Changes: Buster's Breathless

	"Buster's Breathless"
	Main image; Title card;
Season/Series:	4
Number in season:	3A
Original Airdate:	October 7, 1999; January 19, 2000;
	Credits
Written by:	Peter K. Hirsch
Storyboard by:	Michel Magnan; Alex Hawley
	Episodes
Previous; "Muffy's New Best Friend"	Next; "The Fright Stuff"

Revision as of 06:02, 15 July 2020

"Buster's Breathless" is the first half of the third episode in the fourth season of Arthur.

Summary

Buster learns that he has asthma, and suddenly his friends start treating him differently.

Plot

Arthur and Buster were hunting for the dangerous snig which Buster describes to the viewers as big-horned and that makes an "Aroo!" noise. Arthur also says that it's hard to find because it camouflages within the trees. Suddenly, they hear the noise and goes to see that D.W.'s not camouflaged and she needs to make the noise more scarier. So D.W. puts on poison ivy. Arthur and Buster are once again on the search of the snig. Buster's about to describe the snig again, but Arthur stops him. Then they hear D.W. again, and goes off to follow it. Suddenly, D.W. pops out roaring, freaking Buster out. Arthur sees the poison ivy on D.W. and he and Buster retreats screaming. D.W. is confused and goes after them.

(Title Card)

Jane Read puts calamine lotion on D.W.'s spots and recruits Arthur to help distract D.W. At the Sugar Bowl, Buster greets Arthur and D.W. who claims to be Otis. Buster asks D.W. why she has a hockey mask on, and D.W. says she doesn't want to get hit in the face with a puck. Arthur translates saying she's got poison ivy and that people will run away from her. Buster begins to tell Arthur and D.W. about his bad cough back in the fall.

Arthur and Buster were laughing at some old joke books when Buster starts having trouble breathing after breathing in too much of the dust billowing up from the books. Buster goes on to say that it sounds like he's trying to breathe through a clogged straw and demonstrates, only to sip away D.W.'s entire milkshake much to her annoyance. Arthur then remembers that Buster's mom came and took him to the hospital right away.

Arthur regrets showing Buster the joke books and blames himself for making his friend sick. At the hospital, Buster learns he has asthma, which will not harm his lifestyle in any way so long as he takes his treatment regularly. At school, Arthur tells Francine and Binky about Buster's cough and asthma, and Francine becomes worried that its a contagious disease.

Buster then arrives and Arthur takes his math book and dusts it for him to be safe as they all begin to act strangely around him. Binky asks Buster if he gets to leave class because of asthma, and while he insists it's just to get his medicine Binky suspects it can get him out of class for a long time.

After class, Buster goes to the nurse's office. Arthur, Francine, and Binky watch him take his medicine through an inhaler before being caught by Buster at the door. Arthur quickly covers it up and they run off to lunch. There, Arthur dusts off Buster's doughnut. At recess, Binky fakes an asthma attack to get sent to the nurse, but it backfires when he refers to it as "plasma" in front of Buster.

At baseball practice, Francine still thinks that asthma is contagious and runs away from Buster. Later, he announces he's cured. Francine is relieved she can't catch it, which makes Buster suspicious. Buster skips his appointment to keep his cover, which results in Buster having trouble breathing when they play a game of soccer with dusty brooms. Buster is rushed back inside to get his medicine and then explains to the nurse his friends have been treating him differently. Then Buster realizes his friends didn't understand his condition.

Later, as part of a report project, Buster decides to explain what asthma actually is to the class. He instructs them to imagine that they're really small and that they are inside his lungs, where Buster explains in this apparent fantasy that asthma is a reaction to breathing in too much dust or mold, and is not a contagious disease as Francine feared.

He then snaps them out of the fantasy, and concludes his story by telling the class that he is still the same old Buster in spite of having asthma. With his story told, his friends finally calm down about his condition and all returns to normal at Lakewood.

Back in the present, D.W. reveals herself to Arthur and Buster. Then the Tibble Twins appear and confuse the poison ivy spots for chicken pox. D.W. tries to explain that it's poison ivy, but they run away with D.W. chasing them, ending the episode.

