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"Nerves of Steal"
Season/Series: 5
Number in season: 2b
Original Airdate: United States October 2, 2000[1]
Canada January 9, 2001[2]
Credits
Written by: Bruce Akiyama
Storyboard by: Eric Bergeron
Greg Huculak
Patricia Atchison
Episodes
Previous
"Kids are from Earth, Parents are from Pluto"
Next
"It's a No-Brainer"
Read transcript

"Nerves of Steal" is the second half of the second episode in the fifth season of Arthur. It was later adapted into the book Arthur and the Nerves of Steal.

Summary[]

Buster hates being the only kid without a CyberToy, so he plans to "borrow" one from the store...until his own conscience catches him.

Plot[]

The episode begins with a plate full of brownies which D.W. and Grandma Thora made. One of the brownies has been eaten, and D.W. plays detective to find out who. She first suspects Arthur, but he explains that he just got back from the dentist, and is not eating anymore sweets (for the rest of the day, anyway). D.W. searches around the house and outside, when she finally discovers Pal eating brownie crumbs off the living room floor. D.W. demands to know why Pal ate the brownie when Mr. Read, who is reading the newspaper and munching on a brownie, asks her what she's doing. D.W. then realizes that the "suspect" was her own father and runs out of the room.

Nerves of Steal

Buster is sadly looking out his bedroom window, watching a model airplane fly by being controlled by Brain. Brain wonders why he's inside on a beautiful Sunday afternoon, and Buster replies, "Blame it on CyberToys." Brain asks if he finally got one, and Buster replies, "Well, not exactly" before the scene cuts to a flashback.

Muffy and Francine are setting up a picnic in the park when the basket suddenly moves, freaking Muffy out. The movement is from a CyberToy owned by Binky, who is pulling a prank behind the bushes. He shows Buster how much fun the toys are and how much he's missing. Muffy sees Binky and starts to chase him.

Later at Francine's apartment, Nemo is following a CyberToy carrying a ball of yarn around. Francine suggests that Arthur and Pal should get a CyberToy as well, causing Arthur to sigh in dismay with the fact he doesn't own one.

At The Sugar Bowl, Brain shows off his CyberToy, and asks Arthur and Buster when they plan on getting one. Buster laments that his mother won't give him a CyberToy until his birthday, as they're too expensive. Arthur replies the toys are weird-looking and his parents told him he has to buy it with his own money. Francine and Binky walk into The Sugar Bowl to announce that the nearby Jim's drugstore is getting a new CyberToy action set, and Brain leaves with them. Buster is disappointed because everyone owns a CyberToy except for them. Arthur tries to cheer him up by insisting it's not everyone, yet the Tibble Twins walk by outside with a pair of CyberToys.

At Jim's Drugstore, Buster is admiring a new CyberToy, Dr. Zontar, when he's met by Arthur. He asks Buster if his mother is going to buy him one, but Buster says that he's only looking. Buster then has a daydream on what it'd be like having a CyberToy. In his fantasy, the CyberToy enters The Sugar Bowl in a giant form and announces that Buster has arrived. His friends gush over how cool his CyberToy is, and it shrinks down to its original size, before giving Buster a high five.

Back in reality, Buster, still holding the toy, quickly glances around the store to check that nobody is looking, and then sneaks the figure into Arthur's book bag while Arthur is preoccupied with a Bionic Bunny puzzle. As they head out, D.W. exclaims, "I saw that," causing Buster to yell in alarm. However, D.W. was just talking about a lunch box that she saw at school, much to his relief. As D.W. and Arthur prepare to leave, Jane offers to give Buster a ride home but he declines, stammering. Buster asks Arthur if he wants to come over to his house, but Arthur says that he has homework. D.W. points out a security camera, which Buster also notices. He gets a lump in his throat from the guilt, and leaves the store.

Outside, Buster is walking through the streets and starts to feel guilty. He has another daydream where Arthur is being arrested at his house for shoplifting the CyberToy. However, Arthur tells the police that Buster is the thief, which begins a chase for Buster. Around town, there are wanted posters of him, to which Buster says that he never stole anything before, and asks if that makes him a real crook.

The location changes to a courtroom with Mr. Ratburn as the judge. He asks the students what they've done over the weekend. The students reply something law-related, while Buster reveals that he stole a CyberToy. Mr. Ratburn declares that it does indeed make Buster a real crook and hits his gavel, which magically puts Buster into a black and white prison uniform. The dream ends with Buster crying, "Nooooo!"

Back in reality, Buster is shaking in fear as he hears sirens, thinking it's the police, but it's just a fire truck. Buster is relieved until he sees shadows from a fence making his shirt have stripes like a prisoner's uniform, to which he screams and runs to the park. There, Francine and Binky yell, "He stole second base" and "Go for broke, steal third!" Buster cuts in and orders the person to put it back, but it's just a baseball game. He then runs away, embarrassed.

Unable to bear the guilt anymore, Buster goes to Arthur's house and nervously asks to talk in his room. There Buster takes out the CyberToy from Arthur's book bag, much to the latter's shock. Buster confesses that he put the toy in there because he couldn't help his urge since everybody else had one, except for them. Arthur gets upset and Buster apologizes for risking getting him in trouble, truthfully admitting that he doesn't even want the toy anymore. Arthur quickly forgives Buster and suggests that they return it first thing the next morning with an apology note to the drugstore. They're able to sneak the CyberToy out of the house and past Jane through Arthur's trash basket.

