Elwood City Central

Arthur => News => Topic started by: Muppetfan on September 23, 2012, 03:59:45 pm


Title: Season 16
Post by: Muppetfan on September 23, 2012, 03:59:45 pm
Due to the new Arthur season starting in October, I thought it might be a good idea to create a thread to discuss it.


Any thoughts?
Title: Re: Season 16
Post by: Snowth Woogle on September 23, 2012, 05:44:03 pm
I think the show passed its prime looooong ago, but as far as this season goes, we have a new strike to add to the series now: the Flash animation.

Now, I've taken courses in Flash animation before, and have dabbled in it a little myself *cough*BUN:DefenderoftheBunnyPeopleonYouTube*cough*, but the Flash animation doesn't work for this season: the characters' movement and expressions and everything are very stiff and robotic compared to the previously tradionally animated seasons. Not only that, but some of the characters' overall designs seem slightly reminiscent of those old computer games from the 90s before the show even started.

I know this stuff is cheaper, more economical, and now the norm and everything, but cheaper isn't always better.
Title: Re: Season 16
Post by: Muppetfan on September 23, 2012, 05:48:04 pm
I do have to note that the animation is a bit weird this season, it sort of has a softer, more blurred feel to it. Especially the background scenery.

Has anyone noticed the wonderful inclusion of Kieper and the unnamed brown dog in the Tough Customers clip in the preview video released? I am so excited to see them with the gang again.
Title: Re: Season 16
Post by: Snowth Woogle on September 23, 2012, 05:49:57 pm
Forgive me my unfamiliarity with more current seasons, but who is Kieper?
Title: Re: Season 16
Post by: Muppetfan on September 23, 2012, 05:52:08 pm
Kieper is actually an original Tough Customer from the early seasons:

http://arthur.wikia.com/wiki/Kieper (http://arthur.wikia.com/wiki/Kieper)
Title: Re: Season 16
Post by: Sergeant Slink on September 23, 2012, 05:53:56 pm
But where the bleeping bleep is Slink? >:(

Sarge does not approve of this.
Title: Re: Season 16
Post by: Muppetfan on September 23, 2012, 05:55:59 pm
I did notice that. I'm getting worried that maybe now they're trying to go too old-style by putting back staple characters of the early seasons and taking out ones that are more recent additions, such as Slink to the Tough Customers. (Though Slink has been with them for quite some time).
Title: Re: Season 16
Post by: MCCJ on September 23, 2012, 07:58:08 pm
While the animation has changed and will take some time to get use to, but at least it isn't anything like Arthur's Missing Pal. The storyline was alright, but the animation was hard for me to watch. I have a feeling 9 Story will improve with the animation come Season 17. This is their first time with Arthur (remember Postcards From Buster was mostly live action with some animation). As for those two characters returning I'm quite surprised, but it's about time, cause I feel the Tough Customers have always been less intimidating with fewer members around. Slink will most likely still appear I hope. Something was brought up by a user on wikia that have to mention. Has anyone else noticed or thought that this season we may see Arthur play less of a role in some of the episodes?
Title: Re: Season 16
Post by: Muppetfan on September 23, 2012, 10:11:48 pm
I have noticed that. Looking at the existing episode summaries we have for the first episodes, we have the episode about Ladonna, one for Francine, one for Muffy, 2 for D.W. and Emily together, one about Mr. Ratburn, one about Mei-Lin, and two about the Tibbles.

Now we can only speculate with the names we have for the rest of the season, but I doubt "The Last Tough Customer" will be about Arthur, "Brain's Chess Mess" and "Brain's Biggest Blunder" are obviously about Brain, "Buster's Book Battle" and "On the Buster Scale" are obviously about Buster, and "Fern and the Case of the Stolen Story" and "Sue Ellen Vegges Out" are obviously each about the character in the title.

That leaves us with three episodes that could even possibly be about Arthur: "Baseball Blues," "So Funny I Forgot to Laugh," and "The Best Day Ever"
Title: Re: Season 16
Post by: MCCJ on September 24, 2012, 01:30:54 am
I have noticed that. Looking at the existing episode summaries we have for the first episodes, we have the episode about Ladonna, one for Francine, one for Muffy, 2 for D.W. and Emily together, one about Mr. Ratburn, one about Mei-Lin, and two about the Tibbles.

Now we can only speculate with the names we have for the rest of the season, but I doubt "The Last Tough Customer" will be about Arthur, "Brain's Chess Mess" and "Brain's Biggest Blunder" are obviously about Brain, "Buster's Book Battle" and "On the Buster Scale" are obviously about Buster, and "Fern and the Case of the Stolen Story" and "Sue Ellen Vegges Out" are obviously each about the character in the title.

That leaves us with three episodes that could even possibly be about Arthur: "Baseball Blues," "So Funny I Forgot to Laugh," and "The Best Day Ever"

You hit the nail right on the dot.
Title: Re: Season 16
Post by: Muppetfan on September 24, 2012, 08:04:07 am
That is true that an episode with laughing in the title would most likely be about Buster, but then I wonder if maybe it could be a joint episode with Arthur and Buster sharing the spotlight, something like "Do You Believe in Magic?" with jokes instead or something.
Title: Re: Season 16
Post by: MCCJ on October 02, 2012, 03:04:38 pm
Another update for Season 16. Just another picture. (http://images.wikia.com/arthur/images/8/87/Meeting_Ladonna.JPG)
Title: Re: Season 16
Post by: Muppetfan on October 02, 2012, 04:24:21 pm
Is it just me, or is Jenna's appearance kind of weird? Her hair is like way too black...
Title: Re: Season 16
Post by: Sergeant Slink on October 03, 2012, 07:05:43 pm
I think most of the character designs look slightly off...There is something strange about Brain that I can't quite figure out...maybe its the position of his head...
Title: Re: Season 16
Post by: MCCJ on October 08, 2012, 02:01:01 pm
Here is another preview of Season 16.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LmkPH4qSATE
Title: Re: Season 16
Post by: Snowth Woogle on October 08, 2012, 02:13:15 pm
The Flash animation is just bad...

At least D.W. almost sounds normal again, but we haven't heard Arthur speak in these promos, so it's hard to tell whether his voice is STILL too high for him, or if maybe he almost sounds normal again too.
Title: Re: Season 16
Post by: MCCJ on October 08, 2012, 02:21:33 pm
The Flash animation is just bad...

At least D.W. almost sounds normal again, but we haven't heard Arthur speak in these promos, so it's hard to tell whether his voice is STILL too high for him, or if maybe he almost sounds normal again too.

We should see more improvements on the animation in future episodes/seasons. This is 9 Story's first time doing Arthur after all, so I would give them time.
Title: Re: Season 16
Post by: Muppetfan on October 08, 2012, 04:02:01 pm
For some reason to me I actually don't mind the animation as much in this trailer as I did in the last one. I dunno if I'm just getting used to it or what...

But it seems like the preschool class is really heavily featured in this season. We had a good many episode plots about them, and now the Tibbles are in this promo a lot as is James. May be interesting.

Also, in that one shot, who is that bear standing beside Ladonna? It obviously isn't her brother, as he is a rabbit, but who is he?
Title: Re: Season 16
Post by: MCCJ on October 11, 2012, 02:31:56 pm
For some reason to me I actually don't mind the animation as much in this trailer as I did in the last one. I dunno if I'm just getting used to it or what...

But it seems like the preschool class is really heavily featured in this season. We had a good many episode plots about them, and now the Tibbles are in this promo a lot as is James. May be interesting.

Also, in that one shot, who is that bear standing beside Ladonna? It obviously isn't her brother, as he is a rabbit, but who is he?

I am going out on a limb and assuming that is Chiekh based on what I have seen from the episode In My Africa. Also everyone we have four days left.
Title: Re: Season 16
Post by: Muppetfan on October 12, 2012, 02:33:42 pm
For some reason to me I actually don't mind the animation as much in this trailer as I did in the last one. I dunno if I'm just getting used to it or what...

But it seems like the preschool class is really heavily featured in this season. We had a good many episode plots about them, and now the Tibbles are in this promo a lot as is James. May be interesting.

Also, in that one shot, who is that bear standing beside Ladonna? It obviously isn't her brother, as he is a rabbit, but who is he?

I am going out on a limb and assuming that is Chiekh based on what I have seen from the episode In My Africa. Also everyone we have four days left.

*waits for Mr. Snowth's reaction*
Title: Re: Season 16
Post by: Snowth Woogle on October 12, 2012, 08:21:25 pm
I'm not sure myself... I took a look at "In My Africa", and I don't believe they're the same character, there's a few little differences in their designs, so I don't know who that could be in the preview.
Title: Re: Season 16
Post by: Muppetfan on October 12, 2012, 08:24:27 pm
For some reason I have a feeling it is him...he just went over some minor design changes, which isn't abnormal to happen over time in the Arthur series...especially with 9 Story coming into play now.
Title: Re: Season 16
Post by: Muppetfan on October 12, 2012, 08:31:48 pm
Just for the heck of it, I took shots of both so that we can (hopefully) do a comparison of sorts.
Title: Re: Season 16
Post by: Snowth Woogle on October 12, 2012, 09:26:25 pm
True enough though... Emily went through some drastic changes when she made her comeback after being absent for a season or two.
Title: Re: Season 16
Post by: Muppetfan on October 12, 2012, 09:42:35 pm
The pic comparison is pretty interesting, though...it seems that both faces are the same for the most part. The most noticeable difference is the hair, with Chiekh having black, curly hair only on the top of his head, while the promo character has brown hair that creeps down to the back of his head.
Title: Re: Season 16
Post by: Muppetfan on October 15, 2012, 01:11:02 pm
Well, the new season began today.  Any thoughts thus far?

As for me, I unfortunately am not going to be able to see today's episode until 4.  :(
Title: Re: Season 16
Post by: MCCJ on October 15, 2012, 04:46:36 pm
IMO I think 9 Story knocked it out of the park. There were new voice actors too especially for Arthur. I am looking forward to the next episodes.
Title: Re: Season 16
Post by: Muppetfan on October 15, 2012, 05:28:59 pm
Which speaking of Arthur, does anyone else think that Arthur's new voice actor was more suitable for Brain? Though I do have to say that Brain's new actor was also perfect, but to me Arthur's didn't seem to fit well with him.
Title: Re: Season 16
Post by: Snowth Woogle on October 15, 2012, 07:15:15 pm
What? You mean for the first time since 2004, Arthur DOESN'T sound like D.W. anymore?  :o
Title: Re: Season 16
Post by: Muppetfan on October 15, 2012, 07:45:07 pm
What? You mean for the first time since 2004, Arthur DOESN'T sound like D.W. anymore?  :o

Nope. He sounds like Brain.

And oddly enough, Brain also sounds like Brain.

And D.W. sounds like D.W.

And the Tibbles sound like the Tibbles.

In all honesty, this wave of voice recasts are the best ones that I have heard pretty much ever, minus Arthur.
Title: Re: Season 16
Post by: Snowth Woogle on October 16, 2012, 04:44:12 pm
You know what the funny this is about Brain? He only sounds like Brain like every other time they recast him... they got a decent Brain after the original (Luke Reid I believe his name was) grew into his voice around Season Three or so, then they got a Brain who was way too high for Seasons Seven and Eight, then he sounded like Brain again, etc... that kind of pattern.

But anyway, I was going to watch today's new episode out of curiosity, however, I had some errands to run this afternoon, so I kind of missed it... looking at the synopsis for today's episode though, it sounds like more, "We're looking UNDER the barrel now because that's how desperately out of ideas we are" stories.  :-\
Title: Re: Season 16
Post by: Muppetfan on October 16, 2012, 06:06:10 pm
The first half of today's was actually pretty good and original seeming. Good messages also.

As for the second half, it seemed to be bits and pieces of things that happened in previous episodes. Like, it seemed like the aspect of "Muffy's Art Attack" was involved in some way with Ed Crosswire being Bailey, however this time the outcome was a bit different, and it seemed that the daughter/father thing going on between Muffy and Ed was reminiscent of "Muffy's Soccer Shocker."
Title: Re: Season 16
Post by: Snowth Woogle on October 16, 2012, 07:50:10 pm
I don't believe I've seen "Muffy's Soccer Shocker"... I may have, but I probably dont' remember it... believe it or not, for some reason, my PBS affiliate always used to skip Season Six altogether, so I never got to see any of it until about 2005 or so when my PBS conformed to a national schedule (beforehand, the station had a lot more individuality to it, but then once the whole PBS Kids Go concept came into the picture, that's when they started following everybody else), and honestly, from what I remember seeing, I remember thinking, "Gee, I really didn't miss much."

Granted, there were some good moments I enjoyed: Buster trying to make his own chocolates; Arthur seemingly happy he'll never have to play piano again, but goes through like a cold turkey spell; Binky going bad... again ("Guess you better do something about it then, lady!"). Also, finally showing Season Six filled in some gaps, such as I had no idea who these Alberto or Vecita characters were or where they came from, or what this Frensky Star business was, etc. So yeah, miss a little miss a lot.

But I digress, does anyone know why they air the new seasons the way they do? I mean, to play one half in October, and the other half in like March or April or whenever is extremely confusing, it's almost as if we have twice as many seasons that are half the length they used to be.
Title: Re: Season 16
Post by: Muppetfan on October 16, 2012, 09:03:39 pm
See, for me, "Muffy's Soccer Shocker" was an episode that I have seen a million times, mainly because before the age of YouTube, it was one of the only episodes I had on VHS.

As for your season question, I'm not entirely sure. My best guess is that because the seasons are so short (rather than 20 or 30 episodes), they want to try to stretch out new episodes further, so that all the episodes for the new year aren't done in two weeks.
Title: Re: Season 16
Post by: Snowth Woogle on October 17, 2012, 04:44:04 pm
Okay, I saw today's new episode, and here are my thoughts about it:

First of all, I'm surprised nobody has said anything about the new titles, both main and end titles (BTW, is Arthur's interruption during the end titles actually part of it, or was it an advertisement super imposed during the end like other networks do to their shows sometimes?) Also, did I imagine things, or did they actually list that Amanda girl in D.W.'s class at the top of the cast list? The end titles were a little on the quick side, so I may have looked at it wrong.

I can see what you're saying about Arthur sounding like Brain, but I've noticed something else too, it's almost as if Arthur is going in and out of some kind of really noticable accent, it's hard to determine what, because he's inconsistent with it (sometimes the accent is heavy, other times it's not). At least it's an improvement from how high he was sounding for years and years and YEARS. D.W. sounds pretty good too, but Mrs. Read actually sounds a little different this season, like her voice seems a little deeper. Speaking of whom, why are her ears suddenly bigger?

I really can't get past the animation... I'm sorry, but it's just way too stiff, and like it's been said before, there's too much reliance on motion tweens as shortcuts. It also distorts the character designs as well: Arthur looks off-model no matter what angle we see him from, and D.W. actually looked like she had sharp edges in certain scenes.

As for the stories though, they were interesting to say the least... "All About D.W." was a little cliche obviously, but "Blockheads" was actually quite enjoyable. One thing I couldn't help but notice, though, was Emily seemed a little out of character in this one... when she and D.W. are paired up, she's usually the more reasonable and logical one, but here, she seemed almost similar to D.W. in personality, and even in mindframe, as opposed to being more don't be silly, or you're overreacting, like she normally would. But still, it was enjoyable.

So, yeah, after seeing only one episode, I guess I really can't be too objective in my opinion, but my feelings on the new season are mixed thus far... there are some improvements (better voice actors for Arthur and D.W. despite Arthur sounding like Brain), but there are some sour notes (the stiff and shoutcut animation), so I guess I'll just have to continue watching to really base an opinion on it.
Title: Re: Season 16
Post by: MCCJ on October 17, 2012, 04:58:58 pm
Seeing Amanda getting her own voice actor caught me by surprise, cause up until now they never listed any voice actors for a good bulk of the minor characters (there are some exceptions). Amanda being first on the cast is expected since the cast is listed in alphabetical order.

Amanda herself has been around for a while (since D.W. All Wet to be exact), so it was only a matter of time before she started interacting with D.W. and the other main characters once again. Most likely we are going to see more of what I said in future episodes with other characters at both the preschool and Lakewood. Other then that I liked Blockheads the most (not to take anything away from All About D.W.). Also did anyone else notice Chiekh and his parents in All About D.W.?

Now to respond to Snowth Woogle. Since this is a first timer for 9 Story I'm not too shocked the animation has some errors and irregulars here and there, although in time they should improve either late in the season or the next season. Though I am curious as to why they went to 2D digital flash animation instead of keeping the original 2D. 9 Story isn't really that strapped for cash, is it?
Title: Re: Season 16
Post by: Snowth Woogle on October 17, 2012, 05:31:02 pm
So why is the cast listed alphabetically now? I'm curious, did one or more of the voice actors start complaining about billing, so they decided to list them alphabetically so there wouldn't be any reason for complaints or something?

As for 9 Story, I wouldn't bet that they're strapped for cash, but rather, they're just trying to make sure they have to do as little work as possible: when it comes to animation, most animation companies do CGI or computer animation because it's quicker, easier, and cheaper, so they're going to take that route over producing anything of quality.
Title: Re: Season 16
Post by: MCCJ on October 17, 2012, 06:16:31 pm
So why is the cast listed alphabetically now? I'm curious, did one or more of the voice actors start complaining about billing, so they decided to list them alphabetically so there wouldn't be any reason for complaints or something?

As for 9 Story, I wouldn't bet that they're strapped for cash, but rather, they're just trying to make sure they have to do as little work as possible: when it comes to animation, most animation companies do CGI or computer animation because it's quicker, easier, and cheaper, so they're going to take that route over producing anything of quality.

No one complained as far as we know. As for your second sentence there is only one way to find out. We contact them or send messages to them.
Title: Re: Season 16
Post by: Snowth Woogle on October 17, 2012, 11:20:51 pm
Heh, I've just realized I've gotten so used to Emily's redesign after all this time, that any time I see an older, classic episode with her, it seems strange.
Title: Re: Season 16
Post by: Snowth Woogle on October 18, 2012, 04:34:17 pm
Okay, watched part of today's new episode... one thing I've noticed is that Arthur didn't sound so much like Brain today... he sounded like he kept slipping in an out of sounding a little like Brain, and back to sounding like D.W. like he has been since Season Nine. I also noticed that both Mr. Haney and Miss Turner sound like they're losing their voices, it was a lot more noticable with Miss Turner, she sounded extremely hoarse, while Mr. Haney sounded a little more like an old man. I see as well that Mr. Haney is wearing a green suit now as opposed to his blue one (but then again, I've noticed a lot of coloring changes this season, I'm not sure, but I think Amanda's entire color scheme changed).

