager gives them a ride to the school, confirms that this was a band promotion to Mr. Morris and Mr. Ratburn, and asks the crew to clean up the graffiti.
Fortunately: The manager gives Binky the kid two good tickets to Binky the band's Elwood City concert as an Apology Gift for the fiasco. Binky is fine with that.
"Attack of the Turbo Tibbles": The Tibble Twins start getting obsessed with a violent animated cartoon after a series of events leads to them seeing it at the Read family house. They are so obsessed that they dress up as the two main characters from it and act out scenes from the show, picking fights with Emily and D.W by pretending they are the various mooks. Ms. Morgan repeatedly tells them off during school because the boys are being disruptive, are hurting themselves, and harassing the other students. They listen to her, but she can't stop the boys from doing the same thing outside of school. D.W. for her part is getting fed up about the Turbo obsession and blames Arthur since if he hadn't complained about the Tibbles and D.W. playing loudly outside, they wouldn't have seen the show in the first place. Arthur tries to give advice, based on his limited experience babysitting the twins.
You'd Expect: Arthur and D.W. would tell their parents, who in turn would talk with Mrs. Tibble about the boys' borderline bullying behavior. In the worst-case scenario, Jane could cancel the playdates with the Tibbles until their grandmother sets some ground rules. Even if she's an old lady who certainly doesn't have the energy to keep up with two rambunctious boys, at least there would be more adults on the case who could remind Tommy and Timmy that television isn't real and acting it out can get someone hurt.
You'd Also Expect: That more than one adult would have stepped in already; the boys are harassing Emily and D.W., and the latter for her part isn't even doing anything to instigate the boys' constantly pretending she is their enemy. She has been complaining to her mother, and Mrs. Tibble has been hearing them watch the show.
Instead: Arthur tells D.W. to calmly tell the boys that they are annoying everyone and to stop. This would be sensible advice, if the Tibble Twins weren't bratty four-year-olds.
The Result: D.W. tries her best to stand her ground, but the boys refuse to stop playing. She then gets hurt when Timmy pushes a swing into her face; the force of the blow splits her lip. She curls into a ball crying and bleeding while Emily runs to Mrs. Tibble for help. Only then do the boys have a Jerkass Realization and run off thinking they might have killed D.W., and Mrs. Tibble puts her foot down. She doesn't punish them, but she tells them they need to go visit D.W. at the ER, where she's getting stitches, and apologize to her. The boys readily agree because they're relieved D.W. is alive and are genuinely sorry. It's fortunate that the Reeds and Mrs. Tibble get along well, that D.W. forgives the boys for making her go to the hospital, that all the Reads know that Tommy and Timmy for all their brattiness wouldn't want to hurt anyone and that the Values Dissonance of the 90s means that no one will be filing a civil suit against the boys for assault.
"Clarissa is Cracked": Grandma Thora lends her old china doll, Clarissa, to D.W., who expressed love for her. Dave knows how much Clarissa means to his mother because he heard the story of how Clarissa was the first toy she received that wasn't a hand-me-down or made by her brothers.
You'd Expect: Dave and Jane would have watched over D.W. playing and instructed her to be careful. Clarissa is at least fifty years old, and most modern dolls have more durability.
Instead: They let D.W. do what she likes with Clarissa, including messing with her hair, giving her to friends with grubby hands, and taking her down slides.
The Result: Clarissa becomes a mess, and Mr. Ratburn expresses sympathy that she's been through "a lot" before cleaning and fixing her. It comes to a head when D.W. breaks Clarissa by accident while bouncing on her bed. Dave has to explain to D.W. why Clarissa is special, and D.W. freaks out on realizing she broke something her grandmother loved and treasured. Thing was, she would have been more careful if her parents had told her in the first place because she's only four or five. It turns out the grandma didn't mind it, considering it was an accident and that Clarissa was repaired multiple times in the past. Also, chances are Clarissa wouldn't have resisted forever even with care, considering how old she is, but still.
In "Revenge of the Chip", Arthur mocks D.W. for the time she believed she'd die from eating a green potato chip, which he tricked her into thinking was poisoned; D.W. is very clearly embarrassed having the story repeated back to her, and is furious when it inexplicably makes its way around town.
You'd Expect: Her parents and everyone in town would realize that a little kid like D.W. might not take well to this joke, and refrain themselves from bringing it up even if it's only meant in a teasing way. Especially since other kids like the Tibble Twins would never refrain from bringing it up at her expense.
Instead: Her own mother has the story published in the newspaper to share with their neighbors and planned to send it to the rest of the family out of town, landing Arthur in hot water with D.W. when his friends join in on the teasing! The incident greatly upsets D.W. and when she finds out her mom was the culprit, she is devastated. The result is a well-deserved What the Hell, Hero? that Jane ought to have seen coming.
Compounding It: Most astoundingly, Jane was right there at the dinner table when D.W. made clear to everybody that she didn't want to have the story repeated back to her, so Jane took the joke too far even after she could very clearly see that D.W. was distressed by it. Furthermore, her careless actions meant Arthur had to prove his innocence to D.W. by trying to silence the story, going so far as to steal people's newspapers before they could be read! In the end, all works out, but Jane's lack of consideration for her own child's feelings just for a laugh served to cause everyone a great deal of grief.

