Episode 202: Raiders of the Lost Cheese

Template:Episodebear

## Story Detail

### Welcome and Bear's Microscope

Bear opens the door and greets the viewers, saying he was wondering when we were going to get here. He invites us to come in the Big Blue House. He starts to say that he was on the way to the kitchen, but then stops and sniffs, asking if we were just outside in the backyard, because we smell "all fresh and grassy." He suggests that maybe it's just that we smell this good all the time and then heads into the kitchen, where he has something he wants to show us. It turns out to be a microscope. "Microscopes are great," he explains, "because they make really, really small things look really, really big." He's looking at some dirt. He invites us to look and the view from inside the microscope is shown. "Neat, huh?" muses Bear and he goes back to looking at the microscope. Just then, Treelo pops up, startling him. He asks what Bear is doing and Bear explains about the microscope. "Let me see!" shouts Treelo and he takes a look. He seems startled and starts babbling rapidly about big rocks. Bear wonders about this for a second and then realizes that Treelo is confused because he doesn't understand that the microscope only makes things look big. He tries to explain this Treelo, but Treelo doesn't quite understand. "Big rocks inside Bear, but no big rocks outside, Bear." So Bear points to some more dirt that he has on the ground and explains how he took and put it underneath the microscope. Treelo finally seems to get it and asks for another look.

### Ojo and Tutter, Explorers

Just then, Ojo is heard shouting about there being a secret passage through a door. Tutter replies that there is no secret passage, it's just the doorway to the living room. Bear wonders what they're doing and decides to go take a look, suggesting that we come along. He asks Treelo if he wants to come too, but Treelo wants to keep looking into the microscope. He heads into the living room, where both Ojo and Tutter are wearing exploring caps and Ojo is holding a pair of binoculars. Ojo tells Tutter that "you never know what's lurking around the corner when you go exploring." Tutter doesn't seem very engaged in the game, noting that they've been in the living room lots of times. Bear says that he wonders what Tutter and Ojo are doing and Ojo starts shouting "Eureka!" saying that they've found the statue, indicating a figurine of Bear. Tutter pulls out his binoculars, looking wildly for what it is that Ojo has found. Bear asks Ojo what they're doing. She says that she's an explorer and Tutter is her exploring assistant. "That's me, Sir Tutter the Mouse Explorer," agrees Tutter. Bear asks what they've discovered and she indicates the figurine of Bear, saying that she's looking at it through her binoculars right now. Bear says that it is a good likeness of him, but Ojo says it's not him. "It looks just like me," argues Bear, but Ojo says that it's actually "Furrius Maximus, the last great ruler of the lost city of Living Roomania." Bear realizes that Ojo is pretending that the living room is an ancient city. "Oh!" exclaims Tutter, getting it to. Ojo states that the statue is a very rare find and Tutter comments that the statue really does look rather like Bear. "Maybe a little," concedes Ojo and says that you can tell that Furrius Maximus was a very great leader just by looking at him. Bear agrees that he looks distinguished. Bear goes over things again, but Ojo says that it's not the lost city of Living Roomania anymore. Now it's the found city of Living Roomania because they found it. "Yeah, Bear!" agrees Tutter. "We've discovered it!" Ojo says they've discovered pretty much everything they can there and now it's time for them to look for the city in the clouds, Atticania. "Ojo must mean the attic," realizes Bear. Ojo and Tutter leave. Bear bids them goodbye.

### Exploring

"Exploring is great," notes Bear. "And there's so many things to explore." He heads into the hallway and repeats the word "explore." It appears on the screen in bright orange letters. He explains that exploring means discovering new things. He says that some of his favorite people are explorers because they're so curious. "Like me and you." He says that the best way to explore is just to look-- far and wide. You could explore a jungle and find an ancient land, or even just explore your own backyard and find some cool bugs. "You could even explore outer space. Ooh." He suggests that we just keep exploring and sings a song "Let's Go Exploring." In the song, he sings about all sorts of places that one could explore and things one could do. "Let's go exploring wherever we go." He sings that everything he sees his something to explore. He finishes the song in the backyard and then asks what we think. "What places or things do you like to explore? Hmm? What do you think?" In the real kids segment, a girl says that she pretends she's in a jungle. A boy says that he explores a swamp in his backyard and a girl tells about how she found an apple with ants on it. Another boy says that he goes exploring when camping and a couple of other boys and girls mention camping as well. "Wow, you guys are real explorers," gushes Bear.

### Shadow's Story

Bear hears a laugh. "What was that?" he asks. He hears another laugh and states "I think there's a Shadow around here somewhere." Shadow appears on a rock that's right by Bear and sings "na na na na na." She disappears and Bear suggests that we sing her song. He sings her song, and then looks around. "Hmm." Shadow reappears on the rock and giggles. "Looking for me?" she asks. Bear greets her and asks what she's been up to. She says that she was exploring the nooks and the crannies in the rocks by the water. He asks her for a story and she says "Let me see what I can dig up." In her story, a bear goes up to a mountain "to see what he could see." What he saw was another mountain, so he decided to climb that mountain as well. The story ends and Bear says that the bear in the story was quite a curious one. "A lot like a certain Bear I know," agrees Shadow. "I wonder who she's talking about," says Bear. Shadow leaves and Bear starts to say that it was a great story, but is interrupted by shouts from Ojo and Tutter. They ask him to come up to the attic. He asks if everything's okay and Ojo reassures him that it is. It's just that they've found something really cool. Bear agrees to come right up and asks us to come too.

