Arthur Wiki
Register
Advertisement
"Cents-less"
Season/Series: 15
Number in season: 4a
Original Airdate: United States October 13, 2011[1]
Canada February 16, 2012[3]
United Kingdom January 19, 2011[2]
Credits
Written by: Scott Gray
Storyboard by: Gerry Capelle
Episodes
Previous
"The Last King of Lambland"
Next
"Buster the Lounge Lizard"
Read transcript

"Cents-less" is the first half of the fourth episode in the fifteenth season of Arthur.

Summary[]

Mr. Ratburn thinks it is time for his class to learn a little about money...or, rather, the lack of it. For the entire weekend, no one in the class can spend a cent.[1]

Plot[]

Mr. Ratburn talks about money and its importance to the class. He then states that it would be difficult to imagine life without money and tells the class that it is exactly what he wants the students to do. Buster then starts to daydream of himself sitting on a stool at the Ice Cream Shop, while Brain gives him his order of a "frozen yogurt replica of the Montreal Stadium with extra snow." With food on his face, Buster asks if he can have the chair in the shop to which Brain allows, stating that everything is free. Giving the chair to his butler outside, Buster flies off in a helicopter heading to Paris. His daydream is finished and the class scene returns where Mr. Ratburn then explains the process of bartering (trading). This time, Arthur daydreams of a scene inside a village where Brain is sculpting a goat out of rock that catches Arthur's eye. He offers to trade it for D.W.'s singing cow that Brain rejects, ending the daydream. Mr. Ratburn concludes by giving everyone, including himself, an experiment for the weekend which is to not spend any money. Muffy laughs, thinking that he is joking, only realizing that he is not when everyone stares at her.

Cents-less

After school, as Muffy gets her backpack, Francine asks her how she is going to get through the weekend, pointing out that spending money for Muffy is like breathing. Muffy grabs out her credit card, convinced that using a credit card is not the same as spending money in bills. But Francine informs her that it is still spending money, but you are just paying for it later. The next morning, Francine is convinced that Muffy will not last even a couple of days when, suddenly, she is given a letter from Bubby, and sees it has fifty dollars included. Her dad jokes, stating he would spend the money for her since she can not do it herself, but Francine is too smart to fall for his trick.

At home, Mr. Ratburn is having trouble finding a decent breakfast. He manages to find pistachio nuts, along with very old condensed milk. He tries it, but quickly decides it is not a very healthy meal, so he looks into a suitcase with his many puppets.

Later at the toy store, Muffy is hiding while she spies on Bailey purchasing the doll she wanted. Francine catches her and claims it is still cheating when the cashier tells Muffy and Bailey someone else already ordered the "action figure." Muffy demands a barter and asks Binky, who made the order, what he wants for it. She tries to offer him scented skin lotion, but it is no use. Muffy begs him and finally, Binky tells her he wants a Buzz McBoomboom trading card and then he will give her the "action figure."

Francine tells Muffy it is very rare, but Brain may have an extra, as he collects many baseball cards. As the two girls leave, Francine suddenly sees some sports equipment she would love to buy and that there is a sale this weekend only. She imagines a baseball mitt behind the display window coming to life and singing to her about all the sports equipment she could buy before Muffy tells her to keep going.

At Brain's house, he informs the girls that he has three of the cards Muffy is after, but he will only part with one of the cards for a particle accelerator. Muffy promises to bring it as Brain mentions not having enough room to put his cards on display and the two girls leave. Muffy is a bit concerned, knowing she can not provide the item that Brain wants and hopes he would settle for her clothing instead when they suddenly she and Francine see a puppet show going on in the park. It is performed by Mr. Ratburn, and after he finishes, he reveals himself to the many people and thanks them, then mentions he is only working for food, not money.

As he eats, Mr. Ratburn mentions that he forgot to go grocery shopping before the project so he had to bring out his old act. He and Buster then give Muffy some advice when she mentions how badly she is doing so far and Muffy then tries to get Brain to give her the card by trading jokes for it. But it is no use; Brain has heard them all and does not find any of them funny. Muffy then tells him that she will not be able to get him what he wants until she is in college and then offers to help him with his display so that he does not have to keep switching things around.

In thanks of what she did for him, Brain barters the card Muffy needs and gives it to her. Muffy then goes to trade it so that she can get the doll she wanted.

In class, she is telling everybody her story and thanks Binky a final time for the "action figure" (even though it was a doll, and Binky said it was not) and then Francine mentions how Muffy managed to help her save her money and put it into the bank. The episode finishes as Mr. Ratburn confirms that this project was a "hit" by using his puppets, which makes Buster laugh. The episode then finishes.

Characters[]

Major[]

Minor[]

Cameo[]

Mentioned[]

Trivia[]

  • In Arthur's daydream, D.W. knows that when the cow is offered, it will sing. But she missed the first beat while playing her rocks along with the cow. It’s possible that D.W. expected a signal from her, but it wasn't given.
  • The $50 bill that Francine is given by Bubby is pink, while regular American dollar bills are green and Oliver Frensky asks Francine sarcastically if it is the wrong color. (Canadian $50 bills are a reddish-pink color).
  • This episode is set between January 20 and February 20 as it says in Bubby's card that Francine's birthday is a month away (Francine's birthday falls within the Pisces zodiac sign [February 19-March 20]).
  • Muffy still has interest in World Girl dolls, as can be seen when she tries to buy the Tammy the Tornado doll.

Cultural references[]

Episode connections[]

  • Buster's private helicopter in his daydream is an altered version of the Claapword Enterprises helicopter from Arthur's dream in "All Worked Up": the C is still present on the tail.

Errors[]

  • Right before Arthur imagines himself and Brain trying to barter, the cuff of his shirt is missing its line. Right after the imagination spot the lines are on the cuff.
  • When Francine and Muffy first visit Brain's room, the Grebes hat on his shelf is green and yellow, the usual Grebe colors. However, when Muffy returns, the hat is now red and a light tan color.

Gallery[]

Main article: Cents-less/Gallery

References[]


Advertisement