User blog:Scrooge200/Season 6 Review

Season 5 was a very mediocre season, having no great or vomitrocious episodes. Will Season 6 prove to be more exciting?

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.

Sue Ellen Gets Her Goose Cooked

I quite enjoy this episode. I can't say I've ever been that obsessed with a video game, but I do get the moral. I even like the subplot with D.W. and how she ends up winning Virtual Goose. This episode has some good jokes, like Sue Ellen throwing peas at Francine, the "rocks in a box" game, the vanilla ice cream with vanilla sprinkles and extra vanilla sauce, and the Chinese Virtual Goose player. This is a good episode.

Best of the Nest

I like how this episode is a direct sequel to the previous one. It's really funny, too, with Mr. Ratburn using the computer, all the ridiculous questions in the game, the shark in the river, Buster confusing Mr. Ratburn for Prunella, and D.W. ending Arthur's game. The plot is interesting and I really liked watching this episode. The only downside is that this episode doesn't have an actual ending, which lowered my rating for it a bit. This episode is C, do the hokey-pokey; or good.

Arthur Plays the Blues

You know, I had completely forgot about this episode before I watched it for this review. I don't like Arthur in this episode. He chose not to practice and procrastinated on it despite everyone reminding him. This episode is like a mix of "Arthur vs. the Piano" and "Arthur and the Real Mr. Ratburn." And I don't get what the ending implies. Arthur still can't play the piece correctly and I don't think he'll be re-hired, so what's the point? This is an okay episode.

Buster's Sweet Success

This episode is just so disjointed. Buster wants to sell chocolates, but he can't, he eats them, he makes new chocolates, and then he works in a store. Buster brought this problem upon himself, taking more boxes than he can realistically sell and even eating all the chocolates, so it's kind of hard to feel bad for him. He and Arthur even cook new chocolates without the help of Arthur's dad, who's a chef. It's not like this is the first time we've had a "character does stuff to raise money" plot, either. "Arthur Bounces Back" already tried this plot and it failed miserably. This is a bad episode.

Prunella's Special Edition

All the Harry Potter references in this episode went over my head. I haven't read that series. Anyways, this episode feels like it's two separate parts; first, Prunella is excited about the book, and then she tries to avoid spoilers and find another copy. Marina's introduction is a little awkward. And why would Prunella lend her brand new book to someone she has never met? I like how uncomfortable Prunella looks when Marina reads her the inscription, that's funny. This is an okay episode and I keep confusing it with other Henry Skreever episodes like "Prunella Sees the Light" and "Prunella and the Disappointing Ending."

The Secret Life of Dogs and Babies

Hey, it's the first Pal and Kate episode! I know that a lot of people don't particularly like them, but I kind of enjoyed this one. There's a lot of stuff that happens and the pacing is good. Kate and Pal watch a Rugrats parody (which is really funny, "MASHED LIMA BEANS" anyone?), Pal sings a song about bacon, Kate tries to get out of her crib, they try to get the cake topper to the party... It's an interesting episode. I'd give it a light good.

Muffy's Soccer Shocker

This episode just feels pointlessly mean to Muffy. She has to do difficult soccer drills, her friends make fun of her, and she's pressured to talk to her dad about the soccer game. What makes this worse is that she doesn't actually do anything to deserve any of this. It's not a very exciting episode, besides the ending, which is just strange. This is a bad episode.

Brother, Can You Spare a Clarinet?

I like this episode's opening. The jokes about bad-sounding music are genuinely annoying, both the music and everyone's stupid reactions to it. I like how they try their plan in a few different areas. I don't have any real opinion on this episode, so it's okay.

The Boy Who Cried Comet

I don't like how nobody believes Buster, but he should've actually brought the photo and shown it to people. So I don't really like either side of that conflict. The end is really anticlimactic, too; it's only told secondhand and then it turns out that the entire show is just being filmed by aliens in disguise... I don't get it. Eh, this episode isn't anything too special. I'll give it an okay.