The next day, Arthur is waiting at a street corner for Buster. Buster comes running in, out of breath, and explains that he was busy writing the apology note. The note says that they have no idea how the toy got in Arthur's book bag, and that it was an accident. Arthur points out that it's not right to frame him by mentioning his name and revises the note, also correcting the spelling of "anonymous" (Buster had spelled it "Unanimous").

The boys arrive at Jim's Drugstore, prepared to drop off the CyberToy in secret, but Buster worries someone will come up and steal it and the store clerk catches them while doing inventory and invites them in. Arthur plans to keep the clerk busy while Buster puts the CyberToy in the back of the store. However, Buster finds that the CyberToys section empty, as all the figures have been sold. Knowing that they'll get caught if they leave it there, Arthur puts the toy on the floor by the Bionic Bunny puzzle.

When the clerk asks what they came in for, Buster lies that it was just to get some jawbreakers. As the boys try to leave, the CyberToy (which Arthur forgot to shut off) suddenly approaches the front of the store. The clerk finds the note, and demands to know whose idea it was to steal the toy. Ultimately, Buster snaps, sobs, and confesses it was all his fault, telling the clerk to check his security camera for proof. The clerk reveals that the security camera isn't working, but the telephone is, and he proceeds to call Buster's mother and Arthur's parents. He tells the boys that he understands their well-intentions by returning the toy, but says they were very wrong to steal it in the first place that Arthur and Buster gets in trouble.

Sometime later, Arthur apologizes to his parents as they leave the store. David and Jane each point out that Arthur should have come to them when he found out what Buster did, and even though he didn't take the toy, covering up the theft only made things worse. Jane says that they're both disappointed in Arthur and Buster, to which the former replies that he's disappointed in themselves too. Afterwards, Buster and his mother leave the store, with Bitzi furiously telling her son that he will have a long time to think about his actions towards the store and himself. Buster remorsefully replies that he will.

Back in the present, Buster has been grounded and is not allowed to leave the apartment, and tells the Brain that is the reason he's stuck inside on a nice day — all because of a toy he had to have. Brain simply replies he's glad he got his CyberToy for his birthday. After Brain leaves, Bitzi comes into Buster's room to tell him to wash up for dinner, but reminds him he can't have dessert — much to his dismay. Buster crosses out a day on his calendar in March, which reveals he has four more weekends of being grounded. Brain's model airplane flies past his house as the episode ends.

Characters[]

Major[]

Minor[]

Cameo[]

Trivia[]

  • In the opening, Pal is eating brownie crumbs. In real life, chocolate is poisonous to dogs (in very large quantities).
  • Buster's punishment for stealing the CyberToy is that he can't play with friends outside or have dessert after dinner for a month; he is somehow allowed to chat with his friends through his bedroom window.
    • It's unknown what happened to Arthur when his parents found out he was helping Buster cover up the mistake. (It's possible he got a stern lecture and was let off with a warning, but again, no one really knows.)
  • Jim's Drugstore is the parody of Walgreen's.
  • Morals:
    • Stealing is not okay, because it's a crime.
    • Covering up a crime is just as bad as stealing. It's best to go to a trusted person and tell them about the situation, even if it means a best friend may get in trouble.

Episode connections[]

  • Buster previously stole a fossil in "Buster's Dino Dilemma."
  • Buster steals a toy from a store; D.W. tried to do the same thing with a Princess Sneeze-and-Wet doll in "Go to Your Room, D.W."
  • Buster puts a toy into Arthur's backpack and frames Arthur for it; Francine also puts a toy in a backpack (Brain's) in "MacFrensky." However, Buster does not intend to get Arthur in trouble, unlike Francine, who was trying to get Brain in trouble.
  • Buster also previously unintentionally got Arthur accused of stealing or rumored to be someone who steals things in "Arthur Accused!" and "Arthur, World's Greatest Gleeper."
  • This is one of the few episodes where Jane or David say they are disappointed in Arthur. The other episodes are "Arthur the Wrecker," "Arthur's Treasure Hunt," and "Flaw and Order."
  • In this episode, Arthur does not have a CyberToy. However, in later episodes such as "The Long Road Home," a CyberToy cameos in Arthur's room, and in "Arthur Sells Out," he sells a CyberToy that is rebranded as a Robotron figure to James.
  • Several of the CyberToys were also present in "Buster and the Daredevils," but back then, they were not named as such, indicating that they were recycled and rebranded as CyberToys for this episode.
  • Brain's model plane was seen in "What is that Thing?."
  • In Buster's fantasy about the court, Mr. Ratburn is the judge. Francine and Brain previously imagined a court with Mr. Ratburn as the judge in "Love Notes for Muffy."

Cultural references[]

  • The episode's title is a play on the metaphor "nerves of steel."
  • In Buster's fantasy, Francine mentions reading Crime and Punishment.

Errors[]

  • During Buster's dream, when he says, "Oh no!", his mouth does not move.
  • After Buster's dream, he sees shadows of the bar fence covering his shirt. However, the shadows should be vertical like the bars, not horizontal.
  • Somehow, the owner seems to have both the boys' parent's numbers.
    • However, it's possible that the store is where they get their prescription medication, so the owner would have to contact them in some way.
  • Arthur ends up getting somewhat told off despite literally doing nothing wrong. David wrongly states that Arthur covered up the crime, when he was actually trying to get Buster to return the stolen toy back to the drugstore.
    • He was likely referring to Arthur attempting for Buster's theft of the toy to go completely unmentioned, and he felt Buster needed to confess.

Home Video[]

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Gallery[]

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References[]


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