Flaw and Order/Transcript

A reading room reminiscent of Sherlock Holmes movies. Several Arthur characters in evening dress are present. Buster slices off a piece of cake for himself.

Buster: I suppose you're wondering why we called you all here? Binky is playing the piano.

Binky: You said there was cake, old boy.

Buster: Mmm, and it's delicious!

Arthur: Yes, I suppose it is. But that's not the main reason.

Buster: Oh, huh, right. The main reason is... we know whodunnit. Lightning.

Arthur: Could it be the professor? Brain drops a book. Or maybe the heiress? Muffy is reclining on a chaise longue, attended by Bailey.

Muffy: Hh! Oh, no, no, no. Bailey fans her.

Arthur: Or perhaps... the ne'er-do-well gad-about. He points at Binky who stops playing.

Binky: The what?!

Brain: He means you, old bean.

Binky: Oh. Hh!

Arthur: And the culprit is... The lights go out.

Buster: Ahh! Arthur turns on a flashlight.

Arthur: What happened? Who screamed?

Buster: Oh. Sorry. That was me. I dropped my cake. He.

Arthur: Ohh...

Title Card: Magnifying Glass

Arthur and Buster play baseball in front of the Read house.

Buster: All I'm saying is a rocket-powered baseball bat would be cool.

Mr. Read: from inside: Aargh!

Arthur and Buster run inside. Mr. Read is holding a large glass cake plate with a chip in it.

Arthur: What happened?

Mr. Read: Miss Perske just delivered this cake plate an hour ago and it has a huge chip in it and the Johnson wedding is this weekend!

Arthur: Can't you just use another one?

Mr. Read: No. They specifically requested this one.

D.W.: Well, it wasn't me. I was never near that table.

Mr. Read: Arthur, do you have any idea how this happened?

Arthur: Uh, we were just outside playing baseball.

D.W.: Arthur's not telling you everything.

Arthur: Wha-what do you mean? D.W. holds up a video camera.

D.W.: I've got it all on tape with my spycam! Arthur tries to take the camera from her.

Arthur: Where'd you get that?

Buster: Oh, that's mine. I told D.W. she could use it while I was here.

Mr. Read has connected the camera to the TV. The video shows Arthur and Buster dancing on a dance mat in front of the TV, with the music of Disco Fever by KPM Music playing.

Video Game (Video): 'Level ten! You're really dancing now!'

Buster (Video): We sure are! Who knew competitive dancing could be so much fun!

D.W. (Video): (giggles) The doorbell and Mrs. Read's voice are heard.

Mrs. Read (Video): Oh, thank you. The video shows Mrs. Read putting the plate on a table by the open living room window. This should be safe here.

Arthur (Video): Buster, I've had enough. Let's play outside.

D.W. (Video): Uh-oh. Pal sticks his nose in the camera. Pal! Pal, shoo! She pushes Pal away. Arthur and Buster walk by.

Arthur (Video): Hey, Buster. Let's play some ball. Here, catch! Sound of breaking glass. Pal comes and licks the camera. Mr. Read turns off the video.

Mr. Read: Arthur, I'm very disappointed in you. Why didn't you say tell me you'd been in the living room?

Arthur: We were outside, but I guess we were in the living room first. But we didn't break it!

Mr. Read: That's not what it sounds like on the tape. I have to work now, but tonight I want you to tell me what really happened. He leaves the room.

Arthur: I can't believe you videotaped us!

D.W.: Well, I'm glad I did, since it proves I didn't do it. Which reminds me, you boys dance divinely. Have fun with your talk tonight! She leaves.

Arthur: My Dad doesn't believe us. We've got to prove we're telling the truth.

Buster: But how?

Arthur: By finding out who did break that plate!

Buster: Hmm, who's most the most likely person to have broken something?

#

Buster (Narrator): Binky's House / 11:50 A.M.

Arthur and Buster are standing in Binky's room. Binky is practicing the clarinet.

Binky: What would I be doing in your house? Besides, I had a clarinet lesson this morning.

Buster: A-ha! If you weren't there, then how did you know the plate was broken in the morning?

