The fourth episode of the first season of Dennis the Menace (1986).
Shark Treatment
A film crew is shooting an ocean movie that features a mechanical shark, but said shark malfunctions and goes off on its own after the repairman drops his remote control unit inside it. Dennis falls into the shark while he's out surfing and takes control of it, going all around the ocean near the beach. PeeBee, then Mr. Wilson are amazed by what they think is a talking shark. Mr. Wilson is able to reel it in and gets the press to photograph his accomplishment, but to his shock, the truth is revealed when Dennis jumps out of the mechanical shark.
Jungle Bungle
Henry takes Dennis and Joey to Safari Land Jungle to get a close view of the various animals there. They're impressed with the view with Dennis mentioning he cleaned the car's windows, body, and even the engine with detergent. Afterward, the car stalls and Henry has to leave to get a tow truck, explicitly telling the boys to stay in the car, but after Joey leaves to catch a butterfly, the boys contend with the various animals, including snakes, crocodiles, elephants, tigers, and a mother orangutan who feeds Dennis several bananas. The boys escape and are able to return to the car with Henry unaware of what's happened when he arrives with the tow truck. Thinking they were good boys for staying where they were supposed to be, he decides to treat them to a banana split, which makes Dennis none too happy thanks to getting stuffed by the mother orangutan.
Racetrack Menace
Dennis and Henry go to the steeplechase race to watch a horse that Henry's friend owns. They go on a tour at the facility, where Dennis prematurely signals the start of the race an hour early, then adds a little too much to a jockey's fruit drink, causing him to drop out of the race. Feeling responsible, Dennis takes off on the horse and enters the race. Dennis is neck and neck with the leader until the final jump, when they both fall into a pool of mud. Initially, it looks like Dennis finished in second place, but as it turns out, he got on the wrong mud-covered animal, meaning his friend's horse is the real winner. Unfortunately, Henry loses out on his bet since he ripped up the slip in frustration, thinking he didn't win.
"Shark Treatment" provides examples of:
- Comically Missing the Point: Dennis says this when Mr. Wilson breaks his fishing rod in anger after finding out the shark was him the whole time.Dennis: Geez, Mr. Wilson, you always told me you liked fishing.
- Explain, Explain... Oh, Crap!: This exchange at the end:Mr. Wilson: There you have it, folks. Proof that I, George Wilson, have discovered...
Dennis: (as he climbs out of the mechanical shark) Hi, everybody!
Mr. Wilson: A talking Dennis. Dennis?! - Talking Animal: PeeBee and Mr. Wilson both think that the mechanical shark is a real shark that can talk when they hear Dennis inside it.
- Threatening Shark: When the mechanical shark approaches Margaret, she swims away, resulting in Dennis ending up inside it. Dennis soon finds out that the shark isn't real.
- Yank the Dog's Chain: Mr. Wilson becomes famous when he catches the mechanical shark, only to be exposed as a phony when Dennis escapes from it.
"Jungle Bungle" provides examples of:
- Affection-Hating Kid: Dennis. When the mother orangutan thinks Dennis is her baby, she kisses him. He tells her to cut it out, as he already has a mother, and he doesn't even like when she kisses him.
- The Alleged Car: Henry's car breaks down as a result of Dennis pouring detergent in the gas tank.
- Banana Peel: After Dennis manages to escape from the mother orangutan, she chases him and Joey. Dennis tosses several banana peels behind him, resulting in the mother orangutan slipping on them.
- Chasing a Butterfly: Joey gets out of Henry's car against Henry's wishes to chase a giant butterfly.
- Coconut Meets Cranium: When the elephant chasing Dennis and Joey gets himself stuck between two palm trees, several coconuts fall from it and hit him on the head.
- Cruel Elephant: A thirsty Joey pulls on an elephant's trunk, having mistaken it for a garden hose. This results in the elephant chasing him and Dennis.
- Force Feeding: When the mother orangutan takes Dennis to her tree, she shoots several bananas into his mouth. This results in Dennis refusing the banana split Henry decides to get him and Joey afterwards.
- Imagine Spot: Dennis has one where he is "Dennis of the Jungle". Dennis, dressed in a loincloth, swings on a vine and yells like Tarzan, then wrestles a lion.
- Malaproper: Joey mispronounces butterfly as "flutterby".
- Never Smile at a Crocodile: When Joey loses his cap, it lands on the head of a crocodile. When he tries to get it back, the crocodile tries to eat him, but Dennis pushes him out of the way just in time.
- Radish Cure: When the mother orangutan thinks Dennis is her baby, she force feeds him several bananas. At the end of the episode, Henry decides to get him and Joey a banana split for staying out of trouble (unaware they haven't been in the car the entire time he was gone), but Dennis turns it down, not wanting to see another banana for the rest of the day.
- Snakes Are Sinister: While trying to catch a giant butterfly, Dennis and Joey are stalked by a snake. The snake ends up wrapped around a tree.
"Racetrack Menace" provides examples of:
- Balloon Belly: The jockey ends up with one as a result of Dennis adding a large quantity of food to his drink.
- The Big Race: Dennis takes the place of the jockey he got sick when the horse race is about to begin.
- Didn't Think This Through: At the cafeteria, the jockey tells the soda jerk to give Dennis anything he wants. This results in Dennis adding a large quantity of food to the jockey's fruit drink and the jockey having to drop out when he gets a stomachache from drinking it.
- Filthy Fun: When the horses jump into a mud puddle, a delighted Dennis says, "Lots of mud! My kind of race!"
- Gave Up Too Soon: Henry has bet his money on a horse his friend owns. At the end of the episode, Dennis is neck and neck with the leader until the final jump, when they both fall into a pool of mud. Initially, it looks like Dennis finished in second place, but as it turns out, he got on the wrong mud-covered horse, meaning Henry's friend's horse is the real winner. Unfortunately, Henry loses out on his bet since he ripped up the slip in frustration, thinking he didn't win.
- My God, What Have I Done?: Dennis feels bad when he ends up causing the jockey to drop out of the race, so he tries to win the race by himself.
