User blog:Scrooge200/Season 8 Review

Season 7 leaned more towards good than bad. Will Season 8 continue this upwards trend?

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.

Dear Adil
This episode is like a better version of "Sue Ellen Moves In." We see Adil early in the episode and we already know what he does and what he's like, so it makes Arthur's wrong assumptions even funnier. Arthur doesn't come off as annoying here, either. Like in "Arthur Writes a Story," he wants his writing to be interesting and doesn't know what he's doing. There isn't a character I don't like in this episode. It's funny, has a good moral, and kept me invested. I'll give it a good rating.

Bitzi's Break-Up
I don't think we've seen Harry since his first appearance, so him breaking up with Bitzi doesn't matter much. He actually does more in the show after this point. Besides that, this is kind of a strange episode. Why is there a random "Happy St. Patrick's" banner in the school? Is the song that Buster plays a real one or made for the show? (I'm inclined to believe it's real because this same episode mentions the Backstreet Boys.) How do 5 dollars and 5 unspecified coins add up to 7 dollars? Why exactly did Harry and Bitzi break up (it's mentioned that they have "busy schedules" and not elaborated on more)? This episode has a few funny moments and the plot is okay, if a little confusing. I guess it gets an okay rating.

Fernfern and the Secret of Moose Mountain
This episode has some funny moments. I like how Fern asks the ranger about people who died on the mountain, Muffy not wanting to go on the hike, and Francine getting annoyed with Fern's constant Zutzut references. The plot is interesting and Fern and Francine are good characters here. This is a good episode.

Thanks a Lot, Binky
I appreciate this episode's moral. Other than that, it's kind of boring and is pretty unremarkable. It's okay.

Arthur's Snow Biz
Arthur has a point here, in that Buster actually wasn't doing much work. If I wrote this episode, I'd have Buster learn that he actually can't do the snow shoveling since he only earned the money from doing the easy parts; once he takes the jobs, he realizes that it's harder to do alone and re-partners with Arthur. But nope, Buster earns an extra dollar than Arthur for this and his business ends up being more successful. The rest is just them advertising and eventually lowering their prices. Arthur ends up wasting his day off from school and hardly makes any money, so this is kind of a sad ending. This episode's broken moral, annoying characters, and lack of humor give it a bad rating. The only thing I really liked is how D.W. helps Arthur.

Bugged
Brain is annoying in this episode, I'll admit. I don't like how he thinks not being annoying is just not saying anything, even when Mr. Ratburn asks a general question to the class he knows the answer to or Arthur directly asks him for advice. This episode gets a low okay from me.

Fernkenstein's Monster
I like the scary stories told at the beginning of the episode. They're ridiculous enough to be funny instead of scary. I do think Fern's story is genuinely scary, and the way it's told has cool atmosphere. I don't agree with the episode's moral, though. Fern has to change her scary story because her friends find it too scary. So this episode is saying "be yourself except when others don't like it"? This is a fun Halloween episode, but I don't get the moral. The stuff inbetween the story and the ending is a little boring. I'll give this episode an okay.

D.W., Dancing Queen
I really enjoy this episode's concept. Binky has to teach D.W. and the Tough Customers how to dance and realizes that they aren't bad at learning it, he's bad at teaching it. It's a unique take on this plot. This episode has some pretty funny jokes, like how Binky's music is a modified version of an Arthur background track in one scene and how Binky sings the theme song at the end. The introduction is also quite creative. I'll give this episode a good.

Vomitrocious
Well, this is certainly a disgusting episodes. A rare instance of both blood and vomit (although we don't see it)? A lot of this episode confuses me. Why was Francine throwing up? It seems to be a reaction to seeing blood or something gross, but it's also implied that it's just a minor illness. And what causes Francine's behavior changes in this episode? First she makes fun of George, and then she feels bad for him and invites him to the Sugar Bowl while still being insensitive, then finally defends him in front of her friends. This episode doesn't have any noteworthy jokes, either. It's a light bad episode.

Sue Ellen Chickens Out
This episode doesn't have many noteworthy jokes besides Binky thinking of rhymes for "thirteen." I like the moral about standing up for yourself and doing what you think is right, but the problem is that Sue Ellen's protest doesn't actually do anything. Nobody changes their minds and she doesn't even get to contact the Chicken Lickin' staff. In fact, it's actually Grandma Thora, who wasn't even involved in the protest, that saves the restaurant! Overall, this is a low okay.

Postcards from Buster
He's got his camera and he's gonna explore, all the new things he's never done before! I haven't watched Postcards from Buster in like a decade, but I never remembered it being that good. I found it boring and I was annoyed by how little it even had to do with Arthur. I think it works better as just this special. In the first half, Buster doesn't want his mom to feel sad about him leaving, while D.W. tries to save money. I enjoyed both, and it's a good idea to have D.W.'s comedy-focused plot between Buster's more emotional scenes.

The second half focuses on the trip to New York City, and I liked these scenes too. Buster's video camera being in live action while everything else is animated is a good explanation of the animation styles switching, although some of the camerawork could have been a bit better. And a lot happens in New York City: they see a breakdancing group, chalk drawings, some different restaurants, the subways, and more. No section feels like it goes on for too long, and it's all interesting. I don't like how D.W. ended up not liking the play after putting in the effort of saving money for it, though. At the end, Arthur decides that he had a good trip even though he was hungry for most of it, but at least this ending is more believable than "Arthur's Family Vacation."

The first half of this episode is weaker than the second, but I liked it overall. It gets a good rating.

