Arthur - It's Only Rock 'n' Roll

"Arthur – It's Only Rock 'n' Roll" is an hour-long special of that aired on September 1, 2002 and served as the premiere of season seven, which started a month and one week later.

Summary
When the prospect of an Elwood City concert by a popular boy band drives everyone else into a frenzy, a disgusted Francine decides to counter with an "anti-cute" band of her own called U Stink. But things don't go quite the way she had planned. The Backstreet Boys—Kevin, AJ, Howie D., Brian, and Nick—guest star as animated versions of themselves.

Plot
After watching the music video of "I Want It That Way" by the Backstreet Boys, Francine tells Muffy that they are sellouts, and decides to start her own band. After auditioning 14 people, the only good musician she could find is Mrs. MacGrady, who plays the keyboard. Mrs. MacGrady encourages Francine not to give up and suggests that she recruit the other musicians herself.

Francine speaks to Binky, who is a good clarinet player, and Molly, the only person Binky knows who can play guitar. When they are told they'll get whatever they want as snacks, they agree to join the band.

Arthur and Buster (who were rejected by Francine earlier), decide to start their own band, We-Stink.

During their first practice, it becomes obvious that Francine can't sing and play the drums at the same time, so Fern is recruited as their lead singer.

The next day at school, Principal Haney asks Francine if she and her band could play the PTA fundraiser, and she says yes, though they didn't have a name yet.

During practice, a man in the apartment building next door criticizes them, which inspires Francine to call the band U Stink.

After the concert, U Stink becomes wildly popular throughout Elwood City, and Francine gets an interview with a local news channel in Elwood City, and she said that she refused to play the annual book sale at the library, saying that the fame is getting out of hand and that Fern didn't ask her.

Fern said that it isn't selling out to be popular, and this leads Francine to quit the band, and they replace Francine with a drum machine.

Meanwhile, Arthur and Buster's band practice doesn't go well, and U Stink is having trouble writing new songs without Francine, but then Muffy calls and offers to be their manager, which Fern accepts.

When Fern and Francine fight, Mrs. MacGrady suggests to Fern that she should try to get Francine back, and then Muffy has the group shoot a music video, and that doesn't do so well.

U Stink plays a gig at D.W.'s preschool, which flops due to lack of material.

Meanwhile, Arthur asks Francine to join their band, and she said yes.

Meanwhile, Muffy doesn't hear back from the Backstreet Boys, and she decides to go to their concert and winds up meeting Nick from the Backstreet Boys.

Unfortunately, as U Stink is performing live for its first big gig, Fern isn't doing so well singing, but when the Backstreet Boys come out and start singing, Fern regains her confidence, and the concert turns out well for all the fans in attendance.

Major

 * Backstreet Boys
 * Muffy Crosswire
 * Francine Frensky
 * Leah MacGrady
 * Binky Barnes
 * Fern Walters
 * Molly MacDonald
 * Francis Haney

Minor

 * Arthur Read
 * Buster Baxter
 * D.W. Read
 * George Lundgren
 * Timmy and Tommy Tibble
 * Jane Read
 * Prunella Deegan

Cameo

 * Rubella Deegan
 * Fletcher
 * 4th Grade Male Dog
 * Angi
 * Debi
 * Tami
 * Otis
 * Rattles
 * Jenna Morgan
 * Sue Ellen Armstrong
 * Brian
 * Jessica
 * Nancy
 * Patrick
 * Steve
 * Luke
 * 3rd Grade Female Aardvark (Number 2)
 * 3rd Grade Female Cat (Number 2)
 * Sally MacGill
 * John
 * 4th Grade Female Aardvark
 * Unknown Male Adult Rabbit (Number 3)
 * Unknown Female Adult Rabbit (Number 4)
 * Unknown Male Rabbit
 * Unknown Female Rabbit (Number 2)
 * Marie-Hélène
 * Liam
 * Lucy
 * Emily
 * Kyle
 * Lisa
 * Sarah
 * James MacDonald
 * Amanda Hulser
 * Edwin
 * Ms. Morgan
 * Alex
 * Beulah McInnerny
 * Mrs. Tibble
 * Alan Powers
 * Alberto Molina
 * 3rd Grade Male Rabbit
 * 3rd Grade Male Dog (Number 3)
 * 3rd Grade Male Rat
 * 3rd Grade Male Dog
 * Maria Pappas
 * Mary
 * Jack Weasel
 * 3rd Grade Female Aardvark (Number 2)
 * Norman Hedgehog

Songs

 * "I Want it That Way"
 * "Nothing But the Music"
 * "Manager of My Dreams"
 * "We Stink Song"
 * "I Thought I Saw The Other Night"
 * "Row, Row, Row Your Boat"

Trivia

 * D.W. dismisses Crazy Bus entirely. This is a reference to Joe Fallon leaving the show after season 4. She says, "Crazy Bus is for babies! I know a MILLION better songs!".
 * When asking Francine what music her band plays, Mr. Haney mentions Barry Manilow as one of his favorite musical acts.
 * There are two Beatles references in this episode:
 * When Francine, Binky, and Fern are being chased by a group of preschoolers, the scene resembles A Hard Day's Night.
 * A news reporter called U Stink "The Fab Fivesome" in this episode. The Beatles are often called "The Fab Four."
 * U Stink is never referred to in the series again, until "Breezy Listening Blues," where "Nothing But the Music" is heard when Francine plays it in the ice cream shop. Arthur and Buster also sing We Stink's song at one point.
 * At the end of this special, the Backstreet Boys sing the opening theme, Believe in Yourself.
 * At the beginning of this episode, the Backstreet Boys are seen in real life, but then they came in Arthur animation.
 * The members of the band BINKY are seen several times throughout the episode. Since they are holograms, this is just the animators recycling character models for the many crowd scenes that needed them.
 * The S.S. Gigantic is a take-off on the R.M.S. Titanic. Interestingly, it was also the original name of the Titanic's sister ship, the R.M.S. Britannic.
 * Muffy the Vampire Slayer is a spoof of Buffy the Vampire Slayer.
 * Emily and Liam both make cameo appearances when Marie-Helene holds their hands.
 * The fantasy sequence Muffy describes to Francine about her getting a hit song, an album, a music video and endorsements is a parody of pop singer Britney Spears, and the soft drinks poured at the end of the fantasy sequence is a reference to her deal with Pepsi at the time of this special.

Errors

 * An animation error occurs after U Stink finishes performing at the PTA fundraiser.  Luke can be seen from behind in the front row of the audience, and for a period of about one second, his skin color changes from gray to yellow.  This occurs right as Mr. Haney says, "Please people, stay calm!"
 * Throughout the special, characters constantly refer to the Backstreet Boys as a "rock" band. In reality, they are a boy band that plays pop music.
 * Mrs. McGrady calls Fern a Libra meaning her birthday is from September 23 to October 22. In "Dad's Dessert Dilemma" it is said to be shortly after February 15. One or both could have been wrong.

Home Video release
It was released on VHS and DVD on October 1, 2002.

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