Characters

Major

Minor

Cameo

Trivia

This is the first episode when Michael Magnan is a storyboard writer.
This is one of the episodes that focus on health. The others are Sick as a Dog, Vomitrocious, Operation: D.W.!, Arthur's Knee, Binky Goes Nuts and Arthur's Chicken Pox.
In 2015, the episode was made available freely on the official Arthur website as part of the asthma section of a feature titled Arthur Family Health. The episode can be watched here. It is also available on the PBS KIDS Video app and website.
Buster is revealed to have asthma.

Production notes

The idea for this episode was made by Carol Greenwald when she wanted a way to explain her son's asthma to him, his school, and his friends.^[3]

Home Video

VHS:

Arthur Goes to the Doctor (VHS)

DVD:

Arthur Goes to the Doctor (DVD)

Gallery

References

[1] ttp://www.ket.org/episode/ARUR%20%20000403/

[2] ttps://web.archive.org/web/20120413104003/http://ww3.tvo.org/program/157024/arthur

[3] ttp://www.pbs.org/parents/experts/archive/2014/05/how-arthur-can-help-families-s.html (archived page; retrieved 10 July 2014)

[1]

[2]

[3]

@@ Line 2: / Line 2: @@
 |ep. name = Buster's Breathless
 |image = Buster's Breathless.JPG
-|season = [[Arthur (season 4)|4]]
+|season = [[Season 4|4]]
-|us = October 7, 1999<ref>http://www.tvguide.com/detail/tv-show.aspx?tvobjectid=194495&more=ucepisodelist&episodeid=2113101</ref>
+|us = October 7, 1999<ref>http://www.ket.org/episode/ARUR%20%20000403/</ref>
 |prev. episode = [[Muffy's New Best Friend]]
 |next episode = [[The Fright Stuff]]
-|prod. code = 403a.|can=January 19, 2000<ref>http://tvo.org/program/157024/arthur - Season 1999, Page 1</ref>
+|can=January 19, 2000<ref>https://web.archive.org/web/20120413104003/http://ww3.tvo.org/program/157024/arthur</ref>
 |writers = [[Peter K. Hirsch]]
-|storyboarders = [[Michel Magnan]]<br>[[Alex Hawley]]|number = 3A|titlecard = Buster's Breathless Title Card.png|idea = [[Carol Greenwald]]}}{{EpisodeHeader|1|3|4}}
+|storyboarders = [[Michel Magnan]]<br>[[Alex Hawley]]|number = 3A|titlecard = Buster's Breathless Title Card.png|idea = }}{{EpisodeHeader|1|3|4}}
 ==Summary==
-Buster learns that he has asthma, and suddenly his friends start treating him differently.
+[[Buster]] learns that he has asthma, and suddenly his friends start treating him differently.
 ==Plot==
-Arthur and Buster were hunting for the dangerous snig which Buster describes to the viewers as big-horned and that makes an aroo noise. Arthur also says that it's hard to find because it blends in with the trees. Suddenly, they hear an aroo noise and goes to see that D.W.'s not camouflaged and she needs to make the aroo more scarier. So D.W. puts on poison ivy. Arthur and Buster are once again on the search of the snig. Buster's about to describe the snig again, but Arthur stops him. Then they hear the aroo again, and goes off to follow it. Suddenly, D.W. pops out roaring, freaking Buster out. Arthur sees the poison ivy on D.W. and he and Buster retreats screaming. D.W. is confused and goes after them.
+Arthur and Buster were hunting for the dangerous snig which Buster describes to the viewers as big-horned and that makes an "Aroo!" noise. Arthur also says that it's hard to find because it camouflages within the trees. Suddenly, they hear the noise and goes to see that D.W.'s not camouflaged and she needs to make the noise more scarier. So D.W. puts on poison ivy. Arthur and Buster are once again on the search of the snig.
+Buster's about to describe the snig again, but Arthur stops him. Then they hear D.W. again, and goes off to follow it. Suddenly, D.W. pops out roaring, freaking Buster out. Arthur sees the poison ivy on D.W. and he and Buster retreats screaming. D.W. is confused and goes after them.
+('''Title Card)'''
-After the title card, Jane Read puts calamine lotion on D.W.'s spots and recruits Arthur to help distract D.W. At the Sugar Bowl, Buster greets Arthur and D.W. who claims to be Otis. Buster asks D.W. why she has a hockey mask on, and D.W. says she doesn't want to get hit in the face with a puck. Arthur translates saying she's got poison ivy and that people will run away from her. Buster begins to tell Arthur and D.W. about his bad cough back in the fall. Arthur and Buster were laughing at some old joke books when Buster starts having trouble breathing after breathing in too much of the dust billowing up from the books. Buster goes on to say that it sounds like he's trying to breathe through a clogged straw and demonstrates, only to sip away D.W.'s entire milkshake much to her annoyance. Arthur then remembers that Buster's mom came and took him to the hospital right away.
