Arthur's Faraway Friend

Summary
When Arthur hears that Buster will be away with his dad for a couple months or weeks, he fears it may be the end of their friendship.

Plot
The episode starts off with a fantasy sequence. Arthur as Robin Hood scales the wall of a castle in the middle of a forest. He climbs through a barred window into a jail cell. Pal's being held captive. Robin Hood Arthur scoops up his pal, Pal then makes his escape.

Not so fast—the guards rush in. All of them look like Binky, dressed like Norman soldiers. They try to trap Robin Hood Arthur lowering the portcullis, shaking fists, and chasing him. Arthur manages to escape from the castle, but the guards are hot on his heels... he needs a getaway vehicle.

Buster, as Friar Tuck, comes around the corner in a big 1930's convertible roadster. He wants Arthur to get in. Arthur still holding Pal says that there weren't convertibles in Robin Hood's time.

The scene repeats. This time Friar Buster comes around the corner in a wagon pulled by two horses. Robin Hood Arthur jumps on and the two ride off with Pal while the Binky guards shake their fists and shout at them. Robin Hood Arthur tells Friar Buster that they make a great team. Even Pal agrees, by barking.

Arthur and Buster are up in the treehouse, finishing up a book about Robin Hood. While they are satisfied with the ending, they also wish that there were more adventures for Robin Hood and Friar Tuck to go on.

The boys soon start to imagine themselves as Robin Hood and Friar Tuck, fighting off brigands from all over the place, including a few riding on hang-gliders and a few riding in on a dinosaur.

However, Arthur is soon snapped back to reality at school, when Buster reveals that he's going to be staying with his dad for a while. Arthur is shocked at first, but then comes up with an idea to keep Buster from leaving: Digging a pit underneath Arthur's house. Buster rejects, largely because he actually does want to be with his father, even if it's only temporary. This sends Arthur into a bit of a depression.

At the park, he explains his feelings about Buster leaving to Sue Ellen, who in turn tells Arthur to try looking at the situation from Buster's point-of-view: even if Buster really does want to spend time with his dad and is excited about traveling to different places, he's still going to be leaving all of his friends behind and will have to adjust to living in a new place, which will likely be very difficult. Thinking this over, Arthur decides to make the best of the situation and goes around Elwood City with Buster as he says goodbye to everything and everyone.

The day of Buster's departure soon arrives and Arthur shares one last goodbye with his best friend before Buster and his mom go to the airport. For the first few days, Arthur struggles with Buster not being around anymore, but eventually, he gets a package in the mail from Buster, and the package is full of souvenirs along with the pages for the next chapter of his and Arthur's book to the Read house.

Arthur soon imagines himself and Buster going on more adventures as Robin Hood and Friar Tuck. Later on, when his parents say that Buster will be back before he knows it, Arthur says that even though he misses Buster, he is not in any hurry to have Buster come back, since he is having a lot of fun.

Characters

 * Arthur Read
 * Buster Baxter
 * Sue Ellen Armstrong
 * Francine Frensky
 * Binky Barnes
 * D.W. Read
 * Jane Read
 * David Read
 * Paige Turner
 * Pal

Trivia

 * In Arthur and Buster's fantasy, Binky Barnes is always portrayed as the enemy.
 * In the previous episode Buster Hits the Books Arthur was the faster reader, but in this story, Buster is the faster one.
 * The pictures Buster sends to Arthur can be seen as a slideshow in the episode, The Ballad of Buster Baxter.
 * This marks the last major appearance of Buster in Season 2, considering the fact he makes minor/cameo appearances in other Season 2 episodes such as Arthur and the Square Dance, Arthur the Unfunny, and Arthur the Loser but doesn't appear much. He will start making major appearances again in the Season 3 premiere Buster's Back.
 * In Arthur and Buster's own Robin Hood story, the two riding the dinosaur are Binky and a white Rattles.
 * When Arthur is playing hockey, Buster appears in a cloak it is a reference to Star Wars, when Obi-Wan Kenobi tells Luke Skywalker to use the Force.
 * Arthur is not seen crying, but he's briefly heard crying as soon as Buster leaves.

Episode connections

 * Buster leaves Elwood City in this episode, he mentions a recall leaving in When Duty Calls.

Errors

 * When Buster waves good bye to Binky, Binky's skin turned dark brown.

Home Video
DVD: VHS:
 * Arthur's Best Friends
 * Arthur: The Complete Series 3
 * Arthur's Best Friends