21x03 - Francine & the Soccer Spy/Sue Ellen & the Last Page

Episode transcripts for the TV show "Arthur". Aired: October 7, 1996 - February 2022.*
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Arthur demonstrates to kids how to deal with challenges as homework, teachers and bullies.
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21x03 - Francine & the Soccer Spy/Sue Ellen & the Last Page

Post by bunniefuu »

PBS KIDS OPENS
WORLDS OF POSSIBILITIES

FOR ALL CHILDREN.

THANKS TO PBS STATIONS
AND VIEWERS LIKE YOU.

♪ Every day when you're
walking down the street ♪

♪ Everybody that you meet
has an original point of view ♪

(laughing)

♪ And I say hey ♪

Hey!

♪ What a wonderful
kind of day ♪

♪ If we could learn
to work and play ♪

♪ And get along
with each other ♪

♪ You got to listen to your
heart, listen to the b*at ♪

♪ Listen to the rhythm,
the rhythm of the street ♪

♪ Open up your eyes,
open up your ears ♪

♪ Get together
and make things better ♪

♪ By working together ♪

♪ It's a simple message,
and it comes from the heart ♪

♪ Believe in yourself,
for that's the place to start ♪

♪ And I say hey ♪

Hey!

♪ What a wonderful
kind of day ♪

♪ If we could learn
to work and play ♪

♪ And get along
with each other ♪

Hey!

♪ What a wonderful
kind of day ♪

Hey!

♪ What a wonderful
kind of day ♪

Hey!

Hey, D.W.!

Hey!

Whoa...

(crash)

(spy movie music plays)

MUFFY:
Double-O Eight,
there's a spy in our midst.

I want you to find him
and bring him to justice.

You can count on me, M.

There's one catch.

No one has ever seen what
this spy looks like.

(roulette ball clacking)

Eight wins again.

(gasps)

(gasps)

(tires squeal)

(beep)

(crunching)

(click, engine powering up)

FRANCINE:
Not so fast!

If you're going to try
to blow up the world,

at least have the courage
to show your face!

What?

It can't be!

How could the villain be...

...me?

(grunts)

(whistle blows)

I can't believe
we didn't even score once!

ARTHUR:
It was like they always knew
just what we were going to do.

BUSTER:
Maybe Mighty Mountain
is using a mind reader.

Yeah, or they have
spies everywhere.

(giggling)

I'll tell you why we lost.

We need to practice more.

There's always the next game.

Come on, last one back
to the Sugar Bowl

is a moldy turnip!

Great, see you
for dinner tomorrow.

Who's coming to dinner?

The Torres family.

They just moved here.

Mrs. Torres is
in the Navy.

Her son Danny
is your age.

Cool!

Will he be going to my school?

Nope, Mighty Mountain.

I bet he could use a friend
in the neighborhood, though.

Yeah, I know
that new-place feeling.

Leave it to me.

I'll make him feel
right at home.

We've got another game against
Mighty Mountain on Friday.

And what are we going to do?

(weakly):
Win.

Did I hear a bunch
of mice squeaking?

Let's hear it again!

WIN!!

That's right.

And I've got
just the play to do it.

But first, you must swear
yourselves to secrecy.

No blabbing to anyone
not on this team.

Not your mom.

Not your butler.

Not even your teddy bear.

I don't have
a teddy bear.

That looks
exceedingly complicated.

And that's why it'll work.

All right, let's start
from the top.

FRANCINE:
No, no!

You're supposed to fake left,
turn degrees,

and then pass to Brain.

Let's try it again!

Oh no! I'm late!

Gotta run.

Great practice today!

Hey! Where do you think
you're going?

We're not done!

Bud did great--
no cavities.

Sorry I'm late.

Hey, this is Danny.

Why don't you two
get acquainted?

I'm Ladonna,
your personal tour guide

to all things Elwood City.

Pleased to meet you.

Is this your first move?

You?

We've moved
three times so far.

It's like they say:

Home is where
the Army sends you.

Or the Navy.

My first day at Lakewood,
I was so nervous

I skipped breakfast.

By lunch, my tummy was growling
louder than a lion.

But, I've made some
really great friends.

Hey, I know--
I'll call them now.

We can hang out tomorrow.

Oh, uh, thanks, but could
we do it a little later?

I'm just kinda...

Overwhelmed?

No problem.

Do you play?

A little...

If you pass more,
we're going to score more.

I got it, more passing.

Okay, see you later.

I have to talk
to Ladonna.

What could be so important

that she had to leave
practice early?

Huh?

