The World of Tomorrow

"The World of Tomorrow"
Season/Series:	7
Number in season:	8A
Original Airdate:	November 27, 2002; January 29, 2003;
	Credits
Written by:	Peter Egan
Storyboard by:	Robert Yap
	Episodes
Previous; "Buster's Amish Mismatch"	Next; "Is There a Doctor in the House?"
	Read transcript

“	The World of Tomorrow. Wow!	”
—Binky Barnes

"The World of Tomorrow" is the first half of the eighth episode in the seventh season of Arthur.

Summary[edit]

Binky had been in Mr. Ratburn's class the previous year, so the sleepover at the Science Museum is boring — that is, until he finds a new exhibit about the future.

Plot[edit]

In the introduction, Arthur was peacefully asleep when D.W.'s whistle blared next to his ear, jolting him awake. "Ahh!" he exclaimed. "Arthur, quick, wake up! It's time for school!" D.W. shouted, rushing out of his room. Arthur groaned, thinking about how D.W. did this once a month, always on a Saturday. While he was excited for a new day, he couldn't help but wonder what it would be like if every day was the same. He remembered a particularly bad day when they went to Mary Moo Cow on Ice. His dad had promised they could go to the Bionic Bunny store, but D.W. wanted to see the ice-cow-pades. They flipped a coin, and Arthur lost. To make matters worse, Baby Kate spit on his food. Arthur imagined being stuck in a loop, reliving the same day over and over again, with the same bad luck. He was relieved to realize it was just a nightmare when D.W. blew her whistle again, startling him awake and she ran out of his room again.

Mr. Ratburn reminded the class about their upcoming sleepover field trip to the Museum of Science on Friday. He asked everyone to raise their hand if their parents had signed the permission form, and almost all of the kids did. Binky, however, didn't raise his hand and looked disinterested. Mr. Ratburn warned him that if he didn't bring in the signed form tomorrow, he wouldn't be able to go. Binky replied, "Is that a promise?" Arthur and Buster were surprised by Binky's attitude and asked him if he didn't want to go to the museum. Binky explained that he had already been on the same field trip last year and found it boring. He recalled the various science exhibits they had seen, like magnets and static electricity, and how he had hated the macaroni and cheese they served for dinner. Finally, he also complained about sleeping on the hard floor.

Arthur tried to convince Binky that there must have been something fun about the field trip. Binky admitted that there was one interesting moment, but it was still boring. He recalled how George's lookalike had tried to steal a solar-powered model car from the exhibit, which had triggered an alarm. Buster jokingly wondered if the boy had been punished by being thrown into a pit of snakes and spiders, but Binky said that wasn't the case. He simply expressed his dislike for repeating third grade.

On the day of the field trip, the kids entered the museum and stood in the large entrance hall. Buster was amazed by how cool the museum looked and asked if they had visited that exhibit last year. Binky dismissed his enthusiasm, pointing out that it was just the coat room. They then stood in front of the large magnet, and Mr. Ratburn instructed the class to let go of their washers. The kids were impressed by the washers flying towards the magnet, but Binky yawned. The kids also played with static electricity, and Sue Ellen shocked Binky, who was distracted by a brochure and a lollipop. When the class visited the solar-powered model car exhibit, Mr. Ratburn explained how it ran on energy from the sun's rays. However, Binky was disappointed to see that everything was the same as last year. As the class left for the chicken hatchery, Binky noticed George stealing the model car and getting caught by guards. He even commented that the excitement was the same as last year. While walking through the museum, Binky stumbled upon a new poster titled "The World of Tomorrow" and was intrigued.

Binky imagined himself in a futuristic city, flying on a rocket skateboard. He landed on a balcony and entered through a camera shutter door, where he was greeted by a robot dog named Bow-wow. Binky told the dog about his homework, and the dog's ears spun as it processed the information. The dog then returned the completed homework with a congratulatory message. Binky ordered nachos from a machine on the wall and sat down on a couch to watch TV. He was disappointed by the lack of interesting channels, but Bow-wow suggested watching a live wrestling match on Planet Zlacky. Binky was excited and used his remote control to beam himself to the wrestling arena. He watched as a two-headed wrestler faced off against one with six arms, cheering for Multitasker to win. When the fantasy ended, Binky ran towards Mr. Ratburn.

Binky approached Mr. Ratburn excitedly, suggesting that they go back to see "The World of Tomorrow" exhibit. However, Mr. Ratburn had to disappoint him by informing him that the exhibit wasn't open that day. A sign indicated that the grand opening would be the following week. Binky was disappointed by the news, and Buster tried to console him by saying that they could always visit the exhibit next year.

In the cafeteria, Binky was served macaroni and cheese, a dish that he clearly disliked. Spotting another advertisement for "The World of Tomorrow," he hatched a mischievous plan.

Later that night, as the kids are in their sleeping bags, Muffy was counting sheep while brushing her hair and Binky interrupted her with his own random numbers. Arthur and Buster were engaged in a walkie-talkie game, pretending to be secret agents. Binky grew impatient, wondering what’s taking them so long to get to sleep.

