The forum pages are fully operational! See this link for the latest forum topics, where users can collaborate or discuss certain topics in one place!

Difference between revisions of "Arthur the Unfunny"

From Arthur Wiki
Jump to navigationJump to search
 
(114 intermediate revisions by 42 users not shown)
Line 1: Line 1:
'''{{Episode_infobox
{{Episode infobox
|ep. name = Arthur the Unfunny
|ep. name = Arthur the Unfunny
|image = Arthur the Unfunny.png
|image = Comedian Arthur.PNG
|season = 2
|titlecard = Arthur the Unfunny Title Card.png
|airdate = February 7, 1998  
|season = [[Season 2|2]]
|prev. episode = Water and the Brain  
|number = 13B
|next episode = Sue Ellen's Lost Diary}}'''
|can=September 9, 1998<ref>https://web.archive.org/web/20120413104003/http://ww3.tvo.org/program/157024/arthur</ref>
|us = April 8, 1998<ref>https://web.archive.org/web/20010316024917/http://www.ket.org/visions/apr98/VL980408.html</ref>
|writers = [[Joe Fallon]]
|storyboarders = [[Stéphanie Gignac]]
|prev. episode = [[Water and the Brain]]
|next episode = [[Sue Ellen's Lost Diary]]
}}
{{EpisodeHeader|2|13|2}}


'''Arthur the Unfunny''' is the second half of the 13th episode of season 2 of the animated children's series ''[[Arthur]]''. It originally aired on February 7th, 1998.
==Summary==
[[Arthur Read|Arthur]] decides to learn how to make people laugh.<ref>http://www.ket.org/episode/ARUR%20%20000213/</ref>


==Plot==
==Plot==
In a letter to Buster, Arthur tells him about how he was determined to be too hopelessly unfunny to be a clown and how he discovered he can be funny using his piano.
Arthur starts the show by trying to tell a joke. He messes up the setup, and accidentally spoils the punchline, then walks off in shame.
==Trivia==
*2nd Cameo of Buster Baxter
==Quotes==
* '''Arthur:''' ''(sharpens his pencil at his desk until he realizes the pencil sharpener is infected with red and green crayon globs)'' MOM!! ''(stands up from his desk and stares at his pencil with crayon globs)'' D.W. used my good pencil sharpener to sharpen her crayons again!


* '''D.W.:''' ''(walks in Arthur's room)'' Did not!
<center>'''Arthur the Unfunny'''</center>


* '''Arthur:''' Then how come it's full of crayon?
Arthur starts writing a letter to [[Buster Baxter|Buster]] about how the [[Elwood City Public Library]] is having a fundraiser. [[Leah MacGrady|Mrs. MacGrady]] is having a bake sale, [[Ed Crosswire|Mr. Crosswire]] is raffling off a car, and [[Muffy Crosswire|Muffy]] is setting up a backyard carnival. Arthur and his friends choose to be clowns at the carnival, so they practice doing funny things. Arthur tells a joke Buster told him, but nobody finds it funny. [[Francine Frensky|Francine]] and Muffy fear that Arthur will ruin the carnival.


''(Pal starts growling for a few seconds)''
Arthur practices his piano, and [[Kate Read|Kate]] starts laughing. Arthur continues to amuse Kate by making silly faces. Meanwhile, in [[The Sugar Bowl]], Muffy decides that Arthur can't be a clown until he can learn to be funny.


* '''D.W.:''' ''(pointing to Pal)'' Pal did it!
[[Sue Ellen Armstrong|Sue Ellen]] comes over to Arthur's house to teach him how to juggle, but he struggles with it. [[Alan Powers|Brain]] teaches him jokes, but Arthur doesn't understand them. [[Binky Barnes|Binky]] shows Arthur how to make funny faces, but he is unable to do that as well. Even after Muffy hires [[Pickles]] to teach Arthur, he is still not funny.


* '''Arthur:''' He couldn't! He doesn't have thumbs.
Arthur admits that he is not funny. On the day of the carnival, he is the piano player. He starts to play the piano off-key and make silly faces, like he did with Kate, causing everyone to laugh.


* '''D.W.:''' ''(folds her arms behind herself and pauses for a few seconds)'' Got to go. ''(walks out of Arthur's room)''
Pickles tells Arthur that he found his own style of humor, and congratulates him. The episode finishes with Buster reading Arthur's letter and laughing.


