User blog:Scrooge200/Season 10 Review

Season 9 was kind of mixed. Will Season 10 impress?

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.

Happy Anniversary
Just like "April 9th," this is a great special. This special manages to be really funny and have a great plot at the same time. Arthur and Buster promise to watch the Bionic Bunny special, while D.W. wants to find a tin present for her parents' anniversary. I like the ending where it turns out D.W. actually predicted what happens in the special, and D.W. trying to find tin is hilarious, such as when she asks Brain where Congo is or uses a pie tin to draw a portrait. And she ends up finding a tin can in the storeroom, meaning there's a satisfying ending to this plot unlike the D.W. subplot in "Postcards from Buster."

Arthur writing about perspective is also funny, with lines such as "If I were the size of an ant, this pencil would be the size of a tree." His assignment is a recurring theme throughout the episode, and the essay at the end based on what happened after he got out of the storeroom is very well-done. The scene where Arthur and D.W. are trapped in the storeroom is entertaining because of the canned pineapple and Western radio drama, which ends up giving them an idea as to how to escape. Overall, this is an episode I really enjoyed, and definitely a great way to celebrate the show's 10th anniversary (even if that was over a decade ago).

The Squirrels
Geez, The Squirrels has a really big impact on Elwood City if it causes mass panic over squirrels every time it airs. I like how this episode shows that watching a cartoon about something still doesn't help you get over your fear of it, it's handled realistically. The class only gets over their fear of squirrels after they see one up close and where it can't harm them. I like how Binky is the only one to have not seen the movie at first. Overall, I'll give this episode an okay.

Fern and Persimmony Glitchet
I actually did write a letter to Lemony Snicket as a kid. He sent me a list of "answers", and to this day I have no idea what it means. I still thought it was cool to get a response from an author, though. The references to A Series of Unfortunate Events in this episode are accurate and they imitate Lemony Snicket's style pretty well.

I don't agree with this episode's moral. I think simple, feel-good stories can be nice sometimes, and not everything has to be overly dark and edgy. In this episode, everyone hates Fern's writing when it's happy and they only like it once she writes an edgy story. She doesn't even rewrite the happy one, just makes a sequel that abruptly changes everything about the original to make it dark. There could've been a moral about listening to feedback to rewrite a story and make it better. I have no idea why Fern even did a story so different than something she would usually do, and then write in her regular style after she thinks she's a bad writer. There are some good references in this episode, but the weird moral leaves me feeling conflicted. It's okay.

Desert Island Dish
Salad, tacos, hamburgers, I can think of multiple foods that could fit in all five food groups. It makes Brain look a bit ignorant for not thinking of it earlier. The episode moves pretty fast and doesn't get boring, at least. It's okay.

The Secret About Secrets
I like how this episode doesn't spend too long on D.W. wanting to know a secret. It helps set up the scenes where when D.W. does learn a secret, she struggles to keep it. This episode kind of reminds me of "Bleep" and "D.W.'s Baby," but it's handled better. In the end, James's secret doesn't get out, and D.W. learns a way to keep secrets and tells Emily. It's a satisfying ending. I also like the imaginary sequences where D.W. is in a club for secret holders, it has a really cool atmosphere. There are some good jokes in this episode, like the Brady Bunch-style collage of people saying "It's a secret!" and D.W. having "secret-itis." Overall, I think it gets a good rating.

Feeling Flush
This episode is really funny and the plot is interesting. I also like how while Francine loses the bet with Arthur, the toilets in her building are replaced to save water, so she technically wins too. It gets a good rating and I enjoyed it.

Family Fortune
Arthur could've got five thousand dollars but gave the apron to a 1 year old. This is just stupid, since it's not like Kate liked that apron specifically for any reason and would probably be just as happy with any other apron or blanket. You could buy hundreds of aprons with that money! This is even dumber than "Arthur and the Big Riddle"'s ending. Anyways, I think the rest of this episode, such as Buster and Muffy's side plots, don't really amount to anything. I don't think the ending makes this entire episode bad, but it's still not very good either. It's okay.

D.W. Aims High
This is an episode that tries to be more educational and story-focused than funny, but I think it works. There are plenty of space facts in this episode. Arthur is a little annoying here, but once he realizes that D.W. is serious about wanting to go to Mars, he's nicer. David is a pretty good character here, too, and D.W. manages to inspire the Tibbles to be astronauts. I guess this kind of means that they aren't punished for scaring D.W., but it feels like they genuinely did believe that Mars has mutant dinosaurs and weren't trying to trick her, so I can excuse it. Overall, this is a good episode.

Flaw and Order
This episode is "Binky Rules" done right. The mystery is interesting and the clues make sense, and it's themed after a detective show with stuff like time cards. There are some good jokes, like Arthur and Buster's "competitive dancing," and Buster accusing Binky. The only thing I don't like is the ending where the cake plate breaks again, but I don't think it takes away from the episode too much and it's still a good episode.

The Curse of the Grebes
I'm not a fan of baseball, so this episode doesn't do much for me. It kind of reminds me of "Friday the 13th," but thankfully isn't as bad. There's nothing very noteworthy about this one for me, so I'll give it an okay rating.

Arthur Changes Gears
I think this might have one of the shortest intros of the series. Anyways, I don't really like this episode. Arthur's behavior comes off as annoying, and while he does learn his lesson, it still kind of bothers me. Yes, he was being overprotective of it, but he saved up money for months to buy the bike. The moral is "get your stuff dirty and broken because otherwise you're not using it properly" or something. You can still use something and take good care of it. I think this gets a low okay rating.

