Meek for a Week

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

"Meek for a Week"
Season/Series:	1
Number in season:	17A
Original Airdate:	January 13, 1997
Credits
Written by:	Joe Fallon
Storyboard by:	Jean Charles Fink
Episodes
Previous "D.W. Flips"	Next "Arthur, World's Greatest Gleeper"
Read transcript

"Meek for a Week" is the first half of the seventeenth episode in the first season of Arthur. It was later adapted into the book Francine, Believe It or Not.

Summary

Muffy challenges Francine to be nice and not say insulting things for a full week.

Plot

Arthur is relating how Francine's done some wacky things in the past.

•   There was the time she tried to walk around on her hands, and do everything upside-down in order to try and set a new world record... this wasn't a particularly good idea during basketball games...

•   Then there was the time that Francine decided that the best time to practice on her drum kit was on the roof of her apartment building at sunrise... this annoyed some people, and scared others -- some people thought the building was in danger of collapsing.

•   Then there was the time Francine decided to paint a life sized picture of an elephant on the wall in her room. Mom was horrified, but Dad liked it, even commenting that she did a good job in getting the elephant's proportions right.

•   And then there was this time...

* * * Meek for a Week * * *

Francine, Arthur, and all the rest like to play roller hockey on a team vs. Binky and his fourth-grade goon squad on Fridays. Francine's the star player on her team. However, she has a tendancy to dominate the game. However, any team with Francine playing on it is usually guaranteed a win.

Francine usually acts as a one man team, with the rest of the team being responsible for getting the ball to her and letting her score.

Most of the team is happy with this...

Except Muffy. Muffy is annoyed that she never gets the ball. However, when she does get the ball, she doesn't hang on to it long; the other team gets it off her, and scores a goal. This costs Francine's team the game.

This is exactly why Francine didn't want her teammates trying to do things themselves... she knew this was going to happen. Francine figures (out loud, so that everyone can hear) that when it comes to roller hockey, or soccer, or any sport, Muffy is "just about the worst player there ever was".

Muffy: Maybe I'd learn to play better if you gave me a chance!

After the game ends, Muffy and Francine confront each other. Muffy's sick of Francine's domineering personality. Muffy thinks Francine is a "walking, talking poke in the eye".

Francine: I'm one of the nicest people in the whole school, and if you don't know that, you're a dope!

Muffy cuts the arguement short. She has a proposition for Francine.

It so happens that Muffy's wearing a new "Princess Peach Watch"... a prized item that Francine's wanted for a while. Muffy will give Francine this watch...

IF...

Francine has to promise to be nice to everyone for the next week. Francine's got to last through the entire week, and play fair, not argue, or shout, etc...

AND...

To make it even harder, Francine can't reveal why she's doing this to anyone.

Francine thinks it'll be easy. The stage is set.

* * *

 

•   The time: 8:30 AM, Monday.

•   The place: Lakewood Elementary, hallway...

Arthur has a new sweater on. It's like his normal one, only it has horizontal wiggly stripes on it. Arthur's explaining to a couple of his friends that he's having to wear this weird sweater since he got his other sweater dirty... This one was a gift from his Aunt Bonnie.

Francine arrives, toting her backpack. When she sees Arthur in his new funky sweater, she's about to laugh, when she sees Muffy. She remembers her deal with Muffy just in time.

 

Francine: (Stifling a laugh) Arthur, that sweater...

Muffy: What about it, Francine?

Francine: It's nice?

Phew... that was close, and Francine knows it. Arthur wonders what's up with Francine. He was expecting a smart alec remark.

* * *

Francine's odd behavior continues. During a baseball game, she's up to bat at a crucial point in the game, and she decides to give up her place in the rotation to let Buster bat.

That is unlike Francine -- Because Buster is no Francine when it comes to batting.

* * *

This is unlike Francine too. Francine is teaching Muffy how to become a good roller hockey player on the pavement behind the school's gym. Only Muffy's not particularly swift in learning the game from Francine -- and Francine isn't a particularly understanding teacher. But Francine does want that watch... she has to keep her rage bottled up.

 

After a particularly lousy play by Muffy...

Francine: Can't you do anything... wrong? That was near perfect.