Hey, you're really good!

Thanks.

I was center forward
on my team back home.

We were undefeated.

LADONNA:
Mighty Mountain is going
to be even better

with you on the team.

(leafblower buzzing loudly)

(groans)

What are they saying?

Unfortunately,
I'm not on the team.

Why not?

They had tryouts
a few weeks ago.

I missed them.

You should talk
to the coach.

I bet he'd give you
another chance.

I don't know.

I don't want to make a big fuss.

But they don't know
what they're missing!

(leaf blower stops)

(knocking on glass)

Dinner!

Anyway,

if you need anything at all,
just ask me.

Arthur was right!

Right about what?

Shh!

There is a spy on our team.

Oh, that's ridiculous!

Yesterday, I saw Ladonna playing
soccer with someone new,

and I think he's
from Mighty Mountain.

Do you know that for sure?

Well, no, but she said she would
get him anything he needed.

What if she's giving him
our secret plays?

You're acting paranoid.

Why on earth
would Ladonna do that?

I don't know.

Just drop it, okay?

Okay. Just after one more
teeny tiny investigation.

Can I borrow your phone
after school?

(sighs)

Maybe I am overreacting.

DANNY:
Hey, Ladonna!

Danny!

Want some lemonade?

(buzzing)

Shoo!

I can't stay.

I just wanted to tell you
the good news.

I talked to the coach.

He's going to let me play.

That's amazing!

You're going to be
the star of the team.

Well, it's all
thanks to you.

And to show
my appreciation,

I got you something.

(quietly):
Ahh! Get away!

(Francine gasps)

(chuckles)

I better not be caught
wearing this.

We're archrivals,
you know.

True.

But it'll probably be
a collector's item someday.

(clattering)

This better not take long.

We could lose customers.

Why do we have to have
a secret meeting anyway?

I hate to tell you guys this,
but we have a spy

on our soccer team.

(gasps)
No!

Oh, not this again.

Who?

Her!

You're the spy?

What?

No, give me that!

I knew it!

It makes perfect sense.

We'd never suspect
our own captain.

Francine!

You had the phone
on "selfie" mode.

I know I got a picture
of her somewhere.

(squeals)

It's like you're
from the Stone Age.

Here's a sh*t of Ladonna
and your thumb.

I'm telling you there's
a Mighty Mountain T-shirt

under that thumb.

She has this friend there.

I'm sorry, Francine, but this
doesn't prove anything.

Fine.

You want proof?

I'll get you proof!

Oh, I think we have proof
enough, Madame Frensky,

or whatever your real name is.

FRANCINE:
Ladonna!

Oh, hey, Francine.

Are you free next Saturday?

There's someone
I'd like you to...

Never mind that.

Here's another secret play
for our game

against Mighty Mountain
tomorrow.

I need someone to hang
onto it for safe keeping.

Can I trust you?

Sure, but...

When she gives the paper to
her Mighty Mountain friend,

I'll be there
to photograph it.

Then you'll have your proof.

(school bell rings)

DANNY:
Hey, Ladonna!

Hey!

(shutter clicks)

(shutter clicks)

(to herself):
I have you now, Ladonna Compson.

There's a traitor in our midst
and I have proof.

BRAIN:
That's just Ladonna
giving a kid a piece of paper.

Not just any piece of paper.

It's a secret play
I gave her yesterday.

Right, Brain?

It might be...
it's hard to tell.

Wait! There he is!

MUFFY:
He is on the team!

BUSTER:
Francine was right.

Danny, I'd like you
to meet my frien...

Mighty Mountain spies!

Excuse me?

Don't play innocent.

I've been spying on you.

I know you've been secretly
meeting with him.

You've been what?!

She gave you a piece
of paper yesterday.

Admit it!

It's true.

She did.

I actually have it on me.

"I, Ladonna Compson, request
the pleasure of your company

"at a cookout with me
and my friends at my house

this Saturday."

I don't understand.

Yes, Danny does go
to Mighty Mountain,

and, yes, I have been
meeting with him

because he's a new student.

And my friend.

Here's the piece of paper
you gave me yesterday.

Safe and sound.

I... I don't know
what to say.

(whistle blows)

How about,
"Have a good game"?

Is it a frog?

So close!

It was an octopus water skiing.

My turn!

DANNY:
I've got it!

It's Francine after I scored
the winning goal last week.

Nailed it!

(chuckling)

It was an amazing sh*t.

But don't get too cocky.

I have a new strategy
for the next game.

Hey, no sharing secrets
with the enemy.

