User blog:Scrooge200/Season 11 Review

Season 10 is one I actually liked. Will season 11 continue this trend? Also, see my review index!

Swept Away

Season 11 starts off with a good episode! I like the first part of this episode, it's very fun. Arthur, Buster, and D.W.'s sandcastle is visually cool, particularly in the dream sequence. Plus, this episode is set entirely on the beach, which is a change of pace and adds to the atmosphere. There are some jokes I like, such as D.W. disliking the name "Starfish Enterprise" and consistently referring to it as a princess castle. The ending is what really impressed me. It's slightly sad, with a moral about how while good things won't last forever, you'll still have memories of the great times you had. D.W. keeping the starfish from on top of the castle as a necklace is a nice detail, too.

Germophobia

Watching this episode during the 2020 COVID pandemic (or 2021 now...) certainly puts it in a different light.

It explains that neither extremes are good: being a neat freak makes you overly paranoid and nervous, while being dirty means you'll get sick and spread bad germs. Buster's friends aren't happy with either of these. The visions of the germs are truly scary, with the screen warping around the edges and the creepy giggling noises. It's impressive how the harmonica is symbolized as the climax of Buster's bad hygiene. The pool party is also discussed ahead of time, so you have an idea of what the ending will be, but it isn't too predictable. Other than that, I didn't find this episode very entertaining. It's stressful, particularly in the second half. "Wild rice" is a good joke, at least. Okay.

Arthur Sells Out

Here we get an episode dedicated to making fun of false advertising and lame marketing techniques. Jokes like Arthur putting toy soldiers in a bigger box and advertising them as "new larger size" are good, and there's also a surprising amount of legitimate marketing advice, like using appealing colors and stylized fonts. I agree that Arthur goes too far, but he genuinely makes up for it by buying James a replacement for the broken toy he sold him, even skipping out on buying the Dark Bunny game he wanted. And then there's the amazing reveal that the game is nothing like in the commercial and isn't any good, which is very easy to relate to. With the plot of Muffy pushing Arthur and Buster into more immoral business practices, I feel like this episode comes closer to what "Buster's Green Thumb" was going for. I think there's just enough in this episode that I like for me to call it good.

Mind Your Manners

This episode has elements of both "My Fair Tommy," which is given a nice call-back, and "D.W. the Picky Eater." Here, the Tibbles are both really trying to do something nice for their grandmother. And yet, it doesn't feel out of character. There are great moments like when their grandmother recalls an incident at a restaurant (which isn't unrealistically exaggerated like in "D.W. the Picky Eater"), which they happily recall and ask if she wants to go there again, or when Timmy spills his drink and Tommy is quick to retaliate before remembering Molly's advice. The "Extreme Babysitters" opening is also very funny. This isn't a super exciting or memorable episode, but again, there's enough to push it to good.

Rating Counts

• Great: 0
• Good: 3
• Okay: 1
• Bad: 0
• Vomitrocious: 0

Season Ranking

2. Swept Away
3. Mind Your Manners
4. Arthur Sells Out
5. Germophobia