Review: Arthur | Season 1 Episode 1

Ah, Arthur. You were one huge part of my childhood. This cartoon teaches it's viewers important life values and safety tips, and it was very well-received among almost everyone. It was so popular that  it's still running to this VERY DAY! Today we're taking a trip down memory lane and taking a look back at Arthur, one of PBS Kids' best shows.

Episode 1A: Arthur's Eyes

First episodes of shows are important. They help to get the viewer interested in the series. But not all first episodes are successful. Such is the case with "Arthur's Eyes"

Joe Fallon is a mixed bag when it comes to writing Arthur. He's written many fantastic and awful episodes. With this one, he started Arthur off on the wrong foot. Arthur is mercilessly tortured throughout the entire episode, and his own best friend pokes fun at his glasses. Francine, who is one of my favorite Arthur characters, makes a TERRIBLE first impression on the audience, serving as the main antagonist of this episode, and she's the one who bullies Arthur the most. See, this is just one of this episode's problems: NEVER give a bad first impression to a character who's supposed to change as the series progresses, because in future episodes, she and Arthur are really close friends. Thankfully she DOES...um..."apologize" to him at the very end. That's another big mistake on the writer's part. Francine's "apology" didn't sound genuine enough, and even if it WAS, it still wouldn't be enough to make up for an ENTIRE episode. Also, the part where Arthur slingshots his glasses is basically the point of the episode where the writer lost all hope for the success of the episode. The glasses somehow bounce against a telephone wire and thrusts them onto Arthur's bed. That's just really lazy. The ONLY part of this episode that I enjoyed was the part where Arthur accidentally stumbles into the girl's restroom. It was pretty funny, but at that point, I've had it with this episode. The writer seemed to have forgotten that this is the FIRST EPISODE, the cream of the crop, the one that could potentially ensure the SUCCESS of the show. But alas, it wasn't even CLOSE to that. 2/10

Episode 1B: Francine's Bad Hair Day:

Francine and Muffy have a very quirky friendship. It's always good fun to see the two on-screen together. (Unless of course they're torturing Arthur) "Francine's Bad Hair Day" shows us just how complicated their relationship can be.

This is definitely an improvement from that previous trash heap I talked about. Despite a lot of people hating Muffy in this episode, I actually kind of liked her. Often times she would be really funny and adding to the fact that she's kind of oblivious to how Francine is in actuality is pretty humorous. Other than that, the episode is rather dry. I felt like there could've been way more jokes.
While it's not a season highlight by any means, it's still very far from a bad watch. 6/10

Season 1 Ranking:
1. Francine's Bad Hair Day
2. Arthur's Eyes

Next time we find out why Arthur is so scared of his third-grade teacher in "Arthur's Teacher Trouble", and we watch Arthur compete in the annual school spelling bee in 'Arthur's Spelling Trubble" (No, really, that's how it's shown in the title card)