Arthur - Where is the Show Going?

[D'Snowth]

As we've said a time or two before, for all intents and purposes, the show really shouldn't be called ARTHUR anymore - ELWOOD CITY KIDS is a more accurate title at this point, as the show rarely even focuses on Arthur anymore. A lot of secondary characters get their own episodes, including one recently involving Rattles of the Tough Customers coming to terms with his mother (who was only see in one episode in the past, leaving Haney's office) getting engaged to her new boyfriend, and him also trying to fit in with the guy's peculiar teen kids (the brother being very athletic and competitive, and the sister always talking in incomprehensible teen slang) - it didn't even feel like an episode of ARTHUR, it felt more like a one-shot anthology cartoon. Even older minor characters have been making comebacks lately, such as the three disabled characters: Marina (the blind girl), Lydia (the wheelchair girl), and especially Carl (the autistic boy).

 

[Pig'sSaysAdios]

As we've said a time or two before, for all intents and purposes, the show really shouldn't be called ARTHUR anymore - ELWOOD CITY KIDS is a more accurate title at this point, as the show rarely even focuses on Arthur anymore. A lot of secondary characters get their own episodes, including one recently involving Rattles of the Tough Customers coming to terms with his mother (who was only see in one episode in the past, leaving Haney's office) getting engaged to her new boyfriend, and him also trying to fit in with the guy's peculiar teen kids (the brother being very athletic and competitive, and the sister always talking in incomprehensible teen slang) - it didn't even feel like an episode of ARTHUR, it felt more like a one-shot anthology cartoon. Even older minor characters have been making comebacks lately, such as the three disabled characters: Marina (the blind girl), Lydia (the wheelchair girl), and especially Carl (the autistic boy).

Hhmm,I do sort of like that title,THE KIDS OF ELWOOD CITY.

 

[D'Snowth]

You know the show has totally lost focus on Arthur when you have episodes with George or Francine opening the show in the teasers.

 

[Pig'sSaysAdios]

You know the show has totally lost focus on Arthur when you have episodes with George or Francine opening the show in the teasers.

Wait,was George even ever a main character?

 

[D'Snowth]

He's been a main character for a number of years now. Same with Fern.

 

[Drtooth]

You know, for the last several years, I've had zero interest in watching "Arthur" unless it's an episode that I grew up on. Every so often, I'll check out an upload on YT, but I've avoided anything current like the plague.

So here's my question. A lengthy response isn't needed. Is "Arthur" still a reasonably good show? I know the title of this thread says otherwise, but just curious if anyone has anything positive to say.

The problem with the show is the same problems any show has if it's been on long enough. The episodes swing wildly in quality, they either risk accidentally repeating themselves or come up with episodes that make you go "why...?"

The last few seasons have had a wild hit or miss rate for me. We had episodes that actually felt like they should have been done years ago, episodes supposedly suggested by fans or kids that feel like they were just pulled out of the big bag of kiddy show tropes, and (as D*Snowth already put) episodes about third string characters and their friends. Arthur barely appears in his own show, but that's not unheard of. Certainly break out characters overshadow the star. Dr. Slump had to change it's title as a cartoon series to Dr. Slump and Arale-Chan, 90's Casper revolved around the funnier uncles (and to a lesser extent Spooky and Poil), and you don't see acres of Gru merchandise when it comes to Despicable Me. Thing is, those are breakout characters. I can see episodes of Arthur's admittedly more interesting close friends and family members. But it's like every character's tertiary friend's friend gets an episode now. It used to be unwritten that the show was Arthur and Friends and Family members, but now it's like Arthur and Acquaintances of Acquaintances show.

I understand the importance of some of the new characters, like Carl, but do we really care that D.W.'s friend James gets an episode to himself?

 

[Dominicboo1]

The problem with the show is the same problems any show has if it's been on long enough. The episodes swing wildly in quality, they either risk accidentally repeating themselves or come up with episodes that make you go "why...?"

