Arthur - Where is the Show Going?

[Drtooth]

Upon re watching some episodes from the first four seasons recently,I think Arthur's major problem now is that it's not realistic anymore.

That's been the biggest problem for a while, and I blame the shift to characters like Baby Kate and Pal getting whole episodes. Of course, I had some problem with Arthur's believably since the beginning, especially since the writers obviously have no value of money and wrote in any reference to how much things cost and how much kids would work for as what they'd remember as kids. Oddly enough, that's one thing they did manage to make more believable. The episode where Arthur gets a defective toy and even a mark down on it as just over 6 bucks. Yeah. Toys are freaking expensive now.

That's something I've noticed too. The biggest suspension of belief for me? Chinese restaurants that cook specifically for people with peanut allergies. Really? There's restaurants that cook specifically for people with specific food allergies?

They...uh...do. I couldn't give any examples off hand, but I even saw a public service commercial about it. The key thing to remember is that both Binky and Jenna had to do research to find alternatives. Restaurants, especially chain ones, have notice to inform the server of an allergy. They aren't in the business of getting people sick and risking litigation if they can help it.

 

[D'Snowth]

So I finally saw "Shelter from the Storm" today, and it was more interesting than I thought it would be.

I have to say right off the bat that they kind of lied to us a little: one of the spoilers of the episode was that one of the main character's homes was going to be completely destroyed, but the worst damage any of their homes suffered was the first floor of the Crosswire mansion flooding. Of course, the entire front of Brain's ice cream parlor was damaged by a fallen tree, maybe that's what they were refering to.

Another thing, I know that apparently some school systems still go to school in June for whatever reason, but it's still really odd to see them in school in June.

So anyway, onto the episode, as I say, it was executed in a really interesting manner - each of the individual subplots served their purposes. I have to admit when I heard that Brain was going to have to see a therapist for his fears brought on by the storm, I was afraid this was going to be another example of how the characters are suddenly given problems they've never had before (like how he had apparently been held back in kindergarten for emotional reasons), but they actually handled it really by having him be fascinated with hurricanes, but only begin to fear their destruction after he sees the damage done to the ice cream parlor. That's actually very relatable: I've mentioned this before, but I have a fascination with tornadoes, and have since I was a kid: I often watch tornado documentaries on TV or storm chaser footage on YouTube, but I'm aware of how destructive they are, and even though I've never experienced a tornado firsthand, it's a hidden fear I have (and a recurring nightmare too) of facing a tornado barreling straight towards me or my home or loved ones and not being able to do anything about it. So the Brain subplot was handled much better than I thought it would be . . . though again, the Idina Menzel caricature was really creepy-looking (and the shoehorned FROZEN reference was, well, forced).

Ladonna's subplot was a good one: we finally got to see the immortal Rufus Compson, and Ladonna's lingering concern that her father will miss her birthday because of work is a relatable childhood problem a lot kids face whenever they have a parent who has to spend lengthy amounts of time away from home; I liked the little detail of Ladonna wanting to cancel her birthday altogether if Rufus wasn't able to attend, but I did like how Bud gathered the family and neighbors together to throw her a surprise party at the treehouse, and how Rufus even dropped by to say happy birthday.

The Crosswire subplot took me by surprise, but I liked how it was executed as well: I was a little surprised that they opted to move into a shelter until their home was drained of flood waters - even though all the hotels were booked due to people being displaced by the hurricane (apparently even the swanky ones . . . I guess there's more wealth in Elwood City than I thought), I kind of figured the situation would have been similar to "Poor Muffy" where the entire Crosswire clan would stay with another family and have to adjust to their modest lifestyle, but I liked they went to a shelter and how Muffy was even able to strike up a friendship with another evacuee, who had apparently been there for quite some time and figured the place out. I'm not at all surprised they had their own generator that was able to power their entire mansion after their power went out the first time.

I guess that leaves Arthur's subplot, which actually felt like an afterthought to me: Arthur wanting to help reunite lost pets with their families was commendable, but the whole thread itself just feel like it was explored very well beyond seeing Arthur's concerned for the pets and launching a website to further help people find their pets. Although I know this is a concern that is faced by people with pets during extreme weather like this, the plot didn't really seem to contribute much to the episode as a whole.

It's also interesting that the format of this episode was shifted a little in that A Word From Us Kids was utilized at the end of the episode rather than in the middle.

So yeah, this episode was better than I thought it would be.

 

[Drtooth]

Another thing, I know that apparently some school systems still go to school in June for whatever reason, but it's still really odd to see them in school in June.

Our school system ends midway through June. Unless there's a lot of snow days, and even then the end of June is the cutoff. Thankfully that doesn't happen unless we get record breaking amounts, such as last year. Then again, some systems start up in August.

I have to admit when I heard that Brain was going to have to see a therapist for his fears brought on by the storm, I was afraid this was going to be another example of how the characters are suddenly given problems they've never had before (like how he had apparently been held back in kindergarten for emotional reasons), but they actually handled it really by having him be fascinated with hurricanes, but only begin to fear their destruction after he sees the damage done to the ice cream parlor.

I think that it was a wise writing choice. Having it destroy his house would have been too on the nose, but having it damage his family's business does add that special level of fiscal fear to the plot. Even though that wasn't brought up much (I need a rewatch).

I also agree they used Ladonna much better than in most episodes. Now I don't dislike the character nor am I wild about her. She came on too strong her first episode, and that's probably what tainted the character. But I really think she's come into her own in episodes like this one.

 

[D'Snowth]

Our school system ends midway through June. Unless there's a lot of snow days, and even then the end of June is the cutoff. Thankfully that doesn't happen unless we get record breaking amounts, such as last year. Then again, some systems start up in August.

Our school system always started in August, but we always got out in May. However, I heartell they may soon impose year-round school years come this August . . . but then again, they've been threatening to adopt year-round even when I was in school.

I also agree they used Ladonna much better than in most episodes. Now I don't dislike the character nor am I wild about her. She came on too strong her first episode, and that's probably what tainted the character. But I really think she's come into her own in episodes like this one.

That's pretty much why a lot of people just hate her: she was written as too brash and abrasive in her debut episode, and it came off as the writers trying too hard and too desperately for her to appeal to viewers as a new character, which seems to be why her inclusion seems to have decreased drastically these last couple of seasons.

 

[D'Snowth]

I forgot to mention one other little point: didn't it seem like an exaggeration that every last window in downtown Elwood City was completely boarded up? Every last one?

 

[D'Snowth]

Holy crap! After all these years, ARTHUR is finally funded by something other than just Chuck E. Cheese's! It's another mouse, though, lol.

 

[D'Snowth]

Figures at a time where they're supposed to be showing classic episodes they would keep pre-empting them for this new READY JET GO show.

 

[D'Snowth]

Is it some kind of an autism awareness week or something? They've been playing Carl episodes all week.

 

[Pig'sSaysAdios]

Is it some kind of an autism awareness week or something? They've been playing Carl episodes all week.

It's currently Autism Awareness Month.

 

[D'Snowth]

So the remaining new (or, should I say "unaired") episodes will finally be shown next week . . . and for whatever reason, they're actually going to start with "The Last Day." I really wonder what possessed PBS to suddenly start being all weird and random with the way they air new episodes lately?

Either way, I'm still waiting to see what kind of information will be released to the public regarding Season 20 (ditto, but less pressing for 21).