Line #40 Series/Wishbone


1	[[quoteright:300:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/1165532321281_3484.jpg]]
2	->''What's the story, Wishbone?''
3
4	A [=PBS=] series from the mid-late 1990's in which Wishbone, a well-read Jack Russell Terrier, would dream and imagine himself as the hero of various stories and novels.
5
6	Wishbone was a real dog (his actual name was Soccer) whose thoughts were expressed as a [[{{Narrator}} running voice-over]], while all of the other characters in the stories being dramatized are humans. For instance, the episode "[[Recap/WishboneS1E25FurstImpressions Furst Impressions]]" features an otherwise dead-serious dramatization of ''Literature/PrideAndPrejudice'' in which Mr. Darcy is [[FurryConfusion a cute little dog in a suit]] and everyone else is human. And ''everyone'' acts as if the fact that Mr. Darcy [[LionsAndTigersAndHumansOhMy is a talking dog]] is absolutely [[UnusuallyUninterestingSight nothing at all out of the ordinary]]. Then again said dog is the one re-telling the stories and placing himself as certain characters.
7
8	In between the story-telling, there was typically a scenario in the real world that would mirror the events of the story, usually involving Wishbone's owner Joe and his friends David and Samantha. Sometimes, Joe's mother Ellen and their next-door neighbor/gardener/historical society member Wanda get involved, as well as other residents of their generic suburban settlement of Oakdale, Texas. Whether it is supposed to be the ''real'' Oakdale is unknown.
9
10	The series ran for 50 episodes from October 1995 to December 1997. In 1998, the TV movie ''Wishbone's Dog Days of the West'' was released. A tie-in computer game, ''VideoGame/WishboneAndTheAmazingOdyssey'', was also released in 1996.
11
12	On July 15, 2020, Universal Pictures and Mattel announced they are developing a film adaption based on the show with Peter Farrelly producing the Film, Roy Parker will write the script, and Robbie Brenner will executive produce.
13
14	For a full list of stories adapted by the series, including those featured in the eight book tie-in series, see the [[Recap/{{Wishbone}} recap page]].
15	----
16	!!Tropes in this series include:
17
18	[[foldercontrol]]
19
20	[[folder:General]]
21
22	* AbridgedForChildren: The show and the ''Adventures of Wishbone'' books are the more familiar version, with modern-day scenes interspersed with the abridged literature with one of the characters being played by a dog. ''Wishbone Classics'' was just the abridged novel with occasional commentary from Wishbone from the sides; some of that was also summaries of skipped scenes.
23	* AcademicAlphaBitch: Sam's rival Amanda. For example, she spends most of "[[Recap/WishboneS1E13SniffingTheGauntlet Sniffing the Gauntlet]]" gloating over how her team is going to win the class spelling bee.
24	* TheAce:
25	** Sam is a skilled athlete and a well-read student.
26	** Joe's father seemed to be this in life, to the point that a grieving Joe decides he's sick of learning about his dad's story because of the jealousy that mixes in with his pain.
27	** Sam's rival Amanda is set up as this in "[[Recap/WishboneS1E13SniffingTheGauntlet Sniffing the Gauntlet]]."
28	* AcquiredSituationalNarcissism: Sometimes it happens to the main cast, though it never persists.
29	* AdaptationalDumbass: The Sherlock Holmes episodes portray Dr. Watson as he's often perceived by the public, as an older, bumbling, slow-witted sidekick rather than a competent doctor who is unable to keep up with Holmes.
30	* AdaptationalHeroism: Some of Wishbone's fictional avatars, diverting from the original source material.
31	* AdaptationExpansion: The series had several tie-in book series, which continued to be written after the series was cancelled. Some books were adaptations of the episodes, however several of them did not have any corresponding episodes made for them.
32	* AllegoryAdventure: The fulcrum of the series is Wishbone's penchant for comparing events in his life to classic literature and early theater.
33	* AncientGrome: Averted in the episodes based off Myth/ClassicalMythology -- "The Odyssey", "King Midas", "Hercules and the Golden Apples", and "The Aeneid". Whether a deity is called by their Greek or Roman name depends on the myth and its source. The only exception is the tale of "Hercules and the Golden Apples", will the title character is using his Roman name in a Greek setting (although since virtually every adaptation of Hercules does pretty much the same thing, this can be forgiven).
34	* AnnoyingYoungerSibling: David's little sister Emily. In some episodes, she has a partner-in-crime named Tina.
35	* BloodlessCarnage: This happens any time the "literature" half of a plot involves combat. Justified in that one, ''Wishbone'' is a kids' show and two, half the time the "person" doing the fighting is a dog.
36	* {{Bowdlerize}}: Generally averted, with the exception of Don Quixote. The show was pretty good about keeping sad endings in books that had them. There were exceptions, though, and they sometimes made endings ''seem'' nicer by omission -- that is, ending it at the point of the SnicketWarningLabel.
