| The Berenstain Bears and the Homework Hassle | |
| Season 1, Episode 8b | |
| Series: The Berenstain Bears (2002) | |
 | |
| Air date | September 20, 2002 (Treehouse TV) October 6, 2003 (PBS) |
| Written by | Bob Ardiel |
| Directed by | Gary Hurst & Kervin Faria |
| Preceded by The Berenstain Bears and the Slumber Party |
Followed by The Berenstain Bears and the Talent Show |
“If you're a bear who loves TV, loud music, and fun, how are you going to get your homework done?”
—Mama Bear
The Berenstain Bears and the Homework Hassle is the second segment of the eighth episode in season one of The Berenstain Bears. It first aired on Treehouse TV on September 20, 2002, and later on PBS on October 6, 2003. It is based on the book of the same name.
Summary[]
Mama and Papa find out that Brother had been neglecting his studies by spending time watching TV, playing video games, listening to music, and talking on the phone. As a result, Brother is banned from doing his hobbies until he gets caught up on all of his missed assignments. Brother learns from his grandparents that they did the same thing to Papa when he was a cub.
Meanwhile, Papa gets in trouble with the Tax Department because he was behind on his payments.
Plot[]
Mama accidentally loses some thread which entangles Papa. While rewinding the thread, Mama notices that the room has a strange and bad smell in it. Papa also notices the smell as well. Mama soon realizes it’s coming from Brother’s backpack. After dumping out the inside on some newspaper, she discovers an apple core, a banana peel, and a moldy sandwich; Papa remarks, “Well, at least we know he’s not littering” before smiling proudly. Another item that falls out of the bag is a crumpled note from Teacher Bob. After reading the note, Mama and Papa go to talk to Brother.
He is out in the living room watching TV, listening to music, and talking to Cousin Fred on his phone at the same time with a stack of books on the table, not doing his homework at all. Papa tells Brother they need to talk, so Brother hangs up and Papa takes off his headphones so Brother can listen to Papa say "You're not reading much of everything, according to this letter from your teacher." He tells Brother they know he’s fallen behind in his homework. Sister comes in and teases Brother by saying he’s more interested in girls than homework. Before a feud begins, Mama stops it and says she wants to know what the problem is. Brother complains that he’s given too much homework and it's been driving him crazy and that’s why he has fallen so far behind at school, although he does confess he hasn’t been doing his homework every day. Papa blames it on his constant goofing off and not doing his assignments and until Brother gets caught up on his homework, there’ll be no television, video games, loud music, chatting on the phone or goofing off, despite his protests that he's too far behind to catch up now.
When Papa tells him to get started, he decides to go for a walk, or as he puts it, “see the sunshine and smell the fresh air one last time” before he begins on his homework. After Brother leaves, Papa gets a call from Mr. Debit from the Tax Department, saying that Papa didn't send in his tax forms; Papa explains to Sister about tax forms being sort of like homework for grownups.
Meanwhile, Brother is walking in the woods, angrily taking his rage out for not being allowed to do anything fun; then he rips a stick out of a log and throws it in a berry bush, not knowing that Gran and Gramps were picking berries in the bush. Luckily, they accept his apology and they invite him in for berries and cream.
After Brother tells his grandparents his situation, they surprisingly tell him that his Papa was like that at one point. Papa would listen to the radio while he did his homework. However, Papa was so intrigued by the programs that he ended up falling behind; after that, Gramps clamped down on Papa, saying he was no longer allowed to listen to radio while doing his homework. After hearing the story, Brother realizes Papa does understand. Now understanding doing homework is important but also you should not procrastinate on something vital, Brother decides to go home and get to work. When he gets back home, he discovers about Papa's situation with his tax forms, which is being explained by Mr. Debit.
So Brother and Papa set up a session in the living room to do their work; Brother helped Papa organize his forms by handing him paper clips. When the phone rang, it was for Brother instead of Papa, and it was Freddy calling about a video game; Freddy then says he wants him to come over until Brother explains he can't because of his homework situation. Then, Freddy revealed that he does his homework every night and never falls behind. Soon Brother and Papa were done with their work and found it much easier to stay on top of their workload instead of putting it off.
Difference from the Book[]
- Brother's backpack is red in the book, in this episode, his backpack is dull yellow and is a one shoulder bag.
- In the book, Brother fell behind in his homework because he wasn't turning it in; in the episode, he was behind on his homework because he wasn't doing it every night.
- In the book, Brother is doing his homework (or supposed to be) while watching TV, listening to music and talking to Freddy; in the show, he isn't doing his homework while watching TV or any of the other things.
- In the book, Brother is watching the Bear Stooges; in the episode, he is watching a space-themed show.
Goofs[]
- When Brother says he thought his backpack was private, it was only mentioned in the book, but not in the episode.
Quotes[]
Gramps: The worst thing you can do with homework is put it off until later.
Gran: That’s right. It’s called procrastination.
Brother: Procasti-what?
Gran: "Procrastination". Putting off a job ’till tomorrow, when you know it should be done today.