Oh Yeah! Cartoons : Chalkzone ( A Special Edition)

Nickelodeon 

  As I've been doing the looks at "Oh Yeah! Cartoons" the main rule I put was to not look do ones that became series, but here I present a special Edition.  This one is a look at the eight episodes that were under the title "ChalkZone" which eventually did become a series.  Does that mean I'll be doing this with others that became series? Probably not, but they are always under consideration. The main goal was to talk about ones that were interesting but didn't make it to series,  guessing on how they could have been as series or if they could have been.  And a fun look to through a trove of something different.   

        ChalkZone's concept wasn't a very new idea, there were few different ideas from different countries that happened to use a the idea of using a writing instrument  with some power to it.  There's media like the cartoon short series from Poland. "Zaczarowany ołówek"  about a boy who uses a magic pencil that an materialize things he draws.   There's "Penny Crayon" a British series about a girl name Penny who uses magic crayons.  Also from the UK there was "Simon in the Land of Chalk Drawings" which has a boy who has chalk that is magic.   In fact, in that series Simon even goes into a land of chalk drawings.  Some people even think that "ChalkZone" is fully based off that but it has been denied.  I will also mention the book "Harold and the Purple Crayon" which also has the concept.   With all that, there's alot of fun and charm to ChalkZone because this is a concept that works well and why many have done that. It is funny because I think around this time, many schools were moving towards dry-erase boards, and where's my dry erase world series? 

            ChalkZone  was created by Bill Burnett and Larry Huber.  Those names I've mentioned before in our "Oh Yeah! Cartoons" series of posts.  Burnett co-created "Slap T. Pooch in What is Funny?", "Jelly's Day" , "Hobart", "Tutu the Superina"[The only one I haven't covered yet as of this post being made] , "Enchanted Adventures".  He solo-created "The Feelers".  If anyone was going to get a series from Oh Yeah! it should have been him he was trying.  The very first Oh yeah!  all 3 segments have  him as a co-creator, including the one called "ChalkZone".   Huber is also all over , he created "APEX Cartoon Props & Novelties" and "The Man with No Nose", but it seems that "ChalkZone" was his main focus a little more.  

            With that, we have eight shorts so let's get started.  

Arthur: Season 2: Episode 3: D.W., The Picky Eater/Buster And The Daredevils

Arthur  PBS 

Episode 3a:  D.W. , The Picky Eater 

The Cold Opening:  It's mostly D.W being a picky eater as she goes through the food that was brought in an judging it. She also really doesn't like spinach. 

The Episode:  She continues saying what foods she doesn't like.. Then they go to a restaurant and finds out that her salad is spinach and rages.   Her mom used her full name. Her mom tells her no more restaurants for her until she learns something. Arthur is happy until his Grandma says she'll be find doing a home dinner for her birthday , if D.W can't go. (why?) Arthur is right. He decides he'll have to find a way for her to not be picky , at least enough to be able to go the restaurant he wants to go to. 

          Part of the plan is to trick her.  The episode gives  us a gross throw up transition wipe. So, they try Muffy to convince D.W to eat spinach. Muffy thinks that she's the biggest influence to D.W. (makes sense)   A fly scares Muffy, and apparently that blows the plan.  Francine decides to use taunting to do it, by using Kate , but that plan also fails.  

                Arthur says it's time to do plan X.  (He is going to get the plumber's helper and shove it in?) Arthur pretends to be on the phone with grandma and pretending that she changed her mind. That seems to work. They go to the restaurant.  D.W orders a pot pie and everyone looks at her to make sure she won't explode. It was actually spinach, but that seems to not be a problem. 

         This is probably one of the episodes for people to use to show. D.W is annoying. Realistically, there's a balance, some food and food textures aren't very good to some people if it's something people eat and enjoy, on the other hand, this one is more mild as it seems D.W doesn't like trying new food and isn't sure if she really likes something or not, which is also kind of fair.  

           I'm guessing D.W, if anything is the grandma's favorite. That's my assumption here. I do like that Arthur helped, it was for personal gain, but sometimes that's a nudge.  I hate that this episode made that very cool restaurant and made that pot pie so appealing and it will never really look like that, it's unfair.   It's an alright classic Arthur episode. 

More after the episode. 

Arthur: Season 1: Episode 21: Sue Ellen Moves in/The Perfect Brother

Arthur PBS 

Episode 21a:  Sue Ellen Moves In 

            The Cold Opening: Arthur talks about how sometimes when kids first meet they have a hard time getting along.  We get a flashback of Muffy and Prunella acting out American politics. But they are good friends now. Binky and the Brain get along too, apparently. But nothing was like when they all met Sue Ellen. 

        The Episode: Sue Ellen , as I've mentioned in the very first episode of Arthur post, was kind of there in the background this one is here to bring her in as an origin story.  Anyway, the kids see that someone is moving in a house. They wonder if there's a kid and this leaves Buster and Arthur to snoop and peak, but they apparently end up thinking that the new family is invisible because the TV turned on without them seeing anyone. (Alex's remote in Home Alone 3 would mess them up) 

         Buster's mom tells Buster she wants to interview the new family for the newspaper. That is either a clue or really slow small news town. Arthur wants to be more rational before spreading a rumor that invisible people are amongst them.  They find that the people there aren't invisible, though Buster doesn't think they can just switch.  Prunella tells them that her sister with unfortunate name of Rubella (never realized that) said that the new family had to move.  They have alot of statues and painting and Prunella thinks they are a family of art thieves.  (If an eight year can just steal the Mona Lisa, she should be allowed to keep it.) 

             Arthur doesn't think she's a robber,  he thinks Sue Ellen is some sort of super-spy. (Arthur, are you alright? Also if an Eight-Year-old can drive a Miata then she can steal and do anything she wants)  Buster thinks that's insane, but her being an alien is his theory. Then a game of telephone happens to allow bad rumors happen.  Buster calling Mr. Ratburn was funny. 

            Sue Ellen introduces herself to Arthur and Buster and they look at her like she had lobsters crawling on her face.  She's never seen snow before either which also scares Arthur and Buster. (Californians would blow their minds) Buster finds out his Mom invited them over for dinner , he thinks they are coming to neutralize him.  Buster thinks he's the last line to Earth's safety. 