37	* CharacterDevelopment: Wanda, Wishbone and Mr. Pruitt go through this in their various relationships.
38	** Wishbone and Wanda are a SitcomArchnemesis duo where he keeps digging up things in her garden and Wanda yells at him for it; after he ends up locked in her house in "[[Recap/WishboneS1E12FleabittenBargain Fleabitten Bargain]]," they come to an understanding where he tries to stay out of her way and she tries to be more patient with him since he's a dog. This is shown most prominently wherein "[[Recap/WishboneS2E04GroomedForGreatness Groomed for Greatness]]", she tries to advise her cousin on how to get Wishbone to behave for posing -- give him a snack as a reward -- and eventually carves the statue that Renee bails on doing.
39	** Mr. Pruitt is a ReasonableAuthorityFigure but also a bit of a ShrinkingViolet when it comes to women. He starts dating Wanda in "[[Recap/WishboneS1E07Cyranose Cyranose]]" after he wants to publish a poem she wrote, but is worried he is too boring for her. Wanda gets seduced [[spoiler:by his rock and roll Elvis persona in "[[Recap/WishboneS1E20MixedBreeds Mixed Breeds]]"]] and seems to prove his worries valid, until [[spoiler:she finds out he is the impersonator and tells him she likes him JustTheWayYouAre]].
40	* CompressedAdaptation: Obviously, {{Door Stopper}}s are brought down to be half of a thirty-minute show. As such, they are usually reduced to their signature scenes. However, the fact that they do not ''add'' anything, just compress the original plot, hilariously makes the ''Wishbone'' adaptations some of the most faithful ones ''ever''.
41	* {{Disneyfication}}: Noticeably ''averted'' for the most part: though most of the stories are shortened at times to fit the 30-minute time frame and PBS budgets, they rarely make any major alterations to the story. {{Downer Ending}}s usually stay that way and the stories aren't made cutesier for the target audience.
42	* DramaticIrony: In the ''Wishbone: The Early Years'' books, puppy Wishbone's CatchPhrase is "They'll listen to me when I'm a big dog." Anyone who watched or read anything else in the franchise knows that they will not.
43	* {{Expy}}: Some of the one-off characters that appear in reality are clearly influenced by characters from the novel.
44	* FadeToBlack: Usually in the middle of an episode, unusual for a PBS series as they don't have commercials in between episodes and the show didn't have any short that aired in between like ''WesternAnimation/{{Arthur}}'' or ''Literature/CliffordTheBigRedDog''. This could have been made if the show was considered for syndication, which never occurred (or for international broadcasts)
45	* FlyoverCountry: Averted. The series takes place in Texas, several of the lead characters have noticeable East Texas accents, and there's a gratifying lack of [[EverythingIsBigInTexas goofy stereotypes]].[[note]]The series was shot in the UsefulNotes/DFWMetroplex as a production of the local PBS station KERA[[/note]]
46	* FoeRomanceSubtext: Sam and Damont have some of this.
47	* GenreSavvy: Wishbone keeps finding links between classic literature and events in his everyday life, letting him solve problems. Joe and his friends do it sometimes too, especially in the ''The Wishbone Mysteries'' spinoff books.
48	* JerkassGods: Quite a few, since many episodes were based on classic mythology.
49	* JerkJock: Damont Jones is basically the SitcomArchNemesis of the Joe-Sam-David PowerTrio and frequently causes trouble for little more reason than self-aggrandizement. Later in the series he's revealed to have a FreudianExcuse for his behavior, and he plays well when he's on the same basketball team as Joe.
50	* LiteraryAllusionTitle[=/=]PunBasedTitle: Most episodes use a pun combining a reference to the book of the week and something to do with dogs, e.g. "[[Recap/WishboneS1E22ThePawloinedPaper The Pawloined Paper]]" for Creator/EdgarAllanPoe's "The Purloined Letter".
51	* LocalHangout: Pepper Pete's, which is beloved by pretty much everyone in town. Unusually for this trope, it's owned by Sam's dad, making it her FamilyBusiness, and many of the mysteries and even some of the normal books feature her working there while Joe and/or David drop in to talk to her.
52	* LovableAlphaBitch: Amanda, in that she isn't particularly malicious or destructive. In at least two episodes she gets along with Sam, David and Joe.
53	* LovableJock: Joe is a basketball jock but invariably a NiceGuy and is a good friend to BlackAndNerdy David, barring some episodes where he TookALevelInJerkass (which are invariably {{reset\|Button}} by the end). This plays into the rivalry between him and JerkJock Damont Jones.
54	* MatchCut: The show often employs these when switching between the literary story and the present-day story. For example, in "[[Recap/WishboneS1E15GoldenRetrieved Golden Retrieved]]," a man taking a dinner plate off a table cuts to a man putting dog food on the ground for Wishbone.
55	* MeaningfulName: The first of the ''Wishbone: The Early Years'' tie-in novels reveals that Wishbone got his name from Joe wishing on a wishbone for a puppy, where shortly after his dad gave him Wishbone.