Season Four

"Arthur's Big Hit":
- D.W. repeatedly annoys Arthur about the model plane he's been working on with all the reckless abandon you would expect of a 4-year-old brat like her.
  You'd Expect: Arthur to take precautions to keep D.W.'s mitts off his plane. He could tell his parents, lock his door, or even put it up where she cannot reach it.
  Instead: He just leaves his plane out in the open.
  The Result: D.W. predictably takes the plane and breaks it, causing him to lose his cool and hit her.
  You'd Expect: Mom and Dad discipline them both about it. For them to tell D.W. to not touch Arthur's things and to tell Arthur to not resort to violence when he gets angry.
  Instead: Again they take D.W's side. While she puts on a drama show, they label Arthur as a bully even when he's visibly remorseful about hitting her, and give him a week of TV ban (though they do say they would discuss it with D.W. later, we never see this, as they do this offscreen; this implies that the punishment D.W. got was very light to nonexistent).
  Compounding It: Word gets to Binky, the local Jerk with a Heart of Gold about this. He then eventually reluctantly (as a test by his 4th-grade friends to prove he's still tough) punches Arthur in the shoulder.
  You'd Then Expect: Arthur's parents to raise a fuss over this unprovoked act by a third party.
  Instead: They view it as justified karma.
- Earlier in the episode, after throwing the plane out of the window and breaking it, D.W. goes downstairs and tells Arthur that he made the plane wrong. He runs outside and sees the wreckage, while she follows him still blaming him for her actions. This makes Arthur visibly angry, complete with a clenched fist.
  You'd Expect: D.W. would realize that she's making Arthur mad and either stop talking or apologize to him.
  Instead: She keeps telling him that he had made the plane wrong and that what happened was not her fault.
  The Result: Arthur reaches his Rage Breaking Point and punches her.
"Hide and Snake": While Arthur is playing hide and seek with his friends, a snake crawls up his shirt. The kids put him in a box and debate what to do with him. They see storm clouds and worry the snake will be caught in the rain.
You'd Expect: Brain would step in and remind people that you don't remove a wild animal from its habitat, and that they should let the snake go. You'd also expect him to explain that it will be fine, since it lives outside and is thus used to rain.
Instead: Arthur agrees to take the snake to his room, right when he needs to clean up and bath Pal.
The Result: His friends come in a panic when they realize that Arthur has either a deadly coral snake or a harmless king snake. Before they can check, the snake disappears, and the kids have to help clean Arthur's room to find it. When Arthur's parents find the snake in Pal's bowl, it, fortunately, is a king snake, but Dave tells the kids calmly to let the snake go in its natural habitat. Arthur and his friends do so.
"Prove It!": D.W. is upset that Arthur won't bring her to the exploratorium. In a Springtime for Hitler plot, she opens up her own exploratorium and invites all her friends to it, and makes them pay money for admission, during which she uses all sorts of fake science "facts" to educate her friends. Arthur witnesses this all happening.
You'd Expect: For Arthur to immediately tell his parents about this. Knowing past Karma Houdini incidents they may or may not have taken control of it well, but D.W. is being knowingly dishonest about what she's talking about and again, she's taking her friends' money for it. While Arthur doesn't know that former part, he's very well aware of the latter, and reporting this to his parents would still be a perfectly reasonable thing to do.
Instead: He just stays completely quiet about it and watches D.W. lie to all of her friends' faces. Furthermore, instead of telling either of his parents about it, he just tries to retort D.W.'s fake science, which ultimately fails when she employs the Insane Troll Logic that you can easily "see" everything she says (for instance, that the hose is "making" water as opposed to water coming from the clouds).
Then: Arthur then enlists the Brain's help to counter her pseudo-science.
You'd Then Expect: For the Brain, being knowledgeable about the scientific method and famous scientists, to lecture her that science is based on theory and testing a hypothesis to prove the theory rather than just calling it as you see it like she blatantly is, and that lying is wrong.
Instead: He falls into the same trap Arthur fell into, first by trying to counter her day/night explanation by saying how it actually works, but then getting caught off guard when she says "prove it!" Furthermore, he doesn't call her out on her Blatant Lies when she says he's "wrong".
The Result: Her Springtime for Hitler plot succeeds. Arthur begs his parents to bring her to the exploratorium, where she reveals this was her plan all along. Worse yet, instead of the Karma Houdini moment's blame resting on the parents this time, it rests on Arthur for not only falling for this blatant sham but for him not reporting it to the proper authority even after he learned the whole thing was a con scheme.
To Beat or Not to Beat":
- The school's talent show is coming up, and Francine is determined to beat George, who tends to win due to his pogo stick routine. She tells her friends that her routine is a surprise; it ends up that she'd be attempting to sing along to her drumming.
  You'd Expect: She would rehearse discreetly, and realize that it doesn't make sense for her to sing at the drums unless she plays them softly, or focuses on the cymbals.
  Instead: She drums loudly and screams to sing on her apartment's rooftop. As Arthur mentioned in an earlier episode, the last time she practiced her drums on the roof at seven in the morning, the neighbors forcibly put a stop to it because of the noise.
  The Result: Arthur, Brain, and Buster hear the noise while walking home from school. They go to investigate because it's bothering them. Francine's surprise is ruined, and the boys after making a quick excuse to leave predict she'll be the talent show laughingstock if she plays her routine that way.
- After this, the boys are torn about what to do about Francine's routine. Brain is worried that telling her the truth will hurt her feelings, while Arthur is worried that they may be wrong and Francine could be starting a new trend. They confirm with Muffy, who listens to a recording, that the routine is terrible. Muffy thinks they should tell Francine upfront and switch her routine to pure drumming.
  You'd Expect: They would take the tape recording they used and play it to Francine. When she finds it later, she describes it as an elephant crushing Mr. Ratburn's car.
  You'd Also Expect: Francine would realize that her friends wouldn't intentionally insult her out of jealousy. They love her drumming and wouldn't mess up her routine days before the show.
  Instead: The kids just tell Francine, one at a time, without the recording. And Francine doesn't believe them, accusing them of being jealous. Lampshaded by Arthur who says, "How can she not believe four people?"
  The Result: They're all worried that Francine won't listen, and she only realizes what they were trying to tell her when she finds the recording and hears it. She changes her routine in time for the show, but it's a rush job to show she's a good singer, and George wins with his pogo stick. Again.
"That's A Baby Show!": Arthur got a recommendation from Buster to watch a spinoff of Bionic Bunny called Dark Bunny. It comes on after D.W.'s show, so he sits in the chair waiting for Mary Moo Cow to end. D.W. saw Dark Bunny once and the visuals terrified her.
You'd Expect: D.W. would just get up and leave when the show is on, the way Arthur does when she's watching Mary Moo Cow.
Instead: She argues with him, saying he can't watch it because the show is too scary for her.
Predictably: Arthur goes to his mother to ask for permission. She says he can watch it since it's kid-friendly despite the visuals. When D.W. complains, her mother points out the obvious: "Can't you do something else while the show is on?" Only then does D.W. get the idea to draw in coloring books in her room while Arthur watches.

