This is it. I am going to miss reviewing this show. In fact I already miss knowing I will watch an episode tomorrow or continue my 27K words blogging on this show (I checked). Anyway time to start.
Not much has changed since last season. The cancellation was announced only a month before the final episode, so I doubt the creators knew it would be the final one. The big change was Arthur started season 18. For the first time ever new Martha Speaks episodes were inferior to the new Arthur episodes.
There is a bigger focus on the human characters this season. Carolina goes from 2 episodes to 4. Ronald goes from 1 to 4. Truman goes from 4 to 5. Reginald reappears for two episodes. TD goes from 11 to 13. Part of this is Milo is gone making room. The big exception is surprisingly Helen. She has been in every single segment since season 1, but she misses 3/16 here. This is the only season where she is not in more segments than TD.
These past two seasons have many callbacks to season 1 and basic plots. It makes me wonder if the writers dug through the wastebaskets. One notable absence these last two seasons were songs. They were never great, but I normally enjoyed them.
Unlike my last two retrospectives I cannot say I watched the finale when it aired or was really keeping up with the final season. I was really busy then and basically only watched it at 6AM. I had seen very few of these episodes all the way through, and I think episode seven was the only one.
1A- “TD Gives a Report” where TD tries to come up with a subject for his history class. I think Alice and Helen are helping TD more than doing their own reports. Alice is really getting frustrated with him. Helen sounds and acts years older than TD. There is a reference to Helen’s detective love, as she compares research to it. As a history major I can relate. I did not figure out until the 8 minute mark TD would make a report on gum. History is realistically simplified, but accurate. Alice’s voice has already matured a lot. Okay episode. I think I would have enjoyed it more when I was in college.
There is a continuity issue in the flashback. In “Skits Behaves” it was said Danny trained Martha, but here Helen is shown doing it. Maybe it was just walking. Also she is ten in the clip with puppy Martha, when she should look around 6. Maybe her actress could no longer do the young Helen voice, and this was to help her.
1B- “Martha’s Canine Cleaners” where Lily thinks she ruined a pillow resulting in the dogs trying and failing to fix the house. Milo and Terrance have a VCR (smart people). Same retail worker for the third time, and he has a new voice for the third time. Same security guard from “Martha Runs the Store.” First time since season 1 Helen does not talk. She is mentioned, appears from the waist down, and speaks in the closed ending. I find it sweet they pick up her messes when she is not looking. Last roles of Terrance, Lily, and Jeffy.
I am jealous of Jeffy the Elephant’s dexterity. Skits is right, calling Helen for help is the logical solution. Nice to see Francois being a good friend to Martha. He has been a much better friend since “Martha and the 1000 Fleas.” I guess he took Martha bailing him out to heart. Very funny how they keep making it worse. The key joke is great, and everybody’s angry looks amplify it. Great episode.
2A-“April Fools” Where Helen tried to tell TD Ronald and Reginald are pranking him not knowing he is pranking them harder. Cute detail Helen held the binoculars so Martha can bird watch. First speaking role of Reginald since season 3 (I guess he laughed in “Verb Dog.”) Reginald did all that but cannot spell “genius”? Quite the complicated prank only for Helen to get him with a really simple one later. I enjoy Truman’s awful pranks, even if I relate to them too well. Enjoyable episode.
2B- “Bully for you” where a mean chilahuaha with attitude moves in. Like in “Arthur’s Pet Bussiness” there is a gag a little dog is called “Jaws.” Mrs. Demson is mentioned many times and appears but never talks. There are any jabs at the character designs. Some bad dialogue, but the rest is good.
Again, Helen is freakishly strong. She dragged both dogs while they put up a fight. Who needs a gym when you have those two. In the pre and post episode clips TD sends Helen and Martha on a quest around the world looking for him. No wonder Helen pranked him back in the main episode.
3A- “Bookboyd 3: Fit Fights Fat” where they focus on fitness. Martha instead takes a nap and has a Bookbot based dream. Third and final Bookbot episode. Joe Fallon episode. I like the ridiculous logic, be fit or you might not be able to pull of heroic feets like cleaning stables or fighting a lion. The mother duck is a male duck. Epsiode ran out its welcome. Still it is a funny ending where the normal citizens caught the supervillain and left the heroes a note. Why is only Martha drawn out of shape? The checker board is set up wrong. Mid-episode scene with the lightning fast slug is really good.
