| "D.W.'s Baby" | |
| Season/Series: | 1 |
|---|---|
| Number in season: | 11B |
| Original Airdate: |  October 21, 1996[1] January 20, 1997[2] December 21, 2001[3] |
| Credits | |
| Written by: | Joe Fallon |
| Storyboard by: | Gerry Capelle |
| Episodes | |
| Previous "Arthur's Baby" |
Next "Arthur Writes a Story" |
| Read transcript |
"D.W.'s Baby" is the second half of the eleventh episode in the first season of Arthur.
Summary
When Baby Kate was born, D.W. felt neglected and wondered if anyone would even miss her if she ran away.
Plot
The episode starts off with Arthur looking at videos of his and D.W.'s first birthdays, while D.W. films Arthur. He gets annoyed with her when she lies upside down to film him. She says she's trying to make Arthur look more interesting, but claims that it's hopeless. When D.W. claims that little sisters are always more interesting than brothers, Arthur points out that she didn't always feel that way about Kate, and reminds her of what happened when Kate first came home from the hospital.
While D.W. is clearly excited about being an older sister (especially since her new sibling is a girl), she becomes frustrated when her parents won't let her help with the baby, especially since D.W. (at least in her own opinion) is a "baby expert." When Jane has to go grab something from upstairs and asks Arthur to keep an eye on Kate, Nadine tells her that this is her chance to show her mom how much of a "baby expert" she is. After Buster and Francine come over to check out the new baby, Kate soon starts crying. D.W. does her best to try and comfort her, but nothing's working. When D.W. hands Kate over to Arthur to get a clean diaper (thinking that Kate's upset because she needs her diaper changed), Arthur starts patting Kate on the back, which helps Kate burp (the real reason she was crying). When Jane comes in to see what all the commotion was about, Buster explains what happened and everyone's happy that Arthur and Kate have finally bonded--everyone except D.W., that is.
D.W. becomes jealous when her parents let Arthur help with the baby but not her, though she gets excited when Kate and her crib are moved into her room. However, D.W. soon finds some drawbacks to sharing a room with her new baby sister. On the first night of being in D.W.'s room, Kate keeps D.W. up all night with her crying. The next day, D.W. comes across her mother when she is in the middle of changing Kate's diaper, and it stinks real bad. D.W. is unable to endure the smell and compares the foul stench to that of a zoo. D.W. rushes to open a window and clear out the stink from her room, but Jane orders her to close it before Kate catches a draft. D.W. then notices that ever her doll now smells of stinky diapers. D.W. gets frustrated when she can't play with her sister in the same way she could play with a kid her age, because, as Jane points out, D.W.'s toys have too many small pieces that Kate could choke on, and says that she has to be extra careful around the baby. The new big sister also starts feeling jealous of the attention that Kate's getting from their parents. On advice from the Tibble twins, D.W. tries blaming Kate for stuff that others or even herself have done, but this only gets her into trouble with David and Jane. D.W. eventually goes as far as to try and sell her sister at their family's yard sale (first for 50-cents but then lowering it to 35-cents).
Eventually, feeling that her family doesn't need her anymore, D.W. decides to run away to a small island. After stopping at her grandma's house to say goodbye, Thora offers to drive and row her granddaughter out to the island--however, during the journey to the island, Thora's able to convince D.W. to go back home by pointing out that while Kate will have a mom, a dad and an older brother to take care of her, she won't have an older sister. When she returns home, Jane tells D.W. how worried the family was about her being gone. D.W. makes up with her sister, but as she does D.W. notices the presence of an all too familiar smell. The episode concludes with D.W. saying "P.U..." and retracticting in disgust, before reminding Kate that it's a mommy and daddy's job to change all those stinky diapers.
Characters
Major
Minor
Cameo
Trivia
- Although the title is not read on the VHS and DVD versions, Francine says the title when this is aired on television on reruns.
- When David, Arthur, and D.W. are watching TV, there is repeated dialogue from the later episode, "So Long, Spanky."
- The diaper change scene was later removed from the episode promo.
Episode connections
- This episode takes place at the same time as "Arthur's Baby." It is shown from D.W.'s point of view instead of Arthur's.
- D.W. and Grandma Thora may have went to the same lake as in this episode in "The Secret About Secrets."
Errors
- During the intro, in the video of Arthur's first birthday, his ears are covered in the hat.
- Also, in the video of D.W.'s first birthday, she was referred to as "D.W.," but she didn't chronologically go by that name until she was able to talk clearly.
- D.W.'s toy truck is brown when she is playing with it, but when she offers it to Kate, it changes to blue.
- When Arthur is supposed to watch Kate, Kate is wearing a green bow in her hair, but a few seconds later, it's gone. Also in the same shot, Jane is in her regular clothes.
Gallery
Home video
VHS:
DVD:
References
