When I was a elementary school kid, Arthur was my favourite cartoon, after the demise of Rugrats. I used to watch it religiously - in the morning before I went to school, and noontime immediately after. Unfortunately, the show stopped being fantastic when the Flash animation kicked in, around season 12 or so. It's not just merely the animation quality that has taken a dip - the writing's become worse, too. I think it's because all the available plots have been exhausted - much like The Simpsons, they've done pretty much every plot under the Sun. And since the characters have to be nice to each other 98.9% of the time (it's a PBS show, after all), there's less potential for conflict.
It's a shame too, 'cause when this show was good, it was GOOD. Funny without being vulgar, dramatic without being a melodrama, great moral messages for children without being preachy (well, most of the time). The references to things like South Park (yes, seriously), and continuity between certain episodes and elements (like D.W.'s infamous snowball) kept teen and adult viewers, as well. Now the show has become a shell of itself. If I were more of a drama queen, I'd call it tragic. Overall score: 7.5/10.
Used to be great.
When I was a elementary school kid, Arthur was my favourite cartoon, after the demise of Rugrats. I used to watch it religiously - in the morning before I went to school, and noontime immediately after. Unfortunately, the show stopped being fantastic when the Flash animation kicked in, around season 12 or so. It's not just merely the animation quality that has taken a dip - the writing's become worse, too. I think it's because all the available plots have been exhausted - much like The Simpsons, they've done pretty much every plot under the Sun. And since the characters have to be nice to each other 98.9% of the time (it's a PBS show, after all), there's less potential for conflict.
It's a shame too, 'cause when this show was good, it was GOOD. Funny without being vulgar, dramatic without being a melodrama, great moral messages for children without being preachy (well, most of the time). The references to things like South Park (yes, seriously), and continuity between certain episodes and elements (like D.W.'s infamous snowball) kept teen and adult viewers, as well. Now the show has become a shell of itself. If I were more of a drama queen, I'd call it tragic. Overall score: 7.5/10.