Unfinished
I never thought I'd watch an episode that ends with Arthur flying into the sun, but now I know anything's possible. Also, as a kid, this episode really frustrated me because I wanted to know the ending; and to this day, I still do. Arthur's attempts to find another copy of the book are decently interesting, but couldn't he look up a plot summary somewhere? If the book really is that rare, you'd think more people would know about it. The musical and the book's animation are a highlight of this episode, but otherwise, eh. I'll give it an okay.

D.W., Bossy Boots
D.W. is being really obnoxious at the party, so it makes sense why nobody wants to hang out with her afterwards. I like Arthur in this episode and how he's actually pretty nice to D.W.. Also, Buster is in a lot of this episode, but he doesn't actually do much and has like two lines of dialogue. D.W. learns her lesson in the end, as you'd expect, and I like how it's handled. A pretty standard episode, it's just okay.

Binky vs. Binky
They had to use a parody of Lance Armstrong in this episode, even though they were able to get him on the show twice later. Anyways, I like this episode. There's a good moral that self-improvement and finding the motivation to continue even when you're behind is important. This episode has some good jokes, too, like Binky's nightmare about the ridiculous awards his mom shows off. Overall, I'll rate it good.

Operation: D.W.!
Wow, Arthur is very nice to D.W. here. As soon as he realizes that she's having an operation, she starts letting her have stuff she wants and brings her food. He only starts to get angry at D.W. once, and quickly reassures her that she's being brave. David is also very supportive, and this episode deals with a realistic topic. I think it's great.

Do You Speak George?
This is a pretty interesting episode. I liked seeing all the new languages and how the episode concludes that there's no one universal language that everyone can speak. There's some good humor in George's dream sequence especially, and I'll give this episode a good rating.

World Girls
This is a bit of a weird episode, but I do like how it handles its moral. Showing that people are tempted to buy stuff they don't even pay attention to just because they feel the need to complete a collection isn't a moral I'd expect from an Arthur episode. I like how Muffy tries to buy as many as she can but can't keep up, Francine thinks it's a scam and only buys one doll, and Sue Ellen looks for an accessory for the only doll she has. The plots are handled well and none of them feel like they take longer than they should. Overall, this is a good episode.

What's Cooking?
While this episode is primarily focused on Arthur, there are also scenes with Sue Ellen's and Brain's entries. It helps contrast how elaborate their food is compared to Arthur's plain chocolate cake. Reminds me of "Best of the Nest," in a good way. There's also a bit of suspense with how Arthur and Muffy aren't sure if Ming Tsai will be a fair judge (and the scenes of how they imagine him are hilarious). The moral that mistakes aren't a big deal is something that's easily applicable to real life. I liked this episode, and I'll call it good.

Buster's Special Delivery
This season was so close! Like with season 4, the last episode turns out to be the only bad one. I have a problem with exactly why Buster is chosen to be a mail carrier. Buster badmouths the position and is only interested once he learns he can skip ten minutes of class. Mr. Haney is in the room and at the front of the class at this moment, why wouldn't he notice? So the people to apply for the position are Muffy, George, Arthur, and Buster. Mr. Haney dismisses George for being afraid of beetles (what?) and Arthur, who has the best reasoning ("I'm organized, I'm punctual, and I think I could do a pretty good job"), because he only says that he thinks he could do a good job. Buster tells a story about the first time he received mail, and Mr. Haney gives him the position because he's enthusiastic about mail. But Muffy described how much mail she's subscribed to and reads, so isn't that pretty much the same thing?

So Buster gets the job, and when he tries rushing it, it means no dodgeball, no watermelon, and no field trips. He gets advice from resident mailman Mr. Higgins, but why is Buster acting like he has to do his mailman job outside of school? He improves, and realizes that the job is taking up much more of his time than he expected. So after a week, he loses his position, and is tasked with training the next mail carrier: Arthur, who is portrayed as irresponsible, for some reason. I'm not sure if I'm supposed to be with or against Buster in this one. Add in that it's not very funny and really has no moral, and you get a bad episode.

Season Notes

 * Since this is the 10th season, there are number 10s hidden all throughout the episodes. I think it's pretty fun to look for them, even if it doesn't change my ratings.
 * There seems to be a bit more dark content in this season. "Fern and Persimmony Glitchet," "D.W., Bossy Boots," and "The Squirrels" give us some scary fiction stories, and "World Girls" has a truly unsettling climax, while D.W. is creeped out by the Tibbles' tales of martian blood in "D.W. Aims High." Again, not something that impacts my ratings, just something I noticed.

Rating Counts

 * Great: 2
 * Good: 8
 * Okay: 8
 * Bad: 1
 * Vomitrocious: 0

Season Ranking

 * 1) Operation: D.W.!
 * 2) Happy Anniversary
 * 3) Flaw and Order
 * 4) Binky vs. Binky
 * 5) What's Cooking?
 * 6) Do You Speak George?
 * 7) World Girls
 * 8) D.W. Aims High
 * 9) Feeling Flush
 * 10) The Secret About Secrets
 * 11) Desert Island Dish
 * 12) Unfinished
 * 13) D.W., Bossy Boots
 * 14) The Squirrels
 * 15) Family Fortune
 * 16) The Curse of the Grebes
 * 17) Fern and Persimmony Glitchet
 * 18) Arthur Changes Gears
 * 19) Buster's Special Delivery

Final Thoughts
Hey, I enjoyed half of this season! Seasons 8 and 9 were pretty low on bad episodes, but a lot I just felt neutral about. In the end, this comes off as a better version of season 4. There's been a slow quality increase over the course of the show. When will it peak? When will it drop? Find out in my Season 11 Review!