Sue Ellen Gets Her Goose Cooked

Summary
Sue Ellen finds herself obsessed with the Virtual Goose video game, so she vows not to play for an entire week. She struggles to keep her promise when none of her friends can beat a mysterious player named "FourHand451".

Plot
The episode opens with Arthur, Buster, Francine, Muffy, and Sue Ellen are at the Crosswire estate, playing a new online computer game they found called Virtual Goose. Arthur explains the game, saying that the goal of Virtual Goose is to get as many points as possible by shooting balls from four colored circles into a goose's mouth as it spins and stops between them. Sue Ellen is in the middle of an intense game, playing against another player with the username Suntzu49. Arthur mentions that Suntzu49 could be anyone playing from anywhere in the world, who is shown to the audience as a girl from China. Sue Ellen joyfully wins against Suntzu49, and turns out to be on a never-ending winning streak.

D.W. calls Emily so that they can play a new game she has, only to hear Emily and Marie-Hélène on their answering machine, claiming to be on a "big, long trip". As Arthur is in his room, preparing to play Virtual Goose again at Muffy's mansion for a championship among their friends, D.W. comes in and tells Arthur that they are going to play together that day. She then asks Arthur whether they will play Tower of Cows or D.W.'s new game Rocks in a Box. Arthur mentions to D.W. about the Virtual Goose championship, and D.W. shows Arthur a napkin he signed as a contract. He wanted to keep watching a TV show on "the man who made Bionic Bunny", and hastily signed D.W.'s napkin so that she gives up her TV time in exchange for an hour of playtime with D.W. Arthur then offers two hours of playtime with D.W. the next weekend, but not before she asks for three hours, to which he reluctantly agrees.

At Muffy's residence, Arthur loses to a new opponent on Virtual Goose called FourHand451, who has also defeated Francine, Buster and Muffy. Buster assumes the opponent to be "a four-handed mutant sheep created by an evil scientist". Sue Ellen boldly starts to play against FourHand451, but loses to her surprise. Francine mentions that the player has been lucky for the past eight games; Muffy is ready to call off the Virtual Goose Championship; but to the dismay of everyone, Sue Ellen keeps playing. She continues to play at her house through the night, despite late hours. At school, she is fatigued by her obsession with Virtual Goose: while she is sleeping in class, Mr. Ratburn asks her to answer a math problem, and she gets embarrassed when she awakens and shouts out "red". At lunch, Francine laughs at Buster's ear tricks, but Sue Ellen flicks peas at her, thinking Francine is a goose. Sue Ellen apologizes and tells Francine that she is tired since she was practicing Virtual Goose, determined to defeat FourHand451. Francine then suggests that Sue Ellen to take a break, saying that Virtual Goose has affected her brain. Sue Ellen then plans to break away from playing computer games for a week.

A week later, D.W. calls Emily so they can play, and is once again greeted by Emily and Marie-Hélène on their answering machine, but with an updated message. She also stops Arthur to demand him for four hours of playtime with her: the three hours Arthur has signed for, plus the one hour that he still owes her. Arthur tells her that last weekend was "the championship of the final playoffs to the championship", and that this weekend is the "real championship." To his annoyance, Arthur goes to Muffy's mansion, bringing D.W. with him, who continues mentioning about hoping for a petting zoo at Muffy's so she can pet a whale, and a vanilla ice cream sundae with vanilla sprinkles and hot vanilla sauce. At the Crosswire estate, Buster is playing Virtual Goose with Muffy trying to tell him what to do. Francine is playing ping-pong with Sue Ellen, who has been doing well refusing to play computer games all week. When Arthur and D.W. arrive, Arthur, Buster, Francince and Muffy become too focused on the game to listen to D.W. ask for the petting zoo, or pay attention to anything else. Sue Ellen suggests that she and D.W. explore Muffy's mansion for fun: they slide down the banister of a spiral staircase; they jump on Muffy's water bed, but accidentally deflate it; and D.W. gets her sundae from the chefs and ice cream machine in the kitchen. Sue Ellen and D.W. then discover Muffy's old game room with unused games and toys, as well as a toy whale D.W. chooses to pet. Sue Ellen discovers Confuse the Goose and calls it "dumb" in comparison to Virtual Goose. D.W. refutes, saying that the board game is the "real thing", which takes "luck, guts and fast, little hands". She then plans to show Sue Ellen how good she is at it, teaching her how to play, as well as some "tricks of the trade".

Back at Virtual Goose, the kids are all playing together under the name EightRams19, but still lose to FourHand451 after forty-seven games in a row. Sue Ellen and D.W. come back, and claiming she now knows "the way of the goose," Sue Ellen starts another game. D.W. reminds Sue Ellen to not play with her hands, but with her brain. Sue Ellen, however, backs out as soon as the game starts so she can stay true to her promise. Sue Ellen suggests that D.W. should try and defeat FourHand451. Under the name DisasterWarning99, D.W. wins against the opponent with amazing skill and a higher score, and the kids all celebrate. Before the episode finishes, FourHand451 is then revealed to be Emily and Marie-Hélène at their computer. Marie-Hélène asks Emily who DisasterWarning99 is. Emily does not understand who it is, and shuts down the computer in intimidation.

Characters

 * Sue Ellen Armstrong
 * Buster Baxter
 * Francine Frensky
 * D.W. Read
 * Muffy Crosswire
 * Arthur Read
 * Emily
 * Marie-Hélène
 * Mrs. Armstrong
 * Nigel Ratburn
 * Mary Moo Cow
 * Emily lookalike
 * George Lundgren (cameo)
 * Jenna Morgan (cameo)
 * Maria Pappas (cameo)
 * Alex (cameo)
 * Fern Walters (cameo)
 * Bailey (cameo)
 * 3rd Grade Male Rat (cameo)
 * 3rd Grade Male Dog (Number 3) (cameo)
 * 3rd Grade Male Rabbit (cameo)

Songs

 * "Soup" (in flashback)

Trivia

 * This episode is the first to use the Sue Ellen variant of the Slot Machine title card.
 * This is the first episode where Justin Bradley voices Arthur.
 * When D.W. reminds Arthur about when he watched a show about the creator of Bionic Bunny, a flashback shows Marc Brown speaking in a slow monotone voice on the television.
 * This is the first episode in which Emily wears a blue dress and her hair down.
 * This is the first episode having Muffy narrate the title card.
 * Timeline:
 * A Woogle from "Arthur Rides the Bandwagon" is on the floor when Sue Ellen first talks with D.W. at the championship.
 * At the beginning of the episode, Arthur is checking what he'll need for Virtual Goose. One of the items he mentions is his lucky pencil. However, the pencil shown is a regular one, and not at all like his original lucky pencil in the episode "Arthur's Lucky Pencil."
 * The "man who made Bionic Bunny" is Arthur creator, Marc Brown.
 * Moral: Don't force people to stop playing games for your own benefits.

Episode connections

 * The kids on Mary Moo Cow also appear in "The Last of Mary Moo Cow."
 * D.W.'s user name is DisasterWarning99 in Virtual Goose, which is what Arthur says her name stands for in Sue Ellen's Little Sister.

Production notes

 * Beginning with this episode, the main color palette changes drastically; most notable is Francine and the Tibble Twins' complexion and Buster's shirt, and everything appears bolder. These colors become the norm for the remainder of the series.

Cultural References

 * SunTzu49 is named after a sixth century Chinese . 49 may refer to the foundation of the in 1949.
 * Buster's Earobics parodies.
 * Muffy's old game room has a sled labelled "Rosebud" in it, a reference to the 1941 movie .