Arthur: Buster. We told him that when we came in.

Buster: Oh, yeah. Aw, that always works on TV.

Binky: Ha! You two need detective lessons. Now, if you'll excuse me. He starts playing.

Buster: Detective lessons would be helpful.

Arthur: Where do you get detective lessons?

#

Buster (Narrator): Fern's House / 12:30 P.M.

Fern holds a large Sherlock Holmes Book. Arthur and Buster are sitting in the living room.

Fern: This book, “The Complete Sherlock Holmes”, will teach you everything I know.

Arthur: Ohh. I can't read this now. I'm having a talk with my dad tonight.

Fern: As Holmes once said, "The world is full of obvious things which nobody by chance ever observes." Your best bet is to go back to the scene of the crime and examine the evidence.

#

Buster (Narrator): Arthur's House / 1:05 P.M.

Arthur and Buster are having lunch with Mrs. Read.

Arthur: Mom, you have to believe me, we didn't break the plate.

Mrs. Read: I wanna believe you, but your dad showed me the tape.

Arthur: Oh.

Buster: Mrs. Read, are you sure the plate wasn't broken when you put it on the piano?

Mrs. Read: Yes, Buster. I checked it when Miss Perske delivered. It was fine. Arthur stands up.

Arthur: We have two pieces of evidence, the plate and the videotape. We need to examine them thoroughly. But how?

Buster: Mm. The way they do it in those crime labs on TV!

#

Buster (Narrator): Brain's House / 1:25 P.M.

Brain is at his computer wearing goggles and a lab coat.

Brain: I think you'll want to see this. I've studied the plate chip under a magnifying glass, and compared it to the break patterns in the authoriative work on the subject „Dr. Grant's Crystal Breaks, Chips, and Shards“. Here, take a look for yourself. He holds the magnifying glass as Arthur examines the glass plate. Here's your chipped plate, and here's a picture of standard damage caused by a baseball. There is a picture in an open book on Brain's desk.

Arthur: They're totally different!

Brain: That's correct. I'd say your dad's plate was broken by something metallic, about the size of a coin.

Buster: That means it couldn't have been us!

Brain: But wait. There's more. I ran the audio from your tape through some sound-enhancing software. Let's listen to the regular tape first.

Arthur (on tape): Hey, Buster. Let's play some ball. Here, catch! Sound of smashing glass.

Buster: Aw, that doesn't help! It still sounds like we broke it.

Brain: Ah. This time, through my software. Listen just before the smash.

Arthur (on tape): Hey, Buster. Let's play some ball. Here, catch! A metallic clunk is heard before the smash.

Arthur: But... what was that sound? Brain plays the sound again.

Brain: Find that sound, and I'd say you'll find what broke that plate.

#

Buster (Narrator): Arthur's House / 2:11 P.M.

Arthur and Buster search the couch.

Arthur: So there has to be something in this room that made that sound and could break a plate.

Buster: Like this dried up jellybean? Could this break a plate?

Arthur: No, the Brain said something small and metallic, like a coin, or a bolt, or maybe a...

Buster: A watch!

Arthur: Yeah, I guess it could be a watch.

Buster: No, I found a watch! He holds a broken watch.

Arthur: Hmm, I've never seen this before. Hey, look at this, (reads inscription:) "To Miss Perske, a great boss."

Buster: Isn't Perske the name of the shop where your dad got the cake plate?

Arthur: That's right! Mom said Miss Perske delivered it to our house.

Buster: But how could she have broken the plate with her watch?

#

Buster (Narrator): Perske's Kitchen Shop / 2:47 P.M.

Arthur and Buster talk to Miss Perske in her shop.

Miss Perske: But I told you boys, I never set foot in your house. I must have lost my watch outside.

Arthur: But we found it in my living room.

Miss Perske: And now my watch is broken.

Arthur: to Buster: It must have broken when it hit the cake plate.

Miss Perske: That's a pretty unlikely explanation. Are you sure you didn't break it?

#

Arthur and Buster walk out of the shop.

Buster: Just because we can't prove it doesn't mean it isn't true.

