Arthur's Underwear (episode)

"Arthur's Underwear" is the first half of the 5th episode of season 2 of the animated children's series Arthur. It originally aired on October 20th, 1997.

Plot
Binky rips his pants in class, revealing his underwear to all of his friends. The kids (Especially Arthur) find this hilarious, much to Binky's embarrassment. Arthur can't stop laughing every time he thinks of it, but that night after going to bed, Arthur has a nightmare where he oversleeps and is late for school. When he arrives, the class laughs at him, to which Mr. Ratburn points out that Arthur came to school with no pants on, but in briefs. He wakes up screaming and at school tells Buster about it. During class, Arthur's class watches a movie about microscopic organisms, and during a discussion about amoebas, Arthur has an nightmare in which he's an amoeba and his body splits in two, with one half being his pants running off. Buster wakes him up when the movie ends. Arthur is scared he'll have the dream again, so Buster suggests he not sleep at all. Arthur does this and preoccupies himself with comics, singing, and his action figures until he finally falls asleep. He then has a nightmare where his class is being held hostage by the Verminator, Bionic Bunny's nemesis. Hearing their screams, he rips off his suit to reveal his Bionic Bunny outfit, and faces the Verminator. Unfortunately, the class and the Verminator laugh at him when they see he's got no pants yet again, and Arthur wakes up just as his mom throws him a pair for school.

At the Sugar Bowl, Arthur asks Buster for more help, so Buster suggests he sleep in his pants. Arthur tries this at night, but D.W. comes in and asks why. He says he's trying to break into them since they're "stiff". She likes this idea and decides to wear all of her uncomfortable clothes to bed, much to Arthur's chagrin. The next day at the Laundromat, Buster tries to hypnotize Arthur into not being afraid of losing his pants. Arthur wakes up and does not have the dream, and while celebrating inexplicably loses his pants. The pants then get up with eyes and razor-sharp teeth, and chases Arthur away. Buster thinks they really need some fabric softener. Arthur is screaming for help, and Buster wakes him up, for real this time. Arthur tells Buster to keep the whole thing a secret, to which Buster agrees.

However, at school, Arthur sits with Francine and Muffy, who are laughing because he may not have his pants on. They say Buster told them about it, but he denies this. He then eats with the Brain, who says Buster told him the dream and that he wanted to help him with his embarrassment. Arthur panics and goes to Buster for help. To his shock, Buster admits that he told a few people, hoping they could offer a better solution. In his panic, Arthur's pants get caught on the tray rack and he accidentally rips them open, partially revealing his underwear. The entire school laughs at him, so Binky covers him up and leads him to the kitchen. There, Mrs. MacGrady sews them back up for Arthur, and Buster apologizes for breaking his promise. Soon enough, Arthur's pants are finally fixed, and Mrs. MacGrady offers him some advice. People are embarrassed all the time, but that doesn't make him any less than who he is. No matter what, he's still Arthur, even without his pants.

One week later, Arthur is relieved that he has not had another underwear nightmare, and Buster is amazed that of all things, ripping his pants was the cure. Just when they leave the Sugar Bowl however, Arthur points out something to Buster; he's wearing nothing but boxers! Buster wakes up screaming, and realizes that now he's having the nightmares, much to his dismay.

Trivia

 * Arthur's underwear incident is referenced several times in later episodes.