3B- “Grandpa Bernie Cleans” Where Helen and TD help Grandpa Bernie declutter. Meanwhile Martha and Skits help an elderly dog look for a ball not knowing it is in Grandpa’s garage. Final appearance of Grandpa Bernie. They should not be surprised TD would want to help clean a garage. Then again he was not helpful with cleaning the attic in season 2. 3 humans and 2 dogs, and they just make more work for Helen. I just know she then had to clean all 6 dogs. Good episode on the puzzles of clutter and the past. It was solvable, but it took me most of the episode. Good episode.
For the next five episodes I kept finding them missing the opening, mid, and closing scenes. I looked everywhere and think they are now lost media. I only found some of them.
4A- “Thou Callest Me a Dog” Where Martha eats a copy of Hamlet and now speaks it. Pablum and Otis hire her to star in it.
First appearance of Pablum and Otis since season 4. Feels like a long time since eating something made Martha speak differently. By this point Danny and Helen barely react to it. Hand it to Peter Hirsch for working the fantasy angle. I enjoy Mrs. Demson. She is getting older and wants to see the old forms of entertainment, not modern versions. I can relate as a 29 year old. I am going to be so grouchy when I am her age. I am surprised a 5th grader knows all those theater words. Pablum needs to work on his muscle mass losing a fight to a ten year old girl…
Who am I kidding. That should be expected. It was nice of her to let the others pretend they were helping and not rip Otis and Pablum’s arms off their sockets. They knew that was the case, as TD and the actor double teamed Otis knowing Helen would win by herself. Nice detail it has a “sword fight” as Shakespeare plays were full of violence for entertainment. I love the study guide joke. She now talks so matter of factly, and it is commentary on people not liking the classics, because they just read those. Great episode. Mrs. Demson’s last appearance.
I really enjoy the gag they have to feed Martha a book, and she has no problem eating a hard cover one. Pablum and Otis appear three times this season (one is a tiny appearance next segment). In none of these do they try to steal Martha.
4B- “Martha’s Paper Chase” Where she and Carolina debate running a story on Big Minnie. Return of Carolina’s paper. Their story is a news drought. Based on Ronald and Reginald’s stories I am sure those adults know it is fiction. Not a good episode. Very convoluted and basic. Continues recurring gag reporters do not know Martha can talk.
This is Big Minnie’s first appearance since season 1. It is also her final appearance. This is Ronald and Reginald’s last appearances. Helen does not appear, but she talks in the post-episode scene (one of the few I could find).
5A- “Alice Tells a Story” Where needs to do an oral report, and sucks at them. She learns how to do it better to tell how she got Nelson. It opens with Helen doing an oral report of the events from “Martha in Charge.” TD’s was an expansion from a flashback from episode 1. Skits is mad at Martha blaming her for Nelson. Martha also blames herself. As a writer who struggled with editing this should appeal to me much more than it does. I think it ironically has too many tangeants. Final episode where Alice is the protagonist.
There are two continuity errors this episode. Contradicts “Martha’s Life in Crime” where they do not charge for adoptions. Kazuo recognizes Martha when he should not recognize her before she can talk. Last appearance of Kazuo and Pops.
5B- “Pirates and Princesses” Where Martha uses her dogs a a lawn chair and nothing else interesting happens. I am surprised rules of the game include the word “dead,” but WGBH always seemed okay with forms of the word on Arthur. Again they reference “Martha in Charge.” Poor episode. Final episode with all five main children. Worst of the final season.
I found a bad quality recording of episode 6 with all the extra segments. That made me very happy.
6A- “Tomato You Say” when they try to ask TD why he wears a shirt with a tomato insignia on it. Joe Fallon episode. Final appearance of Alice. All the banter and focus on word usage really reminded me of the season 1 episodes. Unconfirmed if he is just joking at the end, or if he actually thought he had an apple on his shirts this whole time. I think he was joking, and he did win a T-shirt. Great episode. Heavily implied Alice’s glasses prescription is wrong, and she cannot see. Helen wearing a cap helps it to stick out.