The last few seasons have had a wild hit or miss rate for me. We had episodes that actually felt like they should have been done years ago, episodes supposedly suggested by fans or kids that feel like they were just pulled out of the big bag of kiddy show tropes, and (as D*Snowth already put) episodes about third string characters and their friends. Arthur barely appears in his own show, but that's not unheard of. Certainly break out characters overshadow the star. Dr. Slump had to change it's title as a cartoon series to Dr. Slump and Arale-Chan, 90's Casper revolved around the funnier uncles (and to a lesser extent Spooky and Poil), and you don't see acres of Gru merchandise when it comes to Despicable Me. Thing is, those are breakout characters. I can see episodes of Arthur's admittedly more interesting close friends and family members. But it's like every character's tertiary friend's friend gets an episode now. It used to be unwritten that the show was Arthur and Friends and Family members, but now it's like Arthur and Acquaintances of Acquaintances show.

I understand the importance of some of the new characters, like Carl, but do we really care that D.W.'s friend James gets an episode to himself?

He's already had two. Both of which were.....ok

 

[D'Snowth]

As I've said before, part of me wants to automatically hate Ladonna for the way she was just slapped onto the show, as a main character, and already had a number of episodes focused on her: not only that, but she got more backstory and family information that came with her introduction than most other characters got since their introductions. The thing of it is, she's not really a bad character at all, with the exception of her debut episode where she was desperate to make friends and wouldn't shut up, she otherwise isn't annoying or obnoxious, nor is she really a Scrappy, and because of all that, I see no reason to hate her. Bud to a lesser extent, as it's kind of like when Zoe brings Rocco along for a playdate and Elmo becomes the straightman for a change - D.W. is like the mentor and Bud is like the naive newcomer who tries to learn her ways.

Speaking of D.W., after seeing some of Season 1 again this week, it really makes it more noticable how much she's changed over the years: in the beginning, she tended to act more like a real little girl: always wanting to do things with Arthur and his friends, but she was too little/young, always unintentionally annoying Arthur like any little sister would, a little more innocent yet easily underestimated in her craftiness - unlike the D.W. of today who often goes out of her way to intentionally be a little bratty rhymes-with-witch and is almost like a little pint-sized sociopath.

 

[Drtooth]

As I've said before, part of me wants to automatically hate Ladonna for the way she was just slapped onto the show, as a main character, and already had a number of episodes focused on her: not only that, but she got more backstory and family information that came with her introduction than most other characters got since their introductions. The thing of it is, she's not really a bad character at all, with the exception of her debut episode where she was desperate to make friends and wouldn't shut up, she otherwise isn't annoying or obnoxious, nor is she really a Scrappy, and because of all that, I see no reason to hate her. Bud to a lesser extent, as it's kind of like when Zoe brings Rocco along for a playdate and Elmo becomes the straightman for a change - D.W. is like the mentor and Bud is like the naive newcomer who tries to learn her ways.

Ladonna I'm fairly ambivalent about. Her introduction was almost Poochie-like levels of in your face-iness, and the character justwouldn't shut up through her entire introduction episode. But I feel they wrote her better after that, with some very satisfying edge as soon as the episode where Fern plagiarized Ladonna's stories and re-purposed them as mysteries, making her family look like the villains. I like Bud as a character, but I hate the execution. He had some nice moments here and there, but I feel the character is wasted with the younger demo focused D.W. Adventures stories. Which, side rant, is why the show feels so much like an anthology series now. Episodes pandering to little kids, instead of being the (and I can't find a better word for this) sitcom that focused on middle kid aged problems (middle kid being anywhere from 5-8 and some around the boundaries). There is a fair amount of depth with the creation of these characters, that's true. Most characters didn't have that level of backstory when the show started. And unlike most additions to the cast, this one was actually thrown in, and didn't evolve out of a background character, or the need to address certain topics.

 

[D'Snowth]

One thing that I still find out is the hinting of Arthur and Ladonna ship-teasing . . . it seems really contrived and unnecessary. Like the episode where she's trying to cram in all those different activities with everybody in as little time as she can, then Arthur just randomly shows up on her front porch asking if she wants to go for a walk. Then there's the teaser of the snow episode, where she keeps talking about all of these things you can do after a blizzard, and you can hear him whispering otherwise up until the last time where you can't make out what he's whispering, but she looks at him with a cheeky grin on her face (pretty sure I threw that into a YTP).

Back to Rattles, the "Whip. Mix. Blend." episode aside (it feels too one-shot/anthology), I kind of like the character development they've been giving him during these 9 Story seasons, showing that he's actually really cultured and intelligent, if only puts up a tough exterior because he has trouble expressing himself and is "misunderstood."

But what I don't understand is why did they rename Chickin' Lickin'?