            Arthur comes by to tell Buster that Sue Ellen's family lived all over the world, he got that from the paper interview. Buster decides to let Arthur come in as backup for dinner.  Then Sue Ellen does a school presentation to mention her life. Buster still thinks she's an alien but not one to take over the world. (moral) 

            I'm glad Sue Ellen didn't hear the rumors , that'd be bad. Kind of interesting blend of wondering about a new family who seem a little strange because of the stuff they have and were they have been, and how rumors can get a little too out of control.  The story ideas they had for Sue Ellen's backstory were funny. Buster was funny at how silly his idea was.  I like how Arthur , and it seems the others, were easily able to drop their rumors and found Sue Ellen interesting and friendly.  Fun early "Arthur" charm episode. 

     More after the jump 

Arthur: Season 5: Episode 8: The Last of Mary Moo Cow/Bitzi's Beau

Arthur  PBS 

Episode 8a: The Last of Mary Moo Cow 

The Cold Opening: Mary Moo Cow is the running program that D.W loves to watch a lot in the series. It also causes the tension between her and Arthur as this is a family with one TV set.  D.W loves the show so much she knows when it's on instinctually. This is also when kid shows would be on at a consistent time.  

The Episode:  Mary Moo Cow is coming to town, to the mall. D,W wants to see her. She goes to see the cow but then finds out the news  Mary's event has been canceled.  D.W comes home and she goes to watch the show on TV.  She finds out that this is the last episode of Mary Moo Cow.  Bold for a children's show to announce it's over.  Arthur joyfully tells her it's over.   Mrs. Read tells D.W that's what eventually happens to all TV shows (even this one!) they get canceled. Everything does, except for "America's Funniest Home Videos" will out live all of Earth. I'm also guessing the idea of reruns doesn't pop up here.

        "Arthur" also predicts both afternoon children's programming - on broadcast TV- being replaced and the modern idea of having a news type program at 3:30 PM.  D.W decides she still is going to use her TV time.  She decides to watch the stock market show.  (By the time she's  9 she'll be rich)  She gets an idea to make a petition to bring back Mary Moo Cow. D.W has reached the bargaining part of a dead TV show. (This show is being too realistic) 

                I like  how D.W imagines Mary Moo Cow and the kids on the show have been arrested and put in prison. That would be strange if that happened to people who worked on shows. Arthur is a little mean this episode. They are really trying to do something to him here to make the ending work out for them where people don't think the ending is mean or something.  Shieled.  Also the show saying Channel 12, and Arthur airing on Channel 12 in my area was fun , it felt personal to me. [Take that people who have PBS on Channel 54 or 35 or 25 ppppft] [Shoutout to KBDI-TV] 

            D.W is invited to the TV studio, apparently, it was a local children's show? I guess it just makes things easier.   The stock market show is also being done in  the same studio that was home of Mary Moo Cow. This trip doesn't work out well. She goes into the the room that was dressing room for Mary Moo Cow and the stock show anchor comes in. I like how the stock market anchor is actually the lady who played Mary Moo Cow.  Her doing the Mary voice for D.W was very sweet. 

          Dark Bunny gets canned so some other channel can get reruns of Mary Moo Cow. I guess that's how that works or something?  I think they really just did that ending to have Arthur be mean earlier. 

                     I like how the petition didn't work  because that is more realistic. The show had a blunt yeah shows end message.  It's hard when a show you like gets canceled and they end for different reasons. Most of the time money, but also if the ratings aren't hitting what the people who want the money are wanting, or not getting the right demo they want, or in the case here where the woman who was playing Mary was just getting tried of the role.   It's an interesting piece for a children's show to do, since alot of kids shows end and eventually go hard on reruns or pulled from the line up, but at times networks didn't tell the viewers, it just kind of happened.  Like I said, I think it works better as an episode since it doesn't have a show coming  back- minus reruns- kind of having to understand that idea of accepting the end of show. Something that kind of needs to be learned in current times a little more.  

 Also , why was 3:30pm so big here why is everything on at 3:30pm.  Also, also, would have been bold  since there were only 2 more half hours of the seaosn, if this had been one of the last few episodes of "Arthur". 

        I can remember the times Arthur aired ,at  peak in my area, on the two different PBS stations. Weekdays 7:30am  on 12,  8am on 6/8,  5pm and 5:30pm on 12  at least at the time this episode aired. 

Fun fact: the kids' segment was replaced by having the folks from the new "Zoom" series that first premiered on PBS in 1999, this episode is from 2000. 

more after the jump 

Valentine's Day: The Simpsons: I love Lisa

The Simpsons Valentines Day 

         No, not a declarative statement there.  The Simpsons does have a lot of episodes about the theme of love,  not many of them take place on or around Valentine's Day. Here we do have one and a famous on at that. It's from season 4, and it's episode 15, under the name "I love Lisa". 

            I think an episode starting with "The Monster Mash" is a funny way to start a Valentine's Day episode. The radio DJ, who played it as a mistake trying to figure out a way to make it fit Valentine's Day is top tier.  

          Various members of Springfield are in Valentine's Day moments. Homer forgets, magically remembers, Bart knows he didn't remember and eggs him on, then he runs to get a gift. Ned Flanders doing his own over of the hit Rod Stewart "If you think I'm Sexy" is fun. Finally, it gets to the 2nd grade classroom with Lisa and also the other star of this episode, Ralph Wiggum. 

              It sets up that Ralph is a little strange and that the class thinks he's that too. After the Valentines exchange, Lisa sees that Ralph didn't get one, so she decides to kindly give him one. This makes Ralph very happy and sets up the plot.  A line the show didn't know would become famous is born, "You Choo-Choo- choose me" 

            Ralph is so happy he decides to walk home with his Valentine, Lisa.  We can declare that Ralph is a sweet character and awkward talking with him and Lisa is cute. He's brave talking to her though he didn't have trouble with that, so powerful for him.  Lisa is being kind,  but she's not really interested in Ralph.  It makes a relatable episode. There's a charm to Homer's advice and its funny, Marge offering her simple advice is fitting and charming too. 

             Lisa tells Ralph she's not that interested. Ralph decides to ask his dad for advice about how to get a girl to like you.  Now he's going to try to win Lisa's affections.  There's the 29th Anniversary of the "Krusty Show" which will be playing into the episode, they mentioned it more than once. This episode also happens to be a Presidents' Day episode   Lisa will be playing Maratha Washington and Ralph will be George. (Chief Wiggum extorting the teacher for his son is kind of sweet in a twisted way.  Ralph also got Lisa two gifts: a new Malibu Stacy car toy and tickets to that anniversary show. 

