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"Bleep"
Season/Series: 8
Number in season: 10b
Original Airdate: United States December 26, 2003[1]
Canada February 25, 2004[2]
Germany December 28, 2007[3]
Credits
Written by: Dietrich Smith
Storyboard by: Jeremy O'Neill
Episodes
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"Big Horns George"
Next
"Castles in the Sky"
Read transcript

"Bleep" is the second half of the tenth episode in the eighth season of Arthur.

Summary

D.W. wants to know the meaning of a word that made a boy's mom drop something when he said it.

Plot

The episode begins as Arthur talks to the viewers about the bleep. He presents an example in a show called The Altos. Whenever an Alto curses, it is censored with a bleep. Arthur then says that it's not used in real life, but claims it could be fun if it was and imagines a couple real-life scenarios: Francine scolding Arthur for missing an easy catch during a baseball game and D.W. telling Jane that Arthur broke her glass bird are censored with the bleep. D.W. then gets a hold of the bleep button, which drives Arthur crazy.

Bleep

D.W. is at the crystal shop with Grandma Thora, who is buying a bowl for her friend, Ethel. D.W. wanders around for a bit, admiring all the crystal objects for sale. She then overhears a teenage boy having an argument with his mother, as he is being careless in the store. When the woman bars her son from going to a concert that night, the boy gets angry and says a bad word to his mother (censored with a "bleep"), causing her to drop the goblet she is holding out of shock. As they leave the store, D.W. wants to ask Grandma Thora (who didn't hear the argument) what the word means, but stops herself before she gets to it, imagining it will cause Thora to drop the bowl she just bought.

When she arrives home, D.W. rushes to Arthur's room and asks him the meaning of the word. He reacts by gasping and dropping the model plane he was working on, resulting in it being in pieces (for the second time) and confirming D.W.'s belief that the word has the power to make people drop objects. Arthur warns D.W. not to say the bad word around their parents. When Jane arrives, they immediately end their conversation.

Confused, D.W. later asks Nadine, who is also clueless and suggests asking her parents. However, D.W. has a bad daydream where the word causes everyone to drop objects and everything to break spontaneously, with even the moon, stars, and Mary Moo Cow falling from the sky. After waking up, D.W. decides it's not a good idea.

D.W., still not clear on the meaning of the word, asks the Tibbles about it the next day at school. They initially laugh, but then turn to each other with puzzled looks when D.W. asks what it means and wonder if they should tell her. Finally, Timmy explains that it's a swear word, which parents hate. When D.W. wonders why, the twins, to get her in trouble, claim that the word turns adults into zombie servants.

Later in class, everyone is singing "If You’re Happy and You Know It". D.W. has a fantasy in which she says the curse word. The others gasp while Ms. Morgan drops her accordion and becomes a zombie servant to D.W.. When Ms. Morgan snaps D.W. out of her daydream, she chooses not to say the word. The Tibbles mock her after school, calling her a "scaredy cat".

At home, D.W. is still too scared to ask her parents what the word means. After conversing with Nadine, she decides to test it and see if what the Tibbles said is true. D.W. repeats their story to Vicita, but advises her not to say the word to anyone. However, D.W. knows that Vicita will say it anyway because she does not know any better. Along with Nadine, D.W. watches Vicita in her home from Arthur's room with a pair of binoculars to see what happens. Vicita says the word to her family and when they get angry, she explains that D.W. told her the word.

While this is happening, D.W. is interrupted by her mother calling her down to dinner. She asks for a minute, but her mother persists. D.W. soon gets annoyed and accidentally blurts out the bad word. Jane is shocked and outraged at this accidental remark, exclaiming, "Dora Winifred Read... what did you just say to me?" D.W. then asks for a soda. When Jane doesn't budge, D.W. angrily mutters, "Tibbles!" before turning back to the window. When the doorbell rings, D.W. rushes downstairs to answer it, only to find the Molinas and her dad furious with her and her mom angrily coming down the stairs. She says, “Arthur did it?” in a very unconvincing way that the adults don’t believe.

That night, Jane tucks D.W. into bed, letting her off the hook this time since she didn't know what she was saying, but hopes she learns that obscenities are inappropriate to say, especially for children. When D.W. asks what they mean, Jane simply explains that they're insulting and meant to hurt people's feelings. Satisfied with this answer, D.W. falls asleep.

The next day at school, D.W. finds her friends all saying the word (without knowing what they are saying). Realizing what she must do, D.W. sits down to explain to them how hurtful obscenities are.

Characters

Major

Minor

Cameo

Trivia

  • This is the last episode for a few things:

Episode connections

Cultural references

Errors

  • When the teenager's mother scolds him, the silver goblet that she was holding turns light green.
  • When Arthur is working on the model plane as an apparent replacement, he is first seen wearing only his socks. After Jane opens the door however, Arthur is seen in his shoes, which he would not have had time to put on in the allotted time.
  • D.W.'s car seat has different colors.
  • When D.W. is spying on the Molinas in Arthur's room and Jane walks in, the clock on Arthur's bedside table is off but in the next frame, it is on.

Production notes

  • This is the last episode for several things:
    • Tim Cappelli as the storyboard clean-up artist.
    • Marie-Pierre Lacombe as the assistant dialogue editor and assistant engineer.
    • Michel Simard as the video editor.
    • Stéphanie Lemieux as the video assistant.

Gallery

Main article: Bleep/Gallery

References


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