56	* MrFanservice: A good amount of the female fanbase thought of Joe as this in season two. Some would say that [[NerdsAreSexy David]] counts as well in the same season.
57	* NiceGuy: The main trio. In fact, if any of them (usually Joe) [[AvertedTrope avert]] this trope as part of a plot, it will ''always'' lead to a MyGodWhatHaveIDone moment in the later half.
58	* {{Novelization}}: Thirteen episodes and the film were adapted into eleven volumes (out of twenty-one) of the book series ''The Adventures of Wishbone'' and two books (out of five) of ''The Super Adventures of Wishbone''. Another episode was adapted into the first book (out of two) of the successor ''Wishbone Adventures'' series.
59	* ProtagonistTitle: Wishbone is the protagonist of the show.
60	* PublicDomainStories: All of the stories adapted by ''Wishbone'' are, of course, conveniently out of copyright. ''Literature/ThePhantomOfTheOpera'', which was serialized in 1909 and 1910, is the newest work to receive a ''Wishbone'' adaptation.
61	* {{Pun}}: The theme song includes the lyric "Let's wag another tale."
62	* ReadingIsCoolAesop: Pretty much the point of the show was to get kids to read these classics.
63	* RunningGag: Wishbone really wants to get on that chair.
64	* ShowWithinAShow: OnceAnEpisode, Wishbone imagines himself as the protagonist of some literary classic, a CompressedAdaptation of which is then performed within the episode, the first being ''Literature/OliverTwist''.
65	* TitleSequenceReplacement: In the second season, even though the theme song is kept.
66	* TitleThemeTune: ''Come on, Wishbone! What's the story, Wishbone?''
67	* TokenTrio: Joe and his two best friends (again).
68	* TwoForOneShow: The episodes are equally split between "real life" in Oakdale, and Wishbone's book-based fantasies. The "The Adventures of Wishbone" books use the same format.
69	* UsefulNotes/TheTrojanWar: Two separate episodes have a story based around the Trojan War. One is the episode on ''Literature/TheOdyssey'' and the other an episode on ''Literature/TheAeneid''.
70	* WholePlotReference: The modern-day portions are this to the story portions. Wishbone almost always manages to pick out the book real-life events will be mirroring before there are sufficient clues.
71
72	[[/folder]]
73
74	[[folder:Episodes with their own pages]]
75
76	* See [[Recap/{{Wishbone}} here]].
77
78	[[/folder]]
79
80	[[folder:#40: "Picks of the Litter" (ClipShow)]]
81
82	* ClipShow: Wanda brings over a dog to keep Wishbone company, and Wishbone recounts to the dog all of his previous imaginary adventures.
83	* SuddenlySpeaking: Throughout the episode, the dog Penny has been silent, but at the very end, she startles Wishbone by saying "Thanks for telling me all those great stories! Call me sometime!"
84
85	[[/folder]]
86
87	%%[[folder:#46: "War of the Noses" (''The Black Arrow'' by Robert Louis Stevenson)]]
88	%%[[/folder]]
89	%%
90	[[folder:#47: "Moonbone" (''The Moonstone'' by Wilkie Collins)]]
91
92	* MyGodWhatHaveIDone: In the "The Moonstone" segments, Rachel has this reaction when the investigator recreates what happened the night of the theft and gives Franklin a draught to help with that. It turns out Franklin was sleepwalking that night, and he does it again, taking out the case with the diamond while mumbling about giving it to Rachel. Rachel says she saw him do it and was angry at him for loving a diamond more than her. She apologizes to his sleeping form for having misjudged him. The inspector deems that Franklin is innocent because logically if he was collapsed, the Moonstone should have remained with him when he woke up. Someone else took it from him.
93	* ReasonableAuthorityFigure: The inspector in the "The Moonstone" segments. He points out that everyone in the house the night of the theft is a suspect, but doesn't move to make accusations while analyzing Rosanna or Godfrey's possible motivations. Instead, he gathers the evidence such as that the suspect must have smudged drying paint; when Franklin shows him his own nightgown stained with paint but says he doesn't know what happened that night, the inspector helps recreate the events with a sleeping draught. This ends up clearing Franklin's name since he was sleepwalking when he removed the Moonstone from the cabinet, and the inspector points out that someone must have taken it from him after Franklin collapsed on the floor.
94	* SparedByTheAdaptation: In the ''Literature/TheMoonstone'' segments, Rosanna doesn't commit suicide after hiding the evidence that Franklin is the most likely suspect for the crime. Instead, she goes away, and her DearJohnLetter is a mere AnguishedDeclarationOfLove.
95	* WhamShot: A photograph reveals that Wishbone stole an athlete's ring. [[spoiler: The full moon compels him to bury things, apparently.]]
96	* WhatTheHellHero: Joe ends up scolding Wishbone for taking an athlete's ring and burying it, causing a great deal of trouble. Wishbone says, "I feel so guilty. And dirty."