* * *

Arthur is growing more and more concerned by Francine's sudden change in behavior. He discusses this with his friends.

Seems that Francine's been acting like this with everyone:

 

Brain: Yeah, she actually replaced my football that she threw down the sewer!

Sue Ellen has an even weirder story to relate. Francine came over to her house to replace a drink of juice that she had at Sue Ellen's last summer.

That is unlike Francine. Arthur's worried.

* * *

Francine is just wrapping up her lesson in roller hockey with Muffy. Muffy walks off, allowing Francine to vent her anger in peace. With no one watching, Francine can be as angry as she wants, and Francine has good reason to be angry...

 

Francine: She ripped my good pants!

She starts kicking the brick wall repeatedly.

Then she spots Arthur. How much as he seen? If she's been spotted being angry, then she forfeits the watch. Francine thinks quick.

 

Francine: Are you as impressed as I am by the durability of brick?

* * *

Francine is going mad trying to keep her true emotions bottled up. She asks Muffy how much longer she has to endure this torture...

Muffy looks at the "Princess Peach" watch. Francine still has 3 days, 3 hours, and 32 minutes to go. Muffy doesn't think Francine'll make it. Francine is sure she will.

* * *

Francine has Muffy over for dinner. (I think this was at Muffy's request... Muffy would like to see Francine snap.)

At the dinner table, Francine tries to be the perfect hostess. You can tell she's not used to helping out much at mealtimes. After the dinner, Dad's clearing up.

 

Francine: Father, let me help you with those?

Dad's expression shows that this is unusual behavior for his daughter.

Catherine puts her (sarcastic) spoke in.

 

Catherine: You have a guest over and you wear ripped pants. That's nice...

Francine would like to tell Catherine off -- But Muffy is sitting at the dinner table beside Catherine... and she's smirking... what can Francine do?

She turns to look directly at her sister.

 

Francine: Your clothes are nice...

Then she asks Catherine for a favor. Since Catherine always dresses so nicely, perhaps she could take Francine shopping for clothes sometimes? And give her tips in regards to her wardrobe?

Catherine is flabbergasted, to say nothing of Mom and Dad... This is not the regular Francine. Catherine recovers from her shock, and says that she'd love to help Francine out!

* * *

In the cafeteria, Francine's friends (apart from Muffy) are gathered to discuss a pressing concern. Francine is acting totally out of character, and frankly, it's starting to bother everyone.

 

Buster: I'm scared.

Arthur: We're all scared, Buster.

Brain believes that they do have reason to be concerned. He demonstrates, using a bottle of pop as a visual aid. He says that Francine is like the bottle of pop, and she's keeping her anger bottled up inside like the liquid in the bottle. He starts to shake the bottle vigourously.

 

Brain: The pressure builds like when I shake this bottle.

Eventually, says Brain, as he continues to shake the bottle, the pressure becomes too great, and she'll explode. Just like the bottle of pop does at that moment. Brain figures that they've got to do something before Francine "pops"...

Not a happy thought.

Arthur has his WORST plan ever.

He figures the only way to fix Francine is for everyone to deliberately make Francine as angry as possible. Then she'll lose her temper before she has a chance to pop.

 

Arthur : We've got to make her really lose her temper.

Arthur's gang agree to this course of action.

* * *

They do. The only trouble is that it has no effect on Francine. She continues to act strangely.

 

•   During a baseball game, there's a high fly ball. It's an easy catch. Everyone knows it. But the play is deliberately botched by Francine's teammates. Normally, Francine would be livid at this. 
Francine: I guess the sun was in your eyes.

•   During lunch Arthur brings everyone drinks. He gives Francine a cherry flavoured one. 
Francine: Cherry. This is cherry! Arthur, you know I don't like cherry! (pause) but perhaps I haven't given it enought of a chance.

•   Buster comes up to Francine and says what he figures will do the trick to fix Francine. 
Buster: Francine, Binky Barnes said he could beat you at any sport, any day... Francine looks unphased by this. Buster wasn't expecting that. 
Buster: Doesn't that make you mad? 

Francine shrugs it off. Francine tells a surprised Buster that perhaps Binky was speaking boastfully because he's insecure? Or perhaps he's been working out, and now is actually superior? 
Buster's flummoxed. So's the rest of the gang. Nothing is working.

