First Act
Bogus is in the bathroom, riding on a soap bubble all around a bathtub full of soapy water, when he receives a visit from Brattus, who tells him that he brought someone to see him. Bogus becomes dismayed when he sees that the person that Brattus brought was Aunt Bogunda, a person that he did not want to see again. Bogus then leaps up to the bathroom mirror, where he gets rid of Bogunda by grabbing hold of the front of the mirror then letting it go as it acts like a slingshot, getting rid of Bogunda. Of course, the recoil from the mirror also knocks Bogus back, before a crack appears on the bathroom mirror afterwards.
Brattus then warns Bogus that a broken mirror results in 7 years bad luck, even showing a newspaper that depicts all of the bad things that happen, such as fires and falling safes, but Bogus refuses to believe it as he attempts to prove it wrong, by merely jumping over a tube of toothpaste that was in his path. However, the tube of toothpaste comes alive and is none to pleased about Bogus leaping over it, as it whacks Bogus really hard. The impact knocks Bogus back, as he lands on a bar of soap and starts slipping all over the bathroom before landing in the bathtub full of water. Bogus then comes up from the bathtub, with his head inside of a soap bubble at the same time that he gets squirted by a sentient sponge. Brattus then teases Bogus, telling him that the bad luck has chose to stick to him, but Bogus states that it's not quite so bad as he floats up to the bathroom ceiling. Of course, when he reaches the top of the ceiling, the bubble then pops, as Bogus falls back into the bathtub afterwards.
In the kitchen, Bogus and Brattus, who are in the guise of prowlers, complete with black shirts and pants, boots, caps, and black masks, start sneaking around the kitchen to try and avoid the bad luck, when they are both alerted to what is apparently a huge fire in the front yard. Acting quickly, Bogus gains possession of the kitchen faucet as he uses it to put it on the fire. However, once the fire has been extinguished, it turns out to actually be a barbecue grill that had been cooking some steaks, as Bogus realizes his mistake. In the front yard, Mr. Anybody picks up one of the soaked steaks off the extinguished barbecue grill as he starts to wring the water out of it. Brattus teases Bogus once again for mistaking an ordinary barbecue grill for an actual fire. In response, Bogus retaliates by squirting Brattus with the kitchen faucet, as it knocks him off the kitchen windowsill. However, the faucet then squirts Bogus afterwards, also knocking him off the windowsill.
Bogus and Brattus, back in their regular attire again, emerge from a nearby mud puddle. While the two cousins are standing in the mud, they both look up and notice a tree branch start to come loose from the tree. Bogus becomes worried upon noticing the tree branch come close to falling, before being briefly tormented by a thought balloon of Brattus. Bogus then quickly rushes out as he prepares himself to catch the tree branch, while Brattus watches on. The tree branch then lands on top of Bogus, flattening him like a pancake, as he slinks away from a small group of workmen who were responsible for cutting off the branch. Brattus then manages to help Bogus retain his original body shape again, as he staggers around momentarily, feeling rather disoriented from the impact.
To make matters even worse, the broken bathroom mirror allows the ugly Bogus clone from before to enter the house as he plans on going after Bogus. In the living room, Bogus is watching TV, not realizing that the clone is watching him, planning his first move. The clone then stretches out his arm as he presses the volume button on the TV remote, which causes the volume to get turned up too loud, as it blasts Bogus back a few feet into the air before landing on the floor again. Before Bogus can fully regain himself, he is suddenly flung up into the air when the clone yanked on the rug, which causes Bogus to get thrown into the air before landing in a glass on the end table, as the clone starts laughing as his expense. Bogus then pries himself out from the glass then regains himself before he prepares to jump onto the couch. Unfortunately, the couch suddenly gets pulled back, as Bogus just lands splat on the floor, as he lays dazed on the floor, with the clone watching him. After Bogus finally catches up on what is happening, he comes up with a plan to get rid of the clone, as he calls for its attention.
Back in the bathroom, Bogus is standing on the same bar of soap that he slipped on, when the clone comes up behind him. The clone jumps forward, but Bogus is able to dodge the clone, who just lands on the soap. Afterwards, Bogus then inflates himself like a balloon before he is able to make quick work of the evil clone by literally blowing him away, and back into the broken mirror where he came from. When that is over, Bogus proclaims his stroke of good luck, even in spite of the bad luck that was following him, but not before he slips on the soap once again.
Second Act
Bogus has become engaged in a game of Tug-Of-War over a candy bar against Ratty and Mole. Even in spite of this disadvantage, Bogus manages to use his wits to trick Ratty and Mole into lowering their guard, which allows him to lay claim to the candy bar and eat it in just a few bites. When Ratty and Mole try to scare Bogus, Bogus claims that he's not scared, before literally being scared off by his shadow, when it acquires a scary shape.
