Fifteen

"Fifteen"
Season/Series:	15
Number in season:	1
Original Airdate:	October 10, 2011 February 13, 2012 January 28, 2011 October 12, 2010[citation needed]
Credits
Written by:	Jon Greenberg
Storyboard by:	Daniel Miodini Greg Hill
Episodes
Previous "The Long Road Home"	Next "I Wanna Hold Your Hand"
Read transcript

"Fifteen" is the first episode in the fifteenth season of Arthur. It is a two-part episode.

Summary

How much can Arthur and his friends do in 15 minutes?:

• Arthur tries to race home to find his report and get back to school before class starts.
• George gets his shot to win $500 for his school on the radio show "15 minutes of Fame."
• Kate and Pal try to defeat the "Red Claw" and their mission of getting kids to play with cats by eliminating all imaginary friends.

Can they all accomplish these missions before the clock counts all the way down? Only time will tell!

Plot

Arthur was asking the viewers if they are in a rush to do something with little time when Buster interrupts saying the show has to start. Buster starts the countdown while Arthur tries to push the black screen which pushes him.

Fifteen

The episode begins with Mr. Haney making an announcement that George will be appearing on the radio show 15 Minutes of Fame. Mr. Ratburn then states that if everyone turns their work in on time, it would be No Homework Day. The next day, Arthur forgot his Michelangelo report and goes back home to find it.

David noticed his report is still here and goes to return it. Pal and Kate heard what happened and go to help Arthur. But as he leaves the house, he accidently drops in into the recycling bin and gets it mixed up with his tusken wedding recipe.

Meanwhile, Arthur chooses to George and Wally with the questions because he is in a rush.

Back at home, Pal and Kate were trying to fit the key in everything. As they thought all hope is lost, Pal smells food in a desk.

Meanwhile, Arthur was helping George and Wally with the last question, then leaves. On the way home, a squirrel jumps in front of him, which made him fall, wrecking his bike.

Back home, Pal and Kate were getting the key to fit. It worked, but then Pal knocked over the pillows. Arthur finds the report gone. Meanwhile, Kate lands softly, which relieves Pal. Then Nemo shows up and takes the picture away. Then Pal discovered there was food in the desk. Kate wonders how to help Arthur, until Nadine shows up and says Arthur's not the only one.

Meanwhile, on a bus, Wally tells a passenger that George's going to be on a quiz show, which he's proud of. The passenger then decides to leave.

At school, David spots Buster and gives him Arthur's "report", which Buster will make sure he gets it.

At home, Nadine recruits Pal and Kate to stop Nemo from eliminating imaginary friends. Meanwhile, Arthur is still looking for his report when Buster calls him saying he's got the "report". Meanwhile, Pal and Kate begin their mission to stop Nemo.

Meanwhile, George arrives at the 15 Minutes Of Fame studio. The host then declares George's 15 Minutes Of Fame are about to begin.

There is a split screen of the studio of the radio talk show "15 Minutes of Fame", Arthur running to school, and Pal, who is holding a walkie talkie in his mouth. Pal smells something in the front yard of Arthur's house ... it's cat. In one of the windows Nadine, Baby Kate, and Vicita and the Tibbles imaginary friends are looking at Pal.

At the Lakewood auditorium Mr. Haney tries to talk on the microphone, but it makes a loud noise. Ms. Tingley comes onto the stage and fixes it. Turns out George is on "15 Minutes of Fame". Mr. Haney tries to use the projector, but it shows Binky. He fixes it, and Georges picture shows. All of the kids cheer.

At the studio of 15 Minutes of Fame the host prepares to ask George questions. The host thinks that George's name is "Josh". He gives George the first question... "What kind of wood is traditionally used to make a baseball bat?" At the Auditorium of Lakewood Francine thinks that the question was too hard. She notices there's something in Buster's hands—it's a report. Arthur's report. But it's clearly not Arthur's report, it's a recipe.

At the studio George is having trouble with a question that you'd think would be easy for him. However, he remembers the time when he got Wally as a Christmas present. He remembers that his dad said that he was ash wood, just like a baseball bat. George gets it correct.

In the Reads' backyard Pal is once again carrying a walkie-talkie. There's a hole, and he thinks that it is a secret entrance of Nemo's, so he digs in it more.

Arthur calls Buster, since Arthur is on his way to school. Buster tells him that he doesn't have Arthur's report, it was a recipe. So Arthur has to go back to his house to pick up the report and go all the way back to school.

George gets another question worth two-hundred dollars. He doesn't know the answer. The host reminds him that he has the option to call somebody to see if they can answer it. He remembers the time when he was in the Lakewood Talent Show, and at the end Mr. Ratburn told him to exeunt. Mr. Ratburn told him that exeunt means "leave the stage". He answers it and gets it right.