+Jane Read puts calamine lotion on D.W.'s spots and recruits Arthur to help distract D.W. At the Sugar Bowl, Buster greets Arthur and D.W. who claims to be Otis. Buster asks D.W. why she has a hockey mask on, and D.W. says she doesn't want to get hit in the face with a puck. Arthur translates saying she's got poison ivy and that people will run away from her. Buster begins to tell Arthur and D.W. about his bad cough back in the fall.
-Arthur regrets showing Buster the joke books and blames himself for making his friend sick. At the hospital, Buster learns he has asthma, which will not harm his lifestyle in any way so long as he takes his treatment regularly. At school, Arthur tells Francine and Binky about Buster's cough and asthma, and Francine becomes worried that its a contagious disease. Buster then arrives and Arthur takes his math book and dusts it for him to be safe as they all begin to act strangely around him. Binky asks Buster if he gets to leave class because of asthma, and while he insists it's just to get his medicine Binky suspects it can get him out of class for a long time. After class, Buster goes to the nurse's office. Arthur, Francine, and Binky watch him take his medicine through an inhaler before being caught by Buster at the door. Arthur quickly covers it up and they run off to lunch. There, Arthur dusts off Buster's doughnut. At recess, Binky fakes an asthma attack to get sent to the nurse, but it backfires when he refers to it as "plasma" in front of Buster. At baseball practice, Francine still thinks asthma is contagious and runs away from Buster. Later, he announces he's cured. Francine is relieved she can't catch it, which makes Buster suspicious. Buster skips his appointment to keep his cover, which results in Buster having trouble breathing when they play a game of soccer with dusty brooms. Buster is rushed back inside to get his medicine and then explains to the nurse his friends have been treating him differently. Then Buster realizes his friends didn't understand his condition. Later, as part of a report project Buster decides to explain what asthma actually is to the class. He instructs them to imagine that they're really small and that they are inside his lungs, where Buster explains in this apparent fantasy that asthma is a reaction to breathing in too much dust or mold, and is not a contagious disease as Francine feared. He then snaps them out of the fantasy, and concludes his story by telling the class that he is still the same old Buster in spite of having asthma. With his story told, his friends finally calm down about his condition and all returns to normal at Lakewood.
+Arthur and Buster were laughing at some old joke books when Buster starts having trouble breathing after breathing in too much of the dust billowing up from the books. Buster goes on to say that it sounds like he's trying to breathe through a clogged straw and demonstrates, only to sip away D.W.'s entire milkshake much to her annoyance. Arthur then remembers that Buster's mom came and took him to the hospital right away.
-Back in the present, D.W. reveals herself to Arthur and Buster. Then the Tibble Twins appear and confuse the spots for chicken pox. D.W. tries to explain it's poison ivy, but they run away with D.W. chasing them, ending the episode.
+Arthur regrets showing Buster the joke books and blames himself for making his friend sick. At the hospital, Buster learns he has asthma, which will not harm his lifestyle in any way so long as he takes his treatment regularly. At school, Arthur tells Francine and Binky about Buster's cough and asthma, and Francine becomes worried that its a contagious disease.
+Buster then arrives and Arthur takes his math book and dusts it for him to be safe as they all begin to act strangely around him. Binky asks Buster if he gets to leave class because of asthma, and while he insists it's just to get his medicine Binky suspects it can get him out of class for a long time.
+After class, Buster goes to the nurse's office. Arthur, Francine, and Binky watch him take his medicine through an inhaler before being caught by Buster at the door. Arthur quickly covers it up and they run off to lunch. There, Arthur dusts off Buster's doughnut. At recess, Binky fakes an asthma attack to get sent to the nurse, but it backfires when he refers to it as "plasma" in front of Buster.