             Bart is willing to do anything to go to see that show. even pretend to be Lisa and go as far as he has too. You have to admire his love of Krusty going that hard. Sadly, for Bart, Lisa goes with Ralph to the show. This episode will also make one wonder what exactly is Krusty's show?  

             We get the other most remembered scene form this episode where Krusty does a talking to the audience thing and goes to Ralph who declares his love for Lisa Simpson and this causes Lisa to explode, figuratively, and say that she does like him.  We get the famous part were Bart uses the tape to show Lisa right where Ralph's heart break. 

                The Chief Wiggum being there for his son his really sweet, even if he does some dodgy things.  I like that it shows he cares for his son and will do anything for him.   Bart gets some funny and wild scenes in this episode, they sprinkle him to just add something funny each time and works to perfection.  The play starts and there's also the fun "lesser presidents" song number.  Homer at the play is funny too, he encourages Bart -as John Wilks Booth- to finish off some other presidents and cheers at the play being almost over.  

              Ralph playing Washington is great, they should give cartoon characters Oscars and then retroactively give Ralph one, because that was art.  The ending is sweet to give a moment of Lisa giving Ralph a card saying let them be friends.  Also capping off the episode with "The Monster Mash" 

         The hard part of talking about an exceptionally good episode  and one that's pretty old is that it has been talked about a lot a lot.  This episode is good because how strong it works. There's a great amount of little moments that are funny or sweet that bring it together, but also makes a good story with Lisa and Ralph.  Lisa doesn't like Ralph- in that way- and tried to tell him but it didn't work, she really only takes advantage by going to the Krusty show, but otherwise doesn't play with his heart.  Ralph's understandable that he first thought Lisa liked-him that way- but got the wrong message. The ending is sweet because it's Lisa trying to correct from hurting Ralph but still knowing her feelings, so being friends is great. 

             This episode isn't totally in comedy, but it has some great funny moments. Bart has the funniest moments in this, Homer coming up second. I'm also glad that thing where Homer kind of forgets Valentine's Day wasn't a b-plot, and kind of interested in how there really wasn't a b-plot story. Instead more side things happen that smaller and either add to the atmosphere or add something in the main plot.  

             I did stretch  it's kind of only partially a Valentine's Day episode, but it works and yeah. I like this one, it's fun, there's a good amount of sweetness and the classic wholesomeness.  

      That's it for now, tune in next time when we choo-choose a different something.  

Arthur: Season 3: Episode 3: Arthur Goes Crosswire/ Sue Ellen and the Brainasaurous

Arthur   PBS 

Episode 3a: Arthur Goes Crosswire 

The Cold Open:  Arthur talks about change and how sometimes it can be strange. Change can be an improvement and how he seemingly enjoyed D.W acting like a cat.  Which is a strange thing to say. What happens if someone changes too much? 

The Episode: Arthur gets paired with Muffy to do an assignment on animals. (what'd the show mean by that?) That means Arthur gets to spend time on Muffy's yacht (not listening to rock) looking for whales. He was bored,  but Prunella and Jenna are impressed and want to know about Muffy's yacht and details. They think Arthur is lucky and something sparks in him because of that.  Arthur is easily swayed. 

            They end up seeing the guy who plays Bionic Bunny on TV,  his yacht had engine troubles and asks for help from Arthur and Muffy.  Meeting Wilbur Rabbit makes his head even bigger. I do like the call back to the first episode where Arthur mentions that Wilbur likes Arthur's glasses.  Arthur even makes TV where can barely talk.  He was impressed by Muffy's large TV.  Also it was on a channel that is oddly specific called Celebrities at Sea network. Which like most pay TV channels probably ended up being a channel devoted to reruns of MASH and reality shows about people other people despise.  

             You can tell that Arthur is becoming more like Muffy. I am also wondering does Arthur have satellite TV? Also, this came out when that would be impressive, somehow more than cable being impressive. (Fun fact: I had cable and still watched PBS because it was also on there, good we are both doing tangents) Muffy and Arthur are making a new club for Wilbur Rabbit's friends. Muffy and Arthur are over assuming things.  They also commit public domain infringement?  Hmm. 

             It is funny that Arthur and Muffy are like one step from being the same.  Or more like Arthur being in Muffy's orbit too much can sway him to be more like her in some sort of way that even Francine can resist.  There are times that Muffy is a force on Francine but Arthur is a lot more influenced , especially since he wants to stand out.  

            Arthur's lunch falls on the ground, but still in the bag, but what we really learned is that Muffy wastes food.  Arthur drops a book and Arthur repeats what Muffy said  earlier because the book is dirty now he won't pick it up and repeats her line of vomitrocious. ( A word that should have made into the public use and been used like how we use Simpsons words)  Brain is surprised because Arthur loves books.  Binky and Brain show up return the book, but Arthur thinks Binky wants an autograph and yeah.  

         Brain says the tile of the episode. Arthur denies Buster going to the club meeting. Brain tells everyone that Arthur has become Muffy-fied.  A new plan is made to have everyone else act like Muffy to snap Arthur out of it. Muffy's friends are roasting her and somehow Muffy only sees it as acting like Arthur.  He realizes they are acting like Muffy. Muffy and Arthur are both right.  This episode is strange. Arthur decides to act like Arthur again. 

            A funny and strange episode. There's a lot of fun in this episode. You can see how Muffy being impressive kind of makes Arthur like the fun and glow of being around her. Plus she kind of makes things go a way where she at least liked that Arthur was copying her.  Guess it's more fitting they are distant friends though.  Really fun episode. 

More after the jump

Arthur: Season 17: Episode 6: Speak Up, Francine/Waiting for Snow

Arthur  PBS 

Episode 6a: Speak Up, Francine 

            The Cold Opening: Arthur says that there are some people who love being in the spotlight, while Francine freaks out and Arthur says that's Francine.  Who apparently then faints as others cheer speech.

        The Episode: Arthur, Francine, Muffy, and Buster go near the creek and find dead fish. Francine's dad explains that some lawn stuff can get into the creek and cause fish death. Francine takes this personally.  Buster, Arthur, and Francine make a film to warn people about the problem. The acting is better than a lot of films. The parks department wants one of them make speech for the Earth Day thing. Muffy decides that she can do it. Arthur and Buster pick Francine and she accepts.  