### Ojo and Tutters' Discovery

Up in the attic, Tutter opens a chest. "Look, look, look!" It turns out that there's a map inside the chest. "We found a map! We found a map!" sing Ojo and Tutter, then Tutter stops to ask something. "Um, Bear, what's a map?" Bear explains that a map shows you how to get somewhere and that explorers use them to find buried treasures. Bear suggests that they take a look at the map. He pulls it out of the chest and a mystical theme plays. Bear unfurls the map, which features a depiction of the Big Blue House in the center. Just above and to the left is the Otter Pond. Also seen there is an "X" on what appears to a tree stump. "X" marks the spot, explains Bear, which means buried treasure. He turns the map over and reveals that there's another drawing. It's a more detailed of picture of the trees at the Otter Pond, once again showing the "X" on the stump. In the bottom right hand corner are the initials "T.T.T." and the words "Who so ever finds this map is welcome to all my cheese." Tutter realizes that this isn't just any treasure map. He's heard of it before-- this map leads to the lost cheese of his great grandfather, Tutterly T. Tutter.

### Raiders of the Lost Cheese

Ojo asks Tutter just exactly what this lost cheese is. "I'll tell you what it is!" exclaims Tutter and a song begins, "When I Find the Great Lost Cheese." As the song begins, a spotlight appears on Tutter. He tells the story of his great-grandfather journeyed far and wide and discovered an enormous cheese pile. He wasn't able to eat it all, so he buried the remainder. Tutter feels that it's now his destiny to unearth his great-grandfather's cheese trove, promising to share it with everyone once he finds it. Pip and Pop join in the song as Tutter promises his great-grandfather that he'll be the one to find the cheese. "Oh, Brie! Oh, Camembert!" Everyone laughs happily as Tutter triumphantly finishes the song and they decide to all head out to find the cheese. "Let's find the treasure!" shouts Tutter.

### Finding the Treasure

Bear heads to the kitchen where the others are just finishing packing "provisions" for their great adventure. Treelo is there as well, having gotten himself an explorer's cap. He asks if he can come too. "Of course, Treelo," agrees Bear. He pulls out the map and suggests that they take another look at it. The scene changes to the Otter Pond where the tree stump indicated on the map can clearly be seen. Ojo and Tutter pop up, noting that they don't see any treasure. Bear pulls out the map again and they move in so that they could take a closer look. Everyone is looking around everywhere, but nobody can seem to find any "X." Tutter says that he can't remember ever seeing any "X" at the Otter Pond. Realizing their mistake, Bear says that the "X" is just a mark on the drawing to let them know where to look, not something that they actually have to find. "The X was on a hollow tree with a hole in it," recalls Tutter. "Do you know where the treasure is?" Bear asks of the viewer. The camera pans over to the hollow tree and everyone heads on over. Tutter is small enough to easily fit inside and he says he thinks there's something in there. He emerges with a treasure chest. "Open it!" urges the group. Tutter does and everyone is hit with an awful smell. "Ewwww!" They ask what it is and Tutter responds that he knows that smell. It's the smell of old, moldy cheese. It seems that Uncle Tutterly T. Tutter's great lost treasure has been lost for so long that it's spoiled and is no longer good for anyone to eat. "My grandpa's fortune, all lost," despairs Tutter. He lays his head down, quite upset, but then notices something. "There's something else in here, Bear!" Something shiny. He pulls it out and it turns out to be a compass. Bear explains that it shows what direction you're going in-- north, east, south or west. It's a very important tool for explorers. Everyone agrees that the treasure is "cool." Bear discovers that "T.T.T." is inscribed on the back of the compass, meaning that it once belonged to Tutter's great-grandfather. Everyone congratulates Tutter on finding his great-grandfather's treasure.

### Tutter's Good Night and Bear's Chat with the Moon

Back at that Big Blue House, Tutter says that he's off to bed because tomorrow's going to be another day of exploring. "Oh, and Bear? Thank you, Bear." Bear says he's welcome and bids him good night. He heads up to the attic to tell Luna about the day. She says that she was just arriving from the other side of the world. It's a long trip, but she gets to see many interesting things along the way. Bear tells her that he and the others saw many things too, first by looking in a microscope. She says that she always wanted to look in one, "but when you're the moon, you have to be satisfied with the big picture." She asks what everyone was doing at the Otter Pond and Bear tells her about the treasure map and the lost cheese. She tells Bear that she was once visited by some explorers herself, called astronauts. She says that she has to get back into the sky in case a night traveler needs her light. Before she leaves, though, she and Bear sing "The Goodbye Song" together. The song finishes and Bear heads inside, thanking us for exploring the Big Blue House. He bids us goodbye and turns off the light, but then turns it back on, saying that he almost forgot: "Remember, you don't have to go too far to explore. You never know what you might discover in your own backyard. See you soon!"

## Notes

* This episode was adapted in storybook form as a book by the same name.
* The title references *Raiders of the Lost Ark* from the Indiana Jones movie series.
* During the song, "Let's Go Exploring", puppets from *The Animal Show* (including Randall the Zebra and Julie the Flamingo) appear.
* This was the first episode that Shadow was in a new place, from being inside upstairs or downstairs.
	+ This is the first episode that Shadow is seen in the Otter Pond.
* When Bear pulls the map out in the kitchen, it is missing the note and signature from Tutterly T. Tutter, but when he pulls it out again at the Otter Pond, the note and signature are back.
* The dog in the Shadow Projects logo squalls like a pelican.