This article is about the episode. You may be looking for the DVD. |
"The Boy with His Head in the Clouds" | |
Season/Series: | 6 |
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Number in season: | 7a |
Original Airdate: | November 5, 2001[1] January 11, 2002[2] |
Credits | |
Written by: | Peter K. Hirsch |
Storyboard by: | Robert Yap |
Episodes | |
Previous "D.W.'s Backpack Mishap" |
Next "More!" |
Read transcript |
"The Boy with His Head in the Clouds" is the first half of the seventh episode in the sixth season of Arthur.
Summary[]
George is smart, but he sometimes has trouble reading and writing. With the help of others with dyslexia, he discovers that there are many different ways to learn.
Plot[]
The episode starts with Arthur talking to the viewers about how it would be cool if they could go inside somebody's mind to see what they were thinking. First, he imagines that he goes into Mr. Ratburn's mind, where all fun things have to have the fun removed. He then imagines that he goes into George's mind, and his mind can't find the meaning of a simple word.
The Boy with His Head in the Clouds
Mr. Ratburn announces to the class that they will have a quiz. While Mr. Ratburn is reading the word problem, George dazes off and imagines that he is sitting on clouds with two crows. Mr. Ratburn interrupts his daydream by saying "Well, George, I'm still waiting for an answer." George answers "1", because that is the number on Binky's shirt. Mr. Ratburn says that is correct, and asks George to tell the class how he got that answer. He says he just guessed. Mr. Ratburn tells the class to read a history chapter.
George gets home and he is interested in the pictures of Leonardo da Vinci and his flying machine that are in the history book; however, he has trouble reading it. Almost all of the words come out as gibberish. He tries to get help from his father, who reads the assignment and then asks what George needs help with. George says he doesn't know what any of it's about.
George goes to the tree house, where his friends are playing a trivia game. When it comes to George's turn, everything he reads sounds like gibberish. He gets mad when Francine asks him "George, can you read?" He leaves, saying that the game is stupid, and no one needs to know any of the facts anyway. When Buster reads the question George had trouble with: "What is the capital of Norway?", George says the capital is "Oslo".
George goes back to his house and talks to his ventriloquist dummy, Wally. "Wally" suggests that George try to be like Binky. He goes to Binky and asks him how to become tough. Binky gives George a nickname, "Hammer", and attempts to teach him insults, pushing, and making rude noises. George fails at all of these things because he's "too nice."
The next day at school, Mr. Ratburn asks George if he has ever been tested for dyslexia, because George's paper was hard to read. George gets worried about this, but Mr. Ratburn tells him that it is not dangerous. Mr. Haney also has dyslexia (he has a poor sense of direction, a common sign of it.). Mr Ratburn assures George that many famous people have dyslexia but they made it through.
The next scene shows George's dyslexia timeline. He goes to a speech pathologist, Mr. Haney helps him read a book about Da Vinci and takes him to a flight museum, and George does woodworking with his father.
The gang is worried about George being sent to a special school. George does not make his report because of his dyslexia. Instead, he built a flying machine. It does not fly, but it flaps its wings. George has a daydream and imagines he flies the machine. He gets an A on the project.
Characters[]
Major[]
Minor[]
Cameo[]
- Sue Ellen Armstrong
- Muffy Crosswire
- Rattles
- Molly MacDonald
- Lucy (preschooler)
- Alex Davidson
- Jenna Morgan
- Ethel
- Maria Pappas
- Fern Walters
- Oliver Frensky
Mentioned[]
Trivia[]
- Dyslexia strictly makes reading more difficult, not writing. Since George struggles to write The Dummy in the Closet, he also has dysgraphia in addition to dyslexia.
Episode connections[]
- When Arthur wins at No Guessing!, Buster says, "We better check his sleeves just in case", referencing when Arthur cheated at that game in "Arthur the Loser".
- Wally mentions being given to D.W. Read at the end of the episode Arthur's Dummy Disaster and that she kissed him with lipstick, which disgusted him.
- In the episode, George reads a biography book on Leonardo da Vinci and does a report on him. Arthur owned a biography book on Leonardo da Vinci in "I'd Rather Read It Myself".
Cultural references[]
- Mr. Ratburn mentions Albert Einstein, Leonardo da Vinci, and Walt Disney when he's talking to George about famous people who had dyslexia.
- The song, "Hammer," is a parody of the theme from Shaft by Isaac Hayes.
Production notes[]
- This episode is the first to use the George variant of the Slot Machine title card.
- By this episode, Mitchell David Rothpan, the voice of George, was hitting puberty.
Home Video[]
DVD:
Gallery[]
Screenshots[]
References[]