Anyway, the episode with HUGO reminded me a LOT of the Recess episode "School World", where they had a very similar computer device, SAL-3000, installed in all of Third Street School, the only difference is SAL was rather evil and went rogue, whereas HUGO was simply seemingly antagonistic toward Mr. Ratburn, who hates being proven wrong. Forgive me too if this may come off as offensive, but I know a lot of fans out there have speculated that Mr. Ratburn is "in the closet", and seeing him in that long night shirt of his when he was plotting his revenge against HUGO kind of makes me wonder it now too. While I didn't find "Get Smart" to be entirely original, I did like the little hidden message in it that in this computer age, libraries are suffering terribly... it's gotten to the point where libraries in general don't enforce any rules anymore, because that's how desperate they are to get people to come in (believe me, you go to my public library, you'll find people talking on their cellphones, little kids running around and screaming, people standing around and talking out loud to each other, etc).

"Baby Steps" looked like it was going to start off pretty well, loved that odd little reference to that Andy show from "The Contest" (even though they changed it to look just like a copy of Arthur when it used to be a mashup of both Arthur and Little Lulu), but the second I saw Mei Lin, and heard Baby Kate talk, I changed the channel, I can't stand those Adventures Of Talking Baby Kate And Talking Pal And Now Talking Mei Lin episodes.

STILL can't quite get past the stiff, shortcut animation... it really shows when a character shakes his or her head, it doesn't look like a natural shake, you can tell they just simply transform the entire head every other frame to try to create a poor illusion of head shaking.

EDIT: Actually, there's one thing that bothered me about "Get Smart"... how is it the class didn't know anything about the history of Elwood City, or that the area where the city now is used to be marshland, or who Jacob Katzenellenbogen even was? They did a freakin' musical about all of that!
Title: Re: Season 16
Post by: MCCJ on October 19, 2012, 07:49:22 am
Hi everyone, I'm new here and didn't know where to introduce myself! :) With that said...I watched today's new episode and thought it was the first good episode I've seen SO FAR (haven't seen the Ladonna and DW episodes yet).

BTW, how does Arthur sound like Brain? ??? I don't really hear it.

A couple things. First welcome to the site. We hope you enjoy your stay here. Second PBS is uploading the first episode of Season 16 on their site today, so I think you can catch it. Finally some people do sound a like these days. Can never discredit that.
Title: Re: Season 16
Post by: Snowth Woogle on October 19, 2012, 04:41:50 pm
I honestly didn't really think much of the first half of today's new episode, but "Read and Flumbergast" was enjoyable... it starts off as very interesting, it really speaks to little kids, because who among us, as a little kid, HASN'T taken a large, empty, cardboard box, and pretended it was an office, or a spaceship, or anything like that? I like the way D.W. ran her "office", it was cute and amusing (and her method of writing out checks... literally, that was clever in its childlike whimsy)... but, once it became a kangaroo court episode... meh, that's been done to death in kid cartoons... heck, they already did this on the show, remember "Sick as a Dog"? Arthur "sued" D.W. because he claimed she made Pal sick because she didn't like him, Brain served as the judge, Francine was her lawyer, and Buster was the jury. So yeah, "Read and Flumbergast" was off to a great start, but it ended on a sour note. It was also interesting that after all these years, we learn that Nadine's last name is Flumbergast... I was wondering just what in the world Flumbergast was supposed to mean with the episode title.

So... when exactly did James come out of his shell? D.W. and Emily, at one point, remark about how quiet he had been that day (after he caved in to accepting the Tibbles' invitation to their sleep over), but wasn't he ALWAYS quiet? So yeah, I don't get it...

As for the animation today, Arthur looks a little more on-model today, but D.W. on the other hand, maybe I didn't notice until now, but her eyes seem a little too big.
Title: Re: Season 16
Post by: MCCJ on October 19, 2012, 05:54:09 pm
I honestly didn't really think much of the first half of today's new episode, but "Read and Flumbergast" was enjoyable... it starts off as very interesting, it really speaks to little kids, because who among us, as a little kid, HASN'T taken a large, empty, cardboard box, and pretended it was an office, or a spaceship, or anything like that? I like the way D.W. ran her "office", it was cute and amusing (and her method of writing out checks... literally, that was clever in its childlike whimsy)... but, once it became a kangaroo court episode... meh, that's been done to death in kid cartoons... heck, they already did this on the show, remember "Sick as a Dog"? Arthur "sued" D.W. because he claimed she made Pal sick because she didn't like him, Brain served as the judge, Francine was her lawyer, and Buster was the jury. So yeah, "Read and Flumbergast" was off to a great start, but it ended on a sour note. It was also interesting that after all these years, we learn that Nadine's last name is Flumbergast... I was wondering just what in the world Flumbergast was supposed to mean with the episode title.

So... when exactly did James come out of his shell? D.W. and Emily, at one point, remark about how quiet he had been that day (after he caved in to accepting the Tibbles' invitation to their sleep over), but wasn't he ALWAYS quiet? So yeah, I don't get it...

As for the animation today, Arthur looks a little more on-model today, but D.W. on the other hand, maybe I didn't notice until now, but her eyes seem a little too big.

I did notice animation improvements in these two episodes today. I guess that is a sign of better things to come.
Title: Re: Season 16
Post by: Muppetfan on October 19, 2012, 08:31:53 pm
Hi everyone, I'm new here and didn't know where to introduce myself! :) With that said...I watched today's new episode and thought it was the first good episode I've seen SO FAR (haven't seen the Ladonna and DW episodes yet).

BTW, how does Arthur sound like Brain? ??? I don't really hear it.

I just wanted to first take the opportunity to welcome you to the forum. If you have any problems or need any help, don't hesitate to contact me.

Also, I dunno, I guess I'm just the only one who is really noticing the Arthur/Brain thing. However I do have to note here that I have to agree with what Snowthy said earlier on in the thread regarding how Arthur's voice seems to change a bit throughout each episode, as if sometimes the voice is slightly different. Sometimes I find a Brain comparison, and other times I do not really.
Title: Re: Season 16
Post by: raidpirate52 on October 20, 2012, 12:13:37 pm
Anyone else notice not one episode had Arthur as a prominent character? I mean I'm all for focusing on other characters, but he's been pretty much second banana for while now. Also I agree with Snowth...I hate the Kate and Pal episodes. 
Title: Re: Season 16
Post by: Muppetfan on October 20, 2012, 01:12:27 pm
I think that is something that we had discussed a while back that is worth bringing up again...how the episodes don't seem to be focusing on Arthur, but rather other characters. The thing that starts to get more monotonous for me is that so many of the new episodes seem to be focusing on D.W. and friends.

However we only have the names for the second set of Season 16 episodes, but based on them, it looks like they may be turning around and being at least somewhat focused a bit on him in one or two.
Title: Re: Season 16
Post by: MCCJ on October 20, 2012, 01:22:29 pm
That is the effect of naming the show after the main character. The usually focus on that character for only so long before they go into other characters. Anyone that has seen the show Hey Arnold can see what I'm talking about in that point. The Pal and Kate episodes really don't serve much of any purpose. Nadine maybe an imaginary friend, but at least she serves a purpose in the show well to D.W. that is.
Title: Re: Season 16
Post by: Muppetfan on October 20, 2012, 01:24:30 pm
However note that the show has focused on other characters a lot throughout the series. It's just that recently we've been on an Arthur episode drought, it seems.
Title: Re: Season 16
Post by: MCCJ on October 20, 2012, 01:34:01 pm
However note that the show has focused on other characters a lot throughout the series. It's just that recently we've been on an Arthur episode drought, it seems.

They have made just about every episode about him that I can think of. Grandpa Dave's Memory Book I can safely assume may have been the last great hurrah for an episode that centers around Arthur, especially Season 15 in general, though things can change without notice.
Title: Re: Season 16
Post by: Muppetfan on October 20, 2012, 01:36:19 pm
That is true, in a way. I mean, I think that the crew has more fun exploring other characters to start out with, I know I would.

And come to think of it, about every Arthur episode idea that I have involves other characters.
Title: Re: Season 16
Post by: MCCJ on October 20, 2012, 01:38:06 pm
That is true, in a way. I mean, I think that the crew has more fun exploring other characters to start out with, I know I would.

And come to think of it, about every Arthur episode idea that I have involves other characters.

There is a lot of characters to work with too. The problem is a majority of them have no names yet.
Title: Re: Season 16
Post by: Muppetfan on October 20, 2012, 01:48:10 pm
But then you run into the fact that pretty much the entire crew is afraid to name them anymore, I think. They most likely are becoming so conscious of the abundance of unnamed characters that they probably start to seem off limits to name. The only way I can even imagine background characters really being named anymore is if the crew has always had some name for the character that they never quite communicated to the public.

And then you also face the issue of naming a character twice, such as accidentally not knowing that a character has a name and the crew names them again. I know this has happened multiple times in the Muppet universe, and I think that it is bound to happen at some point if they start naming more characters. Just look at Tom, who was later renamed Gunky (though it's debatable if it is the same character and if Gunky is a nickname). And plus, even characters like Mr. Haney and Mr. Ratburn have multiple first names.
Title: Re: Season 16
Post by: MCCJ on October 20, 2012, 01:56:15 pm
But then you run into the fact that pretty much the entire crew is afraid to name them anymore, I think. They most likely are becoming so conscious of the abundance of unnamed characters that they probably start to seem off limits to name. The only way I can even imagine background characters really being named anymore is if the crew has always had some name for the character that they never quite communicated to the public.

And then you also face the issue of naming a character twice, such as accidentally not knowing that a character has a name and the crew names them again. I know this has happened multiple times in the Muppet universe, and I think that it is bound to happen at some point if they start naming more characters. Just look at Tom, who was later renamed Gunky (though it's debatable if it is the same character and if Gunky is a nickname). And plus, even characters like Mr. Haney and Mr. Ratburn have multiple first names.

There is ways around loopholes like that.
Title: Re: Season 16
Post by: Snowth Woogle on October 20, 2012, 02:02:26 pm
Forgive me my late arrival into the discussion.

I think I've said it years ago, the show really shouldn't even be called Arthur anymore... something more along the lines of Elwood City Kids or something, because when you think about it, the shift from focusing on just Arthur, and more on other kids actually dates way back to like Seasons Seven and Eight: we had a TON of episodes during those seasons where Arthur played no significant role in stories... that also seems to be around the time when there started to be more focus on D.W. and her friends, as well as expanding those characters... at least, it was the first time James had any significant role in an episode, and look at him now.

As for Nadine, I agree, she DOES serve a purpose, but only if she is utilized correctly, and that usually depends on the writer, and what the story is: there are times where Nadine can serve as something of a conscience for D.W., but then there are other times where she's just an imaginary friend.
Title: Re: Season 16
Post by: MCCJ on October 20, 2012, 04:29:23 pm
Forgive me my late arrival into the discussion.

I think I've said it years ago, the show really shouldn't even be called Arthur anymore... something more along the lines of Elwood City Kids or something, because when you think about it, the shift from focusing on just Arthur, and more on other kids actually dates way back to like Seasons Seven and Eight: we had a TON of episodes during those seasons where Arthur played no significant role in stories... that also seems to be around the time when there started to be more focus on D.W. and her friends, as well as expanding those characters... at least, it was the first time James had any significant role in an episode, and look at him now.

As for Nadine, I agree, she DOES serve a purpose, but only if she is utilized correctly, and that usually depends on the writer, and what the story is: there are times where Nadine can serve as something of a conscience for D.W., but then there are other times where she's just an imaginary friend.

It first took place during Season 3, but you still have a very good point there.
Title: Re: Season 16
Post by: Muppetfan on October 20, 2012, 04:56:37 pm
Since the beginning the series never focused specifically on Arthur and it isn't meant to. Right from the get-go, even with the series being called Arthur, they knew they were going to spend just as much/even more time on other characters, and that seems to be all around evident from the start. I don't think they named it Arthur to only focus on Arthur, but rather because the books tended to be labeled Arthur, so it only made sense for the series to be called that.
But then you run into the fact that pretty much the entire crew is afraid to name them anymore, I think. They most likely are becoming so conscious of the abundance of unnamed characters that they probably start to seem off limits to name. The only way I can even imagine background characters really being named anymore is if the crew has always had some name for the character that they never quite communicated to the public.

And then you also face the issue of naming a character twice, such as accidentally not knowing that a character has a name and the crew names them again. I know this has happened multiple times in the Muppet universe, and I think that it is bound to happen at some point if they start naming more characters. Just look at Tom, who was later renamed Gunky (though it's debatable if it is the same character and if Gunky is a nickname). And plus, even characters like Mr. Haney and Mr. Ratburn have multiple first names.

There is ways around loopholes like that.

Of course there is. I know that. I am just saying that I imagine those are the kind of things that go through the crew's mind and why we don't have characters being named anymore.
Title: Re: Season 16
Post by: Muppetfan on October 20, 2012, 06:05:11 pm
Ladonna and Bud are pretty good characters. And you will never get completely used to the animation, at least I haven't, but you will soften up to it much over time.
Title: Re: Season 16
Post by: MCCJ on October 20, 2012, 06:09:17 pm
Ladonna and Bud are pretty good characters. And you will never get completely used to the animation, at least I haven't, but you will soften up to it much over time.

Keep watching those episodes and you will get use to the animation. By the way. Did anyone else notice that Night of the Tibble and Read and Flumberghast the animation improved a bit? That took me by surprise there as I wasn't expecting that.
Title: Re: Season 16
Post by: Muppetfan on October 20, 2012, 06:17:40 pm
I might as well take this opportunity to mention that I am extremely bummed that I haven't been able to see Friday's episode. I had to go out at the time it was on so I made sure my DVR was set to tape it, but for some strange reason it didn't tape.  >:(

But it does sound good that the animation was improved. That is a plus. And for the most part I have gotten used to the animation, just there are occasions when I still haven't quite softened up completely to it.
Title: Re: Season 16
Post by: MCCJ on October 20, 2012, 06:30:53 pm
I might as well take this opportunity to mention that I am extremely bummed that I haven't been able to see Friday's episode. I had to go out at the time it was on so I made sure my DVR was set to tape it, but for some strange reason it didn't tape.  >:(

But it does sound good that the animation was improved. That is a plus. And for the most part I have gotten used to the animation, just there are occasions when I still haven't quite softened up completely to it.

The DVR I had before use to do that. The one I have now is an improvement.
Title: Re: Season 16
Post by: dth1971 on October 20, 2012, 10:36:58 pm
Now that we completed the first half of Arthur Season 16 until Spring 2013, we have yet to hear in the new 9 Story produced Arthur episodes speaking parts of:
Arthur's Dad (David Read - why didn't he speak in those new Arthur Season 16 episodes even though Bruce "Binky Barnes" Dinsmore voices him?)
Bailey
Sue Ellen
Prunella
Fern
Mrs. MacGrady
Grandma Tibble
George
Wally the giraffe dummy
Molly
Rattles
Slink
Maria the striped shirt rabbit girl

Or even appearances in 9 Story produced Arthur episodes of:
Bitzi Baxter
Marina
Carl
Lydia Fox
The Molena Family
Nemo the cat
Bubbie Frensky
Title: Re: Season 16
Post by: Snowth Woogle on October 20, 2012, 10:51:42 pm
Well, do we really need any speaking appearances, let alone ANY appearances, by Bailey, Wally, Carl, Lydia, or Nemo? And who is Bubbie Frensky?
Title: Re: Season 16
Post by: dth1971 on October 20, 2012, 11:18:09 pm
Well, do we really need any speaking appearances, let alone ANY appearances, by Bailey, Wally, Carl, Lydia, or Nemo? And who is Bubbie Frensky?

Bubbie Frensky is Francine's Grandmother seen in the episodes "Is That Kosher", and "Grandma Dave's Memory Album". She is voiced by Joan Rivers.
Title: Re: Season 16
Post by: Muppetfan on October 21, 2012, 07:06:11 am
Well, do we really need any speaking appearances, let alone ANY appearances, by Bailey, Wally, Carl, Lydia, or Nemo? And who is Bubbie Frensky?

This sounds interesting: why do we not need Bailey or Wally?
Title: Re: Season 16
Post by: Roabe on October 21, 2012, 10:39:21 am
Aw, but I ♥ Bailey. He's had speaking roles ever since Season 1 (even though they're mostly generic butler lines), so it's not like he was shoehorned in like the other extras. Wally, on the other hand... I would really like to see a George episode that didn't also have Wally in it.

If anything, I wouldn't mind it if they included some of the characters' extended relatives, if only for an episode. They've introduced a lot of Francine's family over the years- her grandfather in "Background Blues", Bubbie in "Is that Kosher?" They've even made Joshua Redman Francine's uncle, for whatever reason.

Another thing- did anyone notice how in the "Arthur" parody cartoon that Arthur and D.W. were watching (I believe it was in the Mei Lin episode), the Arthur-looking character was named Alfred? I thought it was supposed to be Andy, as in "Andy and Company." At least that was the name of the cartoon in the episode "The Contest." Goes to show you that the writers don't pay attention to details in their own show.
Title: Re: Season 16
Post by: Snowth Woogle on October 21, 2012, 11:35:44 am
Good lord, why Joan Rivers? Why? Why couldn't they give Francine a grandpa voiced by Don Rickles instead?

Quote
Aw, but I ♥ Bailey. He's had speaking roles ever since Season 1 (even though they're mostly generic butler lines), so it's not like he was shoehorned in like the other extras.
"Muffy's Art Attack"?
Title: Re: Season 16
Post by: MCCJ on October 21, 2012, 01:41:12 pm
Good lord, why Joan Rivers? Why? Why couldn't they give Francine a grandpa voiced by Don Rickles instead?

Quote
Aw, but I ♥ Bailey. He's had speaking roles ever since Season 1 (even though they're mostly generic butler lines), so it's not like he was shoehorned in like the other extras.
"Muffy's Art Attack"?