97
98	[[/folder]]
99
100	[[folder:#50: "The Roamin' Nose" (''The Aeneid'' by Virgil)]]
101
102	* AdaptationalHeroism: Aeneas is more honest with Dido about why he has to leave her in Carthage, in that the Gods have sent him a message to depart and he would stay if he could. [[Literature/TheAeneid Aeneas]] was more of a {{Jerkass}} about it in the original source material, which led to Dido's suicide.
103	* {{Bowdlerize}}: The ''Literature/TheAeneid'' segments omit Dido's suicide, only showing Aeneas leaving her behind in Carthage.
104	* DivineChessboard: In "The Aeneid" segments the Gods use a diorama of the Mediterranean to decide the fate of mortals. Jupiter and Venus use it to help and guide Aeneas to his destiny; Juno uses it to make his and the lives of his fellow Trojans as miserable as possible.
105	* EveryoneWentToSchoolTogether: At one point, Joe's Mom, David's parents and Wanda reminisce about their high school years. They mention that Damont's Dad went to high school with them too.
106	* JerkassGods: In the "The Aeneid" segments, Juno makes life miserable for the Trojans because she can. (Apparently left out is the fact that she hated all Trojans because of Paris's preferring Venus over Juno and Minerva, but especially hated this particular group of Trojans because their descendants were destined to destroy her favorite city of Carthage, which was still being built at the time the story took place.)
107	* SparedByTheAdaptation: Dido in the "The Aeneid" segments doesn't commit suicide, as far as we know. This is because Aeneas is nicer here than in the original source, honestly telling her that the gods have ordered him to leave. He says that he would stay if he could and that Dido will always be in his heart. Their farewell is thus more civil if a GutPunch for the viewers.
108
109	[[/folder]]
110
111	[[folder:Film: ''Wishbone's Dog Days of the West'' (''Heart of the West'' by O. Henry)]]
112
113	%%One tie-in book was released -- ''The Super Adventures of Wishbone'' #1: ''Wishbone's Dog Days of the West'', a straight adaptation of the film.
114
115	* DarkerAndEdgier: Believe it or not, this film reveals some pretty seedy parts of Oakdale's past, namely how Wanda Gilmore inherited parts of Oakdale through back alley deals and horsetrading. And also features a decent shootout, despite the dog not being able to hold a gun.
116	* LastEpisodeNewCharacter: Hank Dutton, who makes his first (and only on-screen) appearance in this movie. He'd later appear in some of the ''The Wishbone Mysteries'' novels.
117	* TheMovie: One that serves as the GrandFinale to the series when PBS didn't renew it for another season.
118
119	[[/folder]]
120
121	[[folder:''The Adventures of Wishbone'' #4: ''Robinhound Crusoe'']]
122
123	%%''Robinhound Crusoe'' is book 4 of the spinoff ''The Adventures of Wishbone'' series, done in the parallel-plots style of the show.
124
125	%%When a lightning storm cuts the power and a car problem delays Joe's mom from getting home, Joe and Wishbone are left to make it to an important basketball game across town in time and on their own, dealing with various challenges along the way. Consequently, Wishbone is reminded of and imagines himself into another man's battle against the elements and other obstacles in his quest to return home in ''Literature/RobinsonCrusoe'' by Creator/DanielDefoe.
126
127	* CordonBleughChef: Wanda -- during a pretty much town wide blackout, she makes do with what she has, resulting in sandwiches that are peanut butter/sardine (which Joe tastes but doesn't finish) and egg salad/mint jelly. No one besides Wishbone is interested, including Wanda but she tries to make the best of things.
128
129	[[/folder]]
130
131	[[folder:''The Adventures of Wishbone'' #18: ''Gullifur's Travels'']]
132
133	%%''Gullifur's Travels'' is book 18 of the spinoff ''The Adventures of Wishbone'' series, done in the parallel-plots style of the show.
134
135	%%Joe's basketball team is preparing to face off against two other teams, one whose members are really short but skilled, while the other team's members are very tall, and are reminded that it's brains rather than size that will help them win. This reminds Wishbone of Lemuel Gulliver, who also found himself faced off against the tiny Lilliputians and the giant Brobdingngs in ''Literature/GulliversTravels'' by Creator/JonathanSwift.
136
137	* LoonyLaws: In this book's version of ''Gulliver's Travels'', Lilliput has made compromising of any sort illegal and punishable by death.
138	* SimpleSolutionWontWork: In a scene original to this version, Lemuel Gulliver suggests a simple solution that could end the war between Big-Endians and Little-Endians (those who prefer to break the big end of an egg and those who prefer to break the small end): TakeAThirdOption and crack the egg in the middle instead. Reldresal, principal secretary of Lilliput and friend of Gulliver, nervously tells him not to voice that idea where anyone else can hear him, because it would be considered a compromise -- and in Lilliput, compromisers are seen as disloyal and are put to death if caught.
