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"Backfire" | Premiere Order "Book 'Em" |
"Sister's Got a Brand New Bag" | 
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"Backfire" | Production Order "Book 'Em" |
"Hunger Strikes" |
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| Book 'Em | |
| Season 2, Episode 5c | |
| Episode name reference to/pun on: The police term "Book 'em". | |
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| Air date | August 13, 1997 |
| Production number | 204c |
| Storyboard by | Greg Miller Genndy Tartakovsky |
| Directed by | Robert Alvarez |
Book 'Em is the third segment of the fifth episode in season 2 of Dexter's Laboratory. It first aired on August 13, 1997.
In this episode, Dee Dee takes a book from the local library without checking it out, prompting Dexter and her to return the book. The task, however, proves to be difficult due to Dee Dee's incompetence.
Plot
Dexter is in the public library checking out books for his report. Dee Dee appears behind him talking loudly. At checkout, Dee Dee inadvertently takes a book that Dexter didn't check out, Dexter impatiently orders her to move. At the lab, Dexter sees that the book Dee Dee had was not checked out properly, and he organizes a plan to get the book back in its place.
That night, Dexter and Dee Dee head back to the public library to return the book. Dee Dee lowers Dexter into the library with a rope, but she gets distracted by a butterfly and lets the rope go, causing Dexter to slam into the floor. Meanwhile, Dexter heads toward the check-out counter to find that it's blocked by infrared lasers. Just as Dexter puts the book inside the slot, Dee Dee sticks her head out. Fed up with Dee Dee's antics, Dexter yells out in the library and causes the silent alarm to go off.
Ms. L, the librarian, busts into the library with two thugs behind her and orders them to go after Dexter and Dee Dee. The siblings send the thugs on a wild chase throughout the library. Later, Dee Dee gives up on running and tells Ms. L she quits. Ms. L congratulates Dee Dee for catching Dexter. As punishment, Dexter was ordered to read to several children and Dee Dee at story time.
Appearances
Characters
Main roles
Minor roles
- Dad (cameo)
- Ms. L
- Thug 1 & Thug 2
- Library Satan
- Numerous kids
Trivia
Errors
- While Thug 2 looks at Dexter and Dee Dee sneak by while disguised as books, Dee Dee is seen in her everyday clothing. However, in the next scene, she is back in her black bodysuit.
Episode Connections
- None known.
Cultural References
- Thug 1 & Thug 2 are a reference to the Dr. Seuss characters Thing 1 & Thing 2 from the popular children's story The Cat in the Hat.
- Dee Dee gliding along the library floor with accompanying music is a reference to Steven Spielberg's 1975 film Jaws.
- A soundalike of the theme music for Mission: Impossible is heard when Dexter grabs his agent gear.
- While Dexter falls through a nightmarish landscape, he falls into a book with a cover that reads Dante's Inferno, a poem by 14th-century poet Dante Alighieri.
- The scene where the two Thugs chase Dexter and Dee Dee through the library is a reference to the chase sequences from Scooby-Doo, Where Are You!, most notably with the upbeat rock music accompanying the scene, the way Dexter and Dee Dee run off, the card catalog drawer gag, and how Dexter and Dee Dee hide from the Thugs behind newspapers and disguise as books.
- While Thug 2 chases Dexter and Dee Dee through the library, the siblings are seen reading newspapers with "Post" and "Times" on the headers, referencing both The Washington Post and The New York Times.
Production Notes
- The cover art for the Book 'Em episode credits the series crews' last names on the books starting from left to right: Renzetti, Miller, McCracken, Rote, Tartakovsky, Rudish, Castricone, and Desrochers.