Muffy Goes Metropolitan

"Muffy Goes Metropolitan"
Season/Series:	7
Number in season:	2B
Original Airdate:	October 9, 2002
Credits
Written by:	Matthew Lane
Storyboard by:	Jeremy O'Neill
Episodes
Previous "Francine's Split Decision"	Next "Ants in Arthur's Pants"
Read transcript

“	Crown City, youre dynamite!	”
—Various

"Muffy Goes Metropolitan" is the second half of the second episode in the seventh season of Arthur.

Summary

Muffy finally gets to visit the big city when Sue Ellen invites her to Crown City for a weekend, and the realities of city life turn out to be nothing like her fantasies.

Plot

On the start of a three day weekend, Muffy joins in on a conversation about Crown City because Sue Ellen was talking about her upcoming trip to Crown City. Muffy feels disappointed because she had never been there, unlike most of the other kids. She convinces Sue Ellen to take her with her, and she makes a list of three activities she wants to do: 1- Have a fancy dinner. 2- Go on a shopping spree, and 3- experience a tasteful cultural event. They drive there, and meet Sue Ellen's former babysitter Carla.

However, they all go to an Ethiopian restaurant called Addis Ababa. Muffy has to eat with her hands, which annoys her. She almost gets hit in the face by a fish while Carla was shopping for fish. She goes to the store Little Lady Dollar Mart. Carla offers a cow-colored beret that she found in the store. After declining it, she finally accepts it and buys it, but does not wear it.

Later in the evening, she goes to a poetry club called Renee's, to complete her task of "tasteful cultural event". She sits down and gum gets stuck to her dress. She gets angry, and rants about how bad Crown City is. Everybody claps for her, including Carla and Sue Ellen because they thought it was a poem for the Poetry Slam.

Muffy leaves, majorly upset, and cries, then goes underground to the Crown City Subway. She later appreciates the value of the city and its culture, and finally chooses to wear the cow beret.

Characters

Major

• Muffy Crosswire
• Sue Ellen Armstrong
• Carla

Minor

• Mr. Armstrong
• Arthur Read
• Francine Frensky
• Buster Baxter
• Andy Warthog

Cameo

• 4th Grade Male Dog
• Jessica
• Leah MacGrady
• Brian
• Beulah McInnerny
• 3rd Grade Female Cat (Number 2)
• 3rd Grade Male Dog (Number 3)
• Debi
• Patrick
• 3rd Grade Male Cat
• Kenny
• 3rd Grade Male Rat
• 3rd Grade Female Aardvark
• 3rd Grade Male Dog
• George Lundgren
• Jenna Morgan
• Fern Walters
• Binky Barnes

Songs

• "That Miss Muffy"
• Crown City

Trivia

• Timeline: There is an ad for a parade that occurs on the date of when the episode takes place, May 25. Coincidentally, this is the same date as Arthur and Muffy's birthday.
• Moral: Reality doesn't always meet our expectations, and that's okay. Sometimes it's the things that surprise us most that make something enjoyable.

Cultural references

• The Ethiopian restaurant they go to, Addis Ababa, is named after the capital city of Ethiopia.
• The opening sequence is a parody of the 1960s sitcom That Girl.
• Muffy throwing her hat in the air is a reference to the 1970s sitcom The Mary Tyler Moore Show.
• Andy Warthog and Keith Herring, the artists Muffy dreams of meeting at an art exhibit, are spoofs of artists Andy Warhol and Keith Haring respectively. Their art styles can be seen in the pieces based on Muffy.
• Rats could be a parody of the Andrew Lloyd Webber play, Cats.

Errors

• During the drive to Crown City, the car passes a sign reading "Crown City 100", meaning it is either 100 miles (if in the United States) or kilometers (if in Canada) away from that point. However, Sue Ellen says, "We're heading into the city now" seconds after they pass the sign.

Episode connections

• One of Muffy's imaginary outfits shares the same color scheme and pattern as the abstract painting seen in Binky Barnes, Art Expert.

Home Video

DVD:

• Arthur: Sleepovers, Sports and More

Gallery

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