* '''Arthur:''' ''(sits down and drops the pencil on his desk and picks up a pen starts writing)'' "Dear Buster, how is it traveling to foreign countries with your dad? I wish D.W. would go to a foreign country.
==Characters==
*[[Arthur Read]]
*[[Buster Baxter]]
*[[Francine Frensky]]
*[[Muffy Crosswire]]
*[[Alan Powers|The Brain]]
*[[Kate Read]]
*[[Binky Barnes]]
*[[Fern Walters]]
*[[Sue Ellen Armstrong]]
*[[David Read]]
*[[D.W. Read]]
*[[Jane Read]]
*[[Pickles]]
*[[Catherine Frensky]] (cameo)
*[[Oliver Frensky]] (cameo)
*[[Laverne Frensky]] (cameo)
*[[Cecilia Tingley]] (cameo)
*[[George Lundgren]] (cameo)
*[[Mr. Powers]] (cameo)
*[[Mrs. Powers]] (cameo)
*[[Mr. Barnes]] (cameo)
*[[Mrs. Barnes]] (cameo)
*[[Leah MacGrady]] (cameo)
*[[Ed Crosswire]] (cameo)
*[[Millicent Crosswire]] (cameo)
*[[Nigel Ratburn]] (transformed and mentioned)


* '''D.W.:''' ''(from outside Arthur's room)'' I heard that!
==Trivia==
 
*"Thick shake" is a term used outside the United States for a milkshake made with ice cream.
* '''Arthur:''' ''(continues writing as the scenes trail to the future events he's explaining about until his mentioned voice on what he's writing to Buster fades away) ''Everyone here is trying to raise money for the Elwood City Library. Mrs. McGrady is having a bake sale and all the money goes toward buying new books. For someone who says he doesn't like to read, Binky sure paid for a lot of books. Mr. Crosswire is raffling off a new car. And Muffy decided to have a backyard carnival.
*More sound is audible from the Reads' computer than usual. In particular, one can hear a startup chime followed shortly by the hard disk drive motor spinning up. A few seconds before the scene change, one can also hear the hard disk drive heads in action.
 
**The chime sound reveals that the computer is most likely a Macintosh computer, although the case is more typical of the PCs from that era.
 
*[[Sue Ellen Armstrong|Sue Ellen]] is a clown, but on the day of the carnival, she is not present.
*'''(Arthur starts a speech in front of everybody, slowly people begin to pay attention and start humming)'''
*The location that Buster and his father are in when Buster receives the letter from Arthur is Venice, Italy.
 
*When [[Arthur Read|Arthur]] is telling jokes to his friends which they do not find funny, his laugh is used from the [[Buster Baxter|Buster]] Makes Sounds title card.
*'''Arthur: '''I'm not funny. I don't have to be a clown. Not everybody has to be funny. If everyone was as funny as the people on TV, there would no reason to watch TV. And if nobody watched TV, all people who make the shows would have no jobs! And all the companies that advertise would go out of business! So by not being funny, I'm saving the jobs of thousands and thousands of people and their families!
*'''Timeline:''' Pickles recognizes Pal as the dog that stole his balloons back in season one while teaching Arthur how to mime, and quits the job on the spot. Ironically, Arthur has no idea about their previous enmity and says that Pickles had to leave for health reasons.
*'''Moral:'''  
**Don't judge other people for your own personal benefit.
**Dont make goofy/silly faces for your own personal benifit.
===Cultural references===
*The beginning of the episode before the title card is a reference to ''Seinfeld''.
*While [[Arthur Read|Arthur]] does his speech of apology, the girls hum along to "Battle Hymn of the Republic."
*The front license plate on the car being raffled off is "EMC2," a reference to [[Albert Einstein]]'s equation for special relativity, "E = mc2."


*'''(Arthur walks away and the others stare off into the distance. Finally, Fern stands up.)'''
==Home Video==
'''DVD:'''
*[[Arthur Makes a Movie (2005 DVD)]]
*[[Arthur: The Complete Series 3]]
'''VHS:'''
*[[Arthur Makes a Movie (VHS)]]


*'''Fern:''' Wow... I wish someday I could be as important as Arthur.
==Gallery==
[[Category:Episodes]]
<gallery>
Comedian Arthur.PNG
Arthur and DW argue.PNG
DW is speechless.PNG
Arthur + Francine = Discussion.PNG
Arthur the Unfunny.png
Pickles.png
</gallery>
==References==
{{Reflist}}
{{EpisodeNav|2}}
[[Category:Season 2 episodes]]
[[Category:Season 2 episodes]]
[[Category:A to Z]]
[[Category:Arthur episodes]]
[[Category:1997]]

Latest revision as of 00:24, 21 March 2024

"Arthur the Unfunny"
Comedian Arthur.PNG
Arthur the Unfunny Title Card.png
Season/Series: 2
Number in season: 13B
Original Airdate: United States April 8, 1998[1]
Canada September 9, 1998[2]
Credits
Written by: Joe Fallon
Storyboard by: Stéphanie Gignac
Episodes
Previous
"Water and the Brain" 		Next
"Sue Ellen's Lost Diary"
Read transcript

"Arthur the Unfunny" is the second half of the thirteenth episode in the second season of Arthur.

Summary[edit]

Arthur decides to learn how to make people laugh.[3]

Plot[edit]

Arthur starts the show by trying to tell a joke. He messes up the setup, and accidentally spoils the punchline, then walks off in shame.