             Francine does a school report and it goes badly it seems that Muffy might have messed up her mind thinking about thousands of people.  She decides to practice her speech and Muffy doesn't help very well.  Ladonna offers to help. I loved how Ladonna tricks Muffy into letting her go with Francine to help her. Amazing work. (clapping.)  I find this interesting, but is she helping? Who knows? 

            Ladonna makes a test audience for Francine and we get an image spot of Francine just falling apart. Francine decides to let Ladonna do it, which is also a plan, but the winds of change decide to interplay into the plot and make plot happen and have the papers blow away. Ladonna can't do the speech  and Francine decides she has to do it now. 

                 The speech has gone well, even if we didn't hear all of it. There we go. 

         I can't really chip hard into many later Arthur episodes. That's something I'll say in this post for some reason.  There's a simplicity, because PBS Kids, and later Arthur went for more simple ideas. It's actually a good environmental episode  something that is very hard to do -apparently.  Francine's problem is something that a lot of people of any age can feel, the idea of a speaking to a bunch of people and hoping you don't fail. I do like how her confidence was because  she wasn't thinking of failing but really feeling her topic.  I think the episode is fine.  Ladonna was a star in this one too, and loved how she made Muffy confused there.

More after the jump 

Arthur: Season 18: Episode 1: The Tattletale Frog/ D.W and Bud's Higher Purpose

Arthur   PBS

         We dip into season 18 which first came out in 2014. That means time is a scary thing.  I start with the very first episode pairs from this season which aired in October of that year. 

Episode 1a: The Tattletale Frog 

    The Cold Opening: Help! I think Arthur is being held hostage, he's looking right into our souls and says  "D.W. is perfect, she never does anything wrong." I'm scared whoever has Arthur please let him go, how much do you want? Then it cuts to D.W doing something wrong and her Dad asking her who ate the chocolate eclairs, D.W denies it and says Pal did, and the parents laugh because her face is covered in chocolate.  Arthur then compares D.W to George Washington.  DW never gets blamed for anything, except this one time.  I'm concerned and scared, please help Arthur. 

        The Episode:  D.W and Bud are bored and their busy father suggests they play a game.  They do, they play games. The thing to notice is that Bud keeps winning the games and D.W's face is giving me the sense that she is not happy about this. She makes up a game called throw the hat and throws Bud's hat.  I will note that it is interesting (hello readers from the season 1 premiere episode post) that Bud is seemingly the only "Arthur" male kid with hair.  Make one think. Anyway, throw the hat, Bud throws his hat next and it goes around. Then D.W ends up throwing it again and kills a mechanical frog and says to Bud "Look what you made me Do". I'd like to think that Taylor Swift was watching this episode when she thought up the title to her 2017 song of the same name. Not really, I don't really think that. 

            Bud, wanting to do the right thing, thinks they should tell her PA,  D.W imagines that her PA will just say "You're in Trouble." I  think the slightest things scare her. Instead, she decides to hide it so he won't think it was broken.  That's not the best plan, now is it? Is it? No!? Anyway, Bud wants his hat back, but guess where his hat is?  (You don't have to guess)  Well it's way up there and they aren't way up there. Uh-oh.  Bud wants D.W to ask her PA if he can reach it down. [Yeah, I'm using Bud's terms , because I can] D.W takes a bold approach to make  sure her father won't be mad about the frog, by destroying the other stuff in the room too! 

                Bud plays a role of both saying the right things, but also still kind of helping in the mess. This whole episode is pretty much a comedy errors and a sense of mess getting worse as again she tried to hide a frog she broke, and ended up causing damage to more stuff, drops a fan out the window, and breaks a priceless vase. Your afternoons have nothing on this.  Mr. Read finds a fan, shoe and then follows the trail of destruction.  He doesn't know about the room yet and gets a beep because he has go do that thing he does.  D.W thinks she's safe, but the umpire says nope, because Mom shows up. Thanks to D.W's idea of telling her mom there's no reason for he to go upstairs, she sees the room. 

            Her mom either knows that D.W did this but decides to mess with her when she finds Bud's hat on the shelf or she really thinks Bud did this.  Nadine, D.W's imaginary friend, plays the conscious part of D.W's mind making her feel guilty for her not speaking up for Bud in being accused.  When  Bud's mom is calling- probably about the hat- D.W finally breaks down and decides to tell her Mom.  

            D.W is still grounded, they don't use the word, but ... yeah. Bud seems to understand that she almost framed him.  

             This episode is kind of funny in how it just escalates D.W's problem by how much of a mess she gets into.  It's even funnier because her father wasn't too bothered about the old frog thing she broke in the first place, so she probably would have been told to be more careful and not throw things in the house, but everything else is messier because she decided to hide stuff. Bud is fun in this episode, he was right.   It's not a bad episode, very simple, but not bad.  

More after the jump

Arthur: Season 1: Episode 1: Arthur's Eyes/ Francine's Bad Hair Day

Arthur PBS 

Episode 1a: Arthur's Eyes 

            Before I start the episode, yes, this is the very first episode, of Arthur and no, I've not done it before, which is probably in style of this blog.  I also try to not dip into season 1 a lot, because it does have the most episodes but I don't want to drain them out quickly for reasons.  The very first episode of Arthur aired on PBS stations on October 7, 1996. The very first episode here is actually one based off one of the books that the series based on.  Not every episode of "Arthur" is based off a book, because "Arthur" doesn't have 200 books.   I will tell you that they did make chapter books that are based off episodes, so this is confusing. 

            "Arthur's Eyes" was the 2nd "Arthur" book from the year 1979.  The very early days of  Arthur and his friends and family and possible enemies.   

The original book cover 

        The very first book was "Arthur's Nose" which never was an episode and also not about Arthur getting his nose hit by a football. (Arthur Arthur Arthur)  It's about Arthur not liking his nose and wants to change it. The original book is where looks more aardvark than he eventually would be well known as looking like.  In fact, that cover above there already shows some design changes were made from book 1 to book 2.   I can also see why "Arthur's Nose" wasn't made into an episode or especially the first episode. Ironically, this means Arthur did have nose work done.   

