Binky Barnes, Wingman

"Binky Barnes, Wingman"
Main image Title card
Season/Series:	4
Number in season:	7A
Original Airdate:	October 13, 1999 January 25, 2000
Credits
Written by:	Bruce Akiyama
Storyboard by:	Robert Yap
Episodes
Previous "Prunella Gets It Twice"	Next "To Beat or Not to Beat"

Read transcript

"Binky Barnes, Wingman" is the first half of the seventh episode in the fourth season of Arthur.

Summary

During Bug Week, Binky becomes obsessed with catching a particular big blue butterfly.

Plot

The show begins with Arthur playing football with Binky in front of his house. He says that everyone has a favorite pastime, and that reading is his. All of a sudden, Binky calls "Hey, Arthur, your delivery's here" and a truckload of books is dumped onto the lawn. Then Arthur remarks that sometimes, a person's favorite things can get out of hand; it shows how Buster is obsessed with eating so he eats the "ultimate chocolate sundae", but gets a big stomach-ache as a result. even Brain obsessed with Science when he told his parents to verge or discovering a new galaxy with his telescope at night and Arthur wonders what Binky's favorite pastime is and he doesn't know until he gets hit by the soccer ball on to his nose.

-Title Card-

after the title card, Francine rans and tells everyone that Bug Week is here until a Giant Ladybug on a truck passes by, then in while Buster is listening to music he then sees a picture of a bee right through the school window and Arthur was walking through the hall and sees a Dragonfly pulled by Mr. Ratburn which means Bug Week is here. in Class, Mr. Ratburn shows tell a slideshow all about the annual event and tells the class them a presentation on the bug or bug like creature of any choice and takes off the bug mask after turning on the light. Arthur's presentation on the bug was on spiders, Muffy was doing one on Honeybees, Buster was doing one on Termites and Brain's presentation on the bug happens to be a millipede in which Binky couldn't think of a good bug project to choose from. so in class, Muffy tells them on her Honeybee project and thinks what would royal jelly wouldn't be without peanut butter which makes the whole class sighed, then George present his bug report on the stinkbug which then made everyone disgust by the odor and Mr. Ratburn ask if he bring enough cloth pins for the entire class and didn't think so until everyone escape from the smell.

Sue Ellen was doing her report on the Praying Mantis and does her karate moves until Binky showed up. then she ask if he found a bug for his report; then she suggest Butterflies but Binky thinks there for girls and soon enough he seen one and went to the library to learn all about butterflies and somehow covers the book between a comic book. Binky begin to hunt for some butterflies for his project while using a net and starts to catch the first one from the bushes to the stream and finally caught one, then another one and another one until he sees a very rare blue one and then he tries to catch it, but then it got away. meanwhile Muffy and Francine are demonstrating on some ants while figuring out which food they like the most either it's watermelon or lunch meat sandwiches until Binky showed up chasing the blue butterfly and wonders which way did he go and points them that way. Sue Ellen went to the Treehouse that next day to see if Binky was there, and Arthur and Buster in there costumes tells her that he's out hunting butterflies and wants to collect everyone he sees, especially a big blue one since he's been catching for days.

during class, Binky sees that butterfly out of the window and then Buster demonstrates his bug report on Termites while using a log since it took a long time for them to come out and Mr. Ratburn tells him to wrap it up and then Francine gives out her report about Mosquitoes and everyone clap at it until the bell rang and Binky heard the word "Fun" and went back on his search for the big blue butterfly. Sue Ellen arrives at Binky's house and sees a tent in his backyard, then he tells her not to let them out and shows her his neat collection and realized how great it is to have a cool hobby before and owes all out to Sue Ellen and tells him they can't last in this tent for long and he knows it's all for one day, and she knows that he'll set them all free after he finishes his project and he is going to tell her he that there going to move in a bigger tent and went on to his hunt again since his collection is not without big blue and he was ready for this. after leaving the tent, Sue Ellen warns Binky that he is going to hurt that butterfly and hunt him down like Captain Ahab from "Moby Dick" while showing him an Illustration from the book she was carrying since he's not like him from the novel and notice what she has created.

at the Sugar Bowl, Brain was counting down how many legs on in a millipede when he was up to 556 and Sue Ellen interrupts him about Binky catching that blue butterfly and starts back all over again. then Arthur showed up in his spider costume and tells them that Buster got mad and quit playing as the fly and Sue Ellen tells him if he ever gotten a chance to talk to Binky, but he tells her he was too busy hunting down that butterfly and he was just like Captain Ahab hunting down Moby Dick as Sue Ellen she said as well. Binky still continues hunting down that Big Blue Butterfly while in a boat at the lake, then George set the stinkbugs free until Binky shows up and ask where he could find it and points out only a moth until it showed up. just then Sue Ellen was walking and Binky ran over and told her that he has finally catch "big blue" at last and he told her that they are going to the Elwood City Museum of Science and offer there collection to them and she came along with him.

at the Museum, Binky tells Sue Ellen he knows one place to put all his butterflies to live until he was shocked that some of them we're not moving and instead they we're all framed up and notice one titled 'Apatura Blue' and he then ran off from the museum in fear. back in his tent Binky would soon wonder if he lets go of Big Blue, he'll fail and work really hard on this and decides to put all of the butterflies to bring for school.

at Mr. Ratburn's Class, Arthur begins to tell his bug report about the spider eating the fly, in which Baby Kate is playing the part and everyone laughs at it and thinks how cute it is since Arthur's Mom was there. then Mr. Ratburn tells Binky that he's the last to do his report and wonders if they could go outside for it and he accept it. Outside of the Playground, everyone gather around when Binky tells them about his bug report about his butterfly collection and this was the best way to see it just as he opens out the lid and frees out all of the butterflies and everyone was amazed at it and he also let go big blue as well, Mr. Ratburn tells him that was very impressive and writes a A for his presentation, but Binky forgot something and look up on his ear and was Big Blue of course and smiled.

Characters

Major

• Binky Barnes
• Sue Ellen Armstrong
• Nigel Ratburn

Minor

• Arthur Read
• Buster Baxter
• Francine Frensky
• Muffy Crosswire
• Alan Powers
• George Lundgren
• Kate Read

Cameo

• Jane Read
• Francis Haney
• Ms. Tingley
• Mr. Marco
• Leah MacGrady
• Jenna Morgan
• Fern Walters

Trivia

• Binky releases his butterfly collection at the end of this episode, although he is shown to have an interest in butterflies again in later episodes.

Cultural references

• Arthur references Moby-Dick when he says that Binky and the butterfly are like Captain Ahab and Moby Dick.

Errors

• At the beginning of the episode, Buster sees a large poster of a bee being carried past the window of the room of the school he is in. Yet when he looks out the window, the poster appears to be going into the school in the opposite direction.
• Once the poster is carried through the main door, it appears as if Mr. Haney and Miss Tingley (the two carriers) actually come into the music room immediately after entering, when they actually should have ended up in the hallway.

Production notes

• The events of this story were retold in the song "Fly, Butterfly, Fly!," Track 7 of the album Arthur's Really Rockin' Music Mix.

Gallery

Screenshots

Buster sees the poster going past the window

When he looks out the window, the poster is being carried in the door from the road, meaning that it wouldn't have gone past the window

Mr. Haney and Miss Tingley appear as if they end up in the music room immediately after entering