Just an Old Fashioned Lab Song...
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| Just an Old Fashioned Lab Song... | |
| Season 2, Episode 32b | |
| Episode name reference to/pun on: Paul Williams's song An Old Fashioned Love Song | |
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| Air date | March 25, 1998 |
| Production number | 233b |
| Written by | Dave Smith Paul Williams |
| Storyboard by | Dave Smith |
| Directed by | John McIntyre |
Just an Old Fashioned Lab Song... is the second segment of the thirty-second episode in season 2 of Dexter's Laboratory. It first aired on March 25, 1998.
In this episode, Dexter reluctantly takes piano lessons from Professor Williams (voiced by singer-songwriter Paul Williams). When Professor Williams stumbles into Dexter's laboratory, he learns that Dexter is more musically talented.
Plot[]
Concerned about Dexter's tendency to remain inside all day, Mom and Dad force him to take piano lessons, much to Dexter's chagrin. Mom and Dad had previously provided piano lessons for Dee Dee, who is banging chaotically on the piano as they speak. As part of his first lesson, Professor Williams tries to teach Dexter the art of the arpeggio. Williams is unfazed by Dexter's reluctance to play, and tells Dexter to practice arpeggios until their next lesson. Seasons pass, and Dexter does not improve at all, nor does he make any attempt at doing so.
Come the time of their next lesson, Dexter is busy working in his laboratory. Professor Williams enters Dexter's room in search for him; he unwittingly comes across a scanning device that grants access to the laboratory. Due to his diminutive stature, identical to Dexter's height, he is mistaken for Dexter and granted entry into his lab. Once inside, Williams is amazed by Dexter's massive laboratory; though Dexter immediately tries to show him out, Williams points out to him that one of his machines is producing a sound similar to an arpeggio.
In a flash of inspiration, Williams performs a song about how well music goes together with science; though initially reluctant, Dexter joins in Williams' performance, using a piece of laboratory equipment to play a musical solo. Their session ends with the pair laughing, and Williams takes his leave. Dexter is immensely overjoyed to see him leave, and his old attitudes about music seem to resurface, if indeed they were ever gone at all. The episode ends with Dexter smashing the "arpeggio machine" with a wrench to make it stop making music.
Characters[]
Songs[]
Trivia[]
Notes[]
- The song, "Breathe in the Sunshine", is also a track in Dexter's Laboratory: The Musical Time Machine.
- Despite his reluctance to play the piano, Dexter has proven to be an expert in music, as shown in episodes such as "Dee Dee Be Deep".
Cultural References[]
- Professor Williams references the song "We've Only Just Begun", which he wrote for The Carpenters, following with him playing a snippet of the song on the piano.
- When Professor Williams learns about Dexter's true musical talent, he shouts "Here comes inspiration!", which is also the name of one of his studio albums.