Calvin and Hobbes: The Series/Recap/S1/E10 Calvin Gets Professional Help

"Calvin is signed up to the school psychologist's office."

After causing mischief at Susie's house and at school, Calvin is sent to the school psychiatrist. After a Flash Back reveals the last one, Dr. Dean, was driven insane by Calvin, he meets the new one, Dr. Sam.

He chats with Calvin for a while, and then proceeds to do a series of tests:


 * The Word Association Test goes awry thanks to Calvin being Literal Minded ("Tiger." "Tiger." "Imagination." "Imagination."). When he finally gets it, he ends up doing it anyway with "tomato" and "potato".
 * After being told to tell Dr. Sam what he sees when he closes his eyes, he goes into Spaceman Spiff mode, and slams a bicycle into his desk. ("Hey! Where'd you get that bicycle?")
 * After that, Dr. Sam gives Calvin an arrangement of words, letting him put them in any order he'd like. He puts them in the shape of a Velociraptor.
 * Next is the Inkblot Test, where all Calvin sees are TV's, Dracula, Rupert and Earl Chill, a Utahraptor, and himself.
 * The next thing Dr. Sam tries is reciting movie titles, asking Calvin to tell him to stop when he gets to one he likes. He receives blank stares when he lists Bratz: The Movie and Barbie of Swan Lake, only to receive an outburst at Jurassic Park. He falls asleep when Sam mentions The Lost World.
 * When told to choose which out of two objects he'd rather play with, Calvin chooses a screwdriver over a baseball, and a CD over a frisbee (because the CD could also function as a frisbee).
 * Next, he remarks in a predictable manner when hearing the words "cape and cowl", "detective", and "DC Comics".
 * Dr. Sam stages a discussion with Hobbes. Naturally, Calvin boasts about him while Sam merely sees a stuffed tiger.
 * Finally, Sam decides to try hypnosis. Not much of note comes from his subconscious, though.

Sam determines the cause of his overly-active imagination to be neglect, and thus Calvin is treated like a king for a while.

Tropes:

 * Call Back/Plagiarism: Several parts of the episode are ripped from the original strip.
 * Comically Missing the Point: When told to put some words in order, he puts them in the shape of a Velociraptor.
 * Critical Psychoanalysis Failure/Kids Are Cruel: Calvin drove his former school psychologist insane.
 * Everything's Better with Dinosaurs: Particularly notable in the episode.
 * Exactly What It Says on the Tin
 * Hammerspace: See Pint-Sized Powerhouse below.
 * Hypno Pendulum: Dr. Sam uses a watch to hypnotize Calvin.
 * Lemony Narrator: Upon describing Susie's extremely ordinary morning, the narrator remarks "Gad! This show would be BORING if it were about Susie!".
 * Mind Control Device: Downplayed with the pocket watch.
 * Person as Verb: Played With; Dr. Sam describes Calvin as "Calvinish" (an adjective).
 * Pint-Sized Powerhouse: Calvin grabs a bicycle out of nowhere at one point.
 * Rouge Angles of Satin: Particularly Egregious is the constant misspelling of "psychiatrist".
 * Spoiled Brat: Calvin at the end.
 * Take That: Towards Bratz, Barbie of Swan Lake, and The Lost World.
 * Word Association Test: Combined with Literal Minded and You Say Tomato.