Desk Wars
This episode is hilarious. There's a creative intro where nobody wants to show Arthur what's in their desks. I like the main plot, where the tension slowly builds up until George sharpens the pencil and the class starts rioting. Everything is foreshadowed well, and it's not made clear who you're supposed to think is right or wrong. I also like the ending where nobody can remember what they started fighting over or who started it. I'm unsure between giving this a good or a great rating, but I think it gets a high good. Definitely a highlight of the show.

Desperately Seeking Stanley
And now it's not just other animals and babies that Kate and Pal can talk to, but toys as well. I think this is a little weird, but I like how the toys are characterized here, so it doesn't really matter for this episode. There are a few references in this episode, mostly to "Arthur Rides the Bandwagon" and "Arthur and Los Vecinos." I don't really get why Arthur sells Stanley, and I wish that was elaborated on&mdash;he doesn't sleep with Stanley anymore so D.W. taunting doesn't make sense, and Brain understands Arthur's problem later, so there wasn't really a point to Arthur getting rid of Stanley. There's a conflicting ending where while Arthur doesn't have Stanley anymore, he knows he's safe. I think this kind of goes against Arthur wanting Stanley to be with a kid who needs him more and will still take good care of him. Overall, I'd give this episode an okay rating and I don't feel too strongly about it.

Muffy's Art Attack
Does this count as a Bailey episode? It's nice to see him get a major role in an episode for once. I don't like Muffy's behavior at the art exhibit, she's kind of rude there. There's an entertaining scene where Muffy tries to make a sculpture by making a can that rolls, and eventually sets off a chain reaction, and I wish more of the episode was scenes like this. Instead, Bailey starts doing all the work as Muffy works on her doll house. I like when Francine realizes that Muffy took credit for Bailey's work, but in the end, Muffy gets rewarded with Arthur Ganson liking her dollhouse and wanting to put it in an art show. Muffy never apologizes to her friends or Bailey, so I'm not very sure about this ending. I think this episode gets a high okay.

Tales from the Crib
There's a funny intro sequence that's a parody of MTV Cribs. I like how this episode sets up its plot pretty fast, but a lot of it feels repetitive. D.W. is told not to get out of bed at night, and she does anyways, three times in a row. It's not very interesting, either. First, she goes to sleep in her parents' bed, then she goes to Arthur's room, then she goes to get ice cream. Before these scenes, D.W. already says that she likes her bed and has already gotten over not having her crib anymore, so it's not even relevant to helping Vicita. D.W.'s not scared or uncomfortable in her bed, she's excited that she can go around the house at night now. It's a strange episode, and I think it gets an okay rating because the scenes where D.W. tells Vicita about "Irving legends" are hilarious dialogue comedy.

Flea to Be You and Me
So, this episode is weird. We're introduced to a flea named Pepe who has lost his brother, and the episode is completely serious about this. There's no humor, it only tries to be sad. Pepe tells a story about how he traveled the world and went from Italy to Elwood City, but it's mostly a showcase of random nature facts instead of an actual plot. Plus, Pepe and Sale get reunited in the end for some unexplained reason. This insanely mediocre episode gets an okay rating from me.

Kiss and Tell
Here's another strange episode. D.W. wants to get kissed by a boy because she thinks it'll turn her into a princess. D.W. sees a situation that ends in a kiss, tries to replicate it, and fails. There are a few things I like, such as the Tibbles avoiding D.W. because they think she wants to kiss them, D.W.'s fantasy of turning into a frog, and Arthur's summary of Romeo and Juliet, but the rest of the episode is kind of uncomfortable. I don't think this episode is bad, so I'll give it an okay rating.

Big Horns George
I enjoyed this episode. Koko Taylor and Taj Mahal are good as guest stars, and I feel like I learned something about blues music from watching this. There are some good jokes, too, like Brain's song about pi and Binky being both the store owner and the sheriff. This is a good episode.

Bleep
This has got to be one of the longest openings of the show, with it introducing the concept of the bleep and showing how it's used. As a kid, this episode made me think that there actually was a guy live on the set who made the bleeping noise. Either way, I'm not sure what to think about this episode. I don't hate it, but it's not that good either. The moral that some swear words are offensive is fine. I guess I'll give this an okay rating.

Season Notes

 * At this point, the show is more comfortable with developing its characters: Brain likes blues music, Bailey is a great sculptor, Sue Ellen stands up for what she believes in, Pal and Kate can talk to toys, Fern likes scary stuff... I quite enjoy this, as it helps make the characters more interesting and relatable.
 * The second half of this season is much better than the first. I'm not sure what caused this increase in quality.

Rating Counts

 * Great: 0
 * Good: 6
 * Okay: 11
 * Bad: 2
 * Vomitrocious: 0

Season Ranking

 * 1) Desk Wars
 * 2) Postcards from Buster
 * 3) Dear Adil
 * 4) Big Horns George
 * 5) Fernfern and the Secret of Moose Mountain
 * 6) D.W., Dancing Queen
 * 7) Desperately Seeking Stanley
 * 8) Muffy's Art Attack
 * 9) Bitzi's Break-Up
 * 10) Tales from the Crib
 * 11) Kiss and Tell
 * 12) Bleep
 * 13) Fernkenstein's Monster
 * 14) Sue Ellen Chickens Out
 * 15) Thanks a Lot, Binky
 * 16) Bugged
 * 17) Flea to Be You and Me
 * 18) Vomitrocious
 * 19) Arthur's Snow Biz

Final Thoughts
It seems like the show is really picking up in quality now. There are only two episodes I outright dislike from this season, and even they aren't as bad as some of the terrors from earlier seasons.

Next, see my Season 9 Review, or check out my general list of reviews.