Joe, Sam, and David befriend a troubled orphan named Max, who is the new kid at their school. Wishbone is reminded of Oliver Twist by Charles Dickens.
This is the first of three episodes to be based on a Dickens novel. It's followed by "A Tale of Two Sitters," which adapts A Tale of Two Cities, and "Groomed for Greatness," which adapts Great Expectations.
Although aired third, this was actually the first episode to be produced, so Early-Installment Weirdness abounds.
One tie-in book was released — Wishbone Classics #5: Oliver Twist, featuring a less compressed adaptation of the original story with comments by Wishbone rather than the modern-day segments.
Tropes
- Big Eater: Max, which is initially Played for Laughs, but it's later revealed that he's an underfed orphan who doesn't get enough food at the group home.
- Bowdlerize: They ended the Oliver Twist adaptation right at the point where Mr. Brownlow takes in Oliver, implying Oliver was Happily Adopted. In the actual book, it's much more complicated than that.
- Compressed Adaptation: The Oliver Twist adaptation is perhaps the most compressed in the series as a lot more time was spent on the contemporary story than usual. The Artful Dodger becomes a Composite Character of every underworld character in the novel. Nope, not even Fagin gets mentioned. It ends with Mr. Brownlow taking in Oliver, with this portrayed as Happily Ever After.
- Diabolical Dog Catcher: Referenced when Wishbone says that Wanda has "the heart of a dog catcher."
- Early-Installment Weirdness:
- Compared to later episodes, this one spends way less time on the book adaptation and way more time on the contemporary story.
- The Artful Dodger is played by Joe Duffield, who would later be cast as Damont. Incidentally, Damont is actually mentioned in this episode, but he doesn't appear onscreen until "The Impawssible Dream."
- Expy: Max is clearly based on Oliver as a hungry orphan growing up in an institution where he is mistreated. Zach is clearly the Artful Dodger, being a False Friend to Max whose crimes are blamed on the latter.
- Fooled by the Sound: Invoked. David records a (rather half-assed, by Wishbone's own admission) bark from Wishbone and edits it with his computer to sound like a much larger dog, to act as a burglar alarm for Wanda's house after a wave of burglaries around town. It not only scares the hell out of the burglar but is loud enough to be heard from Joe's house next door, letting them get a look at him and identify him.
- Foster Kid: Max lives in a group home, where he's apparently not treated very well. Possibly, Zach is from the same group home, although the episode is vague on that point.
- Heroic Bystander:
- Deconstructed at first, and then played straight. Max tries to take on Zach on learning that he's a thief and stole Joe's things. He gets a black eye for his troubles because he's smaller and younger. Joe tells him You Are Not Alone and you need to take on a bully with friends. The three of them and Wishbone work together to infiltrate Zach's hideout and get evidence that he was stealing from all around town. By the time Wishbone makes it out of there, the cops are ready to arrest Zach for petty theft.
- In the book adaptation, Oliver Twist is about to be wrongly arrested for theft. Then one witness speaks up at the trial, saying that it wasn't him but another boy that served as the pickpocket and left Oliver to take the fall. He says that Oliver is innocent, seeking no compensation but instead wanting to prevent a wrongful conviction.
- Obviously Evil: Zach is an obvious delinquent from his first appearance. It's not much of a mystery who is behind the recent rash of thefts in Oakdale. Wishbone calls him a "criminal type" after seeing him for all of two seconds.
- Real Women Don't Wear Dresses: A mild case with Sam, who seems to have this attitude about the ballroom dance lessons that led to the She Cleans Up Nicely moment below and the moment itself.
- She Cleans Up Nicely: Sam gets a bit of this. She comes over to David's house after ballroom dance lessons dressed neatly in a white dress, short gloves and with her hair down. The boys are momentarily stunned and Joe tries to compliment her, but she quickly cuts him off.
- Surprisingly Realistic Outcome: Max tries to take on Zach after he was inspired by Joe's story about fighting bullies like Damont. He gets a black eye as a result and fails to stop Zach from stealing Wanda's last flamingo. It gets lampshaded when Joe tells Max that you shouldn't take on a bully and a thief alone, and that you need friends to help.
- Toxic Friend Influence: Zach is this to Max, which is equated to the Artful Dodger's relationship with Oliver.
- Unwillingly Girly Tomboy: Sam's father has forced her to take a dance class because he thinks she needs to work on her "social graces." When Joe and David start to compliment her on how pretty she looks in her dress, she shuts them up.
- Unwitting Instigator of Doom: Max telling Zach about Joe's valuables leads to the latter getting robbed. Max seems to realize this and tries to take on Zach alone, getting a black eye in the process.
- You Are Not Alone: When Max tries to take on Zach, a bully and a thief, he gets a black eye in the process. He tells Joe just as Zach steals Wanda's last flamingo, explaining that he was inspired by Joe's story of taking on Damont. Joe believes Max but is horrified on seeing him hurt and says, "You can't take on a bully alone." He, David, Sam, and Wishbone, with Max's help, find Zach's stash of stolen items and bust him.
