| "Pal and the Big Itch" | |
| Season/Series: | 21 |
|---|---|
| Number in season: | 7b |
| Original Airdate: |  February 15, 2018[1][2] June 14, 2020[3] |
| Credits | |
| Written by: | Peter K. Hirsch |
| Storyboard by: | Gerry Capelle |
| Episodes | |
| Previous "Invasion of the Soccer Fans" |
Next "Mr. Ratburn and the Special Someone" |
| Read transcript |
"Pal and the Big Itch" is the second half of the seventh episode in the twenty-first season of Arthur.
Summary[]
Pal takes advantage of his friends' special treatment when he has to wear a cone.
Plot[]
Marc Brown knocks over a trashcan with his car. Pal plays in the trash and comes into the house extremely dirty, much to the family's disapproval.
Later, Pal discovers a sore on his leg and gnaws at it, despite Kate warning him no to. The next morning, the itching is so bad, that Arthur wants to take Pal to the vet.
Amigo and Killer tell Kate about the "big itch", which never lets you go. The only thing worse is "the cone". Just then, Mr. Read returns with Pal, who is now wearing a cone to keep him from gnawing at the sore.
Pal tells a dramatic story of his ordeal at the vet, but brightens up when Mrs. Read gives him food. However, the cone keeps pushing his dog dish away, so that he cannot eat. Amigo offer to bring him table scraps.
Two days later, Pal treats his friends like servants. Kate scratches his back and Amigo brings him scraps. When Pal itches again and cannot scratch, Killer distracts him by telling him about her grandfather, Fido Carnebone. Fido was known as the Dogfather. In a flashback (or possibly fantasy), he sends his three sons to get a ball back for a dachshund. Killer is about to relate how Fido was betrayed by one of his sons, when Thora calls her. She promises to finish the story later, if Pal is still stuck in the cone.
A few days later, Arthur removes the cone. Pal runs out to Kate and Amigo. He pretends that he is still suffering, because he wants the roast beef that Amigo has brought, but Kate just laughs at him and Amigo eats the beef.
Later, Kate is too busy with her toys to scratch Pal. When Killer comes to visit, Pal puts his head in the cone, so that she will tell him the rest of the story. Killer tells him how Fido came across his wounded son, Bobo, in a dark street and got cornered by two big dogs. Bobo had been faking his injury, just like Pal. At this, Killer leaves Pal and swears never to tell him how the story ended.
Pal is downhearted and gets the idea to get another itch. He jumps into a trashcan which rolls away. Amigo stops it with his body and is hurt.
The episode ends with Amigo having to wear a cone. Pal feeds him and tells him of how his mother worked as a circus dog.
Characters[]
Major[]
Minor[]
- Arthur Read
- D.W. Read
- Jane Read
- David Read
- Thora Read
- Ramon Molina
- Fido Carnebone, the Dogfather
- Sonny Carnebone
- Bobo Carnebone
- Mickey Carnebone
- Dachshund client
Cameo[]
Mentioned[]
- Perky (indirectly)
Trivia[]
- According to the fur, Killer's father Mickey might've been the one that betrayed The Dogfather.
- Marc Brown makes a cameo appearance in the beginning of this episode.
- Pal's mother, Perky, is indirectly mentioned when Pal is talking to Amigo in the last scene.
- This episode, along with the Thanksgiving special, both mark the last time where Pal and Kate have a speaking role.
Episode connections[]
- The way Pal never discovers the ending of Killer's story is similar to "Unfinished," in which Arthur never discovers the ending of "93 Million Miles in a Balloon."
- In "Show Off," Killer claims to be "a hundred percent Jack Russell terrier." If the Carnebones really are her family, that is probably not true.
- In "Show Off", Killer also claims that both her parents were dog show contestants rather than the children of crime lords. She may have made the Dogfather story up, much like Ladonna makes up stories about her relatives.
- The same thing goes for Pal, whose mother Perky is unlikely to have been a tightrope artist.
Cultural references[]
- Killer's story is a reference to The Godfather. Fido, Sonny, Bobo and Mickey Carnebone refer to Vito, Sonny, Fredo and Michael Corleone.
Production notes[]
- This is the last episode where Jacob Ursomarzo and Christian Distefano voice Arthur and D.W., respectively.
Home Media[]
DVD[]
- PBS Kids: 17 Puppy Adventures
Gallery[]
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This gallery is incomplete. You can help by adding screenshots of important scenes from the episode. |
References[]
External links[]
- Transcript: Invasion of the Soccer Fans / Pal and the Big Itch. TVOKids. Archived from the original on November 13, 2020.
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