+At baseball practice, Francine still thinks that asthma is contagious and runs away from Buster. Later, he announces he's cured. Francine is relieved she can't catch it, which makes Buster suspicious. Buster skips his appointment to keep his cover, which results in Buster having trouble breathing when they play a game of soccer with dusty brooms. Buster is rushed back inside to get his medicine and then explains to the nurse his friends have been treating him differently. Then Buster realizes his friends didn't understand his condition.
+Later, as part of a report project, Buster decides to explain what asthma actually is to the class. He instructs them to imagine that they're really small and that they are inside his lungs, where Buster explains in this apparent fantasy that asthma is a reaction to breathing in too much dust or mold, and is not a contagious disease as Francine feared.
+He then snaps them out of the fantasy, and concludes his story by telling the class that he is still the same old Buster in spite of having asthma. With his story told, his friends finally calm down about his condition and all returns to normal at Lakewood.
+Back in the present, D.W. reveals herself to Arthur and Buster. Then the Tibble Twins appear and confuse the poison ivy spots for chicken pox. D.W. tries to explain that it's poison ivy, but they run away with D.W. chasing them, ending the episode.
 ==Characters==
-===Major Characters===
+===Major===
 *[[Arthur Read]]
 *[[Buster Baxter]]
 *[[Binky Barnes]]
 *[[Francine Frensky]]
+===Minor===
-===Minor Characters===
 *[[D.W. Read]]
 *[[Jane Read]]
 *[[David Read]]
 *[[Bitzi Baxter]] (doesn't speak)
-*[[Tommy Tibble]]
+*[[George Lundgren]]
-*[[Timmy Tibble]]
+*[[Timmy and Tommy Tibble]]
+===Cameo===
+*[[Alex]]
+*[[Fern Walters]]
+*[[Maria Pappas]]
+*[[Jenna Morgan]]
 ==Trivia==
-*Asthma is mentioned in this episode.
-*Poison ivy is also mentioned in this episode.
 *This is the first episode when Michael Magnan is a storyboard writer.
-*This is one of the episodes that focus on health. The others being [[Sick as a Dog]], [[Operation: D.W.!]], [[Arthur's Knee]], [[Binky Goes Nuts]], and [[Arthur's Chicken Pox]].
+*This is one of the episodes that focus on health. The others are [[Sick as a Dog]], [[Vomitrocious]], [[Operation: D.W.!]], [[Arthur's Knee]], [[Binky Goes Nuts]] and [[Arthur's Chicken Pox (episode)|Arthur's Chicken Pox]].
+*In 2015, the episode was made available freely on the official ''Arthur'' website as part of the asthma section of a feature titled [[Arthur Family Health]]. The episode can be watched [https://pbskids.org/arthur/health/asthma/episode.html here]. It is also available on the PBS KIDS Video app and website.
+*Buster is revealed to have asthma.
 ===Production notes===
-*The idea for this episode was made by [[Carol Greenwald]] when she wanted a way to explain her son's asthma to him, his school, and his friends.<ref>http://www.pbs.org/parents/experts/archive/2014/05/how-arthur-can-help-families-s.html ([http://web.archive.org/web/20140711005917/www.pbs.org/parents/experts/archive/2014/05/how-arthur-can-help-families-s.html archived page]; retrieved 10 July 2014)</ref>
+*The idea for this episode was made by [[Carol Greenwald]] when she wanted a way to explain her son's asthma to him, his school, and his friends.<ref>http://www.pbs.org/parents/experts/archive/2014/05/how-arthur-can-help-families-s.html ([https://web.archive.org/web/20140711005917/www.pbs.org/parents/experts/archive/2014/05/how-arthur-can-help-families-s.html archived page]; retrieved 10 July 2014)</ref>
 ==Home Video==
@@ Line 51: / Line 71: @@
 *[[Arthur Goes to the Doctor (DVD)]]
 ==Gallery==
+<gallery position="center">
-{{CollapsingGallery|
-===Screenshots===
-<Gallery>
 Buster's Breathless.JPG
-</gallery>}}
+</gallery>
 ==References==
-{{Refbar}}
+{{Reflist}}
 {{EpisodeNav|4}}
-[[Category:Episodes]]
 [[Category:Season 4 episodes]]
+[[Category:A to Z]]
+[[Category:Arthur episodes]]
+[[Category:1999]]

"Buster's Breathless"
Main image Title card
Season/Series:	4
Number in season:	3A
Original Airdate:	October 7, 1999^[1] January 19, 2000^[2]
Credits
Written by:	Peter K. Hirsch
Storyboard by:	Michel Magnan Alex Hawley
Episodes
Previous "Muffy's New Best Friend"	Next "The Fright Stuff"