139	* TakeAThirdOption: Suggested but averted in one of the segments that adapts the original story. In the original book, Gulliver does not offer an opinion on the cause of the war between Big-Endians and Little-Endians, merely promising to defend their country from invaders. In this version, while talking with Reldresal, Gulliver brings up the possibility of breaking eggs in the middle. Reldresal (who personally agrees that the reasoning for the war is silly) nervously tells him to keep that thought to himself, because compromisers are seen as being disloyal and put to death.
140
141	[[/folder]]
142
143	[[folder:''The Wishbone Mysteries'' #2: ''The Haunted Clubhouse'']]
144
145	%%''The Haunted Clubhouse'' is book 2 of the spinoff ''The Wishbone Mysteries'' series, in which Wishbone does ''not'' imagine himself into the classic story; instead, sub-plots are included in which Joe, and occasionally Sam or David, would read a mystery story that turns out to be related to the current events in their lives.
146
147	%%Joe wins a raffle drawing for an antique clubhouse, only for strange events to happen in it, leading he and his friends to think it might be haunted. Meanwhile, while searching in the attic, he and Wishbone uncover a box of his late father's favorite mystery books, inspiring Joe to start reading them. He starts with ''[[Literature/AndThenThereWereNone Ten Little Indians]]'' by Creator/AgathaChristie, and begins to notice parallels between it and the mystery of the clubhouse.
148
149	* AllForNothing: After winning the clubhouse and spending the events of the book finding out who was faking the hauntings in it, Joe's prize is destroyed when a tree falls on it during a massive storm before he can have it moved into his backyard.
150	* ChekhovsGun: When Joe and Wishbone find the box of Steve Talbot's books, one of the volumes named is ''Literature/TomSawyerDetective'', which Joe will later read in ''Literature/RiddleOfTheLostLake''. Subverted with another couple of books by Creator/RaymondChandler, which are mentioned but never become the subject of any books in the series.
151	* ContinuityNod: At one point, Joe visits the same antique store from "[[Recap/WishboneS1E35VivaWishbone ¡Viva Wishbone!]]", and remembers the music box he bought there.
152
153	[[/folder]]
154
155	[[folder:''The Wishbone Mysteries'' #3: ''Riddle of the Wayward Books'']]
156
157	%%''Riddle of the Wayward Books'' is book 3 of the spinoff ''The Wishbone Mysteries'' series, in which Wishbone does ''not'' imagine himself into the classic story; instead, sub-plots are included in which Joe, and occasionally Sam or David, would read a mystery story that turns out to be related to the current events in their lives.
158
159	%%Joe is looking for a summer job and soon finds one at Rendezvous Books, a used-book store. While working there, he receives an old copy of ''The Haunted Bookshop'' by Christopher Morley, which had once belonged to his father, and soon uncovers parallels between it and the mysterious happenings in the bookstore -- in which it seems someone is breaking in, but rather than stealing, old and valuable books are suddenly ''appearing''.
160
161	* TheAtoner: This turns out to be the motive of the mysterious thief at Rendezvous Books. Dr. Quentin Quarrel confesses that years ago, he stole some books from the college bookshop run by Mr. Gurney's father, who'd let him hang around the shop. Feeling guilty, he eventually concocted a scheme to pay Mr. Gurney -- who by now owned a used bookstore of his own -- back for the thefts with interest, first by offering to invest in the store (which was turned down) and later by having his grandson, a rare book dealer, ask Mr. Gurney to keep an eye out for some rare titles. The grandson would then smuggle those very books into the store and subsequently buy them back with his grandfather's money.
162	* BaitAndSwitch: When the mastermind behind the break-ins -- a good friend of Mr. Gurney's -- confesses to why they did what they did, Mr. Gurney sounds angry as he says that he's shocked -- utterly shocked -- at their actions. And so he's going to have to... ask the mastermind to live up to an earlier request and invest in the store, becoming Mr. Gurney's partner in the business.
163	* EasterEgg: On the cover, there are two copies of ''Riddle of the Wayward Books'' itself. And one of ''The Adventures of Wishbone'' #2: ''Salty Dog''.
164	* TheStakeout: Late in the book, Joe, Sam, David and Wishbone, along with Joe's mom, Sam's dad and Mr. Gurney, all have a stakeout in the bookstore to catch the criminals in the act.
165	* StrongFamilyResemblance: Dr. Quarrel and his grandson, Jack Brisco, look very much alike:
166	-->They stood side by side, young and old; two tall, lean, dark men with slicked-back hair and sharp noses. They smiled and their white teeth flashed. But that wasn't the real giveaway, not in Joe's opinion. The clincher was Dr. Quarrel's startling blue eyes staring back at them out of Jack Brisco's face.
167	* WriteWhatYouKnow: Referenced InUniverse. Joe's working in a used bookstore, which has a parrot -- Mr. Faulkner, who keeps squawking the trope name -- as a resident. His words help Joe to be GenreSavvy and solve the mystery, linking the current rash of strange events (the store is seemingly being burglarized, but the "thief" is actually ''leaving'' rare books for the owner to find, sell and profit off of) with the events of the book ''Literature/TheHauntedBookshop'' (in which the same book keeps getting stolen from and returned to a store), which Joe is currently reading.