Arthur: Miss Perske doesn't believe me. My own dad doesn't believe me. Even I'm starting not to believe me.

Buster: We need more help. They get their bikes.

#

Buster (Narrator): Fern's House / 3:30 P.M.

Fern paces up and down while the boys sit on the couch.

Fern: So the question is, how could the watch have gotten on the inside?

Arthur: Oh, we have no idea.

Fern: Holmes says that "there is nothing more stimulating than a case where eveything goes against you."

Buster: Maybe it flew through the window?

Arthur: That's impossible.

Fern: I suggest you check to see if the window was open. Accoring to Holmes "When every possibility is explored, whatever remains, no matter how unlikely, must be the truth."

#

Buster (Narrator): Arthur's House / 4:10 P.M.

Arthur and Buster stand outside the living room window.

Buster: See, something could have flown through the window.

Arthur: Miss Perske said she pulled out of our driveway and headed that way. The walk to the street. She said she had her arm out her car window, the watch slipped off and landed on the street. But when she stopped to look for it, it was gone. A car drives past, running over a manhole cover.

Buster: Ouch!

Arthur: That was it! That was the sound! Buster rubs his arm.

Buster: No, it wasn't. That was just me saying "ouch". Something just hit me in the arm. Another car drives over the manhole cover, causing a small rock to fly against a shutter on the house. Arthur picks up the rock.

Arthur: Get your video camera, Buster. Sherlock Holmes may believe in impossible things, but my Dad's gonna need proof.

#

Buster (Narrator): Arthur's House / 6:10 P.M.

The Reads, Buster, Brain, Binky and Fern are assembled in the living room around the TV.

Arthur: Thank you all for coming.

D.W.: What are you talking about? I'm here all the time.

Arthur: Mom?

Mrs. Read: D.W., quiet. Your brother is solving a mystery.

Arthur: Anyway, this should clear up the mystery of who broke the plate. Buster? Buster turns off the light. Arthur starts the video. Pal, D.W. and the boys walking past the camera are seen.

Arthur: At first, all signs pointed to Buster and me.

Arthur (on tape): Hey, Buster. Let's play some ball. Here, catch!

Arthur: But the Brain showed us that it wasn't baseball that broke the plate. The video shows the plate and the book on Brain's desk. And then there was that sound. The video shows Brain's computer. That led us to Miss Perke's watch. The video shows Buster holding the watch. It led us outside to the biggest clue of all. The video shows the manhole cover. When this manhole cover is run over, it shifts, causing the sound and launching anything on the cover, like, say, a stone, or a watch, into the air. The video shows a stone flying against the house.The video ends and Buster turns on the lights.

Buster: Seemingly impossible, and yet true. Brain hands Mr. Read a drawing of the cover the window and the plate.

Brain: I tested all the trajectories, Mr Read. It was Miss Perske's watch, launched from that street, which flew through this living room window and broke your cake plate, which was sitting right here. They all walk to the table.

Mr. Read: I guess I owe Arthur and Buster an apology.

Arthur: That's okay, Dad. I'm sorry, too. I should have admitted I was playing catch inside .

Mr. Read: Unfortunately I'm still short one expensive cake plate.

Miss Perske: Actually, you're not. Miss Perske comes in with a box.

Mr. Read: Miss Perske?!

Arthur: I hope you don't mind. I invited Miss Perske to join us.

Miss Perske: I apologize for my dramatic entrance, but the chance to lurk in the wings until the big moment was just too good to pass up. I do so love a good mystery

Buster: Yeah, if you're not the prime suspect.

Miss Perske: I must say, though, I had no idea the trouble my watch had caused.

Mr. Read: Well, it was no trouble, exactly.

Miss Perske: Nonsense. Of course it was. And seeing as your son found my watch, which has great sentimental value, I'm replacing your plate for free. She takes a plate like the broken one out of the box.

Mr. Read: Wow! That's very kind of you. Buster gives Arthur a thumbs up.

Mrs. Read: Now we just have to call the city to fix the manhole cover. The familiar clunk is heard. A stone comes flying through the window towards the new plate. The action slows down.

All: (Oh, no!)