Meanwhile, Pal is still digging and he doesn't notice that Nemo is right next to him. Nemo takes Arthur's report that Pal was trying to protect. He runs away, with Pal right behind him. However, Nemo is swift and climbs a tree. Pal warns him that the Red Claw will not succeed. Nemo says he hasn't ever heard of the RedClaw, and he says that Arthur's report just amuses him.

At the Auditorium everybody is listening since George was just asked another question; this time the question's about the Swedish Lutefisk (from Arthur's Perfect Christmas). George answers correctly and the kids cheer once again. Mr. Ratburn questions Buster about where Arthur is and if he has seen him. Buster lies.

Arthur is looking for his report. He looks in the kitchen, in his room, and just about anywhere. He can't find it. Little does he know Pal is attempting to negotiate Nemo into giving him Arthur's report back. Pal tricks him into dropping the report. Pal picks it up and gives it to Arthur. There's slobber all over it. Arthur throws it out. But while throwing it out Arthur finds his report. The trashmen come and takes away the "secret recipe".

George gets once another question correct, but there's one more question left to go. "What is Michelangelo's full name". George doesn't know this, but he knows that Arthur told him about his report on Michelangelo. George decides to use the phone call to call the school, but Arthur is still trying to get there! Arthur takes a shortcut over a bush to get to the school quicker. Arthur is almost at the school auditorium. He gets there just in time. George asks him the question and he easily answers it. He takes Arthur's answer, and gets it correct, but Mr. Ratburn makes Arthur and Buster write reports about lying and why Arthur was late for school.

Characters

Major

• George Lundgren
• Arthur Read
• Pal
• Kate Read
• Nadine Flumberghast
• Buster Baxter
• Nigel Ratburn
• Francine Frensky
• Francis Haney

Minor

• Jane Read
• Binky Barnes
• Muffy Crosswire
• David Read
• Flip Wattles
• Nemo
• Uncle Wormy
• Neal Lundgren (flashback)
• Treenie
• Cecilia Tingley
• Mrs. Lundgren

Cameo

• Alex
• Jenna Morgan
• Sue Ellen Armstrong
• Fern Walters
• The Brain
• Luke
• Kenny
• Maria Pappas
• Prunella Deegan
• 3rd Grade Male Cat
• Mary
• 3rd Grade Male Dog
• 3rd Grade Female Aardvark
• Leah MacGrady
• 3rd Grade Female Aardvark (Number 2)
• Otis
• 4th Grade Female Aardvark
• 4th Grade Male Rabbit
• Billy
• Patrick
• Steve
• D.W. Read (title card in the U.S. only)

Mentioned

• Timmy and Tommy Tibble
• Vicita Molina

Trivia

• This marks the show's fifteenth anniversary.
• This is the last two-part episode to be written by someone other than Peter K. Hirsch until the Season 23 episode "When Duty Calls."
• This being the start of the fifteenth season, the number 15 appears in six different contexts - The episode’s name is Fifteen. Arthur has 15 seconds to start the show. George competes on "15 Minutes of Fame." The class gets 15 merit points if everybody turns in their reports on time. Pal has 15 minutes to foil the Red Claw's evil plan. Arthur has 15 minutes to get to the school assembly.
• This episode aired in Australia and the UK before airing in the US
• 4th wall break: This episode is titled "Fifteen," and the plot is based on 15 minutes. This is because it is the debut of season 15.
• Timeline: Arthur is seen riding his new GX Trailblazer 10,000 from "Arthur Changes Gears," which means that this episode takes place after that one.
• Innunedo: The radio host greets him with a handshake saying "Sorry for the sticky hands, spilled some coffee"

Cultural references

• The postcard that Nemo steals is a reference to L.H.O.O.Q., a 1919 artwork by Marcel Duchamp. It is a print of Leonardo da Vinci's Mona Lisa painting with an added beard and mustache drawn in pencil.
• Nemo says that "Red Claw" sounds like a seafood restaurant, referring to Red Lobster.
• The radio game show "15 Minutes of Fame" is a reference to the game show "Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?" as is the "magic phone call" feature of the show.
• Buster does his report on Pieter Bruegel, a 16th century Dutch painter. He was nicknamed "peasant Bruegel," because much of his work depicts the life of the common people.
• Arthur's report is on Michelangelo di Lodovico Buonarotti Simoni, a 16th century artist and scientist.
• Arthur quizzes George on Marie Curie and George III of England.

Errors

• George has a flashback of how he got Wally; he received him as a Christmas gift. In "Arthur's Dummy Disaster," he says that made him in arts and crafts. It is mentioned that Wally was made of ash tree, but in "The Silent Treatment," Wally said he was made from an oak tree.
• The radio in the Reads' kitchen appears to be orange, but later in the episode it is blue.

Gallery

:Main article: Fifteen/Gallery