D.W. and Dr. Whosit

Synopsis
D.W. is determined to watch a new television show after her parents tell her she's too young to watch.

Plot
D.W. is in the kitchen, trying to make pancakes, but David is unsure and wonders if he should help. D.W., however, is confident she can make them on her own and pours too much flour in, then breaks eggs directly into the bowl by crunching them with her hands. David asks Arthur if he wants pancakes, but Arthur is happy with his cereal. He then points out that there are some things, such as making pancakes on your own, that you have to wait until you're a certain age to try and do. D.W. puts ketchup into the pancake batter and Arthur imagines a world where everyone could do whatever they wanted at any age, including Kate as a pilot, Bud as an accountant, and the Tibble twins as surgeons. Back in reality, D.W. has made the pancakes, but they look disgusting, so Arthur says, "See what I mean?".

TITLE CARD

Arthur and Buster are shooting hoops in a driveway while discussing a TV show called Dr. Whosit. Buster wonders how Dr. Whosit from the show knew to go back in time and Arthur states that he thinks it was from something called the ecto-ooze. As D.W. approaches them, they both make hand gestures and say, "Egad! The doctor has flibbered!" in an English accent. D.W. asks what they're talking about and Arthur replies that it is "Just a Dr. Whosit thing." D.W. asks what Dr. Whosit is and Buster says that it's the best new show on T.V. D.W. asks if they've "forgotten a certain cow named Mary", holding up her Mary Moo Cow doll for emphasis. Arthur and Buster say that Dr. Whosit is a weird show that she's too young for and wouldn't like. As the boys say the "egad" line again and do the same gestures, D.W. wanders off, agreeing that she wouldn't like the show if it made her do that.

David and D.W. then go for a walk, where D.W. observes Binky at the skate park and a bunch of people at the ice cream store all making the same gestures and saying the same Dr. Whosit line that Arthur and Buster were saying. She complains to David that it's like they've been hypnotized (which she mispronounces as "hippo-sized"). David corrects her pronunciation and when she mentions Dr. Whosit, he says that he should start watching it with Jane. D.W. asks if they can have popcorn, but David thinks she's too young to watch. This makes D.W. growl in frustration so David suggests making her popcorn anyway.

On the playground, Bud tells D.W. that he's heard the Dr. Whosit tagline as well but doesn't know what "flibbered" means because apparently it's an "inside joke". D.W. doesn't know what an inside joke is and wonders if it's a joke only for indoors. Bud clarifies that an inside joke is a joke that only some people get, such as a song the two of them made up with the lyric "sparkly dee-ga". D.W. remembers that the song annoyed Arthur because he didn't know what it meant. Back in the present, D.W. plans to find out what "flibbered" means. Timmy Tibble then shows up, claiming he knows what it means. Tommy agrees and they agree to tell D.W. and Bud for a price. D.W. reluctantly hands them her muffin and the twins lead D.W. and Bud into a playhouse. They then whisper into D.W.'s ears.

In the Read house, Arthur and Buster are at the table drinking green liquid and Buster is wondering why Dr. Whosit didn't take a certain course of action to escape from the "fiendish mud rats". D.W. enters, suggesting that maybe there is no cantaloupe for his flibbering. This confuses the boys and D.W. says she knows all about the show now and wants to join in the boys' conversation. Arthur asks for clarification on her cantaloupe remark. D.W. clarifies that Whosit gets his powers from cantaloupe to hop as a kangaroo, but it gives him bad breath that makes people bark like seals, so he has to eat a lot of peppermints while slicing the cantaloupe, which is what flibbering is. Arthur and Buster are still confused and reveal that the show has no cantaloupes, which makes D.W. realize that the twins were lying. She then tells the boys that "if you think you can keep this mystery a mystery, you've got another thing coming." Buster believes D.W. sounds just like Dr. Whosit, which frustrates her.

At night, D.W. hears the television going and gets out of bed. David and Jane are excitedly watching the TV when D.W. tries to watch with them. David, however, pauses the TV and takes her back to bed, explaining that she can watch when she's older. D.W. then overhears David say that he's been recording the show.

The next morning, D.W. sneaks into the living room and tries to watch TV only to see a red screen with a logo of a kid and an adult standing next to each other. She tries to change the channel but the logo doesn't go away, making her growl.

She wakes up Arthur and tells him about the logo on the screen and he explains that their parents installed a password to prevent them from watching shows that are bad for kids. D.W. asks for the password, but Arthur doesn't know and D.W. believes that he's implying "no" and "get out" are the password. He calls for Jane and D.W. runs out of the room.

Jane notices the TV is on and appears thoughtful. D.W. then asks if she wants to play a game like Hangman but called Snowman about Jane's favorite four-letter word. Jane, however, can tell that D.W. is probably after the password and declines.

Later, D.W. spies on David using his computer and finds out that all of the family passwords are written down in a book. She asks David how long he will be working for and then leaves.

In the garden, she asks Bud for help on a sneaky mission: Operation 'Old Enough to be Sneaky Enough to Watch Whosit'. He agrees.

In the hallway, Bud complains that he's so hungry that "[his] innards feel all rumbly like two tennis balls in a clothes dryer". Mr. Read offers to make Bud a snack and Bud offers to help. Meanwhile, D.W. sneaks into the living room and takes the book.

In the kitchen, David offers Bud guacamole. Bud says that he likes guacamole "especially when complicated things are added to it", so David suggests adding pomegranate seeds.

In the living room, D.W. finds the TV password: R-E-A-D.

Bud then spills the pomegranate seeds and D.W. beckons him into the living room, where they begin to watch Dr. Whosit. At first they find the show scary, then they find it boring. Then, David and Jane enter (David with his guacamole) and David half-jokingly says, "Egad! The dad is mad!". Bud leaves and D.W. looks guilty.

At the dinner table, David is still angry and upset over what D.W. did and explains that when D.W. is sneaky, she makes it harder for him to watch her safety. D.W. apologizes and notes that she doesn't care about the show. David disallows D.W. to watch television for a week and Arthur points out that sometimes you have to wait until you're older to do certain things. David then reveals that he and Jane believe Arthur is too young for Dr. Whosit.

Major

 * D.W. Read
 * David Read
 * Jane Read
 * Arthur Read
 * Buster Baxter
 * Bud Compson

Minor

 * Binky Barnes
 * Timmy and Tommy Tibble
 * Kate Read

Cameo

 * Molly
 * Slink
 * Martin Spivack
 * Mrs. Powers
 * Debi

Trivia

 * A page from the Reads' password book is seen. One password (Ar1976) could be a reference to the original publication date of the first Arthur book in 1976.

Cultural references

 * Dr. Whosit is a parody of Dr. Who.

Errors

 * In the title card, when the title is said, the closed captioning shows that Buster said it, but it's actually Binky who said it.
 * When Arthur and Buster are in the kitchen talking to D.W., part of Buster's shirt collar (with the buttons) disappears in a couple of scenes, and then reappears.
 * Bud and D.W. are on the living room couch, watching Dr. Whosit, and D.W. is shown without her shoes. After Mr. Read says "Egad! The dad is mad!", D.W.'s shoes then appear on her feet.