Joan Rivers did pretty good voicing Bubbie IMO.
Title: Re: Season 16
Post by: Muppetfan on October 21, 2012, 02:30:19 pm
Joan Rivers's voice actually does fit Bubbie in some miraculous way...don't ask me the mechanics behind that, though.
Title: Re: Season 16
Post by: dth1971 on October 21, 2012, 11:43:24 pm
Well, I'm waiting for these Season 16 Arthur episodes to air on PBS Kids in the USA in Spring 2013:
"Fern and the Case of the Stolen Story"
"Sue Ellen Veggies Out"
...unless the Canada and/or UK and/or Australia TV market airs these Arthur episodes first.
Title: Re: Season 16
Post by: MCCJ on October 22, 2012, 08:50:59 am
Well, I'm waiting for these Season 16 Arthur episodes to air on PBS Kids in the USA in Spring 2013:
"Fern and the Case of the Stolen Story"
"Sue Ellen Veggies Out"
...unless the Canada and/or UK and/or Australia TV market airs these Arthur episodes first.

According to the press release from last year 9 Story would distribute Season 16 episodes internationally.
Title: Re: Season 16
Post by: Crossover Dreamer on October 29, 2012, 08:14:29 pm
Here's what I thought about season 16:

I actually prefer the Flash animation. It seems more Marc Brown-like to me.

I like Ladonna and Bud. I wonder if we'll get to see any of the other siblings they keep talking about. One thing I didn't understand why both Ladonna and Bud were asked if their first names were short for anything. They don't seem like diminutive forms of names to me.

I was never a fan of Arthur's dream sequences, and I'm still not.

I was glad that Cheikh was present this season. It's a shame that he didn't have any lines.

I seem to remember D.W. talking about Amanda in "So Long, Spanky." I think she had a bottlecap collection?

What I liked about "Baby Steps" was that once again D.W. asks Brain for help (I like those moments). Too bad it was a Kate and Pal episode.

On "Get Smart" what HUGO reminded me of was Watson the computer from the Jeopardy! challenge. I thought it was interesting that the actor who did the voice of Hugo was Jamie Watson.

Assuming that there will be more episodes, is there any chance that any of the season 17 episodes have already aired in Australia of wherever?
Title: Re: Season 16
Post by: MCCJ on October 29, 2012, 10:18:21 pm
Here's what I thought about season 16:

I actually prefer the Flash animation. It seems more Marc Brown-like to me.

I like Ladonna and Bud. I wonder if we'll get to see any of the other siblings they keep talking about. One thing I didn't understand why both Ladonna and Bud were asked if their first names were short for anything. They don't seem like diminutive forms of names to me.

I was never a fan of Arthur's dream sequences, and I'm still not.

I was glad that Cheikh was present this season. It's a shame that he didn't have any lines.

I seem to remember D.W. talking about Amanda in "So Long, Spanky." I think she had a bottlecap collection?

What I liked about "Baby Steps" was that once again D.W. asks Brain for help (I like those moments). Too bad it was a Kate and Pal episode.

On "Get Smart" what HUGO reminded me of was Watson the computer from the Jeopardy! challenge. I thought it was interesting that the actor who did the voice of Hugo was Jamie Watson.

Assuming that there will be more episodes, is there any chance that any of the season 17 episodes have already aired in Australia of wherever?

I'll answer your questions in numbers.


1. The flash animation could use a little more improvement.

2. Bud and Ladonna have potential in the show.

3. I think the dream sequences is something all kids could relate too. Even us as older kids or young adults. We may had dream sequences of thing similar to what took place in the series.

4. Chiekh being there shows that at least they didn't right another character out in the series. His parents were even present.

5. That is true and that was also the same episode her name was revealed too.

6. Yeah I noticed the same too.

7. I saw the resemblance there.

8. All episodes of Season 16 and Season 17 ( Season 17: Possibly Fall of 2013) are presumably being aired internationally at the same time as the US and Canada.
Title: Re: Season 16
Post by: Snowth Woogle on October 29, 2012, 11:51:43 pm
Bud could be short for Buddy, though I'm not sure if that would be the case here, actually. As for Ladonna... in all honesty, I don't mean to sound racist or anything, but it almost sounds like a black name to my ears... and it probably could be if it were spelled slightly differently, such as "LaDonna" or "L'Donna".
Title: Re: Season 16
Post by: Crossover Dreamer on October 30, 2012, 08:32:37 pm
I just thought of "Belladonna."

I do believe that dream sequences can be useful in a storyline sometimes, but I just think that Arthur uses them way too often. I've counted at least a hundred.
Title: Re: Season 16
Post by: Muppetfan on October 30, 2012, 09:23:23 pm
I wonder if when Bud was asked, it was more meant as a "is Bud a nickname" kind of thing, as Bud seems (more often than not) to be a nickname rather than a given name.
Title: Re: Season 16
Post by: MCCJ on November 02, 2012, 08:17:36 pm
I wonder if when Bud was asked, it was more meant as a "is Bud a nickname" kind of thing, as Bud seems (more often than not) to be a nickname rather than a given name.

I've heard of kids with strange names back when I was a kid, so that could actually be his name.
Title: Re: Season 16
Post by: Muppetfan on November 02, 2012, 08:21:36 pm
It probably is, but I think that is a better reason as to why the other kids would be asking that to him.

Now watch them go and pull a Binky...
Title: Re: Season 16
Post by: MCCJ on December 15, 2012, 02:33:47 pm
It probably is, but I think that is a better reason as to why the other kids would be asking that to him.

Now watch them go and pull a Binky...

I hope they don't.  >:(
Title: Re: Season 16
Post by: MCCJ on December 20, 2012, 07:57:01 pm
I have found information that leads me to believe that some unseen episodes from Season 16 are being aired in Australia as we speak. The proof lies within this link.

http://www.abc.net.au/tv/guide/abc2/201212/programs/ZX8973A046D2012-12-17T153007.htm
Title: Re: Season 16
Post by: Crossover Dreamer on December 21, 2012, 10:14:23 pm
The Australia Broadcasting Corporation's still playing Arthur episodes? When I was checking the kids' TV schedule in January, I didn't see Arthur listed anywhere. I live in the United States; I just wanted to see whether Australia was airing our season 16 episodes before we did. I'm so glad that you made that discovery, MC CJ!
Title: Re: Season 16
Post by: Snowth Woogle on December 21, 2012, 10:58:18 pm
When it comes to cartoons, for some reason, they're almost always aired in other countries before they're aired in the U.S... I have NO idea why that is, it really doesn't make any sense.

When I was a kid, I got really frustrated when people over in the U.K., for example, were seeing the new episodes of my favorite cartoons like Ed, Edd n Eddy and Courage the Cowardly Dog MONTHS before they ever aired in the U.S.
Title: Re: Season 16
Post by: MCCJ on December 22, 2012, 03:50:53 am
When it comes to cartoons, for some reason, they're almost always aired in other countries before they're aired in the U.S... I have NO idea why that is, it really doesn't make any sense.

When I was a kid, I got really frustrated when people over in the U.K., for example, were seeing the new episodes of my favorite cartoons like Ed, Edd n Eddy and Courage the Cowardly Dog MONTHS before they ever aired in the U.S.

I have no idea either.
Title: Re: Season 16
Post by: dth1971 on December 22, 2012, 05:07:28 pm
We don't see the rest of the Season 16 Arthur episodes in the USA until April 2013.
Title: Re: Season 16
Post by: dth1971 on December 22, 2012, 05:11:49 pm
When it comes to cartoons, for some reason, they're almost always aired in other countries before they're aired in the U.S... I have NO idea why that is, it really doesn't make any sense.

When I was a kid, I got really frustrated when people over in the U.K., for example, were seeing the new episodes of my favorite cartoons like Ed, Edd n Eddy and Courage the Cowardly Dog MONTHS before they ever aired in the U.S.

Someone told me on another message board that he once saw in Canada an episode or two of a Nickelodeon preschool series called The Backyardigans that hadn't at the time aired in the USA as of yet.
Title: Re: Season 16
Post by: dth1971 on December 22, 2012, 05:12:36 pm
I have found information that leads me to believe that some unseen episodes from Season 16 are being aired in Australia as we speak. The proof lies within this link.

http://www.abc.net.au/tv/guide/abc2/201212/programs/ZX8973A046D2012-12-17T153007.htm

Hope they show up on YouTube as spoilers - or not!
Title: Re: Season 16
Post by: Crossover Dreamer on December 22, 2012, 09:37:21 pm
Once I watched "In My Africa" on YouTube before it aired in the US. On another day when I used the YouTube's search engine so I could re-watch "In My Africa,"  the video wasn't listed. I wanted to watch "Grandpa Dave's Memory Album" before it aired in the US, but I couldn't find it either. I first saw it on TV.
Title: Re: Season 16
Post by: MCCJ on December 23, 2012, 12:02:32 am
Once I watched "In My Africa" on YouTube before it aired in the US. On another day when I used the YouTube's search engine so I could re-watch "In My Africa,"  the video wasn't listed. I wanted to watch "Grandpa Dave's Memory Album" before it aired in the US, but I couldn't find it either. I first saw it on TV.

I watched several episodes from Seasons 14/15 in late 2010 that would not become available until 2011-2012. A user on Youtube streamed them from a website she made and we watched the episodes. That was good times. This was not even long after I joined the Arthur Wiki site. There was even a torrent available with all, but two Season 14/15 episodes. The torrent went down along with Megauploads (which is due to make a comeback very soon).
Title: Re: Season 16
Post by: Snowth Woogle on January 08, 2013, 03:02:45 pm
Cool! I know clip shows get a lot of flack, for some reason, but I usually enjoy clip shows myself, especially when you're seeing them for the first time, and you don't quite know what to expect, yet, you wonder what memories from the past you're going to see, and see if some of your favorite moments will be included.

It really depends on how a clip show is executed, some times it helps if there are new wraparounds, that kind of helps, but NOT when they actually acknowledge flashbacks, like, "I remember one time..." *dissolve*, but rather, when they hint about certain things about the other characters, or things that happen in their lives, then cut to a clip from the past that illustrates that.
Title: Re: Season 16
Post by: MCCJ on January 08, 2013, 04:00:33 pm
This is what an Austrailian viewer over at IMDB had to say about "The Best Day Ever":

Quote
The Best Day ever if I remember was basically an episode of the "best" moments of Arthur, well best moments for Arthur, Buster, Francine, Sue Ellen, Binky and Brain? I think. Sorry I can't remember the specific "best days ever" for the characters, Oh wait I remember Binkys was the episode where Binky and his family brought back their baby from China.

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0169414/board/thread/208962729?d=208969517&p=1#208969517

Cool, a character clip show!

Wow good job GrebeGirl on finding this. Thanks for posting it.
Title: Re: Season 16
Post by: MCCJ on January 08, 2013, 04:03:20 pm
Cool! I know clip shows get a lot of flack, for some reason, but I usually enjoy clip shows myself, especially when you're seeing them for the first time, and you don't quite know what to expect, yet, you wonder what memories from the past you're going to see, and see if some of your favorite moments will be included.

It really depends on how a clip show is executed, some times it helps if there are new wraparounds, that kind of helps, but NOT when they actually acknowledge flashbacks, like, "I remember one time..." *dissolve*, but rather, when they hint about certain things about the other characters, or things that happen in their lives, then cut to a clip from the past that illustrates that.

It seems like The Best Day Ever basically is like the episode Arthur and the True Francine. A flashback even basically.
Title: Re: Season 16
Post by: Snowth Woogle on January 08, 2013, 08:19:31 pm
Okay, now I'm confused... is it a clip show, or a flashback episode but the flashback is newly produced specifically for the episode?
Title: Re: Season 16
Post by: MCCJ on January 08, 2013, 09:25:55 pm
Okay, now I'm confused... is it a clip show, or a flashback episode but the flashback is newly produced specifically for the episode?

I don't know. I am assuming judging by what the user said on IMDB that the episode could be a flashback episode.
Title: Re: Season 16
Post by: dth1971 on January 12, 2013, 09:29:46 am
I wish I could see yet to air on PBS in the USA Arthur episodes:
"Fern and the Case Of The Stolen Story"
"Sue Ellen Veggies Out"
Title: Re: Season 16
Post by: dth1971 on January 27, 2013, 11:18:04 pm
I learned that the remaining Season 16 Arthur episodes will air the week of May 6, 2013 on PBS Kids Go stations.
Title: Re: Season 16
Post by: LovingBeagles on February 19, 2013, 02:21:44 pm
I've noticed that in many of the episodes, Francine's head, when seen from the side, sort of has a funny angle. Take a look at the first picture posted in this topic and notice how her nose seems a little roundly-shaped and kind of big.

Anyway, aside from the limited movement of the characters and the Flash animation. I really don't like the coloring. Everything looks like it was outlined with a big black Sharpie, and virtually EVERYTHING has no shading or variation in color. Snowth Woogle was right, it seems almost reminiscent of a computer game, but I think it reminds me more of those Flash games featured on the website.

Unfortunately, this is where the technology hype tends to lead us. We get so caught up in the idea that everything has to be animated with Flash or 3D that it often ends up looking worse, not better, than traditional animation. Call me a stickler for traditional ways if you will, as well as the rest of those who've grown up with the show since seasons 1-3, but that's just how I remember the show. The new animation is so distracting and different that it just isn't the same old Arthur I knew anymore.
Title: Re: Season 16
Post by: MCCJ on March 13, 2013, 12:40:08 am
Season 16 I can confirm is to air on May 6th. The season will conclude on the 10th.
Title: Re: Season 16
Post by: LovingBeagles on March 28, 2013, 06:08:52 pm
I agree with the commenters mentioning Arthur's lack of significance in the later seasons (Snowth & raidpirate, I believe).
Remember, Fernfern and the Mystery of Moose Mountain/Thanks a Lot, Binky? When I first saw those episodes, I realized that Arthur appeared in neither the intros nor in both episodes themselves. His only appearance was pretty much in the theme song. So if this was the first episode that a new viewer saw (who we can assume has never heard of the books?), they would probably wonder why the show was even called Arthur.

Anyway, I don't think the series was ever meant to focus only on Arthur; a show that did that probably wouldn't go very far. But if he is to be the title character, he should at least be given more emphasis than the others, while in the more current seasons, he's been pretty much just an extra or a sidekick to the main character of an episode. At least, that's my opinion.

I will agree that I've noticed a lot of episodes focusing on D.W. and the preschool class. I mean, we've had 4-5 episodes focusing on D.W. and the preschoolers in the first half of season 16 alone.
Title: Re: Season 16
Post by: Roabe on March 29, 2013, 12:35:15 pm
^ That's why I think if they ever attempted another spinoff, it should be about D.W. and her friends/classmates. It seems that more and more episodes put them in the focus. Giving them their own show would make the most sense.
Title: Re: Season 16
Post by: MCCJ on March 29, 2013, 03:47:31 pm
Here is another video.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xdh00Ehnync
Title: Re: Season 16
Post by: MCCJ on March 29, 2013, 11:12:16 pm
It's been getting better. The plot address issues that is taking place these days.
Title: Re: Season 16
Post by: Snowth Woogle on March 29, 2013, 11:39:46 pm
Interesting.

This seems like it has a TON of potential behind it... what really intrigues me the most is that for a moment, Molly sees herself when she was a little younger, and supposedly bullied herself, so that probably says a LOT about her, as a character.

We also see that clearly, her behavior is rubbing off on James, which isn't a good thing.

Sending out the letters, though, is usually considered a "cowardly" act, unless she does so later (and we don't know yet), Molly needs to come forward to all she's bullied, and apologize to them directly.
Title: Re: Season 16
Post by: MCCJ on March 30, 2013, 12:41:26 am
Interesting.

This seems like it has a TON of potential behind it... what really intrigues me the most is that for a moment, Molly sees herself when she was a little younger, and supposedly bullied herself, so that probably says a LOT about her, as a character.

We also see that clearly, her behavior is rubbing off on James, which isn't a good thing.

Sending out the letters, though, is usually considered a "cowardly" act, unless she does so later (and we don't know yet), Molly needs to come forward to all she's bullied, and apologize to them directly.

This episode we may even get some background into Molly's past. As for the letters thing, you have to consider how kids would feel about someone that tormented them for a while suddenly approaching them at school to apologize. They would be reluctant to say anything to that person. Not saying your wrong or anything, but you have to look at that from a kid's point of view not a teenager or adult.
Title: Re: Season 16
Post by: LovingBeagles on March 30, 2013, 12:02:26 pm
I think I've maybe noticed some animation improvements in this one.  The animation still seems a little..."drifty". There are all too many times where the characters seem to move their bodies a little in a two-dimensional sort of way. I imagine that that's sort of characteristic of Flash/Toon Boom animation, but if that's how Arthur's gonna be from now on, we'd better get used to it.
^ That's why I think if they ever attempted another spinoff, it should be about D.W. and her friends/classmates. It seems that more and more episodes put them in the focus. Giving them their own show would make the most sense.
I'm not really sure if that will attract many viewers. It might, but it would probably be targeted towards a younger age demographic, perhaps?
Title: Re: Season 16
Post by: MCCJ on March 30, 2013, 06:18:33 pm
I think I've maybe noticed some animation improvements in this one.  The animation still seems a little..."drifty". There are all too many times where the characters seem to move their bodies a little in a two-dimensional sort of way. I imagine that that's sort of characteristic of Flash/Toon Boom animation, but if that's how Arthur's gonna be from now on, we'd better get used to it.
^ That's why I think if they ever attempted another spinoff, it should be about D.W. and her friends/classmates. It seems that more and more episodes put them in the focus. Giving them their own show would make the most sense.
I'm not really sure if that will attract many viewers. It might, but it would probably be targeted towards a younger age demographic, perhaps?

Well there is Season 17, which is coming in the Fall. It may fully improve by that point.
Title: Re: Season 16
Post by: LovingBeagles on March 30, 2013, 06:32:52 pm
Here's a preview clip (more of a spoiler clip) of "So Funny I Forgot to Laugh", if you haven't seen it.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bXUrSDeayRA

Has anyone noticed that, in the flashbacks of when he teased Sue Ellen, Arthur seems to act a bit out of character here? I don't really identify him as the type to make fun of people in a mean, annoying way like that- even having that poster of the sheepdog seems pretty low for him.

As for Muffy and Francine calling him out for teasing Sue Ellen, I'd say that they've been more of bullies throughout the course of the series than Arthur's ever been. >:(
Title: Re: Season 16
Post by: Snowth Woogle on March 30, 2013, 07:21:21 pm
Gee whiz! Arthur was REALLY out of character! This is another one of those plots that's been done to death (a kid being bullied for an article of clothing that looks ridiculous), but seriously, Arthur has NEVER been one to make fun of someone else for any reason at all, even him laughing at Binky splitting his pants pales in comparison to this.