Season Five

"Arthur and the Big Riddle": Arthur is chosen to be a contestant on a game show called Riddle Quest, and it seems like he will do well because he is great at answering riddles. He competes against the reigning champion, a girl named Charlotte Bickles who has been on for weeks. Their scores are tied at the end of the episode, necessitating a tie breaker. Arthur knows the answer, but he is hesitant to buzz in and answer because if he wins, he might continue to appear on the show until he is elderly.
You'd Expect: Arthur would answer correctly to win, just to see what it feels like to win the show. If he doesn't want to be on the show anymore, he can lose on purpose after that, but it doesn't hurt to win once.
Instead: He stalls on the question, and when he decides to buzz in, Charlotte has already beaten him to the punch.
The Result: Charlotte wins, and Arthur, despite his strength in riddles, never gets to experience winning the show.
"The Lousy Week":
- Francine suspects that Muffy has head lice after the latter has spent the whole day scratching her hair. It turns out that Muffy does, after a visit to the nurse, but she lies that the nurse said she was fine. She walks off in a hurry, dropping her hat. Francine picks it up, noting how soft the material is.
  You'd Expect: Francine would know some basics about preventing a head lice spread. Don't wear the hat, especially given the "head" part of "head lice". True, Muffy claimed she was fine, but Francine suspected (correctly) that she was lying
  Instead: She puts it on because she can't resist how comfortable the hat is.
  To Make Matters Worse: When bringing it to the nurse's assembly the next day, Sue Ellen tries out the hat. Other kids grab it and wear it, just as the nurse orders them not to share articles of clothing\.
  The Result: Thanks to Francine's thoughtlessness, the whole school becomes infected with head lice. She has the gall to blame Muffy when the latter is finally clean, albeit temporarily when a bit of common sense would have saved Francine.
- Played for Laughs. Binky develops a huge case of head lice. It's so bad that his mother has to comb through his hair for five days straight to get rid of the nits. She lets him watch as much television as he wants, but soon Binky gets tired of it.
  You'd Expect: Mrs. Barnes would get him a book to read, or a puzzle or something. He doesn't have to watch TV all the time, just sit up straight in a chair while she combs.
  Instead: She just tells him to be patient while she does the combing.
  The Result: Binky is happy to go back to school when everyone is louse-free.
"You Are Arthur": Played for Laughs. Arthur forgot about the library charity race, and that he signed up when Brain said Arthur wouldn't be able to run a mile. When D.W. and Pal remind him, Arthur goes outside to train. He finds out that D.W. is going to be his coach, and she ropes in the Tibble Twins to help.
You'd Expect: Arthur would draw the line at involving the little monsters. The Tibble twins are energetic, but they don't know discipline.
Instead: He thinks a group of preschoolers will help him get into shape.
The Result: The twins accidentally cause him to trip when competitively helping him train with a jumprope, with D.W. chiding Arthur for falling. Sure, Arthur is in shape to at least finish the mile and would have won if he hadn't stopped to help Muffy when she fell, but he goes Oh, No... Not Again! when D.W. reveals she signed him up for a marathon and goes to find the twins to help with more training.
"The Election"
- Arthur runs for Class President against Muffy, as part of a mock election. He sees it as a fun class project and advises Muffy not to take it too seriously. Buster of all people says the same thing. They know too well that taking a Ratburn assignment to the extreme can go wrong, as what happened when Arthur rewrote a story twenty times to try and please everyone. Arthur also notes they're kids, and whoever is class president probably won't have that much actual power to change the school.
  You'd Expect: Muffy would listen to Arthur, who's her friend, and wouldn't sabotage her.
  Instead: She not only pulls out all the full stops but also goes so far as bribing Mr. Ratburn with muffins as part of her campaigning. The last time she did food bribery, during the science fair, Francine and Brain sent her a fake love letter as a form of "revenge".
  The Result: While Arthur still thinks that the election is just for fun, he becomes motivated to work hard at his campaign, with handmade flyers, campaign promises he could honor, and a big smile. He recruits D.W. for help, and Buster pitches in 110 percent, which is unusual for Buster. When a Crack Defeat ensues, thanks to Ratburn entering in Binky last-minute when he suggests impractical campaign promises, Muffy is crushed in a Heroic BSoD. She's a sore loser, and Buster says to Arthur that they warned her. As Arthur lightheartedly says he hopes she won't lose a real election, Mr. Ratburn puts the kibosh on Binky demanding no-homework nights.
- Arthur doesn't stand a chance due to Muffy promising improvements to the school that she can pay for, like a gourmet cafeteria. She makes professional-looking posters and buttons, and passes out muffins to everyone.
  You'd Expect: Mr. Ratburn realizes that, as a rich kid who can afford all these things, Muffy has an unfair advantage against Arthur and disqualify her.
  Instead: Mr. Ratburn approves of all of Muffy's plans, even going as far as to eat one of her free muffins (though when you consider Mr. Ratburn's Trademark Favorite Food, it's not too out of character from him). Fortunately, Muffy loses the election anyway due to Binky Barnes entering it and making wild promises.
