Airdate: October 17, 1996
The Tibble Twins have been driving D.W. nuts, and Grandma Tibble needs a babysitter after her grandsons have been scaring too many of them out of doing so. Arthur figures it'll be very easy to do and volunteers to babysit, until his friends give him warnings and advice on how to handle the rambunctious Tommy and Timmy. But in the end, Arthur is able to smooth things over with the twins and get them to obey. Based on an Arthur Adventures book of the same name by Marc Brown.
Arthur Babysits contains examples of:
- Adaptation Species Change: In the original book and in many other non-"Step Into Reading" Arthur books, Mrs. Tibble and the Tibble Twins are humans. In the TV series, they are bear cubs.
- Always Identical Twins: Tommy and Timmy Tibble.
- Artistic Age: Arthur, an eight-year-old boy, is entrusted to babysit two four-year-old twin boys. An eight-year-old is far too young to hire as a babysitter; a job usually reserved for late-teens and older.
- Babysitter from Hell: The Teaser has Arthur describe a few of his past babysitters from when he was younger, and one of them was like this; Mrs. Featherfoffer, who spent much of her time watching soap operas when at the Reads' house, and sent Arthur to bed for simply running around with a toy airplane making airplane noises despite it being daylight and him not being tired.Arthur: (imitating plane) Nyeeeeeeeaaaaaaaaoooorrrrr!Mrs. Featherfoffer: Don't make noise. Go to bed.Arthur: It's daytime!Mrs. Featherfoffer: Go... to... bed!
- Babysitting Episode: It's right there in the title.
- Badly Battered Babysitter: The Tibble Twins' past babysitters have all become one of these (and in the case of Rubella Deegan, it traumatized her so much she still has nightmares about the twins.) Arthur seems to start out as one of these, until halfway through his babysitting job where he starts to straighten things out with the twins.
- Catapult Nightmare: When Prunella mentions that her older sister Rubella babysat the Tibble Twins once and still has nightmares about them, we see a flashback where Rubella wakes up from such a nightmare in this fashion, letting out a female Stock Scream and with little laughing Tibble heads streaming out of her eyes!
- Characterization Marches On: The Tibble Twins are a lot more destructive and rambunctious in this episode compared to subsequent ones, where they are still mischievous but noticeably toned down. It's implied Arthur helped mellow them.
- Curtain Camouflage: The Tibble twins were hiding behind the curtain during a game of Hide and Seek. Arthur made up a monster called "Swamp Thing" to scare the twins out.
- Early Installment Character-Design Difference: Rubella, seen in Prunella's flashback having a nightmare about the Tibble Twins, is shown with brown hair like Prunella's, while in subsequent episodes her hair is orange-colored and much longer.
- Eleventy Zillion: When Francine tries to reassure Arthur that babysitting the Tibble Twins will be like looking after D.W. and Kate, Arthur flashes back to D.W. jumping on the couch as he attempts to read to her. She chants "Forty-eleven, forty-twelve, forty-thirteen..." while doing so.
- Escaped Animal Rampage: When Arthur notices the Tibble Twins have supposedly gone missing, he has an Imagine Spot where the Tibbles release the animals from a local zoo and cause this trope to happen.
- Establishing Character Moment: The Tibble Twins chasing a Badly Battered Babysitter out of their house. The Tibbles had appeared in a few prior episodes as friends of D.W., but this is the episode that properly introduces them.
- Furry Reminder: In The Teaser, Arthur recalls one of his past babysitters was Ms. Schmegeggi, a moose who was fairly clumsy with her large antlers (despite being a female moose), including getting stuck in the kitchen doorway when going to answer the phone in the foyer, to which she blames the house's poor construction.
- Human Ladder: Tommy holds up Timmy so he can fool around with the grandfather clock in their living room.
- Identical Twin ID Tag: Mrs. Tibble explains to Arthur (and the viewers) how to tell the Tibble Twins apart; Tommy wears a red bandana, and Timmy wears a blue one. (Similarly in the original book, Tommy wears a red cowboy hat and Timmy wears a blue one.)