168
169	[[/folder]]
170
171	[[folder:''The Wishbone Mysteries'' #9: ''Case of the On-Line Alien'']]
172
173	%%''Case of the On-Line Alien'' is book 9 of the spinoff ''The Wishbone Mysteries'' series, in which Wishbone does ''not'' imagine himself into the classic story; instead, sub-plots are included in which Joe, and occasionally Sam or David, would read a mystery story that turns out to be related to the current events in their lives.
174
175	%%A UFO has been seen over Oakdale, and David is disbelieving that it's real, even after the extraterrestrials make contact with him over the internet. Meanwhile, the sighting prompts him to borrow and read Joe's copy of ''Literature/TheWarOfTheWorlds1898'' by Creator/HGWells, and also to appear on a classmate's radio show to discuss the matter.
176
177	* AliensStealCable: {{Invoked}} -- there's been a UFO sighting in Oakdale, and David is trying to unmask a hoaxer pretending to be an alien over IRC by asking him what his favorite human TV show was in an attempt to catch him violating the speed of light. The hoaxer doesn't fall for it; he responds with ''Series/ILoveLucy''.
178
179	[[/folder]]
180
181	[[folder:''The Wishbone Mysteries'' #12: ''Forgotten Heroes'']]
182
183	%%''Forgotten Heroes'' is book 12 of the spinoff ''The Wishbone Mysteries'' series, in which Wishbone does ''not'' imagine himself into the classic story; instead, sub-plots are included in which Joe, and occasionally Sam or David, would read a mystery story that turns out to be related to the current events in their lives.
184
185	%%When Joe purchases a set of old baseball cards, he discovers Oakdale once had a Negro Baseball League team, who won the 1933 national championship. However, all evidence of them within the town's records seems to have disappeared, leaving he, Sam and David to try and uncover the truth behind who did this and why. Meanwhile, the evidence reminds Joe of ''The Adventure of the Norwood Builder'' from his copy of ''The Return of Literature/SherlockHolmes'' by Creator/ArthurConanDoyle.
186
187	* GottaCatchThemAll: A self-imposed version -- the plot kicks off when Joe goes to a yard sale and finds a set of old baseball cards. When questioned by the owner, he explains that he'd inherited his late father's own cards and wanted to keep adding to the collection, including filling in some of the gaps in his father's favorite teams.
188	* SinsOfOurFathers: Variant -- at one point, Joe has a daydream where he shows up at a Negro League game to find every single person glaring at him, not because of his family's actions but simply because he's white and therefore a member of the race that's caused so much trouble for their people. He's noticeably rattled by it when he snaps out of it.
189
190	[[/folder]]
191
192	[[folder:''The Wishbone Mysteries'' #13: ''Case of the Unsolved Case'']]
193
194	%%''Case of the Unsolved Case'' is book 13 of the spinoff ''The Wishbone Mysteries'' series, in which Wishbone does ''not'' imagine himself into the classic story; instead, sub-plots are included in which Joe, and occasionally Sam or David, would read a mystery story that turns out to be related to the current events in their lives.
195
196	%%Joe, Sam and David have been assigned to read and discuss ''Literature/TheMysteryOfEdwinDrood'' by Creator/CharlesDickens as a school project. Meanwhile, Joe accidentally loses a ring that belonged to his father, and David mysteriously disappears while searching for it, paralleling the disappearance of Edwin Drood himself.
197
198	* AccidentalHero: Joe and Sam become worried when David doesn't turn up for a study group and leaves no message as to why he isn't coming. After they find David [[spoiler:(he was locked in a equipment shed near town; long story)]], they ask why he didn't leave a message and he very confusedly responds that he did. The humans dismiss it as a coincidence but Wishbone realizes that earlier he had knocked over the answering machine at the Talbots' and erased the message by accident, leading to Joe and Sam not getting it, getting worried and going out to find and, ultimately, rescue David. Wishbone at first considers admitting this and apologizing but then realizes that if the message ''hadn't'' been erased, David would have been trapped even longer than he was. [[FridgeHorror And since the story was set as fall changes into winter...]]
199
200	[[/folder]]
201
202	[[folder:''The Wishbone Mysteries'' #14: ''Disoriented Express'']]
203
204	%%''Disoriented Express'' is book 14 of the spinoff ''The Wishbone Mysteries'' series, in which Wishbone does ''not'' imagine himself into the classic story; instead, sub-plots are included in which Joe, and occasionally Sam or David, would read a mystery story that turns out to be related to the current events in their lives.
205
206	%%Joe and his friends are taking a train trip as part of Oakdale College's weekend fundraiser, and soon find out that in addition to the fake mystery being staged, a real one is also happening... one whose events parallel the trail of evidence in ''Literature/MurderOnTheOrientExpress'' by Creator/AgathaChristie.