It's called:
"Less spying, more practicing."

You ready, Torres?

You bet, Frensky!

And now a word

from an Army sergeant.

Hi, my name is
Sergeant Jason Chin

from the U.S. Army
National Guard.

And my family
is a m*llitary family,

just like Danny's.

We have my three-year-old
daughter, Harper.

My seven-year-old son, Caden.

This is my wife, Laura.

And I am Jason.

So, I've been away from home
for almost a year now.

And today, I'm headed over
to the Thompson School

to surprise my
seven-year-old son, Caden,

who I have not seen
in over months.

When he leaves, it's just me,
Caden, and Harper.

It's really hard waking up
in the morning,

knowing that I'm thousands
and thousands of miles away

from the kids.

We are in North Andover,
Massachusetts,

at the Thompson
Elementary School.

Caden, can you come up and help
me with the pledge this morning?

Okay, you're going
to stand over here.

We'll hold the flag together
so we can do the pledge, okay?

JASON:
They're going to say

that they've got
a special guest.

We've got a special guest
coming in.

And that's when
I'm going to walk in

and all the excitement's
going to happen.

Come on in, special guest.

Daddy!

Woo! Daddy!

(crowd applauds)

CADEN:
When my dad walked

into the school, I felt happy

and I almost dropped the flag.

JASON:
What was it like

not seeing Dad
for almost a whole year?

It was kind of lonely
without you.

Yeah, I bet.

I missed you guys
quite a bit when I was gone.

Now that my dad is home,

me and my family and my dad
can play together.

We're also going to play tag.

And my dad plays video games
with me.

I'm going to b*at you, Daddy.

(Jason laughs)

JASON:
m*llitary families make

a huge sacrifice
for our country.

CADEN:
He's helping our country

and help keeping us safe.

Five plus two?

CADEN:
When my dad is here,

I'm happy.

And now, back to Arthur!

MUFFY:
Feast your eyes on my
new YouWhoTUBE channel:

Muffy's World!

Wow!

You made that yourself?

Yep.

It was easy.

Because you had Bailey
do it for you?

No!

I can do some things on my own,
you know.

I drew a sketch of it
and paid Brain to make it.

What's "My Day"?

My video diary.

I was just going to give
my adoring fans

a tour of my favorite places.

Want to come?

Hi, fans!

Here's where my squad and I
love to get a snack!

The Sugar Bowl!

Your "squad"?

Then we chill at
The Brain's Ice Cream shop!

Get it?

Chill...ice cream?

(Francine groans)

Make it stop.

And now we're going to the most
sacred of places: the mall!

Hey wait, aren't you going
to show them the library?

Eh. Okay.

This is one of the best places
in all of Elwood City!

It's got every book you could
possibly want, and it's...

closing?

No!

It's not % definite yet,
but unless the City Council

changes its mind,
we'll lose our funding.

But why?

We haven't had as many patrons
taking out books.

People seem to be doing
more and more reading online.

That's true.

I have the entire
Henry Skreever series on this,

and newspapers,
and all my magazines, and...

Oh, but it's not the same
as a good old-fashioned book.

Ow!

A paper cut!

But the library is more
than just a place to read.

It's one of the things that
makes Elwood City Elwood City.

I feel the same way.

Isn't there something
we can do?

The council is holding
a meeting about it this Friday.

Anyone from the public
is welcome to speak.

Oh, I'll speak, all right!

We're not going down
without a fight.

Not so fast!

(grunts)

(expl*si*n)

Nice work, Library Saver!

Thanks, Cat Saver!

By the power vested in me
by the Library of Congress,

I declare this library
open forever!

(people cheer)

I can't imagine Elwood City
without a library.

Look on the bright side.

They could replace it with
something really useful,

like a new boutique.

Guys, the library
isn't going anywhere.

We're going to save it.

How?

We have to get
as many people as we can

to come to that meeting
on Friday.

I'll make up some flyers.

(bicycle bell dings)

Where is everyone?

I must have given out
hundreds of flyers!

It's a Friday.

Sensible people, like my fans,
are out having fun.

(mayor clears his throat)

Ordinance A: to close
the Elwood City Library.

We will now open the floor
for discussion.

Anyone?

Oh, if we close the library,
how will alien civilizations

know that we were an advanced
society, not just a bunch

of hairy animals
glued to their cell phones?

Thank you.

Pretty good, huh?

Anyone else?

I'd like to say
something.

My name is Sue Ellen Armstrong.

I came to Elwood City
a year ago

and no place made me feel more
at home than the library...

