| This article is about the television episode. You may be looking for the podcast. |
| "Buster's Secret Admirer" | |
| Season/Series: | 15 |
|---|---|
| Number in season: | 3a |
| Original airdate: |  October 12, 2011[1] May 13, 2013[3] January 14, 2011[2] October 11, 2010 |
| Credits | |
| Written by: | Allan Neuwirth Peter K. Hirsch |
| Storyboard by: | Elise Benoit |
| Episodes | |
| Previous "Whistling in the Wind" |
Next "The Last King of Lambland" |
| Read transcript |
"Buster's Secret Admirer" is the first half of the third episode in the fifteenth season of Arthur.
Summary[]
Buster receives chocolates in the mail from a "secret admirer" and tries to uncover who it was sent by, asking everyone from Arthur to Molly.
Plot[]
In a fairytale forest, Buster sits at the base of a tree, plucking the petals off a flower as he talks to the viewers about how great love is. The flower then suddenly comes to life and starts talking back, "I hate love! How would you like to have your petals plucked out?" Then, squirrels in the tree start throwing strawberries at Buster, who is now very frightened and runs into a clearing. A flock of flying cupid-pigs suddenly appear and shoot at Buster with arrows. He screams as he wakes up, realizing it was only a dream. He looks at the camera from his bed and says, "Isn't it weird how sometimes the nicest dreams turn out to be the worst nightmares?" Then, he suddenly realizes that an arrow from the dream is in his bed. He gasps.
One day, just before school, Buster is finishing his cereal in the Baxters' dining room when his mom comes in with the mail. There is a package for Buster with no return address. Buster is almost late, so he chooses to open it at school.
Later that day, Buster shows Arthur the mysterious package at school. Buster is afraid that it came from someone playing a trick, so he has Arthur open it. It turns out to be an expensive box of chocolates with a Valentine-themed card inside. Buster starts on the chocolates as Arthur reads the card:
"For someone I adore, A boy who's never a bore, Likes a good joke, loves to eat, Let me treat you with something sweet. ~Your Secret Admirer"
Buster immediately looks around for students who could be his secret admirer. Unable to figure out who it could be, he starts researching the meaning of the word. He discovers that if he scrambles the letters of 'secret admirer,' the words 'dream reciters' can be made. Buster makes up what dream reciters are: hooded beings who created his dreams and gave him the chocolates. Arthur disagrees but gives Buster a big lead. Since the chocolates were expensive, perhaps the secret admirer is Muffy. Buster sends a thank you package to Muffy filled with a poem, a pickle, and a bologna sandwich. The food is (of course) rotten when it arrives at Muffy's house, and Muffy is disgusted. She marches angrily towards Buster the next day and ensures he understands that she would never be his secret admirer.
Buster's next guess is Fern since she is so good at poetry, but Fern says she is not his secret admirer. After asking Sue Ellen, and Molly, Buster begins to doubt that he will ever find his secret admirer. The next issue of The Frensky Star is titled "Who is Buster's Secret Admirer? Who cares!!". The whole school has heard of Buster's search and is tired of it. Buster chooses to stop looking.
That night, Buster has another dream. In it, a forklift delivers a giant box of chocolates to his front door. Driving it is one of Buster's hooded Dream Reciters. Buster chases it around Elwood City until it vanishes before Buster's classmates. They all make fun of Buster, saying they would never be his secret admirer. Suddenly, the dream changes, and the three dream reciters appear around a cauldron. They give Buster a big clue about who the real admirer is: the first letters of the original poem spell a word.
The letters spell "fall." Buster realizes that the secret admirer was his own mother since they celebrate a little holiday called Fall Day every September. The next morning, Buster makes his mother breakfast and gives her another poem back, signed "Secret Admirer." "I wonder who that could be," his mom says.
Characters[]
Major[]
Minor[]
- Binky Barnes
- Bailey
- Fern Walters
- Muffy Crosswire
- Prunella Deegan
- Flower (in dream)
- Pig Cupid (in dream)
- Dream Reciters (in fantasy and dream)
- Sue Ellen Armstrong (does not speak)
- Molly MacDonald (does not speak)
Cameo[]
- Francine Frensky
- Mary (3rd grader)
- Helen
- Maria Pappas
- Brain
- George Lundgren
- Luke
- Steve Pappas
- Alex Davidson
- Jenna Morgan
- Kenny
- 3rd Grade Male Rat
- Paul Jacobs
- Mr. Higgins
- Mr. Ratburn
Trivia[]
- Moral: You have to search for clues to solve a mystery instead of jumping to conclusions.
- After Binky hands Buster the issue of The Frensky Star, as Buster reads the front page of the newspaper, it can be seen that the issue number of The Frensky Star is "180A." This is a reference to this episode's original production code, as well as its broadcast order number outside of the US.
- At the end of the episode, there is a real photo of two people on the calendar on the wall. It is unknown who these two people are.
Episode connections[]
- Muffy is seen playing with one of her World Girl dolls from "World Girls."
- Pinchman's chocolates also featured prominently in "Buster's Sweet Success." That episode also had Binky taking much more than he was offered.
- Buster mentions Baxter Day, which was first mentioned in "Arthur's Perfect Christmas."
Cultural references[]
- The cupids' attack on Buster parodies a helicopter attack from the movie Apocalypse Now. Both original and parody are accompanied by Ride of the Valkyries from Richard Wagner's opera The Valkyrie.
- In the second scene with the Dream Reciters, it features music recycled from the show "Redwall TV." This piece was used in the show's final episode.
- Buster saying "That girl with red hair who always reads upside down" being his possible secret admirer may be a reference to Peanuts, when Charlie Brown pines for the Little Red-Haired Girl.
Errors[]
- Right before Molly stabs the balloons, for a split second, her ears are miscolored.
- Buster mentions Baxter Day, but as this episode takes place in September, the events of "Arthur's Perfect Christmas" have not happened yet.
- Although, this could take place in a different year.
Gallery[]
Screenshots
References[]