And wow, I forgot they replaced Sue Ellen's voice... she sounds like Muffy with a cold.
Title: Re: Season 16
Post by: Snowth Woogle on March 30, 2013, 09:29:39 pm
That post brings back frustrating memories of my childhood, whenever a girl was getting on my nerves, my mom would ALWAYS say, "Aw, she's doing that because she likes you!" Ugh! I hated when she would say that!

I don't really ship anymore (OCD fans have killed shipping for me), but I never really saw the Arthur/Sue Ellen pairing myself, though I understand Marc Brown created Sue Ellen based on a girl he once had a crush on... I think I said it in another thread, but I see Binky/Sue Ellen as being more logical, they really seem to have a unique friendship, based on some episodes: Sue Ellen was the only one willing to stand up to Binky when he used to be a bully; Binky knows not to push Sue Ellen too far; when Sue Ellen wanted a sibling, she first sought out Binky as a big brother; when Sue Ellen lost her diary, Binky assumed she wrote about having feelings for him; they seemed to have subtle little moments in "What Scared Sue Ellen?" (also notice after Sue Ellen decided to face whatever it was scaring them in the woods, Binky was the first, and only one, she called up).

But, I'm getting off topic, I just happened to think, wasn't there an episode from the first couple of seasons where Arthur had this hideous new sweater that an aunt knitted for him or something, and Francine tried to NOT make fun of him about it? And I just remembered too, there was the whole Mr. Puffy coat that Arthur felt humiliated about wearing, until Prunella mentioned how she loved THE TERRIFIC 3 comic book.
Title: Re: Season 16
Post by: MCCJ on March 31, 2013, 10:42:50 am
Arthur going out of character is not surprising. I had a feeling they were going to make an episode about this any way. I'm also waiting for the day they make an episode about how much of a hypocrite both Francine and Muffy are.
Title: Re: Season 16
Post by: Roabe on March 31, 2013, 12:01:38 pm
Quote
I'm not really sure if that will attract many viewers. It might, but it would probably be targeted towards a younger age demographic, perhaps?
I was thinking along the lines of splitting the age demographic entirely with the two shows: D.W.'s show gets the younger viewers, while Arthur retains the older audience. On the other hand it would be incredibly risky.

Quote
Arthur going out of character is not surprising. I had a feeling they were going to make an episode about this any way. I'm also waiting for the day they make an episode about how much of a hypocrite both Francine and Muffy are.
Francine's case is especially irritating, because she seems to be the writers' favorite character when it comes to moralizing the others. Like the one where she gets on Arthur for being mean to D.W. while she's sick, then she ends up being the one to take charge and "fix" everything.

Then there's "Jenna's Bedtime Blues": Francine makes fun of Jenna-- quite literally behind her back-- for getting homesick. Then she tells Jenna off for trying to accuse one of the other girls of being a baby. Or "The Good Sport": Francine picks on Jenna for the entire episode, but as soon as Muffy does it, it's suddenly a bad thing.

If they ever did an episode that brought their hypocrisy to light, it would be on Muffy, while Francine would again be the moralizer.

Sorry... got way off topic.  :-\
Title: Re: Season 16
Post by: MCCJ on March 31, 2013, 03:51:26 pm
Quote
I'm not really sure if that will attract many viewers. It might, but it would probably be targeted towards a younger age demographic, perhaps?
I was thinking along the lines of splitting the age demographic entirely with the two shows: D.W.'s show gets the younger viewers, while Arthur retains the older audience. On the other hand it would be incredibly risky.

Quote
Arthur going out of character is not surprising. I had a feeling they were going to make an episode about this any way. I'm also waiting for the day they make an episode about how much of a hypocrite both Francine and Muffy are.
Francine's case is especially irritating, because she seems to be the writers' favorite character when it comes to moralizing the others. Like the one where she gets on Arthur for being mean to D.W. while she's sick, then she ends up being the one to take charge and "fix" everything.

Then there's "Jenna's Bedtime Blues": Francine makes fun of Jenna-- quite literally behind her back-- for getting homesick. Then she tells Jenna off for trying to accuse one of the other girls of being a baby. Or "The Good Sport": Francine picks on Jenna for the entire episode, but as soon as Muffy does it, it's suddenly a bad thing.

If they ever did an episode that brought their hypocrisy to light, it would be on Muffy, while Francine would again be the moralizer.

Sorry... got way off topic.  :-\

Just to throw this out the webmaster of this site went AWOL. I'm not the admin nor webmaster here. With that said I remembered how that episode with Jenna played. I mean Francine had the word hypocrite written on her forehead during that episode. That was harsh. Francine and Muffy are one of those kids that need to be told off and it's only a matter of time before it happens.
Title: Re: Season 16
Post by: Snowth Woogle on March 31, 2013, 04:11:03 pm
He's not really AWOL, he's popped up at Muppet Central a few times recently, I think life has caught up with him.
Title: Re: Season 16
Post by: MCCJ on March 31, 2013, 07:55:23 pm
He's not really AWOL, he's popped up at Muppet Central a few times recently, I think life has caught up with him.

Interesting he's on that site. Thanks for pointing that out to me.
Title: Re: Season 16
Post by: Snowth Woogle on March 31, 2013, 08:38:15 pm
I am too, that's where I come from.
Title: Re: Season 16
Post by: LovingBeagles on March 31, 2013, 09:24:57 pm
Rewatching that clip that I just posted, like I said, I think that the animation has improved a little, but it could still be better...I mean, there are still moments where the motion is kind of stiff, limited, two-dimensional, and puppet-like, but then there are instances where the motion is actually a little more realistic, and almost true to the previous style of Arthur. Others are OK, like the instance where Sue Ellen gets in the car: it's not totally robotic in motion, but it happened a little quickly.

Still, the way the characters run (especially when Arthur gets up from the lunch table and runs from the cafeteria) reminds me a lot of Martha Speaks. But both are made using Flash (Toon Boom?) animation, so there's the reason I saw the resemblance.

To sum it up, while I still MUCH, MUCH prefer the original animation (and I probably always will), I admit I'm getting used to the new style.

Wow, it seems like a LOT of you REALLY want to see an episode about Muffy & Francine's bullying hypocrisy coming to light!
Title: Re: Season 16
Post by: MCCJ on March 31, 2013, 09:55:42 pm
LOL. Well it should be addressed sooner or later. :P
Title: Re: Season 16
Post by: MCCJ on March 31, 2013, 11:14:11 pm
Wow, it seems like a LOT of you REALLY want to see an episode about Muffy & Francine's bullying hypocrisy coming to light!

And the perfect character to first call them out would be Buster. Dunno why, but I just think that would be really interesting to watch.

I was thinking maybe George would do that, but I don't know.
Title: Re: Season 16
Post by: Roabe on April 01, 2013, 07:22:35 am
Quote
Still, the way the characters run (especially when Arthur gets up from the lunch table and runs from the cafeteria) reminds me a lot of Martha Speaks. But both are made using Flash (Toon Boom?) animation, so there's the reason I saw the resemblance.
You can definitely see it in the Molly clip, while Binky is reading her letter. His legs have a very robotic look to them while he walks.

The animation of Season 16 in a lot of ways reminds me of Doki66's "Not Stanley" series (on YouTube, but be warned, they have foul language), but it works for that because it's supposed to be badly animated.

Quote
And the perfect character to first call them out would be Buster. Dunno why, but I just think that would be really interesting to watch.
In all honesty, I'd throw something at my TV if it were Francine calling Muffy out for hypocrisy, or Muffy calling out Francine. They both need it.

But if there ever is a scene where they both got called out, Francine would somehow Karma Houdini her way out of it. In any episode where they are both put in a bad light, Muffy is portrayed as being just slightly worse, even to the point of being a scapegoat, so Francine can come off looking good (again like in "The Good Sport" episode). That has always been the main thing that bugs me about Francine, that she gets to play hero even in the same episodes where she was a bully.
Title: Re: Season 16
Post by: MCCJ on April 02, 2013, 02:48:24 pm
You know looking at The Last Tough Customer it makes me wonder. Is it possible we may get the history of why the Tough Customers became bullies in the first place? If that does happen it will make for a very interesting episode.
Title: Re: Season 16
Post by: LovingBeagles on April 08, 2013, 04:18:29 am
I hope the Arthur crew is watching this forum. Some of their episode ideas could use a little more inspiration and originality :) No offense, Cookie Jar/9 Story!

You know looking at The Last Tough Customer it makes me wonder. Is it possible we may get the history of why the Tough Customers became bullies in the first place? If that does happen it will make for a very interesting episode.

It would be pretty interesting. After all, we don't really see much into their backgrounds.
Title: Re: Season 16
Post by: MCCJ on April 08, 2013, 02:08:17 pm


It would be pretty interesting. After all, we don't really see much into their backgrounds.

If that does happen then it will fill some holes about them.
Title: Re: Season 16
Post by: Mr. Rocketburn on April 09, 2013, 11:59:30 pm
Looking forward to "The Last Tough Customer" after seeing that preview (even if I still can't completely get past the new animation), but agreed that Arthur seemed way out of character for teasing Sue Ellen like that in the other clip. He was forced to wear an odd sweater before ("Meek For a Week", I believe).


While looking at the episode list on Wikipedia, I saw someone added these false Season 17 episodes. They're so random and/or generic that I thought I'd post them here before they get removed.  :P

Quote
Season 17 (2013-2014)
 
1. Arthur And The Duststorm: Arthur, Buster, Brain, Muffy, Binky, George and Ladonna get trapped in a dust storm.
   Buster gets a B: The class takes a big test and when Mr. Ratburn hands out the scores, Busters paper shows a B.
 
2. The New Rule: Elwood City has a new rule that no one can EVER get mad at someone ever again, Binky tries not to bully anyone, Buster will never get upset, Francine will never yell again and Muffy will never be a show off and never get mean at everyone.
   Francine Gets Shocked: Francine gets really sad when Nemo gets sick.
 
3. Arthur Sees The Light: Arthur and his friends see the northern lights.
   The Haunted House: The tibble twins make a haunted house to scare D.W., Emily and James.
 
4. George Bends his Antlers: Georges antlers get stuck in his locker again and when he tries to get it out, it tears off his head.
   The Mystery: Buster cracks the case about Arthurs missing book.
 
5. Muffy's Date: Muffy starts to be in love with Arthur and Arthur is shocked!
   Busters Date" Buster has a crush on Francine and Francine is shocked!
Title: Re: Season 16
Post by: LovingBeagles on April 10, 2013, 01:40:27 am
Looking forward to "The Last Tough Customer" after seeing that preview (even if I still can't completely get past the new animation), but agreed that Arthur seemed way out of character for teasing Sue Ellen like that in the other clip. He was forced to wear an odd sweater before ("Meek For a Week", I believe).


While looking at the episode list on Wikipedia, I saw someone added these false Season 17 episodes. They're so random and/or generic that I thought I'd post them here before they get removed.  :P

Quote
Season 17 (2013-2014)
 
1. Arthur And The Duststorm: Arthur, Buster, Brain, Muffy, Binky, George and Ladonna get trapped in a dust storm.
   Buster gets a B: The class takes a big test and when Mr. Ratburn hands out the scores, Busters paper shows a B.
 
2. The New Rule: Elwood City has a new rule that no one can EVER get mad at someone ever again, Binky tries not to bully anyone, Buster will never get upset, Francine will never yell again and Muffy will never be a show off and never get mean at everyone.
   Francine Gets Shocked: Francine gets really sad when Nemo gets sick.
 
3. Arthur Sees The Light: Arthur and his friends see the northern lights.
   The Haunted House: The tibble twins make a haunted house to scare D.W., Emily and James.
 
4. George Bends his Antlers: Georges antlers get stuck in his locker again and when he tries to get it out, it tears off his head.
   The Mystery: Buster cracks the case about Arthurs missing book.
 
5. Muffy's Date: Muffy starts to be in love with Arthur and Arthur is shocked!
   Busters Date" Buster has a crush on Francine and Francine is shocked!

Those are some funny/random plots. It doesn't take a genius to tell they're fake. I'll address what I think of each of them.

Number 1 was really random with the sandstorm and the second plot doesn't seem very exciting.

Number 2: totally unrealistic for the New Rule. The one about Nemo getting sick...it's a plausible episode plot, but it's been done before with Pal getting sick...not to mention that the episode title sounds like Francine had an accident with some faulty wires.

Number 3: these actually sound like pretty plausible plots, but the first one isn't very original/exciting.

Number 4: First one...okay, that's a total giveaway that it's fake (unless it's one of the characters' really weird dreams)! Only a troll would edit the page to say that. The second one sounds like a mashup of "Flaw and Order" and "Arthur's Lost Library Book".

Number 5: Two love/crush-related episodes back-to-back? With virtually identical plots except for the characters? Yeah...totally fake. :)

Just giving my opinions on each one. But I agree with you, Mr. Rocketburn- they are random and generic! They were pretty amusing to read. I'm glad you put them up.  ;D

I haven't completely gotten past the animation. But I've gotten a little used to it. It is possible that 9 Story improved the animation (even though they aired around the same time as the earlier episodes internationally? That's one thing that kinda gets me).
Title: Re: Season 16
Post by: MCCJ on April 10, 2013, 01:42:23 am
Looking forward to "The Last Tough Customer" after seeing that preview (even if I still can't completely get past the new animation), but agreed that Arthur seemed way out of character for teasing Sue Ellen like that in the other clip. He was forced to wear an odd sweater before ("Meek For a Week", I believe).


While looking at the episode list on Wikipedia, I saw someone added these false Season 17 episodes. They're so random and/or generic that I thought I'd post them here before they get removed.  :P

Quote
Season 17 (2013-2014)
 
1. Arthur And The Duststorm: Arthur, Buster, Brain, Muffy, Binky, George and Ladonna get trapped in a dust storm.
   Buster gets a B: The class takes a big test and when Mr. Ratburn hands out the scores, Busters paper shows a B.
 
2. The New Rule: Elwood City has a new rule that no one can EVER get mad at someone ever again, Binky tries not to bully anyone, Buster will never get upset, Francine will never yell again and Muffy will never be a show off and never get mean at everyone.
   Francine Gets Shocked: Francine gets really sad when Nemo gets sick.
 
3. Arthur Sees The Light: Arthur and his friends see the northern lights.
   The Haunted House: The tibble twins make a haunted house to scare D.W., Emily and James.
 
4. George Bends his Antlers: Georges antlers get stuck in his locker again and when he tries to get it out, it tears off his head.
   The Mystery: Buster cracks the case about Arthurs missing book.
 
5. Muffy's Date: Muffy starts to be in love with Arthur and Arthur is shocked!
   Busters Date" Buster has a crush on Francine and Francine is shocked!

Some of these "Season 17" episodes are highly unlikely to happen. My fan-fic, "The Bridge Series" is more likely to happen versus a majority of these "episodes". I think some of these episodes were written by a kid. Gotta admire whoever it is for their creativity.
Title: Re: Season 16
Post by: MCCJ on April 21, 2013, 02:43:02 am
Here is an update on Season 16. http://blog.newsok.com/television/2013/04/18/pbs-kids-arthur-takes-on-bullying-issues/
Title: Re: Season 16
Post by: Snowth Woogle on April 21, 2013, 02:27:56 pm
So we were right, ARTHUR has, indeed, jumped on the anti-bullying bandwagon. I will admit though, "The Last Tough Customer" does look genuinely interesting, though, but still, "So Funny I Forgot to Laugh" has a TERRIBLY out-of-character Arthur, I'm not sure if I can sit through the whole thing, I cringed sitting through the preview on YouTube.

Other than that... I'm biting my tongue about some of these other plots.
Title: Re: Season 16
Post by: MCCJ on April 21, 2013, 06:06:09 pm
So we were right, ARTHUR has, indeed, jumped on the anti-bullying bandwagon. I will admit though, "The Last Tough Customer" does look genuinely interesting, though, but still, "So Funny I Forgot to Laugh" has a TERRIBLY out-of-character Arthur, I'm not sure if I can sit through the whole thing, I cringed sitting through the preview on YouTube.

Other than that... I'm biting my tongue about some of these other plots.

Kids do go out of line sometimes and it does happen. It's learning process for them.  Yeah they are now on the anti-bullying campaign.
Title: Re: Season 16
Post by: PFB96 on April 21, 2013, 10:54:40 pm
Hello, I just made an account here and I'm sorry if I'm not properly introducing myself, but someone kindly posted Buster's Book Battle on Youtube and I had to share it for anyone who didn't want to wait until May 8th (like me).
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KoOm2nRRsKE
It's not a bad episode, in my own opinion, though I still have to get used to the new animation. The idea was creative, though.

Title: Re: Season 16
Post by: MCCJ on April 22, 2013, 02:35:12 am
Thanks for posting this.
Title: Re: Season 16
Post by: LovingBeagles on April 23, 2013, 05:52:14 pm
I've sort of been thinking about this, but never really brought it up. I think someone somewhere said that Arthur's season 16 voice kind of sounds like George. And come to think of it, I think Arthur's new voice actor sounds like a mix between Brain and George, more so like Brain. Though I think there ARE times where he sounds a bit more like George (even to the point of sounding a tiny bit like Wally?).
Title: Re: Season 16
Post by: Snowth Woogle on April 23, 2013, 11:07:23 pm
Hubert was the one who said he sounded a little like Brain this season, though I haven't heard anyone say he sounds like George.

I agree his voice and inflections do make him sounds a little like Brain, not so sure about George.
Title: Re: Season 16
Post by: LovingBeagles on April 24, 2013, 12:43:38 am
Hubert was the one who said he sounded a little like Brain this season, though I haven't heard anyone say he sounds like George.

I agree his voice and inflections do make him sounds a little like Brain, not so sure about George.

It must not have been on this forum...somewhere else, I think.

And the similarities to George...they're there if you listen really closely and compare Arthur's S16 voice to George's voice from the older seasons. But now that I think of it, he does sound more like Brain, especially when Brain's voice was sort of like his voice in "Water and the Brain" (Brain's had a lot of voice actors, so I sort of just know his various voices by how they sound in my head).
Title: Re: Season 16
Post by: MCCJ on April 24, 2013, 12:42:56 pm
Just a quick headsup for everyone here. http://www.abc.net.au/tv/guide/abc2/201304/programs/ZX8973A051D2013-04-23T153248.htm

These episodes are part going to be Season 17. How I know that? These are not scheduled to air two weeks from now. Plus there are only ten episodes airing in two weeks.
Title: Re: Season 16
Post by: Crossover Dreamer on April 24, 2013, 11:32:36 pm
Hooray! And some of the episode's summaries actually look interesting and somewhat original.