Ratty and Mole, dressed as wizards, are up in the attic where they plan to really genuinely scare Bogus, by having setting up a Rube Goldberg Device, which consists of a lever-powered pulley, which sets off a mechanical chicken to lay a steel egg that rolls down a ramp, to be directed by a boot. When Mole compliments Ratty on the device, Ratty claims that it's the greatest idea he's ever had, as the camera pans across the ramp from the attic, into the walls of the house, and into the living room, where Bogus is in the midst of enjoying a huge sandwich, eating it one layer at a time with a fork. Of course, after Bogus eats the first two layers, it also causes his belly to become bulged for a few seconds.
Back up in the attic, Ratty tells Mole that with the device that they've created, it will give Bogus a reason not to trifle with them. Mole then asks Ratty if they really plan to do that, with Ratty contemplating that Mole may possibly have a point, before telling Mole to set off the device immediately, which surprises Mole very greatly, expressing his thoughts that doing so right now might not be such a good idea. Ratty then orders Mole to set off the device. Unfortunately, when Mole tries to turn on the device, the back of his wizard's hat suddenly flops in the front of his face, which obstructs his vision, causing him to lose his balance and fall directly onto the device, which causes it to fall apart. When Ratty goes over to see if Mole is okay, Mole appears to be dazed before falling over into unconsciousness, as Ratty gives the viewers a disapproving glance.
Back in the living room, Bogus still resumes eating the sandwich, while back up in the attic, Ratty and Mole have gotten the Rube Goldberg Device rebuilt again. When Mole asks if it will really work this time, Ratty, who drinks an entire glass of lemonade in one slurp, tells Mole that this time, there will be no foul-ups with the device. He then tells Mole that they will really scare the living daylights out of Bogus now, before telling Mole to pull the lever. However, before Mole can do so, Ratty has second thoughts as he pulls Mole away, not wishing for there to be any more screw-ups, before he pulls the lever himself, which causes the mechanical chicken to lay the steel egg that rolls down the ramp.
By that time, Bogus has just finished eating the entire sandwich in one sitting, while feeling rather contented with his comfortably full belly, before hearing a strange noise from up in the attic. Of course, Bogus then anticipates what his two enemies try to do, as he counters back against them, using a magnet to reflect the steel egg back up the way it came up the ramp. Ratty and Mole are listening for the sound of the steel egg, not realizing that it came back up the ramp. Before Ratty can react, the steel egg lands on top of him, sending him directly through the floor of the attic. When Mole starts wondering where Ratty is, he peers into the hole that Ratty fell through, as Ratty yells at Mole to come and get him, just as the steel egg flies up then comes back down again.
In the second attempt to get back at Bogus, Ratty and Mole prepare a potion, made entirely out of a sweat sock and an alarm clock, as Ratty states that with this potion, they'll be sure to scare Bogus this time. However, when Ratty and Mole are not looking, Bogus sneaks up behind them while Mole comments that the potion should be ready any minute. Bogus then blows up a balloon and pops it with a needle, surprising both Ratty and Mole, and also causing Mole to jump up into the air in surprise before landing in the potion. Worried for his friend's safety, Ratty quickly pulls Mole out of the potion, just as Mole starts glowing and having a spastic reaction, due to the effects of the potion. First, Mole turns into a stone golem version of himself, then an elephant, then a bowl of ice cream, before turning back to a mole again. Just when Mole thinks that the worst is behind him now, he suddenly has another spastic reaction, before he starts rocketing all over the attic, while still under the effects of the potion. Ratty frantically runs for his life as Mole continues zooming out of control before crashing to the ground again. After that's over with, Ratty then asks Mole if he's alright, to which Mole replies that he's just fine, but unfortunately, he suddenly has yet another spastic reaction before he begins rocketing all over the attic again, with Ratty saying that this is no way to get back at Bogus.
In the third and final attempt, Ratty and Mole are now reading from a book of black magic and magic spells, with the intention to bring back the ugly Bogus clone who accosted Bogus before. After Ratty and Mole read the incantation, the book suddenly starts glowing, as they both get out of the way. The clone then emerges from the book as he begins doubling in size and appears before Ratty and Mole. Ratty then says that this time, Bogus won't know what hit him, before he and Mole both give off an evil laugh.
Meanwhile, in the bedroom of Tommy Anybody, Bogus is using the computer, when the clone suddenly sneaks in when he's not looking. Bogus is playing a game on the computer, when he is suddenly grabbed up by the evil clone. The clone then prepares to throw Bogus into the trash, but before he can do so, he is suddenly interrupted by the real Bogus, who had once again anticipated the whole thing. Confused about what's going on, the clone uncurls his hand to see that he actually captured a crudely-done lookalike dummy of Bogus. With that, Bogus then tells the clone that his days are numbered now, before pressing a button on the control panel used to control the dummy, which causes the clone to turn into a hundred pixels before being transferred into the computer dimension. The clone then appears on the computer screen, demanding that he be let out, but Bogus tells the clone that he has to stay in the computer to do time for all the misdeeds that he did, before giving off a hearty laugh. After that, Bogus then turns off the computer, leaving the clone trapped.
