Arthur - Where is the Show Going?

[D'Snowth]

I can't really bring myself to dislike Ladonna, but I have to admit, one thing that does kind of bother me about her is how she's shoved into the focus of a lot of episodes... I really can't remember any other new character who was introduced on the show to get nearly as much focus as Ladonna has. The Molinas have had less exposure than her since their debut (which I never saw since my PBS skipped Season 6 for years, so I never knew who these characters were when they'd randomly pop up). She has potential to be a Scrappy (I think some people think that already), though she really doesn't do anything that makes her annoying or unlikeable... she's just a little overexposed. It's like the opposite of when Abby Cadabby first came to SST: there was all kinds of media hype surrounding her inclusion to the show and then she barely appeared in just three episodes her first season.

Now as far as the Compsons go, the voice actors still need a little work: sure, they sound Cajun, but, since their voice actors are Canadian, they still pronounce certain words more like northerns do than southerns (for example, we don't say "Eye-ther/Nye-ther" or "Raw-ther").

 

[Muppet Master]

Honestly, I am glad 9 Story Entertainment took over, otherwise the show would've been canceled with Cookie Jar shutting down! (I believe DHX still owns the rights to the series, but has 9 Story produce the new episodes, like they do with "Johnny Test.")

No, in my opinion having the show in the cancellation bear's mouth would have been better than completely destroying it like this. I wish the show had ended around season 12, because at least we would not have to face these new seasons. I hope they get enough money to at least do like a real series finale or something with the old Arthur animation, that would do justice to fans. Not to mention getting GOOD voice actors for the main kids.

 

[D'Snowth]

Exactly. ARTHUR has run its course... it's waaay past its prime, and has been for years now. How many years now have we been complaining about how new episodes are showing obvious signs of desperation and lack of fresh new ideas? Some stories have been absolutely absurd (Drtooth will probably place "In My Africa" and "Buster's Secret Admirer" on the top of that list), while others have been total cop-outs (giving Binky peanut allergies, holding Brain back in kindergarten, Buster having a habit of sucking his thumb, giving Grandpa Dave Alzheimer's, giving Mrs. MacGrady cancer). Characters are either behaving out of character (Arthur in "So Funny, I Forgot to Laugh") or have been flanderized (honestly, can't we say this about Francine and Muffy?) Minor background characters are promoted to supporting characters (though, to be fair, this has been going on since the beginning with Fern and George), one-shot characters are retained as supporting characters as well (Cheik, Lydia Fox, Carl, et al.) And how many tropes can we count that have become once a season themes? Diseases, celebrity cameos, preachy subjects, etc.

Then again, the crew has pretty much they don't want to stop anytime soon, and want to keep cranking out new episodes as long as they're able to... so I guess we won't be seeing the end of ARTHUR in the foreseeable future.

 

[Mr Snrub]

so I guess we won't be seeing the end of ARTHUR in the foreseeable future.

they'll never stop arthur
have no fear
they've got stories for years

like buster becomes diabetic
maybe james gets an episode
have they done one on social networking sites

or how 'bout they bring pickles the clown back
and he does something that doesn't involve arthur
even if arthur's a total no-show
have no fears, they've got stories for years

 

[Drtooth]

I can't really bring myself to dislike Ladonna, but I have to admit, one thing that does kind of bother me about her is how she's shoved into the focus of a lot of episodes... I really can't remember any other new character who was introduced on the show to get nearly as much focus as Ladonna has.

Ladonna, I'll admit, became a better, more wisely used character after her Poochie-esque debut. You know, where she never shuts up not even for a second and talks almost faster and louder than Goo from Fosters Home.... and even then, Goo was an intentionally annoying. But I really think the character "grew the beard" as it were with the episode where Fern kept repurposing her stories without her permission. If nothing else, that was the character's best moment.

I kinda admit, I dig her brother though.

 

[Dominicboo1]

It'll be sad not to hear Mr. Haney anymore......well I like the reruns better anyway.

 

[Muppet Master]

Exactly. ARTHUR has run its course... it's waaay past its prime, and has been for years now. How many years now have we been complaining about how new episodes are showing obvious signs of desperation and lack of fresh new ideas? Some stories have been absolutely absurd (Drtooth will probably place "In My Africa" and "Buster's Secret Admirer" on the top of that list), while others have been total cop-outs (giving Binky peanut allergies, holding Brain back in kindergarten, Buster having a habit of sucking his thumb, giving Grandpa Dave Alzheimer's, giving Mrs. MacGrady cancer). Characters are either behaving out of character (Arthur in "So Funny, I Forgot to Laugh") or have been flanderized (honestly, can't we say this about Francine and Muffy?) Minor background characters are promoted to supporting characters (though, to be fair, this has been going on since the beginning with Fern and George), one-shot characters are retained as supporting characters as well (Cheik, Lydia Fox, Carl, et al.) And how many tropes can we count that have become once a season themes? Diseases, celebrity cameos, preachy subjects, etc.