In "Double Dare", Arthur and his friends have so much homework that they might miss out on watching a new episode of Dark Bunny. Arthur is so frustrated at all the homework he and his friends have that he says one day he's just not going to do it, and just skip school to do the things he wants to do. When Francine challenges him, he sticks to his guns until she finally dares him to go through with it.
You'd Expect: Arthur and his friends would refuse the dare because nothing good could come of it.
Instead: Everybody, including Brain, tells Arthur that he has to go through with it, and so with no further questions they start drawing up a plan to skip school the next day. This is especially out of character for Brain, who is normally intelligent enough not to be talked into things he doesn't want to do.
Compounding It: The subject of dares was brought up in "Buster and the Daredevils". Chronological issues notwithstanding, Buster learned why it was foolish to be pressured into doing something just because they were dared and extended this message to Arthur and the Brain at the very end of the episode. In that episode, Arthur had the good sense not to partake in any of Buster's dares, but here neither he nor the Brain put up much protest to Francine's threat, with Buster seemingly having forgotten what happened the first time he was dared.
Even Worse: Nobody seems to consider the option of simply tape recording the episode so they can watch it on a day where they're not busy.
The Result: Each one of the boys backs out at the last minute, realizing the trouble simply was not worth it. However, Francine doesn't receive their message and tries to skip school alone. Predictably, she lands herself in hot water when she is caught sneaking in with the boys' help and everyone minus the Brain is forced to answer for what they did. Binky is the only one left off the hook since he wasn't part of the dare, and was only trying to help Arthur and Buster after eavesdropping. The boys are given extra homework to make up for it, and Francine has to face the brunt of the punishment.
In "Nerve of Steal", Buster wants a Cyber Toy that almost everybody else owns one of, but can't get until his birthday; and later at a drug store, he looks at a shelf of Cyber Toys and wants one badly.
You'd Expect: Buster to wait until his birthday so he'll be able to get it.
Or: To find ways to make more money to buy one if his mother's okay with it.
Instead: He steals it without paying, putting it in Arthur's backpack without him noticing there's a stolen product in his backpack.
The Result: Buster is immediately hit with guilt at his actions and is forced to confront Arthur on his deed, who now is faced with the dilemma of how to return it.
You'd Expect: Arthur to confront his parents on the matter as he was not guilty of stealing the toy.
Instead: He insists they return it without letting anyone notice that it had been stolen in the first place. This ends up backfiring and both boys are forced to face the music, with Arthur now having to share the blame with Buster for not telling the truth when he had the chance. Buster, meanwhile, is grounded for an entire month.
"Just Desserts": Arthur is disappointed when his father has to go cater a wedding and asks Grandma Thora to make dinner for him and D.W. He's especially disappointed since the wedding cake looks delicious. For context, Thora is a Lethal Chef who thinks that tomatoes go into cookies, among other things, and Arthur and D.W. had to break it to her gently in season one that no one likes her cooking after they get busted buying all her cookies for a bake sale to spare her feelings. To get through dinner, Arthur buys candy. It turns out, however, that Arthur's dad left a delicious dinner and extra wedding cake for his children.
You'd Expect: Given how Thora got a rude wake-up call in "The Half-Baked Sale" about how she is a terrible cook that she would have told Arthur that his father made dinner, or that Dave would have told the kids.
You'd Also Expect: Arthur would wait until after the meal to fill up on candy.
Instead: Arthur eats a lot of candy before what he anticipates to be a terrible dinner, and Thora didn't tell him because she wanted to surprise him with the dinner and the cake.
The Result: Arthur overeats due to everything being delicious, suffers a bad stomachache, and one Acid Reflux Nightmare after another. They only go away after his stomach dissolves the Tums that Thora gave him.
"Arthur's Family Feud"
- Played for Laughs. After the parents determine that Arthur and D.W. ruining the souffle was an accident, since they slipped on their socks, the kids feel guilty about seeing how depressed their dad is. They decide to try and make the souffle rather than go to the arcade as planned.
  You'd Expect: Arthur would explain to D.W. what each ingredient is. They have baked together before and he also knows that she's only useful in the kitchen when given proper instructions.
  Instead: He lets D.W. handle the eggs without explaining which part is the egg white.
  The Result: D.W. doesn't know what egg whites are; she mistakes the shells as being this important ingredient for a souffle and tosses the actual white and yolks in the garbage. Arthur gets mad at her for the waste, while she retorts the shells are white, "Mr. Know-It-All."
  Fortunately: Their dad hears, and D.W. confesses their plan to make the souffle and surprise him. He perks up immediately and takes charge of the ingredients and the kids. Everyone enjoys a delicious souffle at dinner that night, with David thanking the kids for helping fix their initial mistake.