Third Act
Nightfall has approached the neighborhood, just as the camera pans across the neighborhood and onto the Anybody residence before cutting to the inside as it travels across the living room, up the stairs, and to the door of Tommy's bedroom. Inside the bedroom, Bogus is having a dance party with two of his toy friends, a toy robot and an octopus-like toy. However, while Bogus is dancing, the computer suddenly turns on, as the evil clone, now sporting a trench coat and fedora, comments on Bogus not having any idea what is going on and thinking that it's pathetic. The clone then states that while Bogus may not know it, he (the clone) has a plan to take his revenge out on Bogus once and for all. The clone then sends his minions to damage the radio that the music is playing on, much to Bogus's frustration. Fortunately, Bogus decides to play doctor for the radio, as he uses a stethoscope to find out what's wrong, before expressing an idea. Bogus then reaches into his doctor's workbox, before pulling out a slice of cake as he states that he can't work on an empty stomach before he eats the cake in one bite. Once that's over, Bogus starts to work on fixing the radio, first using a drillbit, then a mallet, before using a jackhammer.
While this is going on, this gives the clone a chance to escape the computer and the house while Bogus is busy with the radio as he walks down the sidewalk while stating that nothing will stop him now. First, the clone hides directly behind a tree, before peeking out the other side then rushes over to a street sign as he also hides behind it. The clone then emerges from behind the street sign as he turns into a ghostly apparition before hovering over to a nearby power line, as he turns back to his old self again. The clone then pushes the power line over as he gives off an evil laugh, while Bogus (who had gotten the radio fixed) is dancing once again, just as the power line crashes to the ground. This causes the power to go out in the house, much to Bogus's sadness and frustration as he yells in frustration because of this. The clone then celebrates his success in knocking out the power to the house. However, it doesn't stop there, as the clone knocks down a whole string of power lines, causing a major blackout all over the world.
While in the dark, Bogus is now determined to find out the cause of the power outage, so that he can put a stop to it while carrying a miniature lantern with him. Bogus then stands in front of the open bedroom door as the light from the lantern projects his shadow on the side. This gives Bogus an idea as he starts entertaining himself with some shadow puppets for a few seconds, doing a parrot, a chicken and a horse. With that out of the way, Bogus then quickly rushes off.
Up in the attic, Ratty and Mole are sleeping, with Ratty sleeping in a shoe and Mole sleeping in a baseball mitt. In his sleep, Ratty swears his revenge on Bogus and that he will get back at him somehow. Bogus then approaches Ratty and Mole, suspecting them to be the perpetrators of the blackout. Bogus then makes himself really buff, before using a mallet to slam the floorboards really hard, sending Ratty and Mole flying up into the air then back down again. The impact wakes up Ratty, but Mole still sleeps on, not the least bit affected by the impact. After that, Bogus then picks up Ratty, threatening him about how he's on to their scam to put the entire world in a blackout. However, Ratty, who is completely scared out of his wits by Bogus's methods, protests that he and Mole didn't cause the blackout and that the evil clone is the real guilty party. Bogus then peeks out the attic window, where he sees that Ratty is right, with the clone causing mayhem in the streets, such as scaring innocent patrons, scaring away a woman that is pushing a cart of groceries, scaring a baby into crying, and kicking a trash can out in the street, as he starts laughing about it. Horrified by the clone's cruel acts, Bogus vows to stop the clone and return everything back to normal. Ratty then gives Bogus a little bit of advice, just as Bogus then drops him to the ground and rushes off to stop the clone. After picking himself up, Ratty states that Bogus is a little bit too eager, before the mallet that got thrown up into the air by Bogus lands on Ratty's foot, causing him to jump into the air in pain before coming back down and holding his foot as he hops around in pain, while Mole still sleeps on.
Using his unorthodox wits and his Bogus tactics, Bogus is able to restore power all over the world again, just as the clone is about to do another evil act. The people then realize who their tormentor is as they begin chasing him down the street. Realizing that he's screwed, the clone then retreats down the street back the way he came, climbs back into the bedroom window, and back into the computer dimension, this time for good. With the clone dispatched once again, Bogus proudly proclaims his success for restoring power all over the world again. Unfortunately, he accidentally pushes on the power line, knocking it over once again as the screen goes completely back. After that, Bogus, now back in his usual physique again, peeks out from the closing iris while giving the viewers an embarrassed grin, before he closes up the iris again as the episode ends.