Arthur the Unfunny

Arthur starts writing a letter to Buster about how the Elwood City Public Library is having a fundraiser. Mrs. MacGrady is having a bake sale, Mr. Crosswire is raffling off a car, and Muffy is setting up a backyard carnival. Arthur and his friends choose to be clowns at the carnival, so they practice doing funny things. Arthur tells a joke Buster told him, but nobody finds it funny. Francine and Muffy fear that Arthur will ruin the carnival.

Arthur practices his piano, and Kate starts laughing. Arthur continues to amuse Kate by making silly faces. Meanwhile, in The Sugar Bowl, Muffy decides that Arthur can't be a clown until he can learn to be funny.

Sue Ellen comes over to Arthur's house to teach him how to juggle, but he struggles with it. Brain teaches him jokes, but Arthur doesn't understand them. Binky shows Arthur how to make funny faces, but he is unable to do that as well. Even after Muffy hires Pickles to teach Arthur, he is still not funny.

Arthur admits that he is not funny. On the day of the carnival, he is the piano player. He starts to play the piano off-key and make silly faces, like he did with Kate, causing everyone to laugh.

Pickles tells Arthur that he found his own style of humor, and congratulates him. The episode finishes with Buster reading Arthur's letter and laughing.

Characters[edit]

Trivia[edit]

  • "Thick shake" is a term used outside the United States for a milkshake made with ice cream.
  • More sound is audible from the Reads' computer than usual. In particular, one can hear a startup chime followed shortly by the hard disk drive motor spinning up. A few seconds before the scene change, one can also hear the hard disk drive heads in action.
    • The chime sound reveals that the computer is most likely a Macintosh computer, although the case is more typical of the PCs from that era.
  • Sue Ellen is a clown, but on the day of the carnival, she is not present.
  • The location that Buster and his father are in when Buster receives the letter from Arthur is Venice, Italy.
  • When Arthur is telling jokes to his friends which they do not find funny, his laugh is used from the Buster Makes Sounds title card.
  • Timeline: Pickles recognizes Pal as the dog that stole his balloons back in season one while teaching Arthur how to mime, and quits the job on the spot. Ironically, Arthur has no idea about their previous enmity and says that Pickles had to leave for health reasons.
  • Moral:
    • Don't judge other people for your own personal benefit.
    • Dont make goofy/silly faces for your own personal benifit.

Cultural references[edit]

  • The beginning of the episode before the title card is a reference to Seinfeld.
  • While Arthur does his speech of apology, the girls hum along to "Battle Hymn of the Republic."
  • The front license plate on the car being raffled off is "EMC2," a reference to Albert Einstein's equation for special relativity, "E = mc2."

Home Video[edit]

DVD:

VHS:

Gallery[edit]

  • Comedian Arthur.PNG
  • Arthur and DW argue.PNG
  • DW is speechless.PNG
  • Arthur + Francine = Discussion.PNG
  • Arthur the Unfunny.png
  • Pickles.png

References[edit]

  1. ↑ https://web.archive.org/web/20010316024917/http://www.ket.org/visions/apr98/VL980408.html
  2. ↑ https://web.archive.org/web/20120413104003/http://ww3.tvo.org/program/157024/arthur
  3. ↑ http://www.ket.org/episode/ARUR%20%20000213/



Episodes
Season 2
  1. Arthur Meets Mister Rogers / Draw!
  2. Binky Barnes, Art Expert / Arthur's Lucky Pencil
  3. D.W., the Picky Eater / Buster and the Daredevils
  4. Arthur Makes a Movie / Go to Your Room, D.W.
  5. Arthur's Underwear / Francine Frensky, Olympic Rider
  6. Buster Baxter, Cat Saver / Play it Again, D.W.
  7. Arthur's TV-Free Week / Night Fright
  8. Arthur vs. the Piano / The Big Blow-Up
  9. Lost! / The Short, Quick Summer
  10. D.W. Goes to Washington / Arthur's Mystery Envelope
  11. D.W.'s Deer Friend / Buster Hits the Books
  12. Arthur's Faraway Friend / Arthur and the Square Dance
  13. Water and the Brain / Arthur the Unfunny
  14. Sue Ellen's Lost Diary / Arthur's Knee
  15. Grandma Thora Appreciation Day / Fern's Slumber Party
  16. Love Notes for Muffy / D.W. Blows the Whistle
  17. Francine Redecorates / Arthur the Loser
  18. Arthur vs. the Very Mean Crossing Guard / D.W.'s Very Bad Mood
  19. D.W.'s Name Game / Finders Key-pers
  20. How the Cookie Crumbles / Sue Ellen's Little Sister
Full list
Retrieved from "https://arthurwiki.com/w/index.php?title=Arthur_the_Unfunny&oldid=414573"