Get Smart

	"Get Smart"
	Main image; Title card;
Season/Series:	16
Number in season:	4a
Original Airdate:	October 18, 2012; April 9, 2013;
	Credits
Written by:	Claudia Silver
Storyboard by:	Cilbur Rocha
	Episodes
Previous; "Blockheads"	Next; "Baby Steps"

"Get Smart" is the first half of the fourth episode in the sixteenth season of Arthur.

Summary[]

A battle begins when Hugo, the new interactive whiteboard, corrects Mr. Ratburn in front of the class.

Plot[]

Arthur announces the beginning of a match between Mr. Ratburn and an unknown challenger from Cupertino, California. Francine and Buster are shocked to see the challenger, and Mr. Ratburn nervously gulps at the sight. Arthur tells the two to have a "good, clean match" and to shake hands.

Get Smart

After the title card, Mr. Haney announces that Mr. Ratburn's class was chosen to test out a new interactive whiteboard—HUGO 3.0—for two weeks. After Brain helps Mr. Ratburn turn on Hugo, the students ask Hugo several questions. Mr. Ratburn tells the students that he has to read the instruction manual first. Brain offers to help Mr. Ratburn after class, and Mr. Ratburn accepts.

After school that day, Brain spends some time helping Mr. Ratburn, and they manage to go through the entire manual. Then Brain sees something in the manual that proclaims Hugo is "100% accurate"; he questions this, saying nothing can be 100% accurate.

The next day at school, Mr. Ratburn is teaching the class about the early history of Elwood City, including how the city was catapulted into the industrial age by the opening of the first steam-powered sawmill. Hugo states that Mr. Ratburn is incorrect when he mentions that Jacob Katzenellenbogan opened the first steam-powered sawmill in Elwood City; Hugo believes that Francis Wheaton was the one who built it. The class is shocked that Mr. Ratburn was wrong, but Brain is unconvinced.

Brain has a dream that night that Pseudometa Corporation intentionally programmed Hugo to only be 98% accurate instead of 100%, claiming that most people will not care about a "little two percent".

Over the next few days, Brain does some research at the library about the early history of Elwood City, while Mr. Ratburn keeps trying to produce a question Hugo cannot answer to no success. While doing research at the library, Brain learns in a Spring 1902 article of the Elwood City Gazette that Jacob Katzenellenbogan was the one who built the first steam-powered sawmill in Elwood City after all.

One morning at school, after Mr. Ratburn fails to prove Hugo wrong with a question about traditional Turkish shadow plays, Brain comes in with Alfred Katzenellenbogan, the great-nephew of Jacob Katzenellenbogan, proving Hugo wrong with a document that proves that Alfred's great-uncle built the first steam-powered sawmill in Elwood City.

After being told by Mr. Ratburn to admit that he is not 100% accurate, Hugo malfunctions and explodes, after which the entire class cheers. Mr. Ratburn then asks Alfred Katzenellenbogan if he would mind telling the class about Elwood City in its earlier days, and Alfred is more than grateful to do so. He starts telling the class about the time he visited his great-uncle's sawmill, finishing the episode.

Characters[]

Major[]

Minor[]

Cameo[]

Songs[]

"Daisy Bell"

Trivia[]

When Hugo starts up, for a split second, you can see a photo of Arthur director Greg Bailey.

Episode connections[]

The Bolivia postcard from Sue Ellen's old journal from "April 9th" can be briefly seen as one of the photos right after Brain turns on Hugo.
This episode's plot is similar to "Mr. Alwaysright," where Buster continuously tries to prove Brain wrong. However, this time, it is Brain who is trying to prove Hugo wrong.
Vladimir and Estragon appear again since their debut in "Cents-less."
Dark Bunny villain Dr. Origami gets mentioned again after "Happy Anniversary" and "Swept Away."

Cultural references[]

The title is a reference to the television show Get Smart. The word "smart" also refers to high-tech gadgets.
The title is also a reference to the 2008 film based off the show, made by past PBS home video partner Warner Bros. Pictures.
In the cold open of the episode, "the challenger" is said to originate from Cupertino, California, the real location of Apple Computers's headquarters.
During this episode, there is a small Philippine flag in the classroom. Yet, when HUGO says that the Philippines have an equilateral triangle in their flag, Mr. Ratburn has to check his notes.
Hugo states that "cymotrichous" was the winning word of the previous year's national spelling bee, which it was in 2011; thus, the episode is set in 2012.
Hugo has many similarities to the character HAL 9000 from Arthur C. Clarke's 2001: A Space Odyssey, and Stanley Kubrick's film of the same name.
- In Brain's dream, one of the technicians in the lab testing Hugo is named Dave, which is the name of a main character in 2001: A Space Odyssey.
- Also in the dream, the technicians hide behind a glass door so Hugo will not hear them; The Blue Danube plays during this segment. In 2001: A Space Odyssey, Dave and Frank hide from HAL in an airlock, and The Blue Danube plays in a different part of the movie.
- In Brain's dream, Hugo states "But that would be a lie, Dave" to one of the scientists. This refers to the line "I'm sorry, Dave. I'm afraid I can't do that" which is spoken by HAL 9000 in the film.
- Both speak in a calm, monotone voice.
  - Additionally, both computers are supposed to be infallible and take it badly when it is revealed they are not.
- Both sing the song Daisy Bell when they break down.
  - This refers to the IBM 7094, known as the first computer to "sing".
When Mr. Ratburn asks Hugo a question about puppetry, music similar to the theme from Who Wants to Be a Millionaire? plays in the background.

Errors[]

The lip-syncing throughout this episode is off in some scenes. One example is when Mr. Ratburn says "Very good, Hugo" after Hugo answers the question about the tidinit, a West African musical instrument, correctly.
At one point, Mr. Ratburn's tongue color temporarily changes from being whiteish to being reddish like it was seen during later first season through fifteenth season episodes.
When Brain is printing out a copy of the Elwood City Gazette at the library, his white shirt collar temporarily turns yellow.
When Mr. Ratburn is asking Hugo a question about puppetry, the flowers move from the side of the desk to by Mr. Ratburn.

Production notes[]

In Korean, this episode is entitled "인공지능 칠판", which translates to "Artificial intelligence board."

Gallery[]

Screenshots

References[]

[1] ttp://www.ket.org/episode/ARUR%20%20001604

[2] ttp://www.bbc.co.uk/cbbc/programmes/schedules/2013/04/09

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