Arthur and Los Vecinos

I never really liked Mr. Sipple, but he didn't bother me because he appeared so rarely. I like the Molina family much more, they're more interesting characters. This episode has some fun references, like Arthur's indirect mention of Bill Nye the Science Guy and the call-back to Arthur's Perfect Christmas and Sue Ellen Gets Her Goose Cooked. This episode has some great lines like "Pretty cool stairs!" and "Here's the rope to tie me up with!" I like how the Arthur and D.W. plots are shown separately; there's also some good contrast in that D.W. gets annoyed with Vicita while Arthur unknowingly bothers Alberto. Alberto giving Arthur a Spanish-English dictionary is funny, and I like how D.W. helps Vicita at the end. Heck, even Amigo and Pal get a scene at the end! I like this episode a lot, and I'll give it a great.

Citizen Frensky

Geez, this show's terrible ideas of revenge continue six seasons in? Yeah, Francine shouldn't have photographed her friends like that, but the thing is that nobody actually believed her pictures and they weren't mocked for it. It just kinda happened. And they laughed at the pictures of Catherine and Mr. Ratburn, so they liked it but can't stand it when it's about themselves? When Catherine writes an insulting picture of Francine and everyone laughs at her, it's kinda hard to feel like she got what she deserved. This kind of stock plot is so common that it's hard to believe they could mess it up like this. Bad episode.

D.W.'s Backpack Mishap

Seriously, even when D.W. loses her backpack, Arthur still makes rude comments about it? I like the mystery in this episode. Arthur brings this episode down, but I like some of the characters in this episode. Still, this episode is kinda boring. It's okay.

The Boy with His Head in the Clouds

This episode is really funny. The entire "Hammer" sequence is great, and there's even a catchy song in it. This episode's intro is good too, with Arthur saying "I am educational" in a completely apathetic tone of voice. Kinda reminds me of the really bad morals that this show sometimes does... but not in this episode. This episode explains dyslexia, and while it doesn't go too in-depth on it, I did learn something from it. I can't decide between giving this episode a high good or a low great, but I think I'll go with good.

More!

Man, D.W. is bad in this episode. She's obsessed with getting money and values it over her friendship with Emily. Even at the end when she has supposedly learned her lesson, it turns out that she actually hasn't at all and still wants money! D.W. even ruins Arthur's friend group! I don't really get the point of this episode, and it's bad.

Rhyme for Your Life

It's cool how the dialogue this time
is told entirely in rhyme.

Both from the episode and in this review,
"writing a poem is the least I could do."

For his mother's birthday, Binky wants to write a card
But finds that writing poetry is really hard

In his dream, Binky doesn't know what to do
Poetry is much harder than writing in haiku

He soon encounters a purple fruit foe
And defeats it by covering it in snow

Having saved the city, now a poet among the best
Binky starts to appreciate anapest

The very ending to this episode is my only complaint
Other than that, this one is great!

Another great episode so soon? What luck!
Too bad the next one... really sucks!

For Whom the Bell Tolls

"So Funny I Forgot to Laugh" is a punching bag for the sole reason that Arthur is mean. What about this episode? He CELEBRATES D.W. losing her voice and says it's the best day of his life! He takes advantage of this to make fun of her and worries that she'll have gotten better! Am I really supposed to feel bad for him when he has to help take care of D.W. because his mom is busy? Oh, how terrible it is that you have to help your sick sister. He starts to regret having been mean later, but he's still being a bad person. How did D.W. fake well enough to trick both D.W. AND the doctor? And besides, I don't think she just gets her voice back overnight or anything; she starts off by being completely silent and then making quiet noises. People recover when they get sick and it's a gradual process. And Francine is a hypocrite for calling Arthur out for being mean, but also helping Arthur with his mean prank. This episode is clearly vomitrocious.

