T.D. and the Light Bulb of Doom

T.D. and the Light Bulb of Doom is the 33rd episode of Season 1. It preimered on April 8, 2009.

Summary
T.D. swears he'll start working on his report just as soon as he watches the "Harry Blotter, Boy Wizard" movie marathon, all nine parts! As Helen predicted, T.D. winds up in a panic until he has a moment of inspiration. Can he pull off his project in time?

Recap
It begins with Mrs Clusky defining "inventor" and T.D. imagining it as a scene in a movie. She asks if anyone has questions. T.D. raises his hand and she defines "assignment", announcing that this week's assignment is to do a project about the subject. T.D. raises his hand again and Mrs Clusky defines "subject", saying that this week's subject is inventors. T.D. asks to go to the bathroom and Mrs Clusky says yes.

Alice, Helen and T.D. are walking home from school and T.D. asks "We pretend to be the inventor? That's it? Dressing up?". Alice says that you also have to tell the class about what "you" invented, which T.D. thinks is bad. Helen asks why it's bad and T.D. says because he has to pretend to be the son of some guy named Eddie, he reckons Eddie was already taken so he had to do Eddie's son, which he doesn't think sounds like a famous inventor. The girls consider reasoning with him but they just sigh instead.

At the Lorraines' house, the girls show T.D. a book about Thomas Edison, who T.D. doesn't know about. T.D. asks if Edison invented more than Eddie's son to which Helen says there is no "Eddie's son". T.D. asks what happened to Eddie's son and Helen says he never existed and that T.D. is doing his project on Edison. T.D. says that all he has to do is ruffle up his clothes to get an A+. Alice, who looks very serious, reminds him that he has to tell the class about what Edison invented but T.D. thinks that's no problem and asks who wants to play catch. Helen is frustrated.

At the park, Helen plays fetch with Martha and Skits and Alice reads to T.D. from her book about Edison that Edison was known as the "wizard of mechanical parts" and noted that genius is "ten percent inspiration and ninety percent perspiration". T.D. asks if that meant "Thomas, Eddie's son" was really sweaty. Helen, still stern, says that Thomas Edison was not sweaty. Well, maybe sometimes but that's not the point. Alice says that the point is you have to work to get inspired. T.D., who throws the frisbee for the dogs, says that he doesn't know what the point of being inspired is if you have to work. He says that his project will be great as his initials stand for "Totally Done". Alice, rather rudely, says that it's more like "Total Disaster". However, T.D. is not offended and chases after the dogs. The girls shrug.

Alice and Helen are walking down the street and Helen says that she did research online on Samuel Morris and printed out some biographies. Helen shows a picture of Samuel Morris and she and Alice joke about his beard. They then find T.D. studying and are shocked because they didn't think T.D. would study.

T.D. is sitting on his front steps, looking serious and reading. Martha asks if he's all right and Helen shows him a biography she found about Edison. T.D. then drops his book noting "Uh-oh, it's already started" and dashes into the house. Helen is put out when she sees his books.

T.D. is on his couch, watching a show called "Hairy Potter". Helen comes in with Alice and Martha and asks why he was studying the T.V. schedule. T.D. says that nine "Hairy Potter" movies are shown and Alice asks about his project. T.D. says it is research because Alice says Edison is a wizard and his movies are all about wizards. Helen tells him not to come crying to her for help with his report.

The next day, he literally does that but Helen, despite being a bit annoyed, isn't that mad.

In the kitchen, T.D. is pacing and telling Alice, Helen and Martha he'll get a bad grade as he hoped someone could have reminded him. The girls are put out so he assures them that he's aware they did but that states it's Alice's fault. Alice asks why it's her fault and T.D. says it's because she's the one who called Edison a wizard. Alice points out that she did intend to remind him that calling him a wizard just meant he was a genius, to which T.D. says that people shouldn't communicate to him with idioms as he has a "young, impressionable mind". T.D. then gets an idea to make a movie about Thomas Edison and imagines Edison and a baddie as wizards in a movie. Alice asks what that has to do with inventing. T.D. doesn't know what Edison invented, which makes Alice mad and Martha says Edison invented the light bulb, which she and Helen think is strange that a dog would know more about Edison than a human. T.D. then asks the others to make a movie.

The next day at school, Alice does her project about something to do with cotton, invented by De Li Witney, dressed up in a suit of cotton balls. Then the fire department comes and takes down Celeste and another boy and their plane down from the roof. Helen does her promise, pretending to send Alice and S.O.S. due to being tangled in her beard. Then T.D. shows his movie "Thomas Edison and the Light Bulb of Doom". On the movie, T.D. as Edison in wizard's attire makes a potion that contains sweat and "inspiration" to invent the light bulb. Then, a villain known as the Dark Lord of Really Dark Darkness turns Edison into a talking dog (actually Martha). Then, the Dark Lord of Really Dark Darkness summons aliens from the dark side of Mars (played by Alice and Helen). Edison and the Dark Lord of Really Dark Darkness turn the lights on and off and have an argument on darkness vs light. Then, Edison wins and turns on a huge light bulb, then ties up the Dark Lord of Really Dark Darkness, who says "Curse you", to which Edison, still a dog, says "Don't curse me, curse the magic of electricity". Then, T.D. holds up a sign that says "THE END?". Everyone cheers. Mrs Clusky likes the report but doesn't grade him as she doesn't think he finished the assignment and gives him a few books to study.

Then, T.D. tells the girls and Martha about Edison on the way home, but they're not interested.

Characters

 * T.D.
 * Helen
 * Alice
 * Martha
 * Mrs. Clusky
 * Celeste (background)
 * Skits Lorraine

Vocabulary
assignment, inventor, discover, biography, subject, chapter, study, project, class, grade, perspiration