Flippity Francine

This article is about the episode. You may be looking for the song.

"Flippity Francine"
Season/Series:	16
Number in season:	2a
Original Airdate:	October 16, 2012 December 13, 2012
Credits
Written by:	Matt Hoverman
Storyboard by:	Allan Jeffery
Episodes
Previous "Based on a True Story"	Next "Muffy Takes the Wheel"
Read transcript

"Flippity Francine" is the first half of the second episode in the sixteenth season of Arthur.

Summary

Francine tries to regain her dignity after Muffy posts a goofy video of her online.

Plot

Muffy is about to take a video of Francine doing the pinwheel kick, but instead she flips and lands in the mud. Francine is then counting the number of views on YouWhoTube that evening and gets worried, saying "I'm doomed!"

Flippity Francine

After the title card, Francine wears a disguise to school so she won't be embarrassed, but many people notice her. They call her "Flippity" and Francine gets embarrassed. Then Francine falls on Muffy and Binky laughs. Francine tells Muffy that she has been ruined in the entire school, but Muffy corrects her by saying that she is a hit all over the internet. An adult walking by outside says "Flippity, you're hysterical!" and laughs.

After school, Francine goes to the Crosswire estate and Muffy shows her that the video has 574 views, which is more than Tiny the Xylophone-playing cat, which she claims is a classic. Then Ed Crosswire comes in wearing a duck costume for an ad for Crosswire Motors. It was Muffy's idea. Then Mr. Crosswire adds that Francine is an internet celebrity. Francine says that she still doesn't want people laughing at her, so Muffy shows her the comments that people have left. One said that Francine should have her own show.

Francine is then brushing her teeth at home that night and sees Binky, Mr. Crosswire, and Muffy saying things about her in the mirror. Francine goes to her room to sleep but flips when she trips on her shoe. Her older sister Catherine laughs and says that she sees why everyone likes her video. Francine then has a fantasy where she has her own show. In that fantasy, the Tibbles, dressed as cowboys are stealing money from the Crosswires. Suddenly, Francine flips on them and saves the Crosswires. The fantasy ends, then Francine asks Muffy if she has taken the video down yet, and Muffy says no, but promises to do it in the morning. Francine says that she shouldn't. Muffy then gets up and watches the video again.

The next day at school, Mr. Ratburn asks the class who wants to solve the problem. Francine does and she puts a banana peel on the floor and bumps it on the blackboard. Mr. Ratburn asks if she has hurt anything, and Francine says only her dignity. Everyone laughs and cheers for her. Then it's lunchtime and Francine flips over a bench and everyone cheers and laughs again. Then Buster says that he will never get tired of this.

However, at a soccer game, Buster says that he got tired of this. Arthur agrees. Muffy says that the video now has 15,000 views. Then Mr. Crosswire calls them over and says that they are facing Mighty Mountain and they will climb that mountain, knock it over, and come back the other side. Brain is kicking the ball and Francine calls that she's open, but she gets distracted and flips by accident. Mighty Mountain ends up winning the game as the score was 5-6. Arthur is not happy about this and tells Francine that they could've won if she wasn't such an attention hog. Francine then tells Muffy that this has to stop. Muffy agrees but then tells Francine that many people had filmed her, not just Muffy, including the adult who said "Flippity, you're hysterical!". Francine groans.

Francine has a dream that night where Muffy rebuilds her as a clown and flips for the enjoyment of little kids. Francine wakes up from the nightmare. She looks at the computer the next day and finds that somebody is copying her. She asks Buster for advice and he tells her to do something that she is really proud of. Francine then tells Buster that he is a genius and takes his advice.

Later, at the soccer field, Francine is practicing her soccer kicks. Lakewood is facing Mighty Mountain and then Francine does the pinwheel kick to win the soccer game. Later, after the game, Muffy says that Francine was right about the pinwheel kick, and is disappointed that she wasn't able to film it. Arthur can't believe the 5:00 news did get the footage, and Buster says that his mom tapes every game. They rewatch it again, but Francine wants to back it up with her favorite part; the Crosswire Motors commercial. As they are watching the commercial, the episode finishes.

Characters

Major

• Francine Frensky
• Muffy Crosswire
• Buster Baxter
• Arthur Read

Minor

• Binky Barnes
• Nigel Ratburn
• Ed Crosswire
• D.W. Read
• Catherine Frensky

Cameo

• George Lundgren
• Sue Ellen Armstrong
• Jenna Morgan
• Fern Walters
• Alex
• Maria Pappas
• Slink
• Timmy and Tommy Tibble
• Edwin
• Emily
• Jane Read
• The Brain
• Thora Read

Songs

• "Flippity Francine"

Trivia

• In Korean, this episode is called "인터넷 스타, 프랜신," which translates to "Internet Star, Francine."
• When Francine is brushing her teeth and looking through the mirror, her head turns into Binky's head, then into Mr. Crosswire's head, and then Muffy's head.
• Timeline:
  • The duck costume that Ed Crosswire wears in the commercial is also seen in "Based on a True Story."
  • Buster mentions the events of "Buster Baxter, Cat Saver," implying that it happened a while ago.
• Moral: Don't publish humiliating videos online without someone's permission.

Episode connections

• A bowl of spaghetti lands on Francine's head, and a bowl of spaghetti lands on Arthur's head in the opening of "D.W.'s Imaginary Friend."

Cultural references

• Both Muffy/Lincoln also posts something embarssing which causes Francine/Lincoln's sisters in Making The Case
• The video "Tiny the Xylophone Playing Cat" referenced by Muffy and the "Virtuoso Cat" briefly seen on the YouWhoTube homepage is a parody of the viral video Keyboard Cat
• YouWhoTube is an obvious parody of YouTube.
• The dream where Muffy "rebuilds" Francine is a reference to The Bionic Woman.
• Francine's sitcom where she flips over furniture when entering the room is a reference to The Dick Van Dyke Show.

Errors

• The scoreboard reads 'Elwood City' and 'Mighty Mountain', instead of 'Home' and 'Visitor'.
  • Even if the words were changed for clarity, 'Elwood City' should have been 'Lakewood' in that case.

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