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MacFrensky
| "MacFrensky" | |
|---|---|
| Season/Series: | 13 |
| Number in season: | 4a |
| Original Airdate: |  October 15, 2009[1] March 6, 2009[3] April 27, 2009 [2] |
| Credits | |
| Written by: | Jonathan Greenberg |
| Storyboard by: | Michel Carbonneau Stéphanie Gignac |
| Episodes | |
| Previous "Brain Gets Hooked" |
Next "The Good, the Bad, and the Binky" |
| Read transcript | |
Summary[edit]
Francine and Brain are neck-and-neck to become Student of the Month. Muffy convinces Francine to steal Buster's toy and frame Brain for it. As Francine's lies pile up and the prize nears, her guilt intensifies.
Plot[edit]
At the beginning of the episode, we see Francine and Muffy at a fair. They walk into a fortune telling booth and get their fortunes told by Prunella. Prunella predicts that she will have "lunch with a stranger" and then Arthur and Buster ask if they can eat lunch with the pair.
The following day in school, Mr. Ratburn reveals the placements for the Student of the Month competition, showing Francine in the lead. Muffy teases Francine about her softball coaching, but Francine demands it is enjoyable and the team was improving. Mr. Ratburn reminds the class that whispering could result in point removals. He notifies the grand prize: lunch with Thunder MacDuff, a local weatherman. The class cheers, and Francine and Muffy are thrilled about the opportunity of winning and bringing a friend.
Just then, Brain arrives late. Mr. Ratburn is about to take away 5 points for lateness, but Brain explains that he had helped Ms. Lemon change a tire, returned a lost wallet to the office, and turned in a project early that looks like the ecosystem. Impressed by his work, Mr. Ratburn awards Brain with 30 additional points, pushing him into the lead ahead of Francine, and Muffy is stunned.
Later after school, Francine and Muffy are walking down the street when Francine mourns about missing lunch with Thunder MacDuff. Muffy is doubtful about Brain's good deeds, and believes that "the fix is in". Francine sighs, accepting her fate. As they enter the Powers' ice cream shop, they witness Buster's radio-controlled robot, which is marching across the counter. Brain and Arthur are delighted by the robot's refined technology.
Sitting down at a table, Muffy proposes a mischievous scheme. She wonders if Brain might steal the robot. Francine disregards the idea, claiming that Brain would never engage in such dishonest behavior. Muffy counters by suggesting that someone else might put the robot in Brain's backpack. Francine remains uncertain, underlining the moral significance of stealing. However, Muffy comforts her that Buster would eventually get his toy back and that the activity could be seen as more of a relocation than stealing. Finally, Francine agrees to the plan, but only on the condition that they ensure Buster gets his toy back.
Back at school, Muffy and Francine watch from around a corner as Buster has fun with his new robot, enclosed by Brain, Arthur, Binky, and Alex. The robot declares, "Resistance is futile!" Muffy proposes a plan to get the toy: she will distract the crowd while Francine grabs the robot. Francine hesitates, but Muffy reminds her of Brain's slippery tactics. Reluctantly, Francine agrees. As the robot fires a rope to the wall, Muffy instructs Brain to hurry. Once Buster and the boys leave, Francine cautiously approaches the locker, only to be sprayed with a green liquid by the robot. She attempts to rub off the stain, then quickly hides both the robot and its remote under her sweatshirt.
Class starts and Francine opens Brain's backpack and puts the toy in. Muffy turns it on and Buster notices, the Brain opens the backpack and he gets in trouble by Buster and Mr. Ratburn. The Brain unfairly loses 10 points from the Student of the Month for disrupting the class and then loses 25 more points for taking another student's possession. Since it is the last day of the month, Francine wins, but is not so proud of herself, but Muffy is.
They go to Francine's apartment, but Francine is still feeling bad believing she will get caught. They go to Prunella's house so she can predict the future. Prunella makes up a fake prediction and Francine then thinks everything is going to turn out good.
Arthur and Buster asks Francine to help them find out who put Buster's toy in Brain's backpack and Francine starts to feel bad again and seems wary. But Muffy has a plan, to make Arthur and Buster seem untrustable so the next day they tape cheat sheets to their desks.
Arthur and Buster are still trying to figure out who did it.
Mr. Ratburn discovers the cheat sheet by Buster and he gets in trouble. Francine can’t deal with the shame anymore, so she and Muffy decided turn themselves in to the principal to tell him the truth.
Brain is given the lunch with Thunder McDuff. Francine and Muffy are propelled to do community service as a consequence for what they did, and The Brain invites Muffy to the lunch while Francine assists the second graders with softball practice.
Characters[edit]
Major[edit]
Minor[edit]
Cameo[edit]
- Binky Barnes
- Alex
- Sue Ellen Armstrong
- George Lundgren
- Fern Walters
- Mr. Morris
- Jenna Morgan
- Maria Pappas
- Francis Haney
- Emily
- Emily's mother
- Brian
- Marina Datillo
- 3rd Grade Male Rabbit
- Helen
- Luke
- Nancy
Mentioned[edit]
Trivia[edit]
- Alex and Maria's names were revealed to be the two unnamed rabbit characters that have been in Mr. Ratburn's class since the first episode of the show, Arthur's Eyes. This makes Mr. Ratburn's class the only class so far in the show with all the characters named. However, Alex's name was revealed much sooner than this episode. That took place during the episode, The Scare-Your-Pants-Off Club! where he signed a petition.
- This is the second episode in the series where the title is just "one" word and the episode centers around Francine. The first was the episode Vomitrocious.
- Moral:
- Don't frame people for your or someone's benifits.
- Don't force people to do something they don't want to do for your own benefits.
- Timeline: Mr. Morris is seen when Francine is putting the cheat sheets under Buster and Arthur's desk, meaning this episode took place before "April 9th."
Cultural references[edit]
- The main plot of this episode is based on William Shakespeare's play Macbeth. In fact, even the title is a reference to the play. Also when Francine is washing the ink stain off herself, she says "Out darn spot, out I say!" which is a quote from Macbeth.
- Moon Cakes are a parody of Moon Pies.
- Weatherman Thunder MacDuff's name is likely based on Macbeth's antagonist MacDuff.
- MacFrenky is simlair to MacBook.
Errors[edit]
- Marina Datillo is briefly seen at one of the tables in the school eating area, however in a later scene Maria is seen sitting in the same place. It was very likely supposed to have been Maria all along, as Marina does not attend Lakewood Elementary and their names are easy to confuse.
Episode connections[edit]
- Francine puts a toy into Brain's backpack. Buster does the same thing to Arthur in "Nerves of Steal."
- "Never, Never, Never" is also based on a play by Shakespeare King Lear.
Production notes[edit]
Gallery[edit]
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Marina at Lakewood Elementary lunch table - probably an error. -
Closeup of Marina at lunch table
References[edit]
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