Welcome to Elwood City Central Forum! If you haven't already, we encourage you to sign up and join in the fun of discussing the Arthur franchise!




Author Topic: To Eat or Not to Eat  (Read 983 times)

Muppetfan

  • Administrator
  • In Mr. Ratburn's class
  • *****
  • Posts: 222
    • View Profile
To Eat or Not to Eat
« on: October 09, 2012, 09:34:48 pm »
Rewatching this episode again today, I continue to realize how unrealistic the whole thing is. Sparkles coming out of kids' mouths after eating these? Radioactive elements? Fern and George being too primary people involved, though they seem to be the people most likely to stand out against it, the role that Buster instead assumed. The whole thing is just weird overall.

Share on Facebook Share on Twitter


raidpirate52

  • New Kid at Lakewood
  • *
  • Posts: 22
    • View Profile
Re: To Eat or Not to Eat
« Reply #1 on: October 21, 2012, 03:51:38 am »
From everything that went on in this episode, the sparkles out everyone's mouth was the only thing that made sense.

I mean...Fern being the one eating into this obvious hazardous treat and BUSTER being cautious? The same Buster who eats ice cream with chicken legs coming out from it. I agree this episode was totally topsy turvy for the characters involved.

MCCJ

  • Guest
Re: To Eat or Not to Eat
« Reply #2 on: October 21, 2012, 02:07:02 pm »
Buster keep in mind has undergone some drastic changes after season 11. I mean the stuff he use to do back then he either no longer does it anymore or it's a rare occurrence. Also I think the reason they used Fern and George was to show that anyone could be vulnerable to things that are addictive.

Muppetfan

  • Administrator
  • In Mr. Ratburn's class
  • *****
  • Posts: 222
    • View Profile
Re: To Eat or Not to Eat
« Reply #3 on: October 21, 2012, 02:33:22 pm »
Was this episode even necessary to start out with? I mean, they were obviously going for drugs, but at the target age I'm not entirely sure why they would be focusing on drug awareness...

Roabe

  • New Kid at Lakewood
  • *
  • Posts: 35
  • Location: Rocky River, Ohio
    • View Profile
Re: To Eat or Not to Eat
« Reply #4 on: October 21, 2012, 02:42:25 pm »
I agree that having Fern and George being the most addicted was a way of showing that anyone could become addicts. Though quite a few of the "smart" kids I grew up with turned into drug-using underachievers as adults. A portent of Fern and George's future perhaps?

What I didn't like that it was JUST Fern and George, out of the "main" characters, who were addicted. Everybody else who bought into the candy craze were background extras. I think the episode would have had more of an impact if a few more of the major characters got hooked on the stuff.

MCCJ

  • Guest
Re: To Eat or Not to Eat
« Reply #5 on: October 21, 2012, 02:45:42 pm »
Was this episode even necessary to start out with? I mean, they were obviously going for drugs, but at the target age I'm not entirely sure why they would be focusing on drug awareness...

I think the point was to be careful what you eat is the moral of that episode.

Muppetfan

  • Administrator
  • In Mr. Ratburn's class
  • *****
  • Posts: 222
    • View Profile
Re: To Eat or Not to Eat
« Reply #6 on: October 21, 2012, 02:49:36 pm »
See, in my opinion it would have made more sense to just have trashed the whole addiction concept together and go with something much more milder in that sort.

MCCJ

  • Guest
Re: To Eat or Not to Eat
« Reply #7 on: October 21, 2012, 02:51:32 pm »
See, in my opinion it would have made more sense to just have trashed the whole addiction concept together and go with something much more milder in that sort.

This was as mild as you can get. Addictive candy bars unless you want addictive apples, which really doesn't make any sense.

Muppetfan

  • Administrator
  • In Mr. Ratburn's class
  • *****
  • Posts: 222
    • View Profile
Re: To Eat or Not to Eat
« Reply #8 on: October 21, 2012, 06:02:38 pm »
I mean that if they wanted to say to be careful about what you are eating, they didn't have to have done it in such a way that includes drugs.

