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
Episode 8b: Bitzi's Beau
The Cold Opening: We see how close Buster and his Mom are, it's actually a charming thing you see in this series through out. But in this episode Buster's Mom , Bitzi, gets a boyfriend. BB gets a BF.
The Episode: I like how it starts with a Bionic Bunny plot where an alien pretends to be a little girl to trick the bunny. That's a twist. Then Buster's mom gets a call and she giggles like a school girl. I like how Muffy is correct in saying that Buster's Mom has a boyfriend, Muffy knows too much. Buster gets an A and that makes Buster think that Mr. Ratburn is his mom's BF. (funny)
Buster is smarter than he lets on he knew the numbers to pi in that fantasy sequence. Also, Buster knows about Vegas fake Elvis weddings. Also the children blend scare me. Buster asks his mom to not marry his teacher, and she explains that she's not dating his teacher but instead a guy named Harry Mills who works at the newspaper with her. Then since it's Buster he thinks what if the guy is an alien.
Harry shows up and he seems to be a nice funny rabbit guy. It seems those two get along and he 's happy that his Mom seems to get along with him, but does miss the idea of having time with his mom. There's a lot of sweet in this episode.
This episode offers a string that lasts a while in the series where Buster's mom and Harry date for a bit, then they eventually break up which became a plot in a future episode for Buster to deal with. This one is also an episode that focuses more on the world of the Baxters and how the mom is a divorced person and decides to look for love, but she still puts heavy consideration in for Buster's feelings. She asks him if it would be alright to have him over for dinner, she thinks Buster didn't like Harry and thinks about never seeing him again. Buster also makes a mature decision to make sure his Mom is happy too, even after trying to make sure she didn't date the teacher. I also like that the plot wasn't just Buster thinking it was the teacher and going too far and something.
That's it for now, tune in next time when we find out that everyone is alien, even us!
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