The Good Sport

I do not like Jenna. Her design is ugly and her voice sounds whiny. Francine isn't entirely in the right here, which is the point of the episode. Overall, this is a very forgettable episode and Michelle Kwan's guest star appearance doesn't add much; if it weren't for her, this episode would've completely disappeared from my memory. So I guess it's an okay episode.

Crushed

Arthur is a little rude to Sally based on his random assumptions. I'm glad that Arthur's parents actually pick up on him trying to get them out of the house, unlike in some previous episodes. Arthur is really creepy in this episode; he's romantically attracted to Sally, who's twice as old as he is. And when he learns that Sally has a boyfriend, he wishes they would die and draws a comic of them getting killed, which he is happy about. Seriously, that kind of stuff would get Arthur sent to the school counselor for months. And there are other things I don't like, such as Arthur's rude remark to Buster after he sees Sally at Buster's house. And this episode's conflict is barely resolved! Sally likes playing video games with Arthur, still, because her boyfriend isn't good at them. So what? She always was Arthur's friend and she still has a boyfriend. What was concluded or resolved from this? The only things I like about this episode are Buster's song in the intro and Arthur taking Buster's video game description as romantic advice. Otherwise, this episode is vomitrocious because the plot is creepy, nothing is resolved in the end, and Arthur is incredibly unlikable.

Arthur Loses His Marbles

Marbles are hardly the most exciting thing on the planet, but this episode has some pretty good scenes. I like how Arthur tries to lose but ends up winning, and how Grandma Thora actually realizes that he's playing worse on purpose. The marble tournament scenes are interesting and serve for some good action. There are some funny moments, like Muffy's "Dopeymon" cards, the Star Wars reference, and Buster narrating the tournament. It's a good episode.

Friday the 13th

The intro to this episode is very suspenseful and I like it. Other than that, I think Brain is treated very unfairly in this episode. He just doesn't believe in superstitions. His roof leaks, he forgets his backpack, his bike gets crushed, he's late for school, he falls in mud, his homework and lunch are destroyed, he gets a paper cut... I get that this is a cartoon, but so many bad things happen to Brain for no reason. And in the end, he concludes that superstitions are false. Then why did all of that happen? He drops a knife and a visitor appears. He steps on a crack and his mother pulls her back. Doesn't this prove the exact opposite of Brain's idea? Confusing ending, dull plot, unfair to Brain, bad episode.

Season Notes

• There's some techno remix of the theme song in the credits. I heard it sometimes as a kid and it always kinda creeped me out, but now I like it. D.W. saying "Yeah, mama!" always makes me laugh.
• This season has weirder endings than usual. Like "Best of the Nest," "Muffy's Soccer Shocker," and "The Boy Who Cried Comet."

Rating Counts

• Great: 2
• Good: 5
• Okay: 6
• Bad: 5
• Vomitrocious: 2

Season Ranking

1. Rhyme for Your Life
2. Arthur and Los Vecinos
3. The Boy with His Head in the Clouds
4. Best of the Nest
5. Sue Ellen Gets Her Goose Cooked
6. Arthur Loses His Marbles
7. The Secret Life of Dogs and Babies
8. Prunella's Special Edition
9. D.W.'s Backpack Mishap
10. The Boy Who Cried Comet
11. Arthur Plays the Blues
12. Brother, Can You Spare a Clarinet?
13. The Good Sport
14. Friday the 13th
15. Buster's Sweet Success
16. Citizen Frensky
17. More!
18. Muffy's Soccer Shocker
19. Crushed
20. For Whom the Bell Tolls

Final Thoughts

Wow. My ratings ended up being completely symmetrical. I promise I did not plan for this and it happened on accident, I didn't even notice it until the last two episodes. So by these numbers, this is an okay season. The quality is all over the place and the good cancels out the bad. So yes, Season 6 was definitely more exciting than 5, while not as good as 4.

See more of my original points of view in my Season 7 Review!