Nicked by a Name

Summary
There is a virus spreading through Lakewood Elementary! It changes the way everyone behaves and how they treat each other - it's the new nicknames! Can Brain stop the virus he created or will everyone be mean to each other forever?

Plot
Arthur starts the show by saying to the viewers that mean words can hurt sometimes, and occasionally, one little word can make you feel so rotten, you just want to disappear.

Nicked by a Name

During a soccer game, Francine scores a goal, and Brain says, "Give it up for Francine the Soccer Queen!" Francine likes the nickname, and Binky wants one as well. Brain says that it's "a pretty tall order," and then suggests "Tall Order" to Binky. He likes it, and Arthur also wants a nickname, but Brain denies and goes to the library.

At the library, Buster approaches Brain, who is reading a book on advertising, wanting a nickname. Brain imagines himself in an advertising company and comes up with "Bust-a-Gut". Buster likes his new nickname. Arthur asks for a nickname, but is once again denied by Brain.

Later, George enters the Ice Cream Shop, and asks Brain if he could have a nickname. After once again imagining about being in an advertising company, Brain nicknames him "Head Gear." George likes it, and he runs out of the Ice Cream Shop, passing Arthur on his way by, who again wants a nickname.

Arthur asks Brain again in the middle of a soccer game, and Brain angrily nicknames him "Average Arthur." Arthur dislikes it, especially when Buster and Binky start making jokes about his nickname later on in the school playground. Brain renames Binky "Stinky Binky," and Buster gets renamed as "Antenna Ears". Francine starts mocking Buster, and Buster responds by calling her "Bossy Boots".

Brain has a dream that night where he is in the advertising company again, and everyone is a literal version of their nicknames; Binky floats in a large ball of stink, Francine is a boot, Buster has a TV for a head, and Brain is turned into a real brain, after which he wakes up.

When the insulting nicknames cause distractions during a soccer game, Brain comes up with "cool soccer nicknames" for everyone; Arthur is "Awesome Action Aardvark," Binky is "Barnes-stormer," and Buster is "Eat-My-Dust Buster." Francine stays "Francine the Soccer Queen." Using these names, they are able to win the soccer game.

Afterwards, Arthur realizes that Brain never got a nickname, and he responds that he already has one: Brain. Everyone then starts suggesting different nicknames as the episode finishes.

Major

 * Arthur Read
 * Buster Baxter
 * Francine Frensky
 * Muffy Crosswire
 * The Brain
 * Binky Barnes

Minor

 * Mighty Mountain Player
 * George Lundgren
 * Frog

Cameo

 * Tom Tapir
 * Nancy
 * Luke
 * Jenna Morgan
 * Alex
 * 3rd Grade Male Aardvark
 * Jack Weasel
 * 3rd Grade Female Aardvark (Number 5)
 * Sam Scarborough
 * Mighty Mountain Bowler No. 8

Trivia

 * In the U.S., this is the last use of the "Brain Underwater" title card.
 * In the opening, when the word "ANNOYING" crawls out of Arthur's sweater, he screams using a stock scream from Cameron Ansell.
 * The dramatic music heard when Arthur gets bitten by "pests" in the opening is frequently heard on Cyberchase, another PBS Kids show. This music is also used in the episode Muffy's Classy Classics Club.
 * The Mighty Mountain Cheerleaders singing "Pass it to Antenna Ears!" might be a reference to the book, Arthur and the True Francine, where Muffy refers to Buster by that name. Additionally, "Antenna Ears" is Buster's username in Virtual Goose!
 * Moral: Don't overreact over a name for your own benefits.
 * Timeline: In Brain's dream there are ads for Woogles (“Arthur Rides the Bandwagon”), the Grain Reaper (“Ungifted”), and Might-A-Max energy drinks (“The Secret Origin of Supernova”) hanging on the wall.

Cultural references

 * When Brain has his imagine spots, it's most likely a parody of, a show about an ad business in the 1960s. Tom Tapir references the main character Don Draper.

Errors

 * In the opening scene, Muffy is shown cheering the soccer team on wearing a skirt, but by the end of practice, she is depicted wearing normal soccer shorts like everyone else on the team.
 * When Arthur enters the ice cream shop, Mr. Armstrong and Sue Ellen suddenly appear in line behind him. But in the next shot, they disappear.
 * When Lakewood scores, it would not make a difference since Mighty Mountain already had 6 points. However the scoreboard makes it say 10–6.

Episode connections

 * When Brain turns into a brain, he looks like his brain did in “It’s a No-Brainer”.