Sue Ellen and the Brainasaurous

Summary
Sue Ellen is at first thrilled that Brain is her partner on a school project, but then wonders whether he's going to let her help at all.

Plot
Sue Ellen and Brain are assigned to work on a project together (the same assignment as in "Arthur Goes Crosswire"). They decide to build a model dinosaur. Francine and Buster tell Sue Ellen that it will be easy, since Brain does almost all of the work himself.

Sue Ellen constantly wants to help with the project, but Brain doesn't let her because he keeps thinking she'll ruin it and get them both a bad grade. He tries to avoid her so she doesn't interfere with his work. Meanwhile, Buster keeps trying to avoid Francine because he doesn't want to work on their project.

One day, Sue Ellen visits Brain and tells him she'll work on the dinosaur's head. However, he doesn't trust her to do a good job and stays up all night to make his own version anyways. The next day Sue Ellen visits him and shows him her work, but he is dissatisfied with it and says he won't use it. Sue Ellen said they both look the same and it's their project (not just his), but Brain doesn't listen.

Brain brings his dinosaur to school, but he and Sue Ellen fight over it and it falls in the mud. He tells Francine about what happened, but she laughs and even admits that she would have pushed him in the mud, not just let him fall. Brain doesn't understand, but Francine explains that Sue Ellen is right about him being a "report hog". For example, a year earlier he and Francine were doing a project about France - he played Napoleon and made her play France, not even giving her any lines (she just lay on the floor under his boot). Even when they were little, he would fix other kids' finger paintings. She then asks him how he would like it if Sue Ellen treated him the way he treated her. Brain imagined that he is working on the project but then Sue Ellen came in telling him to go home because he doesn't want him to fiddle with her "precious" A+ and don't trust him.

Brain understands and apologizes to Sue Ellen for not letting her help admits he would also feel bad if nobody trust him working on a report. She tells him that she'll fix it as long as he trusts her. Though Brain is reluctant at first, he smiles and lets her take care of the situation. When the time comes to present their project, Sue Ellen asks Mr. Ratburn to take the class outside. There, she shows their new project - a fossil dig, made out of the model dinosaur's bones in the mud they fell into earlier. She explains that paleontologists dig up sites like this, and tells Brain to show the class the proper way to do it. While he does that, Francine tells Buster that after school they'll finally finish their project. Buster tells her that he'll meet her at her house, but Francine has had enough of his stalling and proceeds to handcuff him to herself so he won't run away anymore.

Major

 * The Brain
 * Sue Ellen Armstrong
 * Nigel Ratburn

Minor

 * Buster Baxter
 * Muffy Crosswire
 * Francine Frensky
 * Fern Walters
 * Mrs. Armstrong

Cameo

 * George Lundgren
 * Arthur Read
 * Binky Barnes
 * Maria Pappas
 * Alex
 * 3rd Grade Male Dog (Number 3)
 * Jessica
 * Kenny
 * Bailey
 * 3rd Grade Female Aardvark (Number 2)
 * Mary
 * 3rd Grade Male Cat
 * Jenna Morgan

Episode connections

 * The project Sue Ellen and Brain are working on is assigned at the same time as Arthur and Muffy's project from the first half of the episode. Viewers can even see their project shown right before Brain and Sue Ellen's near the end of this episode.
 * This whole episode, like Arthur's Baby/D.W.'s Baby, has both segments taking place at the same time but with different point of views.
 * Sue Ellen and Brain's dinosaur project is seen again in "Muffy's Classy Classics Club".
 * Brain mentions to cue the title, similar to Arthur mentioning to move over to the title card in The Last of Mary Moo Cow, and Fern mentioning that as well in Fern's Slumber Party.

Cultural references

 * The first dinosaur head Sue Ellen makes from clay resembles the children's TV character Barney.

Production notes

 * This is the first episode to use Brain Underwater as a title card.

Home video
DVD:
 * Arthur: The Complete Series 4