Then again, the crew has pretty much they don't want to stop anytime soon, and want to keep cranking out new episodes as long as they're able to... so I guess we won't be seeing the end of ARTHUR in the foreseeable future.

Now, not all of those ideas were bad, the Binky and Buster ones were good episodes, but every other episode you listed destroyed Arthur. This new Arthur voice actor is by far the WORST ONE EVER, and makes high-pitched Arthur (the voice actor before him) look decent, and that's part of the reason I want to choke him every time I see him. Again season 12 started getting choppy, and after that the show just took a nosedive. You know it's funny, shows like Arthur and The Simpsons at first make good quality episodes, and hope they get renewed. Then once they come to a point where they KNOW that they're invincible, and could never be cancelled (usually around the double-digit seasons) then they get lazy and careless and keep sending in new episodes JUST to break a record or something. It's annoying and just sad.

 

[Drtooth]

Exactly. ARTHUR has run its course... it's waaay past its prime, and has been for years now. How many years now have we been complaining about how new episodes are showing obvious signs of desperation and lack of fresh new ideas? Some stories have been absolutely absurd (Drtooth will probably place "In My Africa" and "Buster's Secret Admirer" on the top of that list), while others have been total cop-outs (giving Binky peanut allergies, holding Brain back in kindergarten, Buster having a habit of sucking his thumb, giving Grandpa Dave Alzheimer's, giving Mrs. MacGrady cancer). Characters are either behaving out of character (Arthur in "So Funny, I Forgot to Laugh") or have been flanderized (honestly, can't we say this about Francine and Muffy?) Minor background characters are promoted to supporting characters (though, to be fair, this has been going on since the beginning with Fern and George), one-shot characters are retained as supporting characters as well (Cheik, Lydia Fox, Carl, et al.) And how many tropes can we count that have become once a season themes? Diseases, celebrity cameos, preachy subjects, etc.

I HATED Buster's Secret Admirer for the cop out, idiotic ending more than the rest of the episode. Right up there with how they *&^$ed up the endings of How I Met Your Mother and Lost. Just an unsatisfying, yet annoying twist. His mother did it. Who freaking wrote that crap?! "Oh! Thanks for traumatizing me with your disturbing amount of over-affection!" Yeah... and he just was okay with it.

I've noticed that lately, they've tended to actually shy away from preachy episodes. Oh, the ones that are preachy are freaking preachy... don't get me wrong. But the one thing I've loved about the last 2 seasons? No disease of the week episodes. Now, I really think they're doing a great service with these episodes, since they're supposed to help kids cope with things. The Autism one was better done than the rest, though. But when it comes to these, there's two options... invent a character that's essentially there to tell about the disease/allergy/whatever and doesn't do anything else or ever show up again (I applaud them, however, for making Carl recurring), or inflicting an existing character with it.

But the Bullying initiative... I admit the one about the Tough Customers was pretty funny. But So Funny I Forgot to Laugh was garbage. Sue Ellen was overreacting, Arthur wasn't even being mean until he got passive aggressive about Sue Ellen overreacting... if they wanted to get the point across, they didn't. They should have threw the script away and started over.

Though, every so often, they are capable of some pretty funny episodes. They're rare, but they're there if you give them a chance.

 

[mr3urious]

Grandpa Dave's Alzheimer's wasn't too far-fetched either considering his age and the fact that they foreshadowed it in two previous episodes.

 

[D'Snowth]

I only disagree with two previously mentioned statements.

1. I actually think the kid they got to play Arthur now has been one of the better voice actors since Mark Rendall (who's now playing that new teen employee at the Sugar Bowl)... at least, he doesn't sound like D.W. (while D.W. was sounding like a chipmunk for a while). But I agree with what Hubert once said when he was still alive, in that the current Arthur's mannerisms make him sound similar to Brain somehow.
2. I think Grandpa Dave's Alzheimer's was a cop-out. Honestly, he was the least-expanded upon character from Arthur's family, despite always being in the main titles (and that episode title card where Arthur tries to take a family photo); to me, it just screams, "Hey, we haven't really written for Grandpa Dave since Season One, what can we do with him? Oh, let's just say he has Alzheimer's since lots of old people suffer from that."

I'd also say both "So Funny, I Forgot to Laugh" and "The Last Tough Customer" were preachy on the notion that this whole anti-bullying campaign has really become a tool anymore; I'm all for putting a stop to bullying, having been bullied myself, but it seems like the whole anti-bullying campaign has really been shoved in our faces so much in the last few years that it's lost its effectiveness. The former is described best on TV Tropes saying it was a very Anvilicious episode.