Background Blues
Mr. Ratburn assigns the kids to do a project about their families and origins. Muffy and Francine become competitive, while Arthur is calm and Buster worries that he can't find anything.
Tropes for this episode include:
- Disappointing Heritage Reveal: Muffy and Francine go digging into their family backgrounds for class projects. Muffy fantasizes about being the lost princess of some Ruritania, while Francine just gets competitive with her. Muffy is disappointed to learn her dad is strictly Nouveau Riche and got lucky with his car business (her grandmother lives in a small house and collects garden gnomes), while Francine is disappointed that her grandfather is merely the longtime operator of a gimmicky burger joint — although their classmates think that being the granddaughter of the owner of the Hamburger Castle is pretty cool.
- Exact Words: Francine is told that her great-great-grandfather was an advisor to Abraham Lincoln. Turns out he was a barber who advised him to trim his beard. Her great-great-grandfather kept pieces of Lincoln's hair as well.
- Framing Device: The outer story is a future version of Arthur and D.W., the Read descendants, watching a "video" when their mother catches them bickering.
- Freudian Slip: At one point during the story, Muffy lets it slip that her grandmother is not royalty like she was lead to believe. Rather, she's your run-of-the-mill grandmother who lives in an antiquated little house and collects gnomes.
- Honest John's Dealership: Muffy's grandmother says that the Crosswires have always been this, selling used vehicles no matter the time period.
- Ridiculous Future Inflation: In the teaser, Future Jane mentions that she got the kids' mittens on sale for only $3 million.
- What Are Records?: The future mom says these images used to be called videos. Future D.W. says the video about the past made no sense because she has no idea what hamburgers are.
- What You Are in the Dark: Francine takes her grandfather's picture and cuts out the lower portion that shows his background as a fast food employee, making it look like he's a king standing before a palace. But when she's about to fabricate before the class that her family is royalty, her grandfather comes to see, since she left behind his stuff. She decides to be honest and tell them it's a picture of him before Burger Palace. Instead of ridiculing her for not being royalty, everyone is fascinated with her grandfather's unique background. They also say they love the burgers he makes.
And Now Let's Talk To Some Kids
The students in Arthur's class mention that they love a new show called The Magic Toolbox, which has a segment of asking real questions to kids. When they learn show will be coming to interview the class, everyone (except the Brain) is anxious to make a good impression.
Tropes for this episode include:
- The Ace: Mentioned by Buster; Brain is not just good at math and science, but a whiz athlete. Brain seems flattered but still declines to go on television.
- Actually Pretty Funny:
- Buster snickers when D.W. reenacts people falling asleep if they saw Arthur on television. When Arthur gives him a Death Glare, Buster defends that he thinks snoring is funny.
- Francine finds it amusing that on television, she referred to Mars as "the Planet Red".
- The Artifact: While the "And Now, Let's Talk to Some Kids" segment cleverly lampoons Arthur's "And Now, a Word from Us Kids" linking segments, this fact will be completely lost on viewers outside the U.S. (and Canadian viewers who receive PBS), as those segments were cut from foreign airings.
- Ear Worm: Francine and Arthur remember the Magic Toolbox theme even in old age (if just barely).
- Imagine Spot: Arthur and the others imagine the Brain's life must be boring if all he does is think.
- Irony: All the other kids think being on TV will be a sparkling opportunity for attention, while Francine ridicules the Brain for doing nothing but study for the science honor roll. Arthur and Buster go the route of You Are Better Than You Think You Are that he is a genius and ought to show that off. Later, the others are nearly humiliated on TV for their lack of knowledge while the Brain is in his element. Brain helps them, but refuses to participate on television.
- What's more, in the far future, Brain (despite not caring to be on television) becomes a famed scientist whose accomplishments are televised, while Arthur and Francine (who live in relative obscurity) only have the video recording of their one time on television.
- Opening Shout-Out: The opening of the show is shown with Brain in Arthur's place.
- Buster appears in Arthur's place at the end of the theme song but instead of falling backwards, he falls forward and out of the TV, causing DW to remark, "I knew it! I knew there were little people in the TV! MOM!"
- Performance Anxiety: The kids all get this when learning that the segment involves asking them about the solar system. They go to Brain to ask for help since their minds are blank. He helps them come up with different facts about space that they can use, without a problem.
- Self-Parody: The whole episode is one of a typical Arthur show.
- The Magic Toolbox shows a segment where kids answer various questions related to a topic of the day. Arthur and his friends have Performance Anxiety when they learn they have to talk about the solar system.
- It shows Buster and D.W. in an Imagine Spot where he's in Arthur's place at the end of the theme song. He falls out of the TV, freaking out D.W. She then says when coming out of it that she doesn't want to be on a show with Arthur because he'd make her out to be a brat.
- Francine does an Imagine Spot of Brain taking Arthur's place during the theme song and the episode "Arthur's New Puppy". It just features Brain thinking.
- Surprisingly Realistic Outcome: Being on television isn't always a simple opportunity for the spotlight. One always risks the possibility of stage fright. This is better known nowadays with the knowledge of filming reality television, but most shows like The Magic Toolbox will always have a set topic, schedule, or other form of structure to keep participants focused, and not waste time and money filming superfluous content.
- You Are Better Than You Think You Are: Played with. Fearing that Brain thinks he lacks a talent to show on TV, Buster tells Brain that he's really smart and great at many sports so he can show that off. Brain explains that he's not worried about going on television; he just doesn't care about it.
