Reference (No Total Mayhem title should copy that Doctor Who episode title! Also, this is the only Total Mayhem book cover with Dash himself and nothing else.)
International Face-Pulling Association judges (Don’t have a speaking role)
Mrs. Rosebank
Devil-Cat (exclusive at the end of the episode; doesn’t appear in the book)
Synopsis[]
The Face-Pulling Championships are about to begin, featuring students holding their faces in such positions as the Vibrating Jaw-Drop with Eye Roll and the Dripping Stare of Death. Until an unexpected outbreak of blue spots infected Dash and his fellow classmates on their faces except for Gronville, who remains spotless. Dash suspects it's related to the Face-Pulling Championships that are happening later in the day. He also notices a strange smell of sardines and a creepy figure near the pump-house due to contaminated water from the fountain.
Segments[]
The Giant Exploding Cheesecake (deleted scene)
Before Breakfast
Face Pulling
Art
First Aid
Plumbing
Dance
Bicycle Building
The Finals
Plot[]
Dash Candoo's Tuesday starts with a Total Mayhem Situation involving Mind-Reading-Scallywags and a Snarling Jetpack Hog, which he defeats before breakfast. At Swedhump Elementary, preparations are underway for the County Inter-School Face Pulling Championship against Stumpnose Elementary. During practice, a mysterious illness causing blue spots breaks out, infecting most of the students, including Dash. Gronville is the only one unaffected.
While the students are treated in First Aid, Gronville reveals his intention to use face pulling to win the championship. Dash, suspicious, investigates and discovers that Professor-Inspector Stumpnose of Stumpnose Elementary is behind the outbreak. Stumpnose has created the H8B5 flu virus and contaminated the school fountain. He also has Fishquil antidote, which he keeps for himself.
Dash is captured by Stumpnose but is freed by Rob. They both drink Fishquil, curing themselves. At the championship, Dash spikes Stumpnose's tea with the H8B5 virus. Dash and the other Swedhump students, now cured, perform flawlessly. Stumpnose, after drinking his tea, becomes infected with the H8B5 flu and is unable to compete. Dash uses a mirror to show Stumpnose his infected face, causing him to faint. Swedhump Elementary wins the championship.
Stumpnose is taken to the hospital, humiliated. The Stumpnose students were upset at Stumpnose taken to the hospital and followed another trio of Mind-Reading-Scallywags riding on Stumpnose's motorbike back to Stumpnose Elementary. Devil-Cat, who was infected earlier by the contaminated water, is seen at the school, hinting at a possible return to be cured as well. Dash and his friends celebrate their victory, believing their Tuesday wasn't so bad after all.
Mrs. Belch-Hick's episode quote in the credits: "Have you watched Episode 1 yet? It was AWFUL!"
Other inspirations:
The Itch (Tom and Jerry Tales)
Bird Flu (Angry Birds Toons)
The Cheese Experiment (Geronimo Stilton)
Kutukan Bintik Merah (Lupus; basically the book cover)
Fairy Tales (Barney & Friends, specifically the Pandora’s Box scene to the actual “curse of the blue spots”)
Ditto, but edited like the TM:DDS episode title. (Dash's arms are covered in a better sweatshirt.)
Translation example: A fan-made Filipino dub
Ditto, but blank.
Also ditto in TM:DDS.
Proposed title
The original title, The Curse of the Blue Spots, somewhat clashes with the Doctor Who episode title, The Curse of the Black Spot, just to be renamed as the said TM:DDS episode title. However, the original is translated in some other languages.
Another scrapped title of this episode was "The Endemic Blue Spot Outbreak."
This somewhat inspired the 2023-2025 mpox outbreak.
Dash's quote in the stinger, "And that’s how I ended thecurse…I mean, epidemic, I mean, outbreak of the H8B5 flu, a.k.a. the outbreak of the blue spots," mentions the original book's title.
"*coughs* I’ll be back… *coughs again*"
Devil-Cat doesn’t appear in the book, but appears at the end of the episode, being one of the remaining characters still infected by the blue spots, except he has blue spots all over his body, not just his face. That’s because he caught the disease by showering himself under the contaminated water from the Andri-Grimminik fountain when Dash and the other students were at First Aid class.
The secret was that Professor-Inspector Stumpnose accompanied with Devil-Cat when he's training with the Mind-Reading-Scallywags.
This is related to the real-world water pollution crisis because it can cause infectious diseases to people.
Delia Snainsbury is renamed as Delilah Snazzberry because her old name in the book clashes with the real-world British theater actress, Delia Sainsbury. Also, the substitute teacher from the previous episode, Ms. Tenerife, reveals to have a first name that is Delia.
Dash's face pull, The Mischievous Underbite with Cheeky Eye Raise, is a reference to the Trollface meme.
Dash did not dream of a giant exploding cheesecake. Instead, he was kidding.
Dash repeated the info of the KB-15, and just said "Danger was close!"
Dash tells the reader about the Mind-Reading-Scallywags and the Snarling Jetpack Hog.
Dash's calendar was unseen and Dash claimed that Tuesday is the worst day of the week, not unfairest.
Mrs. Billysnigg did not say "Those darn things ruin my roof every time!"
The students do not continuously cough nor wear masks through the book.
Gronville is not afraid of the blue spots disease.
Jonjon didn't have a blue spot appearing on his cheek before half an hour.
The mentioned trophy character's name was Delia Snainsbury.
The blue spot compound and antidote had no specific names, nor details in the front or back.
Dash doesn't pour the entire blue spot compound into Professor-Inspector Stumpnose's teacup, just a few drops.
Professor-Inspector Stumpnose's face turns greenish when surprised, not envious when the competition started. And he was seen developing blue spots on his face instead of continuously itching his nose.
Stumpnose and Mrs. Rosebank aren't announcing the welcoming speech, which Mrs. Rosebank was unseen in the book.
Dash doesn't giggle before the competition starts.
When Stumpnose's team had pulverized, the infected Stumpnose doesn't cough, gag, or faint, neither did Dash did his face pull and condensed expandable pocket mirror evidence to show Stumpnose's infected face. Instead, the itchiness on his face pulls made him huffing and snorting like an enraged hippopotamus.
The non-fainted Stumpnose stormed out of the hall in a very major (and spotty) huff instead of being lifted to the hospital humiliated, followed by his horrible Stumpnose Elementary team instead of three Mind-Reading-Scallywags controlling Stumpnose's motorbike. However, it's sort of awkward to leave the motorbike in the book.
The blue spot compound and antidote are not thrown away to the recycle bin, because they are not illustrated along with the bin in the final chapter of the book.
At the ending, Dash doesn't say "Welp, mission accomplished!" but says "What a day!" instead of Greta, Rob doesn't question about Gronville, the Johnson twins aren't seen, Gronville isn't dazed but on the fence of Swedhump Elementary along with Collum, Shereena doesn't show her Preposterous Resting Sour Face, Dash, Rob, and Greta didn't do a Ring-Around-the-Rosie, other students are seen exiting Swedhump Elementary, and Devil-Cat isn't even seen in this book.
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