| This article is about the episode. You may be looking for the DVD. |
| "Arthur Goes Crosswire" | |
| Season/Series: | 3 |
|---|---|
| Number in season: | 3a |
| Original Airdate: |  November 18, 1998[1] September 8, 1999[2] February 25, 2002[3] |
| Credits | |
| Written by: | Chris Moore |
| Storyboard by: | Nick Rijgersberg Jeremy O'Neill |
| Episodes | |
| Previous "I'd Rather Read It Myself" |
Next "Sue Ellen and the Brainasaurous" |
| Read transcript |
"Arthur Goes Crosswire" is the first half of the third episode in the third season of Arthur.
Summary[]
Arthur and Muffy rescue Wilbur Rabbit and become fast friends. But Arthur's other friends quickly grow tired of the new relationship.[4]
Plot[]
Arthur talks about how change works to the viewers, and how it can be a good or bad thing. He mentions how change was bad when Mrs. MacGrady tried a new dessert recipe known as Eggplant Gelatin in the cafeteria (which only Buster liked, of course).
He then mentions how he liked it when, for one week, D.W. thought she was a cat after watching too many Kitty Corner videos, and he got to treat her as his pet. He finishes by stating that if one changes too much, something must be done.
Arthur Goes Crosswire
At school, the kids are dreading Mr. Ratburn's next project, as he apparently had been assigning a lot of them lately. He has them research any animal of their choosing and wants to know "where they live, what they eat, and anything that's unusual".
He assigns them in pairs and has Arthur pair up with Muffy, much to his and Buster's disappointment. Muffy takes Arthur on her family's sailboat to go whale watching, but they only see water, lots of water.
Arthur isn't very crazy about the trip afterwards, but while he and Buster are at The Sugar Bowl, Jenna and Prunella are ecstatic, and want to know how it was on the yacht. Jenna thinks it must have been really fancy, but Prunella thinks the yacht probably "doesn't even have a swimming pool." Arthur says it actually does, and Jenna says Arthur is so lucky to have been on the yacht, and that she herself would give anything to be able to do so.
Arthur is due to take another trip on the yacht that day, but when Buster lies to Muffy that Arthur is sick, he suddenly gets up and goes with her, saying "some people would give anything to go on Muffy's yacht", apparently taking what Prunella and Jenna said very seriously.
On the yacht, the two friends find nothing, but suddenly they run into a stranded boat carrying Wilbur Rabbit, who plays Bionic Bunny! Wilbur asks for them to help him to shore, and they eagerly do so. Arthur tells all of his friends the story, and they are all greatly impressed, especially when he mentions he and Muffy will appear later on T.V. with Wilbur.
The next day, Arthur tells his friends about his appearance, but Brain does not recall seeing it on the news. Arthur corrects him, saying it was on satellite T.V., not the news. He then obnoxiously points out that Brain does not have satellite T.V., and leaves with Muffy, leaving his friends Brain and Buster somewhat dumbstruck at his attitude.
Later, Muffy and Arthur set up a Wilbur Rabbit fan club, and Prunella and Jenna want to join. However, the two friends rudely turn them down, saying it's not for Bionic Bunny fans, but rather only people who know Wilbur personally can join, and that it is "friends only".
At a soccer match, Francine runs into her friends and asks them to play. Muffy does not want to get her dress dirty though, so Arthur rudely states that they will play something where they do not get dirty.
At school, Arthur drops his lunch bag and Muffy criticizes him for eating something that has "been on the ground" (even though the food is safe inside the bag), so he gives it to Buster, who is as hungry as usual.
When school ends, Arthur drops a book, but as he bends over pick it up, Muffy objects and Arthur refuses to pick up something that has been on the ground, saying it is "vomitrocious". Brain and Binky return the book to him at his house, but Arthur thinks they want his autograph and signs the book for them to keep. Brain and Binky realize Arthur's gone haywire, or more appropriately, "Crosswire"!
Later, Buster invites Arthur to the arcade to play "Planet Smasher", but he turns him down, saying he is going to a meeting for the Wilbur Rabbit Society, and refuses to let Buster come because he doesn't know Wilbur personally.
Everybody is worried about Arthur as he is taking on all of Muffy's traits, and come up with a plan to snap him out of it. At a baseball game, they wait for Arthur and Muffy to show up.
At that point, they all act like Muffy, refusing to run or touch anything dirty, complaining about their outfits, and refusing to let Arthur come to the Bionic Bunny fan club meeting, as it is not for Wilbur Rabbit's friends.
Arthur realizes they are all acting like Muffy, but she objects, saying they are acting like him. Arthur then remembers all of his recent behavior, and sees Muffy's face in the place of his! Muffy says she was amused that Arthur copied her for a while, but tells everyone that there is only one Muffy, and takes her leave.
Arthur sees his face in a puddle, and it becomes Muffy's. He almost says "vomitrocious". Fed up with acting like Muffy, he finally reverts to his old self, much to his friends' happiness. Everything is finally back to normal. But then, Binky picks up his glove, and remarks that it clashes with his outfit, and obliviously remarks "Vomitrocious"!
Characters[]
Major[]
- Arthur Read
- Muffy Crosswire
- Binky Barnes
- Brain
- Francine Frensky
- Prunella Deegan
- Jenna Morgan
- Buster Baxter
Minor[]
Cameo[]
- Alex Davidson
- George Lundgren
- Sue Ellen Armstrong
- Fern Walters
- Maria Pappas
- Bailey
- Patrick (4th grader)
Trivia[]
- At the end of the 2000 rerun intro on PBS Kids before this episode, Arthur’s crashing sound changes to pots and pans.
- Muffy says that her dress is new, but she wears the same thing every day.
- However, that could have been a newly bought version of that same dress.
Cultural References[]
- The Wilbur Rabbit Society's pledge borrows from both the Preamble to the United States Constitution and the Pledge of Allegiance.
Episode connections[]
- Like "Arthur's Baby"/"D.W.'s Baby", the events of this episode and its sister episode (Sue Ellen and the Brainasaurous) take place at the same time but from different points of view.
- Much like in "Locked in the Library!," Mr. Ratburn has the students do a report in pairs that he assigns.
Errors[]
- The day after Arthur's TV appearance, Brain reacts as if he did not know about it, but he was present in the treehouse the previous day when Arthur first mentioned it.
- Arthur is shown to have a "walk-in" closet at the start of the episode in his room, but in other episodes he does not have a walk-in closet anywhere in his room.
Home video[]
DVD:
Gallery[]
References[]
- ↑ https://web.archive.org/web/19991118015134/http://www.pbs.org/whatson/1998/11/N/19981118.html
- ↑ https://web.archive.org/web/20130719100407/http://ww3.tvo.org/program/157024/arthur/#1997
- ↑ https://www.fernsehserien.de/erdferkel-arthur-und-seine-freunde/episodenguide/staffel-3/3906
- ↑ http://www.ket.org/episode/ARUR%20%20000303