Arthur and the True Francine (episode)

Arthur and the True Francine
Season	1
Episode no.	14b
Date aired	December 9, 1996
Episode Guide
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Arthur and the True Francine is an episode of Arthur from season one. It is based on the book of the same name.

Plot

At the beginning of the episode, we see Francine climbing up a tree, through Arthur's window. Despite this, Arthur does not seem to notice Francine at all. Francine then screams, which now Arthur seems to hear. He goes down to the backyard with Pal and doesn't seem to find anything. While Arthur is in the backyard, Francine climbs back up and sneaks into Arthur's room and takes a pair of socks, one black and one white. It turns out to be a dare, from one of the girls for Francine's sleepover. Francine than asks Muffy "Truth or Dare?". Muffy than replies truth, in which Fern asks has she ever lied before. Muffy takes great insult that Fern would even suggest that she would do that, but eats her own words when Francine reminds her of a time when she lied in 2nd Grade.

In the flashback, Arthur's class is being rowdy while their teacher Mr. Marco is away. When he comes back they all pretend to be studying. Mr. Marco then introduces the class to Muffy Crosswire, their new classmate, and allows her to say a few words about herself. She instead puts on a video presentation about her family history, which goes on for a long time. When it's done, she puts on another video about her birth, but Mr. Marco cuts her video short, as they have class to attend to. At recess, Buster and the Brain are unimpressed by Muffy, thinking her to be conceited and out of place. Francine, meanwhile is giving Muffy a tour of the playground, and teaches her how to play kickball but kicking the ball out from under Buster. Muffy asks if there are any prizes like at her old school, but Buster tells her she's not at her old school, but just Lakewood Elementary, and calls her "Smartypants". She corrects him and says it's "Miss Mary Alice Smartypants". Francine is shocked to learn that Muffy's middle name is Alice, as it is also her middle name. The girls are ecstatic and at that point become best friends.

At Muffy's house, Muffy gives Francine a tour of the place, and shows off some of her valuables from around the world. She gives Francine a bracelet as a gift, saying it came from Antarctica. The two girls go swimming in Muffy's pool, but Francine is studying for a math test. Muffy doesn't seem concerned, saying she taught math at her school (But later displays that she doesn't know the word subtraction to heart). They then do some "wheelies", with Muffy's chauffeur James going on a wild run with Francine and Muffy in the back seats. At the library, Francine and Buster are studying for the test, but Muffy goes to watch movies in the library (She was allowed to as long as she was quiet), and Buster tags along. Francine tries to tell her that they should study, to no avail.

At school, the class takes the math test, and Francine seems to be confident in her ability to pass. When the tests are collected, Mr. Marco is impressed by Muffy's work, until he sees Francine's paper. He calls them up and points out that the tests are exactly alike, meaning one of the girls copied off the other. Muffy immediately denies doing it, so Mr. Marco holds Francine accountable for cheating and forces her to stay after school for detention for two full weeks. After school, everybody is concerned about Francine, as she will not be able to play in the baseball game against Mighty Mountain, which for them means certain doom. Muffy insists she can help them win, but then sees Francine, downhearted. Muffy offers Francine a ride in her limo, but Francine coldly refuses. Muffy apologizes for cheating, but insists that as a Crosswire, she has a reputation to uphold. Insulted that Muffy would betray her like that, she gives back the bracelet Muffy gave her, much to Muffy's dismay. Muffy later leaves a gift basket for Francine as an apology, but Francine throws it out.

On the day of the game, Francine is in detention while the team is up against Mighty Mountain. As the game comes near its end, Lakewood is losing 0-12. Muffy tries to bat, but evidently has no clue how to play the game. Realizing their precarious situation, Muffy goes to Mr. Marco and tells the truth about what she did. After accepting her punishment, she tells Francine that she can play now, and gives her the bracelet as an apology. Francine forgives her and arrives just in time to earn her team their first home run, much to the shock of Mighty Mountain.

The team ultimately loses, but Francine gets two home runs before it ends. She then rides Muffy back home, now best friends with her again, telling her that that they want her on the team, as the scorekeeper. But Francine tells her she has to learn to add, and one more thing: No cheating!

Trivia

• The book that this episode is based upon was first published in 1981 as simply The True Francine depicting a picture of Francine wearing a baseball cap and holding a baseball bat, and then the book was re-published in 1996 with a re-illustrated cover depicting Arthur and Francine in the baseball field, although the artwork on the pages were recycled from the first edition. The plots between the book and TV episode were quite different: in the book, it was the end of Arthur's 2nd grade year, and he and Francine wonder which teacher they will have for 3rd grade, and then Muffy moves into Elwood City; in the cartoon, Muffy is properly introduced and it occurs in the middle of Arthur's 2nd grade year.
• In this episode, Muffy's chauffeur/butler was named "James". He was later renamed "Bailey".
• It is revealed in this episode that Muffy and Francien have the same middle name: "Alice".