Season Six

In "Buster's Sweet Success", Buster unsurprisingly ends up eating all of the chocolates he had volunteered to sell to raise money for new instruments at school. So he and Arthur elect to make all new boxes of homemade chocolate to make up for it.
You'd Expect: Arthur and Buster ask an adult to help them since Arthur's dad's a caterer and cook and they had used his kitchen to make them.
Instead: They elect to make it all by themselves, even when it becomes obvious that they have no idea what ingredients to use and don't even have access to the ones named on the boxes, instead of resorting to nonsensical substitutes that even they should realize are not appropriate ingredients for chocolate.
Compounding It: You'd expect the two of them to taste test the chocolate before selling them to the public. Arthur's dad even makes this suggestion once they're done.
Instead: While it makes sense for Arthur to stop Buster from being the one to test them as he may end up eating them all, neither he nor his dad volunteers to taste them instead and prepare them for sale.
Predictably: The customers are not satisfied with their purchases.
In "For Whom the Bell Tolls", D.W. contracts laryngitis, and Arthur believes he will finally have a period of relief from D.W.'s obnoxious loudness. However, with far more work for her accounting job at present than usual, Jane places most of the responsibility of taking care of D.W. on Arthur. After about a week of heavily catering to his sister, he eventually catches D.W. talking in her bedroom, revealing that she had gotten better but was pretending her voice was still gone and he immediately goes to tell his Mom about her lies.
You'd Expect: Jane to immediately investigate Arthur's claims as Arthur's usually not the one to make up stories and had just rushed down to tell her when he had been largely compliant with his responsibilities to her up until that point.
Instead: She doesn't bother to confront D.W. at all, and Arthur is forced to keep putting up with her until she admits that she's gotten better. It takes Arthur and his friends to finally expose the truth, and even then we don't see how she gets punished for it.
Compounding It: The episode implies that D.W. may never have been sick in the first place, meaning that if this is true, and it wasn't simply a case of pretending to still be sick when she recovered, even the doctor who diagnosed her was duped into believing the whole thing!
In Brother, Can You Spare a Clarinet," Binky's clarinet isn't working, and he feels frustrated.
You'd Expect: For Binky to have someone fix his clarinet.
Or: For him to get another one entirely and move on.
Instead: He decides to sabotage everyone else's instruments and ruin music for them, just because of his aforementioned problem.

Season Seven

In "Waiting to Go," The Brain and Binky both are waiting for their parents, when they realize that they were taking longer than expected
You'd Expect: Oh, wait, they walked home in several episodes without adult supervision, safe and sound, so why can't they do so in this episode?
Instead: They decide to fend for themselves and wait for their parents. Thankfully, it was only 15 minutes, but still...
"April 9th"
- In this Very Special Episode, Lakewood Elementary falls victim to a school fire. Sue Ellen is forced to leave her bag behind, which among her school work, also holds her journal she's been keeping since she was a little girl. After everyone is evacuated from the building, her bag is seen somewhat charred and bruised due to the fire but is otherwise safely brought out of the building.
  You'd Expect: For the firefighters to use a fire extinguisher on the bag, since it's personal property and nothing too difficult to douse, as opposed to, say, a handcrafted object like a desk that nobody would mourn the loss of. They should especially be willing to take caution since Sue Ellen is screaming in devastation over the fact her journal might be lost. While it might be somewhat damaged by the flames, there still is a high chance that there are some salvageable things from there.
  Instead: They pull out a fire hose and go to town on it at full blast, blowing the bag to smithereens and effectively ruining any chance Sue Ellen could have had recovering anything out of her journal. She bursts into tears as her parents hug her.
- It's shown that everyone who saw the fire was traumatized for different reasons: Sue Ellen lost her journal, Binky saw the flames swallowing the teacher's lounge which nearly killed Mr. Morris, and Arthur's dad suffered smoke inhalation. When they talk about it at the treehouse, they're pretty inconsolable except for Binky who hides his trauma by stealing food from his classmates.
  You'd Expect: The adults involved would talk it out as the kids go to school with the Mighty Mountain kids. A session of counseling might be a good idea to help everyone process their feelings.
  Instead: Any conversation is intermittent. Mr. Read and Mr. Frensky don't have those necessary talks with Arthur and Binky respectively until the end of the episode.
  The Result: Arthur starts having nightmares about his dad dying at various catering gigs, while Binky pulls the fire alarm at Mighty Mountain to time how fast the firefighters come and has to do community service as punishment. Muffy notes how upset Sue Ellen is, and in her usual Muffy way, buys her new journals. Sue Ellen is gracious about the second one since it's personalized and thanks Muffy, but she finds herself blocked. She comes up with a mural project to unblock her mind and help everyone feel better.
  To Make Matters Worse: When Elwood City school reopens, Binky finds himself unable to walk to class because he still sees the flames in the teacher's lounge. He screams at the top of his lungs and runs out of school as Mr. Haney calls after him. Mr. Frensky has to find Binky and comfort him, as Binky starts crying.