Crossover Dreamer

  • In Mr. Ratburn's class
  • **
  • Posts: 119
  • Location: United States
    • View Profile
Re: To Eat or Not to Eat
« Reply #9 on: October 30, 2012, 09:35:33 pm »
"To Eat or Not to Eat" reminds me of an episode of Disney's Doug, where something called Nic-Nacs were being sold to kids, and they had more dangerous side effects.
"Where's my Prince Charming?!"

LovingBeagles

  • New Kid at Lakewood
  • *
  • Posts: 94
  • Beagles...a very nice breed of dog :)
    • View Profile
Re: To Eat or Not to Eat
« Reply #10 on: February 16, 2013, 12:36:23 am »
I think that this episode's message was just to raise awareness of the dubious ingredients found in many foods (look at your average bag of Doritos, or the ingredients in the fast food you eat). The "trienzomated zorn jelly" and the radioactive chemicals seemed to be a bit of an exaggeration to me, too (as far as I know, the zorn jelly is just a fictional chemical), but they raise a good point with this episode.

Two questions:
1. What happened when Buster clicked on the zorn jelly link while he was on the computer? The screen just turned green, but is that supposed to mean something?
2. Anyone notice that we also have an episode called "To Beat or Not To Beat", and now we have this? For episode titles, it may seem a bit unoriginal of them once you think about it.

Also, anyone notice that when George bought a bar from Binky, he ate EVERYTHING, including the wrapper? I found that funny.

Crossover Dreamer

  • In Mr. Ratburn's class
  • **
  • Posts: 119
  • Location: United States
    • View Profile
Re: To Eat or Not to Eat
« Reply #11 on: February 18, 2013, 07:36:07 pm »
Hi, LovingBeagles.

1. I don't know what the screen turning green meant. I think the writers could have done better with that scene.

2. Yes, I have noticed that "To Eat or Not to Eat" sounds like "To Beat or Not to Beat." They could have come up with a more original title.
"Where's my Prince Charming?!"

LovingBeagles

  • New Kid at Lakewood
  • *
  • Posts: 94
  • Beagles...a very nice breed of dog :)
    • View Profile
Re: To Eat or Not to Eat
« Reply #12 on: February 25, 2013, 10:29:57 am »
See, in my opinion it would have made more sense to just have trashed the whole addiction concept together and go with something much more milder in that sort.

This was as mild as you can get. Addictive candy bars unless you want addictive apples, which really doesn't make any sense.

Yeah, I agree. Though not completely original, the candy bars were a good prop for this show. Addiction can happen, and I didn't see too many drug-related activities, other than Binky selling the bars. But I don't think that was the main point of the episode.

I mean that if they wanted to say to be careful about what you are eating, they didn't have to have done it in such a way that includes drugs.

The problem is, they already referred to that concept in "Arthur Weighs In". The only other way I think you could say "be careful what you eat" in an episode, it would be in a weight-related episode, which, as I've mentioned, has already been done. So they opted for the addiction concept, which, as I've said, is actually quite practical to kids.

And, looking back at these posts, I now do think the characters did sort of switch roles. It's as if the characters have multiple personalities.  :O

EDIT: OK, so I think there actually is a way to say "be careful what you eat" without referring to weight or addiction...it would probably be in some form of "general health problem", like if the bars merely made the kids sick, or had some other side effect other than addiction. So, yeah, the inclusion of addiction was to a degree unnecessary, but I think it helped with the overall message of "be careful what you eat".

But, Muppetfan, I don't think they were "obviously going for drugs"...I'm guessing that most drug-doers probably don't look at the ingredients in a drug, they just know it's that drug (this is just a prediction/speculation, I don't do drugs!), so I think the makers of the episode merely wanted to address the idea of, as Mrs. MacGrady put it, "be wary of ingredients you've never heard of" and the like.
« Last Edit: April 11, 2013, 09:56:30 pm by LovingBeagles »

MCCJ

  • Guest
Re: To Eat or Not to Eat
« Reply #13 on: February 25, 2013, 11:59:39 am »
Well LovingBeagles personalities being switched among characters is common with shows that last this long. It's not the first time. It was done to prove as was stated it could happen to anyone.