They eventually changed the cover to match the TV Arthur 

         The third book wasn't called "Arthur Ears" I think we were robbed of just going to different body parts.  Anyway, the first episode is here to also explain why Arthur wears glasses, to give the origin story of his power.  In modern context (depending on when you are reading this), glasses episodes don't seem to happen as much in children's media. Either because people have accepted them more because being able to see is good, maybe media thinks that having kids be shown that making fun of people wearing glasses actually causes people to um think that glasses might be a thing to make fun of someone for?  Or that more kids have to wear glasses now because I blame *looks around* not enough playing in dirt.  People blame phones, I can blame not playing in dirt. 

                Also from a context, it was rarer to have a main character wearing glasses. Arthur, himself, isn't even a nerd/geeky stereotype, he's pretty much an average kid, but he doesn't not take his academics seriously to a point, but the super smart character in the show doesn't even wear glasses, so therefore. Arthur was doing something amazing. That and Chuckie from the Rugrats?  

             The cold open: Sorry, rambled alot there.  D.W , who should be in bed,  has decided to snoop around the house, wake up Arthur and tells him to come with her to find out their long lost brother.  She apparently has never seen Arthur without his glasses on and apparently couldn't tell the little boy in the pictures is him, just younger.  This also means the episode will be a flashback. 

        The Episode:   It takes place  2 years earlier, not that it matters because their clothes aren't different and since this is episode 1 , a new viewer wouldn't know what's different, except they will see a younger D.W.  Also, Sue Ellen is in this episode- even though she would later be introduced as a new kid. Arthur fails a math test because he couldn't see the board very well, Arthur fails in basketball because he can't see very well, and he fails at an eye test because he can't see very well. Wait a minute. 

            Arthur has to go the eye doctor. I like how the doctor's name is Dr. Iris. Arthur finds out he needs glasses to see. I'm glad at how quick this goes. Arthur has to pick frames like we don't know which ones he's going to pick. Eventually, Arthur gets the glasses. That's when it gets to the plot where Francine decides to say that Arthur looks weird (which is bold for this show and characters looks)and calls him 4-eyes. (She's lucky there's no 4 eyed animal people.) Buster is a true friend and says layoff because some people need glasses to see, only to ruin that later. I do like the bully Binky is like the only one not bullying him because he can't tell he got glasses. 

                Arthur decides to try and lose the glasses but, the forces of plot don't let him. He decides to not wear them at school, instead. Then he goes "There's a Boy in the Girls' Bathroom" by accident.  Thankfully, Arthur gets confidence. How?  By watching TV.  He's watching a special on TV about how "Bionic Bunny" show is made. The actor, Wilbur Rabbit, who plays the bunny hero wears glasses. That gives him confidence and he doesn't even care what Francine says.  So now Arthur is happy and the world is better now.  Even Francine makes fake glasses to fit in.  Then it goes back to the present and now D.W has to learn about the concept of shaving.  Also, seeing Arthur's Dad with a beard , sure, but he also has hair, so they keep Arthur bald? 

        I do hope the fact we don't get glasses episodes anymore is a good thing like with progress has been made that kids aren't mean to kids because they ...need to see things... that or some third reason. As an episode for an episode start, you do get a lot of the early characterization. It probably helps that were books already to lead from.  You get a sense that Arthur is an average kid, Francie is gruff, Buster is friendly, but a jokester and he did feel bad after making fun Arthur, and Binky is a little lost.  You get the young innocence of D.W. (D.W haters are going to show up) 

Rugrats: FOOTBALL (Touchdown Tommy)

Rugrats Nickelodeon 

         This post is made to be published right before the SuperBowl... hold on  The SuperBowl ™️ which gives us a great time to look at "Rugrats" episode "Touchdown Tommy" from season 1, episode 11a.  

            Touchdown Tommy  has to be one of the most fun episode of Rugrats to exist. It shows the show's strength to an advantage and just has chaos going to 100. It starts with the simpleness of a season 1 episode, Tommy is playing with a balloon it goes under the coffee table and he bonks his head and reacts with a cry. Stu is right in noticing that Tommy was going after the balloon but Didi calls it a concussion and her reaction is 1000.  She tells Stu she's not sure she can leave the dads alone that afternoon for the totally not the SuperBowl because that's copyright game, because Stu was reading a newspaper and not noticing that Tommy was possibly going to bonk his head. (If Didi really cared, she would have removed the under from the table) She is reconsidering going on a shopping trip with Betty (women do be shopping?...on a Sunday?)  Also why is she pretending she has an eagle view on the kids? 

            Stu figures out a way to make he and the other guys won't have to watch the Excellent Pot [hang with here] in shifts. He thinks of an idea-helmets. Why does Angelica scream at her cat?   Why does the cat run and not tear her face off?  Stu shows his wife his strange helmet on Tommy that it works. (Why didn't they get the balloon)  I think it's funny that this episode sets up the idea that the guys won't be really watching the kids because of the game, but the trick is that it won't be anyone bonking their heads, also helmets are the big set up to this.  

                Why are Stu and Grandpa Lou wearing Houston Oilers shirts? I just wanted to ask that question because I found it funny they picked an Oilers like logo for the shirts.  Chaz comes with Chuckie, and also brought a very large TV for the Splendid Dish. This is back when  large TVs were cool, expensive [so this man was risking alot] and heavy. (In my day we walked 15 miles to watch at 15 inch TV , for 15 minutes  a day) Angelica is with Drew, she needs to be her for this episode to work the way it does. Of note, Charlotte isn't in this episode, she's not even mentioned. A detail that she's not hanging out with the guys or the women. Angelica is with Drew, that woman is working there is no Sunday break for her. 

             Chaz says he'd rather watch the chess playoffs, he's wearing a chess shirt, and doesn't mean he could just watch the kids? (hmmm big think) This is also Chaz's first episode where he says more words than Chuckie.  I will note that Drew and Howard are wearing Dallas Cowboy style star jerseys.  Showing both Texas teams, which were a rivalry.  The Oilers never played the Cowboys in a Superbowl, neither have their current name the Titans or the Houston successor team The Texans. Would have been funny if their had been one in 1992, a few months after this episode aired. (The Cowboys and Oilers didn't make it to the 1992 SuperBowl : Super Bowl XXVI )  Drew and Stu wearing contrasting team jerseys shows their rivalry.  It also shows Lou and Stu seem to be closer, besides the fact Lou lives with Stu instead of Drew. Howard sometimes contrasts with Stu, but not as hard, and there's not much Drew and Howard connections. . Chaz is more neutral and has a 'geeky'  chess shirt on, fitting his character.  

