The DVD

The DVD is the first episode of The Amazing World of Gumball.

Synopsis
Gumball and Darwin go to extreme lengths to avoid paying a DVD fine.

Plot
Nicole asks Gumball to return the DVD of Alligators on a Train back to Laser Video. However Gumball doesnt want to, and talks back to his mother. He changes his mind when she punches a hole in the door in anger. He goes to the kitchen to ask Darwin if he has seen the DVD, and is shocked to see him using the DVD as a pizza cutter. Gumball grabs it from him and starts cleaning it with the rough side of the scouring pad. Darwin points this out, and Gumball realizes that the DVD is horribly scratched. Gumball screams and the DVD is flung into the air, and it lands in the garbage disposal, destroying the DVD. They flip out for a moment, but then Gumball decides they need to find a way to replace the DVD without their mom finding out, ignoring Darwin's suggestions to "tell the truth and face the consequences of their actions" throughout the episode.

Gumball replaces the DVD with a cardboard cutout and returns it, but Darwin thinks the Video Store Manager will not be fooled. Later, Gumball and Darwin receive a red envelope with red writing on it. It turns out that they knew the DVD was fake, and want the real one. So now they must pay the DVD fee of $25, and Gumball tries again to make a new plan. Two days later, Gumball and Darwin decide to get money by pretending to be beggars on the streets, which gets them $3. A real hobo asks them whether they're begging just to pay off a DVD replacement fee. Gumball admits they are, so the hobo switches the hat containing Gumball's money with his empty one. Every time Gumball reaches his hand out for his hat, the hobo growls at him, so Darwin starts beat-boxing and Gumball reaches for his hat rhythmically. A man walks down the street and pays Gumball and Darwin a dollar, but the hobo steals it and heads inside the store. Gumball tells Darwin that their begging plan was wrong, since the hobo clearly needs the money more than they do. They feel sorry for him until he buys a winning scratch ticket and gets a million dollars. Gumball asks for his $4 back, but the hobo says he does not have any money, although his pockets are full of it.

Later, Gumball and Darwin try to find jobs in the newspaper. They reject many jobs, as they aren't skilled enough. (Ironically, Darwin turns down a job which he is suited for when Gumball asks him if he can speak Chinese, explaining (in fluent Chinese) that it is a difficult language.) They finally find a job in cosmetics for make-up testing. As they test inside a customized photo booth, the boys have to look at a red dot and make a face, and then makeup is splatted at them. Darwin focuses the dot all the way through, giving him perfect results. However, Gumball yelped and lost focus when the blush was splatted on, and he also gets an allergic reaction, deforming his face. When he wipes off the makeup, his eye stretches, making him look at the floor. They only make $5, which isn't even enough for the bus ride home.

Gumball and Darwin find many more letters from Laser Video in their home, before hearing the telephone ring. Answering, he discovers his mom is on the other line and is suspicious, claiming she can "smell trouble" with her mother senses. He states that everything is fine, but she is unconvinced. Believing that Gumball is lying, she tells him that she is coming home. When Darwin hears this, he once more suggests they face the consequences, but Gumball instead thinks that they should download a copy the film. Darwin points out that it is illegal to do so, quoting an anti-piracy commercial, and comes up with a better plan (one that Gumball already assumes is stupid, desperate, very unlikely to save them, and above all humiliating (if they get it wrong), but decides to go along with it).

Nicole discovers one of the letters as she arrives home. Gumball and Darwin take out a replacement DVD and start running away, and Nicole chases them to find out what they did. They jump many fences until Nicole face-plants on the ground, and is even more furious. The boys escape a ferocious pet dog, leaving Nicole to fight the dog while Darwin worries that Nicole is getting hurt. The fighting stops, and they fear for Nicole's life until she smashes through the fence, riding the dog after them. She chases them until she hits a brick wall, knocking her out, giving Gumball and Darwin the advantage.

Gumball and Darwin arrive at the DVD store and hand over the disc, which turns out to be a homemade version of Alligators on a Train. Unfortunately, the manager is unconvinced. The movie is poor quality, five minutes long, and has only Darwin and Gumball's names were on all the credits. They break down and tell him what happened and beg him not to tell their mom, who turns out to be right behind them. So she pays the $25 for the lost DVD (shocked that she went through all that trouble for this) and tells Gumball and Darwin about how she's not mad, but she still loves them no matter what happens. After the speech, Larry tells her that she must pay the late fee. It totals $700. She calmly tells the boys that "sometimes in life, you have to face the consequences of your actions, and sometimes you just... RUN!" and they run away.

Characters

 * Gumball
 * Darwin
 * Nicole
 * Laurence Needlemeyer

Minor Characters

 * Hobo Otter
 * Cupcake Woman
 * Penny's Sister
 * Penny's Father
 * Tobias' Mom
 * The Robber (photo cameo)

Transcript
The transcript for this episode can be found here.

Memorable Quotes
Gumball: Ah, so what? Put it with the others. [A pile of envelopes are shown including one stamped "Final Notice", one stamped "Urgent", one stamped "Final Demand", and one stamped "Past Due" next to the couch] Darwin: No, this one's red! It means urgent! Gumball: Red envelope or red writing? Darwin: Red writing on red envelope. It's kind of hard to read actually.
 * Darwin: Dude, it's a letter from Laser Video!

Darwin: [gasps] Gumball! You wouldn't steal a car! You wouldn't steal a woman's purse! You wouldn't steal a cell phone! Piracy is stealing! Gumball: I know, I'm- I'm so sorry. Darwin: Anyway, I have a better idea.
 * Gumball: And we are going to return a copy of Alligators on a Train. I know. I'm gonna download it.


 * Darwin: I'm using the pizza cutter!

Gumball: We need to get to Laser Video before mom kicks our butt! [Gumball and Darwin attempts to run, but gets caught by their mom] Nicole: What did you do this time?! [seeing both of them escaping] Gumball: Aah! Nicole: Stop! Right! There! Gumball: [while pulling Darwin over the fence] Quick! Nicole: [while chasing the two down] Where do you think you're going?! Don't you dare run away from your mother!
 * Nicole: I knew it. You are in so much trouble!

Trivia

 * Nicole is the first character to speak in this episode and in the series as well.
 * Nicole and Gumball are the first characters to appear in this episode as well as the series.
 * "Alligators on a Train" seems to be an HD DVD, a short-lived DVD format which has been criticized for it's not-so-awesome HD quality.
 * Darwin quotes an infamous anti-piracy video when Gumball suggests burning a DVD.
 * Gumball is allergic to make-up as shown when his face was severely swollen during the scene where they try to get money from doing a make-up test.
 * It is revealed that Gumball has watched "Alligators On a Train" 72 times.
 * Many characters (notably Richard and Anais) were absent in this episode.
 * Laser Video is the first store Larry is seen working in, though he works in many other stores in Elmore.
 * This pilot features Gumball, Darwin, Nicole, Larry, Penny's Dad, Penny's Sister, and Tobias' Mom.
 * Alligators on a Train is a spoof of Snakes on a Plane.
 * The Cupcake Woman possibly gave them 5 dollars because Darwin looked good.
 * Alligators on a Train is only actually seen once when the Laser Video owner plays it to make sure it is not a fake.

Gallery
The gallery for The DVD can be found here.