User blog:Scrooge200/Season 5 Review

Season 4, which I reviewed last time, was "so... close to being perfect." Maybe Season 5 will be a nice surprise.

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.

Arthur and the Big Riddle

I like all the riddles and puns in this episode, especially Arthur's Riddle Land dream sequence. But other than that, this episode is kind of dull and not much happens until the last three minutes. And what really annoys me is the ending: Arthur knows the correct answer to a riddle, but decides to lose out of fear that he'll have to change schools and keep going on the show. Or, you know, he could just get it right, win the prize, and lose the next round so he wouldn't have to keep playing? A very disappointing ending, and this episode's call-backs to "Arthur the Loser" don't help. Are the Arthur writing staff really against winning this much? This is an okay episode.

Double Dare

It's dumb how quick everyone is to accept the dare, even after they realize it's dangerous. And that's the best way to describe this episode; dumb. The ending is dumb, the entire plot is dumb, and it's a rather confusing plot. I think this is a bad episode, just because of how everyone goes along with something they know is stupid, and the sheer boredom I feel while watching it.

Kids are from Earth, Parents are from Pluto

This is a boring episode. I don't really care about the conflict nor can I relate. So what if their parents are embarrassing? Everyone else's will be. And it's not like this episode is very funny. I found it kind of stupid. An okay episode that's not quite bad.

Nerves of Steal

I had a review written for this episode, but I accidentally lost it. So I'll go and say that this is an okay episode and that I thought what Buster did was stupid, especially the note he writes, and that the ending is depressing and I don't like it.

It's a No-Brainer

This episode's beginning and end has a weird obsession with showing people's brains. It's kind of creepy and doesn't add much to the episode. Besides that, this is a really dumb episode. You might as well call this Brain's Best Behavior, because this episode has exactly the same plot as "Buster's Best Behavior." Heck, it's even similar to "Popular Girls" and "Arthur Goes Crosswire"; why does the show like doing these plots so much? There's not much to this plot, it's just that Brain does bad in a math contest and then starts acting like Buster while Buster tries to be the next Brain. I don't even get the ending, where Brain drops a math book and confesses that he wants to do math again; then why was he acting like that if he didn't want to? Ugh, this is a confusing mess. I can't give this episode points for originality, animation (it has that washed out Buster's Best Behavior palette), humor, or even having a coherent plot. It gets a light bad from me.

The Shore Thing

It bugs me that everyone mispronounces "aqua" in this episode. Other than that, this is a good episode. It's not incredibly funny or interesting, but it makes me happy and still has some good moments. I like how Mr. Ratburn randomly appears twice, too. A low good episode, and definitely an improvement over the previous one.

The World Record

I like how many main characters are involved in this episode. Overall, it's a very fun episode. I like seeing which records they try to break. This episode is pretty unrealistic, but it has a good ending and there are some funny moments. It's a good episode that holds my attention.

The Cave

I don't like Francine and D.W. in this episode. Francine mocks Arthur for being afraid of the dark... why? The dark is like one of the most common and logical things to be afraid of. If Arthur's fear was ridiculous, I could understand, but an 8 year old being scared of the dark isn't unheard of. I like the scenes in the cave and how Francine actually does get scared, but what happens to D.W.? There should have been a scene of Arthur at home talking to David and D.W. after the spelunking trip. Overall, a rather okay episode. This season isn't great so far, but it isn't terrible either.

The Lousy Week

Why are the lice portrayed as army men? Because Muffy doesn't want to tell anyone else about her lice, she infects the entire school. But why would the entire school just pass around and wear a hat? That's kind of dumb. This episode is overly serious, but not at all at the same time, with the D.W. scene and the anthropomorphized lice. It just goes on and on and just ends instead of concludes. The lice are defeated, but why? Arthur's olive oil helped but that was only for him, and isn't his family still infected with lice? This episode is just unpleasant, boring, and long. A low okay.

You Are Arthur

What a meta episode. We're shown this episode from Arthur's point of view. Well, not entirely, because some of the flashback scenes are third person. And this episode uses a lot of full-screen wipes (sometimes even just Arthur blinking) to move the plot along and go to a new scene. There's a lot of "Arthur looking into reflective surfaces" to remind us that we're watching an Arthur episode.

The episode doesn't spend much time on its plot and everything is established in the "as you already know, you have to run the race today!" fashion. I would've liked to see Arthur in school or something instead of this 5k race. I can still appreciate what we got, as this is a unique concept that we haven't seen in the show yet and I kind of enjoyed it. It's a low good.

The Election

No, I'm not going to make any political comments in this review. I like how quickly the episode starts. It goes right into the concept of an election. It's in-character for Muffy to be taking it so seriously, and some of the presidential jokes are pretty funny, especially Binky's "speak softly and carry a big stick" scene. But... I'm not really sure you can defame other candidates nor can you buy votes. It doesn't really matter because Binky ends up winning. This is a good episode.