207
208	* SheCleansUpNicely: Sam gets this, and not for the first time, when the core trio, Ellen, Wishbone [[RememberTheNewGuy and the son of a friend of Ellen's]] end up on a role-playing mystery train; Sam is cast as a lovely young heiress and as such, spends a good portion of the book in the appropriate garb. She's in much better humor about it than she was about the above incident, likely because it is something she volunteered for and is for acting purposes.
209
210	[[/folder]]
211
212	[[folder:''The Wishbone Mysteries'' #15: ''Stage Invader'']]
213
214	%%''Stage Invader'' is book 15 of the spinoff ''The Wishbone Mysteries'' series, in which Wishbone does ''not'' imagine himself into the classic story; instead, sub-plots are included in which Joe, and occasionally Sam or David, would read a mystery story that turns out to be related to the current events in their lives.
215
216	%%Sequoyah Middle School is putting on a stage production of ''Theatre/{{Grease}}'', with Sam as the stage manager. However, mysterious events threaten to disrupt the production, forcing the kids and Wishbone to solve the mystery while reminding Sam of the events of the book she's currently reading -- ''Literature/SleepingMurder'' by Creator/AgathaChristie, in which odd events are also happening in the house recently purchased by the book's protagonist. Meanwhile, Wishbone has his own mystery to solve -- who's responsible for the disappearance of his snacks and squeaky toy?
217
218	* AcquiredSituationalNarcissism: [[spoiler:Crystal, the star of the show,]] reveals that she had attained this, [[spoiler:pulling the potentially dangerous pranks to "liven up rehearsals"]]. [[spoiler:Director Justin replaces her with Amanda and reports Crystal to the principal.]]
219	* ActuallyPrettyFunny: The ''Grease'' cast ribs Ryan for forgetting his lines on a regular basis. He accepts the teasing with a sheepish grin.
220	* CutenessProximity: This is everyone's reaction to [[spoiler:Ryan's puppy Jinx]], whom they think is adorable. The only exception is Wishbone, though justified in that Wishbone is a dog and [[spoiler:Jinx]] stole his squeaky toy.
221	* DeadlyPrank: Narrowly averted -- while the pranks that occur during the ''Theatre/{{Grease}}'' rehearsals (like David's sign getting lit up and Robin's skates getting sabotaged) are dangerous, no one gets hurt. [[spoiler:Even so, everyone calls out Crystal when she has to confess to it because while no one ''got'' hurt, only one injury would have gotten the show cancelled.]] Also [[spoiler:Crystal slipping on a scarf was the only genuine accident, since Ryan's puppy Jinx stole the scarf and left it on the stage.]] They do mention that Robin's skates could have gotten her badly hurt and that the only reason she didn't get injured is that Wishbone, [[EvilDetectingDog sensing something was up]], barked loudly, causing her to lose her balance harmlessly on the stage instead of shooting off it because she couldn't turn.
222	* EveryoneHasStandards:
223	** Sam, David and Joe discuss who could be sabotaging the play. They rule out Amanda for this reason and MoralPragmatist: Amanda has all the incentive to want the show to go on, and she's not a person who would hurt others for personal gain. The same goes for Ryan, who is too much of a goofball to have malicious intent. Indeed, when [[spoiler:Sam forces Crystal to confess]], the whole cast is livid. Amanda rightly points out that [[spoiler:Crystal could have gotten Ryan and her hurt if they had danced on the bleachers]].
224	** Justin is a PrimaDonnaDirector. Even so, he's more worried about Crystal and Robin when they fall rather than about the fact that both rehearsals went wrong. [[spoiler:What's more, he says he's reporting Crystal to the principal because she could have gotten someone badly hurt]].
225	* EvilDetectingDog: When Wishbone hears Robin's skate squeaking while she's rehearsing, he starts barking in alarm. It turns out her skates were sabotaged so she was out of control. The barking causes Robin to fall onstage, but she says that if he hadn't, she would have rolled offstage and broken something the way Crystal sprained her ankle. Sam also finds the Allen Key that sabotaged the skate, thanks to Wishbone. [[spoiler:He also barks on locating the bleacher that Crystal has sabotaged, just in time for Sam, David and Joe to find it.]]
226	* HoistByTheirOwnPetard: [[spoiler:Crystal's final prank involves her taking nails out of the bleachers where her understudy Amanda and Ryan are supposed to dance, which would cause Amanda and Ryan to fall. Wishbone discovers it as Sam discusses her theory that Crystal is the prankster. Sam to trap Crystal relates her suspicions to the play's director, Justin, who agrees that for that dress rehearsal to have Crystal do the dance with Ryan with the cover of seeing if her ankle's healed. Crystal has to admit that she took the nails out when she refuses to dance on the bleachers.]]
