The Clarence thread

[Drtooth]

Surprisingly nice call backs to aside jokes in this one. Chelsea commenting that Jeff put too much glue in his hair today. Weird that a line in the song from the Cooking Contest episode comes back as a reference like that.

Mr. Reese has really become one of my favorite characters as of late. His enthusiasm over Clarence's Cactus comics, that episode where he interrogates over who soiled his car...now his complete and utter incompetence in getting a coffee maker to work to hilarious results. I want to see more of Mr. Reese's obviously failed dreams in law enforcement in upcoming episodes.

 

[Pig'sSaysAdios]

Poor Ms. Baker, she doesn't deserve all the junk they give her at school, she doesn't deserve to be alone. And she has some really creepy fans out there on the internet.

 

[mr3urious]

This was a nice adult-focused episode. I liked how the sub wasn't the typical strict sub I was expecting, like Lieutenant Major Goose. Rather, she was overly nervous in trying to get the kids to behave and needed some extra guidance herself. I also liked the twist of the ending where the bird tears into one of the cicadas in that about half of the kids were horrified, while the other half thought it was cool. Plus, Ms. Baker used it as another teaching opportunity rather than just have it end on that dark note, as I was expecting.

Poor Ms. Baker, she doesn't deserve all the junk that give her at school, she doesn't deserve to be alone. And she has some really creepy fans out there on the internet.

Ms. Baker really seems like one of those teachers that has a passion for teaching and tries to find a fine balance between being likable and being strict. Ms. Shoop, on the other hand, is the strict one who doesn't care what others think as she seems to be in it for the paycheck like so many other teachers.

 

[Drtooth]

Ms. Baker really seems like one of those teachers that has a passion for teaching and tries to find a fine balance between being likable and being strict. Ms. Shoop, on the other hand, is the strict one who doesn't care what others think as she seems to be in it for the paycheck like so many other teachers.

Baker's pretty much a realistic teacher character in that way. She really wants the kids to like her, but gets flustered with Clarence being Clarence. You actually get to feel sorry for her instead of the usual teacher character who becomes the designated bad guy for being an authority figure. I think Recess had that very subtly, but they tended to flip flop depending on the episode with Finnster and Prickly. At least before the movie. Baker's a single woman trying to succeed in both her job and private life. Like a younger Edna Krabapple with still a glimmer of hope and not so much an antagonistic relationship with Clarence. It's been seen she genuinely wants the kids to have fun, so she reads a copyright free parody of "Series of Unfortunate Events," has kids make slime, and she was very encouraging to Clarence when he kept handing in artwork instead of homework. It's that balance that makes the show work the way it does. It's great that it shows childhood in different perspectives instead of just how the world looks through a child's eyes. Even Buford T Pusser makes his first significant role in the series, as he was only seen in a few shorts and referenced in the show before.

So, uh... Shoop actually says that she's been teaching for 40 years. So she's at least in her 60's. No wonder she hooked Baker up with Larry.

 

[mr3urious]

I really enjoyed last night's episode, which was focused on a series of vignettes that all come together in the end. I especially liked the duck-faced girl's fanfic that was done in a watercolor style and how it started to turn into a crush on Brady (the ersatz Charlie Brown).

 

[Drtooth]

I especially love how the roles were genderbent, making Brady the mermaid and her the centaur. Also Jeff flipping out and trying to sabotage any attempt Baker tries to give them the test he didn't study for.

Also I'd like to point out, Jeff must've been happy last episode. Buddy stars were still relevant.

 

[Drtooth]

This episode really seems to deconstruct what shows like Clarence are all about, having the show centralize on one character who everyone depends on because he's the title character. This really could have served as the series finale for me. Everyone winds up working out their problems without him, but in the end he feels bad he wasn't there to help them so he could decompress.

And was it just me, or was the sound mix of this episode off? The music was far louder than the dialogue.

 

[mr3urious]

Jeff has two mommies and an extra toe! Who would have guessed?

I was also floored by the little bit about how Clarence wondered why his moms couldn't just snipped Jeff's tow off from the start, with them stating that they wanted to wait until he's old enough to decide for himself. Yet another "Crap Past the Radar" moment from this show.

 

[Drtooth]

This episode really felt like the spiritual apology for the Hey Arnold "Arnold Betrays Iggy" episode. Clarence could have got into some pretty mean territory, but the ending was so incredibly sweet and well done. Everything that Hey Arnold episode should have done at the ending but didn't. Jeff's embarrassing secret was now a source of pride for him.

 

[mr3urious]

This episode really felt like the spiritual apology for the Hey Arnold "Arnold Betrays Iggy" episode. Clarence could have got into some pretty mean territory, but the ending was so incredibly sweet and well done. Everything that Hey Arnold episode should have done at the ending but didn't. Jeff's embarrassing secret was now a source of pride for him.

I liked how Clarence kept his word until he watched that nature video in class with the three-toed sloth. Then he couldn't wait to blab about it because he found it so funny. It was like holding in a sneeze.