- Noodle Incident: According to Prunella, her older sister Rubella babysat the Tibble Twins only once, but still has nightmares about them, as what they did to her was apparently so traumatizing she won't even talk about it.
- Nothing Is Scarier: We don't know what the Tibbles did to scare their previous babysitter, apart from the water gun. She didn't even stick around to get paid for her time.
- O.O.C. Is Serious Business: Mrs. Tibble is pleasantly surprised on learning that the boys want to help Arthur clean up. She says she can hardly believe it.
- Playing Sick: At the end, Arthur tells D.W. that Mrs. Tibble that she wants him to babysit the Tibbles every afternoon for the rest of the week and wants D.W. to come along so the Tibbles can have a friend their own age to play with. D.W., not pleased by this news, walks off saying to her mother that she suddenly feels sick...D.W.: Mommy, will you take my "tem-peera-ture"? I feel really, really, really sick!
- That Poor Cat: Tommy and Timmy sic their grandmother's cat onto Arthur's face once they notice she has left.
It's time for the annual Read Family Reunion, where many relatives on David's side of the family visit for a cookout and games, but one of them is Arthur's cousin Monique (Mo), who has tortured and humiliated him at past reunions, so Arthur keeps trying his best to avoid Cousin Mo, whom claims she has a surprise for Arthur this year. And as the reunion drags on and the weather gets bad, things just seem to get worse…
Arthur's Cousin Catastrophe contains examples of:
- Ambiguously Brown: Ricky, it's not made clear if he's African-American or just really tan.
- Apology Gift: Realizing that talking to Arthur is not working out, Mo starts playing on the piano during the rainstorm. Arthur despite himself can't help but join in, and she doesn't exactly apologize but mentions she wasn't going to prank him this year.
- Big Sister Bully: Rather, big cousin bully. Mo made a bad first impression on Arthur by using him as a sprinkler ornament. She also has used him for karate practice and dressed him up as a baby. Arthur understandably doesn't want to give Mo a chance and runs away screaming when she comes to the front door this year.
- Binocular Shot: Arthur surveying the family reunion in "Arthur's Cousin Catastrophe" is shown through his binoculars. Then D.W. mugs the camera, shocking him into falling out of the tree.
- Brutal Honesty: Arthur's great-grandmother makes no bones about the fact that Uncle Sean's novels use premises that have been done millions of times over.
- Camera Fiend: Uncle Bud is really big on photography, and brings a bunch of cameras to the reunion, including one with a "Supernova Solar" Blinding Camera Flash that causes X-Ray Sparks when going off, and is also seen taping several of the events with a large camcorder.
- Chuck Cunningham Syndrome: Since the relatives who visit the Read house are implied to live faraway, none of them ever appear again.
- Closed Circle: D.W. suggests this to Arthur when the storm hits to tease him as he tries to hide from Cousin Mo...D.W.: Hey, maybe the road will wash out and Mo will have to stay with us all week! Wouldn’t that be fun?
- Cool Old Lady: Arthur's great-grandmother (and Thora's mother), seen attending the Read Family Reunion, is shown to win the egg race.
- Didn't Think This Through: D.W. climbs up the tree in the backyard to troll Arthur, who is hiding from Mo. As she's teasing him, he walks away. D.W. then tries to climb down and realizes she can't, calling Arthur for help.
- Epic Fail:
- Aunt Loretta finds the Flip-o-matic she got as a gift for Jane, and offers to help her with the burgers. The idea is that the spatula has a spring set to flip whatever is resting on it. When Loretta tries it out the first time, three burgers land far enough to hit Mr. Haney square on the head. The second time, the burgers end up on David, Mo, and Uncle Bud's head. At that point, Jane does a Face Palm.
- Ricky during the egg race doesn't just drop his egg. It flies in the air and lands on Uncle Bud's head, just as he's about to cross the finish line.