Absent Characters: Tommy Anybody, Mrs. Anybody, Mr. Anybody, Kevin, Bogetta, Jake and Butch, Baddus
Tropes found in Bad Luck Bogus:
- Agony of the Feet: Ratty falls victim to this, after a mallet falls onto his foot.
- Aside Glance: Ratty does this after Mole fouls up setting off the Rube Goldberg Device, resulting in its destruction.
- Balloon Belly: This happens to Bogus while he was in the midst of eating the Dagwood Sandwich, however, it's not until after he swallows the second layer of the sandwich that his belly becomes bulged for a few seconds.
- Behind a Stick: The clone does this twice in the third act, first with a tree and the second time with a street sign.
- Between My Legs: This shows up in the second act. After the evil Bogus clone was brought back to life by Ratty and Mole, we then see a shot of Ratty and Mole between the clone's legs afterwards for a few seconds.
- Big "NO!": Bogus gives off one of these, after the power goes out in the house.
- Dagwood Sandwich: Bogus helps himself to one of these, but it's subverted as he actually eats it one layer at a time with a fork instead of devouring the entire sandwich in one bite.
- Floating in a Bubble: Happens to Bogus in the first act, after landing in the bathtub, but only his head is in the bubble, though he does still float up to the ceiling.
- Hand-or-Object Underwear: The claymation short shown after the commercial break and before the second act of the episode had Bogus get into a safe and take something out, but when he closes the safe door and tries to walk away, he winds up getting his pants snagged on the safe door until they get pulled off when attempting to get his pants loose. Bogus is left standing naked while holding the item from the safe in front of his crotch area.
- Humiliation Conga: Bogus was on the receiving end of one of these throughout most of the episode; first he gets whacked by a tube of toothpaste, slips on a bar of soap, accidentally puts out a barbecue grill when he thought that it was a fire, gets squashed when attempting to catch a falling tree branch, the volume of the TV gets turned up too high and blasts him back a few feet, gets thrown into a glass by the clone, then winds up hitting the floor when attempting to jump onto the couch.
- Impossible Shadow Puppets: Bogus does this while trying to figure out the power outage caused by the evil clone.
- Iris Out: Played with at the end of the episode, where the screen goes completely black after Bogus accidentally knocks down the power line, then peeks out from the iris in embarrassment before it closes up again.
- Kick the Dog: While the ugly clone was terrorizing all of the people in the neighborhood, one of his evil acts that counts as crossing the line is when he sneaks up on a baby in a carriage and scares her, causing her to start crying.
- Look Behind You: Bogus pulls this trick on Ratty and Mole, scoring him a victory as well as claiming the candy bar all three were fighting over.
- Mucking in the Mud: Bogus and Brattus both land in a nearby mud puddle after getting knocked off the kitchen windowsill from getting squirted by the kitchen faucet.
- Not Me This Time: When there was a black out in the neighborhood, Mr. Bogus at first thought it was Ratty and Mole's doing. The viewers already knew they were innocent.
- Oh, Crap!: Bogus gets this reaction when he realizes that he's about to get smacked by the tube of toothpaste that he just jumped over.
- Mass "Oh, Crap!": This was how Bogus and Brattus both react, upon seeing the sawed-off tree branch fall from the tree.
- Paper-Bag Popping: Bogus does this with a balloon, in order to trick Ratty and Mole.
- Screen Shake: Occurs at the end of the first act, after Bogus crashes off-screen from slipping on the soap a second time.
- Screw This, I'm Outta Here: This was the evil clone's reaction after the power was restored and he was discovered by the people that he has been terrorizing, prompting him to run away and back into the computer dimension from whence he came from.
- Shout-Out:
- The brief bit where Bogus gives himself a Balloon Belly while eating the Dagwood Sandwich one layer at a time, is similar to what happened to Templeton in the animated adaptation of Charlotte's Web.
- Also, the title of the episode is a reference to the Tex Avery short Bad Luck Blackie, which in turn was named after the radio show Boston Blackie.
- Slippery Soap: The 'slipping on the soap' variant happens twice to Bogus in the first act, as part of his bad luck-induced Humiliation Conga.
- Squashed Flat: This happens to Bogus when attempting to catch a falling tree branch.
- Superstition Episode: For the first half of the episode, anyway. It dealt with Bogus getting an overwhelming streak of bad luck after inadvertently breaking the bathroom mirror whilst trying to get rid of his overbearing Aunt Bogunda (An Expy of Mrs. Marcus, no less). Because of that, Bogus finds himself at the receiving end of all of kinds of unusual incidents, ranging from getting smacked by a sentient tube of toothpaste, slipping on a bar of soap, and not to mention being menaced and tormented by a huge and rather ugly lookalike that somehow entered the house by use of the broken mirror (The mirror acts as a portal to Bogus's homeland called Bogusland).
- Surprise Jump: Mole falls victim to this, after Bogus surprises both him and Ratty by popping a balloon.
