Bleep

Bleep is the second half of the 10th episode of Season 8. It first aired on December 26th, 2003 along with "Big Horns George." It explores the wrong of swear words.

Summary
D.W. overhears a curse word from a teenage boy, but she's afraid if she says it, something will break. The Tibbles tell her if she says it, anyone will become her zombie servant. D.W. tests this on Vicita, only to get in trouble, but her mom does not punish her because she did not know what it meant. She then decides to talk to her friends about cursing.

Plot
First, Arthur talks to the viewer about the bleep. The usage is a show called The Altos (A parody of The Sopranos). 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"), his mother 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 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 where 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".

Mrs. Read tells D.W. she is "off the hook" because she didn't understand 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.

Controversy
Bleep has spawned controversy since its airing, and has been rarely aired on PBS' stations ever since. Even though the swear word is fully bleeped out instead of saying the first letter(s) and bleeping the rest of the word or not bleeping it at all, it is thought that D.W, Vicita, and D.W.'s classmates were actually saying a real curse word.

Trivia

 * The Altos are a parody of The Sopranos.
 * This episode's title can also have an exclamation point at the end.
 * When Arthur drops the plane, it breaks, just like it did in "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.

Mistakes

 * When Arthur is working on another model plane as a replacement for the one D.W. threw out of the window and broke in "Arthur's Big Hit," he was first seen wearing socks, but after Jane opens the door, he is wearing his shoes.