History Recap / ArthurS1E15ArthursFamilyVacationGrandpaDavesOldCountryFarm

* AnAesop: Vacations don't have to be exactly what you planned; if something goes awry, find another way to entertain yourself and be willing to be flexible.

* AnAesop: Swallow your pride and be willing to accept help from those who are willing to offer it, especially when it's your family or a good friend.

* UnwantedAssistance: Dave refuses help in fixing up the farm, but eventually gives in and lets Ed, Arthur, and D.W. pitch in.

* ArmorPiercingResponse: One morning, D.W. and Arthur decide to offer their help to Grandpa Dave to fix the farm. Once again, Grandpa Dave says no because he sees his kids as too young. And he's about to go into his "this farm's been in our family for generations" excuse, when D.W. cuts in "Grandpa we ''are'' your family!" This makes Grandpa Dave give pause, as he realizes he nearly turned away help from the very people he so claimed his farm rightfully belonged to. This is what finally convinces him to accept help for once.

* OffModel: Being an early episode from the first season, there are quite a few coloring mistakes in the animation...
** When Arthur says no after the clerk asks if he can see the ocean from behind the shopping center, David's shirt is suddenly the same yellow color as Arthur's shirt instead of its' normal sky blue color.
** At times, D.W.'s ears are colored the same shade of brown as her hair instead of her skin, most notably right before their lobster dinners are revealed at the restaurant.

* OneSteveLimit: Averted; both Arthur's dad and maternal grandfather are named Dave.

!! Both Stories Provide Examples of:

'''Arthur's Family Vacation'''

!!Arthur's Family Vacation provides examples of:

* ArtifactTitle: In-universe. The Ocean View Hotel used to have a view of the ocean, but due to all the new buildings, it's no longer visible.
* {{Bowdlerise}}: Some PBS affiliates and other international channels would edit out D.W. yelling "GAS CHAMBER!" among noticing Kate's diaper needs changing while in the car with the whole family during a traffic jam, presumably to avoid offending any survivors of UsefulNotes/TheHolocaust.

* ADogNamedDog: A shark pool toy named Sharky.

* NoTellMotel: Again, the Ocean View Hotel (which ''always'' has a vacancy) is like this; there's no view of the ocean, the room has pictures coming off the hinges, lousy mattresses on the beds that sink under weight, leaky ceilings, and an abnormally small pool (to which D.W. comments "[[LittleMissSnarker Our bathtub is bigger than this!]]"). But being a kids' show, there are no sexual references.

!!Grandpa Dave's Old Country Farm provides examples of:

* EarlyInstallmentWeirdness: There are quite a few music cues in this episode that do not show up in any other episodes, presumably due to being one of the earliest episodes produced. The standard "nighttime"/"sleeping" {{Leitmotif}} even includes an additional section only heard here. And there are also some music cues that appear to have been specifically written for this episode that [[RecycledSoundtrack were reused in many later episodes]], such as the instrumental backing to D.W.'s taunting song at the end of the ColdOpen, the bluegrass music at the cow festival, the creepy organ music when the family goes on the jungle boat ride, and especially the ''Film/{{Jaws}}''-esque music at the shark horror movie D.W. takes the family to.

* AnAesop: Swallow your pride and be willing to accept help from those who are willing to offer it, especially when it’s your family or a good friend.

* RealityEnsues: Due to the family arriving late for check-in, the hotel manager tells them they lost their booking to the Family Fun suite.

* TheLoad: Arthur and D.W. try their best with helping Grandpa Dave, but D.W. is too small to carry any heavy tools, and Arthur is inexperienced. He hammers his thumb by accident and accidentally drops a board that he and Grandpa Dave are sawing. Despite their best efforts, [[RealityEnsues Ed has to step in to help]].

* RealityEnsues: Since Grandpa Dave is no longer a spring chicken, it's harder for him to keep the farm maintained.

* TheLoad: Arthur and D.W. try their best with helping Grandpa Dave, but D.W. is too small to carry any heavy tools, and Arthur is inexperienced. He hammers his thumb by accident and accidentally drops a board that he and Grandpa Dave are sawing. Ed has to step in to help.

