Arthur the Wrecker

Summary
Arthur breaks his mom's computer. Can he fix it before she finds out?

Plot
Intro: Arthur mentions that kids like him have done important things. He is then seen in three flashbacks, where he dislodges the nose of the Sphinx in Egypt, accidentally breaking the arms off of Dad's sculpture that is bought soon after, and running into the Liberty Bell and making the crack in its side. It is then shown that Arthur broke a window in the backyard door while playing baseball. He was sugarcoating the accident by making it seem like a to-be "valuable and important" event in history created by an innocent kid. D.W. assumes that Arthur will never forget the accident, and proceeds to tell Mom about the broken window.

To Arthur and D.W.'s dismay, Mom has to work since it is tax season. Eager to play a new computer game, Deep Dark Sea, Arthur plays it on the family computer right after rapidly finishing his dinner. Right up to bedtime, Arthur has made some progress in the game, but Mom and Dad convince him to stop and save since he is already tired. The next morning, Buster comes over to the house, and dashes with Arthur to the computer to continue the game. They are both hoping to find a "thing" that will earn Arthur free prizes and rewards if found, but are stopped when Mom tells them she has to work on the computer. When Mom leaves the house, Arthur and Buster play on it anyway, even though Mom telling them that she will need it again when she gets back, and D.W. reminding them of what Mom said. When Arthur finds a treasure chest, Arthur and Buster assume it to be the "thing", so they both fight for for the mouse, and knock the keyboard off the desk, causing the monitor to go blank. While D.W. exaggeratingly forsees the possible repercussions of the computer getting wrecked, such as Mom losing her job and the family starving and losing the house, Arthur and Buster find the Brain, skipping rocks at a pond, to try and fix the computer before Mom gets home. Unfortunately, he cannot find the problem.

As soon as Mom comes back home through the front door, Buster and the Brain leave, and D.W. goes up to her room. Mom allows Arthur to play on the computer before she uses it, but Arthur declines. After dinner that night, Mom proceeds to the computer to work, but Arthur attempts to distract her from finding out what happened to the computer. Finally, Arthur tells her that he wrecked it after playing on it, and apologizes. Mom is able to fix the computer by toggling a switch in the back. Mom tells Arthur that he could have just told her what happened instead of worrying, and Arthur says that she wouldn't be mad, but disappointed. Arthur is grounded for playing on the computer for the whole week, and Arthur accepts Mom's punishment. The episode finishes as Mom becomes fascinated with Deep Dark Sea, and plays it passionately that evening.

Major characters

 * Arthur Read
 * Jane Read
 * D.W. Read
 * David Read
 * Buster Baxter
 * Alan Powers

Minor characters

 * Mr. Powers
 * Kate Read
 * Pal
 * Tut (debut)
 * Papa Pharaoh (debut)
 * Tut's mother (debut)
 * Arthurius (debut)
 * Fatherius (debut)
 * Mr. Haney (Ancient Greece) (debut)
 * Binky Barnes

Trivia

 * "Arthur the Wrecker" became adapted into a book in the Arthur Adventure series and re-titled as Arthur's Computer Disaster.
 * It was also an entry in the Living Book series, going by the title Arthur's Computer Adventure.
 * The episode's intro features three historical landmarks and pieces that are accidentally made famous by Arthur: in ancient Egypt he dislodges the nose from the Great Sphinx; in ancient Greece, he breaks Dad's sculpture that a Greek version of Mr. Haney later buys, by chopping of the arms holding a marble sculpture of D.W, thus creating the famous Venus de Milo sculpture; in colonial America, Arthur is running and flying a kite, but rams into a giant bell, creating a big crack in it, and making it the famous Liberty Bell.
 * This episode is implied to be set in April, as Arthur's mom says it's tax season and she has to have the computer all day; Tax Day usually falls on April 15 every year in the United States.

Cultural References

 * When Arthur imagines himself in ancient Egypt, The Streets of Cairo can be heard in the background. When Arthur imagines himself in colonial America, Yankee Doodle can be heard in the background.

Home video
VHS: DVD:
 * Arthur's Computer Adventure (video)
 * Arthur: The Complete Series One