It's a No-Brainer

This article is about the episode. You may be looking for the book.

"It's a No-Brainer"
Main image Title card
Season/Series:	5
Number in season:	3a
Original airdate:	October 9, 2000 January 10, 2001
Credits
Written by:	Dietrich Smith
Storyboard by:	Robert Yap
Episodes
Previous "Nerves of Steal"	Next "The Shore Thing"

Read transcript

"It's a No-Brainer" is the first half of the third episode in the fifth season of Arthur. It was later adapted into the book Arthur and the No-Brainer.

Summary

When Brain loses his cool and loses to Buster in the Math-a-thon, he decides it's time to give up his books and his nickname.

Plot

Mr. Ratburn has the class draw straws to select the student who has to compete against Brain in the third grade Math-athon. Buster is chosen, much to his dismay.

It's a No-Brainer

During the Math-athon, Buster answers the first question with a joke. Brain at first wants to pass the question, so as not to embarrass Buster, but his brain (which appears as a brain-shaped person inside his head) makes him answer. The answer he gives is wrong, which confuses him so much that he is unable to answer the other questions. Buster gets questions that refer to TV and food, so he wins.

Buster is chosen to represent the class at the interclass Math-athon. Meanwhile, Brain finds that he can not concentrate. He has a fantasy in which his IQ drops to average. He gives Buster his books and science equipment. He says he wants to be called Alan and starts training to become a comedian, since that does not require great intelligence. His friends try unsuccessfully to talk him out of it.

Brain gets himself a clown costume and plans to perform at his parents' ice-cream shop. His friends send various math problems his way to tempt him. When he tells them to stop, a math book falls out of his clown pants. Brain admits that he really wants to do the Math-athon.

Mr. Ratburn lets Brain trade places with Buster and Brain performs well at the Math-athon. His brain lifts weights while Buster's brain watches TV.

Characters

Major

• Brain
• Arthur Read
• Buster Baxter
• Francine Frensky
• Mr. Ratburn

Minor

• D.W. Read
• Binky Barnes
• Muffy Crosswire
• Mr. Haney
• Mr. Powers
• Mrs. Powers
• Brain's Brain
• Buster's Brain

Cameo

• George Lundgren
• Fern Walters
• Sue Ellen Armstrong
• Alex Davidson
• Maria Pappas
• Paul Jacobs
• Jenna Morgan
• Beulah McInnerny
• 3rd Grade Male Rat
• 3rd Grade Male Dog
• Jessica (3rd grader)
• Mary (3rd grader)
• 3rd Grade Male Rabbit
• 3rd Grade Female Cat (Number 2)

Trivia

As a joke, Brain exclaims, "noose-paper!" after drawing a noose on a sheet of paper.

• This episode (including its second segment "The Shore Thing") was pulled from the rerun rotation in the United States, presumably due to Brain jokingly drawing a noose.
  • The last national airing of this episode was on January 26, 2021, on PBS.
  • This episode pair was one of five to be excluded from the February 2022 marathon on PBS Kids.
  • This episode pair was also removed from Amazon Prime Video by April 2021; the season 5 episode list says, "This video is currently unavailable". It is one of only two episode pairs to not be available for streaming on said service (the other being both parts of the season 13 version of "The Great MacGrady").
  • The episode can still be found on the VHS and DVD releases of the "The Big Riddle" and the "Arthur's Travel Adventures" DVD.
• The answer to the equation Francine asks Buster to prove he can't be like Brain, or Alan, ["x equals pi times y cubed, and y equals the square root of 78"] is 2,164, rounded to the nearest whole number.
• The equation that lands in Brain's prop box (AB + 2²) is impossible to solve, as neither A or B are defined.
• Moral: Even though you may be wrong, you are still the same person.

Episode connections

• This is the third time after "The Perfect Brother" and "Prove It" that one of Brain's friends has to ask who "Alan" is.
• Brain previously underperformed at the Spell-a-thon in "Arthur's Spelling Trubble."
• While practicing his stand-up comedy routine, Brain brings up substitute teachers and to not cry over spilled milk. Both of these were previously used for storylines in the series in "Arthur's Substitute Teacher Trouble" and "Mom and Dad Have a Great Big Fight" respectively.

Cultural references

• Buster mentions the myth that Albert Einstein got bad grades in school. Later, Arthur promises Brain a free trip to Einstein's birthplace, which is Ulm, Germany.
• The episode has the first appearance of the Tolon Wall to Wall moving company, later named Tolon's Moving. It is named for Tolon Brown. Another moving company, Fallon & Son, named for Joe Fallon, had appeared in earlier episodes.

Errors

• When Brain's brain reaches for the binoculars, his arms are brown instead of gray like they should be.
• After Francine drops the math book, it vanishes.
• When Mr. Powers defines "chimerical," the dishes of food on the table change. In one scene, they are part of the painted background, as opposed to the foreground drawing.

Home Video

VHS

• The Big Riddle (VHS)

DVD

• The Big Riddle (DVD)
• Arthur's Travel Adventures

Gallery

Main article: It's a No-Brainer/Gallery