Season Eight

"Desk Wars"... where do we even begin?:
- Mr. Ratburn's class is somewhat problematic as the students are a bit quick to get at each other due to the heat. Brain and Muffy get start to disagree when he demonstrates the solar-powered "supplies dispenser" he built in his desk to provide pencils and erasers instantaneously, mainly because he ruins her "feng shui" by repeatedly sliding his papers onto her desk whilst working.
  You'd Expect: Brain to comply with Muffy's (surprisingly reasonable, for once) requests. As much as she's complaining to him, she does ask him to keep his papers organized.
  Instead: Brain seems to ignore her complaints, preferring to not only show off his invention but also brag about his desk being closest to the classroom's single electric fan. Muffy and Fern then proceed to put up a "dust ruffle" they jointly made on the side of their desks, blocking the solar panels to the "supplies dispenser" in the process.
  So Now You'd Expect: The Brain and Muffy to compromise regarding the tidiness of her desks and his invention, try to report the unwanted decoration affecting his workspace to Mr. Ratburn or simply not complain about the ruffle at all since Ratburn audibly threatened to move any disruptive student to a different area of the classroom.
  Instead: Flustered, the Brain not only objects but also tries to remove the dust ruffle which upsets Muffy and interrupts Ratburn's lecture.
  The Result: Ratburn orders Brain to sit at the empty desk normally occupied by George (who is absent due to a dental appointment).
  Then: Mr. Haney drops by to inform Mr. Ratburn that he has to leave for a phone call in the office and announces this to the class.
  You'd Expect: Ratburn to task another staff member in the school to temporarily look after the children in his absence.
  Instead: He leaves them unattended, simply instructing them to write a report.
  Meanwhile: The Brain has been stewing in his resentment towards Muffy because the area of George's desk is unbearably hot. Muffy's mechanical pencil runs out and she asks Arthur to use Brain's invention to deliver her a pencil.
  You'd Expect: Arthur to know that the pencils don't belong to him and sensibly refuse or if in doubt, ask Brain for approval (especially since Mr. Ratburn is out of the classroom).
  Instead: Although he does question if he'll object, he takes Muffy at her word when she condescendingly says "Brain's always happy to loan (her) his pencils" and hands her one anyway, catching Brain's attention.
  Additionally: When reprimanded for it, Arthur doesn't apologize (or even say anything for that matter) and instead nervously smiles towards Brain. Though, after Muffy has snapped the pencil, he denies her request to get another pencil from the desk.
  Then: Muffy asks George, who had just arrived from his appointment and has no idea that trouble is brewing, to sharpen the pencil, promising "honorary membership" at her area of desks if he does. Sure enough, the Brain is visibly displeased by this.
  You'd Expect: The Brain to go easy on George and calmly explain that the pencil came from his invention and therefore belongs to him since the latter wasn't around to witness what had happened earlier.
  Instead: He gives George (who had done nothing to antagonize him) an ultimatum that if he doesn't receive the pencil once it's sharpened, he will crush George's dinosaur made from chewed up gum with an atlas. Sue Ellen intervenes on George's behalf, since she saw him work hard on it. Speaking of which....
  You'd Expect: Sue Ellen to reason with him and the others so they can come to an agreement regarding the pencil and hopefully make up.
  Instead: Ironically, she threatens to toss Binky's rubber band ball out an open window, resulting in a snowball of threats to destroy each other's belongings.
  Additionally: The Brain also threatens to tear up Sue Ellen's report.
  The result: When George has accidentally sharpened the pencil too much, chaos erupts and the classroom gets trashed. Mr. Haney drops by and, upon seeing the huge mess, orders that they put aside their differences to clean up the mess as a group. Otherwise, they'll do so after school with his assistance.
  Compounding It: After Mr. Haney gives his warning, the kids begin to argue amongst themselves blaming each other for the mess. Worst of all, Brain says, "I didn't do anything" even though most of the feud was spurred on by his selfish behavior.
  Luckily: Upon seeing George helping to clean up the mess, the others decide to pitch in and peace is restored when Mr. Ratburn comes back. Muffy even does her part to make amends by inviting the class to her backyard pool afterward.
In "Bleep", D.W. overhears a frustrated teenager say a (censored) swear word while accompanying Grandma Thora on her trip to a glass shop. Being a 4-year-old, she doesn't know what the word means but thinks it causes people to break things. The next day, she brings this up to the Tibble Twins who then convince her it will cause whoever hears it to become a "zombie-slave" for a day, even faking it to "demonstrate" to her.
You'd Expect: D.W., knowing full well the Tibbles are incredibly prone to misbehavior, to not believe them and dismiss their lie as nonsense. Not to mention she saw Arthur drop his model plane earlier when she asked him what it meant and Nadine smashing an urn and it had no such effect on them.
Instead: D.W. buys into their falsehood.
Compounding It: D.W. had previously taken their advice in "D.W.'s Baby" and got punished when she tried to blame Kate for putting Mr. Read's shoes in the dishwasher. Why she would trust them after that while also disliking them is anyone's guess.
The Result: D.W. decides she quite likes the idea of adults obeying her every whim if she says the swear word and convinces her next-door neighbor Vicita that it will work.
Then: She watches the Molinas through her bedroom window, expecting Vicita to say the word, just as Mrs. Read calls her for dinner. D.W. gets so frustrated by this that she impulsively says the swear word, immediately realizing she'll be in trouble. Sure enough, an angered Mrs. Read enters her room to reprimand her.
You'd Then Expect: D.W. to confess she had heard a teenager say the swear during an errand with Grandma Thora as well as the Tibbles' lie that it turns people into "zombie slaves".
Instead: D.W. nervously tries to see if her mother has become a zombie slave by asking, "Can I have a soda?" which doesn't work.
The Result: D.W. gets in trouble when Vicita's parents drop by the Reads' house to discuss the situation.
Luckily: D.W. is not punished this time as her mom tells why swear words are inappropriate.

Season Nine

In "My Fair Tommy", after the Tibble Twins wreck the cupcake and picture D.W. got as her good behavior award, Ms. Morgan says they both get a time-out. However, she decides to separate the two so that they won't cause any more trouble together than they already have.
You'd Expect: Ms. Morgan would put Tommy and Timmy in separate parts of the room, so that they would both get a time-out, but also not be in the same place.
Instead: She asks who volunteers for the first shift. Timmy dupes Tommy into volunteering (take a guess how), and after his time-out is over, Timmy switches his scarf with Tommy. As a result, Ms. Morgan thinks that Tommy is Timmy and gives him another time-out while Timmy gets off scot-free.

Season Eleven

In "Francine's Pilfered Paper", the class is assigned a report based on the Thanksgiving holiday, and Francine has to write about Pilgrim cuisine. She finds a website that has more than enough information for her to complete her report and, eager to have her work out of the way for the holiday decides to use all of it.
You'd Expect: For Francine to, by intuition alone realize that taking an entire document and presenting it as her report with almost no work required would almost certainly be wrong and that it would be suspect for her to express limited knowledge of her paper after having used a document she barely read when presenting it.
Instead: Without a second thought, Francine copies and pastes the entire website into a new document and puts her name on it. She presents it to Mr. Ratburn ahead of everyone else in the class, which surprises even him. Oblivious to the fact that she had plagiarized, Francine is horrified to learn from Catherine that she could get suspended from school if her mistake was discovered.
Compounding It: It seems Mr. Ratburn never discussed the matter of plagiarism with his students, which is astounding considering his attention to detail and exceptionally high standards.
The Result: Mr. Ratburn doesn't discover the mistake when he grades Francine's paper, but she quickly comes clean about it when school resumes. Luckily for her, it was an honest mistake and so Mr. Ratburn opts to give her a slightly lower grade when she turns in a second report to make up for it.

