Team Trouble

"Team Trouble"
Season/Series:	1
Number in season:	22b
Original Airdate:	November 5, 1996
Credits
Written by:	Joe Fallon
Storyboard by:	Gerry Capelle
Episodes
Previous "D.W.'s Snow Mystery"	Next "Bully for Binky"
Read transcript

“	Ratburn's gonna fail us.	”
—Arthur Read

"Team Trouble" is the second half of the twenty-second episode in the first season of Arthur.

Summary

Arthur, Francine, and Buster work together on a history report about ancient Rome.

Plot

Arthur talks about what great friends he has. He recalls the day he met Buster. Arthur was playing in the sandbox when Buster came over and said hello.

Arthur said hi back and then Buster left. Arthur then states to the viewers that when they are on Francine's team, they will always win and recalls how when playing football Francine tossed the ball to Arthur so hard that he fell onto the goal line.

Arthur, Buster and Francine are assigned to do a group project on Ancient Rome. Arthur wants to make their report interesting. Buster first suggests a song and produces a terrible song on the tuba.

He then suggests an interpretative dance only for Francine to shoot it down. Francine then suggests they make a video, but Arthur points out that they don't have anything to make it look ancient. Buster suggests a really old coat of his, which Arthur and Francine both turn down.

Buster then finally gets a good idea and suggests they make a comic book. They agree to this, Arthur making the first page, Francine the second, and Buster the third. They all believe that they will get As, except for Francine who thinks she will get an A+.

Later that night the three get to work. Francine stating that her page is brilliant. Buster on the other hand is having difficulty drawing lines.

Arthur is having the most difficulty not knowing what to come up with. After getting hit by his alarm clock he has a dream that he has ended up in Ancient Rome. After being given a tour of the Senate he wakes up and immediately gets to work.

The next morning at school Arthur and Francine show their pages to each other. In Arthur's page, the scroll of Roman Law has been stolen by Binky. Ratburn orders Arthur and co to get it back. Binky sends his skeleton warriors after them.

Arthur uses his gumballs to make the skeletons fall and then get chased by three very hungry dogs. They then pursue Binky on ship only for a massive purple Cyclops to attack the ship. Buster cries out that they are doomed.

Francine wonders why it ended like that. Arthur states that she had the second page. Francine states that her page is on the Olympics. The page shows the three of them competing and Francine winning every event while Arthur and Buster cry.

Buster then shows up and shows his page which consists of Spartacus dressed up like a superhero, pizza being delivered to the Coliseum, and Julius Caesar flying above on a hang glider. Francine states that it's not a comic, just a drawing, however Buster states that it is a splash page and is full of action. He then wonders why their pages don't look like his.

They all demand that the others redo their pages to look like their own. Arthur then states that they can show their pages to other people and get their opinions and whoever they like the best will be the one they do.

Arthur shows his page to Prunella who points out that there is no actual history in it. Arthur admits that there isn't and that he just wanted it to be interesting.

Francine goes to the Brain, expecting him to praise her page, only for him to inform her that the Olympics were held in Greece, not Rome. She states that she will change it to Roman athletes at the Greek Olympics. However he (incorrectly) points out that Rome banned the Olympics in 194 B.C. and criticizes her for not doing any research.

Arthur, Buster, and Francine meet up at the tree house. Buster states that Binky liked his page, which made him realize that he had to start over. The three realize that they should have checked with what the others were doing and done actual research. They now think that they will be getting F's. (except for Francine who thinks she will get a F+)

However, after looking at each other's pages they realize that they have plenty of material to use so they head to the library and check out numerous books on Rome and work to make an actual report.

The next day they give their report, having combined parts of their three pages to make a poster. Ratburn praises their report though questions whether or not pizza was delivered to the Colosseum.

The three pledge to check with each other the next time they have to do a report, only to then get into an argument over what they are going to do after school.

Characters

Major

• Arthur Read
• Buster Baxter
• Francine Frensky

Minor

• Nigel Ratburn
• The Brain
• Binky Barnes
• Muffy Crosswire
• Jenna Morgan
• Sue Ellen Armstrong
• Prunella Deegan

Cameo

• Otis
• Billy
• Helen
• Alex
• Brian
• George Lundgren
• Patrick
• Luke
• Maria Pappas
• Fern Walters
• Beulah McInnerny
• Steve
• Jessica
• 3rd Grade Male Cat
• 3rd Grade Male Dog (Number 3)
• 3rd Grade Male Rabbit
• Mary
• 3rd Grade Female Aardvark (Number 2)
• 3rd Grade Male Dog
• 3rd Grade Female Aardvark
• Amanda Hulser

Mentioned

• John

Trivia

• Irony: The trio admits they should have done research on Ancient Rome before doing their comic and talked out a plan on drawing.
• Moral: Do your research ahead of time before starting a big project. Also, talk about your plan before starting it because you're going to feud, most likely.
• 4th wall break: During the cafeteria scene, George is seen waving outside.
• Running Gag: Arthur's group imaging their grades and Francine always getting a [insert grade here] - plus.

Cultural references

• Arthur, Buster, and Francine do a project on Ancient Rome.
• Francine's idea involves the Olympics.
• Buster's "splash panel" includes Spartacus defending a stack of pizzas from a Trojan horse and Julius Caesar on a hang glider.
• Binky, Muffy, and Sue Ellen do a report on Ancient Egypt.

Errors

• The Cyclops, as seen in Arthur's comic, is from Greek mythology, instead of Roman mythology.
• Patrick can be seen in Mr. Ratburn's class in place of Alex.
  • Also, Luke is seen in the classroom.
• In the library, after Buster finds a book called How to Write and Draw Comic Books, Francine can be seen smiling right before she asks "What are you talking about?" with a slightly disappointed look on her face.
• When Buster reads How to Write and Draw Comic Books in his room, the cover is different and reads How to Draw Comic Book. [sic]
• The Olympics were banned in AD 394, not 194 BC. In addition, Romans did compete in the Olympics, including the emperors Tiberius and Nero. Francine also seems unaware that women were not allowed to compete, although this may be due to her lack of research.

Home video

• VHS: Arthur's Best School Days (VHS)
• DVD: Arthur's Best School Days (DVD)

Gallery

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