User blog:Scrooge200/Season 3 Review

Note: This review is in progress.

Since Season 2 was better than Season 1, will Season 3 be better? I hope so!

I will rate each episode on a scale from Vomitrocious, Bad, Okay, Good, Great. At the end of my review, I'll count up how many of each rating there are in the season, and give it a rating as a whole, alongside ranking every episode in the season from best to worst.

I have currently reviewed 8/30 episodes in Season 3.

Buster's Back
I get that Arthur is excited about Buster returning (and to be honest, I kind of am too), but the way he runs out of the house screaming "BUSTER'S COMING HOME!" (he even defies physics to show Muffy a piece of paper underwater). Arthur goes through many wild mood swings; from excitement, to worry, to trying to conform to the "new Buster" (before he even knows if anything has changed), to absolute rage. And I don't like that he's doing all this before he has even talked to Buster again. When Buster's plane lands, Arthur camps by the phone and waits for Buster to call him. Even though Buster would have to get to his home phone since cell phones weren't commonplace at this time. And when Buster doesn't call (I don't know, maybe because he isn't home?), he starts getting really mad and insists that he doesn't need Buster anymore.

What about "Arthur's Faraway Friend," "Arthur the Loser," and "Arthur the Unfunny," in which we see Arthur and Buster writing letters back and forth to each other? Wouldn't Arthur be able to tell that Buster hasn't changed? This episode cheapens the ending of "Arthur's Faraway Friend."

Although I didn't like "Buster's New Friend," at least there was good reason for Arthur to believe that Buster doesn't want to be friends with him anymore. Here, he's throwing away his pictures of Buster before he has even seen him back in Elwood City. The resolution where Buster just wants to play checkers is kind of lame. Not a good return for the character. Bad episode. And this is my longest review since "Arthur's Eyes."

The Ballad of Buster Baxter
This episode starts exactly where "Buster's Back" ends. But both episodes have different plots; while "Buster's Back" is about Arthur worrying that Buster has changed, Buster finds it's the opposite and that while he hasn't changed, everyone and everything else has. And this episode has a lot of call-backs to the previous season, and all the events that happened while Buster was gone. One of the most important ones, though, makes no sense. Why would Arthur and Brain have continued Buster's Robin Hood story? "Arthur's Faraway Friend" ends with them continuing the story, and Arthur even being excited about it! Also, Muffy thinking Buster is a snob comes out of nowhere and ends in nothing. I don't get this plot.

Oh, and of course, there's Art Garfunkel. He's definitely the best part of the episode, as his songs are really funny. But can he redeem this nonsensical episode? Nope, it's okay. Buster's return is pretty underwhelming, but I'm glad to have a main character back.

D.W. All Fired Up
I like this episode. It teaches some good fire safety tips. Arthur is surprisingly nice here, as he reassures D.W. that the school isn't set on fire, tells her not to wear the wet towel because she'll catch a cold, and asks if she's okay after the fire drill. It reminds me of "Operation: D.W.!" I like that even though the Tibbles start the episode's conflict by telling D.W. that she'll be lit on fire, she still helps them when they have trouble during the fire drill. Overall, this is a good episode.

I'd Rather Read It Myself
I really enjoyed D.W.'s story. It did call-backs way better than "The Ballad of Buster Baxter." This episode is really funny, from Bustrantor's song, to Mr. Haney falling in a tiger trap, to all the references, to the book actually being about Leonardo da Vinci. The ending of this episode is good, as the Tibbles still believe that D.W. can read and that the book is magic, so everyone is happy. Great episode. If Season 3 is going to continue being like this and "D.W. All Fired Up," then I can't wait to see what's next!

Arthur Goes Crosswire
I think Arthur only started acting OOC and stuck-up at the "don't you have satellite TV?" bit. Arthur acting so stuck-up from rescuing Wilbur Rabbit doesn't make too much sense. He doesn't seem like the kind of person to behave like that. And if he's really supposed to be acting like Muffy, they should've done a better job, because it seems more like he thinks he's famous when he really isn't. And this is annoying. The episode's climax is okay, I guess, but mostly because they use an extended version of a song commonly heard in the show. This episode's gone haywire; bad.

Sue Ellen and the Brainasaurous
There's a baffling subplot in this episode about Buster trying to hide from Francine. It's not funny and doesn't make much sense. I completely forgot about it before rewatching the episode. And that's the best way to describe this episode; I completely forgot about it. It's just not very interesting. There's not much of a conflict, which is probably why that stupid subplot was added. Brain works on a model and doesn't want Sue Ellen to help. That's pretty much it. I'll give this episode an okay, but keep it in mind as a cure for insomnia.

Background Blues
Three episodes in a row about class assignments? Thankfully, this episode is more interesting. This episode has a lot of new characters, but not many of them actually do anything. Francine and Muffy's contest feels out-of-place. It's like a repeat of "Arthur and the True Francine." I don't like Francine cutting her grandfather's picture just for the contest. This is a very average and unmemorable episode; okay.

And Now Let's Talk to Some Kids
The first half of this episode is hilarious. I love all the meta jokes, and my favorite is "Every day when you're walking down the street, you stop and think!" But I don't like the second half as much. The part where everyone on the show is kind of dull, and I don't like that they don't leave Brain alone. I think it makes the episode go from a great to a good.

Rating Counts

 * Great: 1
 * Good: 2
 * Okay: 3
 * Bad: 2
 * Vomitrocious: 0

Season Ranking

 * 1) I'd Rather Read It Myself


 * 1) And Now Let's Talk to Some Kids
 * 2) D.W. All Fired Up


 * 1) Background Blues
 * 2) The Ballad of Buster Baxter
 * 3) Sue Ellen and the Brainasaurous


 * 1) Buster's Back
 * 2) Arthur Goes Crosswire