But why is there an episode simply named "Ladonna Compson"?
Title: Re: Season 16
Post by: LovingBeagles on April 24, 2013, 11:41:28 pm
Hooray! And some of the episode's summaries actually look interesting and somewhat original.

But why is there an episode simply named "Ladonna Compson"?

Yeah, that is weird...I CANNOT imagine an episode being named that :P

Also, why do they say "Series 16, episode 57" and stuff like that?
Title: Re: Season 16
Post by: LovingBeagles on April 25, 2013, 01:25:25 am
Something that Snowth said earlier...Arthur looked a bit off-model in season 16...unfortunately I can't post pics (upload folder is full) or put up URL links (same reason), strangely enough...so I was wondering...take a look at Arthur in, say, seasons 1-5, and take a look at him now. Do YOU guys think he looks off-model? If so, how?

Personally, I think I have noticed slight variations or distortions in his facial features and overall body structure.
Title: Re: Season 16
Post by: Snowth Woogle on April 25, 2013, 11:36:10 am
I believe what I said was at times, pretty much most of the characters look off-model at times, not just Arthur himself. Like someone else previously pointed out, so far, Francine and Muffy seem to be the biggest victims of this; I'm not entirely sure just how, exactly and specifically, they're animating the show (again, I've animated in Flash before, so I know there's different ways of going about it), but I know most of the time, Flash can "auto fix" what it perceives to be mistakes, so I wonder if them trying to draw Francine and Muffy's faces the way they traditionally were were seen as errors in Flash that kept being fixed.

I really can't name any specific moments right now without looking at some of the episodes again, but as I recall, Arthur and D.W. both have had moments where they look just slightly off model, but again, Francine and Muffy stick out the most.
Title: Re: Season 16
Post by: LovingBeagles on April 25, 2013, 06:31:06 pm
I believe what I said was at times, pretty much most of the characters look off-model at times, not just Arthur himself. Like someone else previously pointed out, so far, Francine and Muffy seem to be the biggest victims of this; I'm not entirely sure just how, exactly and specifically, they're animating the show (again, I've animated in Flash before, so I know there's different ways of going about it), but I know most of the time, Flash can "auto fix" what it perceives to be mistakes, so I wonder if them trying to draw Francine and Muffy's faces the way they traditionally were were seen as errors in Flash that kept being fixed.

I really can't name any specific moments right now without looking at some of the episodes again, but as I recall, Arthur and D.W. both have had moments where they look just slightly off model, but again, Francine and Muffy stick out the most.

I didn't really notice it much for Muffy, but for some reason, as I said earlier on this topic, Francine's nose, when she is seen from the side, looks a little big and round. As for Arthur, I think it's like either his glasses/eyes are too big, or the spacing of his mouth, nose, head, ears (basically all of his facial features) are a bit off.

BTW, earlier I remember you said that D.W. looked like she had "sharp edges" in certain scenes. What do you mean by that?
Title: Re: Season 16
Post by: Snowth Woogle on April 25, 2013, 11:15:31 pm
By that, I mean round and curved out lines aren't perfectly round, or perfectly curved.

Kind of like the shift in art evolution on Billy and Mandy, compare the older Mandy, with the newer Mandy:
(http://i11.photobucket.com/albums/a163/braisinhussy/Mandy/mandy3.jpg) (http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Wur4OnM-c_o/Tq4cp8IOllI/AAAAAAAAABQ/Y5cB-Mj6leE/s1600/billy+mandy+2%255B1%255D.jpg)

Kind of like that, there are times where the curved areas of D.W.'s outline aren't perfectly curved, and have some edges to them.
Title: Re: Season 16
Post by: LovingBeagles on April 27, 2013, 04:31:23 am
By that, I mean round and curved out lines aren't perfectly round, or perfectly curved.

Kind of like the shift in art evolution on Billy and Mandy, compare the older Mandy, with the newer Mandy:

Kind of like that, there are times where the curved areas of D.W.'s outline aren't perfectly curved, and have some edges to them.

OK, I see. Thanks.

Here's a link to a clip of what I believe is "The Best Day Ever". Any thoughts?

http://www.videodetective.com/tv/arthur-season-16/98655

EDIT: For some reason, Arthur's voice sounds weird to me. A little less vocal and loud than the Drew Adkins voice we've come to know so far, but not much like his previous voices (Cameron Ansell, Dallas Jokic).
Title: Re: Season 16
Post by: Snowth Woogle on April 27, 2013, 11:57:24 am
I don't see quite so many flaws in this one: the animation seems to have improved a little, but there's still an incredible amount of stiffness and robotic-like tendancies to it, and some of it does look somewhat lazy (like Buster's covers remaining in the exact same shape as he slips out of bed, just shifting position), but other than that, I didn't see too awful many mistakes.

I will admit though, just watch that particular clip, this episode almost seems like a build up for a final episode; I KNOW there's already a Season 17 in the works, but still, the characters lying around, thinking back on their best days, and them all agreeing that Arthur was always a part of their best days ever and everything, almost makes it seem like this is a farewell episode. Then again, "April 9th" almost had that kind of vibe to me for some reason, lol.
Title: Re: Season 16
Post by: Snowth Woogle on April 29, 2013, 04:39:57 pm
Okay, after getting to see "All About D.W.; Blockheads" again today, here are just a few specifics I can point out, just through my eyes.

- At times, Arthur's glasses seem to shift position, particular when he's facing the camera directly, they almost look too high on his face. I've also noticed his faces seems to be a little longer as well (similar to Marc Brown's earlier illustrations).
- D.W.'s eyes seem to change size, depending on how she appears in a scene, if it's a full-body shot or at a distance, her eyes appear about normal, but in close ups and tighter shots, her eyes seem a lot bigger on her face.
- Mrs. Read's ears are HUGE.

That's about the only specifics I can name at this time, just to answer anyone's questions. It's animation after all, animated characters don't always look 100% the same over the years. It's an adjustment we have to get used to.
Title: Re: Season 16
Post by: MCCJ on April 29, 2013, 06:05:53 pm
Okay, after getting to see "All About D.W.; Blockheads" again today, here are just a few specifics I can point out, just through my eyes.

- At times, Arthur's glasses seem to shift position, particular when he's facing the camera directly, they almost look too high on his face. I've also noticed his faces seems to be a little longer as well (similar to Marc Brown's earlier illustrations).
- D.W.'s eyes seem to change size, depending on how she appears in a scene, if it's a full-body shot or at a distance, her eyes appear about normal, but in close ups and tighter shots, her eyes seem a lot bigger on her face.
- Mrs. Read's ears are HUGE.

That's about the only specifics I can name at this time, just to answer anyone's questions. It's animation after all, animated characters don't always look 100% the same over the years. It's an adjustment we have to get used to.

Possibly one of best statements I've heard when it comes to that subject. ;)
Title: Re: Season 16
Post by: LovingBeagles on April 29, 2013, 07:23:57 pm
Here are my thoughts about the episodes:

I don't have much to say for "All About D.W."...I think it was mentioned at least twice (maybe just once, I don't know) that the idea was a little cliche. And I have to say, I agree, it's just that, correct me if I'm wrong, but we haven't seen it in a school play context...at least, not with D.W. I mean, there are probably plenty of episodes dealing with D.W.'s jealousy and self-centeredness.

The poor quality of the animation really showed...like in the first episode; when Amanda found out she got the Tree #1 part, she jumped for joy...she looked almost like a ragdoll when she did so; I think I actually cringed that second.

In addition to that, I can see what you're saying, Snowth, about D.W.'s eyes changing shape. I think a lot of it also has to do with the thick outlining of the characters in this season. I mean, in that one scene where D.W. and Emily were trying to resist wanting to pet the koala, their eyes almost seemed like mini targets. As for Mrs. Read, her ears did seem a little bigger, I don't know about huge. I know CJ's probably going to say once again to be patient since the animation will probably get better (after all, it is 9 Story's first time)  (no hard feelings, CJ), but, the earlier episodes just stand out to me as being stiff, two-dimensional and thick-lined.

I can also see what you're saying about Emily acting a little like D.W. in character and mindset, Snowth. I guess it's because she's so proud of her work as well, that she just wants to keep adding to it with D.W., and that she is just as reluctant to tear it down as D.W. because of that sense of accomplishment.

We had a topic called "Unrealism in Arthur?", and the koala, I believe was mentioned. It did seem kinda random to me that some zookeeper or something would just come in and show the kids a koala (no cages, towels, or anything like that) in a preschool class. Then again, koalas aren't really active, outspoken, or dangerous animals at all, but I was wondering why that man just came with a koala and nothing else except his outfit and some gloves.

When D.W. (I think, or was it Emily?) dropped that one block at the end, I found it really unrealistic that the whole thing would collapse in almost a domino rally-like fashion...normally I would expect just a wall or two to come down...but the WHOLE THING?!

And how did they get those blocks to make that once arch? It was multicolored, so I assume that it was made of different blocks...that were somehow suspended magically in the air.

One thing that I have noticed that I wanted to address is that it seems like the crew wants to make extra/BG characters talk as little as possible. In instances where I expected the other preschoolers to talk, they don't. This was especially true of Amanda, who's only spoken about once in the two episodes.

I wonder why they decided to put two preschoolers episodes back to back.

Random Question: Would you prefer a robot butler like Arthur had, as opposed to a human one (strange that he didn't even open his eyes, a bit like Bailey sometimes)? I mean, it doesn't need paychecks or vacations, but if it breaks down, you'd better know how to fix it, or you're going to have to spend some money sending it to the repair shop. Not to mention the cost of oiling it, replacing batteries, and whatnot.
Title: Re: Season 16
Post by: MCCJ on April 29, 2013, 09:11:39 pm
While we are at it. I was right about Molly.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ou0t-3hk5eM
Title: Re: Season 16
Post by: LovingBeagles on April 29, 2013, 09:26:32 pm
I thought the TC's gave up bullying ages ago...

Anyways, this episode, while it sends a noble message, seems kinda overused today. I think it's the overabundance of anti-bullying episodes in various TV shows, not just Arthur/PBS Kids and all that. It seems that, either bullying's become that much of a problem, or TV shows are kind of exaggerating its presence.
Title: Re: Season 16
Post by: Crossover Dreamer on April 29, 2013, 09:56:43 pm
I just looked at my DVR recording schedule, and it says that "The Last Tough Customer" and "Brain's Chess Mess" premiers Monday, May 6th.

Here are the summaries according to the DVR:

"Molly sets a bad example by bullying. Brain starts a chess club at school."

And for "Baseball Blues"/"Brain's Biggest Blunder":

"George can't wait to play baseball. Brain is teamed with Buster and Binky for the Arithmattack competition." The second summary sounds extremely similar to the beginning of "It's a No-Brainer." The main difference is that they're teamed up.
Title: Re: Season 16
Post by: Snowth Woogle on April 29, 2013, 10:22:20 pm
I thought the TC's gave up bullying ages ago...

Anyways, this episode, while it sends a noble message, seems kinda overused today. I think it's the overabundance of anti-bullying episodes in various TV shows, not just Arthur/PBS Kids and all that. It seems that, either bullying's become that much of a problem, or TV shows are kind of exaggerating its presence.
It's become a tool, that's what it is.

Bullying has been a problem through all generations of kids, the problem is bullying was always something that was never approached very seriously, because it's an unfortunate part of childhood and kids being kids. It wasn't until recent years that some bullied kids took their own lives that started opening people's eyes and making them realize that bullying is a lot more serious than they thought. Since then, everybody's jumped on the anti-bullying bandwagon, but again, it seems like it's come to a point in time where it's become a tool more than anything.
Title: Re: Season 16
Post by: MCCJ on April 30, 2013, 12:50:07 am
I thought the TC's gave up bullying ages ago...

Anyways, this episode, while it sends a noble message, seems kinda overused today. I think it's the overabundance of anti-bullying episodes in various TV shows, not just Arthur/PBS Kids and all that. It seems that, either bullying's become that much of a problem, or TV shows are kind of exaggerating its presence.
It's become a tool, that's what it is.

Bullying has been a problem through all generations of kids, the problem is bullying was always something that was never approached very seriously, because it's an unfortunate part of childhood and kids being kids. It wasn't until recent years that some bullied kids took their own lives that started opening people's eyes and making them realize that bullying is a lot more serious than they thought. Since then, everybody's jumped on the anti-bullying bandwagon, but again, it seems like it's come to a point in time where it's become a tool more than anything.

It's being used heavily these days. A lot more then six or even seven years ago. I agree it is being used as a tool.
Title: Re: Season 16
Post by: MCCJ on April 30, 2013, 12:55:08 am
The remaining Season 16 episodes I've seen on YouTube have been pretty good.

"The Last Tough Customer": I **** up laughing at the Muffy Crosswire Tough Customers scene. Was that supposed to be the Bruce Dinsmore/Michael Yarmush duet? Otherwise, I really liked how they touched on Molly's backstory.
"Sue Ellen Vegges Out": I'm just glad there's finally a Sue Ellen episode after all these seasons. Hey, maybe Sue Ellen could be the one to call out Francine and Muffy's hypocrisy!!!
"Fern and the Case of the Stolen Story": Finally, Fern and George are getting the shipping treatment.
"Brain's Chess Mess": More Fern/George. Buster and Binky are so going to be "those bros" at parties when they grow up.

Seems like this season the Tough Customers are more defined. Binky is the leader and the "glue," Rattles is the philosophical/intellectual one, Molly is the street-smart/take-no-mess one, and Slink is the comic relief. I'd watch a Tough Customers spinoff if there was one.

As for the Season 17 synopses MC CJ posted...about time Alberto was in more episodes!!! And I can already tell how the Arthur/Buster roommates episode will play out: Arthur will like things tidy and organized, Buster will be more messy and disorganized, and they'll be arguing like a married couple over house order. The "Ladonna Compson" episode...this is just from personal experience, but when an episode of any show has a title like that (i.e. character names), I take it to mean the episode will be one of the deepest.

And Snowth's right about "The Best Day Ever" feeling like build-up to a series finale. In fact - this has been on my mind for a while - I think Season 18 could be the final season. But that's just me.

All good points you made. The Ladonna Compson/Adventures In Budylon episodes will be interesting to see. As for whether Season 18 could be the final anything is possible. Whatever happens I'm going to be there to see it. It all depends on how the budget is down the road and if the ratings are still high enough to warrant the show to continue on.
Title: Re: Season 16
Post by: Crossover Dreamer on April 30, 2013, 09:32:00 pm
GrebeGirl's prediction about the episode where Arthur and Buster are roommates is interesting because Arthur is known for being a messy. Prunella was a cleanie according to "Fern's Slumber Party" but a messy for "Prunella the Packrat."
Title: Re: Season 16
Post by: MCCJ on May 01, 2013, 12:58:04 am
GrebeGirl's prediction about the episode where Arthur and Buster are roommates is interesting because Arthur is known for being a messy. Prunella was a cleanie according to "Fern's Slumber Party" but a messy for "Prunella the Packrat."

Strange coincidence that happened with the characters. They can't make up their minds sometimes.
Title: Re: Season 16
Post by: MCCJ on May 02, 2013, 04:07:03 pm
Another video.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o23aus7nlaE
Title: Re: Season 16
Post by: LovingBeagles on May 02, 2013, 10:23:52 pm
Another video.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o23aus7nlaE

I just noticed how googly eyed the Tough Customers (and I think pretty much every other character minus glasses-wearers, Mr. Ratburn, Molly, and Slink) look this season. Reminded me of Bud Compson's power stare.

Once again, I think the animation did improve a little. I mean, after seeing that full episode clip where we saw Molly get bullied, it was actually pretty good, I almost forgot that there was even an animation change. Movements are still a little robotic, but I just took another look at "Get Smart", and that looked like it was fanmade. This newer clip didn't seem so much. I hope it just gets better as time goes on (even if it isn't the original animation).

I bet Sergeant Slink is happy to see her favorite character (I assume) this season. Speaking of Slink, the way his arm was bent when he said "Check, please!" was a little strange...it's like so many of the characters, actually, bend their arms at a 135-145-degree angle ALL THE TIME whenever their arm is supposed to stick out or something.
Title: Re: Season 16
Post by: Sergeant Slink on May 04, 2013, 10:40:34 am
You bet I'm happy. I nearly squeed over the fact he actually had lines :P

I'm also surprised someone remembered me considering I haven't posted in months.
Title: Re: Season 16
Post by: MCCJ on May 04, 2013, 02:03:09 pm
You bet I'm happy. I nearly squeed over the fact he actually had lines :P

I'm also surprised someone remembered me considering I haven't posted in months.

Yeah, that does not happen a lot. Slink is back. :D
Title: Re: Season 16
Post by: Snowth Woogle on May 06, 2013, 05:55:39 pm
I was busy today and didn't get to see today's new episode, how was it?
Title: Re: Season 16
Post by: Crossover Dreamer on May 06, 2013, 09:00:22 pm
I watched it today, but I'd have to watch it again to determine how good the stories were. I was surprised how different Molly's hair looked when she was a little girl. You could see her eyes! I liked the different alternations of the name "Tough Customers." The parody of "Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band" was unexpected.

I was confused about the tease of "Brain's Chess Mess." What was D.W.'s motive for being nice to Arthur? We're introduced to chess genius Los Dedos. Apparently Lydia Fox was a one-time only character. She was, after all, a contest entry. I can understand why they paired up this story with "The Last Tough Customer."
Title: Re: Season 16
Post by: Snowth Woogle on May 06, 2013, 09:29:11 pm
I was surprised how different Molly's hair looked when she was a little girl. You could see her eyes!
That's one thing that always confused me: we've see Molly's eyes before, so it's not like we don't know what her face looks like, yet in "Don't Ask Muffy", they treat it like it's supposed to be a really big secret what Molly looks like when we see her eyes, so I never understood that.
Title: Re: Season 16
Post by: MCCJ on May 06, 2013, 11:11:18 pm
I was surprised how different Molly's hair looked when she was a little girl. You could see her eyes!
That's one thing that always confused me: we've see Molly's eyes before, so it's not like we don't know what her face looks like, yet in "Don't Ask Muffy", they treat it like it's supposed to be a really big secret what Molly looks like when we see her eyes, so I never understood that.

