User blog:Scrooge200/Season 9 Review

I generally liked Season 8. I'm hoping that Season 9 is just as good.

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.

Castles in the Sky

I like seeing all the new designs for the treehouse. It's very creative and fun, and I like how the designs get modified and changed when brought to Frank Gehry. I don't like that they don't realize who he is until after he leaves, but that's a minor complaint. It's not really explained how the treehouse fell in the first place (I assume heavy snow), although I still liked the plot. They end up rebuilding the original treehouse, and this works as a kind of "if it ain't broke, don't fix it" moral. Overall, this is a good episode.

Tipping the Scales

I like Dr. Fugue, and it's kind of disappointing that he only appears four times in the show (once every 2 or 3 seasons, in fact). I think it's kind of weird that the episode doesn't actually remind you of who he is and just assumes that you've seen "Arthur Plays the Blues" already. Ever since I saw this episode as a kid, it still kind of bothers me that Arthur's class doesn't actually get to sing at Crown City or go to the restaurant they were excited about. They do enjoy singing and eating at the diner they stop at, but it's still a bit disappointing. The rest of the episode doesn't feel like it has much of a conflict, either. They just do what Dr. Fugue tells them. Plus, the singing in this episode is so dull and not energetic (besides the ending). I'm a little confused on what rating to give this one, but it'll get an okay.

Francine's Big Top Trouble

Here's kind of a weird plot. I don't get why Catherine would be so good at circus tricks, or why Francine would struggle so much. This episode is pretty similar to "Francine Frensky, Olympic Rider," except this time, Francine wears a weird disguise instead of quitting. This doesn't amount to much because she's found out a minute later. The moral here is kind of strange, too, since Francine does succeed in circus camp, she just does it in a different way than Catherine. I liked the dream sequence where Francine is portrayed as an inferior sequel to Catherine, but other than this, the episode is just kind of okay.

George Blows His Top

I don't like Buster's behavior here and how he's obviously trying to guilt trip George. It's very out of character and there's no real reason for it (I understand him borrowing the pencil, but him taking George's dessert and jacket is just being a jerk). And although it's Buster that starts the problem, it's also him that ends it, since he apologizes and George ultimately doesn't get to learn to stand up for himself and say no. So there's no real moral to this episode. There are parts I like, such as Buster singing "Baxter Day" on the tape recorder and George's various fantasy sequences, but I'm going to call this bad.

Arthur Weighs In

This episode's plot moves very fast. First Arthur practices for the play, then he tries on his suit and it doesn't fit, he buys a new suit, Buster gives him dieting advice (which ultimately amounts to nothing), D.W. helps him avoid eating junk food, Mr. Ratburn tells Arthur about how he lost weight by playing ping pong, the class gets pedometers and Arthur realizes he's still really lazy, then he takes it seriously and is able to fit in his suit and act in the play. It's not a problem because all the scenes flow well and fit with the plot. There are some quick dialogue jokes in this episode I like, such as Buster saying that it doesn't matter which diet Arthur uses because none of them work, and Arthur being disappointed after he hasn't lost weight after just three hours of eating healthy. However, the first third of this episode is just fat jokes and I didn't really enjoy that, so I'll give this an okay rating.

The Law of the Jungle Gym

This episode has an interesting conflict. Muffy wants to take pictures on the Tough Customers' jungle gym, but Molly doesn't want her to use it or else everybody else will. Surprisingly, Muffy wins, but she realizes her pictures don't look good up there anyways, so she agrees to give it back to Molly. I think this episode is more plot-focused than comedy-focused, but I don't mind because the plot is really good, and there are still some funny moments like Binky wanting to listen to disco music and Molly's threats that get drowned out by loud noises. I'll give this episode a good rating.

Buster's Green Thumb

The intro to this episode is some old food in Buster's cabinet talking and arguing. It's not very funny and just kind of gross. Also, there's like a straight 90 seconds of characters talking about how good the tomatoes are, which gets repetitive. I don't get why Buster doesn't want to go back to the garden because Fritz got mad at him, he could easily offer to make up for it by helping him garden instead of just running off. Muffy doesn't do much in this episode even though it seems like she could've been a supporting antagonist here, trying to merchandise Buster's products even when he wants to give them away for free. At least Buster's fantasy of being a tomato-themed superhero is funny. I'm not sure how to rate this episode, but I guess it gets a low okay.

My Fair Tommy

I feel kinda bad for Tommy in the beginning of this episode, and I don't like how D.W. and Emily laugh at him. This plot is kinda cliche, and ultimately amounts to nothing because Tommy gets a vanilla cupcake instead of chocolate like he wanted, then just goes back to behaving like usual. It doesn't really address the problem in the first place, that he doesn't like being treated unfairly by Timmy. The scenes of D.W. teaching Tommy how to be good are kind of boring and not very memorable. I'll give this an okay rating.

Lights, Camera... Opera!

As a kid, this episode made me think that needing to go to the opera would be a much bigger part of my life than it really turned out to be. This episode's intro is really short for some reason. My favorite part of this episode is Muffy's dream set to Carmen; the lyrics are funny and the animation is pretty cool. Binky and Bailey are pretty good in this episode, but I don't like how Prunella just whines that she doesn't like opera, as if her opinion is the only one that matters. Muffy does enjoy opera in the end when she's encouraged to just try it to see. I'm going to give this episode a light good because I enjoyed the music and the plot is unique.

All Worked Up

So what's the point of this episode? It feels like it's supposed to teach a moral, but I don't get what that is. Arthur's mother works more, and Binky says that they got a new TV so technically that's good, but Buster just tries to worry him. Arthur comes off as a really selfish here, acknowledging that he just gets good grades because he studies and he doesn't want his mother to work more, even though she clearly enjoys it. And in the end, Arthur gets one good grade (thanks to D.W. helping him study), and he suddenly thinks his streak is back? What if it goes right back to mediocre grades again, since this is juts one grade? And again, he got this because he studied. His mother's new job had nothing to do with it this time. This episode is confusing and not very memorable, but I don't outright dislike it, so I'll give it an okay.

Rating Counts

• Great: 0
• Good: 3
• Okay: 6
• Bad: 1
• Vomitrocious: 0

Season Ranking

2. The Law of the Jungle Gym
3. Castles in the Sky
4. Lights, Camera... Opera!
5. Tipping the Scales
6. Arthur Weighs In
7. Francine's Big Top Trouble
8. My Fair Tommy
9. Buster's Green Thumb
10. All Worked Up
11. George Blows His Top