- Goo Goo Get Up: At last year's reunion, Mo dressed Arthur up as a baby, with everyone thinking it was cute despite Arthur insisting it wasn't funny.
- It's the Best Whatever, Ever!: In "Arthur's Cousin Catastrophe", Arthur's parents share a Smooch of Victory after Uncle Bud says this about their reunion at the end.
- Jerkass Realization: Maybe. Mo at least looks saddened when Arthur runs off from her and leaves her with Cousin George. She also admits to Arthur that she wasn't going to pull any pranks on him this year because he's her favorite relative.
- Leaning on the Fourth Wall: At the reunion, Uncle Sean describes a novel that he's writing about a man on the run from a sworn enemy. Arthur spends most of the episode avoiding Cousin Mo and is creeping around the adults in a Funny Background Event.
- No Name Given: We never learn the name of Uncle Bud and Aunt Loretta's youngest child, the little sister to cousins Monique and Ricky.
- No Sympathy: D.W. keeps mocking Arthur as he's hiding from Mo, trolling him and scaring him from behind. She says that maybe Mo will put him in the washing machine this time as Arthur strolls off determined to hide inside. The last time it happens, Arthur has an Actually Pretty Funny expression as he puts her down.
- One-Shot Character: Most of David Read's relatives attending the reunion have only appeared in this episode so far, including of course Cousin Mo (though she has made couple of non-speaking cameos in later episodes). The only relatives to be seen in any other episodes are Grandma Thora (a main character in the series), Aunt Bonnie and Cousin George (both of whom appear in "Arthur's Birthday") and Uncle Bud (seen in a flashback in "The Half-Baked Sale".)
- Only Known by Their Nickname: Cousin Monique is always called "Cousin Mo."
- Parlor Games: One game played at the Read Family Reunion is Charades. But when it's Uncle Sean's turn, he chooses an obscure book title that none of the other guests are able to guess.Great-Grandma: We give up. It's been half an hour already!Uncle Sean: Honestly! On The Bridges of Medieval Paris: A Record of Early Fourteeth-Century Life by Virginia Wylie Eggbert.Aunt Bonnie: We said pick a popular book.Uncle Sean: Well, all my friends have read it!
- Recycled Premise: In-universe, when novelist Uncle Sean is describing his latest book to Grandma Thora and her mother. It's also implied Uncle Sean is committing plagiarism.Uncle Sean: My latest project is an original mystery. It's about a man haunted by his past, on the run from a dreaded enemy. He's hunted everywhere he goes. It seems like there's no escape!Great-Grandma: Oh! You mean like The Fugitive? Or Les Misérables? Or just like The Thirty-Nine Ste...Grandma Thora: (interrupting) Mother!Uncle Sean: Well, uh... yes, but completely different!
- Reformed, but Rejected: This time around, Mo sincerely wants to spend time with Arthur and not play mean tricks on him. Arthur doesn't even stand around to hear her out, running if she gets within a few feet of her. It's hard to blame him.
- Shave And A Haircut: The episode concludes with Arthur and Cousin Mo playing this on the piano.
- Shown Their Work: Apparently On the Bridges Of Medieval Paris is a real book. And yes, it's just as obscure.
- Stating the Simple Solution: Arthur notes that if he can simply get inside the house, then he can hide in his bedroom until the reunion is over. The problem is that Mo is constantly noticing him, the other relatives and his dad keep pulling him into other activities, and D.W. is spying on him.
- Thunder Equals Downpour: Right before they can play musical shoes, thunder booms in the sky, and Jane Read says "Uh-oh" among seeing the clouds overhead. David Read says, "I'm sure it's just a sonic..." but a bright flash of lightning interrupts him and it starts to rain hard, to which David meekly finishes, "...boom." Then among getting inside the house, Jane Read says that the downpour is "probably just a light shower," which Aunt Loretta responds, "Sure, dear. Whatever you say."
