| "Mei Lin Takes a Stand" | |
| Season/Series: | 12 |
|---|---|
| Number in season: | 8b |
| Original Airdate: |  April 22, 2009[1] February 23, 2010[3] April 29, 2009[2] |
| Credits | |
| Written by: | Peter K. Hirsch |
| Storyboard by: | Nick Vallinakis |
| Episodes | |
| Previous "The Blackout" |
Next "Home Sweet Home" |
| Read transcript |
"Mei Lin Takes a Stand" is the second half of the eighth episode in the twelfth season of Arthur.
Summary[]
Binky's baby sister Mei-Lin is not keen on learning to walk and would rather stick to crawling instead.
Plot[]
At the beginning of the episode, Pal and Kate announce to the viewers that this is Mei Lin's first time to announce the show. Mei Lin says she likes the show, but according to her pie graph, only sixteen percent of the characters are babies. Pal is offended by her saying that "even" pets get more screen time. Kate notes that Mei Lin is cranky, and suggests that maybe they woke her up from a nap. Mei Lin is offended that Kate implied that babies only get grumpy when they are tired and says that Kate is acting like an adult and even walked one time. The babies object to this, and then Pal starts the show.
At the Read house, Binky and Mei Lin are visiting. Mei Lin almost stands to reach a pair of glasses but falls down. Binky is sad that Mei Lin has almost stood up five times in a row, but has never done so, and he wonders how she will ever be able to walk at this rate. Arthur suggests maybe she is not ready, as Kate has only learned to walk a month ago and is still an awkward walker, crawling most of the time. Mei Lin is looking through the glasses. Kate wants her to walk, but Mei Lin thinks crawling is safer. Pal says you also find more leftovers while crawling and eats a dirty biscuit. He then gets an itch, and while inspecting him, Kate finds the fleas Pepe and Sale. Mei Lin wants the fleas to be squashed, but Kate says no; they are their friends. Pal says Pepe tells amazing stories, and asks for one. Pepe starts to tell the story about his long-lost brother, but Kate and Pal have already heard that one, he then suggest another story but Mei Lin recognizes it as The Three Little Pigs but with fleas, so instead he tells another story.
In the story, there was an ancient kingdom where no one walked; everyone crawled. In this kingdom was a rich, lazy princess named Lemini, who was about the same age as Kate and Mei Lin. Princess Lemini asked her servant, who was a cat named Meno, for a grape. Meno grumbled to himself about having to peel Princess Lemini's grapes. After eating the grape, she called for her best friend, a dog in a jester's outfit named Lap, who entertained her by walking on his hind legs. This was entertaining as everyone crawled in this kingdom, so walking was a novelty. But Meno was jealous of Lap, so he fed him a cursed doggie treat he got from a witch, which turned him into stone. This made Princess Lemini crestfallen. Seeing as no one in town could cure Lap, she went off into the desert. Just as she was running out of milk, Princess Lemini ran across a camel, who was surprised to find a baby in the desert. After Lemini explained about Lap, the camel gave her a ride to a beach, where a doctor named Baba Kety was treating a crab. Dr. Baba Kety listened to Princess Lemini's story and concluded that Lap was under an evil spell. She could not cure him, but there was a fruit that could undo any spell, and it was over the sea, so Princess Lemini set off in a boat. A sea monster came, so the princess had to row. She had never rowed before, but got good at it, and came to the fruit's island. It was on top of the mountain, but with all her determination and sympathy for Lap, Princess Lemini managed to climb all night and get the fruit at the top of the tree. Then the branch broke.
At that point, the story ends, but the babies and Pal do not like the ending, so Pepe adds more.
After the branch broke, a stork caught Lemini in its beak and flew her back to her palace. The trouble was, Lap was standing up, so Princess Lemini had to stand up too to cure him, but she did. And after standing up, Princess Lemini taught everyone to walk, except for Meno.
The story finishes and everyone liked it, but Mei Lin wants to know what the moral was. Pal says the moral was do not trust cats. He is about to ask what happened to Meno, but Pepe and Sale have left. Then Binky and Mei Len leave the Read House.
That night, Mei Lin finally stands up, exciting Binky, who calls for Mrs. Barnes to get the camera. Mei Lin notes that older people are impressed by the little things.
Characters[]
Major[]
Minor[]
- Arthur Read
- Binky Barnes
- Princess Lemini (Mei Lin; in story)
- Meno (Nemo; in story)
- Lap (Pal; in story)
- Camel (in story)
- Baba Kety (Kate; in story)
- Sea Giant (Arthur; in story)
Cameo[]
- Stork (in story)
- Jane Read
- Mrs. Barnes
Mentioned[]
- Uncle Slam (seen as action figure)
- Tiny Tornado
Trivia[]
Cultural references[]
- Sale communicates by blowing a horn while his brother speaks with an Italian accent. This could refer to Harpo and Chico Marx.
- The red crescent on Dr. Baba Kety's tent is a symbol of the Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement.
- The stork carrying Princess Lemini looks like a folkloristic depiction of a stork delivering a baby.
Episode connections[]
- This is Pepe and Sale's second appearance on Arthur, after their debut in "Flea to Be You and Me."
- This is also the first time they meet Sale in person.
- Uncle Slam appeared in a fantasy in “Thanks a Lot, Binky”. He is seen on TV in "The Good, the Bad, and the Binky" and appears in person in the remake of The Great MacGrady (replacing Lance Armstrong, who was written out of the original episode due to Armstrong's real life doping scandal.)
Errors[]
- When Mei Lin calls to Binky after Pepe finishes his story with an unhappy ending, the closed captioning displays "Stinky!" instead of "Binky!"
Gallery[]
Screenshots[]
References[]
- ↑ http://www.ket.org/episode/ARUR%20%20001208
- ↑ http://www.bbc.co.uk/bbcone/programmes/schedules/east/2009/04/29
- ↑ Arthur. TVO. Archived from the original on July 19, 2013.