In “Martha’s Thanksgiving” Martha wished she could wear a hat. Now she gets to, and she is not a fan. Helen has a meaner sense of humor than normal this episode. Here she joked about Martha being blind and making her the other team’s goalie. In the post-episode scene she drew Martha’s butt as the sign of the episode. Nice pun about Martha’s non-stop begging.
6B- “Martha Questions” Where Pablum and Otis for an unrelated plot add question marks to the soup meaning Martha only speaks in questions. Only episode with OG, and no TD. Same security guard design but very different voice. It is hard figuring out Pablum and Otis’s plan. I enjoy that they never needed a key and wasted weeks trying to get something that did not exist. Nice detail the writers remembered OG is allergic to Skits. Last episode without TD. Funny episode.
Pablum and Otis made four appearances in the final three seasons. All of them presented an opportunity to steal Martha, and they never tried. Who knew these two would be the most dynamic characters in the series.
7A- “Martha’s Sweater” Where Grandma Lucille makes a sweater and gives it to Martha. I wish I remembered if I saw that ending coming the first time. I find it out of character Helen is upset Carolina thinks her sweater is ugly. She has known that since at least episode 1. Okay episode. How is Helen getting two burgers to bribe Martha?
Last appearances of Carolina, Grandma Lucille, Bob, Bob’s Owner, and some neighborhood dogs.
7B- “The Mystery of the Missing Dinosaur” where TD interprets normal things as being part of a big mystery sent by a mastermind. It turns out he is 100% right. The last episode written by Ken Scarborough. Same detective opening fantasy as Mystery of the Missing Metal. Last episode without Helen. Last appearance of OG. Pretty good, due to how odd the ending is.
Now to the very last episode. I could not find the pre-episode scene, but I found the mid-episode scene and post-episode scene. At least I found the very last words of the show.
8A- “Martha’s Holiday Surprise” Where in a Christmas Episode Martha and Skits find a pregnant cat about to die in the cold. Martha said how to charm people in “Ain’t Nothing but a Pound Dog” and tries those same methods with Mittens. She instead gets scratched on the nose. Great cat noises. In hindsight I can see Mittens is pregnant. Great holiday episode. It starts with Martha and Skits focused on what they can get (Karl’s leftover hambones) and switches to selfless acts. Again. the reporters are the only people in Wagstaff City unaware they have a talking dog.
I do not say this much about PBS Kids, but it captures pain. Some of it is from the animation but it is mostly from the realistic dialogue and sound effects. Great episode. Best of the season and should have been the finale. I am glad I found the mid-episode scene, as it continues the episode. A long running arc has been Martha’s dislike of cats. For the most important time she remembered what she learned in “There goes the Neighborhood” and is great with them.
8B- “We’re Powerless” Where the power goes out. Joe Fallon episode and the series finale. I like some of the dialogue, but it is not an interesting episode. Helen still has not forgiven Martha for all the times she ate her socks. In the final seconds Martha swiped Helen’s sandwich for the last time. In the episode they have no way to use the can opener without electricity (big mistake when you have two large dogs). In the post episode scene Martha and Helen are going to the store to rectify this. In the last very last scene Helen, Martha, and Truman crash on a sled, so I guess the opening was about that. Truman had very little role these last two seasons, but he got the very last line of the show. Oddly this is one of the few ending segments where they do not tell the audience good-bye.
And that is season 6. My thoughts are basically the same as season 5. “Martha’s Holiday Surprise” is the best followed by “Canine Cleaners,” “Thou Callest me a Dog,” and “Tomato you Say.” The worst is “Pirates and Princesses” followed by “Paper Chase” and “We’re Powerless.”
And that is the end of the show. It was not as great to review as Fetch! Certainly better than the final 6 seasons of Arthur, and overall this was a fun project. This was fun noticing all the little jokes in the animation, seeing how the show changed, reexperiencing some great memories from my teens, and finding episodes I never saw. I previously put this as my third favorite PBS Kids Show, and I think further retrospectives will make me completely confident in my choice.
Next retrospective-
Wishbone.
The Animation Historian 