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"Ocean Commotion" | Premiere Order "The Bus Boy" |
"Things That Go Bonk in the Night" |
"Germ Warfare" | Production Order "The Bus Boy" |
"Things That Go Bonk in the Night" |
The Bus Boy | |
Season 2, Episode 12a | |
Episode name reference to/pun on: The restaurant term "busboy". | |
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Air date | October 1, 1997 |
Production number | 209a |
Storyboard by | Don Shank |
The Bus Boy is the first segment of the twelfth episode in season 2 of Dexter's Laboratory. It first aired on October 1, 1997.
In this episode, Becky and Gwen take Dexter's pencil and throw it to the back of the bus where legend has it that a boy named Billy Bloomberg went there and never returned. Dexter is determined to go there despite others' concerns.
Plot[]
One morning, Dexter and Dee Dee are on the sidewalk waiting for the school bus. Dexter makes sure he's ready for a test he's taking by pulling out a number 2 pencil out of his shirt pocket. Just after showing Dee Dee, the bus arrives and they both get on it. As Dee Dee goes to sit with her friends, Dexter sits by his best friend Douglas E. Mordecai III, who then shows Dexter his number 2 pencil.
As the boys laugh, two girls, Becky and Gwen, pick on Dexter by throwing a paper airplane at him and firing spitballs at his glasses through a straw. As Dexter looks away, Becky takes Dexter's handbag full of textbooks and uses it as a purse. While discussing the test, Gwen takes Dexter's number 2 pencil out of his shirt pocket and plays "Keep Away" with Dexter as the students nearby watch. Suddenly, Gwen tosses the pencil over Dexter and Becky's heads, and it lands in the back of the bus.
Mordecai then suggests to Dexter that he should use a pen to take the test, but Dexter objects and goes to get his pencil. Dee Dee persuades Dexter to turn around and not go back there. However, despite the students' concerns, Dexter, with sheer determination, heads to the back of the bus. A boy named Otto starts to spin a yarn about Billy Bloomberg, the boy who went to the back of the bus and never returned.
In Otto's story, Billy liked to eat sweets. One day, as the bus driver drove down a road, she hits a bump in the road, and the bus's shaking causes Billy to pour hot chocolate all over the bus driver's lap, making her swerve in traffic and nearly miss an ice cream truck. Angered, the bus driver sends Billy to the back of the bus where he never returned.
In Vicky's story, Billy saw a spider crawling on the school bus window and squished it with his thumb. The little spider called for help, and a swarm of arachnids come to cover Billy in a sticky web and drag him to the rear of the bus where he was about to be devoured by the spider queen.
In Mordecai's story, Billy was in the back of the bus minding his own business until an interdimensional time-lord opened up a hole in the space-time continuum and tried to pull him in. He held on to his bus seat for his life, but was pulled into a time egg by a bipolar tachyon vortex.
Dexter does not believe any of the tales he heard. Suddenly, a shadowy hand reaches out from the back of the bus and pulls Dexter's pencil in. Despite Gwen's taunt, Dexter goes in as Becky and Gwen look at each other in surprise. In the rear, Dexter trudges through layers of gum and is scared as the gum monster roars at him, causing him to fall over and drop his flashlight.
The monster, who is revealed to be an overweight Billy "Bill" Bloomberg, hands Dexter his flashlight and explains to him what really happened. According to Bill, he fell asleep in the back of the bus with his mouth open and a wad of chewing gum fell out. He tried to get himself free, but the gum spread out the more he did so. His shoe flew off and broke one of the lights, resulting in him being stuck in the back of the bus for 30 years. However, he was able to pull in foods by using his long toenails as a rake.
After learning the real story, Dexter uses his laser pen to cut Bill free. He then returns to the front of the bus with Bill following him. After introducing Bill to the kids on the bus, Dexter tells him that Becky and Gwen were the ones who threw his pencil to the rear. In response, Bill chews and spits gum on the ceiling, then grabs both Becky and Gwen and sticks their hair to it.
When Dexter asked about his pencil, Bill realizes he ate it thinking it was a licorice stick. Just after the exchange, everyone on the bus laughs while Becky and Gwen struggle to get free from their situation.
Characters[]
- Dexter
- Dee Dee
- Douglas E. Mordecai III
- Becky & Gwen
- Billy Bloomberg/The Bus Monster
- Vicky
- Otto
Trivia[]
Episode Connections[]
- Becky would later reappear in the episode "G.I.R.L. Squad", although with different clothing and a hair color. She would be seen again with Gwen in the episode "Framed".
- Similarly, the bus driver would also reappear in "Framed". Unlike this episode, she has a minor speaking role.
- Douglas later reappears in the season 3 episode Would You Like That in the Can, albeit with a newer design.
Cultural References[]
- The shoes Douglas wore are a reference to the sports brand Adidas.
Goofs/Errors[]
- On some cable providers, the episode is erroneously called "Busted".
- When Becky takes Dexter's handbag, it disappears after a few frames.
- The girl sitting behind Dexter is wearing a pink outfit and has black eyes. In one frame, she is wearing a green outfit and has blue eyes.
Notes[]
- This is another episode where Dexter isn't in his lab.
Production Notes[]
- This episode along with "The Justice Friends: Things That Go Bonk in the Night" and "Ol' McDexter" were produced in the same year of 1997 according to the credits.