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Author Topic: Binky's Personality  (Read 389 times)

LovingBeagles

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Binky's Personality
« on: February 20, 2013, 04:07:04 pm »
I am sure this has been brought up at least once in this forum, but, after looking back at past episodes, I figured it was something worth bringing up again.

Remember how, in the earlier seasons, Binky was seen as a tough bully? Always taking kids' lunches, cornering kids in the hallway, all that stereotypical school bully stuff? But as the seasons passed, Binky's soft side has pretty much been overtly dominating. I mean, he's nicer to Arthur and to his sister Mei Lin,
<SPOILER> .....................his real name is Shelley......................,

and he even takes the sides of the younger kids at times (gently telling Muffy to back down from the Tower of Pain in The Law of the Jungle Gym).
And I'm quite surprised that, while he is still a Tough Customer, he, along with some of the other Tough Customers, aren't really as rambunctious and nasty as they used to be. Case in point: Arthur, World's Greatest Gleeper: when was the last time you saw the TC's throwing food at each other or arm wrestle?

Okay, so Binky and the other TC's ocassionally DO push around other kids like they have been doing in the past. But it just doesn't seem as intimidating anymore.

Any thoughts?

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MCCJ

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Re: Binky's Personality
« Reply #1 on: February 20, 2013, 06:07:29 pm »
Binky and all of the Tough Customers have gone soft in the recent episodes. It was already going downhill by the time we got to Law of the Jungle Gym. Even during and after that episode despite all that happened they didn't do much in terms of bullying or intimidating other kids. I actually use to think the Tough Customers were something to be afraid of.

In recent episodes though that's no longer the case. The Tough Customers are now nothing more then just bad actors with lame insults. Binky by this point should not be calling himself a bully anymore. Even when he and the group bully George it's not much.

In the episode "The Play's the Thing" looking at the way George reacted to having to deal with the Tough Customers again even he knows they are boring. It's like I said. Binky and the Tough Customers are now just bad actors in a movie and they are trying hard to be better, but it has so far not been done yet. Just my opinion on that.
« Last Edit: February 20, 2013, 06:23:11 pm by MC CJ »

Snowth Woogle

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Re: Binky's Personality
« Reply #2 on: February 20, 2013, 06:27:53 pm »
As far as Binky is concerned, I always assumed it was simply a case of character development. He really didn't start becoming one of the guys until like Season Two or so, but even then, the dynamics were ambiguous, because a lot of the kids still had a fear of him, or still regarded him as a bully. Again, it's one of my theories as to why we rarely see the older episodes anymore, because it might confuse kids to see Binky as a bully in one episode, then a friend in another.

As for the other Tough Customers, you have to remember, Binky "de-founded" them in "Arthur's Big Hit", so it's possible that because they no longer had their club, they no longer had anything to do, and that may have softened them up, I don't know... but in this day and age with people taking anti-bullying views and ideals more seriously than ever before, I doubt the Tough Customers would really have a purpose to serve on the show anymore. If anything, they would probably have a "special" episode dedicated to bullying, but with a new one-shot/guest character as the bully.
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LovingBeagles

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Re: Binky's Personality
« Reply #3 on: February 20, 2013, 06:52:04 pm »
Binky and all of the Tough Customers have gone soft in the recent episodes. It was already going downhill by the time we got to Law of the Jungle Gym. Even during and after that episode despite all that happened they didn't do much in terms of bullying or intimidating other kids. I actually use to think the Tough Customers were something to be afraid of.

In recent episodes though that's no longer the case. The Tough Customers are now nothing more then just bad actors with lame insults. Binky by this point should not be calling himself a bully anymore. Even when he and the group bully George it's not much.

In the episode "The Play's the Thing" looking at the way George reacted to having to deal with the Tough Customers again even he knows they are boring. It's like I said. Binky and the Tough Customers are now just bad actors in a movie and they are trying hard to be better, but it has so far not been done yet. Just my opinion on that.

Yeah, I never thought of it that way. Being "bad actors". But I think George was bored because it's just routine, not because they've gone soft. But you're still right, that episode, along with pretty  much every other recent episode, shows a  less pushy side than the old Binky we knew.

As far as Binky is concerned, I always assumed it was simply a case of character development. He really didn't start becoming one of the guys until like Season Two or so, but even then, the dynamics were ambiguous, because a lot of the kids still had a fear of him, or still regarded him as a bully. Again, it's one of my theories as to why we rarely see the older episodes anymore, because it might confuse kids to see Binky as a bully in one episode, then a friend in another.

As for the other Tough Customers, you have to remember, Binky "de-founded" them in "Arthur's Big Hit", so it's possible that because they no longer had their club, they no longer had anything to do, and that may have softened them up, I don't know... but in this day and age with people taking anti-bullying views and ideals more seriously than ever before, I doubt the Tough Customers would really have a purpose to serve on the show anymore. If anything, they would probably have a "special" episode dedicated to bullying, but with a new one-shot/guest character as the bully.

I never thought about that whole "confusion" aspect. After all, many of us who knew the tough bully Binky have outgrown the show (even though I still think it can appeal to a very wide audience and is not necessarily a kiddie show), and a new generation of kids (probably mostly born in the 2000s and eventually the 2010s) are watching. So there is that confusion potential there.

Binky de-founded it, but I didn't know if he was being serious. I mean, we still see them around. But yeah, they're still WAY softer than we used to see them.

The whole anti-bullying thing might be a good reason. And yes, you're right: to reiterate what you said, if the Tough Customers or any other tough bully were to appear on the show again, it would probably be an anti-bullying themed episode, given the many, many anti-bullying campaigns and sentiments growing in America, and the seriousness of the issue.

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Re: Binky's Personality
« Reply #4 on: February 20, 2013, 10:06:32 pm »
In the beginning of the season 6 episode "Brother, Can You Spare a Clarinet?", Arthur was telling the audience that Binky is like two different people: "Bully Binky" and "That Other Guy."

On Arthur, characters tend to go back and forth in personality traits, intelligence, status, etc. It's confusing when the order  the stories air is not the same order as when the stories take place. 
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LovingBeagles

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Re: Binky's Personality
« Reply #5 on: February 20, 2013, 10:24:38 pm »
In the beginning of the season 6 episode "Brother, Can You Spare a Clarinet?", Arthur was telling the audience that Binky is like two different people: "Bully Binky" and "That Other Guy."

On Arthur, characters tend to go back and forth in personality traits, intelligence, status, etc. It's confusing when the order  the stories air is not the same order as when the stories take place. 

Wow, I almost forgot about that :D That intro did raise this point about Binky. But as of now, he's pretty much all "That Other Guy", except for when he picks on kids like George. Even that isn't very much like "Bully Binky".

I always assumed that the majority of the episodes took place in the order in which they aired. I thought there would be exceptions, and there probably are. But I can't name any as of yet (after all, the characters have had too many summer vacations to count, so you don't know what's before what!).

MCCJ

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Re: Binky's Personality
« Reply #6 on: February 20, 2013, 11:21:01 pm »
The anti-bullying thing does have something to do with it as well. So a lot of factors into that.

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Re: Binky's Personality
« Reply #7 on: July 10, 2013, 11:07:51 pm »
In "The Last Tough Customer", Binky mentioned the school being "bully-proofed". That was never explained or anything, but it might have something to do with their nice behavior.
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