            The guys are ready to watch the Ultra Bowl[ this time their word for it, not my joke] and this one was called UltraBowl XXXVII , way ahead of the Superbowl at the time.  All the kids have helmets and Stu really didn't much effoft in this. Tommy's is a bowl with plush turtle and some toilet paper on rolls?,   Chukie's is just a bucket with some green sponges, and toilet paper on a roll. Phil and Lil have stuffed bears on top of their bowls with a roll of toilet paper each. Angelica's he just gave up 100% and just stuck a diaper on her head with some string and a roll of toilet paper.  Angelica, seems like the one most likely to even bonk her head in ways Tommy would, but that's just a diaper, it's not going to help anything. Stu lost it and is mad. 

            Grandpa Lou gets up to get more pork rinds and Stu asks if he can give the kids their bottles. He gives one to Angelica who remarks that bottles are for babies and that she is, in fact, not one. (To be fair the diaper on her head doesn't help) Between this and Lou forgetting he had a grand daughter in a previous episode, I don't think he cares much.  He goes away, but also for some reason decides to give Tommy chocolate milk, while no one else gets any. This man chose violence and chose to create what happens the rest of the episode, he must be stopped! 

          Angelica is very jealous and she wants the milk. Then the episode does what makes this silly episode ever better.  The football commentary on the game ends up working as the commentary on how the babies try to keep Angelica away from the bottle.  (There is more milk in that bottle than their should be) This is really a great scene, no dialogue  from the babies and Angelica and just mimicked football with a bottle with brown liquid.  There's even a replay like football game broadcasts do, it's amazing.  

            But of course, it's over and Angelica realizes the bottle is empty and starts to whine. She also gets blamed because Didi comes home and sees the mess made.

          To rank a Rugrats episode, this one is one of the top ones. Season 1 Rugrats has very high tier memorable episodes. This one is a pure treat. It's a fun episode. It actually interesting it really holds back it's most memorable part for the last fourth. Everything else is build up, but interesting in its own right.  Didi's first time mom overreaction at the start is funny, even more since its not like  she also has a firm grasp on watching the kids, herself.  Stu's finding the funniest solution that later does nothing to help what really happens, but gives us helmets for football style keep away is great.  

         Another fun thing about a majority of the episode is how contained it is. It mostly stays in the living room area. There are some small parts that happen in the basement -Stu's Workshop- but the majority of this episode is living room based , but shows Rugrats power to make one spot just the most interesting place. Since this is early early Rugrats, they aren't even showing the Rugrats pretending to be anyone, it's straight forward but you still get a nice match up.   

           I love the little details in this episode.  They didn't have to really go as close as they could do with almost NFL team logos they did. I mentioned the helmets , and  mentioned that Stu really was just kind of putting random stuff together, but I do love the effort in these different ideas for all of them.  The twins have the same design matching how they look and their clothing as well, Chuckie's not even being a bowl is funny. He probably has the 2nd worse safety one after Angelica. Angelica's is funniest like there was an outright contempt towards her and that felt like a deliberate choice to make her look like that. It also fits her pigtails to stick through.  There was a lot effort done in Stu's quick thinking here. 

             Also, you can't tell me this episode wasn't propaganda for chocolate milk, you know you want some.  Top tier Rugrats episode. That's all. 

           That's it for now , tune in next time, when we see what happens when strawberry milk is involved. 

             

Rugrats: I also Remember Melville

Rugrats 

     

          This is a Rugrats episode where a bug dies and it's still very sad.  With also a context of it being an episode about Chuckie where the very next season the audience learns about another death that also happens to be connected to Chuckie.  "I Remember Melville" is a season 3 episode, it's season 3; episode 25a.  

       Chuckie is playing with a bug he has seemingly made into a pet.  The bug is of course named Melville. The bug isn't given a species but it does seem to be a pillbug that bug that is nicknamed "Rolly-Polly" because of that thing they can do where they roll up.  Looking it up, they apparently live 2-5 years or at least can live that long... I'm just going to say that Chuckie found a 3-year-old not insect, [I had to look this up], yeah that's what I want to say. (We aren't going with some sort of accusation  are we?) 

        I also do find it pretty interesting that Chuckie is actually just playing with a bug and has no fear of it, that's different.  This is his pet since his family really can't have other kinds of pets for a various amount of reasons. It's really sweet and cute to see Chuckie care and tend for his bug pet friend. The episode really works to give the viewers a happy montage of Chuckie and Melville, it's just being mean now. I know what's coming; I've seen you before episode, I can't be taken down this way again.  We also find out that Chuckie has eaten soap before.   

           Chuckie brings Melville, who is still alive, with him and asks Tommy, Lil, and Phil if they can watch the bug while he goes and finds some leaves. (He leaves for leaves)  Anyway, first off Phil and Lil were like Chuckie was gone for 1 second and they say let's eat him. Which concerns me, but Tommy is like woah hey! hey! no! no! Bad Phil and Lil, bad!   Then, Tommy thinks to teach Melville some tricks to surprise Chuckie and well Chuckie will be surprised, alright.  We, the viewer, see the bug laying on its back.  It's getting sun tanned right? It's resting, it's a back sleeper?  Uh oh. 

He went quickly too/ Copyright Paramount 

        Also, also, also Lil and Phil know dead is, that's an interesting detail there.  This episode is not a coward.  It says dead. I have to give it a point for at least saying it out loud.  Lil and Phil explaining with the knowledge they know of what dead is but in the smallest sense of the idea that is sleep forever. It's  well characterized balance where  it fits two spots at once.  Probably for the best Angelica isn't in this episode, though they wouldn't have written her being mean in this episode anyway. 

       Tommy understands that Chuckie will be really upset when he returns and decides that the best to help Chuckie is to get him a new bug. They find him a snail. This is a bold strategy, will it pay off?  (I'm sure Chuckie will be like hey, Melville you grew, lost your  legs , gained a shell in the time I was gone, how long was a I gone?) 

