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The Short, Quick Summer
| "The Short, Quick Summer" | |
|---|---|
  | |
| Season/Series: | 2 |
| Number in season: | 9B |
| Original Airdate: |  October 30, 1997[1] December 4, 1997[2] |
| Credits | |
| Written by: | Joe Fallon |
| Storyboard by: | Denis Banville |
| Episodes | |
| Previous "Lost!" |
Next "D.W. Goes to Washington" |
| Read transcript | |
"The Short, Quick Summer" is the second half of the ninth episode in the second season of Arthur.
Summary
As summer vacation draws to a close, Arthur wonders where the time went.
Plot
The episode begins on the last day of school. While Mr. Ratburn does one more math problem and Mrs. Fink’s class sings a song, Arthur shows his list of stuff he has planned to do over the summer, and thinks about it, like playing with Buster, going to the beach and looking at clouds. Finally, the bell rings, and Arthur runs out, excited about summer.
Two months later, Arthur is devastated to hear that school will begin next week. He goes to find his list, while hearing what his friends did this summer.
When Arthur complains to Buster about not having done anything all summer, Buster reminds him that both of them saved the carousel at the park. After learning from the operator that Mr. Crosswire had bought the carousel and wanted to rip it down, Buster organized a protest. Grandma Thora showed Mr. Crosswire an old photo of him riding the carousel as a toddler, and Mr. Crosswire decided to keep the carousel running. Arthur feels that this was something Buster did- not him.
Binky tells Arthur how he took his bike apart to clean it, though he did not manage to put it back together. He also invented the "mud sled", which did not quite work, but he enjoyed the mud.
At home, D.W. reminds Arthur that Kate said her first word that summer. D.W. called for the excited parents, only to tell them that the word was “bloodge agwa”.
Arthur meets his friends at the Sugar Bowl. Fern went to poetry camp and is now unable to stop rhyming. Sue Ellen spent the summer learning a difficult card trick from Mr. Ratburn, who was at Jack's Joke Shop.
On the way home, Arthur meets Francine and Prunella, who have been digging a hole all summer to look for minerals that can tell the future.
Arthur talks to The Brain who spent the summer teaching science and soccer at summer school, and was also launching a rocket in his yard.
When Arthur passes Prunella’s house again, the girls have filled up the hole, but still feel they had a lot of fun. Arthur thinks that everybody had a great time except him.
When Arthur gets home, he finds his list (which was taped to the back of his bedroom door), but realizes it's too late. Summer is already over. When D.W. asks Arthur to read the list to her, Arthur does. He soon realizes that he was all wrong, because he actually did everything he had planned. He "had adventures" by reading adventure books and imagining himself as part of the action. He "explored space" by playing astronauts with Buster. He "learned to fly" by riding his bike over a ramp. Happily, he felt much better and thanks D.W. for asking him to read the list and eventually throws away the list, much to her dismay. She remarks, “I was trying to make him feel rotten, and he feels great. I’m a failure as a little sister.”
On the last night of summer, Arthur, Francine and Buster roast marshmallows on the grill while imagining themselves as cowboys in the Wild West, ending the episode.
Characters
Major
Minor
Cameo
- Norman Hedgehog
- Brian
- The Brain
- George Lundgren
- 3rd Grade Female Aardvark
- 3rd Grade Male Dog
- Kenny
- 3rd Grade Female Cat (Number 2)
- Mrs. Fink
- Beulah McInnerny
- 3rd Grade Male Cat (Miscolored)
Mentioned
Trivia
- The deck of cards Mr. Ratburn uses has 3 black aces. The standard number is 2, so that could be a special deck made specifically for that trick.
Cultural references
- The three books referenced by Arthur's imagination are:
- Gulliver's Travels, with miniature versions of Binky as the Lilliputians.
- The Three Musketeers
- Treasure Island, with Arthur's dad as Long John Silver and Mr. Ratburn as a pirate. (Arthur mentions in "You Are Arthur" that this is his favorite book).
Episode connections
- The Long, Dull Winter's title is a reference to this episode's title.
Errors
- D.W. said that Kate said her first word, even though it technically wasn't a word. However, D.W. also states that Kate had already said her first word in "The Perfect Brother".
- Arthur's list is not visible hanging on the back of his door until the very end of the episode.
Home Video
DVD:
VHS:
Gallery
:Main article: The Short, Quick Summer/Gallery
References