Same here. I was like wow, so that's what she use to look like? As for her eyes they probably made a big deal out of it since her eyes are rarely seen in the show.
Title: Re: Season 16
Post by: Snowth Woogle on May 07, 2013, 05:14:20 pm
Once again, I was extremely busy today and didn't get to see the new episode for the day, so, how was it?
Title: Re: Season 16
Post by: Mr. Rocketburn on May 07, 2013, 06:34:06 pm
Both were OK, IMO. "Baseball Blues" seemed to me like a George version of "Arthur Makes the Team". George isn't very good at baseball, and even shows a bit of jealousy towards Francine at times. When Francine gets sick, he goes through several people's cell phones and discovers he has a great talent of play-by-play announcing while doing so for Francine over the phones. One of the phones George was using looked exactly like the iPhone. Only a matter of time before we saw that in the Arthur universe. :P Harry Mills, Carl, and Brain's mom make their Flash debuts, and I think Mr. Frensky as well (was he in the first half of S16 at all?). Carl looks the same, and I don't believe he had any lines. Harry I believe has a new voice and now has buck teeth. They don't look good, IMO. Brain's mother appears in both episodes, and she has reverted back to her original appearance! :o (light brown skin/fur and dark brown hair) I actually think it works better for her, though.

I don't know why "Brain's Biggest Blunder" was titled as such. Maybe to keep with the alliterative B theme? With the story being about a math competition similar to that seen in "It's a No-Brainer", but with 3-person teams, you'd think Brain would have made a fatal mistake like in said episode when he said trapezoid instead of traingle. It turns out the "blunder" was him overworking Buster through really hard tutoring. Binky tutors Buster and it works out for them. Buster solves multiplication problems by thinking of layer cakes. (12 x 3 = thought bubble of three 12-layer cakes)

The Flash seemed pretty lazily done in "Baseball". The worst thing about any Flash show, IMO, is how characters often "sway" or "bounce" when talking or changing facial expression. This effect really shows in the scene where everyone is in the ice cream shop. There were some points in "Blunder" where the Flash was barely noticeable. For me, in all the new S16 episodes I've seen, the Flash seems to keep switching between "Tolerable" and "I'm considering changing the channel". There are times where it has the old "frame-by-frame" look, usually when Arthur is seen at a side angle. He looks and talks (concerning mouth movement) exactly like he always did. Other times, it looks like something a teenager posted on Newgrounds. A great example is near the beginning of "Sue Ellen Vegges Out" (currently on YouTube) when Buster is poking Sue Ellen's food with his fork. It is also made obvious that Buster's head has only been drawn a small amount of times, because whenever he's facing front, his right ear is always bent in some odd way that I never noticed on the old animation. That really bugs me.

Also, I know the show, like many children's shows, are fond of recycling characters' gasps and such, but they need to let George's actor record some of his own. He gasped twice in "Baseball" and it was clear they were taken from other characters' VA. The second time was actually Buster's gasp (I'll compare them if "Baseball" ever shows up on YouTube), and I remember during one episode (I think "George Blows His Top"), George groaned using Michael Yarmush's old Season 1 Arthur groan!
Title: Re: Season 16
Post by: MCCJ on May 07, 2013, 07:00:50 pm
What surprised me was that in Brain's Biggest Blunder, is that Steve actually spoke. Shocker considering that they rarely use the fourth graders for anything other then just them being there. I was also surprised to see Carl again and was glad. At least they are using him for something instead of nothing, even though he did not speak. It's a sign that they will use Carl when needed in episodes.
Title: Re: Season 16
Post by: Crossover Dreamer on May 07, 2013, 07:52:48 pm
About "Baseball Blues": That was one of the episodes I thought was going to have a guest star. Well, it didn't. Do the events in this episode contradict the events in "Arthur Makes the Team"? I know that they're a Little League team, and that the name of their team is the Grebelings.

About "Brain's Biggest Blunder": This episode has elements from "Buster Makes the Grade," "It's a No-Brainer," and "D.W., Dancing Queen." I don't think I've ever seen Mrs. Powers with light skin and brown hair before. I've seen her with dark skin and brown hair, and I've seen her with light skin and blonde hair. How many times have they had a character wear another character's outfit? It was interesting seeing Buster dressed like Brain. What's also interesting is that they remembered that his name was Steve.

So far I'm disappointed that I haven't found any more D.W./Brain parallels or possible allusions to sitcoms Leave It to Beaver, Get Smart, and Full House.
Title: Re: Season 16
Post by: MCCJ on May 08, 2013, 12:29:54 am
About "Baseball Blues": That was one of the episodes I thought was going to have a guest star. Well, it didn't. Do the events in this episode contradict the events in "Arthur Makes the Team"? I know that they're a Little League team, and that the name of their team is the Grebelings.

About "Brain's Biggest Blunder": This episode has elements from "Buster Makes the Grade," "It's a No-Brainer," and "D.W., Dancing Queen." I don't think I've ever seen Mrs. Powers with light skin and brown hair before. I've seen her with dark skin and brown hair, and I've seen her with light skin and blonde hair. How many times have they had a character wear another character's outfit? It was interesting seeing Buster dressed like Brain. What's also interesting is that they remembered that his name was Steve.

So far I'm disappointed that I haven't found any more D.W./Brain parallels or possible allusions to sitcoms Leave It to Beaver, Get Smart, and Full House.

I'm surprised they remembered Steve's name too. Same with Amanda during the first half of Season 16.
Title: Re: Season 16
Post by: Snowth Woogle on May 08, 2013, 04:48:39 pm
I finally got to see a new episode today, so here's what I thought:

On the whole, I enjoyed the entire episode, both entries at that, I liked the messages that both of them made. The animation seemed to go back and forth between being really poor (the length of character's arms changing, their hand positions when holding something looking weird), and being really fluid and believable (the battle between Kilgor and Loki was really great).

Now, as far as "Buster's Book Battle" goes, I was at first expecting a rehash of "Buster Hits the Books", but there's a lot of differences... just about the only similarity is the underlying of reading a book that you really enjoy, as opposed to just reading for the sake of reading (in this case, Buster trying to read different books to earn points, but not liking what he's read, until Bitzi gives him a co-worker's manuscript about Kilgor the cyborg detective of the 22nd century). It was interesting how only certain books were registered in the IRP system, but others weren't... now, it doesn't come as a surprise to me that an unpublished manuscript wouldn't be registered in the system, but I can see why Ratburn would be surprised at the exclusion of classics like TREASURE ISLAND. The downer ending kind of lives up to expectation, with the mediocre prizes and such, it reflects real life, where kids really can't get decent prizes for anything anymore... heck, cereals hardly have free-inside prizes anymore (last one I got was a prepaid credit card with $5 on it), and toys in Cracker Jack were looooong gone before I was born. I'm curious though, is that whole Loki whatever his name was series supposed to be a parody of anything in particular?

"On the Buster Scale" wasn't quite as good, but still enjoyable... I do like the eventual message of "agree to disagree", because it really does seem like people have come to a point in time where anymore, everybody thinks their opinion is the only opinion that matters, and if anyone else should disagree, then unnecessary debates and disputes errupt, because nobody respects anyone else's opinions. I did like how Brain eventually called Buster out on him limiting his reviewing to the same kind of movies in the same kind of genre over and over again, and always giving them a 10+ rating... I also kind of like how at first, it seems like the others are easily lead based on their different reviews, I've been thinking recently on how despite how much I love NOSTALGIA CRITIC (pre-2013) and his sarcastic and cynical sense of humor, that too many people base their own opinions on certain movies on his reviews, without even seeing the movies for themselves (because face it, nine out of ten times, he says whatever show or movie he reviews is terrible, even though I personally enjoy a number of what he's reviewed).

Oh... and people have been talking about how off-model Francine and Muffy look... I think I may have figured out another reason why that is (aside from the size and shape of their noses/mouths): I've noticed that when they're presented at a 3/4 angle, their eyes appear to be too close together, so that could probably be it.

Also, I have to ask... that Rafi guy working at the Sugar Bowl in "On the Buster Scale"... he sure does sound awfully familiar... that wasn't Michael Yarmush, was it?
Title: Re: Season 16
Post by: LovingBeagles on May 08, 2013, 09:58:53 pm
Oh... and people have been talking about how off-model Francine and Muffy look... I think I may have figured out another reason why that is (aside from the size and shape of their noses/mouths): I've noticed that when they're presented at a 3/4 angle, their eyes appear to be too close together, so that could probably be it.

Also, I have to ask... that Rafi guy working at the Sugar Bowl in "On the Buster Scale"... he sure does sound awfully familiar... that wasn't Michael Yarmush, was it?

I think one instance where Francine looked WAY off-model is when she realizes that the skateboard was just a miniature one. Muffy then suggests something about beanbag kittens. When Francine shakes her head at her, it looked like Francine had really short hair, like she had a bad barber, LOL.

I never noticed Rafi's voice being familiar. Was he in the credits? Did it say Michael Yarmush?
Title: Re: Season 16
Post by: Snowth Woogle on May 08, 2013, 11:13:40 pm
There wasn't a voice credit for him, but to me, he kind of sounded a little similar to Arthur in Season 5.

Which brings to mind, when exactly are we supposed to hear this supposed duet with Michael and Bruce?
Title: Re: Season 16
Post by: Crossover Dreamer on May 09, 2013, 12:21:08 am
I haven't seen "Buster's Book Battle"/"On the Buster Scale" yet. The prizes I got for the library summer reading programs were books and free personal pizzas from Round Table Pizza. Could Kligor the Cyborg Detective of the 22nd Century be a parody of Sherlock Holmes in the 22nd Century? Maybe its one of those combo parodies.

The conflict between Buster and Brain in "On the Buster Scale" sounds similar to the conflict between Arthur and D.W. in "My Music Rules." Finally, a D.W./Brain parallel!
Title: Re: Season 16
Post by: Snowth Woogle on May 09, 2013, 05:00:13 pm
Once again, I missed today's new episode, but not because I was busy or preoccupied, but rather, this time, for some reason, my PBS must have been experiencing technical difficulties, because there was no signal whatsoever, just a black screen.
Title: Re: Season 16
Post by: Crossover Dreamer on May 09, 2013, 09:35:57 pm
I'm caught up with the new episodes now. I don't have a lot to say about today's. I had more to say about yesterdays even before I saw it. I was surprised to see them revive the parody of "Hercule Poirot." (How is parody name spelled?) I knew "Sue Ellen Vegges Out" would be about Sue Ellen becoming a vegetarian.

Back to "Buster's Book Battle": I thought it was clever to have a parody of "Percy Jackson and the Olympians" where they're Norse demigods instead of Greek.

Back to "On the Buster Scale," Cameron Ansell did the voice of the waiter. And as for the sitcom allusions, maybe Brain only able to name one movie he liked, a French movie from 1939, could be like on Get Smart Larabee's knowledge of the many adaptions of Little Women? That one's a bit of a stretch. He's completely different from Joey from Full House who likes many cartoons, and Beaver Cleaver who likes the many scary movies in the kiddy matinee.
Title: Re: Season 16
Post by: MCCJ on May 10, 2013, 01:52:57 pm
Arthur was way out of line in today's episode as many have stated for So Funny I Forgot to Laugh. Even Mr. Ratburn mentioned this. I also thought it was even more stranger that Arthur called Buster the weird one.
Title: Re: Season 16
Post by: raidpirate52 on May 10, 2013, 04:12:53 pm
I haven't been able to be on in a while...got a new laptop and all but today's episode made me want to vent my frustration with it...wow! I mean the "Funny I forgot to Laugh" one. Now I will say, I initially liked the episode for the first 9 or so minutes. I understand Arthur's position, as the everyman character I'm sure there's all a time in our lives we regretably said something that hurt their feelings. I didn't think that was out of his character...it was the email that really drove it over. I mean, really?

It seems a very far stretch to have Arthur do that, it seems too far for even the old Francine to do. I don't think it was the best way for Arthur to realize his mistake.

Going away from that episode, I thought the "The Best Day Ever" was a nice nostalgia filled episode. Really took me back, very appreciated. I actually was impressed by this run. Very good. Just not that moment as I said above.
Title: Re: Season 16
Post by: Snowth Woogle on May 10, 2013, 04:37:22 pm
Here's my take on today's new episode:

While the whole entry of "So Funny I Forgot to Laugh" wasn't EXACTLY as bad as I thought it was going to be, Arthur was still TREMENDOUSLY out of character. Like raidpirate said, I can understand Arthur's perspective about his intentions of just joking around and not intending to hurt Sue Ellen's feelings, but his actions were still considerably out of character for him... and I also agree, the email he sent to Sue Ellen was certainly not something one would expect from our favorite aardvark (nor that Sheepdog Appreciation Day drawing he taped on her locker... guess he forgot Francine's doodle of a Love Duck on his locker, or Fern's "Rat and Rat Jr." sketch). But again, the show has certainly jumped on the anti-bullying bandwagon right now. And I'm sorry... it'll probably take some getting used to, but Sue Ellen's new voice is kind of irritating.

Now as for "The Best Day Ever", while I generally like flashback episodes and clip shows, I was disappointed with this one, mostly because almost all of the dialogue in the flashbacks were redubbed by the new voice actors... I guess that's to avoid confusing kids watching as to why their voices would sound different in the same episode... and I haven't paid too much attention to the credits, but is Tabitha St. Germain voicing George this season? Not only did George sound like a girl, but Wally sounds like Martha (of MARTHA SPEAKS). Good entry overall, but again, the redubbing of the flashbacks lost some points with me.

I DID have myself having a "fangasm", as Sarge puts it, when watching Binky's flashback (okay, I admit, I never watched the actual episode), because when Binky was trying to do the Monkey Face for Mei Lin in the restaurant before Arthur showed up, I heard the exact same music that's been used on COURAGE THE COWARDLY DOG for Di Lung (the Asian punk who would yell, "Watch where you're goin' ya foo!")... I guess it must be production music or something.
Title: Re: Season 16
Post by: dth1971 on May 10, 2013, 09:13:56 pm
I'm glad now that Arthur Season 16 is completed, I am also glad that we got to see more of Fern, Sue Ellen, George, Molly, and Rattles in the spotlight. Although there was one of the new character Ladonna but no Bud. And also the first 1/2 was mostly D.W. releated episodes, there was none in the second half of Season 16.

I'm also glad these voice actors from the Cookie Jar (formerly Cinar) years made it to the 9 Story Arthur era - Eleanor Noble (George Lundgren, George's dummy Wally), Holly Gauthier Frankel (Fern Walters), Jessica Kardos (Sue Ellen), Ellen David (Bitzi Baxter), Maggie Castle (Molly MacDonald), Michael "The first voice of Arthur" Yarmush (Slink), and even the 4th. voice of Arthur - Cameron Ansell as a teenage waiter.

Will former Arthur voices - Justin Bradley, Mark Rendall, and/or Dallas Jokic - voice in other Arthur cartoon roles in the future?

Too bad we didn't hear any voice parts for Bailey (Muffy's Butler) in Season 16, not even (except for a Flashback scene) Arthur's Dad. And the Molena family was absent this season. So is Lydia Fox, and even (except for a few mentions) Capri DiVapida!

I hope to get a list of Season 17 Arthur episodes before the Fall 2013 season.
Title: Re: Season 16
Post by: LovingBeagles on May 11, 2013, 01:05:01 am
And I'm sorry... it'll probably take some getting used to, but Sue Ellen's new voice is kind of irritating.

While we're on this subject, I thought I'd take advantage of the opportunity to discuss it.

For a while, I actually preferred her new voice. There was something about Sue Ellen's original voice (Patricia Rodriguez, I believe) that kinda got me when I was younger...I guess it was that whenever she got mad or she was being demanding, her voice sounded pretty intimidating. So in a way, Sue Ellen's original voice kinda scared me during those parts (and seriously, there were PLENTY of those parts, as Sue Ellen can get mad pretty easily). So when Jessica Kardos replaced Patricia, I was a little cooler with it, as her voice was a little more smooth-sounding and softer.

These days, though, I'm not sure. Maybe I do miss Sue Ellen's voice to a degree, and she DOES sound like a snuffled-up Muffy or something like that (like Snowth said). I guess it just feels like for EVERY character who has had multiple voice actors, the crew is leaning towards higher voices...heck, it's pretty evident with Arthur.

EDIT:
Now as for "The Best Day Ever", while I generally like flashback episodes and clip shows, I was disappointed with this one, mostly because almost all of the dialogue in the flashbacks were redubbed by the new voice actors... I guess that's to avoid confusing kids watching as to why their voices would sound different in the same episode... and I haven't paid too much attention to the credits, but is Tabitha St. Germain voicing George this season? Not only did George sound like a girl, but Wally sounds like Martha (of MARTHA SPEAKS). Good entry overall, but again, the redubbing of the flashbacks lost some points with me.

Tabitha St. Germain did voice Martha. The Arthur Wiki says it is Eleanor Noble, who has been voicing George for the past few seasons (seasons 9-present, with a break in between). However, Wikipedia claims that she only voiced George from seasons 9-15. I don't exactly expect the Wikipedia page to be accurate though, given the whole "anyone can edit" thing.
Title: Re: Season 16
Post by: Crossover Dreamer on May 12, 2013, 12:40:55 am
I haven't seen Friday's episode yet. Can you please tell me what all the memories are from "The Best Day Ever"?

I can't believe I missed some obvious D.W./Brain parallels that finished during season 16! These are the ones I just discovered:

"All About D.W." D.W.'s stage fright and mistakes can be compared to Brain's stage fright and mistakes in "Arthur's Spelling Trubble" and "It's a No-Brainer."

"Brain's Chess Mess" Brain subbed for Rattles because Rattles said he was sick, which can be compared to "All About D.W." (again!)

These were the D.W./Brain parallels I was already aware of:

"Based on a True Story" D.W. doesn't think Bud's jokes are funny, which can be compared to "Cents-less" where Brain didn't think the number joke Muffy told was funny.

"Baby Steps" In this episode, we hear what Kate and Pal hear: D.W. and Brain speaking gibberish. D.W. hears Kate say "D.W.," which can be compared to "The Perfect Brother" where D.W. heard Kate say "Brain."

And, of course, "On the Buster Scale" and "My Music Rules."
Title: Re: Season 16
Post by: Snowth Woogle on May 12, 2013, 01:20:00 am
I haven't seen Friday's episode yet. Can you please tell me what all the memories are from "The Best Day Ever"?
Binky's best day ever was essentially when they adopted Mei Lin, and he found a way to get her to stop crying by doing the "Monkey Face"... that is until she saw Arthur.

George's best day ever was when he was invited to Fern's poetry reading, but thought he couldn't do it without Wally, until Arthur convinces him otherwise.

