Crushed

"Crushed"
Main image Title card
Season/Series:	6
Number in season:	9B
Original Airdate:	November 19, 2001 January 8, 2002
Credits
Written by:	Catherine Lieuwen
Storyboard by:	Lyndon Ruddy Robert Yap Jeremy O'Neill
Episodes
Previous "The Good Sport"	Next "Arthur Loses His Marbles"

Read transcript

"Crushed" is the second half of the ninth episode in the sixth season of Arthur.

Summary

Arthur thinks he is too old to have a babysitter. He soon has second thoughts when the sitter is a 16-year-old girl who loves ice cream and video games.

Plot

The intro begins with Buster singing a country song about things that make you blue, but Arthur stops him, saying "Stop! Cut, no more!" He annoyingly asks Buster if he was going to tell the viewers. Buster replies it makes a good song. Arthur then announces to the viewers that due to technical difficulties, the show will be cancelled, but Buster stops him, saying "Don't listen to him, he's just embarrassed. Roll the tape, Greg!". Then he tells Arthur it's a good story, to which Arthur groans.

Crushed

After the title card, David and Jane are going out to an opera and they need a babysitter. Arthur doesn't want the babysitter to be Mrs. Grouse, because she makes Arthur and D.W. dance the jitterbug. D.W. says "The jitterbug is good for your 'arthur-itis', Arthur"; Arthur angrily says he doesn't have arthritis. Their mom states that Mrs. Grouse can't make it, so the babysitter will be Sally MacGill. Arthur imagines that Sally will be a mean babysitter that makes them clean the entire house.

When Sally arrives, she has orange hair and a purple jacket. She is 16, twice Arthur's age and four times D.W.'s age. Sally says they should "get some business out of the way", and Arthur gets annoyed and says "I know the drill." He goes upstairs before Sally can finish what she was going to ask: which ice cream Arthur prefers. D.W. talks and plays with Sally while Arthur does his homework. When he comes downstairs, he sees Sally playing his Dark Bunny VI: Curse of the Moomy video game. D.W. gives Arthur her control and Arthur and Sally reach Level 12, where they try to defeat the Mommy of all Moomies, when Arthur's parents arrive. Arthur looks at Sally dreamily and develops a crush on her.

The next day, Arthur tries to persuade the parents to leave home so he and D.W. can have Sally watch them. After they finally take off, Mrs. Grouse comes instead, much to Arthur's annoyance.

The next day at the public library, Arthur draws a comic about him saving Sally from a flying sheep zombie when Bionic Bunny can't. Buster asks Arthur who the girl is supposed to be, but Arthur doesn't want to say and tries to get Buster to leave. This makes Buster suspicious.

On the third round in which the parents leave for another catering job, they state that Sally and her friend are coming. When it's Arthur's turn to choose the activity, he chooses the Dark Bunny: Curse of the Moomies video game and they play until the doorbell rings. Sally introduces her boyfriend, Corey, to Arthur. Arthur is surprised that Sally has a boyfriend. Offended, he goes to bed.

The next day at The Sugar Bowl, Arthur makes a comic about Sally and Corey being eaten by a flying sheep zombie. When Buster arrives, Arthur decides to tell him about Sally, but he makes Buster vow not to tell anyone. He explains to Buster about how he and Sally had gotten to level 12 of the video game when Buster says to say no more, and that he understands what happened: Arthur was crushed. "She walked all over you." He advises Arthur to "stay away from her." He invites Arthur to stay at his place Friday night, and Arthur accepts.

When Arthur comes for the sleepover, Buster's babysitter is Sally, much to Arthur's horror. Sally later explains to Arthur that she likes to play video games with him, but not with Corey, because Corey is bad at video games. The three of them play until they lose and it's time for Arthur and Buster to go to bed. Then, Buster states his advice again, and Arthur realizes that Buster had actually been talking about the video game and Nocaloreeti, "the "mommy of all moomies". Buster questions him, wondering what Arthur thought he had originally meant, and then the pair goes to bed.

Characters

Major

• Arthur Read
• Buster Baxter
• Sally MacGill
• Corey

Minor

• D.W. Read
• David Read
• Jane Read
• Mrs. Grouse

Cameo

• Nigel Ratburn
• Muffy Crosswire

Mentioned

• Bitzi Baxter
• Harry Mills

Trivia

• Buster says "Roll the tape, Greg!" as a reference to the director of Arthur, Greg Bailey.
• The title is displayed straight and horizontal, instead of curved.  The two other title cards to be displayed straight and horizontal are "More!" and "April 9th."

Episode connections

• Arthur mentions being a babysitter himself, which is a callback to "Arthur Babysits."
• This is the first time Jane dresses like a princess; the second time is in "D.W.'s Time Trouble."
• David wore a suit of armor in "Arthur's TV-Free Week" and does it again here.
• Bitzi goes out on a date with Harry. They started dating in "Bitzi's Beau."
• Sometime after this episode, Arthur is revealed to have confessed his crush on the babysitter to Buster at one point as referenced in "Blabbermouth." However, Buster blurted this out despite Arthur wanting Buster to keep it a secret.

Cultural references

• D.W. says dancing is good for Arthur's "arthur-itis", a reference to arthritis.
• The operas "Rigoletto" by Giuseppe Verdi and the Ring Cycle by Richard Wagner are mentioned.

Errors

• When Sally and D.W. are playing Dark Bunny: Curse of the Moomies, D.W.'s pantyhose turns white.
• When Arthur and Buster are in the Sugar Bowl, the amount of soda in Buster's glass changes between shots.

Production notes

• Figure skater Jennifer Kirk is featured in the previous episode's A Word from Us Kids segment. In 2001, Kirk's mother Pat Harris died after battling breast cancer. This episode is dedicated in loving memory of Pat Harris, "friend and colleague." On PBS Kids airings in the U.S., the dedication shows after the episode on a black screen. On other network airings internationally, the mention shows at the end of the episode.

Home Video

DVD

• Arthur's First Crush (re-dub)
• The Good Sport (2011 DVD) (original dub)

Gallery

Screenshots