<tabber>Episode information= "Doug's Math Problem" is the first part of the first episode of the fourth season of Nickelodeon's Doug.
Synopsis[]
Doug gets a letter from his school and panics when he sees it's addressed to his parents. Since he's doing poorly in math, Doug immediately assumes that it's a failing notice. So he does everything to find out what the letter says and avoid his parents from seeing it. If that wasn't enough, Patti is trying to tell Doug something and gets her message to him.
Recap[]
Intro[]
Doug's Journal Entry: Dear Journal. I've taken a lot of tests in my life. But never anything like today's math test. It seemed like everybody understood the problems except me.
The students are taking a math class in Ms. Wingo's class, and Doug is having a hard time understanding the math problems.
Doug's imagination: While riding on top of a train, Doug reads his first math problem: a train leaves Bloatsberg traveling at 100 kilometers per hour. At the same time, a train leaves New Hampshire traveling at 200 kilometers per hour. If New Hampshire is 600 kilometers from Bloatsberg, how long before the two trains collide? At which point, Doug tries to calculate the math problem and ends up screaming in terror as he sees the other train that is about to collide to the one he is riding on.
Main Episode[]
At home, Doug is revealed to have failed the math test due to the math problem of the train velocity. As Skeeter explains the rate of the train's velocity, Doug becomes overwhelmed of the complexity of math. Mr. Willikers, the mailman, then comes around and gives Doug some bills and, of course, a school notice to Doug's parents. Doug soon begins to panic.
Doug's imagination: Phil and Theda have read the school notice and become disappointed that Doug is getting a number of punishments for flunking a math test. Six box screens appear, three for each parent, and soon, a rumbling precipitates, revealing the train from Doug's last imagination running through.
Doug lets out a scream and is desperate to know what the notice says before his parents could get a chance to find out for themselves. So Skeeter suggests that Doug gets Al and Moo to tap into the school computer to find out what is in the notice, something the Sleech twins says is legal. Unfortunately, they end up almost hacking the computer inadvertently instead.
With no other choice left, Doug goes to his house into his room and attempts to open the notice himself. But he ends up cutting the edge of the mail, which he fixes with tape. He tries to cut it with a pick, but ends up cutting his finger. When he accidentally stains the mail with his own blood, he gets the white-out, only to accidentally spill it on the floor, along with the ink.
He then tries to heat it over the kettle pot, and the envelope successfully opens. He reads, "Dear parents, we regret to inform you that your son has..." but then the writing ink of the notice begins to erode and Porkchop tries to heat it in the toaster. Later, Doug gets a call from Patti, but his phone call is interrupted when he hears his mother arriving the house. Doug does everything to keep Theda away from the kitchen. Patti calls back, but is interrupted again when Doug hangs up as he realizes that Theda has already entered the kitchen and find a cup of tea and her mail. She grabs them both and leaves the kitchen to lay down in her bedroom. Doug imagines what Smash Adams would do to grab the notice to keep Theda from seeing it.
Doug's imagination: Smash Adams is seen hopping out of an airplane riding a snowboard. He activates the parachute on his back and lands to the ground. He hops through the window and into Theda's bedroom while she is sleeping. He grabs the notice from the nightstand and hops out of his window, thanking Theda in the process as he gets away via rocket shoes.
Doug attempts to sneak into his mother's room, but soon starts to have qualms about doing so. Just then, Judy, dressed in a white robe, catches him and uses her martial arts moves on him, promptly waking up Theda. Doug hears the phone ring and Patti tries to talk to him about something, only for Judy to break the phone off the wall with her martial arts kick. Theda walks in and scolds the two for waking her up. Doug tells her that he would get her mug for her and walks into her room, where he grabs the notice. He is almost safe, until Phil arrives, squelching Doug's attempt to keep his parents from noticing the letter.
Doug's imagination: While on top of a moving train, three guys demand Smash Adams to hand over the letter in his hand. But Smash refuses. He crumples up the letter and promptly eats it.
Doug realizes that he has no choice but to just show his parents the notice with integrity. He also acknowledges the fact that he tried to read the notice himself without his parents noticing because they would've been mad at him. They tell him that he doesn't have to hide anything from them. Just then, the doorbell rings, and Doug opens it to find that it is Patti, who tells him that she should be Doug's math tutor. Later, Doug is at Patti's house, where the latter tutors him in math, and Doug begins to understand it more. Patti then notices a drawing and asks what it is. Doug claims that it's nothing and tosses the drawing back, revealing the train.
Doug's imagination: The 200 kilometer train is seen riding, and Doug is seen in the back window with Patti as the two wave.
Characters[]
- Doug Funnie/Smash Adams
- Porkchop
- Patti Mayonnaise
- Skeeter Valentine
- Judy Funnie
- Phil Funnie
- Theda Funnie
- Al & Moo Sleech
- Roger Klotz
- Mrs. Wingo
- Mr. Willikers
Trivia[]
- This is the only episode to explicitly show blood, and is the first instance of a Nicktoon showing a character bleeding on-screen.