You Are Arthur

This article is about the episode. You may be looking for the DVD.

"You Are Arthur"
Season/Series:	5
Number in season:	5b
Original Airdate:	October 23, 2000 January 12, 2001 August 15, 2001 February 27, 2001
Credits
Written by:	Peter K. Hirsch
Storyboard by:	Robert Yap
Episodes
Previous "The Lousy Week"	Next "The Election"
Read transcript

"You Are Arthur" is the second half of the fifth episode in the fifth season of Arthur.

Summary

Arthur is training for and running a 3k race, with the viewer observing everything through Arthur's point of view.

Plot

Arthur begins the intro while reading a book he enjoys called Treasure Island and imagines himself as Long John Silver in the story with Pal. Then he thinks about pretending to be someone else, like Mr. Ratburn, leading him to want to try and switch places/roles with the viewer...

After the title card, Arthur gets out of bed to brush his teeth. Soon, he greets himself in front of the mirror, but D.W. tells him to stop wasting time, as he needs to train and practice for the 3K race.

Arthur is confused at first, but then he remembers to when he was at the library, and Ms. Turner had asked him if he had wished to sign up for the fundraiser for a new reading room in the library. He asks how long the race is and Brain says that it's 1.86 miles. He then says that it may be too long for Arthur, but it'll be a snap for himself and his dad, since they run all the time. In an effort to defeat Brain, Arthur accepts the challenge and signs up. And so, he goes to train himself with help from D.W.

She tells him to stretch before his trainers arrive. When Arthur wonders who she means (as he thought she was his trainer) the Tibbles arrive. He isn't so happy, but D.W. says if he can survive an hour with them, then he's ready for the 3K race. First, D.W. makes Arthur run, but Tommy splashes water on him. Then, D.W. has Arthur jump rope, only to land painfully on the ground when he tells the Tibbles to stop their bickering. However, D.W. tells Arthur not to say stop when he’s jumping rope. They then have him run to the tree and then the sandbox, pick up the purple dinosaur, then bring it back. They then leave as D.W. chases them, since they run away.

At breakfast, D.W. tries to make Arthur eat a lot of food to gain carbohydrates, but he isn't so sure and winds up with a tummy ache on the way to the race.

He begins to worry that the Library won't raise enough money though if he doesn't and begins to have an imagination spot of it. In this scenario, he imagines that the library loses its roof, because not enough money has been raised from the marathon. And so, he claims he's fine and still plans to run... D.W. claims she has something to settle his stomach; it turns out to be a hairy lollipop — resulting in Arthur getting carsick and having to leave the car.

Buster then meets with him and comments on how he looks different. Arthur told him about his tummy ache, and adds that now he's fine. However, Buster says that that wasn't what he meant, and then asks if someone is watching them from inside his head. Brain then explains his cool new shoes when Arthur notices them, Brain then comments on Arthur's shoes and then tells Arthur to just take it easy. Defeating brain in the 3K race is his incentive.

Soon the race is about to begin, Muffy tells them to wait though and quickly she grooms her hair for the reporters who are going to be showing up. The race then starts, and Arthur is suddenly placed in last when his shoe-lace becomes untied and he quickly has to tie it. He then quickly begins to run, passing by Grandma Thora and eventually Brain. After taking the lead, Arthur imagines himself winning, having run the fastest time in Elwood history. However, Brain has managed to tie up with Arthur as he then passes him as Arthur becomes distracted by Muffy, who ends up falling over the fence and he stops to help her up. Arthur realizes that catching up to Brain in this point is futile; however, Arthur keeps running in hopes of not finishing in last and eventually he crosses the finish line. He thanks his family when Dad hands him a cup of water. As he drinks, D.W. tells him not to drink too much; he shouldn't practice on a full stomach. Arthur asks her about this, and she explains that now he has to practice for the next marathon.

Later on, Arthur sees himself in the newspaper and remarks that he’s famous, which he finds to be better than winning the race. Then he says he hopes the viewer enjoyed being him for a day, because he enjoyed being the viewer. “But next time, let’s switch — you run the race, and I’ll watch me on TV.”

Characters

Major

• Arthur Read
• D.W. Read
• Timmy and Tommy Tibble
• Buster Baxter
• The Brain
• Muffy Crosswire
• Francis Haney
• Paige Turner
• David Read
• Nigel Ratburn
• Pal

Cameo

• Jane Read
• Thora Read
• Binky Barnes
• Sue Ellen Armstrong
• Jenna Morgan
• Maria Pappas
• Fern Walters
• Francine Frensky
• George Lundgren
• Prunella Deegan
• Kate Read
• Jessica
• Nancy
• Helen
• Alex

Mentioned

• Harry Mills (seen on the clipboard)
• Mr. Powers

Trivia

• This is the first and so far only episode to be in first person view.
• Before falling over, Arthur jumps over the jump rope 40 times.
• While most of this episode is in a first person view, there are a few scenes that are shot like a normal episode of the show, such as the flashback to when Arthur signed up for the race, and the imagination sequence Arthur has, thinking what will happen to the library if he doesn't race.
• 4th Wall break:
  • Arthur talking with the viewers.
  • Buster asking if someone is watching everything Arthur does on a TV set, alluding to the viewers and the show itself indirectly.

Errors

• Brain's name is on the sign-up sheet before he signs up. However, his name is spelled "Allen Powers" instead of "Alan Powers."
• When D.W. trains Arthur for the race and the Tibbles come over to help out, she's wearing her green hoodie and pants (with yellow design), a whistle, red sneakers, and a Mary Moo Cow watch on her right wrist. When the Tibbles run away with D.W.'s purple dinosaur, she's wearing her normal clothes.
  • However, Arthur gets knocked out a couple times while training and practicing, so D.W. could've just took them off and changed her clothes.
• Instead of a dedicated starting gun, Mr. Haney starts the 3K race with an actual revolver pistol, something that generally would not be acceptable for starting a race in real life.

Home video

DVD

• You Are Arthur (DVD)

Gallery

• You Are Arthur/Gallery