Bring the Thunder

**Bring the Thunder** is the first episode of ***Dot.*** It premiered September 6, 2016 in Canada, and later in the U.S. on November 12 of the same year.

## Short Summary

*Dot tries to help her dog, Scratch, get over his fear of thunder.*

## Plot

The episode starts with Dot watching the rainstorm from inside the house. She tries to watch for the thunder, but to no avail. After she decided to cut the "now!" part out, a crash of thunder is heard. She wonders if Scratch heard it, but he doesn't answer. Dot then decides to go find him, which she does - Scratch is hiding in a hamper. Dot picks up Scratch, and wonders if he likes the sound of thunder. She then goes on the tablet, and touches a cow button, which makes the cow moo. She then does the same thing with a balloon that pops, as well as a troll that is sneezing. Dot excuses the troll, and then hears another boom of thunder. Dot wants Scratch to look, however, he hides under a pillow. Dot asks if Scratch is scared of the thunderstorms, of which she thinks are amazing. She then starts a video with clouds coming toward the two, and Dot imitates the lightning sound, and then a ka-boom sound. Unfortunately, Scratch runs away from the room, making Dot wonder what she had done. She then shoos the thunderclouds away, and finds Scratch in the closet. She asks if the clouds scared Scratch, and he responds with a whimper. Dot decides to try to cure his thunder-phobia. Dot calls Hal, telling him about the emergency with Scratch and asking to meet him at her house; Hal responds.

Mrs. Comet is humming when Hal comes to the house. She jokes around that sharks are able to ring doorbells, except it was just Hal with a shark hat on. She asks if she can take his raincoat, but Hal declines, citing that the raincoat doubles as a doctor's cloak. The same thing is said about the umbrella, saying it is an important doctor's tool, as well as the hat. She then tells Hal is in the living room. Mrs. C. notices the water at the door, and goes to get a mop.

Meanwhile, with Dot, she gets Scratch to his bed to start the therapy session. She hands over to Hal, who wants Scratch to take a deep breath, while he hypnotizes Scratch to not be afraid of thunder. Hal starts the hypnotization, however, it doesn't seem to work. Dot suggests using an aquarium screen-saver. Dot and Hal then try again with the fish, though due to a fish being scared of Hal's hat, the mission fails, though it does work on Mr. C. He then asks if he was scared of thunder. Dot decides that they are on the right track, as another boom of thunder comes, which briefly makes the power go out, and makes Scratch go back to the hamper.

 With the thunderstorm getting closer and louder, Dot wants to cure Scratch's fear. Hal thinks it's a good plan. Dot laughs about it because she didn't give out the plan yet. She says that the thunder is a cool sound that Scratch is scared of. She decides to mix the thunder sounds with other sounds Scratch isn't afraid of, which Hal agrees on. He then asks where do they get the sounds, which would be from the sound library on the tablet. Dot starts a music band with the sounds with the rubber duck and the can opener, and then the troll. Scratch then starts to come out of the hamper, and barks when the bacon sound is heard. Dot asks for more bacon sounds, and then a toilet sound. She wants more feeling for the sounds, and Scratch seems to be happy about it. Hal then starts to copy the sound being made, which makes Dot laugh. She then wants the thunder sound, but Scratch whimpers again and goes back slightly in the hamper. With the idea not working, she then quits the sound making. She questions if Scratch will live outside the laundry hamper again. Hal thinks the clothes in the hamper are cozy. She still wants to fix the issue, as a another boom of thunder starts. Noggin noticed that the thunder was really loud that time. Dot then realizes that the loudness of the thunder is the reason Scratch is scared of it. She decides to do the thunder sound, but gradually get it louder, so he can get used to it. Dot and Hal then lift Scratch (hiding in the basket) to the kitchen. Hal wonder if Scratch is getting snacks.

When the kids arrive at the kitchen, Mr. C. is making his famous "Maple Bacon Tourtiere", but Dot says there isn't time for snacks, which makes Hal unhappy. Dot wants to make a video to cure scratch of his thunder-phobia. Dot asks if she can use an item, which Ms. C agrees on, after seeing Scratch in the laundry hamper. Dot and Hal then go on the computer, and Dot goes on her account, and goes to the video editing program, for a "Thunder-jam Spectacular". After telling Hal about the plan, she hopes Scratch will be barking and not be scared, which he agrees on. Suddenly, another loud boom of the thunder starts, which again briefly turns the power off. The two kids then start working on the video.

Dot and Hal, with their finished work, then go to the living room, to present the work of "Crazy Amazing Thunder-Jam Spectacular". Dot and Hal go to the couch then start the video, which contains Scratch barking and Dot and Hal saying "into the storm", which makes Scratch not scared. Hal suggests turning it up since Scratch likes the video, with the best part coming soon. Dot, Hal, Tweedle and Noggin get off the couch, and dance. Mr. and Mrs. C like it, and Mrs. C they did a good job at it. At that time, more thunder comes. Dot thinks she fixed him so he won't be scared anymore of it.

Sadly, this didn't work, as Scratch goes into Dot's hands. Hal thought that the video would have worked, but Dot disagrees. However, Mrs. C noticed that Scratch didn't run for the laundry hamper, while Mr. C thinks Scratch is happy in Dot's arms. With Scratch not shaking or whimpering, Mrs. C tells the kids that not everything can be fixed, but thought the hug helped, with Fwog saying that a little TLC goes a long way. Dot decides to hold Scratch safely until the thunder goes away, even he did smell like dirty socks. Scratch barks at that, and everyone laughs.

At the end Dot mentions that Scratch is still scared of thunder, but she knows how to make him feel better. Dot also mentions they got a clean hamper for cases like these. Then Scratch gets into Dot's arms, with Mr. C saying that Hal is teaching Mr. C some moves, and mentions that Mrs. C needs help, and Mrs. C heard about it. Dot then unplugs, ending the episode, with Scratch sleeping in her arms.

## Trivia

* First episode of the series in Canada.
* First episode where Mr. C calls Dot "Dot-Bot".

## Allusions

* When Ms. C asks about the shark opening doorbells, a music theme similar to the *Jaws* theme plays.

## Characters

* Dot Comet
* Hal
* Mr. Comet
* Mrs. Comet
* Scratch
* Tweedle
* Noggin
* Cybop
* Fwog

## Voices

* Lilly Bartlam as Dot Comet
* Isaiah Slater as Hal
* Denise Oliver as Mom
* Terry McGurrin as Dad/Scratch