Sue Ellen's best day ever was when she lost her diary in the library, but Arthur managed to find it.

Buster's best day ever was when he came home from his trip with his dad, and played checkers with Arthur.

Arthur's best day ever was... that day.
Title: Re: Season 16
Post by: MCCJ on May 13, 2013, 02:13:27 pm
I haven't seen Friday's episode yet. Can you please tell me what all the memories are from "The Best Day Ever"?
Binky's best day ever was essentially when they adopted Mei Lin, and he found a way to get her to stop crying by doing the "Monkey Face"... that is until she saw Arthur.

George's best day ever was when he was invited to Fern's poetry reading, but thought he couldn't do it without Wally, until Arthur convinces him otherwise.

Sue Ellen's best day ever was when she lost her diary in the library, but Arthur managed to find it.

Buster's best day ever was when he came home from his trip with his dad, and played checkers with Arthur.

Arthur's best day ever was... that day.

Well with the conclusion of this season what is everyone's opinion? Season 17 will air this Fall by the way.
Title: Re: Season 16
Post by: LovingBeagles on May 13, 2013, 07:57:24 pm
I promise I won't speak on this again until it does happen, but here's my honest thought.

I haven't seen "Best Day Ever" in full yet. That said, after seeing the intro on YT where Arthur counts down his Top 5 worst days, there is no doubt in my mind now the end is near for this show. I'm not saying I want it to happen, but come on...classic moments from the show, WITH the original animation intact, AND at one point Arthur's original voice wasn't even dubbed over? In fact - correct me if I'm wrong here - wasn't the last time Arthur even had a clip show 12 seasons ago (the DW birthday episode)? To me, everything at this point just screams "last hurrah."
The show has been going on for pretty long now. I guess there is that feeling that the show will end soon. I mean, Arthur has been on for 16 seasons, and there's gonna be a 17th one coming up. For an animated show, that's a lot of seasons. In fact, it was mentioned on another topic that Arthur is actually the second-longest running animated series in the U.S. behind The Simpsons.

Hard to believe that one clip actually was kept intact! Though Snowth has a point, younger audiences might be confused why Arthur sounds different in one clip from his Brain-sounding like voice today.

Maybe if the show does end, the last episode will be a VERY clear sign that it is about to do so. "The Best Day Ever", while I haven't seen it yet, does seem to have that vibe, though, based on a very small fraction of the episode that I watched, and on how others have summarized or commented on it.
Title: Re: Season 16
Post by: Crossover Dreamer on May 13, 2013, 11:07:51 pm
I agree with LovingBeagles that the last episode would be an obvious series finale. From the episode titles I read on ABC4Kids' website, none of them looked like series finale stories. So it looks like there will most likely be an 18th season.

I did end up watching Friday's episode. "So Funny I Forgot to Laugh" does have similarities to many previous episodes. ("Arthur's Eyes," "Locked in the Library," "Meek for a Week," "Prunella's Prediction," "That's a Baby Show!," etc.) Fourteen years later Tenzin is back.
Title: Re: Season 16
Post by: MCCJ on May 13, 2013, 11:20:46 pm
I agree with LovingBeagles that the last episode would be an obvious series finale. From the episode titles I read on ABC4Kids' website, none of them looked like series finale stories. So it looks like there will most likely be an 18th season.

I did end up watching Friday's episode. "So Funny I Forgot to Laugh" does have similarities to many previous episodes. ("Arthur's Eyes," "Locked in the Library," "Meek for a Week," "Prunella's Prediction," "That's a Baby Show!," etc.) Fourteen years later Tenzin is back.

We shall see what will happen with Season 18. Better yet Season 20. I know the production team will be pushing for that goal.
Title: Re: Season 16
Post by: Crossover Dreamer on May 19, 2013, 10:49:48 pm
I just realized that "On the Buster Scale" was written by Dietrich Smith, one of the writers of Doug. It did feel like a Doug episode to me.

I watched "The Best Day Ever" again. Arthur said that Buster was gone for a whole year! Originally, I thought that he was gone for the summer. For my fanfics I decided that he was gone for about two weeks during the month of September.
Title: Re: Season 16
Post by: MCCJ on May 20, 2013, 01:35:34 am
I just realized that "On the Buster Scale" was written by Dietrich Smith, one of the writers of Doug. It did feel like a Doug episode to me.

I watched "The Best Day Ever" again. Arthur said that Buster was gone for a whole year! Originally, I thought that he was gone for the summer. For my fanfics I decided that he was gone for about two weeks during the month of September.

That is an interesting discovery there.
Title: Re: Season 16
Post by: justalittlehomework on May 20, 2013, 10:18:34 am
You're right.
Dietrich smith wrote lots of episodes in Arthur, especially ones about D.W and her friends.
Her first episode (I think?) was Revenge of the Chip in season 3.
Title: Re: Season 16
Post by: LovingBeagles on May 20, 2013, 07:23:51 pm
I watched "The Best Day Ever" again. Arthur said that Buster was gone for a whole year! Originally, I thought that he was gone for the summer. For my fanfics I decided that he was gone for about two weeks during the month of September.

If that's true, then why they are still in 3rd grade is what puzzles me. But I think we can all safely assume that they are "perpetually in 3rd grade" and will never grow older. It's pretty much a TV show time warp.
Title: Re: Season 16
Post by: Crossover Dreamer on May 20, 2013, 10:07:33 pm
The timeline of the second half of season 2 contradicts the timelines of season 1 and the first half of season 2.

Oh, I forgot to mention an observation I made for the tease of "The Last Tough Customer." The boy that was making fun of Molly's hair said something about getting sand in his shoes, and the shoes he was wearing were the same as Brain's.
Title: Re: Season 16
Post by: Snowth Woogle on May 21, 2013, 05:24:49 pm
I thought I was finally going to get to see "The Last Tough Customoer" today, but the program kept getting interrupted by storm warnings... for other counties far west of us... so I missed out of a huge chunk of the story, but I did see the teaser, which does confirm my suspicions about Molly and her bullying ways. And I also saw leading up to the scene we saw in the YouTube promo, where Molly says the reason she still wants to bully is so she can have respect. Interesting. Heavy.

And I see Mrs. MacGrady is back to normal, but I guess that's to be expected, considering Mr. Morris was back to mop up Francine's stomach acid after he had relocated to New Mexico.
Title: Re: Season 16
Post by: MCCJ on May 23, 2013, 05:40:18 pm
I thought I was finally going to get to see "The Last Tough Customoer" today, but the program kept getting interrupted by storm warnings... for other counties far west of us... so I missed out of a huge chunk of the story, but I did see the teaser, which does confirm my suspicions about Molly and her bullying ways. And I also saw leading up to the scene we saw in the YouTube promo, where Molly says the reason she still wants to bully is so she can have respect. Interesting. Heavy.

And I see Mrs. MacGrady is back to normal, but I guess that's to be expected, considering Mr. Morris was back to mop up Francine's stomach acid after he had relocated to New Mexico.

Well the episode I think is available on Youtube. It could also be on PBS' site. As for Molly, I had a very good feeling that was the case.
Title: Re: Season 16
Post by: LovingBeagles on May 23, 2013, 07:14:03 pm
Looks like "Baseball Blues/Brain's Biggest Blunder" re-aired. Both were episodes I did not see on their original air date.

Here are my thoughts on each.

"Baseball Blues": I agree with Mr. Rocketburn saying that it was a lot like "Arthur Makes the Team" (you may have noticed that I tend to bold the names of episodes; this is to distinguish them from the rest of the text). Though there's that whole cliche "The expert/hero/legend can't make it so a rookie must take his/her place" that I've seen countless times in other shows and media. This "trope", I guess you could call it, was also seen in "Brain's Chess Mess", except Rattles faked it. And one thing that I really wanted to say is that it was surprising not only seeing Harry Mills reappear, but also that he had buckteeth like Buster. Strange.

It's pretty cool that we see Carl in here, even though I don't think he had any speaking lines (I missed the first part of the episode). So, yeah, looks like they didn't do another one-or-two-time character that would be written out later. It's a sign that we might see him in more George episodes.

"Brain's Biggest Blunder": Surprising seeing that Steve character way back from the older seasons. Anyway, during the actual competition, it seemed more like Buster dozing off and getting distracted in his own thoughts than him actually trying and struggling. I guess that's how a lot of people are, so it's hard for me to make a judgment personally; after all, this is coming from someone whose strengths are math and science. But I like the lesson of using a study method that works for you. That's how many people memorize things that they initially struggle with. Now, I don't know whether Brain's training methods really made him a bad tutor, but it's clear that Buster didn't like them. I mean, if you need something done well, you should put a lot of discipline and effort into it.

As for the voices, it's still hard to get over how different Arthur's voice sounds from the earlier seasons by which I remember him. But when he was whispering to Buster that one time, he actually did sound a bit like Arthur. :)
Title: Re: Season 16
Post by: MCCJ on May 23, 2013, 10:40:01 pm
Looks like "Baseball Blues/Brain's Biggest Blunder" re-aired. Both were episodes I did not see on their original air date.

Here are my thoughts on each.

"Baseball Blues": I agree with Mr. Rocketburn saying that it was a lot like "Arthur Makes the Team" (you may have noticed that I tend to bold the names of episodes; this is to distinguish them from the rest of the text). Though there's that whole cliche "The expert/hero/legend can't make it so a rookie must take his/her place" that I've seen countless times in other shows and media. This "trope", I guess you could call it, was also seen in "Brain's Chess Mess", except Rattles faked it. And one thing that I really wanted to say is that it was surprising not only seeing Harry Mills reappear, but also that he had buckteeth like Buster. Strange.

It's pretty cool that we see Carl in here, even though I don't think he had any speaking lines (I missed the first part of the episode). So, yeah, looks like they didn't do another one-or-two-time character that would be written out later. It's a sign that we might see him in more George episodes.

"Brain's Biggest Blunder": Surprising seeing that Steve character way back from the older seasons. Anyway, during the actual competition, it seemed more like Buster dozing off and getting distracted in his own thoughts than him actually trying and struggling. I guess that's how a lot of people are, so it's hard for me to make a judgment personally; after all, this is coming from someone whose strengths are math and science. But I like the lesson of using a study method that works for you. That's how many people memorize things that they initially struggle with. Now, I don't know whether Brain's training methods really made him a bad tutor, but it's clear that Buster didn't like them. I mean, if you need something done well, you should put a lot of discipline and effort into it.

As for the voices, it's still hard to get over how different Arthur's voice sounds from the earlier seasons by which I remember him. But when he was whispering to Buster that one time, he actually did sound a bit like Arthur. :)

Yeah they usually air the new episodes again, so everyone that hasn't seen them can see them again.
Title: Re: Season 16
Post by: Snowth Woogle on May 25, 2013, 06:41:20 pm
I watched "The Best Day Ever" again. Arthur said that Buster was gone for a whole year! Originally, I thought that he was gone for the summer. For my fanfics I decided that he was gone for about two weeks during the month of September.
Arthur may have been exaggerating to emphasize how long it seemed like Buster was gone, because during the era of Buster being away with his father, I believe it was only two-three months or so.
Title: Re: Season 16
Post by: MCCJ on May 25, 2013, 10:09:31 pm
I watched "The Best Day Ever" again. Arthur said that Buster was gone for a whole year! Originally, I thought that he was gone for the summer. For my fanfics I decided that he was gone for about two weeks during the month of September.
Arthur may have been exaggerating to emphasize how long it seemed like Buster was gone, because during the era of Buster being away with his father, I believe it was only two-three months or so.

Well Arthur is eight years old. A few months can feel like a long time for a kid that age.
Title: Re: Season 16
Post by: Snowth Woogle on May 25, 2013, 10:36:06 pm
Exactly my point. When Buster first reveals that he's going away with his dad, Arthur even remarks, "A couple of months is practically... FOREVER!"
Title: Re: Season 16
Post by: MCCJ on May 26, 2013, 02:56:34 pm
Exactly my point. When Buster first reveals that he's going away with his dad, Arthur even remarks, "A couple of months is practically... FOREVER!"

Yep. Got look at it from a kid's perspective.
Title: Re: Season 16
Post by: Snowth Woogle on July 22, 2013, 10:43:42 pm
I just now realized I didn't give an opinion on the season overall, now that it's finished airing.

First and foremost, the animation, yes, it's difficult to adjust to, considering the series was traditionally animated for so long, and the Flash animation does seem a bit stiff and robotic at times, but I'm sure overtime, 9 Story will improve, though that does remain to be seen.

Secondly, I'm glad that for the first time since Season 8, Arthur's voice DIDN'T sound like D.W. (and D.W. didn't almost sound like a chipmunk), that makes it more tolerable to watch compared to previous seasons, though as I said previously, I think the fact that both Mr. Haney and Miss Turner (Miss Turner especially) both sound like they're dying when they speak is another little tell-tell sign the show's gone on a little too long.

I still haven't gotten to see Ladonna and Bud's debut episode, so I can't really give too much of an opinion on the characters' addition to the cast, let alone, decide if they really serve a purpose being on the show or not (most people I've heard don't seem to think so).

As for the episodes overall, they were hit or miss, there were some really great episodes, and some not so much, but overall, this is a very decent season, the first decent one we've had in ages.
Title: Re: Season 16
Post by: Bionic Bunny on July 23, 2013, 09:19:23 pm
Yeah,this season had some great episodes and better voice actors.But the flash animation,I just hate it.However, in the final episode of the season "So Funny I Forgot To Laugh/The Best Day Ever" seemed to have improved animation,so hopefully it'll continue to improve throughout season 17.
Title: Re: Season 16
Post by: MCCJ on July 23, 2013, 10:11:39 pm
The season has been improving in terms of animation quality.
Title: Re: Season 16
Post by: Snowth Woogle on July 25, 2013, 09:35:44 pm
Got to see a little more of "The Last Tough Customer / Brain's Chess Mess" the other day... am I imagining things, or does Fern's voice sound different too? It still sounds like Holly G. Frankel, but much higher than usual.
Title: Re: Season 16
Post by: Snowth Woogle on July 27, 2013, 02:22:37 pm
Yyyeah, I kind of think that you're possibly reading too deep into it. :p
Title: Re: Season 16
Post by: ralfsmouse on July 28, 2013, 01:58:47 am
Sorry for double post! So someone finally uploaded So Funny I Forgot To Laugh on YT.

Now I know I might be reading too much into a kids show, but am I the only one who thought this episode wasn't just about bullying, but also about deeper social issues pertaining to gender? This is what I personally took away: Sue Ellen's outfit represents a female's choice of wardrobe. Arthur calling Sue Ellen a dog and making those jokes could be compared to a guy calling a girl a (b-word) or even (s-word) for how she expresses herself. Then there's Arthur saying "she should apologize to ME"; maybe that wasn't necessarily trying to come across as male privilege but I was reminded of it. Then he pens that apology letter to Sue Ellen that blames her for "overreacting" and not taking a joke; that's victim-blaming, which tends to happen in cases of denigration of women (i.e. "if she hadn't worn such revealing clothing, then he wouldn't have done it" - speaking of which, I'm surprised Arthur didn't include in the letter that if Sue Ellen was so offended then she shouldn't have worn the sweater). Anyway, I don't know whether the writers intended it that way or not, but it sure was something to think about.

Other thoughts about the episode:
-Man, what took this show so long to finally show some teacher intervention? Francine and Muffy sure could've used it. XD
-Buster's reaction to Arthur calling him weird was hilarious.

I'm going to have to agree with Snowth Woogle here and say that you are getting a little deep into it. I think that the two topics just happen to have quite a few characteristics in common. I'm not saying that the producers were unaware of this, but I don't think they were actively making the episode around that theme.
Title: Re: Season 16
Post by: Disaster Warning on July 28, 2013, 07:53:35 pm
I really did not like "So Funny I Forgot To Laugh". Remember, Sue Ellen stood up to Binky Barnes in "Bully for Binky" way back in season 1, and she also wasn't afraid of anything until "What Scared Sue Ellen?" in season 3. This new episode has her really out of character. I would have liked to see Fern being bullied, rather than Sue Ellen. Or better yet, bring back Jenna and have her get bullied.  :P

Also, why was Arthur the bully? Why not a Tough Customer? Maybe it was in effort to show that ANYONE can be a bully, and not realize it at first.
Title: Re: Season 16
Post by: ralfsmouse on July 28, 2013, 09:19:52 pm
Also, why was Arthur the bully? Why not a Tough Customer? Maybe it was in effort to show that ANYONE can be a bully, and not realize it at first.
That's probably smart of the producers to portray. It's pretty common for bullies to not have stereotypical bully looks.
Title: Re: Season 16
Post by: ChrisDilke on July 30, 2013, 07:26:32 pm
@ Disaster Warning: (for some reason the site is not letting me quote a message)

I also disliked the episode, it was probably my least favourite of the season. I understand that it's an important message and I could see where the writers were trying to go with it, but I didn't think it was done well. Arthur wasn't the right choice to be the bully, and the scene where he sends Sue Ellen that email is just way too out of character. I know he was mad and he did regret it immediately afterwards, but I think the fact that he went through with the idea at all just doesn't work. He's trying to make us believe that his side of the story could be legit, and that Sue Ellen really could've just been overreacting to some jokes that are intended to be harmless, but then he resorts to writing and sending that email, and when you go and do something like that, that's pretty nasty.

And I also couldn't help but think that Sue Ellen was a bit out of character here. When Binky goes around bullying others in "Bully for Binky" and when Brain threatens to destroy George's gum dinosaur in "Desk Wars", she stood up to both of them. So why not stand up to Arthur? I guess it could be argued that because Arthur is usually a nice guy and she's usually good friends with him, she wouldn't know what to do when suddenly he seems to turn against her, but it still didn't quite feel in-character to me. I have to agree that Fern would've been a better choice than Sue Ellen. It might sound horrible to say so since she's my favourite character in the show, but as Fern is sensitive I think she would be an easier target, and if bullying got severe and persistent it's understandable that it would get to her.
Title: Re: Season 16
Post by: ralfsmouse on July 31, 2013, 10:36:08 pm
@ Disaster Warning: (for some reason the site is not letting me quote a message)
To quote a message, be sure to not use the quote button above the main post. Press reply at the bottom of the page, then scroll down past the message editor. Then, use the "Inset Quote" button above those posts.