227	* ItsAllAboutMe: When Sam [[spoiler:exposes Crystal]] as the play saboteur, everyone in the cast is livid. As Amanda points out, [[spoiler:she and Ryan would have fallen with the nails taken out of the bleacher]] and the play would have been canceled. [[spoiler:Crystal]] admits to not considering that since [[spoiler:the pranks were just to "liven up the rehearsals" due to her getting bored]]. This is despite the fact that cutting the wires on David's car display was dangerous, with how it was shedding sparks everywhere. Robin also nearly rolled offstage and could have broken a bone, if not for Wishbone's barking causing her to fall on-stage harmlessly; she thanked Wishboe for that reason. Sam even bluntly says that [[spoiler:Crystal cared more about her own amusement than the play, even though she was the star]].
228	* ItAmusedMe: [[spoiler:Crystal]] sheepishly admits that this is why [[spoiler:she started playing pranks for "livening up the rehearsals" since she was getting bored.]]
229	* JerkassHasAPoint: Sam says that [[spoiler:she agrees with [[PrimaDonnaDirector Justin]] to take Crystal out of the performance, since Crystal with her pranks showed that she put her entertainment ahead of the play, while Crystal's understudy Amanda showed that for her showing off she put the play ahead of herself.]]
230	* JerkWithAHeartOfGold: Justin ultimately proves to be this despite being a PrimaDonnaDirector. He's more worried about Crystal and Robin when they fall in two different rehearsals rather than that the stagings went wrong despite his obvious frustration that they seem to have a saboteur and that nothing is going right. What's more, when he finds out from Sam that [[spoiler:Crystal is the potential saboteur, he agrees to stage a trap to test her theory without any hesitation. When Crystal is forced to confess, Justin is legitimately angry about her endangering the cast and her friends, saying that her apologies aren't enough. He's reporting her to the principal and replacing her with Amanda, effective as of their latest dress rehearsal]].
231	* LovableAlphaBitch: Discussed when the trio debates if Amanda could be the perpetrator behind the stage pranks. Sam points out that it doesn't benefit Amanda to sabotage the play since she's the understudy, thus having all the incentive for the show to go forward and that [[spoiler:for all her showing off Amanda actually prioritized the play over her ego. She had a reason to get angry on hearing Crystal sabotaged hers and Ryan's bleachers for dancing, which could have gotten her injured]].
232	* PrimaDonnaDirector: Justin is this. Sam briefly wonders if he would sabotage the play for it not being perfect enough.
233	* SurprisinglyRealisticOutcome: After Sam reveals that [[spoiler:Crystal was behind most of the pranks and forces her to confess, Crystal apologizes and expects that she can still be Sandy in ''Grease''. The director Justin tells Crystal that's not happening; he has her understudy Amanda take over the part permanently and is reporting her to the principal. As Sam puts it, Crystal endangered the cast with her pranks and showed she cared more about her entertainment than the show. She ends up having to serve detention for a week and to clean up the auditorium after the play's opening night.]]
234
235	[[/folder]]
236
237	[[folder:''The Wishbone Super Mysteries'' #2: ''The Ghost of Camp Ka Nowato'']]
238
239	%%''The Ghost of Camp Ka Nowato'' is book 2 of the ''The Wishbone Super Mysteries'' series, double-length books done in the style of the parent ''The Wishbone Mysteries'' series, in which Wishbone does ''not'' imagine himself into the classic story; instead, sub-plots are included in which Joe, and occasionally Sam or David, would read a mystery story that turns out to be related to the current events in their lives.
240
241	%%Joe, Sam and David are spending a week as counselors at Camp Ka Nowato, which legend claims to be haunted... and spooky events are happening, leading the trio and Wishbone to think there might be something to the legend. Meanwhile, Sam is reading ''Literature/ACaribbeanMystery'' by Creator/AgathaChristie, and is reminded of the parallels between it and her stay at camp -- like her, Miss Marple is in a new and unfamiliar location, which leads to a mystery.
242
243	* ContinuityNod: Joe's time at Mr. Gurney's Rendezvous Books (in ''Literature/RiddleOfTheWaywardBooks'') is referenced, as Joe's been offered his old job back for the summer after Mr. Gurney returns from his vacation in a week or so (which gives him time to join his friends in working at Camp Ka Nowato in the interim).
244	* MyGodWhatHaveIDone: The culprit responsible for the pranks is horrified when he realizes Sam was in the tower he knocked over (he confesses that he'd thought it was empty), and promptly comes back to save her life.
245	* ScoobyDooHoax: The plot revolves around one. [[spoiler: The "ghost" is a man who left civilization and lived on a corner of the property a few owners ago, but when he found out the first owner -- who knew he was there, and created the legend of Ka Nowato to help cover it up -- had died, he started pulling harmless pranks to dissuade the new owner from expanding the camp into the land where he was living. After he's exposed, he apologizes for his actions (including nearly drowning Samantha, since he didn't realize she was in the tower he'd knocked over), volunteers his personal funds to renovate the camp so its third owner won't have to sell it, and becomes an official staff member.]]
246
247	[[/folder]]
248

Context Series / Wishbone