Mr. Ratburn, dressed in pajamas and a nightcap, entered the room and demanded silence and turned off the lights. Buster playfully made ghost noises, causing the class to giggle. Binky scolded his classmates for talking just as Mr. Ratburn told them not to talk, insisting that everyone go to sleep.

While the others slept, Binky quietly slipped out of the room. As a janitor passed by, Binky followed him into the "World of Tomorrow" exhibit. Climbing into a lunar lander, he excitedly pressed buttons, but the craft remained unresponsive. Frustrated, he slammed his fist down, accidentally closing the door. Trapped inside, he tried to sleep but found it uncomfortable.

To his surprise, he was awakened by a boy who resembled Buster but wore a futuristic, full-body robot suit. The boy, who introduced himself as Thruster, expressed surprise at finding someone inside the exhibit. Binky, believing it was Buster, greeted him and questioned his unusual attire. Thruster explained that the suit was his genetically-altered skin and that his name was Thruster, not Buster.

Binky, still confused, noticed a sign that read "The World of Yesterday" instead of "The World of Tomorrow." He questioned Thruster about the discrepancy, and Thruster revealed that the exhibit was actually from the past, two hundred years earlier. Binky was shocked to learn that he had been asleep for so long and realized he needed to find his friends. He quickly exited the exhibit.

Thruster insisted that Binky couldn't leave the museum exhibit as it would cause a refund for the visitors. Binky, however, revealed he was a real kid, not part of the exhibit. Thruster, an Immature Artificial Life Form (IALF), explained that he was on a field trip with his class to recharge their batteries. Binky, shocked to learn they were all robots, accidentally woke up Mr. Rocketburn, causing them to flee. Thruster explained that if Mr. Rocketburn catches them, Binky will be trapped in the landing craft forever, and Thruster might fail history. They were chased by robot guards, but Binky had a plan. They found a solar-powered car but realized it needed sunlight to work. Binky, remembering something about solar power, expressed a desire to go home. As robot guards closed in, Thruster led them to the time travel exhibit. Binky was excited to learn they could travel through time by answering a science question. With the guards hot on their heels, Thruster urged Binky to hurry and enter the time machine.

The Time Travel Machine welcomed Binky and asked him to specify the desired travel time. Binky chose March 10th, 200 years ago, the Information Age. A science question appeared on a printout, asking about the particles that attract a washer to a magnet. Binky confidently answered, but Mr. Rocketburn interrupted and turned off the time machine, sentencing Binky to return to the exhibit forever. Binky woke up, realizing it was a dream with his real friend Buster. Binky initially believed Buster was the robot Thruster, but Buster clarified that he only had robot pajamas. Binky realized he had returned to the present and tried to convince Buster about the robot adventure, but Buster was skeptical. They quickly ran out of the exhibit before they get caught by Mr. Ratburn and Buster excitedly asked Binky if he was really a robot and if he could perform cool actions like shooting lasers from his eyes or drinking motor oil.

The next day, Binky stood in front of a large magnet, holding a washer, as the rest of the class already left. Mr. Ratburn reminded Binky that everyone else was on the bus, but Binky requested one more second to experiment with the magnet and washer. He explained that the atoms in the washer were attracted to the magnet, then let the washer fly. Satisfied, he joined Mr. Ratburn to leave. Mr. Ratburn asked if Binky had learned more from this year's field trip, and Binky enthusiastically responded that he did, emphasizing the importance of science knowledge when being chased by robots. Mr. Ratburn looked perplexed.

Characters[edit]

Major[edit]

Minor[edit]

Cameo[edit]

Trivia[edit]

This episode takes place on March 10th, 2003 as Binky dreams that he slept for 200 years and the year in his dream is 2203.
It is revealed that Binky was in Mr. Ratburn's class the year before. Previously, it was only understood that he was repeating third grade this year.

Cultural references[edit]

In Binky's dream he sarcastically tells Thruster he is Engelbert Humperdinck, which could refer either to the classical German composer (best known for the opera "Hänsel und Gretel") or to the British singer who named himself after the composer.
Buster claiming he wanted to wear his robot pajamas to the sleepover, but he had to wear the cowboy ones because the robot ones are in the washing machine might be a reference to the plot of Toy Story, where a cowboy toy gets replaced by a space toy, which itself is a parody of a cultural phenomenon of the 1950s, where kids wanted to be cowboys. But with the launch of Sputnik and the subsequent space race between the US and the Soviet Union, kids wanted to grow up to be astronauts and abandoned their cowboy toys, which is explored even further in Toy Story 2.
Binky's dream of him ending up in the future, yet not visibly aging might be a reference to Futurama.
This episode is a reference to what Terry said in Futurama which was "Welcome to the World of Tomorrow!".

Episode connections[edit]

The class last year all resembling kids from Mr. Ratburn's class this year is similar to the Glenbrook Academy students from "The Return of the King."

Errors[edit]

Plot Hole:
- In this episode, Binky hates macaroni and cheese, while in "Francine Redecorates" he says he loves it. However, he may have changed his mind, since he says it in a flashback in this episode.
- Prunella wasn't in last year's class, despite specifically saying she had him last year in "Arthur and the Real Mr. Ratburn" (although she might have been absent). Billy and several others also were absent.
Alex was missing in several frames.