Meet Binky

Summary
The gang is so excited when they get coveted tickets to the Binky concert. Arthur is in for the chance of a lifetime, but will he realize that not sharing the excitement with his friends will make for a hollow experience?

Plot
In the introduction, Arthur talks about how everybody is crazy about the pop band Binky. While Binky Barnes tries to attract attention to himself, we see kids buying Binky CDs and using Binky fan articles. Radio DJ Dr. Jake announces a Binky concert.

Meet Binky

A journalist interviews Binky's manager Svern Smith and wonders why Binky have never given a concert or an interview. Svern replies that the group will make a big announcement at their first concert in Elwood City.

Francine, Buster and Prunella stand in a long line for tickets. Arthur, however, has to go shoe shopping with Jane and D.W., so he arrives late and only gets seats far away from the stage.

Buster mentions how cool it would be to meet Binky, and that they might have a chance because of their parents’ jobs. He has a fantasy in which Bitzi interviews the band in the Baxters’ living room. Francine imagines returning a bracelet to a Binky member which was accidentally thrown in the trash. Arthur imagines his mom telling Binky how much taxes they owe, causing them to leave without giving him an autograph.

Later, after having talked to their parents, Buster and Francine admit that they are not likely to meet Binky. Their only chance is being chosen to go on stage and dance with the band. In Arthur's imagination, getting from his seat to the stage takes him three years, so instead of meeting the band, he is left with three years worth of homework to catch up with.

Mr. Read surprises Arthur with the news that he is catering for the crew at the Binky concert, and that Arthur can go backstage to meet the band. Arthur has a fantasy of riding in the band's limousine and saving their lives when Svern Smith passes out at the wheel. Mr. Read also tells Arthur that he can invite some friends. Arthur has another fantasy in which the band drives off without him, because the kids do not all fit into the limousine. Arthur makes excuses for not inviting his friends.

At school, Buster tells Arthur that, if his mom gets to interview Binky, Buster will bring Arthur along. Binky Barnes has received some free tickets and offers Arthur to sit with him, since he got a bad seat. Arthur has a fantasy of the band inviting Binky into the limousine but not Arthur.

Arthur helps his dad prepare food and set up a buffet table where he meets Svern.

Arthur fetches his friends from the audience and Svern introduces them to the musicians, who turn out to be holograms. The music is created by a synthesizer which malfunctions, because Arthur had mistaken it for a trashcan, and thrown a banana peel into it. In the end, the kids are disappointed by Binky. Arthur remarks that he would rather have real friends.

Major

 * Arthur Read
 * Francine Frensky
 * Buster Baxter
 * Binky Barnes
 * Prunella Deegan
 * David Read
 * Svern
 * BINKY

Minor

 * Jane Read
 * D.W. Read
 * Dr. Jake
 * Winston
 * Laverne Frensky

Cameo

 * George Lundgren
 * Fern Walters
 * Slink
 * Toby
 * Maria Pappas
 * Molly MacDonald
 * Alex
 * 4th Grade Male Rabbit
 * 4th Grade Male Dog
 * 4th Grade Female Aardvark
 * Fletcher
 * Nancy
 * Norman Hedgehog
 * Unknown Male Adult Rabbit (Number 3)
 * Unknown Female Adult Rabbit (Number 4)
 * Unknown Male Rabbit
 * Maria lookalike
 * 3rd Grade Female Aardvark
 * Jessica
 * 3rd Grade Male Rabbit
 * 3rd Grade Male Dog
 * 3rd Grade Male Rat
 * 3rd Grade Female Aardvark (Number 2)
 * Mary
 * Rattles
 * Luke
 * John
 * Beulah McInnerny
 * Brian
 * Kenny
 * Nigel Ratburn
 * Miss Sweetwater

Mentioned

 * Rubella Deegan

Trivia

 * Bjorn (Björn), Inga and Svern (Sven) are Scandinavian names. (Nero is Latin and Kyra is Greek.) While Finland does have a sizable Swedish minority, almost all members of Värttinä had Finnish names like Sari, Terhi and Kirsi.
 * Irony: The kids discuss that maybe their parents would work with "Binky" the band. Arthur nixes the idea when he has an Imagine Spot about his mother doing taxes for them, since Jane would likely find out they owed more from royalties. He finds out that his dad's catering company was hired to feed "Binky" and allow him to bring his family to see the concert.
 * Timeline: Binky Barnes got free tickets, because the band got him in trouble in "Binky Rules".

Errors

 * The can in the trash can briefly changes color from green to blue when Dr. Jake picks it up.
 * Arthur was wearing his Binky shirt on the way to getting tickets for the concert, but in one scene is seen in his normal yellow sweatshirt looking out the window of the car, and then it goes back to his Binky shirt later.
 * When the limo goes out of control, Nero is accidentally given Kyra's voice.

Differences from the book

 * Arthur gets a seat in row 'ZZZ' instead of '739 XXX'.

Home Video
DVD:
 * The Boy With His Head In The Clouds (DVD)
 * Arthur: The Complete Series 4