Finders Key-pers

"Finders Key-pers"
Season/Series:	2
Number in season:	19B
Original Airdate:	April 16, 1998 September 17, 1998 February 19, 2002
Credits
Written by:	Chris Moore
Storyboard by:	Stéphanie Gignac
Episodes
Previous "D.W.'s Name Game"	Next "How the Cookie Crumbles"
Read transcript

"Finders Key-pers" is the second half of the nineteenth episode in the second season of Arthur.

Summary

Arthur, Brain, and Binky find a key - - but a key to what? The city? A new sports car? And which of them will get to keep whatever fabulous thing they find? When they decide to split it 50-50-50 the trouble really begins.

Plot

Arthur is in D.W.'s room looking through her stuff, then proceeds to explain why sharing is a good thing. He explains how he shares stuff with Pal, and Pal doesn't care what gets shared, even grabbing Arthur's shoe. He then says that he should always share with D.W. since she is his sister, then opens her jar of candy. D.W. sees this and tells on him, and then Mom scolds Arthur for taking D.W.'s belongings without permission. Arthur says that he was just sharing.

Finders Key-pers

Arthur and his friends are playing baseball on a windy day, and field is dustier than usual. Francine pitches the ball and the Brain bats it. Muffy proceeds to catch it, but dirt blows into the air and she misses the ball as a result. The Brain then slides into home, but dirt once again blows into the air, causing Brain to score a run as a result of Binky not being able to tag the Brain due to the dirt. Francine says that it's too dusty to play, and Muffy invites everyone to watch HD TV at her house. However, Arthur, Binky, and the Brain decide to pass after Muffy decides on watching Miranda and the Magic Princess.

Later on, the boys are playing catch on the field, and they lose the ball after Binky throws it too far. While looking for the ball, Arthur finds a key, which grabs everyone's attention.

As they are walking home, the boys wonder where the key goes to. The Brain thinks it is to the new science museum and has a fantasy of opening the science museum with the key and looking at interesting things inside. Arthur then thinks that it is the key to the city and imagines saving the city with the key, which had apparently caused everything to become frozen as a result of being lost. Binky thinks it is a car key and imagines driving a sports car.

At the Sugar Bowl, Arthur, Binky, and the Brain have a brief argument over who gets the key. Arthur says that the only solution is to share the key 50-50-50. 

After leaving the Sugar Bowl, the boys decide to try to find where the key fits. They try the science museum first, since it is just down the street, but the key doesn't fit the museum. They then go to the mayor, but the mayor says that while they did, in fact, lose the key to the city, it isn't the key they are holding. Turns out another boy found it last week, which is hanging on the wall behind them. 

Binky then concludes that it has to be a car. Arthur says that it a good idea and can go where they want when they are older. The Brain says they can have the car two days a week, since they are sharing it equally, but Binky argues that he should have the car on the extra day (Sunday) since he could drive first. Since Binky is older, he says he could have the car all to himself before they can. The Brain and Arthur says that is okay, but Binky will have to drive them wherever they want. 

At the treehouse, Binky doesn't like the idea and has another idea of Arthur and the Brain fixing his car instead. This leads to a major disagreement between the trio, and Arthur says he wants his Bionic Bunny video back. The Brain wants his clarinet concertos CD back as well, and Binky wants all of his stuff back too. 

Later on, in front of Arthur's house, Arthur gives back Binky's Bionic Bunny comic book, and Brain proceeds to leave, but Binky stops him, noticing that the Brain is holding the key with the intention of bringing it home with him. The Brain says that he will put it in his safe for the night, but Binky disagrees with that. Arthur says he will take it, but Binky once again objects. The Brain once again thinks he should keep the key, but Arthur and Binky object to this as well. They decide that, since they are sharing it 50-50-50, nobody should bring it home with them. The Brain thinks that they should put it back where it was instead.

Back at the baseball field, the Brain puts the key back where they first found it and cover it under dirt so nobody else could find it. However, as the three begin to leave, they stop, each staring at each other with the intention of rushing back to the key so they could grab it. The boys suddenly run back and, after struggling with each other while trying to get the key, Arthur successfully grabs it, saying: "It's mine! Finders keepers!". Binky and the Brain chase Arthur, and Arthur accidentally runs into Mr. Morris. Arthur thinks it is a good idea to give the key to Mr. Morris, but the boys once again argue over who should keep it. Noticing the key, Mr. Morris recognizes it and says that he has been looking for the key a while. Mr. Morris reveals that the key goes to the sprinklers, and because he didn't have the key, the field wasn't getting watered, which is why the field has been so dusty lately. Mr. Morris then turns on the sprinklers.

Still at the baseball field, Binky realizes that it wasn't really nice of them to have fought over the key. Arthur says that it was a good thing the key didn't go to a car, or they may have been fighting for years. The Brain then finds something else, and Arthur and Binky both look at each other in dismay, thinking that it may be something else that the three of them might end up fighting about, just like the key. However, it is just the Brain's baseball that they lost earlier. The episode finishes with the boys playing catch as the sprinklers turn on. 

Characters

Major

• Arthur Read
• Binky Barnes
• The Brain

Minor

• Mr. Morris
• Francine Frensky
• Muffy Crosswire
• D.W. Read
• Jane Read
• Pal
• Mayor Hirsch

Cameo

• David Read
• Kate Read
• George Lundgren
• Fern Walters
• Sue Ellen Armstrong
• Mr. Barnes
• Mr. Powers
• 3rd Grade Female Cat (Number 2)
• 3rd Grade Female Aardvark (Number 2)
• Prunella Deegan
• Oliver Frensky
• Billy

Trivia

• Beginning in spring 2024, as part of a partnership with Bridge Multimedia, as well as funding provided by the US Department of Education (US-DOE), this and a few other popular episodes of the Arthur series were rereleased with the addition of an American Sign Language interpreter on screen, allowing individuals who are deaf or hard of hearing to fully immerse themselves in the program. Interpretation was also provided to a variety of other popular Arthur episodes, the full list can be viewed here.
• This is the first episode written by Chris Moore.
• Timeline: In "The Ballad of Buster Baxter," Buster finds the same key from this episode. He suggests that it could be the key to the city (like Arthur wanted) or car keys (like Binky wanted). Arthur tells him that it belongs to Mr. Morris, and advises him to put it back.
• Irony: After they find out the key was for the field sprinklers, Binky, Brain and Arthur agree that their argument was stupid. Arthur says that if it had been a car key, then they would have been fighting for years.
• Moral: Friendship is more important than random things.

Errors

• Plot hole: Binky said that he would get to drive the car a whole year before Arthur and Brain, but Brain should be the same age as Binky, as he also was held back a year.

Home Video

• DVD:
  • Arthur Cracks the Case (DVD)
  • Arthur: The Complete Series 3

Gallery

:Main article: Finders Key-pers/Gallery