Bleep

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

Plot
The episode begins as Arthur talks to the viewer 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 he claims it could be fun if it was. D.W. gets a hold of the bleep button, driving him crazy.

After the title card is shown, D.W. goes to the crystal shop with Grandma Thora. She overhears a teenage boy arguing with his mother, and when he calls his mother a bad name (censored with a "bleep"), she drops the vase she is holding. D.W. wants to ask Grandma Thora (who didn't hear the argument) what the word means, but is afraid she will cause her to drop the expensive bowl she just bought. So instead, she asks Arthur the meaning of the word; he reacts by gasping and dropping the model plane he was working on, confirming D.W.'s belief that the word has the power to make people drop things. Arthur tells D.W. never to say the word around their parents, and D.W., still not clear on the meaning of the word, asks the Tibbles about it the next day at school. To get her in trouble, they tell D.W. that the word turns adults into zombie servants and that is the reason kids aren't supposed to say it near adults.

Back in class, everyone was singing "If You're Happy and You Know It", but D.W. has a fantasy in which the other children are singing, she accidentally says the curse word, the others gasp, and Miss Morgan drops her accordion and becomes a zombie servant to D.W.

Skeptical, D.W. repeats the Tibbles' story to Vicita, but tells her she shouldn't say it to anyone. However, D.W. knows that Vicita will say it anyway because she does not know any better, and so she watched Vicita from Arthur's room with a pair of binoculars to see what happens when she says it. She is interrupted by her mother calling her down to dinner; when her mother persists, D.W. accidentally blurbs out the bad word. Mrs. Read is shocked and angry at this accidental remark, and exclaims, "What did you just say to me?" D.W. tries to cover it up by saying, "Um, can I have a soda?" After Jane fails to fall for the ruse, D.W. sees Vicita blurt out the word to her family, and when they get angry, she says that D.W. told her the word. D.W. rushes downstairs to find the Molinas and her dad very angry with her, so she says a very unconvincing, "Arthur did it".

Later in the night, Mrs. Read spares D.W. by telling her she is "off the hook" because she didn't know what she was saying and explains to her that "swear words are not appropriate things to say, especially for 3 and 4-year-old children". As her mother is leaving, D.W. asks what swear words mean, and she responds, "I guess they mean 'I want to hurt your feelings.'" The next day, 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 her friends how hurtful swear words are.

Major characters

 * D.W. Read
 * Tibble Twins
 * Nadine
 * Arthur Read

Minor characters

 * Miss Morgan
 * Amanda Holser
 * Francine Frensky
 * Edwin
 * Grandma Thora
 * David Read
 * Jane Read
 * Vicita Molina
 * Slappy Blackhead
 * Mrs. Blackhead

Background characters

 * Mrs. Holser
 * James MacDonald
 * Ramon Molina
 * Mrs. Molina
 * Alberto Molina
 * Mary Ann
 * Liam
 * Lisa
 * Emily
 * Sara
 * Lucy
 * Kyle

Cultural references

 * The Altos are a parody of The Sopranos.
 * Mary Moo Cow jumping over the moon is a reference to the nursery rhyme "."

Episode connections

 * When Arthur drops the plane, it breaks, just like it did in "Arthur's Big Hit."
 * Arthur was most likely making another model plane to fill in for that broken during the events of Arthur's Big Hit.
 * The event where Arthur's mom's glass bird broke was shown again. The first time took place during the special Arthur's Perfect Christmas.

Errors

 * When Arthur was working on the model plane, he was first seen wearing socks; after Jane opens the door, he is seen in his shoes.
 * When the teenager's mother scolds him, the silver goblet that she was holding turns light green.

Production notes

 * The episode is not common to see on TV, with some PBS stations refusing to air it due to potential controversies around its content.

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