* * *

This all comes to a head on Friday. Francine's roller hockey team is up against Binky's team...

Quickly Binky's team takes the lead -- because Francine isn't playing the way she normally does.

 

•   She doesn't distract the opposing team's goalie, because it wouldn't be nice...

•   When she's passed the ball, she doesn't go in for the goal, but passes the ball off to a surprised teammate... 
Francine: Geeper, you haven't scored a goal all season... 
Geeper doesn't know what to do, and quickly has the ball taken away from him by Binky's teammates...

Francine's teammates start to get angry with her, but Francine acts like she doesn't know what the problem is. She thinks the game is better this way...

 

Francine: ...everyone plays nice...

Francine figures that her "niceness" is helping her teammates... however, as her teammates counter, it's also helping Binky's team...

Muffy's had enough. The bargain with Francine was fun and all, but it's not worth losing this game over. There's only a couple of minutes left anyway in the bargain. Francine's won, as far as Muffy's concerned.

Muffy takes off the watch and holds it out for Francine to take.

Francine wants to hold to the end of the game. She wants to make it until the end of the agreed time. She refuses to take the watch from Muffy.

Bad move.

Binky's on the opposing team, and unlike most of the time when he moves ever-so-gracefully, like a ballerina, he's a bit of a clumsy oaf on rollerblades. He bumps into Francine and Muffy, and the watch goes flying.

There's a sickening CRUNCH.

Then a sick sounding electronic whimper.

The watch is totally destroyed. For such a small watch, there's a lot of expensive looking components dashed all over the pavement.

Muffy tells Francine to get mean!

You didn't have to tell Francine. She's popped.

Quick montage:

•   Explosion

•   Lightning.

•   The building being demolished from "D.W.'s Baby"

We see Francine's head flying off, like a rocket. Her eyes are spirally, and her head (with neck) goes rocketting up above the city, screaming.

Francine goes on the attack, with a week's worth of anger as a source of energy. Francine plays like a thing possessed, and wins the game for the team.

* * *

Ah well, all's well that ends well. Francine's back to her old normal self. Francine and Muffy are the last to leave the roller hockey area... Muffy and Francine are glad that everything is back to normal: Muffy has learned some roller hockey skills thanks to Francine's lessons, and Francine's learned that she should try to be a bit nicer in future...

But she's got something to do first. She wants to find that Binky and make him pay for the watch he smashed!

Characters

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Trivia

Episode Connections

• Arthur mentions this episode in the later episode Francine Goes to War.

Cultural references

• "They very soon came upon a gryphon..." is a line from Alice's Adventures in Wonderland: Chapter IX: The Mock Turtle's Story by Lewis Carroll.
• Muffy and Francine bet on a Princess Peach watch. Princess Peach is the name of a character from the Super Mario Bros. video games, but it is unknown if this was an intentional reference.

Errors

• When Francine approaches to Muffy and screeches her bike to a stop, the tires on her bike are shown white in that scene, although her bike has gray to black tires in its other appearances.
• When the Brain is wearing his helmet, his ears are not shown; although the helmet has openings for the ears to be shown for top-eared species like aardvarks, bears, cats, rabbits, and etc.
• Arthur and Buster were not wearing their baseball caps during the second baseball game.
• Right before Muffy tells Francine she's "So rude" the helmet hole showing her hair flashes yellow, the same color as the helmet for a second.
• At the Sugar Bowl, when Francine sits next to Arthur and is offered a cherry soda which she rejects but tries it anyway, she is sitting next to the outside, and Arthur is sitting next to the wall; but after Francine finishes off the soda, she and Arthur are sitting on the opposite side of the booth, and Arthur is sitting next to the outside while Francine is sitting next to the wall.

Production notes

• In an earlier version of the title card for this episode, the name of the episode is not read by an Arthur character, and Arthur does not yelp when Francine hits the gong. In a later version of this, however, Binky says the name of the episode, and Arthur DOES yelp when Francine hits the gong.
• There was also a song based on this episode, which can be found on Arthur and Friends: The First Almost Real Not Live CD (or Tape).

Home video

VHS:

• Arthur Makes The Team

DVD:

• Arthur Makes The Team
• Arthur: The Complete Series One

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