             Chuckie returns and Phil goes the direct approach of saying  bug dead. Chuckie know what dead means and freaks out.  It's a heartbreaking scene.  (especially for the snail) He denies that Melville is dead and is adamant about it even with Tommy trying to say otherwise.  Chuckie goes off and later we see him playing with the dead bug as it just kind of well falls and stuff.  It's a good way of showing that Chuckie has maybe processed it but doesn't want to accept it. Hoping for a different result. I also like how it's not played off as funny or a joke brought in to lighten up the moment.  Tommy also attempting his best to try to get Chuckie to snap out of it is also really good. 

dang it/ copyright Paramount 

        

          Tommy doesn't go that far and just kind of backs off and lets Chuckie continue.  Then Chuckie finally does break down.  The next day,  Tommy, Phil, and Lil  decide to make sure not to do anything to remind Chuckie of Melville so he won't be bad.  This um, doesn't work.  Chuckie has seemed to accept things and isn't in a sad mood, until chocolate pudding makes him sad because that's what Melville and him ate before the death. (I'm not saying it)  

Peanuts: The Charlie Brown and Snoopy Show

Peanuts 

            I've held off writing about The Charlie Brown and Snoopy Show for many reasons.  I guess with this year (2025) being the 75th anniversary of Peanuts and wanting to write about more Peanuts stuff, might as well get into this one.  This actually makes it seems more like an against my will thing, and not really , but there's a lot to explain.

           The Charlie Brown and the Snoopy Show wasn't the first comic strip-based cartoon series or TV series, but it wasn't the least either. Though maybe a more successful approach was "Garfield and Friends" this series premiered on CBS (The Charlie Brown Station)  the network that gave Peanuts the first ever TV special appearance and was the current home of specials. It very much is fitting that they would be network to commission to have a Saturday morning hours Peanuts cartoon. 

             The was written by Peanuts creator Charles Schulz and had Bill Melendez, the man who worked on the specials, working on it, along with Phil Roman who had also become part of the Peanuts animation team. He would later work on the Garfield specials and series. It had everything that be expected with working on Peanuts as a thing.  

         The series premiered on September 17,1983. It came on CBS after a "Dukes of Hazzard Cartoon" because 1980's and before  Benji, Zax & the Alien Prince, a thing Hanna-Barbera was doing that might be a post of its own because it sounds strange enough to exist.  It was on in a "prime" Saturday morning slot meaning later in the morning, but also on against "The Littles" or oh wait it premiered the same day and time as "Alvin and the Chipmunks" on NBC. Ok then. At least, CBS didn't put it on against "The Smurfs" that'd be stupid.  

                What's the show about?  Is a funny question.  Because I mean it's a show with Peanuts characters you've seen the strips and specials it's this.  It's more like the strips in how the show is formatted versus most of the specials. There is one special that I can tie really into sparking the idea of this series and that's special number 23: "A Charlie Brown Celebration" .  ACBC instead of having a full hour long (45 TV minutes long) story it was different segments presented with their own stories.  The Charlie Brown and Snoopy Show  uses that format.   

THE NBA team shows up? 

              For example, the first episode is called "Snoopy's Cat Fight" but the whole thing isn't just Snoopy getting into a --- (whisper whisper) oh right yeah, getting into a fight with a cat.  It's six stories put into the 24 minutes the episode has.  They have their own titles like Schulz and the team grabbed random words and were finding ways to use that word for a story.   "Woodstock",  "Baseball". "Sally" "Peppermint Patty", "Piano", and "Blanket".   Not every episode had six stories, some had more, some had less: it depended. So it did have an allowed flexibility.  It fits with the comic strip in how some strips were a simple one day piece and others were a few days or a little longer for a big story. This allowed them to pack alot of segments in the traditional, at the time, 13 episode run of the first season. 

 

             That also means it kind of plays things in a safer way, not really trying to do an ambitious story for 11 minutes, 7 minutes, or 22 minutes.  Peanuts wasn't that disconnected from having stories done in vignette fashion that was more the standard way things were done.  A Charlie Brown Christmas even does that, but does connective into one theme story of Charlie Brown trying to get through Christmas and his feelings.  Most of the specials before "A Charlie Brown Celebration" does eventually have a story even if other things happen to happen in them as well.  

               This series presents viewers with Peanuts snippets almost like taking the comic strip and using and animating it. In fact, a lot of the stories in this series are the comic strip. A factor for this is, now we have easy ways to back track and look at older Peanuts strips from the start to finish.  Back then the only way to see older strips would be to buy one of the compilation books or have the foresight to snip out daily strips from newspapers for years.  There probably was a few other ideas, but either way it wasn't as easy as it today.  The Charlie Brown and Snoopy Show isn't the only Peanuts media to take from the strips and make a story or use stories from the strips.  The aforementioned A Charlie Brown Celebration presents stories from the strips, and other specials took lines and stuff from the strips even "A Charlie Brown Christmas" has some dialogue taken from strips.  

                The title of the show fits with most of the specials having the name of either "A Charlie Brown_" , "Charlie Brown's__" , "It's a _____, Charlie Brown" or some variation of that.  If you notice one thing about anything Peanuts made before Schulz's death and some things after, the name Peanuts doesn't show up on specials at all.  It's not A Peanuts Christmas or  Peanuts Easter Beagle.  Schulz never liked the name "Peanuts".  He wanted to the name Li'l Folks at first, since that was the name of the work that became Peanuts, the syndicator didn't want that name because, rightly, did sound like a few other things.  He couldn't think of a new name and they chose Peanuts.  Even saying in a 1987 interview:

     

"It's totally ridiculous, has no meaning, is simply confusing — and has no dignity. I think my humor has dignity."

 source 

              So it also would seem anything that wasn't directly the comics or marketing used Charlie Brown as the title in some form. Charlie Brown and Snoopy being the most well known names makes sense to call the show that too, versus "The Peanuts Show". [ The UK name for the Peanuts Movie is the better name , though Charlie Brown's name should have been first]   

                Back to the show itself, it's the only animated series done by Bill Melendez. I do wish we had more Melendez animated works, personally, I like his style and would have loved to see more characters beyond Peanuts done in his style. [ I know he worked on non Peanuts specials too]. 

         Also like Peanuts specials, the voices for the characters were done by actual human children.  Brad Kesten was the voice of Charlie Brown in season 1, his first Charlie Brown role was in "Is This Goodbye, Charlie Brown" (1983), but would be replaced by Brett Johnson in season 2, because voices.  Sally's voice actress was swapped from season 1 and 2 as well. Peppermint Patty was voiced by girls in this series, as opposed to boys who normally did her voice. Victoria Vargas also co-voiced P.P in "What Have We Learned, Charlie Brown" (1983).  This was to make sure it had that Peanuts feel to be consistent.   

