| "Attack of the Turbo Tibbles" | |
| Season/Series: | 3 |
|---|---|
| Number in season: | 10a |
| Original airdate: |  November 27, 1998[citation needed] September 17, 1999[1] March 6, 2002[2] |
| Credits | |
| Written by: | Joe Fallon |
| Storyboard by: | Robert Yap |
| Episodes | |
| Previous "The Return of the King" |
Next "D.W. Tricks the Tooth Fairy" |
| Read transcript |
"Attack of the Turbo Tibbles" is the first half of the tenth episode in the third season of Arthur.
Summary[]
After sneaking a peek at a new superhero TV show - Terrific Turbo-Trooper Toy T-Bot Team, the Tibble twins decide they want superpowers and get out of control, playing too rough. Now D.W. and Emily have to stop them before someone gets hurt.
Plot[]
The episode starts off in Arthur's room. Arthur is doing his homework, but is unable to concentrate because the Tibble twins are being noisy and offensive outside.
Arthur explains to the viewers that his homework is tricky whenever the Tibbles are playing with D.W. He says that Timmy Tibble is so loud that he can yell for five minutes straight, and Tommy Tibble is so noisy that he can seem like four children instead of one. Arthur then tells the viewers to imagine what it would be like if the Tibble twins had superpowers.
Arthur goes downstairs and tries to convince his mother to get the Tibble twins and D.W. to be silent. Mrs. Read says she'll speak to them.
She, however, brings them into the house and asks the three to find something less noisy to do. Tommy and Timmy claim they want to watch TV and D.W. calms them down by picking out a Mary Moo Cow videotape that talks about feet.
Arthur can now do his homework in peace. He hopes to get it done quickly because he wants to watch a magic show later on. However, as D.W. and the twins are watching the video, the VCR unexpectedly stops working. D.W. narrowly prevents the Tibbles from ruining the set and tries to repair it by hitting buttons on the remote control, but that doesn't work. The Tibbles claim that they know how to fix a VCR, but D.W. tells them to wait while she goes to get her mom for help.
Before leaving, she puts on a show to keep the two busy, but they claim it's for babies and begin channel surfing. They come across a show titled Terrific Turbo-Trooper Toy T-Bot Team about two robot superheroes who battle a giant whale and narwhal, respectively. They immediately become fascinated with it, since it involves a lot of action and fighting.
Presently, D.W. comes back with Jane, who tells them that the show is restricted in her house and turns it off. However, the Tibbles brag to D.W. about what they just watched, calling it "the best thing that ever was!"
The following day, as D.W. walks into preschool with Emily, she sees Tommy and Timmy dressed in full regalia consisting of costumes of the robots from Terrific Turbo Trooper Toy T-Bot Team. When she asks why, the two state that they are the actual characters, and they act out a scene from the show.
During coloring time, the Tibbles refuse to color, saying that they'd rather fight crime. Outside, the class practices the alphabet and the Tibbles blame one another for mixing up the letters, resulting in them challenging each other to a fight.
Ms. Morgan indicates that since they're refusing to do their schoolwork and reenacting the show, they'll get a time-out. She makes a "T" with her hands, which, unbeknownst to her, is the T-Bots' signature symbol. Thus, the Tibbles see her as their leader, and they gladly comply. Later, they play hide-and-seek but cheat by telling each other where everyone else is hiding.
Several days later, D.W. calls the Tibbles asking them if they want to ride bikes, but they're too busy binge-watching the show.
The following day, the Tibbles continue to act out the show, characterizing D.W. and Emily as the villains. They begin chasing the girls and scaring their classmates, leading D.W. to call for Ms. Morgan. Ms. Morgan intervenes for a second time, giving them a timeout. Once again, they readily comply.
In Arthur's bedroom, D.W. blames Arthur for everything, remarking that Tommy and Timmy wouldn't have seen the show if he hadn't invited them in to watch TV. Arthur suggests she just tell the Tibbles to stop acting like the T-Bots because it is irritating everyone. D.W. likes this approach so much that she forgets to acknowledge Arthur's idea.
At the Tibbles' house, D.W. tries to speak to them with Emily in tow, but this backfires once the Tibbles maintain pretending that they're villains. D.W. angrily orders the twins to stop, but they don't listen. Thus, in an attempt to simulate the T-Bots' laser gloves, Timmy strongly shoves a playground swing into D.W.'s face. D.W. then falls to the ground and begins crying loudly. Emily comes over, notices that D.W.'s mouth is bleeding and runs to get Mrs. Tibble. Timmy and Tommy, realizing they've gone too far, run and hid in the garage.
They continue playing T-Bots, but Timmy decides to stop playing the game and takes off his helmet. Tommy tells Timmy to put his helmet back on, because he's "in outer space" and "need(s) it," but Timmy responds that he's quit playing and expresses worry about D.W., wondering if she might be dying. Tommy asks, "Can you die from getting hit in the mouth?" Timmy responds, "I don't know."
Mrs. Tibble calls the boys, and Timmy gets worried and tells Tommy if their grandma finds them, they're going to get punished. When Mrs. Tibble opens the garage door, they beg for forgiveness and Mrs. Tibble, disappointed in them for what they did, says that they should be apologizing to D.W., not her. The twins ask if that means D.W. is still alive, and their grandma says she is; she has been taken to the emergency room at the hospital by her mom.