Francine Goes to War

Well, it's definitely not a good sign if this episode starts by referencing "Arthur the Loser" and "Francine Frensky, Superstar." Francine is really bad in this episode. She harasses her new neighbor, an old lady, just because she sent a noise complaint about their loud screaming and drumming. Francine forges letters, prank calls her, and puts a fake spider on her doorstep because of this. Yeah, she and Mrs. Pariso do become friends at the end, but the episode ends with Francine being a hypocrite and not caring that Catherine is bothered by Mrs. Pariso's noise. This is a bad episode.

Sleep No More

Okay, so this episode actually is kind of funny in the middle. Buster's dream about shepherd's pie, the sleep mask scene, him eating chips in Muffy's bed, and him falling asleep because he thinks of math class are all good jokes. But the rest of this episode is stupid. Why would someone build a land out of pizza? It'd get all gross after like three days. And what the heck is up with that ending? It feels more like a parody ending than a genuine one. Is this episode all just a joke that I didn't understand? Did the writers just say "let's make the most bizarre episode we can"? This is an okay episode because it's kinda funny, but ugh, this is a mess.

Pet Peeved

This is a very wholesome episode. It's pretty funny, too, especially Binky meowing and insulting a tree. It's not an outstanding or particularly memorable episode, but I did enjoy it. I'm really glad that they didn't make Binky super ignorant or downright abusive, and Nemo genuinely does seem to enjoy Binky's company. It's a good episode.

The Last of Mary Moo Cow

Arthur is such a petty jerk he regularly changes the clocks so his sister can't watch her favorite show. And Arthur and Buster are happy about a show they don't like getting canceled? Geez, and he's so mean about it. This is even worse than Season 1 Arthur. This episode is supposed to teach kids how to handle your favorite shows being canceled, but what is it even trying to say? Write letters to the producers until the show's actors reassure you that it might be rebooted? Also, it's strange that Jane says that "all shows get canceled eventually" when Arthur has over 22 seasons worth of episodes. Bad episode. The only thing I like is that this episode is the source of the "everything gags" reaction image.

Bitzi's Beau

Buster imagining Mr. Ratburn marrying Bitzi is really funny nowadays. Other than that, this episode is kinda boring. I already know that Bitzi and Harry break up in season 8 and it's really obvious that they wouldn't show an abusive boyfriend or something in a PBS Kids show. Harry's infrequent appearances don't help much. The alien detector running gag was just kind of weird. This is an okay episode, and I don't feel very strongly about it.

Just Desserts

This is such a bizarre episode. I don't even think I can describe it. There are definitely some jokes I liked, like "That's what I think of your magic beans!" and the junk food mail, so I'd give this episode a good. I'm really glad that they decided to go with mixing up different fairy tales instead of just bland retellings.

The Big Dig

To be honest, this episode is kind of boring. I did not care about anything that happened. It's just mildly depressing and a very low-energy episode. I'm going to give it a bad because it's sad, boring, and forgettable.

Arthur's Family Feud

More like D.W.'s Snow Mystery 2! I don't think I like this episode as much as "D.W.'s Snow Mystery" because there's a lot more arguing and less storytelling. I like the animation when Arthur tells his story, it's simple and still pretty well-done. The ending is wholesome and it's nice that Arthur, D.W., and their dad all make a new souffle together. I liked this episode, so it gets a good.

Muffy Gets Mature

Well, here's the last episode of the season. And to be honest, it's really unmemorable. I don't think teenagers are really like this. Is dancing really considered "for little kids"? And eating salad doesn't make you mature. This episode feels like a reverse "Popular Girls," but fails to be as funny. It's just Muffy repeatedly saying "my magazine says that this is cool" and then her learning that it actually isn't. This is an okay episode because I don't feel very strongly about it and it's just so mediocre. And no, I didn't use Mature Miss to tell me that.

Season Notes

• The color palette isn't very good this season. It's just too washed-out.
• Arthur is starting to go through some character development.

Rating Counts

• Great: 0
• Good: 7
• Okay: 8
• Bad: 5
• Vomitrocious: 0

Season Ranking

1. The World Record
2. Pet Peeved
3. The Election
4. Just Desserts
5. The Shore Thing
6. Arthur's Family Feud
7. You Are Arthur
8. The Cave
9. Bitzi's Beau
10. Sleep No More
11. Kids are from Earth, Parents are from Pluto
12. Arthur and the Big Riddle
13. Nerves of Steal
14. The Lousy Week
15. Muffy Gets Mature
16. The Big Dig
17. It's a No-Brainer
18. Double Dare
19. Francine Goes to War
20. The Last of Mary Moo Cow

Final Thoughts

Overall, this season has the most okay episodes out of anything. It has more goods than bads, but I'd still call it an okay season. There are no great or vomitrocious episodes, meaning that they really didn't try for anything too unique this season (besides "You Are Arthur").

Next, see my Season 6 review! Or my review on Arthur's Perfect Christmas, the hour-long special that aired during Season 5!