             In terms of characters, which on one hand does feel silly to write, but stick with me.  There is an interesting mixture of characters in the show.  Characters, that by this point, had been "dead" in the comics do show up here. Shermy, who had really didn't show up any more strips after 1969 is here.  Frieda, who was waning in usage by this point because Schulz really couldn't figure out what to do with her.  Patty (the non Peppermint one) who was cut back on, but seemingly lasted as a background for a long time.  Funny enough, Violet, doesn't show up.  There's a the more, at the time, recent characters of Truffles who didn't appear in the strip since a storyline in 1977, and Eudora was introduced in 1978 and would be gone by 1988.  Rerun is featured here, this is before his big revival in the 90's and after he was kind of pushed back, because Schulz didn't know what do with him but couldn't kill him off fully.  Otherwise, the characters are the key players that last through the strips.

         I wish I could say more about the show in a direct way like about plots and stories, but this doesn't have that as much it's a mixture of shorts stuck together.   They even did the this earlier the same year this series came out with the special "It's an Adventure, Charlie Brown". This is a series for if you like Peanuts it will please you. It's not big or doing big interesting stories.  Of course, another factor is that new specials were still being made. 

         The enjoyable thing is seeing Peanuts characters doing stuff. It's also nicely animated  and near special quality in terms of animation.  The music is also befitting a Peanuts piece of media. It also calmer than other Saturday Morning affairs.  The theme song also simple a piano piece composed by Desiree Goyette and Ed Bogas. That was for the first season, they or the network or someone must have thought it wasn't energetic enough and they went for more an upbeat version of the theme with lyrics. The music piece of "Let's have a Party" was used  on the soundtrack of "Flash Beagle" and then an edited version was used for the 2nd season of this show.  

          The series aired on CBS in that prime slot for a bit, but it seems it didn't catch what CBS thought it would do. They moved to the quieter and earlier slot of after  Captain Kangaroo and on against reruns of The Flintstones and whatever ABC was doing.  It seems Alvin and the Chipmunks had more juice in it (it did run longer) and maybe because NBC had the Smurfs the audience just stuck around for Alvin.  It probably would have made more sense to run it after "Dungeons and Dragons" and not after a cartoon based on "The Dukes of Hazzard". 

             Then again, this is Peanuts, so shouldn't have done better just by the fact it's Peanuts. You would think that Peanuts would have done really well in the space. The specials were still, at this time, doing well in ratings enough where again CBS had 3 run in the same year as the premiere of this show. Does the format hurt the show? That's hard question to answer.  Alot of cartoons around this time were either full 22 minute stories or were shorts combined together, and rare but existing 11 minute 2 halves affair that were starting to gain more and more later on.  This show really fits in with the contemporary feel of cartoons at the time.

             You also might look at the year it came out and wonder wow, 1983, that's 33 years after Peanuts first came out, the first special was out in 1965- 15 years into the strip's history.  If anything, Schulz was protective over his property as much as he could be. Any interest anyone would have in making a Peanuts TV show would have to follow what he wanted and he wanted people, including himself, he could trust to bring it. The other thing is he felt the strips should be the direct source instead of an original set of stories, though Schulz did insert some extra stuff too. But did it come out too late to have the same impact versus being the 1970's, for example?   

          I, myself, don't know. There's nothing really wrong with the series, it does what you'd expect. Maybe played it too safe by just using the comic strips as a main basis and not doing television-exclusive stories, but even some specials were using the strips.  It might be because it was on CBS Saturday Morning which seemed to be losing to NBC, but at least beating ABC?  The show wasn't on the line up in the 1984-85 season, but returned for a second season in 1985 and was put in the slot that's pretty much not even Saturday Morning in the Eastern time zone, and a slot where sports might take it out in the west coast. That season was really 5 more episodes. They also seemed to trim down the shorts to just 3 shorts per episode. Then the show was over. 

            The Charlie Brown and Snoopy Show  wasn't the only Peanuts series made whilst Schulz was alive.  The mini-series "This is America, Charlie Brown" came out in 1988 running various specials on American history.  Peanuts, of course, didn't stop being successful because of end of this series, the strips continued, and there would be at least a few more years of CBS getting specials for Peanuts. 

           This show did end up in reruns later on. It ran on Nickelodeon under the bad title of "You're on Nickelodeon, Charlie Brown" this was the era of Nickelodeon that when they got reruns to  "Pinky and the Brain" they stuck their logo in the intro because that sounds sane.  It also ran on other channels for a while as well.  

          It did take some time for another Peanuts TV series affair came out until the also  named "Peanuts" series from a French animation studio and network. They made a series that you know Charles Schulz isn't alive because of that title, that went was also a series of shorts done very much in comic strip style, taking comic strips and put them in motion. It wasn't bad, but wasn't strong or good either. The idea was somewhat more limited in scope and felt like something you'd air between shows on a kid's channel, like one short then back to "Ben 10".  

             When Peanuts made a deal with Apple for the Apple TV Plus streaming service they ended up making a new series called "Snoopy In Space" which was an educational series that would be for STEM focus something something that came out in 2019.  Then in 2021, They created "The Snoopy Show" which is also a bad title. That series decides to go with a problem many current (written in 2025) Peanuts media does go really hard with Snoopy and seemingly skewing younger in target. It's not a bad series, but does feel a little too off to be Peanuts.  They also made a series called "Camp Snoopy".  

            It is interesting to kind of see that Peanuts didn't have a long run as a series. In terms of comic-strips becoming animated shows it does depend.  I think Garfield and Friends probably is the strongest one, with maybe Dennis the Menace the 1980's series, and the funny thing about that one is Dennis had a live-action series first that ran longer than the animated version. "For Better for For Worse" tried a series, that didn't last long, same with even "Big Nate". (Different factor for that latter) One would think that Peanuts would have had a better success. Maybe the specials model fit it best, telling stories at different times , instead of a weekly series. 

        I do think this series is good because again it does bring the fun of Peanuts to the screen and allowed for shorter stories to be brought out. It pretty much is an animated version of the comic strip, but nothing about it seems half done or bad, everyone put as much work into how this looked and sounded as they did with the specials.   

            That's it for now, tune in next time when we have a party with Charlie Brown and Snoopy, then Snoopy gets a hangover.