Season Twelve

In "Never, Never, Never", when her mom asks her to donate at least two boxes of her old toys to charity, D.W. believes her mother doesn't love her and gives ALL of her toys to the Tibble twins when they kiss up to her, by saying how much they "love" her.
You'd Expect: That D.W. would have maybe considered her mother's advice of donating only a COUPLE of her toys to charity, to make space for her new ones. Or even at the very least hide them someplace, just to make it seem as though she gave them all away.
Instead: She gives all her toys away to the Tibble twins, who are known to be very boisterous and destructive, all because they told her they "love" her on the playground, and she doesn't even consider the idea that they might be trying to trick her.
The Result: The Tibble twins destroy all her toys, except for one small cardboard box filled with the ones that are still intact, which they refuse to return to D.W. when she asks for them back. That is until Arthur heroically gets them back for her- getting his glasses broken in the process.

Season Fourteen

Season 14

In “The Buster Report”, Buster is delighted that George is doing a report about him, and gets so into it that he worries too much about what it will be like and doesn’t focus on his own report at all.
You’d Expect: Buster would remember how funny he is and how he makes people laugh, and so he wouldn’t be too worried about the report.
Instead: He gets so worried about what George thinks of him and totally is taking over George’s report
The Result: Buster never gets to doing his own report on somebody.
In “Nicked By A Name”, Brain is coming up with nicknames for his friends, like naming Binky “Tall Order”, and Buster “Bust-A-Gut Baxter”. Arthur wants a nickname too, but Brain is too busy to get to Arthur.
You’d Expect: Brian to give Arthur a nickname, seeing as how he has time to give everyone else a nickname.
Instead: Brain keeps on saying he’s busy, or that he’ll think of a nickname for Arthur, but he never does. He may be busy, but you'd think he'd be able to find the time
The Result: Arthur is still desperate to have a nickname, and keeps pestering the Brain about it.

Now You’d Expect: Brain to give Arthur a nickname to get Arthur off his back, as he clearly does not appreciate it when Arthur asking him for a nickname ends up taking away the Brain’s attention which ends up losing them the soccer game.
Instead: Brain keeps on ignoring Arthur and doesn’t do anything about it. Eventually, he gets so frustrated with Arthur that he ends up giving him a rude nickname ("Average Arthur") which he probably wouldn't have done if he had been able to find the time to give Arthur a nickname before the game.

Season Fifteen

In the episode "Fifteen," Arthur made it to school on time, with Buster helping him along the way.
You'd Expect: For Arthur and Buster to keep their mouths shut about the situation.
Instead: Buster yaps his mouth about the situation, causing Mr. Ratburn to overhear him.
The Result: While Arthur turned in his report, Mr. Ratburn had Arthur and Buster do an extra report, causing them to miss out on No Homework Day, but at least saved it for the rest of the class.
In “To Eat Or Not To Eat”, Rabid Dog creates a candy bar called a “Big Boss Bar” that is highly addictive due to its drug-like ingredients with many of them being dangerous ingredients causing those that eat it to have withdrawal symptoms (namely vertigo, extreme sadness, and lethargy).
You’d Expect: The FDA would never approve of manufacturing a candy bar with dangerous ingredients that can cause one to become sick with withdrawal. They would notify the police and have Supreme Dog, the owner of the company, arrested and have the company shut down.
Instead: The FDA approved of the bar, and it is released to the public with many kids including George and Fern being addicted to it and experiencing withdrawal.
Thankfully: Bitzi Baxter exposes the company and Supreme Dog gets arrested with his company presumably shut down.

Season Seventeen

In "Just the Ticket", Arthur wins two front-row seat tickets to a big concert, but all seven of his friends want the other one at once. Many of his friends begin to call him repeatedly, and Arthur asks his mom if he can refrain from answering the phone for a while since he doesn't want to be overwhelmed.
You'd Expect: That they would disconnect the phone line, unplug it, or silence it so that the phone doesn't ring all day. They were already smart enough to use the former option in "For Whom the Bell Tolls", so it's not out of the question.
Instead: They decide the best way to deal with it is to wear hearing protection so it blocks out the phone ringing. This leads to them having to scream at the dinner table just to be able to carry any sort of conversation.

Season Eighteen

In "Staycation", Grandma Thora's plane home from Cancun gets delayed, forcing David and Jane, who are unable to find a replacement babysitter, to cancel their camping vacation. Feeling bad for them, Arthur and D.W. come up with the idea for them to have a staycation by going camping in their backyard. Jane leaves Arthur in charge and makes D.W. the communications officer, telling her only to call her and David if there is a genuine emergency. During the first hour, Arthur and D.W. must change Kate's diaper. While Arthur puts a clean diaper on Kate, D.W. is left to dispose of the dirty one.
You'd Expect: D.W. to dispose of Kate's dirty diaper in the diaper pail, considering she and Arthur have changed Kate's diaper before in "Is There a Doctor in the House?", a fact Arthur even points out in the episode. Besides, D.W. and Kate share a bedroom. She has to have seen where dirty diapers go lots of times.
Instead: D.W. flushes the diaper down the toilet, clogging it up and creating a flood that leaks onto the bathroom floor. Arthur finds out about this later in the episode.
You'd Then Expect: Arthur to tell D.W. to contact David and Jane immediately since this problem is too big for them to handle on their own.
Instead: Arthur, Buster, and D.W. try to unclog the toilet and shut off the water themselves. This situation also forces the former two to leave the toaster that they were toasting bread in unsupervised. The toast gets stuck, and the resulting smoke sets off the smoke detector, which wakes Kate up with its alarm. After some hesitation, Arthur eventually decides that it is a genuine emergency, and tells D.W. to call David and Jane.
In "Arthur Read: Super Saver", Arthur and his family are tight on money after his parents' work thins out.
You'd Expect: Arthur to take on a slew of odd jobs or call upon more cost-effective resources, as he has when saving up money in the past.
Instead: Arthur enlists D.W. to help cut the grass on the property with scissors, has her join him in using the Molinas' sprinkler system when bathing, and has Pal lick the Reads' flatware clean as a way of "doing the dishes."