* ArmorPiercingResponse: One morning, D.W. and Arthur decide to offer their help to Grandpa Dave to fix the farm. Once again, Grandpa Dave says no, on the principle that "this farm has been in [his] family for generations". D.W. cuts in "Grandpa we ''are'' your family!" This makes Grandpa Dave give pause and accept help for once, as he realizes he'd be turning away help from the very family he claims his farm belongs to.

* HellHotel: Downplayed, but the hotel the Reads stay in is a hole-in-the-wall run down pit. They did have the Family Fun Suite, but since they arrived long after check-in and the Suite went to another
* HorribleCampingTrip: Buster says camp was okay, but Camp Meadowcroak turns out to be a nightmare after a hurricane hits because lightning destroyed the mess hall.

* RunningGag: D.W. bringing Sharky to everything, no matter how impractical it is.

* HellHotel: Downplayed, but the hotel the Reads stay in is a hole-in-the-wall run down pit.
* HorribleCampingTrip: [[spoiler:Camp Meadowcroak turns out to be this after a hurricane hits.]]

Arthur and D.W. are on vacation, which means it's time for one of their favorite pastimes -- a visit to Grandpa Dave's farm! They are excited to do all of the things they usually do, but when they arrive, they find the house in shambles. While they enjoy their vacation, they slowly begin to wonder if Grandpa Dave really does need help on his farm, in spite of his insistence that he is perfectly capable running it himself. After several acts of procrastination, Arthur and D.W. finally decide they can't take it anymore, and request Dave to get the hen house fixed. He is reluctant, but they remind him that they are part of his family after his repeated remarks that the farm has "been in the family for over 150 years." Ed joins in on the work too, and soon the hen house is all fixed back up. When it's time to leave the farm, they have a new assurance that Dave now has some decent help on the farm.

* RidiculousProcrastinator: Grandpa Dave continually puts off fixing the hen house several times throughout the episode.

!! "And Now a Word from Us Kids" Provides Examples of:

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* PigLatin: Mr. Read uses this in an attempt to discreetly tell his wife that D.W.'s inflatable shark may have just come loose from their car. It doesn't work.

--> '''David:''' ''(To Jane)'' Honey...ah heh...are you sure you tied arky-shay on ight-tay?

Arthur and DW are on vacation, which means it's time for one of their favorite pastimes -- a visit to Grandpa Dave's farm! They are excited to do all of the things they usually do, but when they arrive, they find the house in shambles. While they enjoy their vacation, they slowly begin to wonder if Grandpa Dave really does need help on his farm, in spite of his insistence that he is perfectly capable running it himself. After several acts of procrastination, Arthur and D.W. finally decide they can't take it anymore, and request Dave to get the hen house fixed. He is reluctant, but they remind him that they are part of his family after his repeated remarks that the farm has "been in the family for over 150 years." Ed joins in on the work too, and soon the hen house is all fixed back up. When it's time to leave the farm, they have a new assurance that Dave now has some decent help on the farm.

* AnachronismStew: For whatever reason, once they hit the country, everything seems to turn into the old west, with everyone talking like hillbillies and the existence of old-timey general stores.
* EverythingsBetterWithRainbows: D.W. suggests the Reads to paint their house rainbow colored while they're away.
* GilliganCut: D.W. feels bad for "poor mom and dad", and wonders what they will ever do without them around. Cue an ImagineSpot where they go out dancing together at a 50's diner.

* RunningGag: "This farm has been in our family for over 150 years!"

The Reads are getting their house repainted, which means it's time for one of Arthur and D.W.'s favorite pasttimes -- a visit to Grandpa Dave's farm! They are excited to do all of the things they usually do, but when they arrive, they find the house in shambles. While they enjoy their vacation, they slowly begin to wonder if Grandpa Dave really does need help on his farm, in spite of his insistence that he is perfectly capable running it himself. After several acts of procrastination, Arthur and D.W. finally decide they can't take it anymore, and request Dave to get the hen house fixed. He is reluctant, but they remind him that they are part of his family after his repeated remarks that the farm has "been in the family for over 150 years." Ed joins in on the work too, and soon the hen house is all fixed back up. When it's time to leave the farm, they have a new assurance that Dave now has some decent help on the farm.

* Vacation Episode: Both vacations have a few rough patches, but turn out all right in the end.

* ElectiveBrokenLanguage: Mr. Read tries to hide that D.W.'s shark may have just come loose using an...interesting way of re-ordering letters in his sentence. It doesn't work.