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Background Blues/Transcript
Introduction
A futuristic version of Arthur is working on what looks like a tablet computer, which creates a hologram of a tower in front of him. A robot dog jumps into his lap.
R4: Hi, Hal. How's it going, boy? A futuristic D.W. floats into the room.
3W: (giggles) Look out, R4! She knocks him over. The hologram disappears.
R4: 3W!!
A futuristic Mrs. Read is talking to a futuristic Bitzi Baxter on a video phone in the kitchen.
Mother: And I got the kids’ mittens on sale for only three million dollars!
R4: Mom, 3W deleted my hologram!
Mother: Why don't you do your homework instead of fighting with 3W?
R4 sits at a computer in his room. He presses the “homework” key.
Computer: Homework done. 3W comes in.
3W: R4, will you play virtual flingy with me? Please, please, please, pleease?
R4: All right, quit gleebing!
R4 and 3W stand in the living room wearing virtual goggles. They pretend to throw something.
R4: Hng.
3W: Stop throwing it so hard. You're hurting me!
R4: No, I'm not! It's all in your imagination. The mother comes in.
Mother: All right, you two. I want you to sit on the barkazoid and watch a datagram.
The kids sit down. The mother gets a data carrier from a shelf with a picture of the present-day Arthur and the label “53B”. She puts it into a machine.
R4: What is it?
Mother: It belonged to your great-grandfather. They used to call them videos. You can see what life was like in ancient times.
The machine creates a projection of the “Family Photo” title card with the title “Background Blues”.
Cut to the actual title card.
Title Card: Family Photo
Mr. Ratburn points to a family tree on the blackboard.
Mr. Ratburn: For next week, I’d like you to research your family history and present it to the class. I found out some very interesting things about the Ratburns. As we can see, the Ratburn line can be traced far back into history.
The kids have a fantasy of Mr. Ratburn standing on a snowy plain dressed like Napoleon.
Napoleon Ratburn: Travaillez plus! Travaillez plus! [Subtitle: Work Harder! Work Harder!] The kids in French uniforms are setting up a cannon.
Arthur: What?
Another fantasy shows Mr. Ratburn sitting on a throne wearing a toga and a laurel wreath while the kids are creating a marble statue of him.
Ratburn Cesar: Laborate plus diligente! [Subtitle: Work Harder!]
In ancient Egypt the kids are pulling a huge stone block. Mr. Ratburn is dressed like a pharaoh. He creates a speech bubble with Egyptian hieroglyphs. [Subtitle: Work Harder!]
The fantasies end.
Mr. Ratburn: And so I’ve learned that the Ratburns wouldn’t be where they are today without a lot of hard work. Let’s see what you find out.