"Get Smart" | |
Season/Series: | 16 |
---|---|
Number in season: | 4a |
Original Airdate: | October 18, 2012[1] April 9, 2013[2] |
Credits | |
Written by: | Claudia Silver |
Storyboard by: | Cilbur Rocha |
Episodes | |
Previous "Blockheads" |
Next "Baby Steps" |
Read transcript |
"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 the unknown challenger from Cupertino, California. Francine and Buster are shocked to see the challenger, and Mr. Ratburn nervously gulps at the sight of the challenger. Arthur tells the two to have a good, clean match and to shake hands before beginning.
After the title card, Mr. Haney announces that Mr. Ratburn's class was chosen to test out a new smartboard for two weeks. After Brain helps Mr. Ratburn turn on Hugo, the smartboard, the students ask Hugo several questions. Then, 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 Brain's offer.
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 and 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 says that Mr. Ratburn is incorrect when he mentions that Jacob Katzenellenbogan opened the first steam-powered sawmill in Elwood City, because Hugo believes that Francis Wheaton was the one who built it. The class is shocked that Mr. Ratburn was wrong, but Brain is not convinced.
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 2%, which makes Hugo sad. Brain then wakes up from his dream.
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 prove Hugo wrong at school 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 puppetry and everyone started to get tired of Hugo, 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.
Hugo malfunctions and blows up after being told by Mr. Ratburn to admit that he is not 100% accurate, 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[]
- Alfred Katzenellenbogan
- Arthur Read
- Binky Barnes
- Buster Baxter
- Dave
- Francine Frensky
- Mr. Haney
- Ms. Turner
- Technician
- Jacob Katzenellenbogan (pictured)
- Francis Wheaton (pictured)
Cameo[]
- Alex Davidson
- Carlos (pictured)
- Fern Walters
- George Lundgren
- Maria Pappas
- Muffy Crosswire
- Prunella Deegan
- Vladimir and Estragon
- Sue Ellen Armstrong
Songs[]
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.
- This episode is set in 2012, as Hugo says that "cymotrichous" was the winning word of last year's national spelling bee, which it was in 2011.
- Hugo is a reference to the supercomputer HAL 9000 from 2001: A Space Odyssey.
- In Brain's dream, one of the technicians in the lab testing on Hugo is called 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, while The Blue Danube plays. 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.
- Both computers are supposed to be infallible and take it badly when people find out that they are not.
- Both computers sing the Daisy Bell song 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 gets the question about the tidinit right.
- 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[]