I also disliked the episode, it was probably my least favourite of the season. I understand that it's an important message and I could see where the writers were trying to go with it, but I didn't think it was done well. Arthur wasn't the right choice to be the bully, and the scene where he sends Sue Ellen that email is just way too out of character. I know he was mad and he did regret it immediately afterwards, but I think the fact that he went through with the idea at all just doesn't work. He's trying to make us believe that his side of the story could be legit, and that Sue Ellen really could've just been overreacting to some jokes that are intended to be harmless, but then he resorts to writing and sending that email, and when you go and do something like that, that's pretty nasty.
Now that I think about it, Arthur may not have been a good bully choice. While a bully can be anyone, Arthur has always been too anti-bully throughout the entire series to suddenly be a bully in an episode. He did act seriously out of character here.
Title: Re: Season 16
Post by: Snowth Woogle on July 31, 2013, 11:10:30 pm
Yes, I think the entire world can agree that Arthur was completely out of character in that episode.
Title: Re: Season 16
Post by: ralfsmouse on August 01, 2013, 01:01:30 am
Yes, I think the entire world can agree that Arthur was completely out of character in that episode.
Now I just can't decide which was worse: Arthur in "So Funny I Forgot To Laugh" or Francine in "Arthur's Tooth."
Title: Re: Season 16
Post by: Snowth Woogle on August 01, 2013, 01:07:12 pm
I agree, Francine bullying Arthur over having not lost a baby tooth is totally something she would actually do, but Arthur bullying Sue Ellen over her ridiculous new sweater is like an alternate universe.
Title: Re: Season 16
Post by: ralfsmouse on August 04, 2013, 04:53:50 pm
I thought that I may not have gotten everything from "So Funny I Forgot To Laugh," so I watched it on YouTube.

The first time Arthur calls Sue Ellen a sheep dog (not sure if he means "sheepdog" as an adjective or sheep dog as in a breed) in the hall, I can almost see Arthur doing this in a normal episode, but it already seems a bit out of place for him. However, by the time he calls her a sheep dog a third time in the cafeteria he should have already dropped the joke. And as if it weren't enough for Arthur to keep calling her a sheep dog, he decides to keep escalating the joke until it starts to become seriously annoying. Later in the hall, when Arthur tapes a drawing of Sue Ellen as a sheep dog on her locker, I thought that he would be forced to realize that he had taken the joke too far.

When Mr. Ratburn intervienes, I also laughed to myself at how out of place this was in the series. Not an adult in the school had helped Arthur when the entire school was laughing at him in "Arthur's Tooth" and "Arthur's Eyes." Moving on, I can almost see how Arthur would think that Sue Ellen had over reacted a bit, as she had been bullied for less than a day. Arthur was bullied nonstop for four days in "Arthur's eyes" and three and a half in "Arthur's tooth." And in those "Arthur's Eyes," everyone was laughing at him, even Buster. Worse yet, Sue Ellen even laughed at Arthur profusely when his baby tooth wouldn't come out. Following this sudden sensitivity, Muffy and Francine have suddenly become anti-bullying activists, yet they were the main antagonists in "Arthur's Eyes" and "Arthur's Tooth."

Lastly, I feel like I need to give Arthur's E-Mail its own paragraph. He knew that he needed to apologize to Sue Ellen, if for no other reason than to appease Sue Ellen enough to discuss the issue with her. Yet instead of sending her an apology, he Photoshops a sheep dog head onto her body (which he is pretty good at by the way). Personally, that's where I drew the line and decided that this episode should have been rewritten before being produced.

Then Sue Ellen wants to switch classes. At this point I can kind of understand, as Arthur has taken this too far. Yet she decides to drop all of her resent for Arthur when he stops her in front of the school and gives her a ten second apology.

TL;DR: Arthur was a big meanie. He can also handle a lot more bullying than Sue Ellen. Sue Ellen and Francine are offended by bullying form people that they bullied relentlessly in the past.
Title: Re: Season 16
Post by: Roabe on August 11, 2013, 04:21:59 pm
^ Good points. There was also that part in "Arthur Cleans Up" where Sue Ellen confronts Arthur about her mom making her join Arthur's cleaning crew. While it doesn't really count as bullying, Sue Ellen actually shoves Arthur during this scene, all because she might have to miss a martial arts class. And I thought Sue Ellen was supposed to care for the environment.
Title: Re: Season 16
Post by: Snowth Woogle on August 13, 2013, 10:39:49 pm
I watched "So Funny I Forgot to Laugh; The Best Day Ever" again today, and Arthur had me so annoyed at how extremely and completely out of character he was, that I actually wanted to reach into the TV and give him a good smack to snap him back into character. And it didn't really occur to me until now, but I agree with you guys, I nearly pulled my hair out at Francine and Muffy's hypocrasy... I mean really, that like Muffy said, "If I had hurt someone's feelings, I would write them a heartfelt letter telling them I'm sorry"... gimme a break!

Also still not impressed with all the dubbing in the flashbacks, but I somehow missed something the first time around: George's flashback included an entirely new sequence that wasn't originally in "Arthur's Dummy Disaster", where he had ducked behind a display of books, and Wally is now completely dismembered, carrying on like he's dying, and requesting one last drink of furniture polish before he goes.
Title: Re: Season 16
Post by: MCCJ on August 14, 2013, 12:05:27 pm
When Muffy said that, I laughed. Man Muffy is just setting herself up to be told off one of these days.
Title: Re: Season 16
Post by: Mr. Rocketburn on August 14, 2013, 03:54:52 pm
I also finally saw "The Best Day Ever" yesterday. It was the only S16 episode I haven't seen in full yet and it's still not on YouTube.

I wondered how they were going to work around showing clips in the 4:3 aspect ratio. At first, I only saw the opening posted on PBS's YouTube and those flashback clips were shown on a TV, so they got away with showing those in their original form. It turns out they shrunk the clips a bit and surrounded them with white clouds.

I hated how they added some brief new "clips" to the flashbacks which meant going from the old animation to Flash, especially the clip of "The Return of the King". It shows Arthur pulling out the sword and the celebrations, and then it shows Flash Ratburn handing Flash Arthur a graded history quiz (still on the fairgrounds), motion tweens and all. Did anyone ever notice how Flash Ratburn's fur is much more gray than previous seasons, and his clothes are less bright? His old coloring was way better.

I wish the episode was on YouTube so we could compare the dubs, but if I'm right, the only clips that were not dubbed were Arthur and Buster's goodbyes from "Arthur's Faraway Friend" and George in the original "Arthur's Dummy Disaster" clips, though Arthur was still dubbed and there was a new scene animated in Flash using George's current voice. Also, during the flashback of D.W.'s constant accusing of Arthur stealing the snowball, the clip from "D.W.'s Snow Mystery" mostly used D.W.'s original voice. The gasp at the start of the montage and "I want a confession!" and the first "Confess!" was the original audio, but the other lines and the second and third yells of "Confess!" were dubbed. And what episodes were the other clips in the montage from anyway?

I'm getting annoyed at the "clouds come in fast on a supposedly-great day, lightning flash, suddenly starts pouring" trope happening in a lot of Arthur episodes, and that their only concern is getting wet even though one should be much more concerned about being struck by lightning. I wish rainy days in Elwood City could be more like the end of "Buster Spaces Out" most of the time.

Did anyone else notice that Mei Lin's crying sounds were changed? "Big Brother Binky" used the typical "Kate cries", but "Best Day" used new baby SFX. Were the "Kate cries" even used in S16 at all yet? The most recent use of them I can remember is "Through the Looking Glasses" (when Kate visualizes Arthur's head as a toaster). "Arthur's Baby / D.W.'s Baby" also used different baby SFX, but I'm pretty sure episodes after that used the usual ones (especially "Arthur's Lost Dog"), and "Arthur's Eyes" used them for 3-year-old D.W.
Title: Re: Season 16
Post by: Snowth Woogle on August 14, 2013, 09:51:54 pm
Wally was dubbed too, but you're right, when George finally read his poem, it was the original recording.
Title: Re: Season 16
Post by: Disaster Warning on August 14, 2013, 11:49:17 pm


I watched this episode again. "So Funny I Forgot to Laugh" is probably the worst episode of season 16 in my opinion. However, I was pleasantly surprised to see Tenzin Wangdu mentioned! (even if he did have a major redesign, going from a brown bear to a panda-looking bear)

Also still not impressed with all the dubbing in the flashbacks, but I somehow missed something the first time around: George's flashback included an entirely new sequence that wasn't originally in "Arthur's Dummy Disaster", where he had ducked behind a display of books, and Wally is now completely dismembered, carrying on like he's dying, and requesting one last drink of furniture polish before he goes.

I'm with you on this one. I didn't even notice the added flash animation with George's flashback. Guess it's time for me to go through season 1 on YouTube to refresh myself on the oldies lol.

So what required a redub, and what didn't with the flashbacks? That's what I want to know. Seems silly to mix old and new voices. I do think that George's current voice is actually quite similar to his original voice.

Did anyone ever notice how Flash Ratburn's fur is much more gray than previous seasons, and his clothes are less bright? His old coloring was way better.

I thought something was strange about Ratburn this season, but I couldn't quite pinpoint what it was. You nailed it though, and it IS much better the old way.
Title: Re: Season 16
Post by: Mr. Rocketburn on August 15, 2013, 01:30:04 am
Here's a comparison of "Traditional" and "Flash" Ratburn (from "Through the Looking Glasses" and "Get Smart", respectively). If anyone wants me to do this for other characters, let me know.

(http://i.imgur.com/1ZqoBHh.png)
Title: Re: Season 16
Post by: Snowth Woogle on August 15, 2013, 11:18:53 am
So what required a redub, and what didn't with the flashbacks? That's what I want to know. Seems silly to mix old and new voices. I do think that George's current voice is actually quite similar to his original voice.
I'm guessing since older episodes are rarely seen anymore, they probably didn't want to confuse the little kids watching as to why their voices "suddenly" sound very different in the flashbacks.
Here's a comparison of "Traditional" and "Flash" Ratburn (from "Through the Looking Glasses" and "Get Smart", respectively). If anyone wants me to do this for other characters, let me know.

(http://i.imgur.com/1ZqoBHh.png)
Well, I guess after teaching the exact same third grade class for sixteen years, Ratburn's just getting old: grayer looking hair, duller color in clothes, middle-aged spread...
Title: Re: Season 16
Post by: JAO93 on August 18, 2013, 05:43:42 am
Poor Mr. Ratburn, he's getting old.  ::)

I just cannot fathom the flash animation - the older drawn animation suited the style much better in my view. The flash animated characters look too stiff in my eyes. I'm not going to slam flash animation as a whole - it works for other cartoons, just not Arthur in my opinion.

I do suppose kids growing up on the "new" Arthur could care less and may enjoy the newer seasons. If they enjoy it, that's fine for them.
Title: Re: Season 16
Post by: Roabe on August 18, 2013, 10:51:04 am
I like the idea of comparing character shots. I'd use Season 7 as a base; that's when the animation looked its best, IMO.

As I said before, watching the "It's Only Rock 'n Roll" special makes me depressed because the animation will probably never look that good again. It's ahead of the 3D movie and Season 16 by miles.
Title: Re: Season 16
Post by: ralfsmouse on August 23, 2013, 08:25:28 pm
Sorry to jump this topic back to "So Funny I Forgot To Laugh," but I just saw a scene that made me realize that Sue Ellen is probably the biggest hypocrite in the entire show.

If Sue Ellen was upset because Arthur teased her about her sweater, then tell me what is wrong with this picture:
(http://i.imgur.com/MicT21l.png)
Also, notice that Muffy is laughing as well.

I know that the artists and writers are not superhuman and can't remember everything, but this is a good reason why you don't mess with a character's personality for a single episode.
Title: Re: Season 16
Post by: Disaster Warning on August 23, 2013, 08:30:57 pm
Sorry to jump this topic back to "So Funny I Forgot To Laugh," but I just saw a scene that made me realize that Sue Ellen is probably the biggest hypocrite in the entire show.

If Sue Ellen was upset because Arthur teased her about her sweater, then tell me what is wrong with this picture:
(http://i.imgur.com/MicT21l.png)
Also, notice that Muffy is laughing as well.

I know that the artists and writers are not superhuman and can't remember everything, but this is a good reason why you don't mess with a character's personality for a single episode.

Wow, I'm usually pretty good with identifying episodes, but I'm drawing a blank on this one. Which episode is this from??
Title: Re: Season 16
Post by: ralfsmouse on August 23, 2013, 08:53:26 pm
Sorry to jump this topic back to "So Funny I Forgot To Laugh," but I just saw a scene that made me realize that Sue Ellen is probably the biggest hypocrite in the entire show.

If Sue Ellen was upset because Arthur teased her about her sweater, then tell me what is wrong with this picture:
*Picture*
Also, notice that Muffy is laughing as well.

I know that the artists and writers are not superhuman and can't remember everything, but this is a good reason why you don't mess with a character's personality for a single episode.

Wow, I'm usually pretty good with identifying episodes, but I'm drawing a blank on this one. Which episode is this from??
It's "Meek For A Week."
Title: Re: Season 16
Post by: Roabe on August 23, 2013, 09:36:51 pm
Quote
Sorry to jump this topic back to "So Funny I Forgot To Laugh," but I just saw a scene that made me realize that Sue Ellen is probably the biggest hypocrite in the entire show.

If Sue Ellen was upset because Arthur teased her about her sweater, then tell me what is wrong with this picture:

*pic of Sue Ellen and Muffy laughing at Arthur's Cosby sweater*
Unless Sue Ellen spent the remainder of the episode making fun of Arthur's sweater or comparing him to some animal, it doesn't really make her a hypocrite. Merely laughing at someone's clothing doesn't constitute bullying in my book. Even Sue Ellen was willing to take a joke about her own sweater at first, even laughing along.

I still don't forgive her for physically threatening Arthur in "Arthur Cleans Up", though.
Title: Re: Season 16
Post by: ralfsmouse on August 24, 2013, 12:39:04 am
Quote
Sorry to jump this topic back to "So Funny I Forgot To Laugh," but I just saw a scene that made me realize that Sue Ellen is probably the biggest hypocrite in the entire show.

If Sue Ellen was upset because Arthur teased her about her sweater, then tell me what is wrong with this picture:

*pic of Sue Ellen and Muffy laughing at Arthur's Cosby sweater*
Unless Sue Ellen spent the remainder of the episode making fun of Arthur's sweater or comparing him to some animal, it doesn't really make her a hypocrite. Merely laughing at someone's clothing doesn't constitute bullying in my book. Even Sue Ellen was willing to take a joke about her own sweater at first, even laughing along.

I know, I just thought that it was a funny addition to the other reasons why the episode made no sense. Even though it's not the same thing, it's just  humorous that Arthur was in such a similar situation at one time.
Title: Re: Season 16
Post by: Crossover Dreamer on August 27, 2013, 10:41:02 am
It's just another sign that the Arthur writers have run out of ideas.
Title: Re: Season 16
Post by: MCCJ on August 27, 2013, 04:02:11 pm
When they start making crossover episodes with other TV programs on PBS, then they have run out of ideas.
Title: Re: Season 16
Post by: Crossover Dreamer on August 27, 2013, 10:26:27 pm
I confess. You topped me.
Title: Re: Season 16
Post by: JAO93 on August 31, 2013, 06:39:44 am
Quote
It's just another sign that the Arthur writers have run out of ideas.

To be honest, Arthur has been re-treading plots for a while now - I recall the "persona swap" being a device used often ("Popular Girls", "Buster's Best Behavior", and to a degree "It's a No Brainer"). One could argue most plot points/devices were used up as early as the 3rd season, though that's out to debate. I suppose when you run a fairly straightforward (and somewhat restricted) show for almost 20 years, these things happen.

Quote
When they start making crossover episodes with other TV programs on PBS, then they have run out of ideas.

"Arthur and Barney's Fantastic Fantasy Adventure" - don't even think of funding it!  :D
Title: Re: Season 16
Post by: Snowth Woogle on August 31, 2013, 11:15:52 am
To be honest, Arthur has been re-treading plots for a while now - I recall the "persona swap" being a device used often ("Popular Girls", "Buster's Best Behavior", and to a degree "It's a No Brainer"). One could argue most plot points/devices were used up as early as the 3rd season, though that's out to debate. I suppose when you run a fairly straightforward (and somewhat restricted) show for almost 20 years, these things happen.
Hasn't there been TWO episodes now that featured a plot in which D.W. had trouble getting rid of hiccups? I know it was a subplot in "Arthur Vs. the Piano", but it seems like one of the more recent seasons used it as the A-story of an episode.
Title: Re: Season 16
Post by: Crossover Dreamer on August 31, 2013, 12:27:05 pm
Yes. You're thinking of "Hic or Treat" from season 11.
Title: Re: Season 16
Post by: MCCJ on August 31, 2013, 12:51:56 pm
Quote
It's just another sign that the Arthur writers have run out of ideas.

To be honest, Arthur has been re-treading plots for a while now - I recall the "persona swap" being a device used often ("Popular Girls", "Buster's Best Behavior", and to a degree "It's a No Brainer"). One could argue most plot points/devices were used up as early as the 3rd season, though that's out to debate. I suppose when you run a fairly straightforward (and somewhat restricted) show for almost 20 years, these things happen.

That tends to happen with children and family shows that air new episodes after 10 years. Plots being reused and so forth. Other shows like Spongebob, The Simpsons, and Sesame Street to name a few, have gone through the same exact situation and still are to this very day.


Quote
When they start making crossover episodes with other TV programs on PBS, then they have run out of ideas.

"Arthur and Barney's Fantastic Fantasy Adventure" - don't even think of funding it!  :D

Lol. :P The only crossover I could ever see Arthur doing is one with Daniel Tiger's Neighborhood. Anything else, no. Reason why is because Arthur did a crossover with Mr. Roger's Neighborhood before. We even saw Marc Brown and Michael Yarmush in the same episode, while Arthur visited the Neighborhood of Make Believe.
Title: Re: Season 16
Post by: Ladonna Compson on September 02, 2013, 09:57:19 pm
my only hope is that things will get better.
Title: Re: Season 16
Post by: Snowth Woogle on November 22, 2013, 07:34:46 pm
Finally saw, "Based on a True Story" for the first time today.

It was... interesting... Ladonna interrupting Arthur's introduction to do it herself came off as very Scrappyish, and her desperation to make new friends and get all of the gang to like her was a little irritating, with her mouth running 90-0.

One thing that I really appreciated though is that Ladonna offers Arthur and D.W. sweet tea. That's truly southern! Okay, I don't actually drink tea myself, but down here in the south, "Iced tea" isn't even in our vocabulary, because southerns drink, "Sweet tea". :P