Martha Speaks / YMMV

Adaptation Displacement: The book the show is based on used to be popular, even being featured on Reading Rainbow, but has faded into obscurity in later years. Nowadays, more people will think of the Martha Speaks cartoon rather than the book.
Alternative Character Interpretation:
- In "T.D. the Pack Rat", Janice Kenelly asked T.D. to stop collecting junk. But given the type of person T.D. is, he decides to do the opposite. When hiding a rock he collected, Janice asks him to help place a painting. And sure enough, the rock was unhidden from her. What's strange is that Janice is a tall adult so she should have no problem framing the painting herself. So did Janice really need T.D.'s help with painting or was it a Secret Test of Character to see if T.D. really obeyed her wishes?
- Dynamo from "Martha vs. Robot" — is he sentient? On the one hand, Helen does a whole spiel about how he isn't real and is just a machine but this is in no way framed as prejudice, and his "love" for the Boxwoods is said to be a programmed response. On the other hand, when Ronald suggests throwing him away, Martha, Mr. Boxwood, Helen, Alice, and even Nelson act as horrified as they would had he considered throwing away Nelson or Polly, suggesting that Dynamo is just as sentient as them.
- Does Ronald actually hate dogs as he claims? Or is he just lying to get a rise out of Alice and her friends, and/or score points with his own friends? Or does he specifically hate Martha (perhaps due to her disliking Nelson) and claims to hate all dogs just to offend her?
Alternative Joke Interpretation: In "Martha's Thanksgiving", Martha (a dog) says that her brother is a Neat Freak and she thinks he's been "spending too much time with cats". Is this a joke about dogs hating cats, or is it about how cats clean themselves a lot?
Aluminum Christmas Trees: In the episode, "Ronald Is In", Ronald uses a psychology book to screw with Helen and friends and diagnose them with various fake ailments. While "worryitis" & "arrange-o-mania" are fake, "decidophobia" is a legitimate condition that people suffer from (though Alice didn't have it, obviously).
Awesome Music: The theme song is catchy and well-performed, especially when Martha fast-talks towards the end.
Esoteric Happy Ending: The ending of "Dog Daze" has Carolina turned into a dog. The episode plays out without her turning back to a human. The next episode has her back. The episode actually ends with Truman pointing this out, so the episode resumes by having all that to have been a dream.
Friendly Fandoms:
- With WordGirl, as they both teach about words in an entertaining way.
- With Arthur. They even have the same production station (WGBH). PBS Kids even made an unofficial crossover with a series of promos called "Marthur".
- With the Peabody Award-winning series, Molly of Denali, because the show also follows a curriculum of literature with a combination of comedy antics, as well as the fact that some of the voice actors from Martha Speaks are also well-known for Molly of Denali. It's also the third animated show produced by WGBH.
- With Elinor Wonders Why, with the show having a similar serene environment/stories/music and similar feels.
Just Here for Godzilla: The fact that this show shares some of its cast and crew members with My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic has drawn the interest of some people.
Hilarious in Hindsight:
- From "Dogs in Space":
  Helen: Dad, we found your favorite comic.
  Dad: Pinkie the Pony?
- In "Martha Out West", TD wants to put aliens in his home-made Western movie.
  Truman: Have you ever heard of an alien settler in a Western?
Memetic Mutation: Martha was an average dog.^Explanation
Nightmare Fuel: The premise of "Patrol Dog Martha" is that Martha is subbing for the local police dog, and eventually stops a man from smuggling rutabagas into Wagstaff City, that turn out to have been bug-infested. The four things that make this scary are that the crime is more realistic than the cartoony crimes seen in other episodes like "Perfectly Martha", it's stated that if the bugs were allowed to run rampant, they might have wrecked Wagstaff City's ecosystem (and we see a Nightmare Sequence of them destroying several businesses and fields), Martha was frequently reassured that there was no smuggling in Wagstaff City only for it to happen exactly how she was imagining it anyway, and the only reason the episode had a happy ending was because Martha just happened to be around to smell the smuggler's truck.
Paranoia Fuel: In "Patrol Dog Martha", Martha is frequently assured that there are no smugglers in Wagstaff City... only for one to show up anyway.
Periphery Demographic: A sizable portion of teens and adults enjoy it for how surprisingly clever the writing is.
Squick:
- Martha eating and rolling around in garbage. Also, in one episode she claimed to be rolling around in dead snakes.
- Nelson throwing up in "Martha Takes the Cake".
- Martha asking if she can pee on the statues, and both dogs peeing on the rug as puppies.
- When it's implied that Teddy once ate Jake's diaper and when Butterscotch throws up in the Flash Back. Both happen in "The Trouble With Teddy". Also implied that T.D. ate bugs as a toddler.
- Viewers and characters alike can agree that this conversation from "Truman and the Deep Blue Sea" qualifies.
  Martha: "Guys, you'll never believe what I found. Free hot dog buns. There were tons of them in that can over there."
  Helen: "Martha, that can is a garbage can!"
  Truman: "Okay, that's enough info!"
  Martha: "Oh, that's why there were little bits of hot dog in there as well."
  Truman: "I feel queasy".
  Martha: "And something a little eggy."
  Truman: "Make her stop!"
- Ronald eating too many cookies in "The Thousand Fleas". Making "ooh" noises, telling Alice not to say the word "cookies", all that jazz.
- The fact that Martha and a little boy hated the burgers at Big Burgertorium, despite the word "yum" being in its jingle, also gives it a surreal, eerie vibe.
The Woobie:
- Martha is usually happy, but when she has to suffer, you can't help but feel sorry for her. Such episodes include "Martha Changes Her Luck", when she thinks she's cursed with bad luck that's rubbing onto others.
- Helen, though not usually a Woobie, is put through a lot in a few episodes, notably "Martha's Got Talent" (her stage fright), "Helen's All Thumbs" (calling herself the worst owner, not being able to go to the museum) and "Martha in Charge" (she was the unfortunate undergoer of a Sick Episode).
- Martha and Skits are also Woobies during "Helen's All Thumbs" due to Helen forgetting to feed them, and this conversation between Martha and Skits.
  Skits: *whines*
  Martha: "Come on, Skits, that's silly! Helen does not love that game more than us!"
  Skits: *whines again*
  Martha: "She has not forgotten about us. You'll see. She's bringing us a picture of a bone from the museum!"
- Martha and Danny when they're trying to give up digging and snacking respectively in "Martha's Dirty Habit". Danny is seen reaching for food but then sighing and putting it back, and Martha is seen staring out the window moping.
Toy Ship: Some fans ship Helen and T.D. together, despite not the two having any romantic interest in each other (as a matter of fact, neither have any romantic interest towards anyone).
Viewer Species Confusion:
- Martha is sometimes mistaken as a Labrador or a Golden Retriever. While she could well be part Labrador or Golden Retriever, she's a mutt, and doesn't even know which breeds she has in her besides pit bull.
- Skits is sometimes mistaken as a Great Dane. His breed is unstated, but he is probably a mutt too, since he was a stray before being adopted. He is certainly not a Great Dane, since Great Danes aren't as woolly as him.

YMMV / Martha Speaks

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