Specials

Arthur's Perfect Christmas

D.W. is obsessed with the latest Tina the Talking Tabby doll, writing to Santa for it. Jane and David are trying to get it, while the Christmas rush starts for everyone. They are also planning a Christmas dinner where David will be making recipes accurate to the period.
You'd Expect: That they would have done their shopping in the first week of December at the latest. This was in the early 00s before Internet shopping became more commonplace. As a result, malls become super-crowded with last-minute buyers.
Instead: Jane takes Arthur to do last-minute shopping on December 22. Arthur is more than happy to go at the last minute since he saved up his pennies to get a replacement glass swan for her and wants to get a kitchen tool for his dad; Jane, however, is worried about the crowds and tells him which rendezvous point to meet.
The Result: Arthur is nearly late to meet his mother because of the crowds; the tool that he wants to get for his dad is sold out, so he goes with an olive de-pitter. It's implied that Tina the Talking Tabby sold out with three days to go before Christmas; Jane mentions to Arthur with worry that she couldn't get one item on her shopping list. She then tries to break it gently to D.W., to explain that sometimes Santa runs out of toys with how many kids that he has to deliver presents to in one night. D.W. believes that Arthur wrote her wishlist wrong and rewrites it before dropping it off in the mailbox. Cue a tantrum on Christmas morning when D.W. gets a talking duck instead, though she quickly quiets down.
Luckily: Not only does D.W. love her gift, but Mr. Read already got three Veginators (which could also explain why it was sold out).
Every year, Bitsy gets frantic over Christmas; she wants to make it the best time possible for her son while hoping he doesn't resent her for the divorce. Buster wouldn't mind, except she wakes him up early every day in a row the week of Christmas to make him pancakes and give him presents, because she keeps getting the date wrong. It's a surprise when on Christmas morning itself he wakes her up and reassures her it's the right time. She goes to make pancakes for him and give him his presents.
You'd Expect: That she would finish cooking the pancakes first and then give him his presents. It's cleaner for one thing and spreads out the events.
Instead: She leaves the stove unattended to fuss over his presents, worrying that she got him the same action figure two years in a row. Bitsy is relieved as Buster tells her that she didn't duplicate it, and explains that it was a great present because now he has a matched set.
Predictably: The pancakes burn to a black crisp. Buster tries to put on a chipper face, but she can see that he's disappointed. They go out to a fancy restaurant to eat, where Buster finally convinces Bitsy that they don't have to make Christmas a big deal every year. Mother and son can simply enjoy each other's company. They spend the evening stargazing and looking for aliens.
It's the eighth night of Hanukkah, and Francine's family hosts a small party to light the menorah candles. Muffy is holding a Princess of Christmas Night at the same time and has been urging Francine to come. Every time Francine tells Muffy that she has plans, Muffy tunes her out. Francine has tried telling her 28 times; yes, she kept score.
You'd Expect: Francine would call up Mr. and Mrs. Crosswire and explain that she has plans. They can break it gently to Muffy since they're all on good terms with each other.
Instead: She gives up and goes to her family party. Francine reasons that Muffy will understand that she is a no-show.
The Result: Muffy wants to give the first presentation of the night to Francine, and calls angrily on realizing that Francine never showed up. She throws a tantrum over the phone as Francine tries to tell Muffy that she already had plans and that she made it clear over the past week. In a very Innocently Insensitive moment, Muffy haughtily says that Hanukkah is not as important as her Christmas party, causing Francine to hang up the phone angrily. Muffy apologizes on Christmas morning as Francine explains to her why that was very Anti-Semitic to say.
- Binky out of everyone has the least stressful plotline. He and his family volunteer at a soup kitchen every year; they asked if he could bring dessert for the homeless. The problem is that he is making basic baking errors: not shelling pecans, adding sugar to brownies, and so forth.
  You'd Expect: Binky would go by the book, literally, and stick with perfecting one dessert. There is nothing wrong with doing a simple recipe and giving it to those in need. Even David is shown consulting a cookbook when doing a Bethlehem-inspired Christmas dinner.
  Instead: He seems to try to make recipes on the fly; that may have worked for Muffy's strawberry concoction but it doesn't work here. To top it all off, he keeps trying out new recipes and asking his teachers or classmates to taste them. At most, Binky is taking notes that he should peel bananas and add sugar
  The Result: Buster is the only one who enjoys the experiments. Binky is all out of ideas by Christmas Day and decides to get store-bought dessert while passing it off as his own.

What An Idiot / Arthur

Season One

Season Two

Season Three

Season Four

Season Five

Season Six

Season Seven

Season Eight

Season Nine

Season Eleven

Season Twelve

Season 14

Season Seventeen

Season Eighteen

Arthur's Perfect Christmas

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What An Idiot / Arthur

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Season One

Season Two

Season Three

Season Four

Season Five

Season Six

Season Seven

Season Eight

Season Nine

Season Eleven

Season Twelve

Season 14

Season Seventeen

Season Eighteen

Arthur's Perfect Christmas

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Index

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