| "MacFrensky" | |
| Season/Series: | 13 |
|---|---|
| Number in season: | 4a |
| Original Airdate: |  October 15, 2009[1] March 6, 2009[3] April 27, 2009 [2] |
| Credits | |
| Written by: | Jonathan Greenberg |
| Storyboard by: | Michel Carbonneau Stéphanie Gignac |
| Episodes | |
| Previous "Brain Gets Hooked" |
Next "The Good, the Bad, and the Binky" |
| Read transcript |
"MacFrensky" is the first half of the fourth episode in the thirteenth season of Arthur.
Summary[]
When Francine and Brain are locked in a stiff competition to win student of the month, Muffy talks Francine into "borrowing" Buster's toy and letting Brain take the blame for it. As the lies grow and the prize gets closer, Francine's guilt increases.
Plot[]
At the start of the episode, we see Francine and Muffy at a fair. They walk into a fortune telling booth and get their fortunes told by Prunella. Prunella predicts that she will have "lunch with a stranger" and then Arthur and Buster ask if they can eat lunch with the pair.
It skips to the next day and Mr. Ratburn shows the class who is the point leader for the student of the month: Francine. Mr. Ratburn then reminds the students that whoever wins will get a special prize: lunch with local weatherman Thunder MacDuff.
Brain gets more points added on and is now in the lead. Francine and Muffy are furious. They walk into The Ice Cream Shop and they spot Buster showing Brain his new toy, a radio controlled robot. A crude idea for vengeance comes to Muffy: to steal the toy, put it in Brain's backpack, and frame him for it. This will cause him to lose points. Francine's conscience comes in to play, but Muffy persuades her to think evil.
Back at school, Buster is playing with his robot and showing it off to his classmates. Francine's conscience comes in again, but once again, she gets tricked out of it by Muffy. Muffy then reminds her classmates to get to class. Francine comes in to take the robot, which sprays liquid on her. Her shirt and hands get stained and she tries to hide this.
Class starts and Francine opens Brain's backpack and puts the robot inside. Muffy turns the toy on and Buster notices. Brain opens the backpack and he gets in trouble by Buster and Mr. Ratburn. Brain unfairly loses 10 points from the Student of the Month for disrupting the class and then loses 25 more points for taking another student's possession. Since it is the last day of the month, Francine wins and is not so proud of herself, but Muffy is.
They go to Francine's apartment, but Francine is still feeling bad, thinking she will get caught. They go to Prunella's house so she can predict the future. Prunella makes up a fake prediction and Francine then thinks everything is going to turn out good.
Arthur and Buster asks Francine to help them find out who put Buster's toy in Brain's backpack, then she sees the robot appearing behind them and telling her to tell the truth. The robot disappears, and Francine runs away from Arthur and Buster and starts to feel bad again. She thinks Arthur and Buster suspect her, and shares this with Muffy. Muffy has a plan to make Arthur and Buster seem untrustworthy, so the next day, they tape cheat sheets to their desks.
Arthur and Buster are still trying to figure out who did it.
Mr. Ratburn finds the cheat sheet by Buster and he gets in trouble. Francine cannot deal with the guilt and she and Muffy finally turn themselves in to the principal.
Brain is given the lunch with Thunder McDuff and Francine and Muffy are forced to do community service as a punishment. Brain invites Muffy to the lunch and offers to let Francine come along as well, but she decides to help the second graders with softball practice (not to earn any points for a contest, but because "it's fun").
Characters[]
Major[]
Minor[]
Cameo[]
- Binky Barnes
- Alex Davidson
- Sue Ellen Armstrong
- George Lundgren
- Fern Walters
- Mr. Morris
- Jenna Morgan
- Maria Pappas
- Mr. Haney
- Emily Leduc
- Mrs. Leduc
- Brian
- Marina Datillo
- 3rd Grade Male Rabbit
- Helen
- Luke
- Nancy
Mentioned[]
Trivia[]
- Alex and Maria's names were revealed to be the two unnamed rabbit characters that have been in Mr. Ratburn's class since the first episode of the show, Arthur's Eyes. This makes Mr. Ratburn's class the only class so far in the show with all the characters named. However, Alex's name was revealed much sooner than this episode. That took place during the episode, The Scare-Your-Pants-Off Club, where he signed a petition.
- This is the second episode in the series where the title is just "one" word and the episode centers around Francine. The first was the episode Vomitrocious.
Episode connections[]
- Mr. Morris is seen when Francine is putting the cheat sheets under Buster and Arthur's desk, meaning this episode took place before "April 9th."
- Francine puts a toy into Brain's backpack. Buster does the same thing to Arthur in "Nerves of Steal."
- "Never, Never, Never" is also based on a play by Shakespeare King Lear.
Cultural references[]
- The episode's title and the plot are based on William Shakespeare's play Macbeth.
- Macbeth is foretold that he will get another man's title. (I, 3)
- Macbeth is encouraged to commit a crime in order to get it. (I, 5+7)
- Macbeth sees an apparition that confronts him with his guilt. (III, 4)
- Macbeth receives a second prediction that he will only be defeated, if something seemingly impossible happens. (IV, 1)
- Macbeth has to commit further crimes, because people get wise to him. (IV, 2)
- Lady Macbeth sees stains on her hand that will not wash off. (V, 1)
- Two lines from the episode are based directly on lines from Macbeth.
- “Is that an alien I see before me, or are you just an invader of my mind?” Francine / “Is this a dagger which I see before me […] or art thou but a dagger of the mind?” Macbeth (II, 1)
- “Out, darn spot, I say!“ Francine / "Out, damned spot! Out, I say!” - Lady Macbeth (V, 1)
- “Truth will out” is a quote from The Merchant of Venice (II, 2). "As the bard says" refers to Shakespeare's nickname "the bard of Avon".
- Weatherman Thunder MacDuff's name is likely based on Macbeth's antagonist MacDuff.
- Moon Cakes are a parody of Moon Pies.
Errors[]
- Marina Datillo is briefly seen at one of the tables in the school eating area; however, in a later scene, Maria is seen sitting in the same place. It was very likely supposed to have been Maria all along, as Marina does not attend Lakewood Elementary and their names are easy to confuse.
Production notes[]
- Arthur's yell is different in the "Francine Hits the Gong" title card.
Gallery[]
References[]