So, for the good of this city,
this community,

and kids like me, I strongly
urge you to reconsider.

Thank you.

(people cheer)

And then she said: "We will not
stand for this kind of tyranny!"

It was amazing!

Hey, we were just telling
George about your speech.

Oh, it was nothing.

It's not about me--
it's about the cause.

I think you mean,
it was about the cause.

SUE ELLEN:
"City Council votes
to close library."

What?

But I worked so hard
on that speech!

Your speech was great.

There just wasn't
enough support to keep it open.

Congratulations!

What?

Your speech got over hits
on Muffy's World.

What should we do next?

How about Save the Kittens?

Haven't you heard?

It didn't work.

The library's closing.

I know you don't care,
but I do.

If there had been more people
at that meeting,

I bet the vote would
have been different.

Maybe.

I do wish more people
had shown up.

(sighs)

There I am.

My name's in there, too,
you know.

I took out all the "Scare Your
Pants Off" books from here.

In fact, I was
the first person in our class

to get a library card.

Really?

Uh-huh.

I was a little surprised
when I learned

you couldn't buy
anything with it.

But I was still glad
to have it.

This place does matter to me.

I have an idea!

Here's the video
of your speech.

It now has hits.

We will not stand, stand,
stand (voice echoing)

for this tyranny,
tyranny, tyranny!

I strongly urge you...
children, children, children,

so hungry for knowledge,
knowledge, knowledge...

Reconsider.

What did you do to it?

Just spiced it up a little.

But look at the comments!

Polly says, "Keep that
library open! How can I help?"

Jamal says: "You go, girl!
I would give money to this!"

Wow.

There are tons more like that.

We could make another video
and ask for donations.

You think we'd be able to raise
enough to keep the library open?

We wouldn't even
have to do that.

If we raised a little bit
from a lot of people,

it would show the council
how much people cared.

They just might
reverse their decision.

(tablet beeps)

Sue Ellen Armstrong here,
a.k.a. The Library Saver!

Guest reporting
for Muffy's World.

Today we're going to find out
why people from Elwood City

love their library.

First up, Arthur Read.

SUE ELLEN:
Is it true that
your last name is "Read"

because you and your family
like reading so much?

Um, I think that's
just a coincidence.

SUE ELLEN:
Oh.

Okay, moving on,
so why do you love our library?

Mainly because of Ms. Turner.

She knows just what
I like to read

and always recommends
great books.

(whispers)

Oh, and story time at
the library is great, too.

I love the library book club.

I met so many new,
interesting people there.

I don't have a computer,
so I use the library's.

The best thing
about the library?

I guess the lecture series.

It's a great place
to have a meeting.

To do research!

To nap!

What do I love
about the library?

Zumba lessons.

Show your support of libraries
by donating

to our Save the Elwood City
Library campaign!

Spread the word!

Don't forget to use the hashtag
#LoveALibrary.

Love a library,
library, library...

I can't believe people
use the library

for so many different things.

It's like a mall, with books.

I can't believe you put lasers
coming out of my eyes again!

I was very restrained.

I was going to have you
ride off on a baby panda.

Now what?

We wait to see if people
will actually give money.

(sighs)

Nothing yet.

Sue Ellen, we just uploaded it.

It hasn't even been a minute.

You're right.

We have to relax.

Oh, give me that.

(repeated clicking)

(sighs)

Hello?

SUE ELLEN:
I can't wait to tell her
how much we raised.

We should really go
into business.

Charity work is fun.

But it'd be so much more fun
if we got paid.

Hmm... What's a picture of
my mom and dad doing here?

"The Shake and Shout Dance."

There used to be dances
in the library?

MS. TURNER:
Yep. And there could be again.

I just got off the phone
with the City Council.

The library stays open!

Yes!

Woo-hoo!

Of course, they're not giving us
as much money as usual.

We'll have to cut more programs.

And there are no funds
for new computers.

Wait, would this help?

This is how much we've raised.

That's amazing!

But I'm afraid
we need a bit more.

MUFFY:
I just might know someone
who could help.

ED CROSSWIRE:
Welcome, everyone!

It gives me great pleasure
to announce the opening

of the new Crosswire Motors
Computer Oasis!

In honor of this
fine institution,

which has given
the community so much,

and was the place where
I met my beautiful wife.

(people cheer)

Music, please!

♪ ♪

I guess I owe this library
a lot more than I thought I did.

We all do.

BUSTER:
To watch more Arthur

and play games with all
the Elwood City friends,

You can find Arthur books
and lots of other books too

at your local library.
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