Mrs. Tibble takes the twins to the hospital to visit D.W. Inside, D.W. has just finished having her lip stitched up and Jane commends her for having been so courageous about it. Tommy and Timmy apologize profusely, stating that no one ever bled or got hurt on the show. D.W. explains that that's because the show isn't real and the twins finally understand that they shouldn't imitate what they see on TV.
As they leave, the Tibbles suggest that they watch "real" TV, such as wrestling or football but D.W. dislikes their suggestions.
Characters[]
Major[]
- Timmy and Tommy Tibble
- D.W. Read
- Emily Leduc
- T-Bot Crimson
- T-Bot Emerald
Minor[]
- David Read (doesn't talk)
- Jane Read
- Arthur Read
- Ms. Morgan
- Mrs. Tibble
- Pal
- Mary Moo Cow
- Pumpkin
- Huckle Bat
- Loamy
- Unnamed gray whale villain
- Unnamed narwhal villain
Cameo[]
- Maryann
- Amanda Hulser
- Liam
- Edwin
- Kyle Fitzpatrick
- James MacDonald
- Mrs. Leduc (miscolored)
Mentioned[]
- Mr. Ratburn
- T-Bot Team commander
Trivia[]
- At the end of the 2000 rerun intro on PBS Kids before this episode, Arthur's crashing sound remains the same.
- While the Tibble Twins are going to school, they imagine D.W. as a shrimp "Debulon" alien that greatly resembles Kodo.
- Moral: Cartoons are great for entertainment, but it's always very crucial to remember that they're not always real. Trying to imitate cartoon tricks can sometimes be very dangerous and can have very brutal consequences, especially if they involve roughness and physically harming other people. It's always better to play gently and avoid roughhousing.
- Emily says that D.W.'s face is bleeding; D.W. covers her face and the blood is not actually seen.
- Blood has been shown in "Arthur's Knee", Arthur accidentally cuts his knee and his cut is shown inside of a pink circle, representing blood. A later episode, "Vomitrocious," shows George having a nosebleed.
- In this episode and "Arthur's Big Hit", D.W. gets injured by a boy (in this case, D.W. gets hit by Arthur in the latter episode). However, the injury D.W. suffers in this episode is worse than the one she suffers in the latter episode for the following reasons:
- Unlike "Arthur's Big Hit", in which the hitting was a punch to the shoulder, D.W. got hit forcefully, to the point of bleeding.
- In this episode, D.W. is hit with something that was actually hard, as opposed to Arthur's fist being not as hard.
- When D.W. was punched by Arthur, she stares blankly for a moment before crying moderately. When she got hit with the swing by the Tibbles, she cries loudly right away in a way that makes others worried.
- The aftermath of D.W. getting punched by Arthur was getting her arm bandaged up in the kitchen, whilst getting an ice pack as well. In this episode, the aftermath of D.W. getting hit by the swing was ending up in the hospital to get stitches.
Cultural references[]
- The Terrific Turbo-Trooper Toy T-Bot Team could resemble the Mighty Morphin Power Rangers, which was becoming popular around the time of the airing. The only difference is that instead of five (or six) in the real show, there are only two.
- Their show title resembles Superhuman Samurai Syber-Squad.
- The secret signal, though, seems to come from the Ultraman series, as it is the motion that Ultraman (and the other Ultras, for that matter) uses his Specium Beam with.
- Pumpkins in Pants likely refers to Bananas in Pyjamas.
- The show with the bat that the Tibble twins watch is a parody of The Busy World of Richard Scarry, another Cinar production. Timmy comments that it is "too busy and not scary". Sonja Ball, who voiced Huckle Cat in the series, reprises her role here as the bat.
- Another Richard Scarry reference can be found when one of the T-Bots breaks into the gangster whales' hideout in the episode the Tibble twins are watching. The "Ay yi yi!" the whales cry out is taken from The Busy World of Richard Scarry, specifically the "Couscous" stories where Pepe Le Gangstaire and his Dirty Rats cry the same "Ay yi yi!" when their plans are foiled and they are captured.
- A shoe can be seen floating in an asteroid field, a reference to the rumor that one of the asteroids seen in Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back was made from a shoe.
Episode connections[]
- This is the first episode where D.W. goes to the hospital, the second and last one being "Operation: D.W.!"
- This is one of two episodes where D.W. gets hit and cries, with the other being "Arthur's Big Hit."
- D.W. gets stitches in this episode. She tells a doll it will get stitches in "For Whom the Bell Tolls."
- Under the name "Super Action Team," the Terrific Turbo-Trooper Toy T-Bot Team is shown in "Two Minutes."
- Near the beginning of the episode, Arthur specifies that he wants to get his homework done so he can watch a special about magic tricks. Arthur's interest in magic tricks would be explored more in "Do You Believe in Magic?"
Errors[]
- While Jane Read is changing the channel on the TV, her ear changes color for a split second.
- The Tibbles' costumes occasionally switch in the scene where they correct Emily's singing of the alphabet.
- When the Tibbles debate how the alphabet is sung, Tommy says that the correct line is "L-M-N-R-P". The closed captioning switches the M and N, displaying "L-N-M-R-P", although Tommy correctly said M first both times.
- The Tibbles' costumes occasionally switch in the scene where they hurt D.W.
- The second swing disappears when the first hits D.W., but it reappears in the next shot.
Home video[]
DVD
- Arthur Rides the Bandwagon
- Arthur: The Complete Series 4
- PBS Kids: 20 Incredible Tales
Gallery[]
Screenshots
.png "Tibbles Attack of the Turbo Tibble Screenshot by WABF5050 002.png (featuring D.W. Read).png (736 KB)")
References[]