Season 9 Episode 5a

Ahhh, the opera. Previously popularized in cartoons like What’s Opera, Doc with Bugs Bunny, with songs from Rossini and Wagner operas, it comes to Arthur with Bizet’s Carmen. Mr. Crosswire has a decent taste in something for once, as I remember playing the Carmen suite in my high school band and really liking it. But Muffy was unsure about several things, first and foremost staying awake during the opera. I looked it up and the run time is just 3 hours and 15 minutes, way shorter than the Wagner opera that Bailey was singing an excerpt of for her (if we’re being honest, Bailey should probably quit his job with the Crosswires and make opera his career). And it’s also understandable that Muffy would be apprehensive about going to the opera, because someone usually dies at the end of one.

In that Bugs Bunny episode, the songs from those operas get unique lyrics in English to make them more memorable to younger audiences, and that’s what happens here too. Muffy’s visualization of it is hilarious, especially the words “Goodbye, you lose” and “boy bands” during the iconic arias “Habañera” and “Toreador.” Muffy did doze off while listening to Binky’s CD, but you have to appreciate her using her imagination. And although very little time of the episode is devoted to her actually at the opera, she likes it enough to want to go to another one. More evidence that it's hard to judge something before you actually experience it.

The “Word from Us Kids” segment in this one is one of my favorites as well, with Rodney Gilfry writing an opera with the kids about dodgeball. That last “Dooooodgebaallllllll” of his at the end would work well for the movie Dodgeball as well. Dodge, dip, duck, dive and dodge!

"That’s not fair
You’re out, you’re out, you’re out, that’s cheating
You hit me in the face
You have to throw from the line, your foot was on the line
You have to throw below the waist
You’re out, you’re out, you’re out!
Doooooooodgebaaaaaaaaaaaallll!"

By Guthrie Edson

Binky Goes Nuts

Season 9 Episode 10a

Maybe one of the biggest issues that kids around Arthur’s age face comes up in this episode: food allergies. The writers do a great job showing the trials and tribulations of Binky finding out that he has an allergy to peanuts. It is not easy to navigate when all of a sudden, you have to be extra cautious about every last ingredient in the food you buy, and you can’t eat your favorite cuisine anymore. It definitely felt like Binky was going through several of the stages of grief at the beginning of this, and it’s understandable that he would be upset about no longer being able to eat his favorite foods.

I really like how they had Jenna as one of the main characters of this episode, as she hasn’t ever really been a main character, except for a couple episodes (in one of which she was being mocked by Francine). It definitely makes a huge difference when other people can relate to things like allergies, and Jenna was there for Binky when he had the allergic reaction to the cashews. I also like how in the later seasons, they show the kids having more gadgets, and thus more responsibility, in this case Binky having a cell phone to call his mom in case of emergency (although his mom called him more than he called her). He used it for pretty much that purpose and that purpose only, unlike Fern a few seasons later.

It’s also understandable that Binky was frustrated at having to sit at a special peanut-free table, further stigmatizing him and his allergy, as we saw in his nightmares (Dr. Legume=parody of the Planters peanut logo). But in reality, his friends still sat with him, with their peanut-free lunches. And just like in “Arthur’s Eyes,” Bionic Bunny revealing his allergy to salt was what helped Binky start to cope with his allergy better. Binky even discovers a new Chinese restaurant which uses alternatives to peanut oil, making it a happy ending for everyone involved.

By Guthrie Edson

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